Aseem Krishna Das<\/p>\n
Life is full of bliss and ananda for the followers of Srila Prabhupada. We are blessed to have taken shelter of Srila Prabhupada. He has brought millions of people in contact with Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Sri Sri Radha Krishna, showing them the way towards an eternal life of joy in the divine realm of the Lord. The disciples of Srila Prabhupada are fortunate, as their lives are filled with the nectar received from their association with him. Srila Prabhupada’s love for his disciples is fathomless, and hearing about his dealings with them from their own mouths serves as a window to the spiritual world. Listening to such pastimes purifies our hearts and gives us transcendental joy.<\/p>\n
An event to glorify Srila Prabhupada, ‘Srila Prabhupada Smaran Utsav,’ was organized in ISKCON Mayapur from December 21 to 23, 2024, on the occasion of the most sacred 85th Vyasa Puja ceremony of His Holiness Subhag Swami Maharaja. ‘Smaran Utsav’ means a festival to remember, and hence many esteemed disciples of Srila Prabhupada graciously attended \u2018Srila Prabhupada Smaran Utsav\u2019. They shared treasures stored within their hearts gathered from their association with Srila Prabhupada.<\/p>\n
Srila Subhag Swami Maharaja inaugurated the grand festival. He delivered the inaugural address, stressing the importance of following the four regulative principles and maintaining purity of character. Maharaja reiterated Srila Prabhupada’s statement that \u201cPurity is the Force\u201d and emphasized that without internal purity, our devotional life is hollow and lacks substance. Maharaja also delivered the morning Bhagavatam class on the second and third days of the program. Throughout the day, Srila Prabhupada’s disciples glorified Prabhupada to their hearts’ content. Here is a brief summary:<\/p>\n
His Grace Basu Ghosh Prabhu
\nPrabhu stated that Srila Prabhupada was a messenger of Krishna and the previous acharyas. A messenger is one who does not change anything. The Vedic knowledge has been transmitted since time immemorial, and Srila Prabhupada aimed to spread this knowledge as it is throughout the whole world. Prabhu also stressed the importance of reintroducing the Sanskrit language for Vedic studies.<\/p>\n
His Holiness Bhakti Raghav Swami
\nMaharaja glorified the miracle performed by Srila Prabhupada. Millions of people from all over the world have joined the Krishna Consciousness movement, which, he said, would not have been possible without the mercy of the Supreme Lord. Maharaja noted that Srila Prabhupada was an empowered devotee who fulfilled Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s desire, and we are fortunate to witness this miracle in our time.<\/p>\n
He emphasized four areas that Srila Prabhupada focused on within the overall movement to spread Krishna Consciousness: first, the Sankirtan movement, which includes harinam sankirtan and book distribution; second, the establishment of preaching centers and temples; third, the training and education of people in Krishna Consciousness at these centers, including congregational preaching; and fourth, establishing a classless society based on daivi varnashrama principles.<\/p>\n
His Grace Rameshvar Prabhu
\nPrabhu shared his experience as a former trustee of the BBT and as a book distributor during Srila Prabhupada’s time. He recalled how Srila Prabhupada once invited all the Sannyasis and leaders in ISKCON to Los Angeles to encourage them to expedite book printing. Prabhu cited a specific incident where, when a devotee asked how to increase the book distribution score, Srila Prabhupada advised him to chant his rounds nicely, stating that good chanting would enhance distribution. As a result, devotees began to rise at 2:00 am to chant their rounds.<\/p>\n
Prabhu concluded that there is no other service more dear to Srila Prabhupada than translating, distributing, and printing his books.<\/p>\n
His Grace Sarva Drik Prabhu
\nPrabhu glorified Srila Prabhupada as if speaking with four mouths. He mentioned that Srila Prabhupada established 850 temples and preaching centers as shelters for the pious souls who wanted to seriously engage in Krishna consciousness. He noted that Prabhupada delivered hundreds and thousands of lectures and classes that are now available online, and he established temples in Mayapur and other dhamas as well. Through his philosophy, Srila Prabhupada defeated atheism. He urged everyone to reflect on the hardships Srila Prabhupada endured when he first went to America, saying, “This was all a manifestation of Srila Prabhupada’s love for the Lord, love for his Guru, and love for every individual on this planet.”<\/p>\n
His Holiness Jaipataka Swami Maharaja
\nMaharaja mercifully took time to attend the festival. He reminisced about many pastimes of Srila Prabhupada and highlighted how he expertly handled different situations, recalling specific pastimes involving His Holiness Subhag Swami Maharaja.<\/p>\n
His Grace Mahaman Prabhu
\nMahaman Prabhu shared various pastimes of Srila Prabhupada, referring to him as the lion son of the lion guru, Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Gosvami Prabhupada. He remembered how Srila Prabhupada advised that one should possess the courage of an Englishman but the heart of a Bengali mother.<\/p>\n
His Grace Bhavanand Prabhu
\nH.G. Bhavananda Prabhu recounted many interesting pastimes of Srila Prabhupada, including how he enjoyed sitting in a beautiful garden he had created for him in ISKCON Mayapur. Once, Srila Prabhupada asked him, “Why are they not coming?” implying why people were not visiting Mayapur. Prabhu explained that, around 1975, only around one tourist bus visited ISKCON Mayapur once a week. He believed that Srila Prabhupada would be very pleased today, as thousands now visit ISKCON Mayapur daily.<\/p>\n
Prabhuji also recounted the incident in the 1980s when ISKCON was attacked by miscreants, resulting in him and some other devotees, including Pankajangri Prabhu and Subhag Swami Maharaja, spending some days in jail. His narration brought joy to everyone with his sweet memories.<\/p>\n
His Holiness Bhakti Nandan Swami
\nMaharaja, a disciple and former personal servant of His Holiness Bhakti Rakshak Sridhar Swami, Srila Prabhupada’s godbrother, glorified Srila Prabhupada as his Siksha Guru and recalled wonderful pastimes of him with His Holiness Sridhar Swami.<\/p>\n
Maharaja shared that when he was around 12 years old, he had the opportunity to have darshan of Srila Prabhupada at least five times in Chaitanya Sarasvat Math, Nabadwip, during 1968 when ISKCON Mayapur had not yet manifested. He recalled the time when Srila Prabhupada first arrived at Mayapur with his western disciples, and Srila Sridhar Maharaja arranged a large program in Chaitanya Sarasvat Math to welcome Srila Prabhupada to Nabadwip Dham after his successful preaching mission in the West.<\/p>\n
Maharaja expressed his extreme fortune in witnessing Srila Sridhar Swami and Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada discussing Hari Katha, sharing pure nectar while discussing verses from the Bhagavad Gita and Bhagavatam for hours. He joyfully recounted how Srila Prabhupada once blessed him by touching his head and remembered providing necessary items for Srila Prabhupada’s oil massage, observing His Grace Hari Sauri Prabhu perform the massage.<\/p>\n
Many other disciples of Srila Prabhupada shared their realizations, including glorifications by His Grace Murari Hari Prabhu, His Grace Sankarshan Prabhu, His Grace Gokul Prabhu, His Grace Satvik Prabhu, His Grace Kripanidhi Prabhu, His Grace Janmastami Prabhu, His Grace Upananda Prabhu, His Holiness Bhakti Purshottam Maharaja and His Grace Srivas Prabhu. Lastly, I must say that the three-day event passed in a moment for us. These three days were filled with joy, reflections, and realizations. I acknowledge my inability to recall and mention all the wonderful revelations made by Srila Prabhupada’s disciples here. I am attaching the link for the videos of the event with this article.<\/p>\n
His Holiness Subhag Swami Maharaja expressed gratitude to all his God brothers for their kind participation in the festival. The program concluded with the abhishek ceremony and pushpanjali for His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Srila Prabhupada was offered 108 different dishes by the devotees. All Srila Prabhupada’s disciples were respectfully seated, and they lovingly honored the Lord’s divine prasadam while reminiscing about Srila Prabhupada. Around ten thousand devotees also enjoyed the Lord’s prasadam in a separate pandal.<\/p>\n
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!<\/p>\n
Link for more pics: https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/share\/SMvFp87DBvsxCmkp\/?mibextid=oFDknk<\/a><\/p>\n Day 1 : https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/live\/EwvE6kpKKLY?si=12lEuQi6IkS1C0MM<\/a><\/p>\n https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/live\/kL99nrBQEks?si=22XGiTRkQFi3redm<\/a><\/p>\n Day 2: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/live\/ph4TKRoyetQ?si=PYxxccizzz5WDNug<\/a><\/p>\n https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/live\/pvm5eED3AA0?si=ywh2-FZoxN-puZYi<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n