{"id":68985,"date":"2019-11-15T11:19:18","date_gmt":"2019-11-15T10:19:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/?p=68985"},"modified":"2019-11-17T11:40:14","modified_gmt":"2019-11-17T10:40:14","slug":"remembering-tribhuvanatha-prabhu-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/?p=68985","title":{"rendered":"Remembering Tribhuvanatha Prabhu"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>To mark Tribhuvanatha Prabhu&#8217;s Appearance Day Festival, the Festival Team premiered this new film.<br \/>\nHuge thanks to Suria Vision for working with us to put it together.<br \/>\nFeaturing our &#8216;Year in Review&#8217;, this is our Offering to HG Tribhuvanatha Prabhu!<br \/>\nTribhuvanatha Ki Jai!<br \/>\nSrila Prabhupada Ki Jai!<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fharekrishnafestivalsuk%2Fvideos%2F450568862263711%2F&#038;show_text=0&#038;width=560\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" style=\"border:none;overflow:hidden\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowTransparency=\"true\" allowFullScreen=\"true\"><\/iframe><br \/>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/-L9tg-UPZQdc\/VVcRWCU41aI\/AAAAAAAAPG0\/8GNmqY7OVgY\/s0\/2015-05-16_11-43-35.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>By Padmapani das<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>(Tribhuvannatha Prabhu was my best friend in Krsna consciousness. He was a very dear disciple of Srila Prabhupada and so it was a great honor and privilege to have his close association. Therefore I wish to humbly share a few memories of Tribhuvannatha here so that others might get a glimpse of his greatness and feel inspired by his wonderful example of service and dedication to Srila Prabhupada, our beloved spiritual master.)<\/p>\n<p>Tribhuvannatha was heroic<\/p>\n<p>The first thing that impressed me about Tribhuvannatha Prabhu was his courage. He was ready to do anything for Srila Prabhupada at the drop of a pin, without considering happiness or distress, loss or gain, safety or danger. He loved to struggle for Prabhupada. That was his greatest joy. When you&#8217;re around someone like that, you can&#8217;t help but be humbled and feel a sense of awe. To be his friend was (and is) a source of spiritual inspiration and pride. We were all so proud of Tribhuvannatha Prabhu. He was heroic. That&#8217;s why his name lives on &#8212; and always in relation to Srila Prabhupada &#8212; which is the only way he would want it. What a great soul indeed.<\/p>\n<p>Simple but sublime<\/p>\n<p>tad viddhi pranipatena<br \/>\npariprasnena sevaya<br \/>\nupadeksyanti te jnanam<br \/>\njnaninas tattva-darsinah<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth.&#8221; (B.G. 4.34)<\/p>\n<p>In the Bhaktivedanta Purport to this all-important verse in the Bhagavad-gita, Srila Prabhupada explains:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Satisfaction of the self-realized spiritual master is the secret of advancement in spiritual life. Inquiries and submission constitute the proper combination for spiritual understanding. Unless there is submission and service, inquiries from the learned spiritual master will not be effective. One must be able to pass the test of the spiritual master, and when he sees the genuine desire of the disciple, he automatically blesses the disciple with genuine spiritual understanding.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Tribhuvannatha&#8217;s devotional life was a practical demonstration of this purport. He didn&#8217;t take it as a vague theoretical concept. Rather he saw it in personal terms. What does Srila Prabhupada want and like? Prabhupada wanted to deliver the world through preaching programs like harinama sankirtana, book distribution, prasadam distribution, opening of temples, etc. So Tribhuvannatha threw himself into all of the above at various times and places with great gusto. He lived an inspired life for us all to learn and benefit from.<\/p>\n<p>Tribhuvannatha had personal charisma &#8212; he could have become a great used car salesman, a real estate agent, a school teacher or whatever he wanted. But he consciously chose to serve His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada by utilizing his God-given talents in Prabhupada&#8217;s service. He firmly believed that it was the highest service to humankind. So although he was very simple and straightforward in his understanding, Tribhuvannatha wasn&#8217;t foolish. In fact, he was amazingly philosophical and realized, despite that he didn&#8217;t have a material education. One thing I especially liked about him was that he used to make up words when he preached. He would sometimes add an extra syllable to long words unknowingly, but it was very endearing; so much so, that I liked his version rather than the dictionary version. But that certainly didn&#8217;t make him any less of a preacher. When he was on a roll, which was everytime he preached or picked up a mrdanga and led kirtana, everyone was enthralled and felt ecstacy coming through from the spiritual stratum.<\/p>\n<p>Tribhuvannatha embraced Prabhupada&#8217;s purports and lived them, rather than simply regurgitate them. That&#8217;s what made him so potent and effective in his preaching work. Of course, not everyone can become a Tribhuvannatha. Actually, no one can become<br \/>\nTribhuvannatha, except of course Tribhuvannatha. But we can all endeavor to perfect who we are by offering our best to Srila Prabhupada and his mission. Simple, but sublime.<\/p>\n<p>Working with Tribhuvannatha<\/p>\n<p>Tribhuvannatha&#8217;s association was a Godsend on many levels. He expected those who worked with him to depend on Krsna and so he naturally brought out the best in others. In fact, whether it was conscious or not, he inspired those who served with him to challenge themselves at every step. When I first joined him in India, he immediately put me<br \/>\non a plane to Europe with nothing more than a mrdanga in hand and a crumpled U.S. dollar in my pocket. The flight was scheduled to briefly stop in Amsterdam before reaching London and he instructed me to disembark there, although I was supposed to carry on to the U.K. according to the flight particulars. When I got to customs, they asked me how much money I was carrying. I pulled out the dollar bill. Of course, they didn&#8217;t like that and so they whisked me off to jail where I spent a long night chanting Hare Krsna, anxious about my crazed and drunken cellmate who kept muttering threats under his breath. (Funny enough, I actually gained a little realization about the yuga-dharma that night.) The next morning, they stamped my passport with a &#8220;no go&#8221; and escorted me to the airport where I was shipped off to England. When the authorities there saw the &#8220;refused&#8221; stamp on my passport, they wouldn&#8217;t release me. Instead they decided to send me on to Canada, my home country. Canada? I was supposed to be meeting up with a crew of devotees headed in the other direction. So I pleaded with the authorities to let me call the Bhaktivedanta Manor and try to reach Tribhuvannatha Prabhu, who just happened to be &#8220;carrying all my money.&#8221; Somehow or other, they agreed and tracked him down. After four or five hours, good old Tribhuvannatha showed up at the airport with some cash that he had borrowed to bail me out. They allowed me a weeks stay in the U.K. And so where did Tribhuvannatha send me next? Back to Amsterdam! That kind of thing happened all the time while working with Tribhuvannatha. Looking back on those years, I can only thank him for such wonderful opportunities to grow and test my faith. With Tribhuvannatha Prabhu, there wasn&#8217;t much choice. It was always do or die. That was his way.<\/p>\n<p>Sincerity of purpose<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes Tribhuvannatha&#8217;s plans would seem wildly utopian. He&#8217;d venture out on a big ambitious preaching project with sometimes nothing in his pocket, or very little. Or he&#8217;d send out some nervous devotee(s) somewhere to do the same. He didn&#8217;t rely on material<br \/>\nformulas. Somehow or other, from out of the blue, someone would offer him money to open a center, print books, buy a van, or pay for a preaching program. He never worried about it. The bigger the challenge, the better.<\/p>\n<p>In November of 1967, Srila Prabhupada wrote the following:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;In my opinion, a single sincere soul can maintain a center. You know I started the center at 26 2nd Ave. alone. I took the risk of 200.00 dollars per month for the rent&#8230; Still I was maintaining the establishment simply depending on Krishna and then Krishna sent me everything &#8212; men and money. Similarly, if a sincere soul goes out and opens a center in any part of the world Krishna will help him in all respects. Without being empowered by Krishna, nobody can preach Krishna Consciousness. It is not academic qualification or financial strength which helps in these matters, but it is sincerity of purpose which helps us always&#8230;. That is preaching, cooking, writing, talking, chanting everything one man&#8217;s show. I never thought about the audience. I was prepared to chant if there were no man to hear me. The principle of chanting is to glorify the Lord and not to attract a crowd. If Krishna hears nicely then he will ask some sincere devotee to gather in such place. Therefore, be advised that thousands of centers may be started if we find out a sincere soul for each and every center. We do not require more men to start. If there is one sincere soul that is sufficient to start a new center&#8230; Let us remain sincere to Krishna and His bona fide representative and we are sure to carry out our mission successfully.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Tribhuvannatha&#8217;s faith in Srila Prabhupada&#8217;s formula was unwavering and he loved to see it manifest into a tangible success. It made him eager for more.<\/p>\n<p>His driving force<\/p>\n<p>What always impressed me about Tribhuvannatha was his single-minded desire to please Srila Prabhupada. He didn&#8217;t want to please Prabhupada so that he could make spiritual advancement. He wanted to please Srila Prabhupada because he actually wanted to make Prabhupada happy, no matter what. This is love. It was Tribhuvannatha&#8217;s driving force, the fuel that kept him going through thick and thin. If you could open up his<br \/>\nheart and look inside, that&#8217;s all you&#8217;d find: Prabhupada-prema. It was the secret to his success.<\/p>\n<p>He was always happy<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This knowledge is the king of education, the most secret of all secrets. It is the purest knowledge, and because it gives direct perception of the self by realization, it is the perfection of religion. It is everlasting, and it is joyfully performed.&#8221; (Bhagavad-gita 9.2)<\/p>\n<p>One thing that struck me about Tribhuvannatha was the simple fact that he was always happy. His eyes glistened with joy and he never failed to greet others with a hearty &#8220;Hari bol&#8221; and an enthusiastic &#8220;All glories to Srila Prabhupada!&#8221; I never saw him morose, not even in the worst or most trying of circumstances. He wasn&#8217;t moody and depressed about the material world and its myriad challenges (like me). In fact, I doubt that he even knew the meaning of the word &#8220;depression&#8221; &#8212; unlike today, where even children are suffering from depression and it seems that every second person is on anti-depressants or some such medication. But not Tribhuvannatha Prabhu. He epitomized the phrase, &#8220;Chant Hare Krsna and be happy.&#8221; He was the embodiment of the words, su-sukham kartum avyayam. (B.G. 9.2) He was &#8212; and is &#8212; a genuine devotee of the Lord.<\/p>\n<p>Prabhupada&#8217;s Edinburgh Temple<\/p>\n<p>Tribhuvannatha Prabhu told me many stories of Edinburgh and how pleased Prabhupada was that he had opened a temple there. Srila Prabhupada went to Scottish Churches College as a young man, so he displayed a special interest in the Edinburgh temple. One time Prabhupada was in Mayapur, surrounded by sannyasis and leaders, while he was looking at some photos of ISKCON projects. But when he heard that Tribhuvannatha Prabhu was at the end of the line, Prabhupada immediately called him to the front and said, &#8220;Oh, how is the Edinburgh temple?&#8221; It was like his pride and joy. Tribhuvannatha told me that whenever Prabhupada saw him, he would ask about that temple. It was so important to him, and Tribhuvannatha knew it well  &#8212; so he dedicated himself to making it a surefire preaching success at all costs, even though he rarely had any money. Yet he somehow made it work by his sincere devotional service. Material means and expertise were not as important to Tribhuvannatha as love and bhakti. These were the key ingredients to his wonderful success in pleasing His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada.<\/p>\n<p>Always dependent on Krsna<\/p>\n<p>Tribhuvannatha Prabhu didn&#8217;t care much for the needs of the material body. This was not something artificial, but he was just too busy in Prabhupada&#8217;s service to bother pampering the senses. He naturally expected those who worked with him to be the same.<\/p>\n<p>I remember one time, at the beginning of a new program, there were about seven devotees all stranded together in a hotel room without money or food. This was in a very hot part of the world. The stores had all closed their shutters at noon, so that everyone (i.e. the lucky ones) could get inside, take their noon meal, and go to sleep for the afternoon with<br \/>\nthe air-conditioning on full blast. So with the lack of food and very hot weather, the devotees were getting a little testy with each other and even started grumbling about Tribhuvannatha&#8217;s management style. One brahmacari had a secret stash of money and snuck out to get himself a few snacks on the side, which caused a little furor. Thinking back, it was kind of funny, knowing how young brahmacaris can behave towards one another in extreme circumstances; but it wasn&#8217;t much fun at the time.<\/p>\n<p>Tribhuvannatha Prabhu was unfazed and kept arranging programs, etc. He assured us that Krsna would provide and not to worry. Well, after the seventh day, everyone was pretty upset, but Tribhuvannatha kept his usual cool and faith. Still there was a lot of arguing going on by this time. Finally, a very devoted Life Member couple (an Indian doctor and his wife) invited the devotees for a program and prasadam at their home. The ladies in the community all pitched in and cooked an incredible feast which consisted of many wonderful preparations &#8212; including sweet rice, halavah, puris, etc. The ladies kept serving the devotees nonstop until finally no one could take another bite. All the devotees were practically rolling on the floor with big grins on their faces, laughing aloud and joking together, as only brahmacaris can do. It was a sight to behold. At the end of the program, the devotees stumbled back to the hotel and Tribhuvannatha&#8217;s faith and preaching were vindicated. No one doubted him after that.<\/p>\n<p>A humble soul<\/p>\n<p>From my own personal experience with Tribhuvannatha Prabhu for over 20 years, he never failed to apologize when he did or said something which he felt was out of line or wrong. This touched me deeply because he was genuine in his feelings and affection for others. He freely gave his heartfelt respect and appreciation without demanding any in return.<\/p>\n<p>One time something happened which caused me a little inconvenience, but which he never forgave himself for; and for many years afterwards, he always told me that he felt so bad about it. Personally, it was no big deal because we were both under such heavy stress at the time and in some pretty dicey situations together; so problems were to be expected and they weren&#8217;t anyone&#8217;s fault. But he never forgot it and always promised that someday he&#8217;d make it up to me. Although there was certainly nothing to make up, he never saw it like that. He was always so grateful for any service rendered or loyalty showed to him. His only goal was to capture Prabhupada&#8217;s mercy, and he dragged me into it, displaying the highest compassion possible from one jiva to another. What a merciful example on so many levels, for which I&#8217;m forever grateful. It&#8217;s true that every devotee is special, but Tribhuvannatha exemplifed it to the highest degree; and yet, he was always a humble soul.<\/p>\n<p>A wonderful inspiration<\/p>\n<p>Tribhuvannatha Prabhu was a devotee who had taken birth in a western body &#8212; Irish in fact &#8212; and therefore many of us could relate to him. It was quite obvious that for a so-called westerner, he possessed a large amount of vijnana, or realized knowledge, as opposed to simply jnana, or theoretical knowledge. In fact, I was always amazed at the depth of his realizations which came to him so naturally and so powerfully at such a young age.<\/p>\n<p>Tribhuvannatha lived life large. He always thought big. His favorite Prabhupada expression was: &#8220;If you&#8217;re going to go hunting, shoot for the rhinocerous.&#8221; (In other words, if you manage to shoot the rhinocerous, then you&#8217;ll be a hero; and if you miss, people will say it was impossible anyway.) So Tribhuvannatha was always shooting for the rhinocerous.<\/p>\n<p>I know that I could never imitate Tribhuvannatha Prabhu. I can only admire and honor him from a distance. His contribution to Prabhupada&#8217;s mission was totally unique and in a league of its own. Tribhuvannatha had no fear and he walked over many a cliff with nothing to save him but Krsna&#8217;s mercy. He was filled with such deep conviction and absolute faith, which never failed him. By his example, he taught that one should use whatever gifts one has in the Lord&#8217;s service without reservation. As Prabhupada said, we should each try &#8220;to the best of our individual capacity.&#8221; Tribhuvannatha surely took that instruction to heart and will always serve as a wonderful inspiration to us all.<\/p>\n<p>Simple<\/p>\n<p>Tribhuvannatha Prabhu was always talking about his favorite Prabhupada memories. One in particular stands out. After giving a class from the vyasasana, Srila Prabhupada said the following: &#8220;Krsna Consciousness is so simple, that you&#8217;ll miss it.&#8221; Tribhuvannatha never forgot that and imbibed it well. He made it his life&#8217;s goal to please Prabhupada at any cost. It was that simple. No big flash or fanfare. Just please Prabhupada. That&#8217;s it.<\/p>\n<p>Fixed up<\/p>\n<p>One time, after working &#038; struggling together in some foreign countries, Tribhuvannatha said to me: &#8220;Let&#8217;s go to India.&#8221; We immediately booked the flight and within a couple of days we were hearing and chanting the Srimad-Bhagavatam on the banks of the Ganges<br \/>\nat Hardwar and Rishikesh.<\/p>\n<p>Tribhuvannatha was like that. The time in between conceiving of something in his mind and making it happen was very short compared to most people I&#8217;ve met. To him, there were never any material reasons why something couldn&#8217;t be done. He would practically will things into existence for the purpose of serving Krsna and Srila Prabhupada. I saw him do it many times and it left a lasting impression on me. His heart was overflowing with spiritual enthusiasm and he never took no for an answer. He seemed to have this already fixed up from a long long time ago.<\/p>\n<p>Blessed<\/p>\n<p>One time Tribhuvannatha Prabhu told me that he had received a benediction early in his devotional career that whenever he chanted Hare Krsna in kirtan, he would immediately experience transcendental bliss. Whoever saw him chant the holy names of the Lord so enthusiastically in towns and cities all over the world observed this to be true.<\/p>\n<p>HARE KRSNA HARE KRSNA<br \/>\nKRSNA KRSNA HARE HARE<br \/>\nHARE RAMA HARA RAMA<br \/>\nRAMA RAMA HARE HARE<\/p>\n<p>Tribhuvannatha and money<\/p>\n<p>Tribhuvannatha had an interesting relationship with money. Whenever he got some &#8212; and he often got a lot of it &#8212; it wasn&#8217;t long before he spent it all in Prabhupada&#8217;s service. So he either had lots of money or none at all, depending on just when you&#8217;d catch him during the cycle. People and devotees would offer him money because they knew he&#8217;d do big things for Prabhupada with it &#8212; start &#038; fund preaching programs, print &#038; distribute books, or travel &#038; preach in some capacity or another. Whenever he spent money, it was in relation to service. At night, he was the same old Tribhuvannatha, almost always with a round or two of japa to chant before nodding off to sleep &#8212; unattached and happy to have put in yet another day of service and hard work for the spiritual master and Krsna. He was the personification of the phrase, &#8220;Work now, samadhi later.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>A friend to the end<\/p>\n<p>One day in 1988 I was passing through England on the way back from India and went to stay at the Bhaktivedanta Manor. I hadn&#8217;t seen Tribhuvannatha Prabhu for many years. During mangal arotika, unbeknownst to me, Tribhuvannatha was there. Suddenly he turned around and our eyes met. We both embraced and the energy was electric. Old brothers meeting again after so many years and after so many struggles in foreign lands together combined to bring us both to tears. What a blessing to have such a friend in my life. Long before &#8220;e-mails,&#8221; he always used to sign his telexes as &#8220;Tribhu,&#8221; or &#8220;Your old trooper, Tribhu.&#8221; And it was true; he was a real trooper. His loyalty to his friends was unwavering, even in the most dangerous and harrowing of circumstances. He would often show up when he was most needed, just in the nick of time. Who could ask for a better friend?<\/p>\n<p>The Al Jindoul<\/p>\n<p>Tribhuvannatha Prabhu and I used to meet up in different countries, especially in Asia. In one country, which was very expensive, we always had to stay in one of the dumpiest hotels in the world, called the Al Jindoul. We also had to wake up the desk clerk every time &#8212; or run around looking for him. For some reason, we always ended up arriving late at night. Nonetheless, we had the most amazing times, talking about Srila Prabhupada together. I&#8217;ll never forget that dumpy old hotel. In fact, when Tribhuvannatha was in Brazil during his last days, I wrote to him, reminding him about the Al Jindoul, and he expressed his delight that I had remembered the place, and even the name. Associating with Tribhuvannatha Prabhu was always nectar, no matter where. And for some reason or other, the craziest places and situations seemed to bring out his best &#8212; and funniest.<\/p>\n<p>Today is a good day to die<\/p>\n<p>This is a powerful Native sentiment, especially for warriors. Upon waging each day&#8217;s battles, we never know if we will come out victorious or if it will be our last day on earth. I observed that Tribhuvannatha Prabhu imbibed that spirit whole-heartedly; not recklessly, but he was always on call, waiting for the order from the spirirutal master, whatever it may be. He wasn&#8217;t afraid of death and was always willing to take great risks for Krsna and Srila Prabhupada.<\/p>\n<p>Humble to the end<\/p>\n<p>Prior to Tribhuvannatha Prabhu&#8217;s departure to Brazil in an attempt to heal his stomach cancer, I read about his plight on a devotee website. Very concerned, I immediately wrote to him expressing my anxiety. He replied that the article was &#8220;exaggerated&#8221; and that his condition was &#8220;not that serious.&#8221; Every time I corresponded with him about it, he kept reassuring me that his condition was not as serious as it was made out to be. So of course, I was completely shocked and devastated to hear the news of his departure because all along my friend was downplaying his condition so as not to worry me. This was Tribhuvannatha&#8217;s humble nature. He didn&#8217;t want to make a big fanfare about his illness, and he expressed his embarrassment to me that such a fuss was being made throughout the devotee community at the time. He quietly slipped away to a foreign country where he passed away in very simple and subdued circumstances. And it was totally characteristic of him to be off somewhere in a foreign land at the time, since he spent so much of his life traveling the globe preaching. Although I was terribly sad, I was also very proud of him for displaying such a gentle and self-effacing attitude right to the end. He never lost his genuine heartfelt humility.<\/p>\n<p>The real deal<\/p>\n<p>The first thing that Tribhuvannatha Prabhu said to me when I met him on the roof of the old Delhi temple in Lajput Nagar was, &#8220;How would you like to do something special for Srila Prabhupada?&#8221; It was the first thing on his mind in the morning and the last thing on his mind at night. It was the only thing that really mattered to Tribhuvannatha. That&#8217;s what he wanted, birth after birth. No substitutes, no seconds, no reasonable facsimiles. The real deal. The real McCoy. The real thing. It&#8217;s kind of hard to follow up on that. It reminds me of what Ringo Starr said and felt after the Beatles broke up. What do you after the Beatles? Well, what do you do after Tribhuvannatha?<\/p>\n<p>A lightning rod<\/p>\n<p>A writer once said that people in general don&#8217;t usually remember what you said or did in life, as much as they remember how you made them feel. Tribhuvannatha was a lightning rod for love of Prabhupada. He used to knock everyone out with his enthusiasm and love for Srila Prabhupada, and the effects have not subsided over time. All glories to Sriman Tribhuvannatha Prabhu for having the courage of his convictions and a deep faith which easily moved mountains.<\/p>\n<p>Always a smile on his face<\/p>\n<p>Tribhuvannatha Prabhu was always trying to cheer us up and make us laugh at our situation, no matter how dire. Oftentimes we had no money or even food, and spent many a night crowded in small dusty hotel rooms or in workshops with a dozen or more poor workers, who lived very austerely so that they could send their meager incomes back home to their wives and family members in India. In some places we lived, the soot was so thick and the noise levels so high, being so overcrowded, that to be healthy there for us westerners was a luxury. From a material perspective, those years were pretty hellish, at least for me. But Tribhuvannatha always had a smile on his face and a good Krsna conscious joke on his lips, making it not only bearable, but actually fun. He had such a jolly spirit and it was contagious. Even though he traveled quite often, he kept in contact through telexes &#8212; and receiving those were the highlights of my day because they took me right out of those situations and immediately raised my spirits, so that I could somehow carry on. Even to this day, I carry around a big stack of Tribhuvannatha&#8217;s telexes, which easily transport me back to another time and era whenever I read them. Someday I hope to write more about those times.<\/p>\n\n<h2>Jaya Tribhuvanatha Prabhu!<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/-dqEsF7GBjis\/Vgfzr-Oxt5I\/AAAAAAAAUYs\/XaFQx_ePTJA\/s0\/2015-09-27_15-48-20.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>By Padmapani das<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This month marks the 14th anniversary of Tribhuvanatha Prabhu leaving this world.  In his memory, I&#8217;ve made some postings on Prabhupada Connect website in our &#8220;What&#8217;s New&#8221; section (for a total of six entries). Here&#8217;s one that you might find quite interesting:<br \/>\n&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;<br \/>\n<center><strong>Beirut 1978: A Season in Hell<\/strong><\/center><\/p>\n<p>Over the years, devotees and friends have asked me what it was like preaching and distributing Srila Prabhupada&#8217;s books in the Middle East back in the late Seventies and early Eighties. During that time, our main focus for book distribution was Beirut (Lebanon), Amman (Jordan) and Damascus (Syria). Beirut was our headquarters. For those unaware, there was a civil war raging in Lebanon at the time. After a long trip overland from England, I was surprised to discover the reality of the situation awaiting me because my good friend, Tribhuvanatha Prabhu, had failed to warn me beforehand. When we arrived in Beirut I said to Tribhuvanatha, &#8220;You didn&#8217;t tell me there was a war going on down here.&#8221; Tribhuvanatha replied, &#8220;Oh, I forgot!&#8221; Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I think the following selection speaks for itself. It was truly &#8220;A Season in Hell.<\/p>\n<p><center><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/-e2qjP2LmVUI\/VgfwhTaabCI\/AAAAAAAAUX4\/HOG6K0XrVDY\/s0\/2015-09-27_15-34-57.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/-ILHKfTkzAD4\/Vgfwp6wSQ1I\/AAAAAAAAUYA\/f0RSVBCQEHE\/s0\/2015-09-27_15-35-34.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/-YdrQzigfH_U\/VgfwxTSrx3I\/AAAAAAAAUYI\/i67qnyR8850\/s0\/2015-09-27_15-36-02.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/-kuW1ByBk7HU\/Vgfw5ElEDVI\/AAAAAAAAUYQ\/X3c6i3w_isQ\/s0\/2015-09-27_15-36-33.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/-0o7AWov297o\/VgfxAqsDgcI\/AAAAAAAAUYY\/KoPYBzzlzNM\/s0\/2015-09-27_15-37-04.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/-hl6uoWcq4GU\/VgfxGwQ1W-I\/AAAAAAAAUYg\/SOV_u4OXMkc\/s0\/2015-09-27_15-37-30.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/center><\/p>\n<p>(After seeing the above page (and reading about how Tribhuvanatha conveniently &#8220;forgot&#8221; to tell me there was a war raging in Beirut at the time), an old friend of his in the U.K. commented:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;That made me laugh. I&#8217;m glad I was married and he couldn&#8217;t talk me into it!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Tribhuvanatha &#8212; gotta love him!)<\/p>\n\n<h2>Remembering Tribhuvanatha Prabhu (1952-2001)<\/h2>\n<p><center><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/-75hRBnbBZDw\/ViDF0Y2OnoI\/AAAAAAAAVJc\/IBAESwMppFM\/s0\/2015-10-16_11-39-23.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><br \/>\n<em>(His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada and Sriman Tribhuvanatha Prabhu)<\/em><\/center><\/p>\n<p><strong>By Padmapani das<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>(Note: Tribhuvanatha Prabhu passed away on October 16, 2001, at the age of 49. He was an important and beloved disciple of Srila Prabhupada who led by example. I humbly encourage all devotees to learn about Tribhuvanatha&#8217;s love and dedication to Prabhupada by researching relevant articles, memories and videos online. He is still an inspiration to Vaisnavas everywhere.)<\/p>\n<p>An important feature of Srila Prabhupada&#8217;s mercy is the association of devotees which he has so kindly provided for our spiritual advancement and friendship. One such notable devotee and servant of His Divine Grace is our dear godbrother, Sriman Tribhuvanatha Prabhu. A sankirtana leader extraordinaire, Tribhuvanatha was always focused on preaching the holy names of the Lord. He had strong faith in the potency of chanting Hare Krishna &#8212; especially in congregation. His enthusiastic kirtanas and harinama parties were legendary throughout the world.<\/p>\n<p>Personally, I owe him a great debt of gratitude for engaging me in Lord Caitanya&#8217;s sankirtana movement and dragging me to the Middle East after Srila Prabhupada&#8217;s physical departure. His resolute determination to spread Krishna consciousness under any circumstances was an inspiration to all those who knew and loved him. He was loved so much because he loved Prabhupada so much.<\/p>\n<p>Tribhuvanatha Prabhu never claimed to be perfect. When he made what he considered to be a mistake or error of judgement, he would apologize and ask forgiveness. According to Srila Prabhupada, this is the sign of great character:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;To err is human. Anyone commits mistake. There is no doubt about it. But after committing mistake, if I stick to that mistake, that is foolishness. When it is detected that it is mistake, you must admit. That is greatness.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>(Srila Prabhupada morning walk conversation, 2\/1\/77)<\/p>\n<p>For those who never met Tribhuvanatha Prabhu, these are just a few of the many reasons why he was so popular among devotees. His love for Srila Prabhupada was undying, and he served Prabhupada without reservation, yet he wasn&#8217;t afraid to be human and admit his limitations. This made him all the more lovable and approachable to so many people from all walks of life.<\/p>\n<p>By his words and example he further solidified my conviction that the secret of success in spiritual life is to somehow get the mercy of Srila Prabhupada. I can think of no better gift to receive from anyone, and so I&#8217;m forever grateful to Sriman Tribhuvanatha Prabhu for his kindness and generosity of spirit. His association was a great blessing, and for me, to remember him is to remember Prabhupada as well.<\/p>\n\n<h2>Honoring Tribhuvanatha Prabhu<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/EZGZmjw.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><br \/>\n<!--<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.net\/v\/t31.0-8\/478248_446491928743105_1250642261_o.jpg?oh=f79b5c30190dab6bf05d902bb8487b44&oe=5A3C61B0\" alt=\"\" \/><!-- --><\/p>\n<p><strong>By Padmapani das<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Our dear Godbrother, Tribhuvanatha das, departed from this world on October 16, 2001. A lot has been written about Tribhuvanatha Prabhu over the years \u2014 his dynamic preaching programs, his ecstatic harinamas, his fired up classes, etc. &#8212; but I simply remember him as my best friend.<\/p>\n<p>Over the years there were so many special times that we shared together in England, India and the Middle East. Wherever we met the nectar always flowed with Prabhupada-katha. Sometimes due to flight delays and airport hassles we&#8217;d arrive at our destination late at night, but still we&#8217;d talk about Prabhupada into the early hours of the morning. Srila Prabhupada was always the priority when associating with Tribhuvanatha Prabhu.<\/p>\n<p>One of my favorite memories is traveling to Rishikesh in 1979 to study Srimad-Bhagavatam together and to bathe daily in the frigid waters of the Ganges during winter time. The kirtans were long and deep. At sunset one evening we came upon a glowing murti of Lord Siva sitting alone by the sacred river. His features were beautiful and glorious. Tribhuvanatha immediately started a roaring kirtan for His pleasure and it was divine. You can&#8217;t buy memories like that.<\/p>\n<p>I think the most important thing that I learned from Tribhuvanatha is that one can serve the spiritual master in any condition of life and under any circumstances. We joined forces just after Srila Prabhupada&#8217;s departure and from then on it was nonstop adventure and challenges. We had to quickly become self-reliant. It didn&#8217;t matter if we found ourselves in a safe situation or not, or whether we had lots of association or none at all. The main thing was serving Prabhupada. Service was our lifeline. So the Middle East program was great training \u2014 like being thrown in the water without knowing how to swim. It was sink or swim, do or die. The material world is a war zone and only the strongest survive.<br \/>\n <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.prabhupadaconnect.com\/Beirut_civil_war.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><br \/>\nTribhuvanatha was a soldier and a comrade-in-arms. I couldn&#8217;t have asked for better association. The war against maya isn&#8217;t over, but I have a great example to remember. Krishna is very kind to me because He knows that I need such an example to help get me through, otherwise I would have been crushed by the material energy long ago. Who knows if I&#8217;ll make it, but at least I have some hope and inspiration thanks to Tribhuvanatha Prabhu. In his last letter to me, Tribhuvanatha wrote:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I am a rascal No. 1 but somehow Srila Prabhupada has saved us. His pink Lotus Feet are our only shelter in life \u2014 everything else is a bubble in the sea!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Thank you dear friend.<\/p>\n<p><!--<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.net\/v\/t31.0-8\/12890868_1056213397770952_8809438394840590570_o.jpg?oh=4a30235f09b76fb701f325bb4f0da5a3&oe=5A764460\"\/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.net\/v\/t31.0-8\/11059574_929808960411397_6199384924181984865_o.jpg?oh=27ed1a6301511893cc37fa56b2988d22&oe=5A6E432E\"\/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.net\/v\/t31.0-8\/10012945_679172758808353_1300181369485416354_o.jpg?oh=997b648c6531437077b8cd33530af074&oe=5A3E9D90\"\/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.net\/v\/t31.0-8\/1410823_618718631520433_588894199_o.jpg?oh=b0bb8b7af4443a7302ae211b681f8b28&oe=5A3DDFF3\"\/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.net\/v\/t31.0-8\/1402221_601747189884244_408376674_o.jpg?oh=da00b3d2ec93b1c2c3ffd718981d4765&oe=5A8417C3\"\/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.net\/v\/t31.0-8\/1425257_600811919977771_898397821_o.jpg?oh=defdbac15a95611cc4da681d14213483&oe=5A798EC4\"\/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.net\/v\/t1.0-9\/1173727_569115996480697_213446333_n.jpg?oh=45af71be2608eb53fe223e1324685c0a&oe=5A3D9FD5\"\/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.net\/v\/t31.0-8\/1025321_535835796475384_1044901844_o.jpg?oh=71214ad75d9eb19fdc69157f3ec3bfce&oe=5A68C857\"\/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.net\/v\/t31.0-8\/476494_513897192002578_1337995272_o.jpg?oh=4c2ada7883fc887d65903e251cb2f4b2&oe=5A83D23D\"\/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.net\/v\/t31.0-8\/175530_430912163634415_1435955224_o.jpg?oh=7a08636c22b290972de1e9817ed46a92&oe=5A7C27E2\"\/><!-- --><\/p>\n\n<h2>A Letter from Tribhuvanatha Prabhu<\/h2>\n<p><center><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/-M34aT-OgMnU\/VcDOjXXqVmI\/AAAAAAAARzg\/sZzaALb2hGI\/s0\/2015-08-04_16-39-09.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/center><br \/>\n<em>Tribhuvanatha Prabhu (right) and Padmapani das (left) with Arabic Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Bombay, 1978<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Inis Rath, Ireland, February 23, 1992<br \/>\n______________________________________<\/p>\n<p>Note: After more than 20 years, I&#8217;ve decided to make the following letter available to devotees. I have to admit that I&#8217;m rather embarrassed to do so because the letter is quite personal at times. However when a great personality leaves this world it&#8217;s customary to make available his or her letters, writings and statements for posterity. I believe that we can all learn from Tribhuvanatha&#8217;s wonderful example of total dedication to Srila Prabhupada, and also from his dealings of love, respect and humility towards all those he met and befriended. I&#8217;m nothing special and certainly undeserving of praise, but Tribhuvanatha Prabhu always made everyone around him feel special out of his genuine kindness and compassion. In this way he touched and inspired so many souls around the world. Please note that his letter was handwritten and all spelling and punctuation here remain faithful to the original. Tribhuvanatha&#8217;s legacy lives on through the dedicated service of &#8220;Hare Krishna Festivals U.K.&#8221; vancha-kalpatarubhyas ca &#8230; Your servant, Padmapani das<\/p>\n<p>*        *        *<\/p>\n<p>Dear Padmaji!<\/p>\n<p>  Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Sri Parama Guru Srila Prabhupada!<br \/>\nI was in bliss to get your letter! I have heard you have phoned here but I was out. I am sorry.<\/p>\n<p>  Padmaji the truth is I have also been trying to get in touch with you, I wrote but the letters came back &#8212; Incorrect Address &#8212; I phoned that number many times but there is only an Answer Machine on. I even sent a letter with another devotee but it came back also.<\/p>\n<p>  Anyway this letter is a real rush as someone is going into town and they are in a hurry, so its short. Your Sentiments in your last letter were very much Appreciated by me as the feeling is mutual. I have also felt you are the only real friend that I can honestly say that I have had in Krishna Consciousness. I have also felt that your attachment to Srila Prabhupada is very deep, and I get great pleasure out of your Association. I also have to repay you for the offences that I have Commited at your feet (while deserting you in Cairo). I am a rascal No 1 but somehow Srila Prabhupada has Saved us. His pink Lotus Feet are our only Shelter in life &#8212; everything else is a bubble in the Sea!<\/p>\n<p>  I beg you to Come over to Ireland for a break!  we have so much going on here  the mood is like Vrindavan, peacocks  rivers and nice devotees, the deities of Sri Sri Radha Govinda dev! are Wonderful &#8212; I have a cottage here for you to stay and later we can go to India together! (with a stop off in dubai)  I just wrote today to Shankar Jiwnani &#8212; I visited him a couple of years Ago &#8212; he was very friendly &#8212; .<\/p>\n<p>  With regards to your good self I have always said that even if I saw you in the most abominable Condition you are always &#8216;Saintly&#8217;  you are always my &#8216;Guru&#8217;  my Guide to Srila Prabhupada!<\/p>\n<p>  Anyway Padma  I must get your Association Soon &#8212; we have lots of preaching here and we can go Again to the Middle East, but we will plan it better this time and use Ireland as a base! Let&#8217;s team up Again! even old Mahakrtu is here (from dubai days!) I am ready when you are. Allah Akbar! Ea allah La Ellah Mohamed ras allah!!<\/p>\n<p>  Please ring  you can reverse Charges!<br \/>\n  Send me a telephone NO!  so I can ring &#8212;<br \/>\n  Padma  I must go<br \/>\n  Please Contact Me!<\/p>\n<p>  Your Servant<br \/>\n  Tribhuvanatha das<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/PDhi1o2.jpg\" alt=\"Hare Krishna\"\/> &#8220;It was amazing how one person could have so many relationships with so many people &#8211; because he really did care, he really loved all the people he met.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[118],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-68985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-recent-media"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68985","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=68985"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68985\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80095,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68985\/revisions\/80095"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=68985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=68985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=68985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}