{"id":7433,"date":"2009-07-04T10:52:40","date_gmt":"2009-07-04T09:52:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/?p=7433"},"modified":"2009-07-04T10:52:40","modified_gmt":"2009-07-04T09:52:40","slug":"siddhanta%e2%80%99s-das%e2%80%99-%e2%80%9cmemories%e2%80%9d-series-sacred-recollections-of-shri-guru","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/?p=7433","title":{"rendered":"Siddhanta\u2019s Das\u2019 \u201cMemories\u201d Series: Sacred Recollections of Shri Guru"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Patita Pavana das Adhikary<\/strong><\/p>\n

One evening back in \u201969 at Boston\u2019s ISKCON Press, about a dozen of us devotees were honoring lunchtime left-overs of dal and chapattis in the prasadam room. Discussion naturally centered upon the most outstanding personality any of us would ever meet, Shrila Prabhupada. Who could be more remarkable than a pure devotee who had come from Vaikuntha to drag us one and all back to home, back to Godhead? Suddenly, a bearded intellectual who had followed us back from sankirtan at the Commons obliquely interjected into our conversation, \u201cI don\u2019t think your Swami would appreciate you constantly going on about him like this.\u201d There was a sudden cold hush as a dozen sets of eyes turned to rivet upon the newcomer, now fidgeting restlessly. Then a Mataji returned her attention to the guru-katha and, as though nothing had happened, continued transcendental narrations as though there had been no interruption. Mildly chastised, the bearded fellow fell silent, and learned to accept for the first time the pleasure felt by devotees when they hear the glorification of the spiritual master.<\/p>\n

Today, forty years later, conversations and recollections honoring the pure devotee are as relevant as they were then, perhaps even more so. As the Bhagavatam warns us, with each rising and setting of the sun, we find ourselves one day closer to our last moment on this earth. At that time, our faith in Shri Guru alone will save us. Indeed, conversation concerning the merits of the pure devotee is as good as discussions regarding the glories of the Lord, because the Lord is pleased when His devotee is honored. Our faith in Shri Guru as master and savior is honed and strengthened through katha.<\/p>\n

I recently dedicated two blissful weeks catching up with dozens of my old Prabhus and fellow sankirtan devotees via the wonderful \u201cMemories of Shrila Prabhupada\u201d series produced by Shriman Siddhanta das Prabhu. Knowledge is gained via submissive aural reception, Prabhupada often told us, and hearing from devotees about their love for Shri Guru is no different.. Just as each soul is an individual part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Shri Krishna, so the \u201cMemories\u201d series reveals each devotee\u2019s distinctive connection to Shri Guru. Far-sighted to the point of being visionary, Siddhanta Prabhu\u2019s \u201cMemories\u201d videos have preserved for posterity thousands of little episodes in the pure devotee\u2019s manifest appearance that might have been otherwise lost to time. Like Lord Matsya who saved the Vedas, Siddhanta’s technical skill used in Krishna\u2019s service is a Godsend. <\/p>\n

What wealth of this Earth can for a moment equal a single word that glorifies Krishna\u2019s most confident eternal servant? So far, over four dozen CDs\u2014averaging about an hour and a half each\u2014have been produced, and the collection keeps expanding. In one interview, my old GBC Shyamsundar shook uncontrollably as tears shot from his eyes as he remembered how Shrila Prabhupada nearly breathed his last in his arms, then within a few hours miraculously arose to take a walk as though nothing happened. The interview with Transcendental Diary author Hari Sauri answers the question, \u201cAfter a year and a half of constant association, which episodes would the personal servant of the paramhamsa find most noteworthy? And once again I touched bases with my old Prabhus like Indradyumna Swami and Jayadwaita Swami who, when asked to narrate topics the pure devotee\u2019s unlimited glories, find it difficult to stop speaking. <\/p>\n

From the street humor of Guru Kripa and Brahmananda, to the heart-warming and intimate narrations of Gurudas about Prabhupada\u2019s hippie days of the Haight, these glorifications reaffirm our commitments to forever remain a part of the great transcendental family created by a pure devotee of Krishna. In Vrindavana, Daivishakti devi takes us on a tour Prabhupada\u2019s of quarters from where His Divine Grace left the planet, and she shares her experience of dedicating her entire life\u2014in vapu and in vani\u2014as the maidservant at the personal quarters of Shri Gurui. The late lamented Mother Mulaprakriti, author of the superbly research Shrila Prabhupada: A Friend to All, shares with humor and loving detail her revelations about the real position of Shrila Prabhupada\u2019s mission. Arjuna, Malati, Bahushiras, Dhananjaya and many others each recall hisorical events that demonstrate Shrila Prabhupada\u2019s hidden supernatural abilities or mystic siddhis. Jayapataka Maharaja describes a little known episode of helping Shrila Prabhupada when he was being attacked by a venomous snake. <\/p>\n

Find out what a little boy felt when Prabhupada gave him a cookie, now that he\u2019s old enough to relate that experience. Listen while Suereshwara tells why Prabhupada preferred American Airlines to flying on a pigeon. Learn why Prabhupada hung up the phone on Tamal Krishna Goswami. Whether he was curing devotees of warts, pimples, indigestion or boils; or accepting flowers from a poor laborer in front of Bombay\u2019s wealthiest men, Shrila Prabhupada\u2019s taught us a new lesson with every word that came from his lotus lips. Since each devotee has a different relationship with Shri Guru, we find that some stories are heart rendering while others are sidesplitting. For Shrutakirti, Vamana Jana and Kuladri narrations of the spiritual master\u2019s sense of humor take on the tone of New York stand-up. The \u201cMemories\u201d series even brings us the memories of devotees who never met Shrila Prabhupada, but are sure they have.<\/p>\n

Devotees\u2019 narrations of their interaction with the acharya are so instructive that they easily teach us many lessons that augment our advancement in Krishna consciousness. It is sadhu-sangha pure and simple. Siddhanta\u2019s work is of the highest professional quality, and as a video editor he has worked with many celebrities and has won a number of prestigious awards. To learn about the professional aspect of Siddhanta\u2019s work, goto: www.itvproductions.com. To learn about the \u201cMemories of Shrila Prabhupada\u201d series, goto: www.itvproductions.org. Or dial 1800.310-VIDEO.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"HareBy Patita Pavana das <\/strong><\/p>\n

One evening back in \u201969 at Boston\u2019s ISKCON Press, about a dozen of us devotees were honoring lunchtime left-overs of dal and chapattis in the prasadam room. Discussion naturally centered upon the most outstanding personality any of us would ever meet, Shrila Prabhupada.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7433","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=7433"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7433\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}