Eternally indebted to Śrīla Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja

At that time, Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja wrote a letter to Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Trivikrama Mahārāja, one of the three most prominent disciples of his dear godbrother and sannyāsa-guru Śrīla Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja. Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja wrote, “The greatest compassion of Śrīla Keśava Mahārāja was to make me a sannyāsī. I had taken a vow that I would never accept sannyāsa, but Śrīla Mahārāja forcibly gave it to me. He would certainly have been most pleased today to see the success of my preaching... I was a staunch gṛhamedi (one who is absorbed in household affairs). Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda used to come to me in dreams from time to time and call me to renounce family life and come along with him. The dreams would frighten me and make me think that I would have to accept sannyāsa. I didn’t have any desire to take sannyāsa. But upon the repeated insistence of Śrīpāda Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja, Śrīla Keśava Mahārāja bestowed boundless mercy upon this unwilling and blind person, by forcibly giving my sannyāsa. It seems that this desire of my gurudeva, Śrīla Prabhupāda (Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura), was transmitted into his heart, and it was thus that my sannyāsa was accomplished. So I am eternally indebted to Śrīla Mahārāja …”

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja says in this letter to Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Trivikrama Mahārāja that he is eternally indebted to Śrīla Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja, and so are we all. Where would we be if these great personalities had not come into our lives and preached to us? It is because of their pure preaching, their selfless service to their gurus, and their compassion that we are here today, hearing, chanting, and engaging in devotional service. Without their sacrifices and mercy, we would all be forgetful of our real nature, immersed in the illusion that this temporary world will make us happy.

In the letter, Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja lovingly remembers his sannyāsa-guru, who requested him to speak soon after his sannyāsa ceremony. At that ceremony, Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja spoke in english, even though most of the people present could not understand english. Later, he explained that during the time of his sannyāsa ceremony, he remembered his gurudeva Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Prabhupāda’s specific orders to preach in the english language.

The letter from Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja to Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Trivikrama Mahārāja continues, “I feel fortunate to accept sannyāsa from my godbrother Śrīla Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja. I have known him for a long time and he is my close friend. He is a very bona fide disciple of our Jagad-guru Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura. He has kindly given me this sannyāsa. Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja and Śrīla Muni Mahārāja have also given me inspiration to do this. The order of sannyāsa means to preach the mission of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and the mission of the guru everywhere. My gurudeva instructed me to preach in english in the Western countries and that is why I am writing english articles and books. I am praying to Kṛṣṇa, gurudeva, and all the Vaiṣṇavas that they should give me the power to preach this mission all over the world…”

Later in that letter, Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja asked for a picture of his beloved sannyāsa-guru, Śrīla Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja. “If you have any nice photograph of Śrīla Mahārāja, then kindly send it to me. I will get a life size oil painting made of it, and, along with a picture of Śrīla Prabhupāda, I will place it in my prominent centers, particularly New York, Hollywood, London, and so forth…”

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja could not come to the West at that time with Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja. Nonetheless, he continued to serve him without hesitation from India, sending him books, deities, mṛdaṅga, karatālas and so forth. He alone was there at the Delhi Airport to personally receive and welcome Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja after his groundbreaking preaching success in America. All through the years they regularly maintained a very close correspondence with hundreds of letters exchanged.

During Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja’s last conversation in this world, he told Śrīla Gurudeva, “Śrīla Prabhupāda (Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura) had a desire to preach all over the world…I tried my best to fulfill his desire. Now we should preach together…the mission of Mahāprabhu…”

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja promised him, “Although my qualification is limited I will try to help to the best of my ability.”

Finally, on that auspicious day of May 5, 1996, Śrīla Gurudeva came to preach in the West and began his first world tour. He started in Holland^[1], then went to england on the 15th of May, and then to America by the 6th of June. His first stop in the united States was Houston, Texas; then, he went to Los Angeles on the 18th of June. Visiting the ISKCON L.A. temple there, Śrīla Gurudeva wanted to see the sacred private living quarters of his śikṣa-guru (the bhajana-kutir of Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja). Inspecting the books on the shelves there, he said with happy recognition, “Oh, these are the Bengali and Hindi books I sent for him, for his personal use, thirty years ago!”

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

See “Śrīla Gurudeva’s Arrival in the West” for details about Śrīla Gurudeva’s first trip to Holland.