Vyasa-Puja

Commemoration

 The Vyāsa-pūjā celebration for our beloved Gurudeva, His Divine Grace Śrī Śrīmad Gour Govinda Swami Mahārāja was held in Murwillumbah (Tweed Valley area), where many devotee families live. Numerous devotees attended the program, regardless of group affiliation, race, age or gender. All that attended received the booklet “The Meaning of Vyāsa-pūjā”, which was specially printed for the occasion of the Vyāsa-pūjā ceremony of our beloved Gurudeva. Everyone also received the booklet ‘Gour Govinda Swami Who Was He’.

Hari Bhakti prabhu sang very nice bhajans at the beginning of the Vyāsa-pūjā celebration, Kalyāṇa prabhu played very nice mṛdaṅga and cooked and organised the feast. Priya decorated the vyāsāsana ver nicely. Nandinī and Anurādhā Mātājīs made some really beautiful garlands. Dhriti Gopī Mātājī made two very wonderful cakes, decorated with hand made edible flowers, for our beloved Gurudeva and Hṛṣīkeśa prabhu led two very sweet kīrtanas.

By Gurudeva’s unlimited mercy we heard many pastimes of His Divine Grace that we had not heard before. Many did not want the program to end as they wanted to continue hearing the glories of our beloved Gurudeva and several asked when the next program for His Divine Grace would be.

 When I asked Tarun Kṛṣṇa prabhu what he thought of the program he said, “Amazing.”

All glories to the Divine Glories of His Divine Grace Śrī Śrīmad Gour Govinda Swami Mahārāja!

Thanks to everyone who came along and made this an unforgettable day.

What Devotees Said About the Program

“It was very inspiring to hear glorification of a highly elevated sad-guru in the association of so many wonderful aspiring Vaiṣṇavas.”

 “I felt Śrīla Gour Govinda Swami Gurudeva’s Vyāsa-pūjā festival at Nimāi Paṇḍita prabhu’s and Mañjumedhā mātājī’s home was a very special day because there were disciples from many, many gurus present. The understanding that we are one family from different branches of the same tree, and that our Guru’s are all intimately connected on many different levels was felt by everyone present. All glories to His Divine Grace Śrīla Gour Govinda Swami Gurudeva.”

 “The Śrīla Gour Govinda Swami Appearance Day festival program courtesy of our illustrious hosts Śrīmān Nimāi Paṇḍita dāsa prabhujī and Mañjumedhā mātājī and their dear family was a truly momentous occasion. The sun shone bright and warm, the mood was sweet; everyone embraced the opportunity to glorify a true Vaiṣṇava in a happy, festive mood. The world must surely have been created so that devotees could come together and celebrate their love of Śrī Śrī Guru and Gaurāṅga in such a fashion.

The celebration was well attended, not only with devotees coming from all directions, but with a truly unique sprinkling of senior devotees whose dedication to bhakti and śāstric erudition shone as they spoke so enthusiastically and affectionately regarding Śrīla Gour Govinda Swami and Guru-tattva. Many devotees spoke, and spoke well. The day commenced with sweet guru bhajans, kīrtana, personal offerings, puṣpāñjali and finally a sumptuous feast complete with two majestic appearance day cakes. The event was altogether a truly joyous occasion.”

 “Attending Gour Govinda Swami Mahārāja’s Vyasa-puja on 7 September 2013 was a pleasant experience. I had no direct contact with Mahārāja’s devotees before so for me it was the first time I met his disciples and well-wishers.  Everyone present at the occasion had a deep respect for Mahārāja, which kind of unified us. My favourite part was the homages: It felt like the red carpet was rolled out and all members in the room had special VIP access pass, just to have the good fortune to be sitting there. I found the homages to be deep and personal. As I have never met Mahārāja personally, the face-to-face memories stood out for me as most interesting. Each member had been deeply touched by Mahārāja in various ways and combinations- some through personal association, Bhāgavatam lectures, videos and/or books. This was another thing that unified us. The devotees’ speeches did not seem made up or boring at all. Each and every one of them shed some new thought, some new realisation, some new meaning. Śrīla Gour Govinda Mahārāja inspires every devotee who chooses to get his association, so it was wonderful to be in such a happy, peaceful and at the same time, surcharged atmosphere. An overview of Mahārāja’s life was being presented in between the homages. This added a nice flavour to the overall celebration. Many thanks to all the devotees who glorified Mahārāja so nicely and special thanks to Nimāi Paṇḍita prabhu and Mañjumedhā mātājī for bringing us closer to the amazing personality Śrīla Gour Govinda Mahārāja – the one who is always embraced by Kṛṣṇa.”

Vyāsa-pūjā for Śrīla Gour Govinda Swami Mahārāja was pure nectar like a water oasis for a man lost in the desert. All the homages of Mahārāja from his godbrothers – Śrīla  Prabhupāda’s disciples, from his own disciples and from others gave a hint of how great a personality he really was. This person, Gour Govinda Swami Mahārāja, can never be over glorified. Clearly he was a living saint-a mahā-bhāgavata and how lucky Iskcon and the world were to have him in our presence. Although he left his body in Māyāpur in 1996, his spiritual potency can be felt so strongly in his god brothers, in his disciples, his lectures and books. Surely A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Śrīla Prabhupāda will be very happy that he fulfilled his ambition to make at least one pure devotee. Gour Govinda Swami Mahārāja is just that. We can only hope and pray to Śrīla Prabhupāda and to Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa to again send us someone of this caliber. The whole program was very wonderful- the prasādam super excellent, the cake was icing on the cake and the homages sweet, sweet and sweeter. The hosts and guests made it a truly ecstatic spiritual occasion. I’m sure Śrīla Gour Govinda Mahārāja even though too humble to accept this glorification will be very pleased. Many, many thanks to Nimāi Paṇḍita dāsa and Mañju-medhā devī dāsī and all who attended for inaugurating such an event in Australia.