Śrīla Gour Govinda Swami’s Samadhi Safely Relocated

After the destruction of Śrīla AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad’s bhajan-kutir and Śrīla Gour Govinda Swami’s samadhi in ISKCON Bhubaneswar, Śrīla Gurudeva’s siddha-deha has been safely relocated to the new site in the Smṛti-mandira. The devotees, after consulting with engineers in Cuttack, used a small hydraulic machine called a pallet track (that can carry up to 10 tonnes), to transfer Gurudeva’s samadhi to the new location. It is an old system that is still used in India, which had not been seen by many Westerners. It was a monumental effort in some of the most challenging conditions, something that was not possible with modern technology and machinery. The achievement in itself is paramount to miraculous and in the end the ocean crossed was made to appear as if it was water in a calf’s hoof-print. As His Divine Grace would often quote,”Krsna can make the impossible possible, and the possible impossible.”

We are very grateful to the local people and the devotees involved who accomplished this monumental feat, especially Śrīvās Paṇḍit dāsa prabhu and Śrīpād Haladhara Mahārāja. Special thanks also go to Titikṣu prabhu and his good wife Jayantī Śrī for keeping the devotees who were not able to be present, up-to-date with the current events. This rare occasion will go down in history.

New samadhi site

Moving the Samadhi by pallet track

The event was followed by an ecstatic kirtan.