Founder Acharya His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

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Srila Prabhupada Smaran Utsav: A Glorious Tribute to the Founder-Acharya held in Mayapur
By Aseem Krishna Das   |  Dec 31, 2024
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Subhag Swami performing the abhishek of Srila Prabhupada’s murti.

An event to glorify Srila Prabhupada, “Srila Prabhupada Smaran Utsav,” was organized in ISKCON Mayapur from December 21-23, 2024, on the occasion of the most sacred 85th Vyasa Puja ceremony of Subhag Swami. “Smaran Utsav” means a festival to remember, and thus, many esteemed disciples of Srila Prabhupada graciously attended the event. They shared treasures stored within their hearts gathered from their association with Prabhupada.

Subhag Swami inaugurated the grand festival and delivered the inaugural address, stressing the importance of following the four regulative principles and maintaining purity of character. He reiterated Prabhupada’s statement that “Purity is the force” and emphasized that without internal purity, our devotional life is hollow and lacks substance. He also delivered the morning Bhagavatam class on the second and third days of the program.

Throughout the day, Srila Prabhupada’s disciples glorified Prabhupada to their hearts’ content. Here is a brief summary of their offerings:

Basu Ghosh Das

He stated that Prabhupada was a messenger of Krishna and the previous Acharyas. A messenger is one who does not change anything. The Vedic knowledge has been transmitted since time immemorial, and Prabhupada aimed to spread this knowledge as it is throughout the whole world. He also stressed the importance of reintroducing the Sanskrit language for Vedic studies.

Bhakti Raghav Swami

He glorified the miracle performed by Srila Prabhupada. Millions of people from all over the world have joined the Krishna Consciousness movement, which, he said, would not have been possible without the mercy of the Supreme Lord. He noted that Prabhupada was an empowered devotee who fulfilled Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s desire, and we are fortunate to witness this miracle in our time.

He emphasized four areas that Prabhupada focused on within the overall movement to spread Krishna Consciousness: first, the Sankirtan Movement, which includes harinam sankirtan and book distribution; second, the establishment of preaching centers and temples; third, the training and education of people in Krishna Consciousness at these centers, including congregational preaching; and fourth, establishing a classless society based on daivi varnashrama principles.

Rameshvar Das

He shared his experience as a former trustee of the BBT and as a book distributor during Prabhupada’s time. He recalled how Prabhupada once invited all the sannyasis and leaders in ISKCON to Los Angeles to encourage them to expedite book printing. He cited a specific incident where, when a devotee asked how to increase the book distribution score, Prabhupada advised him to chant his rounds nicely, stating that good chanting would enhance distribution. As a result, devotees began to rise at 2:00 am to chant their rounds.

He concluded that there is no other service more dear to Prabhupada than translating, distributing, and printing his books.

Sarva Drik Das

He glorified Srila Prabhupada as if speaking with four mouths. He mentioned that Prabhupada established 850 temples and preaching centers as shelters for the pious souls who wanted to seriously engage in Krishna consciousness. He noted that Prabhupada delivered hundreds and thousands of lectures and classes that are now available online, and he established temples in Mayapur and other dhamas as well. Through his philosophy, Prabhupada defeated atheism. He urged everyone to reflect on the hardships Prabhupada endured when he first went to America, saying, “This was all a manifestation of Srila Prabhupada’s love for the Lord, love for his guru, and love for every individual on this planet.”

Jayapataka Swami

He mercifully took time to attend the festival, reminiscing about Srila Prabhupada’s many pastimes and highlighting how he expertly handled different situations, recalling specific pastimes involving Subhag Swami.

Mahaman Das

He shared various pastimes of Srila Prabhupada, referring to him as the lion son of the lion guru, Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Gosvami Prabhupada. He remembered how Prabhupada advised that one should possess the courage of a British soldier but the heart of a Bengali mother.

Bhavanand Das

He recounted many interesting pastimes of Srila Prabhupada, including how he enjoyed sitting in a beautiful garden he had created for him in ISKCON Mayapur. Once, Prabhupada asked him, “Why are they not coming?” implying why people were not visiting Mayapur. Prabhu explained that, around 1975, only around one tourist bus visited ISKCON Mayapur once a week. He believed that Prabhupada would be very pleased today, as thousands now visit ISKCON Mayapur daily.

He also recounted the incident in the 1980s when ISKCON was attacked by miscreants, resulting in him and some other devotees, including Pankajangri Das and Subhag Swami, spending some days in jail. His narration brought joy to everyone with his sweet memories.

Bhakti Nandan Swami

Next, a disciple and former personal servant of Bhakti Rakshak Sridhar Swami, Prabhupada’s godbrother, glorified Prabhupada as his Siksha Guru and recalled wonderful pastimes of him with Sridhar Swami.

He shared that when he was around 12 years old, he had the opportunity to have darshan of Prabhupada at least five times in Chaitanya Sarasvat Math, Nabadwip, during 1968 when ISKCON Mayapur had not yet manifested. He recalled the time when Prabhupada first arrived at Mayapur with his Western disciples, and Sridhar Swami arranged an extensive program in Chaitanya Sarasvat Math to welcome Prabhupada to Nabadwip Dham after his successful preaching mission in the West.

He expressed his extreme fortune in witnessing Sridhar Swami and A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada discussing Hari Katha, sharing pure nectar while discussing verses from the Bhagavad Gita and Bhagavatam for hours. He joyfully recounted how Prabhupada once blessed him by touching his head and remembered providing necessary items for Prabhupada’s oil massage, observing Hari Sauri Das perform the massage.

Many other disciples of Srila Prabhupada shared their realizations, including glorifications by Murari Hari Das, Sankarshan Das, Gokul Das, Satvik Das, Kripanidhi Das, Janmastami Das, Upananda Das, Bhakti Purshottam Swami, and Srivas Das. Lastly, I must say that the three-day event passed in a moment for us. These three days were filled with joy, reflections, and realizations. I acknowledge my inability to recall and mention all the wonderful revelations made by Srila Prabhupada’s disciples here. I am attaching the link for the videos of the event with this article.

Subhag Swami expressed gratitude to all his godbrothers for their kind participation in the festival. The program concluded with the Abhishek ceremony and pushpanjali for His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. The devotees offered Srila Prabhupada 108 different dishes. All Prabhupada’s disciples were respectfully seated, and they lovingly honored the Lord’s divine prasadam while reminiscing about Prabhupada. Around ten thousand devotees also enjoyed the Lord’s prasadam in a separate pandal.

Life is full of bliss and ananda for the followers of Srila Prabhupada. We are blessed to have taken shelter of Prabhupada. He has brought millions of people in contact with Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Sri Sri Radha Krishna, showing them the way towards an eternal life of joy in the divine realm of the Lord. The disciples of Srila Prabhupada are fortunate, as their lives are filled with the nectar received from their association with him. Prabhupada’s love for his disciples is fathomless, and hearing about his dealings with them from their own mouths serves as a window to the spiritual world. Listening to such pastimes purifies our hearts and gives us transcendental joy. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

For more photos from the event, click here. To watch videos of the three-day event, see the links below: 

Day 1 : https://www.youtube.com/live/EwvE6kpKKLY?si=12lEuQi6IkS1C0MM

https://www.youtube.com/live/kL99nrBQEks?si=22XGiTRkQFi3redm

Day 2: https://www.youtube.com/live/ph4TKRoyetQ?si=PYxxccizzz5WDNug

https://www.youtube.com/live/pvm5eED3AA0?si=ywh2-FZoxN-puZYi

Day 3: https://www.youtube.com/live/GN-6nlbzKqM?si=o2xmRaluz1q24Mts

 

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