Don’t we all have that one special exchange with our beloved Guru Maharaj, that we just can’t stop talking about? Or the moment when we realize that dealing with our Spiritual Master, is not just dealing with the ordinary…
If you would like to tell us “Your Story”, we’re all ears! Please inspire us with your personal words of glorification for Guru Maharaj.
Glories of His Holiness
Serving in Bombay – A Special Place in My Heart
Guru Maharaja, the Juhu temple and Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihari have had a special place in my heart ever since the first time I visited and stayed there in 1989.
The first day after we arrived in Bombay, you sent us to the Kumbha-mela! We boarded the temple bus taking the devotees, but as there were limited seats, we sat on a thin mattress in the back. Nothing could have prepared us for the three and a half hours of being tossed from side to side and thrown up in the air, but somehow we made it to Nasik. The Kumbha-mela was striking, with all its sadhus, sites, and smells.
Unfortunately, I did not go for a bath at the auspicious moment, being too sick from the bus ride and wary of the crowds. I did not fully appreciate the wonderful opportunity I had been awarded to experience that colossal event. But I am so grateful that you made it possible for me to witness and participate in a Kumbha-mela.
I have such fond memories of being in your association in that historic Juhu temple. I was cooking for you in the little kitchen, and you would send back the chapatis, asking for them to be “more cooked.” I remember drying your clothes on the rooftop of the building Satyabhama and I stayed in.
We loved going out with you for programs at different ISKCON well-wishers’ homes in Bombay. Once, you took us to Sri P. L. Sethi’s house, where we met his family and had prasada. We also accompanied you to the Indian Institute of Technology for a program with the students there. Another time, we followed you walking in the sand on Juhu Beach and went to Srimati Sumati Morarji’s house. Her living room seemed like a museum to me, with all the relics she had collected from the Shrinathji temple in Nathdwara hanging from the ceiling. It was a transfixing moment to see her come down the old wooden staircase in her white sari with a little blue border and greet you affectionately, “Giriraj!”
On New Year’s Eve in 1989 we, your disciples, had a special darshan with you in your office. It started late in the evening and lasted until 2 a.m.! In your association we chanted, listened to Krishna katha, honored sweets that you kindly distributed to us, and tried to reply when you asked us about ourselves. As it was late, you said that we should end, but no one moved–we all just sat there. It kept getting later, and you repeated that a few times, but to no avail. Finally, getting up from your asana, you announced: “You all can stay here, but I have to go!” And with that, the darshan ended and your blissful children dispersed.
Since it was only a few hours to mangala-arati, Satyabhama and I decided to start chanting our rounds, attend mangala-arati, and take rest later. We remained on the same floor as your office, pacing up and down the hallway, chanting in the pre-dawn. What a wonderful way to spend New Year’s Eve, and it was also my birthday (for which you gave me a maha garland).
One of the longtime residents on the temple property once related to us a story of someone who had committed suicide in the building of the ladies’ ashram, where we were staying. There had since been a number of strange happenings in the building, she recalled, such as when someone once found himself in his bed on the rooftop–he had been transferred there from his room as he slept! We were afraid and found it difficult to retire to our room in the evenings. We used to hang around in the temple’s foyer for as long as we could and go to the room only when we were completely exhausted.
One evening, as we sat in the lobby chanting, you walked down the stairs and saw us. You inquired what we were doing there so late, and we disclosed to you our fear. You then advised us to keep Tulasi-devi in our room at night.
Following your instruction, we “stole” a tulasi plant from the tulasi garden and felt safe under her protection.
One time, after you gave a seminar on the struggle to build the Juhu temple–all the trials and tribulations leading to the acquisition of the land and building the temple for Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihari- Satyabhama approached you with a concern that she would not be able to retain much from your discourses. After listening to her, you cited a story about a man who had diarrhea and could not keep anything he ate inside. Emaciated and worried, he consulted a physician, who advised him to take a little ghee every day. The physician explained that most of the ghee would come out but that a little would remain in the body to nourish it. Similarly, if Satyabhama attended the seminar, at least something of value would stick in her mind.
When you returned to Bombay after some time, the devotees were delighted to see you and take your association and organized a homecoming celebration. We felt so blessed to be there with you and listened to various devotees speak with great appreciation for all you did on behalf of Srila Prabhupada for the glorification of Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihari. Haridas Prabhu said, “Giriraj
Maharaja is the blood and bones of this temple.” In his own quaint way, he was proclaiming your glory in being instrumental in realizing this monumental project that is Hare Krishna Land Juhu. At the end, in loving reciprocation, you threw flowers and garlands that you had been offered back
to the devotees.
Guru Maharaja, all I can say is thank you for awarding us this wonderful opportunity. I treasure these memories, and I am deeply grateful to Your Divine Grace for having given us such mercy. When, after seven months, it was time to go back to Mauritius, I was devastated. I prayed that Radha-Rasabihari might call me back, but They had other plans for me.
If ever an opportunity to serve you again in Juhu becomes possible by Srila Prabhupada’s mercy and your permission, it will be a wonderful blessing.
Your servant,
Vrindadevi dasi
“Serving Guru Maharaja in Bombay”
Serving Guru Maharaja in Bombay from 1990 to 1992 was sometimes a real challenge, because we had hardly any facilities.
In the beginning there were only three of us, not even initiated then: Bhakta Juan, Bhaktin Manju, and myself, Bhaktin Flor.
Cooking was done on the second floor in a small kitchen connected to the Bhaktivedanta Institute. Guru Maharaja always took his prasadam in his office, and as he liked hot chapattis, we were cooking them on the second floor and then running down the hall with them, one by one, to the office.
There were no mobile phones at that time, so lots of time was spent trying to find each other to get the messages through.
Serving Guru Maharaja in Bombay meant to be able to go with him to visit all those wonderful devotees who were present during Srila Prabhupada’s time—Mrs. Nirmala Singhal, Dr. C. P. Patel, Mr. P. L. Sethi, Srimati Sumati Morariji. They all received Guru Maharaja like a long-lost son who finally had come home.
Serving Guru Maharaja in Bombay meant witnessing how he gave himself fully to each and every person who wanted to see him, and everyone wanted to see him.
He never showed any concern for himself, whether he had eaten, taken rest, or had some time for himself.
Serving Guru Maharaja in Bombay meant being the lucky first three devotees that received initiation from him under the loving glance of Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihariji, and we became Vrindavan das, Janaki devi dasi, and Rasa-sundari dasi.
After our initiation, Guru Maharaja allowed us to collect guru-daksina in front of the restaurant. At the end of the day, when Vrindavan das told Guru Maharaja that because of his service, he had not been able to collect anything and so he had nothing to give to him, Guru Maharaja looked at him and said, “You need not worry about that—you have already given me your life.”
Serving Guru Maharaja in Bombay meant being able to see him many mornings on the altar doing the mangala-arati for Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihariji.
Serving Guru Maharaja in Bombay meant seeing him so expertly supervise the cleaning and maintenance of Srila Prabhupada’s quarters. He wanted us, the devotees, to do the cleaning and everything else there.
Serving Guru Maharaja in Bombay meant watching him go almost every morning after mangala-arati to Srila Prabhupada’s quarters and chant his rounds there.
Serving Guru Maharaja in Bombay meant meeting and serving so many of his wonderful godbrothers and godsisters who had served together with him during Prabhupada’s times, and seeing the love they all had for him.
Serving Guru Maharaja in Bombay meant realizing that you are not this body, when after ten or twelve hours of intense service you fell on your bed, the body completely exhausted and the soul inside completely blissful, wanting to do more.
Serving Guru Maharaja in Bombay was one of the happiest times in my life!
Contributed by the late Mother Aditya (Srila Prabhupada’s disciple)
“Mr. Cool”
Around the time that we were teenagers in America, one of the topmost worshipable qualities someone could have was to be “Mr. Cool” at all times, but especially in any tense or adverse situation. Giriraj Maharaja was certainly such a person who never got ruffled or emotional but could maintain his composure in all circumstances.
We especially saw this great quality of his in 1978 during the event of a murder that took place in front of the temple, in which some of the tenants tried to accuse the devotees of being involved. The police came and started arresting some of the devotees. They blocked the devotees from going out of the compound gate and took away passports. Two or three thousand angry people gathered outside the guesthouse entrance trying to break in. The crowd was shouting, “Giriraj go home! Yankee go home!” And they seemed really determined to remove Giriraj Maharaja from India altogether. But Maharaja very cool-headedly got on the phone and started calling some of his friends who were in high political positions. Finally, after several tense hours, the Chief Minister sent two hundred soldiers of the Indian Army, armed with rifles, to protect the devotees and Hare Krishna Land.
Another instance of his being “Mr. Cool” was that we had one godbrother who was the temple president of Calcutta temple and who had learned how to give curses. He also was of short temper, so on several occasions he cursed different devotees for doing something he didn’t like. One day, however, while visiting Hare Krishna Land, he got angry at Giriraj Maharaja and cursed him that his management would fail and the temple would go into great
debt. Maharaja was not in the least concerned, though, and went on with his service and as usual remained “Mr. Cool.”
Then a couple of months later we got the news that this godbrother for some unknown reason was no longer able to collect any funds and his temple had become greatly in debt. Later on we heard that Srila Prabhupada had said that a devotee’s curses worked, but if he tried to curse a pure devotee it would come back on himself.
Contributed by the late Aditya dasi (Srila Prabhupada’s disciple)
The Impossible Perfectionist
After becoming his secretary, I soon came to know of some of his high qualities, especially that he was a perfectionist in everything he did. But not just an ordinary perfectionist. He was so intense that one day I was analyzing that there must be different categories of perfectionist: (1) a perfectionist, (2) a super-perfectionist, and (3) an impossible perfectionist. It is almost impossible to please the “impossible” perfectionist.
Only the topmost, highest Vaikuntha standard can satisfy such a person.
One time Matsya Avatar Prabhu visited Hare Krishna Land, and Giriraj Maharaja took him on a tour of Srila Prabhupada’s quarters. Matsya Avatar, who was a professional interior decorator in Italy, gave some suggestions on how to make the quarters more attractive. After this, Giriraj Maharaja added some beautiful, costly carpets to the quarters. Then, looking down at the marble floor, he saw that the marble was laid down in pieces. So Giriraj Maharaja would line up the edge of the carpets with lines where the marble pieces would meet. If a carpet was even a 1/4th inch off from the line, he would not tolerate it, and I would have to immediately rectify it.
Another example was that whenever he would dictate his letters and reports, he would always choose each word so carefully. The sentence had to be so perfectly constructed that sometimes he would take as long as twenty minutes to dictate one letter. Everything he did was so perfect. In this way, I spent many years trying to serve him, constantly reminded of my lower position.
Contributed by the late Mother Aditya (Srila Prabhupada’s disciple)
Dramas
Occasionally, in the mandap of the small temple, the devotees would enact dramas of Krishna lila, or stories such as “The Boatman and the Scholar,” “The Bird in the Cage,” or other dramas. Giriraj Maharaja was usually one of the actors.
Even in 1978 or 1979, just after the grand opening of the big complex, he and Amoghalila and others would do dramas in the new auditorium, which the visitors loved very much. Even if the same drama was performed two Sundays in a row, still the audience was delighted to see it again and again. They were also very impressed to see the leaders of the temple doing dramas.
THE GREAT PANACEA
I was chanting in the servant’s room (next to Guru Maharaja’s room) early in the morning when the intercom rang. It was Guru Maharaja.
“Are you chanting?” he asked.
“Yes. Is it too loud?” I replied.
“No. It’s nice to know you’re chanting on the other side of the wall while I’m chanting on this side.”
And then he hung up. I could tell he was pleased. And it struck me how easy it was to actually please him – just try and chant nicely.
More and more over the years I’ve seen Guru Maharaja stress the importance of chanting nicely. Above all else, that has definitely been his overriding advice to me and others that I have spoken too — chant with attention; good japa is the great panacea for all our problems.
So I have to go now, back to South Africa, and I thought it appropriate to finish with this short anecdote because it encapsulates my main realization of this stay — be simple, chant nicely, and all success awaits.
Contributed by Her Grace Aditya dasi (Srila Prabhupada’s disciple)
Don’t Mess with THAT Brahmacari!
Some years went by, and in 1979 I went to America for three weeks. At that time I met my godbrother Adi Keshava Prabhu. While telling the story of how he became a devotee, Adi Keshava said that he and his friends used to go to the Boston Commons (a large park in downtown Boston) after college every day and that sometimes they would see the sankirtana party there. They used to like to harass the devotees by calling them bad names, imitating them, throwing things at them, and doing so many things.
But there was one brahmacari they could not harass. Adi Keshava Prabhu said that he told his friends, “See that one brahmachari! Don’t try to harass him. He is too together. Don’t mess with him! You cannot harass him.” So if that particular brahmachari was there, they did not harass that day. That brahmachari, of course, was you-know-who.
Contributed by Her Grace Aditya dasi( Srila Prabhupada’s disciple)
The Transcendental Debates
Another time, Giriraj Maharaja devised a plan to present the philosophy of the Bhagavad-gita by staging a transcendental debate every Sunday for the benefit of the visitors to the Sunday program. There were two sides: the Mayavadis and the devotees, or sometimes the demons and the devotees.
However, Giriraj Maharaja was so intelligent that if he played the role of the devotee he would without question defeat the philosophy of the Mayavadi. But even if he played the role of the Mayavadi, he would again defeat the devotee. If he was the demon, he would defeat the devotee. Whatever role he played, no one could defeat him!
After some time this became embarrassing and frustrating to the other devotees, who would always be defeated by him, so this Sunday Feast Program debate had to be discontinued.
Carpinteria July 2009
Walk
Guru Maharaja has just spent several weeks in Houston where it has been very hot. So hot,he said, that when he got out the airport at Salt Lake City, even with the temperature at 87 degree F he said it was a relief.
With that in mind he went for a very long walk at the seaside in this evening, walking and sitting on the beach for over two and a half hours in the cool sea air.
Carpentaria July 3rd 2009
Sweets.
Once, during the early days when Guru Maharaja was in India, he got very sick. At this time his parents happened to come to visit him. Seeing their concern over their son’s sickly condition, Srila Prabhupada assured them he would make sure he ate properly to regain his health and ordered Guru Maharaja to eat one dozen rasagulas everyday.
Today after lunch Guru Maharaja sent me to his room to fetch some sweets from his fridge. I came back with four boxes of different varieties of rasagulas made by the Dallas devotees. Guru Maharaja expertly identified each kind, and Carl, Stella, and Irene all took to their full satisfaction.
And Guru Maharaja did too, remarking,”After all these years I am finally able to fulfill Srila Prabhupada order.”
Contributed by Her Grace Aditya dasi (Srila Prabhupada’s disciple)
The Nectar of Devotion
One time Giriraj Maharaja made a policy that all the devotees must read The Nectar of Devotion. But because there were very few devotees then and so much service to do, no one really had the time. So he devised a plan that during the morning breakfast prasada someone would read a few pages from the book and then the next day after prasada he would ask a few questions about the previous day’s readings. A prize was given to the person who could answer the questions best.
This was fine for a short period, but every day without fail the same devotee would answer all the questions better than anyone else, so all the other devotees got discouraged, and gradually the program was discontinued.
Carpentaria July 5th 2009
Sweets?
Guru Maharaja has a very strict diet, and although it’s doing wonders for his health, his energy levels and his digestion, there’s not always that much for the tongue.
(Whenever I eat his leftovers, the first things I reach for are big doses of slat and olive oil to add a bit of zip to meal)
So, Guru Maharaja was telling us the story of having lunch with Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu. After the main meal, Guru Maharaja asked him, “Would you like a sweet?”
Knowing Guru Maharaja’s diet, Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu looked at him skeptically, “What do you have?”
“I have some cookies.”
“What are they made of?”
“Spelt.”
Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu couldn’t help but smile. “Oh, healthy cookies. Those aren’t sweets. Sweets are refined sugar and butter. That’s a sweet.”
Contributed by Mother Aditya (Srila Prabhupada’s disciple)
No Lady Secretary
On one occasion when Kirtanananda Swami came to Bombay, he told Giriraj Maharaja that he should not have a lady secretary. Immediately Maharaja called for Mukul, a young man from Rajasthan who was a professional typist. When Mukul arrived, Maharaja walked into my office and told me, “Mother Aditya, Mukul will now be my secretary, and he will come to the office to take over by 11:00 a.m.”
So with only a one-hour notice, I had to immediately shift my desk, almirah, and other office equipment to the lobby in front of Gopal Krishna Maharaja’s office, as I did not have any other place to go. Then after about five days, Maharaja called me into his office and said very sweetly and softly, “Mother Aditya, Mukul cannot do the work, so we would like you to just shift everything back into your office again.”
“Hot Seat”
As we were departing the ashram in the car one afternoon, Guru Maharaja said that his seat felt warm and asked whether the seat warmers were on. I checked and confirmed that they were not. He then considered that it was probably warm because the car had been parked in the sun for a while. He looked at me and commented, “I don’t like being in the hot seat!”
“The first duty of a manager”
Guru Maharaja once told me that the first duty of a manager is to see that the devotees are properly engaged. I regularly see that Guru Maharaja lives by this principle. Whenever any devotee visits him in a serving capacity, Guru Maharaja pays great attention to always see that the devotee is properly engaged. He very considerately first enquires what the devotees are able to and what they would like to do and then he engages them accordingly. He also often enquires from the devotee on what they did during the day to make sure that the correct engagement was taking place.
Contributed by Mother Aditya (Srila Prabhupada’s disciple)
The Glycerin Case
One day shortly after the grand opening of the Juhu temple, around 1979 or so, while I was typing in my new office, which was located directly across the hall from Giriraj Maharaja’s office, Maharaja came by and peeped in. Just at that moment I had been putting some lotion on my hands, which contained rose water and glycerin (a common thing to do, because Bombay air gets very dry in the dry season).
He stood there in the office doorway and asked, “What are you putting on your hands?” When I told him, he simply slightly raised his eyebrows and walked away. To this day I never dare to use such a thing again.
Carpentaria July 8th 2009
A new things since last year is that Guru Maharaja now asks for Tulasi-devi to be brought from outside into the temple room for when he is chanting. Tulasi is placed in front of the deities on a small table, and a maha-mantra sheet leans against her pot.
Today, Guru Maharaja was listening to a lecture during lunch in which HH Radhanath Swami described how Haridasa Thakura would also spend hours chanting in front of Tulasi-devi.
At the japa retreats, tulasi is also always present during all the japa sessions. She is a very potent addition to Sri Nama Prabhu.
Contributed by Mother Aditya (Srila Prabhupada’s disciple)
Beautiful Eyes
I came to India in 1973, when Giriraj Maharaja was in America for a few months because of illness. When he finally returned to India, I was told that I would be his secretary. Really I just wanted to go back to America in those days, and I started begging Tamal Krishna Maharaja to allow me to return.
But he simply told me, “Just look at Giriraj! Look at his beautiful eyes! He has such beautiful eyes. He is so pure and innocent. If you just stay here and serve him, you will become purified.” So I thought, “Yes, that’s what I want! I really want to become purified.” So in this way Tamal Krishna Maharaja was able to convince me to stay in India and become Giriraj Maharaja’s secretary.
“The End of the World”
Recently it was big news that there were many people in various parts of the world who believed that the world was going to end on December 21.
His Holiness Niranjana Swami referred to this during a talk to make a philosophical point, and Guru Maharaja, opening his hands to include all the assembled devotees, interjected, “Yes, they were right—the world has ended! And we are all in heaven!” He was saying that being in the association of exalted devotees means being in the spiritual world.
Contributed by Mother Aditya (Srila Prabhupada’s Disciple)
The VIP Flat
Before the temple and guesthouse were built, Giriraj Maharaja renovated one flat in E Block on Hare Krishna Land and decorated it nicely to accommodate visiting VIPs.
A few months later, his parents came to visit him, and Giriraj Maharaja accommodated them in that flat. One day as Giriraj Maharaja was walking up the stairwell (I happened to be walking down), his mother came out of the
flat, and when she saw him she immediately hugged him and kissed his cheek. He gave such a shocked look and said, “Oh, Mother!”
Carpinteria
July 8th 2009
***
Guru Maharaj called me into his room and, pointing to an overturn pillow in the middle of his bed, he asked, “ What’s that?”
I looked at the pillow and had no recollection of what happened there. I just looked back at him blankly.
“That’s when you brought the cushion from under the pillow to the car, you didn’t put the pillow back.”
And he was right; I was in such a rush to get the small cushion I hadn’t stopped to straighten up.
He then said that Srila Prabhupada explained the mood of ignorance is to do something slowly and untidy, the mode of passion is to do something fast and untidy and the mode of goodness is to do something fast and tidy.
July 10-12, 2009
Carpentaria
SOMA.
Guru Maharaj doesn’t really take normal salt any more, he takes soma salt. It has a cooling energy, moon (soma) energy.
Now that’s it’s full moon, Guru Maharaj has also asked me leave the blinds and windows open in the evening so the cooling moon rays can enter the room.
Also after his evening walk where he would normally sit and chant facing the sea, this time, his turned his chair to south to face the full moon in the night sky.
***
Contributed by the late Mother Aditya (Srila Prabhupada’s Disciple)
Morning Japa
Even in those early days when there was only the small temple of Sri Sri Radha- Rasabihariji, Giriraj Maharaja used to get up very early before mangala-arati and chant his rounds while walking around Hare Krishna Land. He used to chant so loud that we could all hear him in our rooms, and we would feel ashamed that he was already up and chanting while we were still sleeping. But we understood our good fortune because to hear a pure devotee chanting so early in the morning is very auspicious and purifying.
“The formula for good health”
In two discussions with devotees I heard Guru Maharaj speak about the formula for good health which is:
adequate rest, laughter and chanting Hare Krishna. Guru Maharaja also revealed how he had recently seen the aspect of laughter greatly help to improve a devotee’s health.
In terms of Guru Maharaja’s own practice of the above formula we often see how much he chants Hare Krishna and how he often he expresses humour and laughs a lot. As far as rest is concerned that is one aspect I am not so sure about.
WRINKLES.
Stella Prabhu has been doing the ironing. Guru Maharaj is very particular how to iron and fold his cloth. After showing her once how Guru Maharaj taught me to do it she got it immediately. The cloth when fully ironed is now relay expertly done.
She says it become like a meditation for her, like she is ironing out the wrinkles in her heart with each stoke of the iron.
***
Contributed by Her Grace Aditya Mataji (Srila Prabhupada disciple)
The Chatai Hut
The early days of Hare Krishna Land were unbearably austere. The brahmacaris had to live in a chatai hut located in the “Gandhi Garden” in the rear of the Land. This hut also housed six different species of rats and snakes, and there were red ants running all over the devotees’ bodies at night.
Prasäda was also not always regular, and sometimes for weeks there was only rice and dal to eat. Thieves would boldly come inside the hut and steal the devotees’ clothes off the lines. One never knew when one hung his clothes up to dry whether they would still be there later.
But Giriraj Maharaja never seemed to be the least bit concerned about all these bodily difficulties. Being on another platform, he would go downtown for preaching every day and come back to manage the temple affairs in the
evenings, maintaining his enthusiasm to serve in spite of all the austerities.
“WHAT IT MEANS TO BE TRAINED BY THE SPIRITUAL MASTER”
Guru Maharaja shared with us that he once asked Tamal Krishna Maharaja what it meant to be trained by Srila Prabhupada. Guru Maharaja further revealed to us that his impression was that Tamal Krishna would sit down with Srila Prabhupada and receive lessons similar to how a student receives lessons from a teacher. Tamal Krishna Maharaja however informed Guru Maharaj that it was not like that and that to be trained meant to receive training while performing service.
When Guru Maharaja revealed this understanding to us I could immediately identify with it because Guru Maharaja personally lives by this. Guru Maharaja is always taking great care and making great efforts to train us disciples in so many aspects of Krishna consciousness which I feel we would never have received had I not been given this wonderful opportunity to render personal service to him. Therefore my realisation is that personal service and association of the spiritual master is very important in being trained in Krishna consciousness.
MINIMUM
During my initiation Guru Maharaj asked, “How many rounds?” I answered “Sixteen rounds daily”. Guru Maharaj further added “MINIMUM”. I said, “Yes”.
This word MINIMUM always reminds me that Guru Maharaj wants me to chant more than sixteen rounds.
July 10-12, 2009
Carpentaria
SERIOUSLY.
While driving with Guru Maharaj I mentioned to him that the places in the South African Japa retreat have already all been booked up. He seemed surprised at how quickly that had happened, and pleased.
Then he was quiet for a while.
Then after driving for another block he said gravely, “I just hope they will take it seriously.”
***
Contributed by the late Mother Aditya (Srila Prabhupada disciple)
The Red Sweater
Giriraj Maharaja had an old red sweater that buttoned down the front, which he wore for many years on the morning japa walks with Srila Prabhupada on Juhu Beach.
It was his only sweater in those days, but he was so renounced and detached that that same sweater became famous, and it can be seen in many photos as he stood or walked with Srila Prabhupada on the beach.
“BEING A GOOD COOK”
One day after taking lunch prasada cooked by Radha-priya, Guru Maharaja told us that she is a good cook. Then he said that she is a good devotee. And then he said that because she is a good devotee, she is a good cook—the two go together. Guru Maharaja was emphasizing the importance of devotion in any service undertaken.
Contributed by the late Mother Aditya (Srila Prabhupada disciple)
Reporting to Srila Prabhupada
Giriraj Maharaja would sometimes send reports to Srila Prabhupada, but especially after the new temple construction started, he would regularly send reports to Prabhupada about what’s happening on Hare Krishna Land. One time, however, he had not written for a couple of weeks, so Srila Prabhupada wrote to him, “Where is my report? You should write every week.”
To prepare to write to Srila Prabhupada, he would walk around the land and chant many rounds–a minimum of two hours but sometimes for many hours–and then he would go to his office, calmly sit down, and dictate the letter,
carefully selecting each word. In the beginning of the letter where pranams are given, he would add a special thought, which was always so poetic and beautiful. Tamal Krishna Maharaja once told me that Srila Prabhupada enjoyed getting Giriraj Maharaja’s letters and especially enjoyed those extra lines he would always write at the beginning.
IT’S ALL THERE.
Another thing that struck me about this talk with Guru Maharaj was that all instructions and guidance we need to lead a happy spiritual life are in his lectures.
Here I am in his physical presence seeking advice about something and he is directing me to a series of recent lectures on the conference. Although he was kind enough to talk it through with me, his overriding advice was, you should read these lectures.
So it’s encouraging to know, no matter where we are, we always have access to his guidance right there, immediately.
“HUMAN SNOOZE BUTTON”
Mukunda prabhu previously sent us a lovely diary posting where he described how Guru Maharaja referred to his assistant as the human snooze button when we go to wake him.
One day Carl prabhu was talking to Guru Maharaja about using the alarm clock and enquired whether Guru Maharaja ever hits his snooze button. Guru Maharaja thought for a moment and then said “Well, if they come close enough I will hit them”. It was so funny that we all laughed.
“SERVE ME FIRST”
Guru Maharaja went to visit his Ayurvedic doctor and following his visit he was going to go to Radha Priya’s house for prasad.
When we had finished at the doctor’s Guru Maharaja called Radha Priya to let her know that he had finished and he enquired how the prasadam preparation was going. He also reminded her that there were also the three of us with him (myself, Bhakta Richie and Rasakeli mataji from Dallas) and asked whether there would be enough prasad for everyone. And then he added “Anyway, serve me first and then let the three of them fight over the remainders”. We all laughed.
When we arrived we all took wonderful prasad together, expertly cooked by Radha Priya, but unfortunately Guru Maharaj did not leave any remnants.
HUMAN SNOOZE BUTTON
After lunch Guru Maharaj takes a short rest. He likes me to come in after 30 minutes, lightly wake him and then leave. I’m then to go in 10 minutes later and wake him again.
He calls me his “human snooze button”.
Contributed by the late Mother Aditya (Srila Prabhupada disciple)
Karmi Clothes
Though he traveled to so many different countries, Srila Prabhupada always wore only devotee clothes, and so also did all his disciples. But some time
after Srila Prabhupada left, some sannyasis started wearing karmi clothes for flying abroad.
On one occasion Giriraj Maharaja was flying out if India and needed a hat to hide his newly shaved head. One devotee went all over the whole city of
Bombay looking for a suitable hat, but he couldn’t find anything, so Maharaja finally ended up wearing a cricket hat, which looked so funny with his other clothes (an American shirt and pants).
Another time Giriraj Maharaja had to go to Pakistan, so Mr. Asnani (a Bombay lawyer who helped Srila Prabhupada in the early days) helped him to get one
or two safari suits stitched.
It was so funny for us to see Maharaja wear karmi clothes on those occasions. Maharaja would come out of his office, and all the devotees would
stand around him, staring and trying not to laugh. We felt shy to see him in these different clothes.
A HANDY INVENTION
Guru Maharaj asked me to copy a verse from the Brhat Bhagavatamrta for him. He showed me the verse and then closed the book and gave it to me.
“But you’ve closed the book, how will I find the place now?”
“Baba,’ he replied, “ You see this?” pointing to the string bookmark attached to the spine of the book.
“This is a very handy Indian invention that you South African should know how to use.”
Here is more from Her Grace Aditya Mataji (Srila Prabhupada Disciple)
The Hare Krishna Land Brahmans
When I first arrived in Juhu the local residents told me an amazing story about Hare Krishna Land. It seems that there had been a small temple of Sri Ganeshji and Hanumanji on this land some four hundred years back. Five brahmans lived on the land and took care of this temple. Then some foreign government authorities came and took over the property by force, and made the brahmans leave.
The brahmans cursed the land, saying that there would always be unrest there. And they said that after several hundred years they would take birth in foreign countries and return to this very land and take it back again and chant the holy names of God here.
When the digging started for ISKCON’s new temple complex, sure enough some stones were uncovered which proved that there had indeed been such a temple existing here. So we can see that this prediction has come true and that perhaps Giriraj Maharaja might have been one of those brahmans.
In 1987 the ‘Zonal Guru’ system was in effect in South Africa. Every devotee who joined in a zone had to take initiation from the guru for that zone. The ‘Zonal Guru’ for South Africa was also the GBC and was a powerful and charismatic leader.
During one of his visits to the USA this person fell down and lost his position as guru and GBC. This was a catastrophe for the devotees in South Africa as they considered him a pure devotee and were bewildered by his fall down. There was much confusion amongst the devotees – both Srila Prabhupada’s disciples and grand disciples – and the South African yatra was in a precarious state.
Guru Maharaja was co-GBC and with us in Johannesburg at the time. When it was time for Srimad-Bhagavatam class Guru Maharaja sat on the vyasasana, opened Srila Prabhupada Lilamrta, read for an hour, then closed the book and left the temple room without addressing the major issue. This continued for several days. At first the devotees where confused but gradually we started to realize that the whole problem was that Srila Prabhupada had been sidelined by the Zonal Acharya system. By reading from Lilamrta every day, Guru Maharaja was firmly placing Srila Prabhupada in the center once again.
When Guru Maharaja started giving classes again he often used the analogy of punar musiko bhava or ‘again become a mouse’, letting us know what had happened to this leader without directly saying it when we were probably still too confused to hear it.
Guru Maharaja knew exactly what was going on when almost every other devotee in the yatra was bewildered. He also knew the remedy for the situation – always keep Srila Prabhupada in the center!
Srila Giriraj Swami Maharaja ki jaya!
I’m not a big fan of ice-cream. One ice-cream incident left me wondering though.
The incident occurred around 1990, outside of our Muldersdrift farm temple near Johannesburg. I was driving Giriraj Maharaja and another brahmacari to a preaching program. On the way back, we saw a former resident of the temple, who was selling ice-cream from an ice-cream van.
I alerted Maharaja about Bhakta Sidney, selling ice-cream. Maharaja said to stop. He winded down the car window and called out to Sid. After a few brief words, Maharaja said to him, “Bring some ice-cream, without the cones!”
Sid brought a container full of ice-cream. Maharaja asked the brahmacari and I to hold out our right hands, and he placed the ice-cream on to our hands.
I was naturally surprised and bemused at having ice-cold ice-cream this way. Already, it began to drip. Maharaja was laughing and enjoying the fun. We had no choice but to eat it as fast as possible. All the time I was wondering why? I didn’t ask. We were too busy trying to prevent a mess.
After finishing the ice-cream, with a sticky right hand, I continued driving to the temple. “Perhaps Maharaja is teaching dual enjoyment and renunciation,” I wondered. It was a fun incident that left wondering till today. It was the most profound, philosophical ice-cream I ever had, that’s for sure.
Ys Kesava Krsna Dasa.
WHO ARE YOU?
Guru Maharaj told the story how they are always encouraged to wear their nametags during the Japa retreats. There are often a lot of devotees for different parts of the world and this serves as a way to help remember who is who.
At one retreat he recalls how xxx making the announcement, “Tomorrow is the 64 rounds, remember to wear you name tags, some devotee have been know to forget who they thought they were after chanting so many rounds.”
***
A DISCIPLES’S DIARY – 26 JULY TO 4 AUGUST 2009
“THE MOST IMPORTANT VERSE”: In a discussion with Mukunda datta prabhu, a disciple of Srila Prabhupada, Guru Maharaja shared with us an important exchange that once took place with Srila Prabhupada and a disciple. The disciple asked Srila Prabhupada whether the verse “harer nama hare nama harer namaiva kevalam kalau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha” is the most important verse. Srila Prabhupada replied “No, this is the most important verse”
yasya deve para bhaktir
yatha deve tatha gurau
tasyaite kathita hy arthah
prakasante mahatmanah
Unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master, all the imports of Vedic knowledge are automatically revealed.
“A VALUABLE INSTRUCTION”
: While serving Guru Maharaja I had the good fortune of travelling with him to New Dwaraka temple in Los Angeles. There I briefly met one wonderful devotee from whom I received an important instruction. The devotee I met was Balarama das who is a disciple of Tamal Krishna Goswami Maharaja. Balarama das had the good fortune of being a personal servant to Goswami Maharaj for some time. When I was introduced to him by Krishna Kirtan prabhu it was mentioned to Balarama prabhu that I was Guru Maharaja’s personal assistant for a few weeks. Balarama prabhu’s response to me was a very spontaneous one and one that I felt was deeply realised. He said “Very nice. Your Guru Maharaja is your deity. He is your Krishna. Always remember this and serve him like this”. I was instantly touched and prayed to the Lord that I may understand this important spiritual truth about serving guru.
“YOUR DUTY IS TO SERVE”: Guru Maharaja taught me a valuable lesson about service on two occasions. The first took place while serving prasad. On two occasions I had served Mukunda datta prabhu, a godbrother who was taking prasad together with Guru Maharaja, second servings of rice but when I offered Guru Maharaja he did not want. On the third occasion that I served Mukunda datta rice I did not offer Guru Maharaja rice as I thought that he did not want any more rice. He then looked at me and said “you did not offer me rice!”. I responded that I thought that he did not want any more rice. Guru Maharaja’s reply to me was very emphatic “Your duty is not to presume. Your duty is to serve”.
I made a similar error a second time. Guru Maharaja had asked me that every night I should enquire from him whether he wanted me to put up the cloth blind in his bedroom. For a few nights I had enquired from him on whether he wanted me to put up the blind and he had responded that he did not. On one particular night which seemed to me to be very similar to the previous nights I failed to ask Guru Maharaja whether he wanted the blind put up. As I was about to leave he looked at me and said “I think you can put the blind up tonight”. Another valuable lesson learnt!
“KINDNESS”: One quality of Guru Maharaja’s that prominently stands out while serving him is his love, kindness and compassion.
Guru Maharaja always gives us a wonderful start to the day in the morning with a greeting that is so warm, kind and full of love: “How are you today? How are you feeling? Did you get enough rest?…..”
Guru Maharaja is also very concerned that we get enough prasad and he often enquires both during the day and the evening about this. Once I even witnessed him checking the pots to see if there was enough prasad for everyone.
He is also very thoughtful about our personal comforts. Recently in the car he enquired from Bhakta Richie whether he was alright. When Bhakta Richie replied that he was a bit cold Guru Maharaja instantly requested him to cover himself with his own jacket or cardigan which were on the back seat.
“She does not know who she is sitting on”
One day, the “child” in the ashrama, Radhe Radhe, sat on Guru Maharaja’s lap in the car. Guru Maharaja turned to us and joking said “She is just like the cows on Govardhana hill. She does not know who she is sitting on”. We all laughed and I thought, “so true, so true!”
“Serving Guru-Maharaja in Bombay” – PART 1
Serving Guru-Maharaja in Bombay from 1990-1992 was sometimes a real challenge, we had hardly any facilities. In the beginning there were only three of us, not even initiated at that time (Bhakta Juan, Bhaktin Manju and Bhaktin Flor). Cooking was done on the second floor in a small kitchen of the Bhaktivedanta Institute. Guru-Maharaja always took his prasadam in his office, and as he likes hot chapattis we were cooking them on the second floor and than running down with them to the office, one by one. There were no mobile phones at that time, so lots of time was spent trying to find each other to get the messages through.
Serving Guru-Maharaja in Bombay meant to be able to go with him to visit all those wonderful devotees who were present during Srila Prabhupada´s time: Mrs. Singhal, Dr. Patel, Mr. Sethi, and Srimatee Morariji. They all received Guru-Maharaja like a long lost son who finally had come home.
Serving Guru-Maharaja in Bombay meant witnessing how he dedicated all his time to each and everyone who wanted to see him, and literally everyone wanted to see him; Guru-Maharaja did never show any concern for himself whether he had eaten, taken rest or had some time for himself.
PHOTOS : https://www.instagram.com/p/BY5KVu7nRla/
A Disciple’s Diary: August 4 to 16, 2009
SRILA PRABHUPADA’S QUARTERS
On the day after Vyasa-puja, Guru Maharaja kindly took us up to Srila Prabhupada’s quarters and explained what Srila Prabhupada would do in each room, answering the various questions we had about Srila Prabhupada’s paraphernalia. It was a privilege and unique experience for us to hear firsthand from Guru Maharaja about Srila Prabhupada in his Western world headquarters. Here I also got to observe how attentive Guru Maharaja was to Srila Prabhupada’s service. I saw how he personally adjusted some of the picture frames that were not properly in place, how he moved Srila Prabhupada’s electric organ so that it was perfectly aligned, and how he closed some cupboard doors that were slightly ajar. I was thinking how much I have to learn from Guru Maharaja’s personal example.
KNOWING SRILA PRABHUPADA
On a few occasions Guru Maharaja mentioned to devotees that it is not possible to know Srila Prabhupada without knowing the history of ISKCON. Therefore, Guru
Maharaja said, devotees should try to understand the history of ISKCON. And every devotee should read Srila Prabhupada-lilamrta.
UPHOLDING ISKCON’S NAME
Some people informed Guru Maharaja about the standard of the prasada they had encountered at Govinda’s restaurant the previous Sunday. One point was that they had not found the usual cauliflower pakoras served on Sunday, and that in general, unlike other Sundays, they had not found much to eat within their Ayurvedic guidelines. We often have the tendency to take such complaints lightly, and we can also dismiss them, thinking of them as isolated. This was not the case with Guru Maharaja. In Los Angeles he personally met with the main devotee in the restaurant on Sunday and in a very nice way explained to him what the issues were and how he could improve the restaurant. This one incident struck me as to how much care and attention Guru Maharaja takes in hearing and addressing others’ difficulties and further, in making sure that ISKCON’s name is upheld.
EXPERIENCE GAINED, LESSONS LEARNED
Guru Maharaja often quotes Srila Prabhupada: “Good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment.” I learned many valuable lessons in my time with Guru Maharaja, and I pray to have many more such opportunities in the future.
“SERVING GURU-MAHARAJA IN BOMBAY” – PART 2
Serving Guru-Maharaja in Bombay meant being the lucky first three devotees that received initiation from him under the loving glance of Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihariji and becoming Vrndavan das, Janaki devi dasi and Rasasundari dasi. He allowed us to collect guru-daksina in front of the restaurant. When Vrndavan das at the end of the day told Guru-Maharaja that he had not been able to collect anything due to his service so he had nothing to give to him, Guru-Maharaja looked at him and said: “You do not worry about that, you have given me already your life”.
Serving Guru-Maharaja in Bombay meant being able to see him many mornings on the altar doing the mangala-artik to Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihariji.
Serving Guru-Maharaja in Bombay meant seeing him so expertly supervising the cleaning and maintenance of Srila Prabhupada´s quarter. He wanted us, the devotees, to do the cleaning and everything else there.
Serving Guru-Maharaja in Bombay meant watching him almost every morning after mangala artik to go to Srila Prabhupada quarters and chanting his rounds there.
Serving Guru-Maharaja in Bombay meant meeting and serving so many of his wonderful godbrothers and godsisters who all served with him together during Prabhupada´s times and see the love they all have for him.
Serving Guru-Maharaja in Bombay meant, realizing that you are not this body, when after 10 or 12 hours of intense service you fell on the bed, the body completely exhausted and the soul inside completely blissful wanting to do more… Serving Guru-Maharaja in Bombay was one of the happiest times in my life!
Kindly click on the below link to see some pictures from those days
:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BY5KVu7nRla/
Stories from service in USA.
I recently spent two weeks with HH Giriraj Swami, my Guru Maharaja, in Carpinteria, and I thought to share with you some small remembrances and reflections from my time with him.
“FINDING TIME AND SPACE” : One day while Guru Maharaja was having lunch, Kuntidevi was busy with her many services. At one point, from the kitchen, she let out an audible sigh. Later in his meal, Guru Maharaja also let out a sigh. When he had finished taking prasada and was on his way to wash up, he paused and said, “Just as Kuntidevi sighed because she has so much to do and so little time to squeeze everything into, I sighed because I have so much nice prasada to honor but so little space in my stomach to fit it in!”
“SHOPPING”: During one discussion, Niranjana Swami was telling the devotees how he resisted going shopping. Guru Maharaja commented that he was the same and added, “Put me before a crowd of 20,000 people and ask me to speak for three hours—no problem. But take me into a store to shop for twenty minutes—big problem.”
Guru Maharaja’s statement resonated with me when, during a lecture (available here at girirajswami.com), Niranjana Swami stated that pure devotees are very eager to speak about Krishna because their hearts are full of Krishna. I have also experienced that when we had to do some shopping, Guru Maharaja preferred to sit in the car and chant or walk in the park or along the sea and chant, rather than shop.
“NUMBER PLATES”: On a few occasions while in the car, Guru Maharaja would notice a car licence plate number and relate its numbers and letters to something Krishna conscious. While we were driving in Santa Barbara one day, the car in front of us had a number plate with something like SU12 RDR. Guru Maharaja looked at me and said, “Surrender.” On other occasions he noted “WTS” (Watering the Seed) and “KZN” (KwaZulu-Natal, a province in South Africa where many of Guru Maharaja’s wonderful disciples serve).
Stories from service in USA – (PART 2)
“SEEKING JUSTICE”:
During my stay I inquired from Guru Maharaja how we should deal with a devotee who has lost faith in Krishna consciousness because of hurtful experiences with senior devotees. When Guru Maharaja referred the question to Niranjana Swami one day during lunch, Maharaja’s response was that rather than getting too much into the events of the injustice itself—why it happened, or the failings of the senior person, or weaknesses of the devotee, or the details of the act itself—we should look at such experiences from a Krishna conscious perspective of faith in and surrender to Krishna. He explained that he was able to overcome his own difficulties only through deeper Krishna consciousness. Maharaja went on to stress that almost every one of us will at some point experience some “injustice” that will test our
faith. Thus it is the duty of the leaders and senior devotees in ISKCON to train devotees in how to Respond in a Krishna conscious way—to help them overcome such trials. It is always easier to change how we think and feel about an event or person than to change the event or person who has affected us.
“KRISHNA CONSCIOUSNESS TAKES TIME”:
Guru Maharaja often quotes Bhurijana Prabhu, who once told him, “Krishna consciousness takes time.” Guru Maharaja explains that Bhurijana Prabhu meant not only that it will take time before we become fully Krishna conscious, but also that we have to invest time in our Krishna consciousness—and in our relationships with devotees. During Niranjana Swami’s visit, I observed how much Guru Maharaja puts this principle into practice. He made an effort to spend time chanting with Maharaja, honoring prasada with Maharaja, going on walks with Maharaja, and discussing krsna-katha with Maharaja.
“GIVING”:
On my last day at the ashram, before I left for England, Guru Maharaja engaged me in selecting gifts (from his personal maha) for some devotees. We chose some socks and bead bags. At one point I noticed that the bead bags that Guru Maharaja was giving away had some nice, fairly new, counter beads attached, and I inquired whether I should remove them. Spontaneously, he responded, “No, no! When we give, we give everything! We do not hold anything back!” This mood was very striking to me, and later when I reflected on it more deeply, I considered how it typifies Guru Maharaja. When he gave his life to Srila Prabhupada, he gave everything; he did not hold anything back. In a similar way,Guru Maharaja also gives himself completely to Srila Prabhupada’s mission, to all devotees who approach him for shelter, and to all of his practices in Krishna consciousness.
Contributed by the late HG Aditya Mataji(ACBSP)-who served as secretary to Guru Maharaj at ISKCON Juhu, Mumbai (then Bombay)
The Preaching Kit
In those early days we had nothing but promises to give to the people we preached to. Then after some time we got some photos of different temples, Deities, and activities of ISKCON around the world. Giriraj Maharaja got a beautiful album and arranged the photos in a certain order for preaching. He called this album the “preaching kit.”
When we got that first photo album, it was such a big thing. We were so pleased to show it, specially to prospective life members. Finally we could show people something of what Srila Prabhupada was doing around the world.
But even before having that preaching kit, Giriraj Maharaja’s qualities were so attractive that he could easily steal the hearts of everyone, thereby enrolling many leading citizens of Bombay in the life membership program.
***
A WORKOUT
During lunch Bhakta Carl said Guru Maharaj should come to the beach with them this afternoon; take a break from their relentless editing schedule. “You can go boogie boarding.” Carl joked.
Then later I was serving the sweets (some ‘sweet’ rice that Kandarpa Prabhu had made). I brought around the bowl for seconds, asking Guru Maharaj if he would like some more.
He thought about it for awhile and then said, “Oh, okay…I’ll work it off when I go boogie boarding”
GRS Memories – Mukunda das
(these are from around June 1998 onwards)
FOOD / MEDICINE
Now that Vrajesvari Prabhu is in Los Angles, Kuntidevi Prabhu has been doing a lot of cooking for Guru Maharaja. And like most service she takes up, she’s really good at it. (Last ekadasi she cooked up a ten prep feast for lunch. We all struggled to make it back to our rooms, we ate so much).
She also takes Guru Maharaja’s health very seriously, often consulting with his Ayurveda physician, Dr Mishra about his diet.
She told me how one time she prepared a practically tasty preparation and after Guru Maharaj’s lunch she asked him if he had liked it.
He said, “you have to get used to the idea of food as medicine. If it digests well it’s good, if not then it’s bad.”
So it’s a real paradigm shift for her (or any of the cooks) to learn to cook with that in mind. But it’s working and with the care and attention she puts into his nutrition Guru Maharaja is getting stronger with each meal.
Here is another story from Aditya Mataji(ACBSP)
Do Your Scribbling!
One day, just after becoming his secretary, I told Giriraj Maharaja that “I know shorthand, so if you want to dictate some letters, I can take the dictation by hand.” He thought about it and later called me into his office.
As he watched me write in shorthand for the first time, he admitted that he had never seen anyone doing shorthand before. He said, “It looks like scribbling!” And thereafter, he used to call me and say, “Okay, Mother
Aditya, come do your scribbling. I want to dictate some letters.”
Following is one of the many stories about Guru Maharaj
told by Her Grace Aditya Mataji(ACBSP)-who left her body this year at Sri Vrindavan dham.
She served as a personal secretary to Guru Maharaj when he was the Temple President at ISKCON JUHU in Bombay.
The Boston Temple Commander
My first introduction to Giriraj Maharaja was even before I ever met him
personally. When I was in the Boston temple in 1972, the devotees there told
me about this wonderful brahmacari who had been the temple commander. He
used to work so hard all day–personally doing much of the temple service
plus going out on sankirtana, supervising temple activities, and engaging
devotees in service–that even until late at night, sometimes at 11:00 p.m.,
he was just then trying to chant his Gayatri mantras.
Though he had left Boston in 1970 to join Srila Prabhupada in India, the
Boston devotees could not stop talking about him and his wonderful
qualities.
Everyone knows Guru Maharaja’s commitment to fulfilling Srila Prabhupada’s instruction to him to write—and the intensity with which he is able to focus on his work. Hunger, weakness, exhaustion, poor health — none of them distract him when he is engaged in his service. He can seem to become transcendental to material concerns—even (or especially!) time—with a strength of resolve that shows the truth of his name (and tests the strengths of his assistants!).
But as Krishna can be defeated only by the love of—and His love for—His devotees, there is one thing so strong that it can break even Guru Maharaja’s steadfast concentration: his love for the devotees and his desire that he never lose their association. The one event at the ashram that never fails to bring Guru Maharaja away from his work and out of the temple room into the courtyard—no matter what weather or what time of day or night—is the departure of devotees. Whether many or one, young or old, godbrother, godsister, disciple, devotee, or friend, Guru Maharaja comes out to the courtyard for parting exchanges and blessings for a Krishna conscious journey (home and Back Home). He joins his hands in prayer and calls out Hare Krishna and spreads his arms in the air as they pull out down the driveway. If you are ever leaving the ashram and look back out your car window, the last thing you’ll see is Guru Maharaja, sending his love and blessings even as he disappears from your vision.
And then he goes back to his service.
Once in between 1988 to 1999 Your Divine Grace showered me with some unforgettable mercy. I was serving as Sankirtan Leader and head of the Goodlands Preaching Centre and was overwhelmed with service. Once during that time you came to spend some days at the farm. I was so “busy” that I did not come for any of your wonderful association, not even attending any class or not even coming to see you once. Then, you called for me. Gently you asked, ”So…how are you doing?” I thought that that was a perfect opportunity to let you know all the service I was engaged in so I very proudly told you about of all my activities.” Very patiently and very expertly you exposed me. After listening to my report you asked, “How do you know that you are doing well?” I was baffled. Unable to reply I realized that I had made a blunder. It became clear that it was a trick of Maya for one to think that he “is doing well”. I thought that physical service was priority over hearing from the spiritual master. I realized that I had taken your association for granted. All these thoughts came into my heart at once – you had gently taught me many lessons just with two questions.
From a Letter by His Holiness Satsvarupa dasa Gosvami dated December 22, 1989.
Anyone who knows Giriraj Maharaja knows that he is very nectarean person. I remember even from the early days. He was such a lovable young man that the karmis were immediately attracted to him. Many of us were crude, but he was very likable. I remember that one of our godbrothers said (back in 1969), “Giriraj is just a big gulabjamon.”; This was intended as a very favorable statement. He was the most staunch sankirtana man of all. In hot or cold weather he would go out with a little cloth bag to put his money, and holding that in one hand and Back to Godhead in the other hand, he would approach people one after another, despite insults (and people in Boston are very crude), he would go on with his sweet manner and come back with very large daily collections, his cloth bag bulging with coins and filled with bills also.