Śrī Vyāsa-Pūjā A
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Śrī v yāsa-pūjā Śrī vyāsa-pūjā 13 August 202013 A. The Appearanceof HisDay Divine Grace C. Bhaktivedanta Prabhupāda Swami THE MOST BLESSED EVENT The Appearance Day of Our Beloved Spiritual Master His Divine Grace Oṁ Viṣṇupāda Paramahaṁsa Parivrājakācārya Aṣṭottara-śata Śrī Śrīmad A. C. BHAKTIVEDANTA SWAMI PRABHUPĀDA Founder-Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness Śrī vyāsa-pūjā Śrī vyāsa-pūjā THE MOST BLESSED EVENT The Appearance Day of Our Beloved Spiritual Master 13 August 2020 His Divine Grace Oṁ Viṣṇupāda Paramahaṁsa Parivrājakācārya Aṣṭottara-śata Śrī Śrīmad A. C. BHAKTIVEDANTA SWAMI PRABHUPĀDA Founder-Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness 3 Set in The Brill and Futura Round Condensed display at The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust Africa © 2020 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust Africa The copyrights for the offerings presented in this book remain with their respective authors. Quotes from books, lectures, letters and conversations by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda © 2020 Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc. Cover and artwork courtesy of The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc. www.bbtafrica.co.za y www.bbt.org y www.krishna.com All Rights Reserved 3 CONTENTS Preface vii Acknowledgements ix THE MEANING OF VYĀSA-PŪJĀ 1 ŚRĪ GURVĀṢṬAKAM 5 Offerings by 4 SANNYĀSĪS 23 INITIATED DISCIPLES 39 GRANDDISCIPLES, GREAT-GRANDDISCIPLES & OTHER DEVOTEES 47 ISKCON CENTRES 277 THE BHAKTIVEDANTA BOOK TRUST 291 OTHER SOURCES 295 3 PREFACE 4 HEMANT BHAGA z THIS YEAR’S EDITION of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s reflect on one’s own life to understand the profound pan-African Vyāsa-pūjā book published effect of this mercy. by BBT Africa comprises 369 offerings A note on our editorial policy for this book: with contributions from more countries Offerings were reviewed for appropriateness but z across the African continent than in pre- were lightly edited for spelling and grammatical vious editions. consistency. Also, no diacritics were added. In short, As we come together as the African yatra in we’ve mostly published the offerings as we have glori fication of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedan- received them. ta Swami Prabhupāda by this public expression of This publication is our humble attempt as grati tude, we should also consider our good fortune the African yatra to glorify His Divine Grace A. C. to have Śrīla Prabhupāda’s mercy. Bhakti vedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder-Ācārya It is through his compassion and legacy in the of the International Society for Krishna Conscious- form of his institutions, teaching, literature, and ness and The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. exemplary example of Vaiṣṇava character that enables us both individually and as a society to par- Yours in the service of Śrīla Prabhupāda, ticipate in Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s saṅkīr- Hemant Bhaga tana movement. Personally, one simply needs to BBT Africa 3 vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS z BBT AFRICA WOULD LIKE TO EXTEND its deep- Śrīmatī Hemanthi Bhaga, Śrīmān Kṛṣṇa-jñāna est gratitude to all the devotees for their Dāsa, Śrīmatī Mathurā-maṇ ḍala Devī Dāsī, sincere offerings to Śrīla Prabhupāda Śrīmatī Naimiṣāraṇya Devī Dāsī, Śrīmān Nanda and express its appreciation to those Kishore Dāsa, Śrīmatī Rādhādhyuti Devī Dāsī, z devo tees that assisted others in the sub- Śrīmatī Raslila Devī Dāsī, Śrīmān Śrī-Govinda mission of their offerings. Dāsa, Śrīmatī Tirumala Devī Dāsī, Śrīmān Utpala It is by your enthusiastic contributions that BBT Dāsa, and Śrīmān Visvambhara Dāsa for their Africa is able to publish this annual pan-African, service. Śrīla Prabhupāda Vyāsa-pūjā book. Special acknowledgements to Śrīmān Rūpa We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Sanātana Dāsa for the design and layout and to the dedi cated team of Śrīmatī Ana-Lucia Cheon, extended BBT Africa team members for their guid- Śrīmatī Bhakti-rasa Devī Dāsī, Śrīmatī Caer- ance, support, and leadership. ish Bhim, Śrīmatī Dvārakā Vasini Devī Dāsī, 3 ix THE MEANING OF VYĀSA-PŪJĀ 4 ŚRĪVĀS DĀSA nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāmin iti nāmine namas te sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇe nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto His Divine Grace Śrīla A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, who is very dear to Lord Kṛṣṇa, having taken full shelter at His lotus feet. Our respectful obeisances are unto you, O spiritual master, servant of Bhaktisi- ddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī. You are kindly preaching the message of Lord Caitanya and delivering the West- ern countries, which are filled with impersonalism and voidism. z TODAY MARKS the 124th most auspicious spiritual master’s appearance, and the spiritual appearance of jagad-guru His Divine master represents Śrīla Vyāsadeva, the compiler of Grace A. C Bhaktivedanta Swami Pra- the original Vedic scriptures. bhupāda. This most auspicious event of The material world is characterized by igno- z Prabhupāda’s Vyāsa-pūjā is a delightful rance and symptomized by the misidentification of and memorable moment for the world at self with the body. For millions of births, this bodily large, particularly for members of isk- conception of life has perpetuated the living enti- con, who heartily celebrate it, for with- ties’ miseries and will continue to do so unabated as out His Divine Grace’s coming, the world long as this misconception prevails. Consequently, would have been devoid of iskcon’s bub- the whole world is caught up in a universal confla- bling Kṛṣṇa conscious activities. Thus, gration, just as poor forest animals are scorched by Vyāsa-pūjā is the commemoration of the a blazing forest fire. 1 The Vedānta-sāra (11) advises: janana-mara- by enlisting amenable souls in the process of pure ṇādi-saṁsāranala-santapto dīpta-śirā jala-rāśim iva bhakti. upahāra-pāniḥ śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭhaṁ gurum The teachings of pure bhakti emanate from upasṛtya tam anusarati — “Just as person whose Kṛṣṇa Himself, who is the original guru, or tran- head is on fire runs towards a body of water, one scendental teacher. Long ago, out of His causeless burning from the fire of material existence of birth, mercy, He disclosed this divine knowledge of bhakti death, old age and disease, must run to a guru for to catur-mukha Brahmā, the premier living being relief. Such a guru must be fixed in the Absolute in the universe: tene brahma hṛdā ya ādi-kavaye Truth and well-versed in the scriptures. One should (Bhāgavatam 1.1.1). Brahmā in turn imparted this approach him with all that is needed for sacrifice, knowledge to his son and disciple, Nārada, and submit to him, and be ready to carry out every Nārada in turn enlightened Śrīla Vyāsadeva, the instruction.” literary incarnation of Kṛṣṇa, who appeared in this Hence, the relevance of the appearance of the world to compile the Vedic scriptures. Thus, Śrīla ācārya, or the transcendental teacher of spiritual Vyāsadeva graciously appeared in this world to science. The above-mentioned verse clearly delin- expound the Vedic knowledge to alleviate the eates the reason for a bona fide guru’s appearance: miseries of all living entities, as stated in the first to ameliorate the untold miseries of the entrapped Canto of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: living entities by propagating Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The ācārya appears, therefore, to provide anarthopaśamaṁ sākṣād respite and refuge to mitigate the pangs of this bhakti-yogam adhokṣaje blazing fire. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhāku- lokasyājānato vidvāṁś ra’s encapsulates this in the first verse of his Śrī Śrī cakre sātvata-saṁhitām Gurvaṣṭaka, or eight prayers to the divine spiritual master: “The material miseries of the living entity, which are superfluous to him, can be directly mitigated by saṁsāra-dāvānala-līḍha-loka- the linking process of devotional service. But the trāṇāya kāruṇya-ghanāghanatvam, mass of people do not know this, and therefore the prāptasya kalyāṇa-guṇārṇavasya learned Vyāsadeva compiled this Vedic literature, vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam which is in relation to the Supreme Truth.” (Bhāga- vatam 1.7.6) “The spiritual master is receiving benediction from Bhakti-yoga is the linking process to Adho kṣaja, the ocean of mercy. Just as a cloud pours water on He who is beyond the reach of the senses, or the a forest fire to extinguish it, so the spiritual mas- Supreme Personality of Godhead. The ācārya, who ter delivers the materially afflicted world by extin- comes in a sequence of authorized spiritual teach- guishing the blazing fire of material existence. I ers from Śrīla Vyāsadeva and thus represents him, offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet appears in the material world to expedite the dis- of such a spiritual master, who is an ocean of auspi- semination of devotional service. The spiritual mas- cious qualities.” ter’s hallowed appearance heralds a blessed dawn As the legitimate bearer of the Supreme Per- for fortunate souls eager to ask the transcendental sonality of Godhead’s causeless mercy, the spiritu- messenger about the goal of human life and how to al master extinguishes the blazing fire of material solve life’s problems. Hence the relevance, solem- existence by disseminating transcendental knowl- nity, and auspiciousness of celebrating Vyāsa-pūjā. edge to all severely afflicted conditioned souls and In the Bhagavad-gītā, Lord Kṛṣṇa says: Śrīla Prabhupāda 2 Vyāsa-pūjā 2020 tad viddhi praṇipātena “One should know the ācārya as Myself and never paripraśnena sevayā disrespect him in any way. One should not envy him, upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ thinking him an ordinary man, for he is the repre- jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ sentative of all the demigods.” (Bhāgavatam 11.17.27) Out of His enormous compassion for the jīvas “Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual and for their benefit, the Supreme Personality of master. Inquire from him submissively and render Godhead manifests Himself as the spiritual master. service unto him.