Appearanceday of Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja 2018

[Paramananda das]

Dandavat pranams at the lotusfeet of the vaisnavas I wish to be the dust at their lotusfeet
all glories to Srila Prabhupada and my beloved Gurudeva Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja

The first day in ISKCON temple for me was in early March 1979 and I was told Srila Prabhupada had left this world in 1977 ,so I was over a year and some months late since Srila Prabhupada had left but the desire to have a pure devotee as my Guru was there in my heart.Many years later in 1986 while serving in ISKCON Krsna Balarama temple I was asked by the temple president Damodara Pandit Prabhu to please go to Mathura and collect donationes and subscriptiones from Lifemembers and shops in Mathura for a Janmastami Souvenir that was done yearly .And he asked I stay in Kesavaji Gaudiya math where Srila Narayana Maharaja also lived.I was shocked staying in Gaudiya math ? I thought we are supposed to avoid Gaudiya math, but Damodara Pandit told me how Srila Prabhupada was close to Srila Narayana Maharaja and later I found out so many more things about their close relationship.Srila Narayana Maharaja surely did not disappoint , I would sit next to him when he gave morning class and he would translate for me in English afterwards he invited me in his room and to discuss more about his lectures.His lectures where out of this world one lecture was about how Laxmidevi had tried to enter the Rasa lila and could not and why she could not.Amazing lecture full of the description of Vraja prema and renounciation and the glories to Bhakti .So after this I used to go see Srila Narayana Maharaja every year when I went to Vrindavana , because surely he was a true sadhu I had no doubts. Devotees in ISKCOn started asking me about Srila Narayana Maharaja one of the persons I told was Dhanudhara Swami in 1989 so soon he and Tamal Krsna Maharaja started going to see Srila Narayana Maharaja , Giriraja Swami ,Bhurijana ,Sivarama Swami, Saccinandana Swami ,BB Govinda and Jadurani and so on . But he told me one thing always , if you want to understand Radha Krsna through you Guru Parampara you must chant minimum 64 rounds daily even if it seem at first like posion to chant so much :

syāt kṛṣṇa-nāma-caritādi-sitāpy avidyā-
pittopatapta-rasanasya na rocikā nu
kintv ādarād anudinaṁ khalu saiva juṣṭā
svādvī kramād bhavati tad-gada-mūla-hantrī

The holy name, character, pastimes and activities of Kṛṣṇa are all transcendentally sweet like sugar candy. Although the tongue of one afflicted by the jaundice of avidyā [ignorance] cannot taste anything sweet, it is wonderful that simply by carefully chanting these sweet names every day, a natural relish awakens within his tongue, and his disease is gradually destroyed at the root.
With the Swamis ,my Gurudeva talked to them about Vilapsa Kusmanjali and all kinds of esoteric subjects they might ask him .Srila Prabhupada told him in 1977 if any devotees comes to you for siksa from ISKCON please try to help them ,that was one of the last instructiones Srila Prabhupada gave Srila Narayana Maharaja . Anyhow later he started to preach in the west and many devotees that had left ISKCON due to bad management and falldown of their Gurus sometimes and even most often their own falldowns also so Srila Narayana Maharaja picked up all these devotees that ISKCON no longer seemed to have use for and he reinstated them in bhakti .He said I have no credit all credit goes to Swami Maharaja ,Srila Prabhupada but I am just giving some water to everyone bhakti like a dried up Tulsi that needs water ,so to their Bhakti lata .So he travelld all over the world from 1996 to 2010 where he gloriously gave up his body in Jagannatha Puri remembering Lord Caitanya and Lord Jagannatha and Sri Sri Radha Krsna .Some godbrothers claim over 20.000 devotees from around the world became his followers. Another devotee stated it is more like over 10.000 but we would have festivals and at least 1000 devotees would come ,everywhere he went . We had a festival in prince William Forest Park in end of May 2001 and for around 10 day Srila Narayana Maharaja gave lectures every day ,and we had Harinama in Washington DC with all 1000 devotees chanting close to Capital hill and White House also .Srila Narayana Maharaja went to the White house and please note this is early June 2001 and he had only one purpose he said I want to pray to Lord Caitanya for the president and all presidents to come and ask Lord Caitanya to bless and protect who ever become President.We all know a few months later the 9/11 terrorists where about to fly into the White house but was then ordered to fly into the Pentagon.Actually the White house whould have been flattened or severly damaged but Pentagon is so huge so it was just some office that got burned .I can say so many things about Srila Narayana Maharaja ,he was a Goloka Vrindavana man .Once when he arrived here in Washington DC airport, he told me how he chanted 192 rounds as he had chanted all the way from India to US on the flight ,for him it was a normal thing to do .But I knew he was encouraging me to chant more and more because he knew how much Iove to chant Japa .So on his holy apperanceday I pray for his mercy not only for myself and family and few students I have in Bhakti but for all my devotees friends in ISKCON and Gaudiya math ,I also pray for my Godbrothers and Godsisters that are in Kesavaji Gaudiya math and seving his mission around the world that he will always be present with them .There are also some of us that serve in Srila Prabhupadas ISKCON such as Mukunda Datta Prabhu the head pujari of ISKCON Vrindavana and so many other devotees and myself .dear Gurudeva pelase bestow pure bhakti on us all .I always liked to bring my Gurudeva jasmine flowers when I was Vrindavana I had offered to my Giriraja silas and he would welcome me with a beautiful smile only a Paramahamsa can give you
your humble servant
Paramananda das

Srila Prabhupada wrote him in one letter : Our relationship is based on spontanous love of Krsna