There Are Too Few Like You

[Vijaya Baladeva das]

Diary of a Traveling Monk

Volume 11, Chapter 12

November 22, 2010

By Indradyumna Swami


There Are Too Few Like You


Dear Purnacandra Goswami,

Please accept my most humble obeisances. All glories to Srila
Prabhupada.

It was with great sorrow that I heard about your sudden departure from
this
world. Although we regularly hear about these things in sastra and are
constantly preparing ourselves for such inevitable events, somehow
when they
actually happen we seem totally unprepared. And so it is that I can
hardly
believe you are no longer among us.

Your departure leaves a deep sadness in my heart. It is said that time
heals
all wounds, but this maxim does not hold true with the departure of
Vaisnavas. In fact, the wound only becomes deeper as we remember their
personalities and the contributions they made to this historic
movement,
which is establishing the teachings of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu all
over the
world.

No doubt your departure was auspicious because you have gone back to
Godhead. Be that as it may, you have left us - your godbrothers,
disciples,
and friends - lamenting. Your return to the spiritual world is a gain
for
the devotees of that transcendental abode but a tragic loss for us.
Not only
for us, but for all the conditioned souls who might have met you, had
you
stayed a little longer.

A devotee of your caliber is always focused on the mission of his
spiritual
master: to shed light on the science of Godhead for the benefit of
others.
When such a preacher departs, that light goes out, and the world
becomes a
little darker.

You and I were friends. Some people say such things casually: "Oh, so
and so
is my friend," or "Yes, I know him. He's a friend of mine." But
friendship
in Krsna consciousness is not a casual thing. It is a special blessing
of
Krsna to be cherished as dearly as life itself. It is not based on
shared
material desires but is established on and matures through service to
guru
and Gauranga. It goes deep and is relishable because of the blissful
experience of preaching Krsna consciousness together.

The camaraderie that you and I shared in our preaching in England,
Russia,
and India was always enlivening for me. We seemed to have a natural
attraction to each other, even though we were different in many ways.
But it
is said that opposites attract. I tend to be outgoing and social,
whereas
you, because of your humility, were often shy and reserved. Still, as
different as we were, we shared many interests, such as kirtana,
lecturing,
and annual visits to Sri Vrindavana Dhama.

In fact, it was your strong attraction to Vraja bhakti and your
determination to achieve it by spending as much time as possible in
Sri
Vrindavan Dhama doing bhajana that endeared you to me. You would spend
many
a Kartika in the dhama studying sastra and chanting the holy names
with
fixed attention.

Because you were well read, you had a deep understanding of the
scriptures
and a unique ability to communicate this to others. That was evident
in the
classes and seminars you gave, which were always popular with the
devotees.
Because of your limited preaching field, you were not well known
within our
ISKCON movement, so I was happy when the GBC acknowledged your
abilities and
had you convene and chair the Sastric Advisory Committee.

I'll never forget the time your sastric knowledge saved my lowly self
from
embarrassment. One Kartika I joined a large parikrama party going to
Visrama
Ghat on the border between Vrindavana and Mathura. It was headed by
Radhanath Swami and attended by many other illustrious godbrothers:
Deena
Bandhu Prabhu, Bhakti Caitanya Maharaja, BB Govinda Maharaja, and
others.

Hundreds of devotees from around the world had filled the many buses
that
took us on the parikrama. By Krsna's arrangement I was sitting next to
you.
At one point we received a message from Radhanath Swami saying that
all the
godbrothers would be asked to speak for a few minutes. I immediately
became
anxious because I knew little or nothing of the pastimes that took
place at
Visrama Ghat.

When I mentioned this to you, you smiled. "Write down what I tell you
as
notes," you told me, "and you can use them when you speak."

You went on to describe the pastimes at Visrama Ghat in great detail
with
many anecdotes and realizations as revealed by Visvanath Cakravarti
and
others. You suggested I read the notes until we arrived at the holy
place so
that when I spoke about the knowledge you'd shared with me it would
seem
natural. Just before we arrived you quizzed me on everything to be
sure I
knew it all by heart.

When we arrived at Visrama Ghat, some seven hundred devotees sat down
at
that auspicious place, with the godbrothers facing them in front. I
was
called on to speak first. As I took my place at the microphone I
glanced
over at you, and you winked, giving me assurance that everything would
be
all right. I began to speak, and because I had read my notes
repeatedly the
lilas and pastimes flowed easily from my mouth. It was a wonderful,
transcendentally satisfying experience.

Afterwards many devotees complimented me on my talk, even Radhanath
Swami.
"I had no idea," he said, "that you were such a rasika devotee with
such
deep realizations and understanding of sastra." In all honesty, I had
no
choice but to tell him the truth, that I had learned these things from
you
just an hour earlier.

So I was saved from having to show my lack of knowledge, and I thank
you
once again. Though younger than me and with fewer years of devotional
service in this lifetime, you were in fact more advanced than me in
every
way.

I find it regrettable that you did not receive the recognition you
deserved
during your lifetime. Sometimes such acknowledgement places a devotee
in a
better position to share his knowledge and realizations with others,
who
benefit from his saintly association.

There are too few like you, Maharaja, too few willing to sacrifice
anything
and everything for preaching the mission of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
Especially after taking sannyasa, you were busy all day every day in
various
ways, sharing your good fortune with others.

I will miss you. Your godbrothers and godsisters will miss you. Your
disciples will miss you. And the people of Bosnia, Croatia, and Russia
will
miss you though they know it not. In reality, a great catastrophe, a
great
calamity, has befallen society: a capable and faithful Vaisnava who
was
doing the highest welfare work has departed. Hundreds of billions of
ignorant souls cannot compare with one humble Vaisnava like you.

The world does not know what it has lost. We know, however, so we are
remembering you and keeping you close to our hearts. But I do not feel
that
we are alone. The service rendered by you and by other devotees like
you
will be recognized by the denizens of the higher planets. Why not?
Surely
your spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, recognized you, and he is the
sum
total of all the demigods.

On the day of your samadhi ceremony, I, like many others, offered you
my
final respects and my most humble prostrated obseisances. I would
consider
it my great fortune should I serve alongside you in a future lifetime.

Your servant, friend, admirer, and godbrother,
Indradyumna Swami

Indradyu...@pamho.net
www.travelingmonk.com
Audio lectures: www.narottam.com
Facebook: Indradyumna Swami