Sri Sri Guru Gaurangau Jayatah |
Auspicious Assembly
at Villa Govinda |
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Vrndavan
das Thakur has prayed in this way:
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"My Guru Maharaj is happy" |
Jewel-like Devotees |
In his constant affection and kindness to the devotees, His Divine Grace also moves outside and around to the front of Villa Govinda. Here, so many shining devotees, jewel-like in their Vaisnava qualities, sit before His Divine Grace, who stands out as the resplendent crown jewel of this beautiful, auspicious assembly. Villa Govinda is a beautiful and very old fifteen-room villa in the countryside outside of Milan. It sits regally atop a hillside with a beautiful view of the unfolding valley below. His Divine Grace has expressed his extreme pleasure with all of Villa Govinda and the devotional nature of the Italian devotees whose faith and dedication to Sri Guru has brought the seed-thought of this ashram into sweet fruition. A couple of days ago, Srila Gurudeva visited the old and beautiful church of Montevecchia, which sits on a hilltop to the west of Villa Govinda. His Divine Grace has displayed so much affection and appreciation for Italy and its pious culture of Catholicism. Many of the Italian devotees, including Krishna Kanta Didi, Munindra Mohan Prabhu, Tunga Vidya Didi, Janaki Vallabha Prabhu, and Madhurananda Prabhu, have family members living in the surrounding area who have come to receive the personal mercy of Srila Govinda Maharaj. His Divine Grace happily met with them and offered his affection and respect. The families are so blessed to have come in contact with grace personified. On the grounds of Villa Govinda there is an old, lovely statue of the Blessed Mother Mary. It is more than 100 years old and the father of Krishna Kanta Didi has restored it to its original radiant state. Upon seeing this image of Mary, Srila Govinda Maharaj smiled and said, "Oh, she is wearing Indian dress!" During one darshan, he commented that Mother Mary is also watching over the devotees here. |
A Visit to the Dairy Farm |
Spontaneous Outing to the River |
The Voice of an Angel |
On Sunday, as the kirttan for the noon arati was ending, the young son of a visiting Hungarian devotee wished to sing prayers to Lord Nrsimha. After starting, hesitating and stopping a couple times, young Golokapati (11-years-old), began to sing in a clear and pure voice, "Namas te Narasimhaya ." His manner was so devotional and sincere, and his voice was so charming and sweet that the few devotees present smiled to each other as they joined in the kirtan, acknowledging the special quality of this chanting. It was as if our hearts were caught off-guard and softened by this boys spontaneous desire for Harinam kirttan. Hearing the sounds from the temple room, other devotees began to enter. Soon, the temple room was full and everyone was singing the sweet Mahamantra. Srila Govinda Maharaj himself came to one door to peek in, asking who was singing and then looked through the second door. Afterwards, someone mentioned that Srila Gurudev was eating lunch in the adjoining room during the kirttan and was moving and tapping his fingers to the chanting. The assembled devotees continued chanting for a long time after the arati and only stopped to honor prasadam. As the blissful chanting ended, Sripad Ban Maharaj commented in Italian, "This boy has the voice of an angel." |
Holy Name floats down the hillside |
That evening, the arati, fired up by Sripad Siddhanti Maharaj and Sripad Paramahamsa Maharaj, continued for a long time and grew until it spilled out of the temple room. The blissful sounds of the Holy Names floated all around us and down the hillside to mingle with the church bells. This kirttan carried on with an unforgettable sweetness for nearly two hours. At one point, the Hungarian devotees gathered together with a guitar, mrdanga, bongos, and karatals to perform a Hungarian song about Harinam kirttan with lyrics in both the Hungarian and Bengali languages. The devotees sang and danced with a hint of their traditional culture. Soon, their song sounded more like a traditional kirtan and was beautifully led by Madhava Dayita Didi and Aninda Sundar Prabhu. In this mornings pre-dawn darshan, His Divine Grace spoke about how Sri Mahaprabhu has given special importance to two practices: sravanam and kirtanam. Srila Govinda Maharaj told us that it is necessary to hear about the glories of the Supreme Lord and His divine associates from the pure devotee. Secondly, the Kali Yuga dharma is sankirttan. This is the medicine for the conditioned souls. There is no other alternative to this most dear, sweet and ecstatic process. His Divine Grace said to "chant, dance and get joy in the heart." |
Lotus Words |
During one talk Srila Govinda Maharaj said that so often we are writing at the end of a letter, "Yours in the service of the Lord." He asked what this really means to us. Are we truly in the mood of giving ourselves totally in the service of the Lord or are these simply words that we use out of habit? To be raised to that platform, to give ourselves in service is not an easy thing. Here in Italy in the association of Srila Gurudev and all the devotees, we are finding such high examples of service and Vaisnava qualities. With their help we have some hope of developing these qualities and nurturing the faith necessary to follow in their footsteps. So, with the grace of Srila Govinda Maharaj, his holy world tour, and his merciful disciples and associates, we are receiving some assistance in this way. They are all helping to remind us of Sri Gauraharis beautiful message: by this process, devotion will be revealed in our hearts. Srila Guru Maharaj has told us, "Faith in the devotees, the Vaisnavas, grants us the most substantial help. Such a position is not flickering, but firm. One who has faith in the Vaisnavas achieves devotion of a tangible character." |
Immeasurable Mercy |
We give all honor and glory to His Divine Grace Srila Govinda Maharaj and all the Vaisnavas. Lord Gauraharis immeasurable mercy is flowing down to us through their compassion and grace. This blessedness has been pouring through our days and nights at the Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Maths lovely and transcendental Villa Govinda. We pray that we might become worthy to catch a drop of this mercy and join in the service of Sri Guru and the Vaisnavas. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur prays:
All glories
to Srila Gurudevas 20th World Tour! Offering
all obeisance, |