Vyāsa-pūjā Homage
First of all let me offer my most humble obeisances at the lotus feet of my dīkṣā-guru, nitya-līlā-praviṣṭa oṁ viṣṇupāda aṣṭottara-śata Śrī Śrīmad A. C. Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Prabhupāda.
Then let me offer my most humble obeisances at the lotus feet of my śikṣā and sannyāsa-guru, nitya-līlā-praviṣṭa oṁ viṣṇupāda aṣṭottara-śata Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja.
Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura once gave a description of the establishment of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism through a most wonderful analogy. He explained that the prema–bhakti given by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has been established in the form of a mandira. The foundation of the mandira was constructed by Ādi Śaṅkarācārya by demolishing Buddhism and re-establishing Vedic dharma. The construction of the mandira itself was done by Rāmānujācārya and Madhvācārya by establishing the superiority of kṛṣṇa-bhakti over monism. He then explained that it was Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu himself who came and installed the deity of prema in the mandira for all to take darśana.
I have extended this analogy by adding the following developments: It was Śrīla A. C. Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Prabhupāda who brought all the people of the whole world to take darśana of that deity through the global establishment of Mahāprabhu's mission and through the copious distribution of his books; and it was Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja who explained to the people who came to take darśana in the mandira the many deep hidden truths in those books and the prayojana–tattva of that deity of prema.
Travelling extensively throughout the world, Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja has single handedly revealed the ultimate conceptions of the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava siddhānta for the benefit of all fallen conditioned souls, especially those already practising Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism but who were unable to access these truths due to lack of genuine sādhu-saṅga. He came at a time when such people were lost and meandering in a mire of misconceptions and false ideologies such as ṛtvik and prabhupāda-anugas, as well as institutional dogmatism, fallen gurus and so on. He also saved us from the many misconceptions we had about our Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings on the actual practice and goal of bhakti.
Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja's unparalleled exposition of the depth and meaning of Śrīla Prabhupāda's praṇāma-mantra, and his producing an entire book on the subject, demonstrates both his unmatched realization of the subject matter and his deep devotion to Śrīla Prabhupāda and his mission. This, in and of itself, has been the most significant contribution to understanding the mission of Śrīla Prabhupāda that has ever been given by any of his disciples or followers.
In his clear and unambiguous explanation of the verse anyābilāṣitā–śūnyam, Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja has established the 'gold standard' definition of pure bhakti for the benefit of the entire world. He has clearly delineated that the actual process for attaining the path of rāgānuga-bhakti is sādhu–saṅga, and he has given the proper conceptions of bhāva and prema and how they are similarly attained only through sādhu-saṅga. He has revealed the depth of what it actually means to be a rūpānuga Vaiṣṇava, and the difference between the bhakti of other Vaiṣṇava sampradāyas and the bhakti-rasa of GauḍīyaVaiṣṇavism. By so doing he has cleared the path of all misconceptions so that we can attain the highest goal. His relentless and clear explanations of the paramount importance of sādhu-saṅga as the only method to obtain the lofty peaks of pure unalloyed devotional service and the moods of the inhabitants of Vraja are unmatched in modern times.
Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja has given the most compassionate and insightful descriptions of the principles described in the verse tṛṇād api sunīcena. He has elaborately delineated the proper development of the Vaiṣṇava moods of humility, tolerance, empathy and compassion for others, and he has shown in word and deed how these spiritual emotions are the ornaments of a surrendered disciple and are a prerequisite for actually receiving the gifts of the sādhu. Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja's extraordinary ability to perform spiritual surgery on the hearts of his disciples and followers, to bring them to this platform, has been the key to his success and the cause of eliciting such single minded devotion from his followers.
Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja's biography of his gurupāda-padma Śrīla Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja, has introduced to the world one of the dear-most servants of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura. Without understanding his contributions to the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava sampradāya, our understanding of our Śrīla Prabhupāda and Śrīla Gurudeva are incomplete. In particular, Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja's commentary on Śrīla Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja's Rādhā-Vinoda-Viharī Tattvāṣṭakam, one of the crown jewels of Vaiṣṇava poetry, has given us a deep insight into the special place of honour that Śrīla Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja holds in the annals of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism.
The fine, finer and finest points of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava siddhānta in relation to prayojana–tattva have been brilliantly elucidated by Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja in the most succinct and sublime manner. This knowledge has been made accessible to the entire world through the translations, commentaries and lectures presented in his books. His extraordinary talent in describing the moods of the inhabitants of Vraja has been so lovingly presented in such an illuminating manner that it touches the core of everyone's heart, from the neophyte to the paramhaṁsa. By benevolently dispensing these moods in such a tasteful manner, he has made the essence of vraja-bhakti rasa accessible, to be relished by all.
Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja has heroically revealed, and preserved in his writings, the most secret treasure of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism which is known as rādha-dāsyam, bhava-ullāsa-rati. Explaining this concept in his lectures on Rāya Rāmānanda Samvād, he describes how the object of the mañjarīs' permanent ecstatic emotions (sthayī-bhāva) is actually Śrīmatī Rādhikā, and that Śrī Kṛṣṇa becomes the object of their transitory emotions (sañcārī-bhāva). These temporary emotions, in turn, serve to nourish their suhṛd-rati for Śrīmatī Rādhikā. I think that nowhere in the writings of the Gosvāmīs will we find this concept more lucidly and clearly explained.
This mood of the mañjarīs , delivered through the agency of prema-nāma saṅkīrtana, is the unique contribution of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and has not been given since the previous day of Brahmājī. Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja has shown the world that this mood is the only aim and object for all rūpānugas.
The above mentioned contributions of Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja have clearly established him as the prayojana-ācārya and the vaiṣṇava-sārvabhauma of the modern day worldwide Vaiṣṇava Community. Only those souls who are non-envious can recognize that these divine ornaments decorate His transcendental personality.
If I had a million mouths, speaking twenty-four hours a day, three hundred and sixty-five days a year, for hundreds of years, I could not properly glorify the unlimited qualities and contributions of Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja. He personally pulled me out of the dark well of material life and forced me to accept the nectar of bhakti-rasa laced with renunciation. I am forever grateful to him for his unlimited mercy upon this fallen conditioned soul, and I pray that I may in some way always remain sheltered by his lotus feet.
vāñchā-kalpa-tarubyaś ca kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca
patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ
Svāmī B. V. Bhāgavata
Our Beloved Guardian
A Heartfelt Tribute