Srila Gurudev's Pastimes (5)

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Vyasa Puja of Srila B.S. Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj
Sri Nrisingha Palli, the main festival programme
1 January 2021, part 6, translated from Bengali

You can see now that Srila Gurudev travelled all over the world and established temples in more than 130 places, having travelled twenty-four times on world tours, having visited over a hundred countries total. Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj travelled abroad many times, and Gurudev travelled twenty-four times, sometimes visiting 25-30 countries at a time. I have also gone with him, and I have visited even such places where there is no daylight—the whole day there is night (the sun does not rise); when I went there at another time, I saw that there was no night—the whole day is daylight (the sun is in the sky the whole day and night). People from these kinds of countries became attracted to Guru Maharaj [Srila Govinda Maharaj].

Gurudev also went for preaching to Colombia—when he came there, he was guarded by people with machine guns and pistols! Guru Maharaj spoke in English, and devotees translated in Spanish. After the lecture, one man, armed with a pistol and wearing big boots, came and fell at Guru Maharaj's feet, asking him, "Can you please give me beads? I will chant the Holy Name." I still keep a photograph taken of that man on that day. When we went to Russia, Gurudev told me, "Have you packed the luggage?" I said yes, and Gurudev said, "Keep some beads with you, do not pack everything into the [check-in] luggage. Keep some beads with you at hand." I thought, "What should one keep beads on the plane for?" but Guru Maharaj told to keep, so I had to keep some beads with me. In the end, it turned out that when we were on the plane, some Russians came to Guru Maharaj and said, "We have been looking for Guru Maharaj for such a long time. We have heard about him, but we did not know where he was. We want to take shelter of Maharaj." And Guru Maharaj gave initiation in this kind of situation! They have no culture, nothing, but they have a heart.

That is why, I always remember what Srila Prabhupad Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur said, "Is everyone who takes initiation a disciple?"

In his last days, Guru Maharaj [Srila Govinda Maharaj] became upset and left Nabadwip. He declared my name on 4 December, 2009, and I went for preaching in Australia. After Australia, I went to Malaysia, and there I received a phone called from Guru Maharaj, saying, "Can you come back?" I said, "I have just arrived in Malaysia." Guru Maharaj said, "Come back within seven days." I was supposed to have an eleven-day tour in Malaysia, but I cut it short and returned directly to Nabadwip within seven days. As soon as I came, I went straight to Guru Maharaj's room. When I came, Guru Maharaj showed me a letter he had been given (somebody wrote a long one-page letter to Guru Maharaj, which upset Guru Maharaj very much). Guru Maharaj said, "I am going away from here tomorrow. Guru Maharaj, protect this temple. I will not stay here any more. There is no more anugatya (devotional adherence) in this world. I do not want to stay in this world." Leaving Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math in Nabadwip, Guru Maharaj came to Dum Dum Park, Kolkata. Some time later, I came to Dum Dum Park too. I sat by Guru Maharaj's side, and Guru Maharaj said, "You have brought many people. I have given initiation to many people, but how many people have actually become disciples?" Srila Prabhupad Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur said, "One does not become a disciple just by taking the mantra or initiation. A disciple is one who can take disciplining [who can tolerate, digest, and follow, chastisement], who can accept strict adherence to the Guru." These days, people think, "If I take initiation, I will get this big temple, big building, big room..."

This is what Gurudev said...

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