20240519 Remembering Śrīla Gopāla Kṛṣṇa Goswami Mahārāja

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-gurun dina tāriṇam
paramānanda-mādhavam śrī caitanya īśvaram

Jayapatākā Swami: Hindi is not my mother tongue. I will try a little. My practice is to speak Bengali. This was, I was for one and half months in Delhi. Have learnt a bit of Hindi now. I had been with His Holiness Gopāla Kṛṣṇa Goswami Mahārāja from 1968. I invited him to participate in the lotus footprints installation in Vṛndāvana. In Mumbai, he had participated. He agreed. But surprisingly I got very sick, and I was taken away to Delhi by ambulance. So I did not see him. Every year he used to come and participate in the Narasiṁha Caturdaśī festival. But last Narasiṁha Caturdaśī, he installed this beautiful Lakṣmī Narasiṁha here in this Delhi temple. I don’t know what he would do. In Māyāpur, he was a member of the Māyāpur Committee. He was founding member of the MVT. Like that, of course he was the sitting Chairman of the Indian Bureau. So, for me, he was a very dear guru-brother! So, I was surprised when I turned out of my coma, I heard he left the world. But Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura said that he reasons ill who thinks a Vaiṣṇava dies, he never leaves, he is always with us in sound. I had for three days, nonstop dialysis. And I went through various problems. But that is not why I am here. I just wanted to say how fortunate you are to have association with His Holiness Gopāla Kṛṣṇa Goswami Mahārāja. He asked me many times to leave the Māyāpur MEB. But I asked him please stay one more year. So he did that. I was younger than him but since I was in the same bhakta group earlier, he respected me as a senior. We would always consult each other in recent years. He invited me to stay in the guest house. Like that, he would be taking care of any his disciples in Māyāpur and my disciples in ISKCON. All the devotees, all the GBCs spent whole days glorifying Mahārāja. (As they did here for three days and still going on.) Some members are here who are members of the GBC, from the Bureau.

I just wanted to say that for me Gopāla Kṛṣṇa Goswami is very dear and I am creating an exclusive email id to help all his disciples <Gkg.jpscare@gmail.com> So that I can have a special relationship with you. He did in Delhi, NCR made 15 to 17 temples. I could not visit all but it is a miraculous work he did! I heard from Śrīla Prabhupāda directly to make ten temples in Kolkata. But we did not do that yet. He did it before us! We were core members of the BBT in India. He was the Chairman. India is distributing many books. That is under his supervision. So, many things could be said about him. I am not so strong. If there are any questions, I can try to answer. If you have anything now it is alright, otherwise you can write to me.

Question: What makes one to surrender so much like our Guru Mahārāja and you to Śrīla Prabhupāda. What is the secret? How is one able to surrender so much which goes above the bodily platform?

Jayapatākā Swami: He was greater than me. But he had told me that he has various physical deficiencies. But in spite of that he was going on. He was trying to expand the movement in north and west India. People ask the question, how do you go on in this situation? His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda he had made so many sacrifices for us. And he had asked that since he made 108 temples, those would be maintained. He told me that at least maintain them, if you expand further, very good! So, Gopāla Kṛṣṇa Goswami with that intention, he was trying to expand the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Hare Kṛṣṇa!

Every five years Mahārāja used to come for the Pañca-tattva abhiṣeka. This year he was afraid it would be sticky and fall. Hare Kṛṣṇa!

Try to keep his requests in the Will.  We are all in the same united family. Hare Kṛṣṇa!

Mahārāja donated generously to TOVP. He gave some of his guru-dakṣiṇā to the TOVP.