{"id":484,"date":"2020-12-23T14:40:53","date_gmt":"2020-12-23T11:40:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/en\/?page_id=484"},"modified":"2020-12-28T07:31:32","modified_gmt":"2020-12-28T04:31:32","slug":"srila-gour-govinda-maharaja","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/vi\/srila-gour-govinda-maharaja\/","title":{"rendered":"\u015ar\u012bla Gour Govinda Mah\u0101r\u0101ja"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Firstly let me offer my respectful\u00a0obeisances<em>\u00a0<\/em>to my initiating spiritual master, O\u1e43 Vi\u1e63nupada \u015ar\u012b \u015ar\u012bmad Bhaktived\u0101nta N\u0101r\u0101ya\u1e47a Gosw\u0101mi Mah\u0101r\u0101ja, and then at the lotus feet of my instructing spiritual master\u00a0O\u1e43 Vi\u1e63nupada \u015ar\u012b \u015ar\u012bmad Gour\u00a0Govinda Gosw\u0101mi Mah\u0101r\u0101ja.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-3 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"915\" src=\"https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/12.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"495\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/12.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/en\/srila-gour-govinda-maharaja\/12-3\/\" class=\"wp-image-495\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/12.jpg 600w, https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/12-197x300.jpg 197w, https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/12-39x60.jpg 39w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"712\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/11-712x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"494\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/11.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/en\/srila-gour-govinda-maharaja\/11-3\/\" class=\"wp-image-494\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/11-712x1024.jpg 712w, https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/11-209x300.jpg 209w, https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/11-768x1104.jpg 768w, https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/11-42x60.jpg 42w, https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/11.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 712px) 100vw, 712px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"548\" height=\"708\" src=\"https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/10.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"493\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/10.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/en\/srila-gour-govinda-maharaja\/10-3\/\" class=\"wp-image-493\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/10.jpg 548w, https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/10-232x300.jpg 232w, https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/10-46x60.jpg 46w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 548px) 100vw, 548px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"285\" src=\"https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/5.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"490\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/5.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/en\/srila-gour-govinda-maharaja\/5-2\/\" class=\"wp-image-490\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/5.jpg 600w, https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/5-300x143.jpg 300w, https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/5-126x60.jpg 126w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"607\" src=\"https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/8.1-1024x607.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"491\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/8.1.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/en\/srila-gour-govinda-maharaja\/8-1\/\" class=\"wp-image-491\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/8.1-1024x607.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/8.1-300x178.jpg 300w, https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/8.1-768x455.jpg 768w, https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/8.1-101x60.jpg 101w, https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/8.1.jpg 1041w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The Vai\u1e63nava devotees appear before the souls of this world in order to instruct them on the science of devotional service to \u015ar\u012b \u015ar\u012b Gour Nitai, and \u015ar\u012b \u015ar\u012b R\u0101dha K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a. Firstly the spiritual master attracts the disciple to his lotus feet, bestowing upon them his own service. The conditioned soul has no power to make that connection with an all-spiritual&nbsp;personality like the spiritual master, but the Guru, out of his infinite compassion, enables the devotee to take shelter of his lotus feet. Without the shelter and service of such a liberated Vai\u1e63nava, the conditioned soul can never become free from his causeless unwillingness to serve the Supreme. The relation between the spiritual master and the disciple begins from the time the Guru first casts his merciful glance upon the disciple. This glance is the cause of all good fortune.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I had the great good fortune to receive the glance of \u015ar\u012bla Gour Govinda Mah\u0101r\u0101ja in the Iskcon temple in Melbourne, Australia, around&nbsp;mid-September, 1994. I had joined the temple as a full-time devotee some months earlier<s>,<\/s>&nbsp;but was exceedingly disappointed with what I found there. There seemed such a vast difference between what I was reading in the books of \u015ar\u012bla Prabh\u016bpada<s>,<\/s>&nbsp;and what I was experiencing in my day-to-day life as a devotee. That dichotomy seemed impassable. Out of frustration I prayed to \u015ar\u012bla Prabh\u016bpada, \u201cPlease send me a spiritual master like you!\u201d Within a day or two I got a copy of some lectures from \u015ar\u012bla Gour Govinda Mah\u0101r\u0101ja, and when I played the tape, I heard him roaring like a lion, \u201cThe pure devotee possesses K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, and he can give Him to the disciple. The guru who does not possess K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a is simply a cheater!\u201d These words pierced my heart, and I knew that I had found my spiritual master.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u015ar\u012bla Gour Govinda Mah\u0101r\u0101ja would tell us, \u201cWhen you come to the sadhu, then m\u0101y\u0101 becomes very furious. She says, \u2018Hey! Where are you going? I will not let you leave me!\u2019&#8221;&nbsp;Thus she puts up millions of obstacles to keep us away from the sadhu\u2019s association.\u201d I experienced this directly, with all types of temple presidents and senior \u201cwell-wishers\u201d trying to dissuade me from my choice. I was fortunate not to be dissuaded, and against all odds I purchased a ticket to Melbourne.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I remember \u015ar\u012bla Mah\u0101r\u0101ja as he exited from the car which had picked him up from the airport. He was so grave, like millions of oceans. I thought of what I had heard about \u015ar\u012b Guru being heavy, in that he cannot be shifted from the service of the Lord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At&nbsp;that time there was a lot of opposition from certain elements against his preaching, so there was no one&nbsp;able to stay there at that time. So there was a huge plate of his Mah\u0101-Mah\u0101-prasadam, and I could take it all myself. That struck me at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>His classes were extraordinary. By his grace I had a small understanding of the verse from&nbsp;<em>\u015ar\u012b Caitanya Caritamrta<\/em>(Madhya-lila 22.47);<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\u201c<em>k\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a yadi krpa kare kona bhagyavane<br>guru-antaryami-rupe sikhaya apane<\/em>\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201c\u015ar\u012b K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a is situated in everyone\u2019s heart as caitya-guru, the spiritual master within. When He is kind to some fortunate conditioned soul, He personally gives one lessons to progress in devotional service, instructing the person as the Supersoul within, and the spiritual master without.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I was amazed at his personal interest in the persons who came for hari-katha. His compassion was palpable. He presented everything in an uncompromising manner, but with great humor. He relished hari-katha, so it was easy for him to inject that enthusiasm within others. He had real love for his spiritual master<strong><em>,<\/em><\/strong>&nbsp;and the&nbsp;<em>\u015ar\u012bmad Bh\u0101gavatam<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After a few days in Melbourne, we went with him to the farm outside the property, where he gave the most amazing speech. He told us how we had to cry for the mercy of Nitai. That class remains embedded&nbsp;within the core of my heart. It was like a thunderbolt, smashing my mountain of pride<s>,<\/s>&nbsp;while illuminating my heart with a great hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-3 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"998\" height=\"920\" src=\"https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/1.png\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"488\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/1.png\" data-link=\"https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/en\/srila-gour-govinda-maharaja\/1-2\/\" class=\"wp-image-488\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/1.png 998w, https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/1-300x277.png 300w, https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/1-768x708.png 768w, https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/1-65x60.png 65w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 998px) 100vw, 998px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"729\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/9-729x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"492\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/9.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/en\/srila-gour-govinda-maharaja\/9-3\/\" class=\"wp-image-492\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/9-729x1024.jpg 729w, https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/9-214x300.jpg 214w, https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/9-768x1078.jpg 768w, https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/9-43x60.jpg 43w, https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/9.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 729px) 100vw, 729px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"980\" src=\"https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/13.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"496\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/13.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/en\/srila-gour-govinda-maharaja\/13-3\/\" class=\"wp-image-496\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/13.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/13-300x287.jpg 300w, https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/13-768x735.jpg 768w, https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/13-63x60.jpg 63w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" src=\"https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/14.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"497\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/14.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/en\/srila-gour-govinda-maharaja\/14-3\/\" class=\"wp-image-497\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/14.jpg 720w, https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/14-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/14-80x60.jpg 80w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>That night I couldn\u2019t sleep, and early&nbsp;the&nbsp;next morning I asked his servant for a darsana with \u015ar\u012bla Mah\u0101r\u0101ja. I entered and offered my respects to him. He had all the time in the world for me. I was so excited I blurted out, \u201cCan you be my Guru?\u201d&nbsp;He&nbsp;laughed a lot and said very affectionately, \u201cPlease slow down! Who are you and what is&nbsp;your&nbsp;name? Where do you live? What do you do?\u201d&nbsp;Then&nbsp;he placed his lotus feet within my heart and said, \u201cThe&nbsp;relationship with the spiritual master is an eternal one, based on love and trust. I accept you as my eternal disciple, but don\u2019t be in a rush for initiation, as \u015ar\u012bla Prabh\u016bpada waited for twelve years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the time I was astonished at his statement, and it was only when he disappeared from this world&nbsp;and I went and took initiation from \u015ar\u012bla Bhaktived\u0101nta N\u0101r\u0101ya\u1e47a Mah\u0101r\u0101ja, that I understood his intention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>O\u1e43 Vi\u1e63nupada \u015ar\u012bla Gour Govinda Mah\u0101r\u0101ja&nbsp;ki jai!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Firstly let me offer my respectful\u00a0obeisances\u00a0to my initiating spiritual master, O\u1e43 Vi\u1e63nupada \u015ar\u012b \u015ar\u012bmad Bhaktived\u0101nta N\u0101r\u0101ya\u1e47a Gosw\u0101mi Mah\u0101r\u0101ja, and then at the lotus feet of my instructing spiritual master\u00a0O\u1e43 Vi\u1e63nupada \u015ar\u012b \u015ar\u012bmad Gour\u00a0Govinda Gosw\u0101mi Mah\u0101r\u0101ja. The Vai\u1e63nava devotees appear before the souls of this world in order to instruct them on the science of devotional &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-484","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","latest_post"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=484"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/484\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":507,"href":"https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/484\/revisions\/507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bvdamodara.com\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}