Dear Prabhus and Matajis,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. All glories to Srila Bhagavatpada, the perfect servitor of Srila Prabhupada.

In my (Aja Govinda Dasa, Boise, USA) recent trip along the western coast of North America with His Holiness Srila Gopal Krishna Goswamiji Maharaja, my most profound realization was his unwavering dedication to continue service to Srila Prabhupada by leading kirtans, delivering lectures, giving darshans, encouraging people to chant more, traveling to the next destination and doing the above-mentioned things again.
SOUTHWEST US TOUR

On May 29, 2005 (Saturday), Maharaja and Janardan Prabhu arrived at the Los Angeles airport from Moscow after a 14 hour flight. They were welcomed by Jay Krsna Prabhu, Adwaita-candra Prabhu, Sita Thakurani Mataji, Pradyumna Prabhu, Rukmini Mataji, and myself. Pradyumna Prabhu was Maharaja's first traveling secretary having been initiated by Maharaja in the first batch of disciples. His wife Rukmini Mataji enlivened Maharaja with her beautiful paintings of Sri Jagannath. Even after such a long journey, GKG took a shower at 7:00 PM before doing Gayatri and taking dinner. He took darshan of Sri Sri Rukmini Dvarkadhish at 8:30 PM during the Sayana aarti. Next morning Maharaja performed the mangal aarti on the altar at 4:30 AM in the morning and throughout the whole day attended the GBC's SMDPC (Sri Mayapur Dham Project Committee) meeting, to discuss the development of Sri Dham Mayapur. These days were also special because the LA devotees were celebrating the Prabhupada Festival, which featured dances, dramas, songs, memories, and love feasts all performed in gratitude to Srila Prabhupada.

On Sunday evening, the temple grounds were filled with hundreds of devotees going through the festive tents and gazing at books and devotional gift items for sale. Maharaja saw Danavir Swami's collection of books displayed on a long table, and Maharaja said to Danavir Swami, "Maharaj, you are an amazing writer," and Danavir Swami responded with a smile and folded hands. As Maharaja was walking along, he met Gurudas Prabhu. As they were talking with each other, another senior Prabhupada disciple offered his respects to GKG and said, "Maharaj you are so effulgent!" This is Maharaj's potency: He had just yesterday come from a 14 hour flight, and after doing mangal-aarti he did not even take a nap the whole day having to attend meetings; yet he was shining. Wherever Maharaj went, devotees were bowing down to him and he was enlivening them with his darshan. As Maharaj was walking back to his guest house apartment, he stopped at Svavas Prabhu's (LA temple president) residence. Svavas
Prabhu welcomed him in and Maharaja took darshan of his personal Deities at home. Maharaja revealed to us that in the 1970s when he was serving in Los Angeles, he was staying in the same quarters as where Svavas Prabhu is now living.

That night, Maharaja was giving darshan and Amogha Lila Prabhu, temple president of San Francisco temple came with his familiy. Maharaj welcomed them and spoke with Devahuti Mataji (Amogha Lila Prabhu's wife) in Spanish and encouraged all of her children to increase their chanting. Maharaja was so merciful that night, he asked me, "Aja Govinda, can you take a shower and put my Deities to rest?" I was most blessed to perform the service.

The next morning, as Maharaja was coming out of the temple, I found his slippers and put them next to his feet and we walked back to the guest house where he was staying. Maharaj asked me to prepare things for his puja, but I was so foolish that I touched Maharaja's Srila Prabhupada Deity's clothes without washing my hands. Maharaja was so tolerant that he did not get angry but softly chastised me, "You should wash your hands after touching my slippers." After I washed my hands I was wondering what clothes Srila Prabhupada would wear now, but Janardan Prabhu saved me. He directed me to wash the clothes and iron them, and to my amazement the clothes immediately dried and became neatly pressed from the hot iron steam.

Maharaja also set a perfect example of how to honor one's Godbrothers. He daily had one or two of them come into his room for further discussion on how to fulfill Srila Prabhupada's dream of Sri Mayapur Dham. He lovingly partook lunch prasadam with Giriraj Swami, fondly sharing their memories of serving Srila Prabhupada. In the afternoon, Jaypataka Swami, Bhakti-Purusottama Swami, Pancaratna Prabhu, Ambarish Prabhu, and several others came to Maharaja's room. I ran and brought back chairs for the GBCs to sit on, but I didn't go into the room because I did not want to disturb the meeting. As if sensing my mind, Maharaja came out of the room and directed me to bring in the chairs. I was fortunate to perform this service for such senior Prabhupada disciples.

That night (Monday night, May 30), Maharaja lectured at a nam-hatta program at Jay Krsna Prabhu's house. In the nam-hatta programs, devotees from all over Orange County come together for weekly bhajan, kirtan, and readings from Bhagavad Gita. This program was started by Nirantara Prabhu, who welcomed Maharaja that evening. Maharaja told all the devotees that Nirantara Prabhu was working with him at the time of Prabhupada in Canada, and Nirantara Prabhu responded that Srila Prabhupada had given him brahman diksha on Maharaja's recommendation. In that lecture, Maharaja summarized the whole Bhagavad Gita. When he was talking about the soul in the 2nd chapter, he related that when he was in Montreal, he found and sent to Srila Prabhupada the article in the Montreal Gazette with the title, "Heart surgeon wants to know what a soul is." Prabhupada was very pleased that the scientists had begun to accept the soul, and he responded to the heart surgeon who was inquisitive about the soul.

Next morning, Maharaja gave the morning Bhagavatam lecture at the LA temple. The chapter was-"Sati quits her body," and Maharaja discussed how Daksa was contaminated by anarthas and how we should avoid the four different categories of anarthas:

1) sva-svarupa aprapti-ignorance about one's own true identity

2) asat-trsna-hankering after illusory phenomena

3) aparadhas-offenses

4) hrdaya-daurbalyam-weakness and hesitancy of the heart

That Tuesday afternoon, Maharaja took lunch at Adwaita Candra Prabhu's and Sita Thakurani Mataji's house. Seema Mataji, Narayani Mataji, and Sita Mataji cooked such wonderful lunches that Maharaja laughed and said, "You will make me fat." That evening (Tuesday evening, May 31, 2005) Maharaja held another home program. The host, Kamlesh Patel, later showed Maharaja his web-site www.gitamrta.org, on which one can listen to Srila Prabhupad's Bhagavad Gita in five different languages. Currently the Bhagavad Gita recordings consist only the Sanskrit and translation, but Kamlesh Patel and his team are working on audio recording Srila Prabhupad's purports as well. As we were driving back from the home program to Adwaita Candra Prabhu's house (where Maharaj stayed that night), Maharaj set the perfect example and directed the devotees to give the donation collected at the home program (when the aarti tray was passed around) to the LA temple.

Wednesday morning, I accompanied Maharaja and Janardan Prabhu to San Jose, where Maharaja visited and blessed Bali Mardan Prabhu, Ananda Vrindavan Mataji, and their little baby son Balaram das. Maharaja then took lunch prasadam at Hansapriya Mataji and Jananivas Prabhu's house (temple president of San Jose temple). There Maharaja recognized Bhakta Vatsala Prabhu (former San Jose temple president), who had presented his hospice care activities at GBC meetings. After only half hour of rest, Maharaja went to the San Jose temple. He loved the temple's smart table, which consists of all of Prabhupada's books neatly arranged and a donation box. The table works like a vending machine because people come and look at the books, take one of the books and put their donation in an envelope into the donation box. After this Maharaja took the almost two hour ride to San Francisco, where after an hour long walk he delivered the evening lecture at a home program at Parthsarthi Prabhu's house. There
were many senior disciples of Maharaja who had worked with him in India. After his lecture and kirtan, Maharaja was offered dinner prasadam by Devahuti Mataji. Maharaja kept saying that this is too much for me and Mataji kept insisting him to take more. Devahuti Mataji told Maharaja to taste all the dishes that has been cooked. This reminded me of the mood in which Jagdananda Pandit served Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Although the Lord entreated Jagdananda Pandit to stop feeding him such delicious prasadam as the Lord was a sannyasi, still Jagdananda Pandit would compel the Lord with his love and devotion to accept all that he had cooked for the Lord.

Most amazingly, in the Bay area, Maharaja visited, lectured, and blessed 5 places in a little more than one day. Maharaja's intense traveling and preaching program shows how eager he is to carry on the mission of Srila Prabhupada. Just like a farmer uses an airplane to fertilize his whole field, Maharaja flies to so many towns and villages, giving the bhakti-lata-bija to the new devotees and watering and fertilizing the devotional creepers of whoever he meets.

NORTHWEST US TOUR

After staying Wednesday night at the Berkely temple, Maharaja took breakfast prasadam at Amogha Lila Prabhu's house, from where he departed for a forenoon flight to Boise on Thursday. He was welcomed by all the devotees and was driven by Srinivas Prabhu to his house. The devotees lovingly washed GKG's lotus feet and performed Guru-puja for His Holiness. Maharaja then distributed laddus to all the devotees, and partook the wonderful feast Sangita Mataji had prepared for him. The prasadam was so filled with love and devotion that Maharaja asked who had cooked the prasadam, and the devotees brought Sangita Mataji forward. All the devotees enjoyed the South Indian cuisine. That evening Maharaja initiated Ananda Vrindavan Mataji w/o Bali Mardan Prabhu, who had come along with her family from San Jose to Boise for getting diksa. Next day (Friday, June 3) GKG met individual devotees for personal instruction, after which he partook of lunch prasadam at our house prepared by my father and mother (Srihari Prabhu and Shyamasakhi Mataji, and Sangita Mataji). Then Ananta-rupa Prabhu (Boise temple president) drove Maharaja to the airport, from where Gopal-hari Prabhu, Janardan Prabhu, and I accompanied Maharaja to Seattle. We all had seats far apart from each other in the airplane, but Maharaja was so merciful to me that he personally asked the man next to him to switch seats with me. I was then able to serve Maharaja murmuri and laddus Aruddha Mataji had cooked and the completely non-fat cake my mother had cooked.

In Seattle, Maharaja again visited and blessed many houses in one day. He partook lunch prasadam at Bhajahari Prabhu's house. Maharaja then visited the grand mansion of Om Tat Sat Prabhu. Om Tat Sat Prabhu wanted Maharaja to bless his house by staying there so Maharaja agreed to take his afternoon rest in his house. I was very fortunate that Maharaja asked me to massage his feet. Maharaja promised that he would only take half hour of rest before proceeding to the temple. He went to rest at 5:30 PM and exactly awoke at 6:00 PM without any alarm-from this I knew for sure that Maharaja was in touch with the Supersoul. He works so hard for the Lord that the Lord has blessed Maharaja's body such that within half hour rest his body regains again strength to serve the Lord, and whole day he preaches and worships the Lord from mangal aarti to midnight.

That Friday evening, Maharaja lead the Gaura-aarti kirtan and gave the evening Bhagavad Gita lecture at the Seattle temple. Maharaja was very pleased with the increased attendance and he was sad to leave the Seattle devotees. He promised them he would stay longer next time. After finishing his puja at Mukesh Prabhu's house (where we all stayed on Friday night), Maharaja gave the Saturday morning Srimad Bhagavatam class in the Seattle temple. His lecture was on the qualities of a sadhu:

titiksavah karunikah

suhrdah sarva dehinam

ajata-satravah santah

sadhavah sadhu-bhusanam

"The symptoms of a sadhu are that he is tolerant, merciful and friendly to all living entities. He has no enemies, he is peaceful, he abides by the scriptures, and all his characteristics are sublime (SB 3.25.21)." Maharaja then told all the devotees-"So we are following this bhakti process but why we are not peaceful? Because we are in between material and spiritual life; we still have material desires. How can we develop this peacefulness and the other qualities of a sadhu? Only by attentive chanting."

Harivilas Prabhu (temple president of Seattle and Vancouver) then met with Maharaja to discuss the construction of the new temple in Seattle. Maharaja then visited and blessed Nanda-suta Prabhu's house, came back and showered at Mukesh Prabhu's house. From Mukesh Prabhu's house, we all packed up the suitcases and went to Rantidev Prabhu's house for a delicious lunch feast prasadam. Directly from there, Akrura Prabhu (vice president of Vancouver temple) drove us to the Vancouver temple. Even after the long four hour drive, Maharaja gave the evening lecture at the temple and gave darshan to his disciples in his room till late in the night. The next (Sunday, June 5) morning Maharaja gave a lecture on the passing away of Bhismadeva. Maharaja loved this verse so much that he again lectured on the same verse after his Guru-puja at Kaliya Krsna Prabhu's house. Maharaja's favorite sentences that he stressed again and again were: "The unique situation at Bhismadeva's time of death can be
attained, even though Lord Krsna may not be personally present. His words of the Bhagavad-Gita or those of Srimad Bhagavatam are identical with the Lord. They are the sound incarnations of the Lord, and one can fully utilize them to be entitled to attain the stage of Sri Bhismadev (purport of SB 1.9.43)."

On Sunday evening, Maharaja lectured on the nine principles that Bhismadeva instructs a civilized human being should live by:

If people only followed these principles, so many social problems could be solved.

Monday evening Maharaja initiated Jay Saci Suta Prabhu, Akrura Prabhu, and Candramukhi Mataji into brahman diksa. He also gave first initiation to Mathuranath Prabhu (such a beautiful name).

The youth group in Vancouver is very exemplary. They assist the devotees in cooking and distributing the temple prasadam feasts. On his parents brahman initiation day, Anirudh Prabhu (Akrura Prabhu's son), saw in the temple kitchen that only half the amount of prasadam needed (for 150-200 devotees) was prepared. He immediately went to the store and brought back semolina, whole wheat flour, peas, sugar, and milk (to prepare panir). Assisted by his cousins Gopi, Anuradha, and Vrnda, he prepared more puris, halava, and matar-panir sabji for the feast. Anirudh and Deepak Prabhus (youth ministers of ISKCON Vancouver) suggested to Maharaja that a new temple be built because the old temple is very leaky in the rain and is costly to maintain because the ISKCON Vancouver property is located on a marshland, so the whole temple keeps sinking into the ground, underneath which is a water body. They showed Maharaja two new plots of land (around 2 million Canadian Dollar each) only 2 minutes away from the temple that ISKCON Vancouver could relocate to. Maharaja liked the fact that the new plots were close to Bryne National Park, where devotees could go for japa walks. The temple board was also discussing the construction of a prasadam hall on the current property. After meeting with Maharaja, the board finally decided they would construct a new temple on the same current ISKCON property with 60 meter deep piles to strengthen the new temple building's foundation. Maharaja assigned Anirudh's paternal uncle Adideva Prabhu and congregation member Hari Om Sharma to raise the $ 2 million needed for the new temple construction.

Maharaja loved the lunch programs at the houses of his disciples Kaliya Krsna Prabhu, Tulasi Prabhu, and Adideva Prabhu, all senior disciples of Maharaja. Maharaja also visited Saranagati Farm with a group of 11 devotees. On Tuesday evening, he lead Gaura-aarti and lectured at Kulashekhar Prabhu's temple on the farm. After that Maharaja and all the devotees visited Yoginath Prabhu and Udara-kirti Mataji's beautiful log cabin on the farm. Udara-kirti Mataji fed all the devotees wonderful organic, freshly cooked vegetables and grains along with fresh curd from the farm cows. Next morning Gita Mataji (Madan Mohan Prabhu's wife) cooked a wonderful South Indian breakfast for Maharaja and the devotees. After Maharaja performed his puja, he lectured on the Srimad Bhagavatam, took his walk on the farm, and took breakfast, he sat with Kulashekhar Prabhu to discuss about their temple on the farm. Narayana Maharaj's people had been trying to hold their programs in Kulashekhar Prabhu's temple,
but Kulashekhar Prabhu promised that his temple was ISKCON's. However, Kulashekhar Prabhu needed help to run the weekly Sunday programs and someone to look after the temple when he would be in India. So Maharaja arranged for his disciple Sanat Kumar Prabhu (who also lives on the farm) to work with Kulashekhar Prabhu in serving the temple farm's Gaur Nitai Deities.

Before leaving the farm, Maharaja visited Yamuna Devi and Dina Tarini Mataji's most beautiful Deities - Sri Sri Radha Vanabihari, whom Srila Prabhupada had personally instructed both of them to worship for the rest of their lives after their husbands had taken sannyas.

Maharaja is currently traveling in Canada en route to the eastern coast of the US. I am deeply missing his association, and I am sure that all the devotees that Maharaja has inspired are also. Maharaja is a perfect example of practicing what you preach. I found that Maharaja was the reservoir of the qualities of a sadhu and the ideal example of the nine characteristics instructed by Bhismadeva. The few days I have served him will always remain in my heart and enthuse me in my spiritual life.

Your servant,

Aja Govinda das

Email: aja.goyal@gmail.com