 Rememberances
of Tribhuvanatha Prabhu
Ranchor Dasa
Pusta Krishna Dasa
Krishna Dharma Dasa
bhakta Marcus
Ananta Purusottama Dasa
Adi-Guru Dasa
Our Dear Godbrother Tribhuvanatha Prabhu
Pusta Krishna Dasa
Pusta Krishna was a sannyasi and Srila Prabhupada's personal secretary
from 1975 -76.
Hare Krishna. Tribhuvanath is loved universally by the Vaishnava community
because of his qualities of kindness, compassion, faithfulness, and sincerity.
Krishna has cradled him without any doubt. Whether prabhu passed with
his eyes open or closed, his heart was opened wide by Guru Gauranga, and
Krishna cannot neglect or overlook such sincere servitors.
Our world was made fuller and happier because our lives crossed paths
with His Grace Tribhuvanatha das Prabhu. His natural humility, up to his
last breath in this mortal body, came from a deeper plane of grace. May
he look upon his friends and well-wishers from his now transcendental
place, extending a hearty welcome to those who gain entry into his new
neighborhood of Sri Goloka Vrindaban. I shall not forget his smiling face
nor his radiant shining heart tenderly cared for by Srila Prabhupada.
Sri Tribhuvanatha das Prabhu ki Jaya!!!!!
Farewell Tribhuvanatha prabhu
Krishna Dharma Dasa
Farewell Tribhuvanatha prabhu. We'll miss your radiant smiling face.
But it seems that someone else was missing you more. Someone whose land
hosts a perpetual festival. Well, yesterday another great festival began
in that blissful land. You must have got there just in time. Please think
of us who still languish on Maya's lap. Save us a plate of mercy. We hope
to join you, one of these days. your sad servant Krishna Dharma das
At Gita-Nagari and the New York Rathayatra
Bhakta Marcus (from Guernsey)
I remember Tribhuvanatha prabhu very well from the trips he would make
to the NYC rathayatra. He was an excellent kirtan leader. I was staying
at Gita Nagari in the summer of 1999; Tribhuvanatha came to stay for a
short time, maybe just a few days. He had some younger devotees with him
possibly.
The kirtan he led during one morning program will stay with me forever.
I remember focusing on his face as he was leading kirtan; looking back
on it now, I am almost sure he was taking short trips directly into Krsnaloka.
I remember also telling him I was moving from the US to the Channel Islands,
and he said he was familar with them. It was wonderful to have had the
association of such a nice devotee. Upon seeing a devotee pass from this
world prematurely, my only comfort is knowing he has gone back to Godhead,
back to Krsnaloka. Wishing I could pay my respects in a more proper way...
His smiling face and bright countenance I will miss
Ananta Purosottama Dasa
I first met Tribhuvanatha in 1981 when I was staying in a Manchester
temple as a young devotee. Although I didn't really get very close to
him at that time, I still remember him as a very serious and inspiring
devotee. In my clouded vision he did have an apparent lapse in his service
to Srila Prabhupada, and with that in mind I pasted the following text.
"Devotees of the Lord, due to wrong association, sometimes imitates
the fruitive workers. The fruitive workers want to lord it over the
material world. Similarly, a neophyte devotee foolishly thinks of accumulating
some material power in exchange for devotional service. Such foolish
devotees are sometimes put into difficulty by the Lord Himself. As a
special favor, He may remove all material paraphernalia. By such action,
the bewildered devotee is forsaken by all friends and relatives, and
so he comes to his senses again by the mercy of the Lord and is set
right to execute his devotional service.
In the Bhagavad-Gita it is also said that such fallen devotees are
given a chance to take birth in a family of highly qualified brahmanas
or in a rich mercantile family. A devotee in such a position is not
as fortunate as one who is chastised by the Lord and put into a position
seemingly of helplessness. The devotee who becomes helpless by the will
of the Lord is more fortunate than those who are born in good families.
The fallen devotees born in a good family may forget the lotus feet
of the Lord because they are less fortunate, but the devotee who is
put into a forlorn condition is more fortunate because he swiftly returns
to the lotus feet of the Lord, thinking himself helpless all around."
The purport being that a devotee may leave and not return to devotional
service till his next life, but one who does return in this life has gained
a very special mercy from the Lord, and we all know in the case of Trubhuvannatha
how he came back stronger than ever and wanted nothing but to please Srila
Prabhupada in his service, and what a shining example he was to us all.
I never knew him to say a bad word about anyone, and was always so happy,
genuinely happy as a devotee of Lord Krsna.
He always came to ask me to fix his laptop over the last 6 or 7 years,
and was always very encouraging to me, he never made me feel awkward,
even though he knew I am not very serious, but he only tried to inspire
me. I have been on a few harinams with him in the past when he was running
his festival programs in the late 1980's.
His smiling face and bright countenance I will miss, and still find it
hard to believe he has gone already. I used to tell him when my kids are
older I would like to travel with him. He was always very kind to my kids
and they remember him very well.
All glories to Tribhuvanatha Prabhhu, a rare devotee indeed, as it is
said by Lord Krsna, many may endeavor for perfection, but few actually
achieve it.
Memories of Dublin, Hare Krsna Cultural Centre, 1994-5
Adi-Guru Dasa
We all live in a basement on a busy road in downtown Dublin, around six
bhahmacaris. Upstairs is the shop front and simple temple room with a
huge picture of panca-tattva on the altar. Tribhuvanath prabhu spends
five or six days with us at a time, then he's back on the road: driving
400-500 miles, visiting temples in Ireland and the UK, and raising money
to keep the Dublin centre open as well as fund the Inis Rath Temple.
While he is with us he lifts our reluctant hearts into carefree bliss
with every kirtan.There is a tambura here he likes to play for mangala-arati
and jaya-radha-madhava. We gather in the cold for the first arati with
chadars, jumpers and hats. By the time we have reached yasya prasada bhagavat...
we are tearing our upper garments, dancing in bliss and being careful
not to be hit by the tambura that is now flailing wildly in Tribhuvanath's
hands. Very soon he changes to the mrdanga....no mangala-arati in the
world is like this.
His class is very philosophical and yet very charming, enticing us with
his devotional preaching bhavas.
His love and complete surrender to Srila Prabhupada is stunning. When
he talks intimately about Srila Prabhupada, you can see love. After he
showed us a Prabhupada slide show, I once said to him "wow, Prabhupada
brought the whole spiritual world with Him......"
"Prabhupada was the spiritual" world he replied. I couldn't
say anything more.
He hardly ever slept horizontally, always falling asleep during late
night japa... He used to chant 20 rounds every day but was always so busy
he usuall finished them in the evening.
I am fortunate to have many more memories of Tribhuvanath, his sadhana
was kirtan and his life was preaching kirtan - to as many souls as he
could reach, through festival after festival after festival. Hare Krsna.
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