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March 2002

Picture of His Holiness Courtesy of TKG Video Archive

Sad loss of a leader

The entire ISKCON world was devastated to hear of the sudden death of one of its most senior members on the morning of March 15th.

Tamal Krishna Goswami, 55, one of the movement's foremost leaders and responsible for many of the early preaching innovations, died as a result of injuries sustained in a road accident on a busy highway in West Bengal, India. He had been taking part in ISKCON's annual meetings at the headquarters in Mayapura and was on his way back to England when the accident happened.

Tamal Krishna Goswami and two other devotees left Mayapura at 4.15 a.m. on the 90-mile trip to Calcutta. They were about halfway when the driver of the Tata Sumo taxi, a vehicle resembling a jeep, swerved to avoid a lorry, hit a tree, and rolled over several times.

Tamal Krishna Goswami was sitting in the front seat and Kalasamvara das and his wife Varsana dasi, both from New Zealand, were sitting in the rear. All were taken to nearby Anulia hospital at Ranaghata. When the news reached the temple, a large group of devotees immediately left in cars for the hospital. Tamal Krishna Goswami was reported as having left his body at 7a.m. Varsana dasi passed away an hour or so later. Her husband sustained two broken legs and the driver was reported to be in a critical condition.

Tamal Krishna Goswami's body was brought back to Mayapura and the funeral ceremonies conducted in the presence of hundreds of devotees. His body was covered with saffron cloth and numbers of flower garlands, then taken on procession to the various Deities of the Lord.

It was finally placed within a grave close to Srila Prabhupada's Samadhi. Vaishnava custom holds that a sanyasi's body be buried, while all others are cremated. All funerals are meant to take place before sunset of the same day. Accordingly, Varsana dasi's body was cremated on the bank of the nearby river Ganges that same evening. Her friends noted that she was born on March 15th", 1961, and had died the very same day.

Tamal Krishna Goswami had stated in his will that he wanted to be buried in Govardhan, near Vrindavan in northern India, except if he died in Mayapura, in which case he wished to be buried there. His will was read out over the phone.

During his two weeks in Mayapura, the birthplace of Krishna's incarnation as Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, he had been holding kirtans for two hours each evening. Devotees had packed his room, including his sanyasi godbrothers such as Niranjana Swami, Radhanath Swami, Sivarama Swami, BB Govinda Swami, and Jayadvaita Swami. He had remarked to a godbrother: "Kirtan is so wonderful - it is the way to purify our hearts, and to solve so many problems."

TKG, as he became known, served on the very first Governing Body of ISKCON set up by Srila Prabhupada in 1972. He purchased the first land in Mayapura, began the Radha-Damodara travelling temples - six converted `Greyhound' buses with around 130 devotees staging book distribution and festivals throughout America - worked on the construction of the major temples in Bombay and Vrindavan; was the first devotee to preach in China; and wrote several books and plays.

He was responsible for ISKCON's activities in Taiwan, China, Phillipines, Fiji, Texas, Mayapura and Calcutta. He had taken a sabbatical of six years to study for a PhD and, living in Cambridge, had almost completed his doctoral thesis, a work on the philosophical contribution of his spiritual master Srila Prabhupada.

Devotees noted that he left this world while within the Holy Dhama, chanting on his beads at Phulia, the same spot where Srila Haridas Thakura, the 'acarya of the Holy Name' had chanted 300,000 names each day. Radhanatha Swami commented: "A prominent limb of Srila Prabhupada's legacy has left the world. The list of Tamal Krishna Goswami's accomplishments is so vast; he was empowered by Srila Prabhupada to accomplish many difficult tasks."

'Concert for George' ends with 3,000 in mass chant

George Harrison's memorial concert in Liverpool the other week concluded with mass chanting by over 3,000. Sacinandana das reports: "We'd been invited by the organisers to come on at the end of the show and to sing along with the maha-mantra on `My Sweet Lord'. It was a great opportunity which couldn't, and shouldn't, be missed so we drove up to Liverpool on a rainy day in a packed minibus. Abhimanyu and Gandharvika, Nadia, Kalyaphani Anjela and long-time Liverpool temple president Titikshu, plus many others.

Once at the show, held at The Empire, we could see that it was going to be a good occasion for giving out Krishna's mercy. There was also a rumour that Sir Paul McCartney might be coming."

"We'd brought some mangal-arati sweets with us, and copies of `Chant and Be Happy' featuring interviews with George Harrison, so Anjela began meeting people and giving them out. `Nasty' Pete Waterman, of Pop Idol fame, got a full-on dose of prasadam, and Steve Harley too. We were all waiting rather nervously backstage - there was about 3,000 people out there - then the MC announced it was time for the final song.

We walked out, My Sweet Lord started, and everyone in the whole audience stood up! They waved their arms and chanted along with the mantra as best they could. It was amazing to see!"

"Then Sir Paul McCartney did turn up, something the crowd didn't know about, and sang 'Yesterday' without any musical accompaniment, changing the words 'why she had to go...' to 'why he had to go...'. They loved it. When he said his thanks and farewells to the audience, he looked at all of us backstage and then turned to the crowd and said: " Oh yeah, and Hare Krishna!"

He came off stage and I went up to him and gave him a big thankyou hug for nine seconds (yes, I counted!). When we offered him a book he said he had most of them but accepted the sweets gratefully. What an evening. We got home at three in the morning but it was really worth it!"

The Advent of Lord Chaitanya

When we look at the famous painting of Lord Chaitanya surrounded by his associates, we will see Advaita Acarya, with white hair and beard, on the left. It was he who petitioned Lord Krishna to keep the promise He had made to Arjuna thousands of years before: that when the Earth needed a Saviour He would appear personally to help all beings come to Him. Living on the bank of the Ganges River, Advaita offered flowers and Tulasi leaves to his salagram Vishnu deity. Calling out loudly, he begged for the Lord to please help all the living beings of Kali Yuga.

Previously, it had been predicted in the Srimad Bhagavatam that there would be an incarnation for Kali Yuga, as there was for every other yuga, and that in this yuga the incarnation would be golden, not blackish, and would chant the Holy Names constantly. Advaita was granted a beautiful vision of Radharani and Krishna.

Then, on the full-moon of the month of Phalguna (February-March) the most fortunate day of days arrived. It was on that day in 1486 that the most merciful incarnation of God appeared within this world. An incarnation so compassionate that He would freely give what had not been possible to attain up until that time - pure love for God - through a means so simple that it would even bypass the scholars and renunciates at first.

But what was supposed to be a full moon night turned out slightly differently. There was an eclipse and, according to Hindu custom, everyone spent the period of the eclipse immersed in the waters of the Ganges, chanting the holy names of God. Even the local Muslims, who did not follow the custom, were mockingly chanting Krishna's names. So with countless people chanting the names of God all over India, God Himself came into the world.

Advaita was beside himself with joy and sang and danced very loudly along with Haridas Thakura. They alone knew what a great event was taking place. So there in Navadwipa, in a thatched maternity but under a Nim tree near the river, Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the Golden Avatara took birth for our deliverance. Completely unoticed by any Europeans, this event would change the history of world religion forever. And that is why devotees the world over will be celebrating the birth of Lord Chaitanya on 28th March.

South West Vaishnavas travel to Bristol for first 'Quarterly Regional Gathering'

The first regular quarterly gathering of devotees in the South West took place in Bristol at the Odd Fellows Hall off Whiteladies Road on Sunday March 17th. The four-hour event was planned as a combined effort of members and groups in Cornwall, Wiltshire, Bristol, Gloucestershire and west Wales.

Visitors from London were Dr. Dene Schwarz, who talked on some of the realisations of being a devotee and working in the Accident and Emergency of a London hospital, Kripamoya, who spoke on `Moving Forward in Faith', and Kaliyaphani, who performed a twenty-minute, one-man drama where he played four parts.

The thirty two devotees who attended sang songs about Lord Chaitanya with great enthusiasm. At the conclusion, the assembled members were invited to offer their blessings to Arjunanath, who is to begin a new level in his home worship, and Dene, who is embarking on an ambitious inner-city project with Parasurama - the setting up of a building in Camden Town, London, as a centre for the homeless. Finally, everyone sat in a large circle for the feast cooked by Minaketana and Gandharvika with samosas generously provided by Arjuna's wife Paurnamasi.

Buckland is back - and a few more events besides...

The Congregational Council will again be hosting a national spiritual retreat weekend at Buckland Hall in the Brecon Beacons of Wales. Last year it was a really great event with comfortable accommodation, great views of the surrounding countryside, expert speakers and delicious prasdam meals. Over 130 devotees came.

This year the weekend will be October 26-27. If you can't wait that long then there are plans for a `Jubilee' retreat held at the Manor over three days: June 2,3,4.

Accommodation will be in a mixture of venues hotels, B&Bs, local devotees' homes and the Manor itself. There will also be lots of room on our land for adventurous campers! More details to come. Finally, don't miss out on London Rathayatra this year. Although, like all other organisations, we never get confirmation until 12 weeks before the event, it looks like its going to be on Sunday, June 23.

Thanks

Thanks and blessings to the following devotees who kindly gave extra donations recently for the congregational work: Vijay and Bharti Patel, Harivamsa and Krishnapurna, Pete and Audrey Walker, and all of you who give regular monthly contributions. To give a donation, to be sent another money-box, (or to find out where the money goes!) please phone or write.