He Does Not Change His Presentation According to the Audience

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Gurudev never said I am going on pracār, he would say, "I am going for kirtan," or "We are called for kirtan." In his kirtan, we will experience a glimpse of bliss that does not happen ordinarily. Gurudev used to say 'We have to perform bhajan for our own purification." And when he did kirtan, he would engross himself one-pointedly and completely in it. This is not only a personal observation; it is witnessed by many people. Those who are moved by Gurudev's kirtan are often not attracted to any other kirtans.

We have heard about an instance when Gurudev was leading the parikramā party in Koladvip near Śrī Devānanda Gauḍīya Maṭha. Param Pūjyapāda Bhaktivedānta Vaman Gosvāmī Mahārāja happened to come there in the car and was very moved by the great bliss that spread through Gurudev's kirtan. He followed the kirtan party slowly from behind. 

As Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja's simple and naturally flowing mahāmantra kirtan attracted and drowned the entire world in its bliss, so also our Gurudev's kirtan matches that standard. Gurudev's saṅkīrtan was for himself; whether any listener was there or not, it did not matter.  

Once we had organized a program in Cochin and when Gurudev arrived, there was no one there except for maybe one person and a few of us who were organizing the event. Although the auditorium had a seating capacity of four hundred, it was nearly empty. After the kirtan was over, we never saw any trace of a disappointed expression on Gurudev's face and in his natural flow, he spoke hari-kathā for one full hour there.  I was fortunate to witness this divine pastime of Gurudev with my own eyes.  

If we are to speak and find only a small audience, we wait for some time to start so people will gather before we start to speak hari-kathā. Even after that, the mind becomes sad or disappointed because of poor attendance. This is because our kathā is for the audience and when we compare our standard with Gurudev's we feel ashamed. 

We had also heard about a similar instance that happened in Germany. One of our god-brothers from Punjab arranged for Gurudev's program in Germany without previous experience doing so. There was only one person who was present in the big auditorium but our most worshipable Gurudev delivered hari-kathā with the same spirit. He thought if anyone is present he may benefit, but I am doing this sādhana for my own purification, for my eternal welfare.  

—Sri Bhakti Kinkar Damodar Mahārāj


Translated from Hindi to English. Excerpted from a talk on April 17, 2020, Srila Gurudev's 3rd disappearance anniversary. Source is here.



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