His Divine Presence Rejuvenates Discouraged Devotees

I am a disciple of Śrīla Prabhupāda Svāmī Mahārāja. I have a wonderful story to tell about my meeting with Śrīla Gurudeva in 1997, if I remember correctly. I was living in Hawaii, and we were experiencing a difficult time after the troubles with some of the so-called spiritual leaders in our organization. Many fall downs were causing confusion and resulting in a lack of direction for the ordinary devotees. 

A very good devotee friend of mine who was from Indonesia and of South Indian ancestry suggested that a wonderful devotee from India by the name of Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Gosvāmī could be persuaded to come to Hawaii. We were in the middle of a deep discussion of what could be done to help the struggling devotees find proper direction again. 

When Mahārāja’s name came up we both exclaimed, “Here is a real vaiṣṇava,” and we should invite him to come to Hawaii. Now remember, I had never met Mahārāja but just by hearing my friend's description of Mahārāja I was immediately inspired.

Another wonderful devotee who was our friend had a very successful juice business also agreed that we should all combine our material assets and pay for Mahārāja’s visit. Immediately we all put up our share of the money and sent it off to India. Within a couple of weeks, we had the fantastic opportunity of picking up Mahārāja from the Airport. 

I was in shock when I first met Mahārāja. He literally glowed—I am not kidding! His demeanor and physical presence actually glowed. People always want to "experience" something when they meet a “spiritual” person. Well, I can tell you that I did “experience” a profound sense of satisfaction by meeting Mahārāja. After years of disappointments and frustration with poor spiritual association I now again felt that not all was lost.

We spent a lot of time contacting different venues so that the people of Hawaii could also benefit spiritually from associating with Mahārāja. He spoke at a bookstore, many devotees' homes, and at a festival in a very popular park. I noted that he spoke with such conviction and I believe that he did not change his invocation to the guru-paraṃparā and his prayers to his spiritual master to accommodate his audience. 

He spoke as if he was still in India and had an Indian audience. He gave a very prayerful and slow recitation of the names of the disciplic succession from Lord Caitanya to present. He did not care if anyone in the audience knew what he was speaking about. He just knew that they would be purified by hearing these mahābhagavāta’s names. 

He spoke about the importance of chanting the names of the Lord and understanding who Lord Caitanya is. All the devotees who heard his purity were very satisfied and thanked us for bringing Mahārāja to Hawaii. I remember talking to my devotee friends and then looking at Mahārāja I would say, "Now here is a real vaiṣṇava.”

- Gaura Govinda Dās