from bh. Kavita – Australia, Sydney

Dearest Srila Gurudeva,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Sri Sri Radha Gopinath. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. 💐🙏🙏🙏💐

My fondest memories of you Srila Gurudeva, goes back to Durban, South Africa in the late 80s/90s. The Rathya Yatra Festival on the beach front every summer. As a child, this was my favourite time of year! The festival brought all devotees together to serve Lord Jaggarnath! Your ecstatic kirtans in the temple room of Sri Sri Radharanth would have every devotee jumping for joy! You would then lead all the devotees outside, dancing around the moat, chanting the maha mantra! I remember atttending programs at devotees homes where you would share a slide show of photos from your travels through the most fascinating parts of the world.

As a child, it felt easy to approach you as a Guru, as your fatherly love and care was always in the mood of “Pita Maharaj”. Your incredible ability to turn a Sunday class on the pastimes of the Lord into a live action dramatisation, was captivating to our hearts and our curious minds. Your adventures of traveling through jungles was incredible! I was always thinking wow, this is like being a part of a travel documentary! I don’t know any one human being, in my life, who would actively choose to go out into a wild jungle, full of snakes and other unforeseen dangers! You were (are) a true example of faith in Lord Nrshringa Dev!

Attending the Polish festival in 1994/1995 with my mum, was an experience that I will never forget. In Poland I met a “Srila Gurudeva” that was always ready to do whatever it takes to make each and every festival a success. You personally oversaw every element of the festival with your team of incredible disciples! You were hands on, always leading by example. Your boundless energy and enthusiasm for harinam sankirtan was infectious! Every single moment of your day was dedicated spreading the holy name in every town and village along the Baltic Sea. You taught me that there is no job too big or too small in the service of Srila Prabhupada. You were always the first to rise , waking up all the devotees with your sweet kirtans. Sleep was irrelevant. You took micro naps behind the festival marquee, laying on the bare ground with no regard for your comfort, in an effort to recharge your batteries and then just kept going.

Attending Sadhu Sanga in Utah last year truly revived my Krishna conciousness. Meeting and serving the incredible devotees from all over the United States and different parts of the world, devotees who worked tirelessly to put the festival together, was truly humbling and inspiring.

Then to see Lord Jaggarnath’s chariot procession on 5th Avenue, New York city filled my heart with joy!

Historically, Australia has not had the good fortune of having festivals of this magnitude, with so many sanyasis, kirtaneers and pure devotees present at one time.

Srila Gurudeva, you are affectionately known as “Festival Maharaj”. You put together the best festivals! My prayer is that through your mercy and with your blessings and guidance, we can all come together to serve in Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s movement, to spread the holy name and to bring festivals to every town and every village across Australia and New Zealand!

Thank you Srila Gurudeva for your incredible teachings , not just through your fantastic classes on the Lord’s pastimes, but as a true example of dedication to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and to Srila Prabhupada!

Your humble and ignorant servant,
Kavita