Eight Prayers in Separation From My Spiritual Master

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His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada
Founder-Acarya of the
Hare Krishna Movement

Maybe the following poem written by Srila Prabhupada is late in coming to me and you have drank in it's profound application to the present Who would have thought 30 years ago that this poem would apply to us except Srila Prabhupada? He continues to unsparingly pour his mercy upon us. He distinctly points the way out of our current dilemna. May the message in his following poem sink deeply into His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (04-02-07)

Viraha Astaka
 Eight Prayers in Separation From My Spiritual Master
 by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
 December 1958
 recently translated and published
 from the Bengali into English by Dasaratha-suta dasa.

First Octet
The Flood of Krsna Prema

1)	O Srila Prabhupada! You personally suffer
		to see the suffering
		 	of the fallen conditioned souls.
	On this anniversary of your separation
		I am utterly despondent.

2) 	"The ocean of mercy was previously held back by a dam,
			but Lord Nityananda personally cut a channel in it
	and thereby released the outpouring flood
 		of pure ecstatic love of God. " 
	( from Locana's dasa's song Nitai Guna mani)

3) 	Those devotees to whom the responsiblity was given
		to continue spreading this flood of love
	somehow became overpowered by Maya
		and were thus reduced to simply performing
	ritualistic Hindu ceremonies
		for the benefit of the materialists.

4) 	Lord Nityananda's inundation of prema was thus completely stopped
		by those known as jati-gosai (caste gosvamis)
  	But then you personally came, O Master
		to open wide the floodgates once again.

5) 	Again you engulfed everyone
		in the deluge of pure divine love-
	even such a low, wretched, fallen
 		and sinful soul as myself.

6) 	On the strength of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu's command
		you sent all of your servants
   	as spiritual masters, going from door to door,
 		just to deliver the fallen souls.

7) 	The devotees were enthusiastically preaching everywhere-
		from the oceans to the Himalaya mountains,
	But now that you have gone from our midst
		everything today has become very dark.

8)	O Srila Prabhupada! You personally suffer
		to see the suffering
		 	of the fallen conditioned souls.
	On this day of your separation
		I am utterly despondent.

Second Octet
The Merciful Flood Has Been Stopped

1) 	Just as Advaita Prabhu had prayed fervently
			and thus induced Sri Gauranga to descend,
	so did your father, Bhaktivinoda Thakura,
		pray for you to incarnate.

2) 	Due to Bhaktivinoda's eagerness, O Master,
		you came and proclaimed to everyone
	that India is the most holy land
		of the Lord's divine pastimes.

3) 	"One who has taken birth in this land
		of Bharata-bhumi (India) should first
	make his own life successful and then work
		for the benefit of all other people" (C.C Adi 9.41)

4) 	This is the most significant message of Lord Caitanya
		that you boldly preached everywhere.
	But now in your absence, O Master,
		everything has fallen into darkness.

5) 	The overflowing ocean of your compassion
		has once again been dammed up.
	This makes me feel as if a spear of great misery
		has indeed pierced my heart.

6) 	Without Caitanya Mahaprabhu's message being spread
		there is only confusion and upheaval in the movement.
	Seeing this situation, all the Vaisnavas are also feeling
		overwhelmed with the pangs of your separation.

7) 	The spirit souls have once again been captured by Maya
		and plunged into absolute darkness.
	Desperately searching for relief, they are simply perishing
		in a fathomless ocean of anxiety.

8)	O Srila Prabhupada! You personally suffer
		to see the suffering
		 	of the fallen conditioned souls.
	On this day of your separation
		I am utterly despondent.

Third Octet
Practical Chanting and Preaching

1) 	You instructed everyone you met
		to chant the holy name of Lord Krsna.
 	You showed the example of continually reciting
 		the maha-mantra into their ears.

2) 	You empowered everyone with the qualification
		to further distribute that holy name
   	But now, by the influence of Maya,
		there is only darkness on all sides.

3) 	The souls who are truly attached to worshiping the Lord
		always sing and dance in joyful sankirtana.
	Following in the footsteps of their spiritual master,
		they deliver the whole world.

4)	 But those who have no such qualification perform nirjana bhajana
		or so-called confidential worship in a solitary place.
	Thus acting whimsically, all of them actually remain absorbed
		in personal sense gratification.

5)	[As stated in the Srimad Bhagavatam 10,33,30]:
		"An ordinary soul should never imitate the activities
			of the Supreme Lord, even in his mind."
	According to these instructions in devotional service,
		the unqualified imitators are ruined.

6) 	You preached "utility is the principle"-
		that is, one should act without attachment
	and use anything that is deemed appropriate
		in the devotional service of the Lord.

7) 	In such detached devotional service to Lord Krsna
		there would be a temple established in every house
	But now just the opposite situation
	 	is apparent everywhere.

8)	O Srila Prabhupada! You personally suffer
		to see the suffering
		 	of the fallen conditioned souls.
	On this day of your separation
		I am utterly despondent.

Fourth Octet
The Essential Purport Neglected

1) 	Everything regarding material prosperity as well as mystic perfection
		is fully present in your transcendental message:
	"Because the residents of Vraja have life,
		therefore they engage in preaching work." (Dusta Mana verse)

2) 	The "resolute intelligence" ("vyavasayatmika buddhi")
		explained by Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti
	[in his commentary to Bhagavad Gita 2.41]
		is now spoiled since your disciples have become ensnared
			in the bewildering noose of Maya.

3) 	Those disciples who were irresolute in performing
		devotional service according to your instructions
			have now divided your mission in many factions.
	It appears that the tigress of ambition
		for material names and fame
	has appeared and personally provoked this upheaval.

4) 	The essential purport of your message
		obviously did not enter their ears.
	O where will I get the strength
		to perform this hari-nama-sankirtana?

5) 	To chant the holy name of the Lord
		is the explicit command
			of my worshipful spiritual master.
	I could never honestly neglect that order

6)	 Your greatest acclaim is that you propagated
		the topmost religious culture
	Anyone who accepts the holy name from you
		becomes spiritually qualified.

7) 	If all those who attained this qualification
		were to go out and make disciples
	then the miserable conditioned souls would all be delivered 
		from this world of birth and death.

8)	O Srila Prabhupada! You personally suffer
		to see the suffering
		 	of the fallen conditioned souls.
	On this day of your separation
		I am utterly despondent.

Fifth Octet
The Disciple's Empowerment is Lost
1) 	The greatest mantra of all, consisting of thirty-two letters, is:
		Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
		Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
	People who are possessed by gross foolishness refuse to chant it.

2) 	Your so-called disciple, the jackal named Ananta Vasudeva,
		disobeyed your final instructions to keep the mission united,
		and thereby created a scandalous fiasco.
	The result of this philosophical deviation is evident to this day
		as imitative sahajiyas are being worshiped as gurus in your 
temples.

3) 	Is there a single temple to be found
		where your instructions are still being followed?
	As it is said: "punar musiko bhava"-
		Everyone has "again become a mouse."

4) 	The lion's food has been stolen away
		by the deceptive tricks of the jackal
	Now caught in Maya's mighty clutches
	 	everyone is reduced to wailing and weeping.

5) 	O Master! If your are merciful to us one again,
		then even though we are trapped here
	on the shores of the ocean of death,
		we will finally behold a change for the better.

6) 	Then once again we can blissfully remember
		the holy name of Krsna,
	and once again we will have firm faith
		in your "Vaikuntha messages."

7) 	Once again you will make us dance
		in the pure holy name of Krsna.
	thus you will personally dispel
		all this confusion caused by Maya.

8)	O Srila Prabhupada! You personally suffer
		to see the suffering
		 	of the fallen conditioned souls.
	On this day of your separation
		I am utterly despondent.

Sixth Octet
The Preaching Mission is Scattered

1) 	"Continue dancing, singing and performing sankirtana
		in the association of devotees." ( C.C. Adi 7.92)
	These words spoken by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu
		are especially nectarine.

2) 	If we have complete faith in these
		instructions given by you, our spiritual master,
	then in the performance of sankirtana
		actual love for Krsna will be aroused in us.

3)	 Without love of God, our tiny intelligence
		only becomes entangled in the network of Maya's delusions
	Because no one actually attained prema,
		now there has been great upheaval in your mission.

4) 	The whole world has become filled with impersonalists,
 		and the Vaisnavas have given up
	the work of preaching that was entrusted unto them
		and have simply gone off to perform solitary worship.

5)	The Vaisnava's were famous as "patita pavana" ( deliverers of the 
fallen)
		but now this title has fallen into disgrace.
	Countless numbers of your disciples
		have been forced to leave your movement.

6) 	At such an inauspicious time, O Master,
		what can be done to repair the damage that is done?
	The beautiful garden that you had so carefully planted
		is now parched and withered away.

7)	 O Master, please awaken some good intelligence
		in this insignificant disciple of yours
	so that my firm faith in your transcendental message
		may increase more and more.

8) 	O Srila Prabhupada! You personally suffer
			to see the suffering
		 		of the fallen conditioned souls.
		On this day of your separation
			I am utterly despondent.

Seventh Octet
Distributing the Pure Devotional Process

1) 	The most magnanimous incarnation of the Lord is Sri Krsna Caitanya.
		Distributing the process of attaining love of God
	by chanting the holy names of Krsna,
		He thus blessed the entire universe.

2)	O Master, you are the personification
		of the transcendental message of Lord Caitanya.
	You are the distributor of that message
		 to every town and village.

3)	You sent your devotees to preach
		in the faraway lands of the Western countries,
	and you personally traveled all over India,
		even to the South.

4) 	You preached the pure philosophy of Lord Gauranga
		in such a way that intelligent persons could understand.
	And you showed such great concern, O Master,
		in convincing all you adversaries!

5) 	Lord Gauranga used many tricks just to engage 
		the conditioned souls in devotional service,
	and you have also understood how to use
		all those tricks perfectly well.

6) 	You understood time, place and circumstance,
		and utilized everything as a strategy for preaching.
	Although observing your activities with their very eyes.
		those who are blind like owls and other creatures of the night
			could not see your true purpose.

7)	What will the Auls and the Sahajiyas
		and the other nonsense groups ever understand?
	And what will the sheep-like common people
		or dry logicians ever understand?

8) O Srila Prabhupada! You personally suffer
		to see the suffering
		 	of the fallen conditioned souls.
	On this day of your separation
		I am utterly despondent.

Eighth Octet
If Only You would Come Again

1)	Lord Caitanya's method of devotional service
		is not performed in solitude.
	You preached this again and again
		to your own devotees.

2)	Just as the Lord delivered Jagai and Madhai
		out of His own causeless mercy,
	you explained to everyone that this same method
		of preaching work has to go on.

3) 	The world has now filled up
		with many Jagais and Madhais to deliver.
	Everyone is anxiously looking down the road
		waiting for Caitanya-Nitai to come to their rescue.

4) 	If, at such a time as this,
		you were to personally return to this world 
	and once more preach about all these things
		the way you always used to do…

5)	… If there were enthusiastic preaching activities
			again taking place in every direction,
	then all the people as before
		would be stirred up in blissful excitement.

6) 	Your profound shouting would cause
		the demons and atheists to flee,
	and your narrations of Lord Caitanya's message
		would fill the hearts of the innocent souls.

7) Again the whole world would be
		excitedly bustling with good tidings;
	but as it is, in your absence now
		there is nothing of value anywhere.

8) O Srila Prabhupada! You personally suffer
		to see the suffering
		 	of the fallen conditioned souls.
	On this day of your separation
		I am utterly despondent.

9) 	O Master! My heart is broken in your absence.
		This disciple named Abhay
	has hereby revealed only a small token
		of his wretched agony of separation.

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