Vyas Puja Homage
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(Part 6)
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by Gurudas
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32) Compassionate.
You are more compassionate that any one. So many times You have forgiven offences. And even though you are a sanyasi, when a woman is not getting proper attention or protection You will see to it personally that she is taken care of nicely. And when you see one of Your students perhaps a little morose, You say, "Is everything all right?" and immediately all pain due to body or mind goes away. And sometimes You ruffle my sikha or pat my back when I pay my obeisances. Let me walk with You in the morning, morning after morning. And You never turn away visitors, with their various problems. You wisely administer the cure with loving tenderness; You caress the soul of all devotees, with compassion and loving kindness.
All glories to Your Divine Grace.
33) Respectful.
When we went to see Sri Birla, You showed him all respects as He is older, but when we went to see a younger almost equally wealthy man, You treated him as a younger child. You are the embodiment of respect to others, as Krishna also showed respect by offering obeisances to Yudhistir when they met. You are always so respectful to all of the feelings of all the living entities.
All glories to Your Divine Grace.
34) Gentle.
You are devoid of all sense of false prestige, and ready to offer respects to others. In such a state of mind one can chant the Holy Name of the Lord constantly.
Once when my foot was bleeding, You so gently, so kindly repaired the wound, so expertly, that as You gently touched the infected area, the impurities went away. And who but Your Divine Grace can hold the stem of a flower gently in between His fingers for three hours, (I have seen this) and not crush the stem of the flower? And You so gently carry us towards the Kingdom of Krishna, on Your sublime Teachings.
All glories to Your Divine Grace.
35) Liberal.
Like Lord Krishna, You also liberally accept our service, even if something goes wrong, or someone talks against another, You accept and encourage us liberally, so that each one of us continues on. And You distribute so liberally Krishna prem.
You always say, let Krishna enjoy, everything is His. So what have I to take or give away? And You told us, "As a young boy I would play with dust as if I were a doctor." And You demonstrated (with Your Lotus fingers) how You would administer dust liberally to Your friends. And You are administering dust from Vrindavan to us all, as when Krishna himself brought the parijata flowers to Satybrata. You bring Vrindaban dust to our needy souls.
All glories to Your Divine Grace.
36) Shy.
One time after writing that wonderful expert letter to the Pope, You humbly and shyly looked up and said, "Is this all right?" And You shyly ask us for advice. Your eyes moving shyly like a gopi's ; and we know You know everything but still You humbly and shyly ask us for counsel.
And once on a television show when the man wanted to plan every action and thing You were to say, in an unspontaneous fashion, because of the unnaturalness of this situation You became shy and would not look into the camera. And the T.V. man saw that it is better to let You be naturally Krishna Conscious.
All glories to Your Divine Grace.
37) Protector of Surrendered Souls.
When we surrender at Your Lotus Feet, You feed us with your Divine hands. You have given us temple after temple, in every city, to rest our weary heads. You have arranged for us to travel all over the world. You have given us every stitch of cloth to wear. You are the protector of everyone who comes to You. That is Your contract.
By Your blessings, You smile over Your flock of children, and straighten us up by Your strength, as Krishna did with Kubja, the hunch-back girl. And when difficulty and moroseness come I feel protected by You and Great Grandfather Bhaktivinoda Thakur. For this I am so grateful, as You are always protecting Your children. And although You are sanyasi if a spiritual daughter is unprotected, You will see to her protection.
And in Indore, when a demon was pulling one of Your spiritual sons off the platform, You swooped, with raging kartals, (like a Sudarsan Chakra) and the aggressor had to retreat, and kirtan resumed. Oh all glory to my Protector, all glory all glory to our Safety and Shelter, the causeless Protector of all devotees.
All glories to Your Divine Grace.
38) Happy.
Because You are the happiest devotee on this planet, I came to you, for I was searching out the happiest soul in this world, and in You I found Him. You have said, "Big or little, We will sit down and chant Hare Krishna." And when You smile, the flowers, trees, bees, waters, and gandarvas all smile. Your happiness is all-embracing.
39) Well-Wisher to All Devotees.
I recall one day an old man came to me in Delhi, and he told me how, many years before, he rendered some service at Your Lotus feet, and when he saw You recently, You showed so much mercy upon him. When he approached You, he told me, he was thinking, "Will Swamiji remember me?" And when he came You smiled, and talked of the small service he rendered; certainly You are the well-wisher of all souls.
And when asked if You favoured any students, You said, "When someone does some service I encourage him, but I love all my students equally. You are all My children, My sons, and daughters. Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati said that if a student feels favoured he is like a mosquito sitting on the lap of a king thinking "All these people are my subjects." But he only succeeds in biting the king.
All glories to Your Divine Grace.
40) Controlled by Love.
Many times I have seen a sincere devotee perform a service in loving spirit, and although he seemingly blundered, because of the love involved in the offering, You lovingly were attracted. We can talk logically for hours, but when someone becomes spontaneous, the discussions become solidified and everything becomes revealed.
I remember how Janaki Devi would sometimes burst into Your room, or talk very friendly, and laugh, and all protocol was absent, but because she was loving, You accepted her as Your loving daughter. And you gave her anything she asked,
Also once a little girl spent all her pennies to buy You a sweet, and You accepted the gift so tenderly, while a moment before when a large industrialist offered You a cheque (but not his love), You accepted it indifferently. Once when asked why did Lord Chaitanya embrace Sanatana Goswami when he had skin sores, You answered, "Lord Chaitanya embraced Sanatana because He loved Him, not to cure his itches."
All glories to Your Divine Grace.
(Cont'd on next page.)
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