Glorification by God Brothers. (19)
Dear Jayapataka Swami,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
My thanks to you for your Krishna conscious example to the world of a devoted and pure preacher of Krishna consciousness. You are so dear to Lord Krishna for always preaching the Bhagavad Gita to the devotees.
Here is a quote from Srila Prabhupada's purport from Bhagavad Gita, 18.66, "One should be confident that in all circumstances Krishna will protect him from all difficulties. There is no need of thinking how one should keep the body and soul together. Krishna will see to that. One should always think himself helpless and should consider Krishna the only basis for his progress in life. As soon as one seriously engages himself in devotional service to the Lord in full Krishna consciousness, at once he becomes freed from all contamination of material nature." I always feel helpless and look to the shelter of my senior god brothers and god sisters for protection.
And Lord Krishna's promise in Bhagavad Gita 18.65 gives so much solace. “Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend."
These words from Srila Prabhupada and Lord Krishna give us hope. The pure devotees of the Lord give us strength to become pure and surrendered to Krishna's lotus feet and to serve Srila Prabhupada and his followers in this glorious Sankirtan movement.
My sincere appreciation to you Maharaja and your wonderful disciples who are engaged so sincerely in devotional service.
Your servant,
Saucharya devi dasi,
Dallas,
USA
Dearest Godbrother and Friend Jayapataka Swami Maharaja,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
On this auspicious day commemorating your appearance, I take the opportunity to thank you for being the sterling example of a disciple of Srila Prabhupada and of a servant of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Their Mission.
Several times I have been asked by some of your well-wishers to request from you that you slow down in your active, external service so as to take better care of your health. I have invariably told them, "No, I will not do that. He clearly wants to offer his very self in service in this way and that is his prerrogative. He is showing all that a devotee of a high order is unstoppable by material circumstances and that is, rather, admirable and to be followed by those who can. Those of us of lesser stature, cannot, and must stand in appreciation."
Thank you for allowing me in your association.
Most affectionately, I remain,
Your servant,
Virabahu Dasa
Dear Jayapataka Maharaja,
Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Your kind disciples have invited me to write some appreciation for your preaching activities on the occasion of the begining of your 43rd year in the service of Srila Prabhupada.
The first thing that comes to my mind and heart when I think of your service is the great determination and tenacious spirit in the fullfilment of Lord Chaitanya's mission that you have demonstrated all these years and specially the last one.
Your continuous travelling and preaching that subjects your gross and subtle body in so much austerity and stress for me is the undoubtful signs of dutifulness, wisdom and mercy.
I remember you as a young, skinny sannyasi being in charge of Mayapur, together with our godbrother Bhavananda prabhu, leading us in parikramas, always inclined to glorify Lord Chaitanya with ever new and untold stories of His pastimes.
Thank you for giving such a nice example of surrendering to the will of Srila Prabhupada and I am sure the millions of times that you have called upon the Lord's Name by chanting and preaching have already assured you a brilliant eternal future in Lord Krishna's sweet service.
I wish you further health, energy and success to you and your disciples for the expansion and maintainance of the all glorious movement of Lord Chaitanya.
Yours in the service of Srila Prabhupada
Citraka dasa,
Vicenza – Italy
Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
Although I've never been close with HH Jayapataka Maharaja, I would like to offer this tiny haiku homage for his 62nd Vyasa-puja celebration:
Prabhupada's man, Struck down, picked up, Lord's mercy
Now we understand.
Hope you are well, Hare Krishna.
Your servant,
Suresvara dasa
Honolulu, HI – USA
Dear Srila Jayapataka Swami Maharaja,
On this holy day, I wish to offer my immense gratitude to you for your worshipable life of devotion. Over the past forty-three years you have been side by side with Srila Prabhupada and his dearest associates manifesting the compassion of the Pancha Tattva in a way that will forever live in Vaisnava history.
From the time of your teen age years you dedicated your life and soul to assisting Srila Prabhupada and have never turned back. Your steadfast sacrifice of love has been foundational to the development of Sri Mayapur Dham and your tireless preaching has transformed hundreds of thousands of lives as you traveled from village to village in Bengal and all over the world, from the major cities to remote places. Witnessing your natural renunciation, wisdom and loving exchanges has inspired and conquered our hearts. Countless devotees long to hear your narrations about Lord Chaitanya and your remembrances of Srila Prabhupada and it seems that nothing can stop your enthusiasm to share these treasures with the world.
Personally, I am overwhelmed seeing how you passed through a devastating health crisis with the grace and compassion of a true saint. Seeing the brilliance of your dedication to serve, to share and to love through these insurmountable challenges has revealed to me the essence of the scriptures and has revealed the supreme gift that Srila Parabhupada is giving to the world.
I am forever grateful to you.
Your servant,
Radhanath Swami.
Dear Jayapataka Maharaja,
Please accept my respectful obeisances.
All glories to Srila Prabhuapda! and to your continuous and amazing service at his lotus feet.
You set the example for loving devotional service for us all, and show us constantly how to be an integral part of Lord Caitanya’s Sankirtan Movement. Faced with joy or difficulty, you just carry on preaching, spreading the glories of the Lord to everyone you meet, wherever you go. You’re truly amazing, Maharaja! How fortunate I am to have such a very special big brother!
The spiritual master is our link to Krishna, our path back Home, our guiding light in this dark world. Thank you for accepting both my daughter, Jayada Radhika dd, and my granddaughter, Revati Kamala dd, as your initiated disciples. Thank you for blessing them with your personal association, and for giving them the priceless opportunity to follow you back Home to Godhead. I am truly grateful.
Thank you for bringing us to Sri Mayapur dham in 1978 and for allowing us to stay for so many years. By your mercy, we were able to have the incredible good fortune of residing and serving in the holy dham. I have so many warm and special memories of Mayapur and of you.
I wish I could be there today to personally offer my dandavats to you on your Appearance Day. From afar, I am taking the dust of the dham from your lotus feet and begging you to keep us always in your prayers, as you are ever in ours. Happy Birthday! Have a wonderful day!
Your faithful servant and small Godsister,
Racitambara dasi
Winnipeg, CA.
Dear Jaya Pataka Swami Maharaja,
Please accept our humble obeisances, all glories to Srila Prabhupada.
Your appearance day is certainly a happy day for ISKCON and the world. Following the order of Srila Prabhupada you have taken the message of Lord Gauranga far and wide all over the globe, showering the mercy of the Sankirtan movement on all the conditioned souls. You have left an indelible imprint of pure devotional service in the minds of thousands upon thousands of conditioned souls wherever you went. The expansion of ISKCON worldwide is in large part a result of your unending effort to reach newer and newer audiences and give them Srila Prabhupada's mercy.
It is also apparent that your senior disciples are well trained and having a big impact in various temples and projects of ISKCON which require mature and dedicated leadership, and this shows that you are passing the responsibility on to the the next generation in a way which would give relief to Srila Prabhupada who was greatly apprehensive that we, his sons and daughters might allow ISKCON to become fragmented and derelict after his disappearance.
The best example of this smooth and seemless transfer of responsibility can be seen in Sri Dham Mayapur where we are now witnessing the fulfillment of Srila Prabhupads's heart's desire, the construction of the Planet of the Vedic Planetarium. The job of managing and exploiting the opulences of this phenomenal preaching tool will fall to the 2nd and 3rd generations of Mayapur devotees who are already seasoned veterans of mass preaching due to many years of putting on the annual Mayapur Gour Purnima festival and countless other festivals.
However, our humble and repeated request is that you now pay maximum attention to your health and wellness. We are all aware that for you this may not be a welcome use of your time, you may prefer to keep traveling and preaching, but rest and recovery is very necessary .ISKCON needs and requires that you remain for a much longer time for guidance and wisdom for the upcoming challenges of an increasingly toxic and hostile world.
Our family wish you all happiness and Krishna conscious bliss on your appearance day.
Your servants,
Paradhyeya Das
Caitanya Dasi
Balaram
Dear Maharaja,
Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
On this day I would like to remember your example of great determination to build Sri Mayapur Dhama. When I was a pujari at Calcutta temple, you used to come riding on trucks to carry cement and bricks to Mayapur. In those days, it was not easy to get these things. But you were so determined that you made the impossible possible. We must follow in your footsteps and be determined to preach as you are now doing, despite all inconveniences caused by ill health. Please give me a drop of your determination, so I may also continue to serve Srila Prabhupada as you are doing.
Your servant,
Narayani dasi
Hare Krishna
Please accept my humbly offered obeisances.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
The glories of His Holiness Jayapataka Swami have only increased since the dark day of his stroke two and a half years ago. Only a very special soul could possible triumph over such a spectacular devastation of the physical body in such a glorious manner. That he keeps on serving and preaching is not only itself a miracle but an even greater inspiration for devotees of all levels. Who can sit back and complain about anything with such an example before us? Who could not be inspired to try even harder to live up to the basic level of vaishnava dharma and behavior, what to speak of pushing ourselves on even further?
He has imbibed the determined mood of Srila Prabhupada to preach unto death, whatever the circumstances may be. He seems to be an intimate member of Lord Chaitanya's inner preaching circle on behalf of Srila Prabhupada.
What a wonderful personality to be associated with! How proud we are of him! How much we should wish to fall in the dust of his lotus feet! May he be blessed many more unlimited years of pure devotional service before taking leave of this world and going back to Godhead.
Your Servant,
Malati Devi Dasi.
Please accept my obeisances.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
I have always experienced Jayapataka as my ideal senior brother. His tolerance and ablitiy to see the good in devotees is awesome. He has always encouraged me in spite of my foolish pride and incompetence.
The most amazing thing is his tireless determination to preach in the service of Srila Prabhupada. I witnessed this during the 2011 Navadvipa mandala parikrama. Jayapataka Swami, leaving the temple at 0700 every morning, vistied all four parties daily. That required a lot of driving, which would exhaust any of us. Inspite of it being especially difficult for him to get in and out of the car, his energy increased as he carried on. At every stop he led a blissful kirtan and gave a lecture which inspired everyone.
He attended every function during the Gaura Purnima festival, including GBC meetings, where he always makes valuable contributions. He is showing us that we need not be deterred due the condition of our bodies.
His lifetime of service is well known, yet his humility shines forth as he will give his full attention and care to anyone who approaches him. He is Maypura dham personified. He manifests the audarya mood, making it easy and attractive for fallen souls to serve Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda.
Your Servant,
krsne matir astu
Kavicandra Swami.
Index of Homages
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02-04-2012 - Adhivas at 7.20 PM
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