20231116 || Jayapatākā Swami Śiṣya Samūha: HG Achintya Nitāi Dāsa || Śrī Māyāpur, India

Foreign. When I was six years old in 1980, my father took me to a very old house in the middle of the city, Santiago, Chile.

Santiago, Chile this house was two story.

Floor, very old, very big. And I remember walking with my father at the stairs upstairs. And the house was moving back and forth because the bodies were jumping up and down. In a kirtan was more than 100 devotees. They were very, very fired up. That was my first time seeing devotees in my life.

And I was shocked.

So after the kirtan, maybe half an hour later, everybody was paying obeisances. And I stood standing. I didn't really know what to do. So I asked my father why everybody is paying obeisances. And he look at me and say, I explained you later, just pay ovations now. But I didn't. I. In that moment, I saw across the room, the big room, hall, Guru Maharaj smiling at me. So for me, looking at Guru Maharaj smiling was so beautiful that I. I stay still. So his smile conquered my heart. Fast forward. About 10 years later, when I was 16 years old, I joined the temple as a Brahmachari. And I saw Guru Maharaj again. And this time he talked to me in. In a broken English. He already. Sorry. In a broken Spanish. He was learning Spanish, so. And he was very convincing, very loving, like a father. So he encouraged me to study Bhagava and do Sankirtan book distribution. So by his strength and encouragement, I was able to stay for a few years in the temple.

So on our.

So India is here and Chile is here, in the other side of the world, very, very far. So the people there, they don't really know a very. Even till today are very few devotees. So Guru Maharaj used to come not only to my country, but other countries only for a few days. And it was a marathon, one program after another. I remember seeing the secretaries and the servants always running just like here. He was like that, even more intense than even obviously today. But he was very active. So in 1995, I got initiated and I met my wife. And in 97 we came to Mayapur. She was pregnant five months. And we came only for three months here to Mayapur for joining the Ganga Safari, the first Ganga Safari. So we did with Guru Maharaj the wonderful Ganga Safari. We were very young. I mean, I was like 22, 22 years old. And Guru Maharaj suggest for us to stay in Mayapur. So we stayed for some time. And then I remember he was very, very kind in. In the Guru Puja in the Big K. There Was hundreds of devotees, maybe more than a thousand devotees there. And I was nearby him, but I was in my mind, I was not feeling, feeling very well because I didn't know what to do, how to make money and this and that. And I was very nearby Guru Maharaj. So he look at me in the middle of ceremony and he called me and opened his arms. So I was shocked because in the middle of the ceremony, hundreds of devotees offering. And he was reciprocating and he noticed me and did that. I was in shock.

Pragito bokami Stombito hegasi Amit Obakharan Shot of Bhaktar Majay tara Bhaktara Pranam Koch.

So finally I. I realized that I have to move forward and embrace him. So all my mental problems went away later. He was also very expert in engaging me in service. We used to walk like every morning after the Yapa. During the yapa session in the morning after Mungularti from Panchatatwa, we were sitting there and then he all of a sudden stand up and then we go for a walk around the. The compound.

So Amrastam.

So he was allowing me to help him to put the, the shoes on and holding the hand, helping in these physical things. Ah. So on the path to the Goshala, these trees, big trees, kadamba trees. He was with the big crowd following him and I was next to him. And he sometimes used to lean towards the. The trees very like dangerously, like almost crouching into the trees. So, so he knew that I was behind, right behind him. And he knew that I was trying to do some service. So I was putting my hand in his shoulder and correcting his way so he cannot crouch in the, in the, in the tree. He was doing that just to engage me in service.

So.

Yeah, very mercifully was engaging me. And one time in, in a. There was ceremony of killing Ravana that was held at the International School. Yeah. What's the name of the ceremony? So there was fireworks. There was many people and the fireworks was. He was sitting in, surrounded by Brahmacharis. In that time I was following him, following him everywhere. So in that occasion the fireworks was a malfunction. And all of a sudden the fireworks became a mess because they, they start to spread and launch the fireworks to the crowd. So everybody was trying to take shelter here and there because it was very dangerous, a big mess. People were running different places. And there some Brahmacharis were coming very close to Guru Mas, like protecting him.

So.

So Guru Maharaj, at one Point he was surrounded except it was rather Brahmacharis except for the front. I believe that they want him to look at the fireworks but it was very dangerous. So I was inspired by Parma to come straight to where Guru Mahaj is. And I was. Instead of sitting there, I was standing covering Guru Maharaj. Even his view were looking at me like why are you covering Guru Maharaj like this? You don't you. You are on top. Almost on top of Guru Maharaj. But I knew that this is what I have to do. Then after some time the fireworks and come down it stops. And I was walking with Guru Maharaj back to Lotus Building and he. He say in English that I can if. If I like I. He would like to take me to travel with him.

So I became super, super happy.

And then another thing that I remember in the safari, in the safaris are Gurumas very very humble and austere. Caught her for his sleeping on one time we were left in a place where there was no. No arrangement, no mattress. It was just the. The floor and one. One thing made of mati and. But there was only one mosquito net. And then. And then he's. That was it. He slept on the practical in the floor. Bare floor, just a shadow underneath. Another occasion I enjoy very much. Go go with him in. In a boat to I think was Vidyanagar. In the next day, 5:00 clock, 5:00am he woke up and we went for japa. Chanting Japa in the forest of Gitanagari. Beautiful place. Then Darshan Arctic and he led the kirtan. I remember I was holding the microphone and he was chanting very, very energetically, very enthusiastic. And then I noticed that he was cr. Not many people noticed because I was holding the microphone very, very near close to him. But the others they couldn't see and he was trying very hard to contain his emotions. So he finally stopped the kirtan because there's a few devotees were looking at him and they were in shock. So after some time we went to. After. After breakfast we went for the Bhakti Bricksha show that he was presenting Bhakti rickshaw to the. So he presented Bhakti Brickshaw like an expert, like a professional. And I was very lucky to help him with them. He was putting so much energy. I don't understand the amount of energy that he can produce. I was very tired.

Shakti Shali.

Later, after lunch, maybe three o' clock he asked me to put a seat like this in the middle of a beautiful park area in front of the main gate. Of the farm. So and he invite all the devotees who were in the festival for a question and answer session. After seeing that, Ranath Swami got inspired and he did the same, but in another group very nearby. So the hours pass 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, almost 10 o' clock when the sun was going down because it was summertime. Around 10 o' clock when there was no more light, they stopped. So we took Guru Maharaj to his room that it happens to be the. The personal room of the two main servants of Bhakti Dita Swami that they were living there. They say that Guru Mahaj was like Bhakti Dita Swami for them because Bhakti Dita Swami mentioned to Guru Maharaj that he asked him to take care of his disciples. So we were in the room and he opened his laptop and started to reply emails. So I was only with him in the room. And the time passed. 11, 12, 12:30, I approached Guru Maharaj and I say, Guru Maharaj is 12:30. And Guru Maharaj didn't even look at me. So 1:30 I approach again and I say Guru Maharaj is 130. And before I finish, he said, you go to bed. So I wait until 2:30. And I noticed that his eyes and his body was shutting down. So I approached very humbly, very, very humbly. I approached to. I put myself in front of the laptop and I say, Guru Maharaj, please let's go bed. And he didn't look, just continue for maybe half a minute. And then he closed the laptop, went to the bed and I couldn't take. I couldn't help him to do anything because he, he collapsed. He was asleep, completely asleep. I couldn't. We couldn't change. Usually he put a piyama, but this time was a complete collapse. Very, very active is this energy must be inspired by Lord Chaitanya himself. There's no. When Guru Maharaj suffered a stroke, I was very. I went, I went to Mumbai and I joined the group of servants along with, and I was part of the, the team with Ekanad Kor in that time. He couldn't speak a word nor move nothing. He has a trachectomy. He has a bottom covering here. And we were trying to figure it out what Guru Maharaj wants because he was trying to communicate. He didn't. I arrived after maybe one week after the stroke and he didn't take any food through the mouth. So I remember with another devotee, we tried to get Gurmaj to say something and, and I remember we tried to different ways with the board to make writing and try to communicate with him. So in these long hours, trying to communicate with him, one time I mentioned the name roots and he moved his finger and I say again just to confirm fall, he moved his finger again. And then I say what kind of fruit? And he moved the finger quickly. And I realized that was not a very good question. So I realized that I was wasting my time. I have to just go whatever fruit, any fruit, as much as I can to Guru Maharaj. So I informed Mahabharaha and everybody. So the hospital didn't allow any other food from outside, especially fruits. The hospital didn't allow any meal from outside, especially fruits. So we have to smuggle the fruit to the room under the kurtas and then these in each other. And I. I realized how merciful Lord Chaitanya was with me, that I was somehow he. He decided to okay. Use me in that service. He couldn't choose any other devotee, very good devotee who was there. So after some time Guru Mask start to get stronger and start to say some few things. And he. I noticed he. He was using or putting his body to the maximum. So I was standing with a cup of water and he was trying to say something, communicate.

Ami aklas jalni darisilam.

And one time his bottom of the trachea flew and struck my ch. And he started to laugh. And then very quickly I pick it up from the floor and I disinfect it and we try to put it back. After a few weeks he got stronger. We took it to the. To the. There was like a gym for physiotherapy and he was trying to walk. We were helping and we were trained by a physiotherapist. And I remember seeing him just like a lion. So given all the. The very best of himself to try to do whatever he could in that situation. He. When start to work out, when start to walk in with him. We used to hold him in a way that he was able to move. He was sweating because of the intense effort. And he was chanting the holy name all the time. And one time we went to another hospital that has a cabin that is a pressurized with a special oxygen. I forgot the name. It has a technical name for that. This oxygen goes in the. In the blood cells.

Oxygen.

I think it's called hyperbaric chamber, Hyper body chamber. And it was tough for him to move from one place to another. Very tough. And he. We used to get inside this chamber with him and he was able to speak now a little bit and he asked me one time, where do I want to go? Like in the universe. Because the chamber looked like a spaceship. So I think it was a tricky question. Because he said that the universe and I. And I said the top one, the Brahmaloka. So he left and then lay down after one hour of the process. So there was many things that we did with Guru Maharaj. And I was also part of the first kirtan that Guru Maharaj did in Mumbai in Mira Road. He was so static because it was first curtain after the stroke. And he was in ecstasy. So fast forward Guru Mahaj. I remember when he came first after the stroke came to Mayapur. I never seen the show of affection of the devotees here in Mayapur towards somebody though especially Guru Maharaj. Like here. I believe that we were in line with what Lord Caitania wants from us. By receiving him like this. Because at least I was experiencing very blissful, more than any other time. And many other devotees also that I seen. They were all very static. So I believe that when we feel very ecstatic, very blissful. Is because we are pleasing Krishna.

Amar Bishas Jamrajakon.

Krishna says that the one who said is my devotee, is not my devotee. But the one who said is devotee of my devotee. That's my devotee. That to me shows how Lord Krishna mind. How his mind is so gentle that and detach and renounce that he said that you can just better towards me my devotee.

Kept borrow on exist.