Śrīla Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswāmī Mahārāj explains how to get his association in separation.
Devotee: When you go to another place, the devotees say that they want to maintain consciousness of you in your separation. They are asking how to maintain that consciousness.
Śrīla Govinda Mahārāj: Śrīman Mahāprabhu has given the answer to this question to Śrīla Sanātan Goswāmī and Śrīla Rūpa Goswāmī. Rūpa and Sanātan left their family and relatives, and joined Śrīman Mahāprabhu. Rūpa Goswāmī came to see Mahāprabhu in Prayāg, and Sanātan Goswāmī came to see Him in Benares. They both wanted to stay with Mahāprabhu, but Mahāprabhu said, “No. I am giving you this service: go to Vṛndāvan and try to fulfil My desire there. By doing that, you will always have My association.”
Mahāprabhu’s expression is that Rūpa and Sanātan will always get His association through His teachings and desires, and they will also get formal association with Him from time to time when they will go to Purī or Mahāprabhu goes to Vṛndāvan. In this way, through remembrance of the teachings and service to Guru and Gaurāṅga, everyone will get my association, and I shall get your association.
Everywhere you are all taking photos. Why? For remembrance. When you look at those photos, you can feel that everything is living within those photos. We are getting that inspiration, and we cannot forget that. Day by day, you will be inspired when you engage yourself busily in service to Guru and Gaurāṅga. Then, you will feel it, and more feelings will come as the day that we will meet again comes closer.
By phone, I hear that they are very anxiously waiting for me in America. Their day has come [laughter], and anxiously they are waiting for me. Every day, twice or even thrice, they are phoning me.
There is so much enthusiasm in the hearts of the devotees. Many times I have seen it, and it is my wealth for remembrance. Actually, we are not losing anything. Everything is always existing. That is the main scientific thought. Maybe we cannot see it, but all this advice, this whole mood of friendship—everything—is existing, and it is living within us. Outwardly, we cannot feel it, but inwardly we always can, and that is our wealth. In this way, spend your time engaged in service.
We need to make a big community here. It is growing day by day, and when we will get more time and opportunity, it will grow more. I have no doubt that through your service, it will grow more in very nice way. But we must try to follow the directives and intentions of Guru and Gaurāṅga. What they want and what the Vaiṣṇava wants, we shall try to follow in that way. What our Guru needs, we shall try to satisfy him in that way. This is very clear. Mahāprabhu has given instructions, and like daylight we can feel them: humility, tolerance, and giving honour to others. Name and fame is a very bad obstacle, and we have to try to avoid that. What shall I do with name and fame? It will not go with me, but my service to Guru and Gaurāṅga will protect me. It will give me life, and through it I will feel happiness, joy, ecstasy, and charm. Beautiful service—everything—will live with me if my mood is to serve and satisfy Guru and Gaurāṅga. In that way, we shall try to proceed in our life.
We are like a bunch of sticks. If we are sincere, we are honest, and we are humble, then nothing can break us. Why would anyone come to break us? We are not doing anything wrong to others. We are humble, and we are tolerant. If anything bad comes to us, we must tolerate that. Many things, many circumstances, may come to us, but we will try to tolerate that. Mahāprabhu said we should give honour to every soul because Kṛṣṇa is living within them. What can we see? We will give honour to everybody, and through that we can conquer the heart of everybody. Kṛṣṇa Himself told,
tulasī-dala‑mātreṇa jalasya chulukena vā
(Gautamīya-tantra)
“With a little bit of water and a tulasī leaf, you can buy Me. If you offer Me every day a tulasī leaf and little water with devotion, you can buy Me.”
So, it is a very easy process to buy Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Kṛṣṇa is nondifferent from Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So, we have no problem actually. Our problems come through ego, through our illusory mentality. But when we live in the light, shade goes away, and we have three dimensional power protecting us—(1) Guru; (2) Gaurāṅga, Gāndharvā, and Govindasundar; and (3) the Vaiṣṇavas. They will protect us. With this three dimensional protection, no shadow will come over us. In this way, we shall try to live in service to Guru and Gaurāṅga. This is my prayer to you all: cooperatively and congregationally chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahāmantra, serve Guru and Vaiṣṇava, and fulfil the desires of Śrīla Guru Mahārāj. If I have any blessings, I am giving them to you all.
Reference
Spoken 7 June 1993.