(courtesy of ISKCON News)
SONG IN STONE [1]
yas tuṣṭātmā sphutam anupaṭhec chraddhayā śuddhayāntar
medhyaḥ padyāṣṭakam acaṭulaḥ suṣṭhu govardhanasya
sāndraṁ govardhana-dhara-pada-dvandva-śoṇāravindaṁ
vindan premotkaram iha karoty adri-rāje sa vāsam
May a person who with faith, attention, and a pure and cheerful heart, reads these eight verses glorifying Govardhana Hill, reside by that king of mountains and find there intense, pure love for the red lotus feet of the lifter of Govardhana Hill.
(Dvitīya Govardhanāṣṭakam 9)
Written by Śacītanuja Dāsa, a disciple of His Holiness Rādhānātha Mahārāja and an architect for the TOVP, who sincerely designed His Holiness Bhakti Charu Mahārāja’s samādhi in Māyāpura, despite his professional engagements at Cushman & Wakefield.
On 4th of July, 2020 the whole world celebrated Guru-pūrṇimā, paying respects and homage to the guru who is the representative of Śrīla Vyāsadeva. It was also the day when all the Vrajavāsīs commemorated their love and respect for their guru, Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī, by performing Govardhana parikramā. That day also marked the occasion which plunged the entire ISKCON world into a state of loving separation from their most beloved leader guru, Śrīla Bhakti Charu Mahārāja. That fateful day was saturated with mixed emotions. The sadness of separation and simultaneously the joy of his loving reunion with his beloved spiritual master, Śrīla Prabhupāda, in the spiritual world.
