It has been my good fortune to have His Holiness as one of my longtime friends. Being present at the time of their last meeting, I had the opportunity to see Srila Govinda Maharaja's affectionate dealings with him. Just before that I chanced to meet Jayadvaita Swami at the ISKCON temple in Govardhana as I attended to some seva. As soon as I mentioned Srila Govinda Maharaja was at our Govardhana mandir, he immediately expressed his desire to see him.

Jayadvaita Swami accrued many distinctions during his life of service to Srila Prabhupada. He was one of his early disciples and soon became editor of Srila Prabhupada's beloved Back to Godhead magazine and many books of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.

At a time when Srila Prabhupada was urgently pushing the publication of his Chaitanya Charitamrta, Jayadvaita Swami worked to the point of exhaustion to see it through.

When I last had some extensive association with him, he was similarly engaged in perfecting Prabhupada's Bhagavad-Gita As It Is, the 1983 "Revised and Enlarged" edition. This drew criticism from some, but after careful examination, I found such criticisms unwarranted and was very happy to see the improvements.

At the same time, early 1982, he was offering me his full support and encouragement after I had recently taken sannyasa from Srila Sridhar Maharaja, which likewise "drew criticism from some, but after careful examination, I found such criticisms unwarranted and was very happy to see the improvements."

In his comments to me regarding a piece I wrote about William F. Buckley Jr., Jayadvaita Maharaja wrote "He was a better writer than both of us...". Judging from this email, it is true of me, not of him. If His Holiness was our editor, "I would be worry free." to coin a phrase of Srila Govinda Maharaja.

BK Giri
 

Email From Sripad Jayadvaita Swami
Johannesburg, South Africa
March 29, 2010

With my dandavat pranams at the feet of all the devotees, I write to express my sadness and commiseration at the disappearance of His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda-Dev Goswami Maharaja, the beloved disciple of Srila Bhakti Rakshak Sridhar-Dev Goswami Maharaja and Sevaite-President-Acharya of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math.

I had the good fortune of meeting Srila Govinda Maharaja only a few times, first during the presence of his revered Guru Maharaja and last some years ago at his ashram in Govardhana, but he kindly remembered me, over so many years, and I always remembered him.

The last time I met him along with Srila Sridhar Maharaja, I had come to Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math with some of my godbrothers, disciples of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Srila Sridhar Maharaja told us he was now handing over all responsibilities to Srila Govinda Maharaja and asked us to please bestow upon Srila Govinda Maharaja our full "blessings and compassion."

I remember noting what seemed an unusual request for "compassion." But as I thought about it, the duties of a spiritual master and of the head of a spiritual institution are weighty and can often be difficult and vexatious. So in retrospect it seemed to me that Srila Sridhara Maharaja had chosen his words with characteristic precision.

Of course, in comparison with Srila Govinda Maharaja we were all like children. He had first come to Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math in 1947, two years before I was born and twenty-one years before I even heard of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

So the great blessings for Srila Govinda Maharaja came from Srila Sridhar Maharaja himself. Srila Sridhar Maharaja invested in Srila Govinda Maharaja not only heavy responsibilities but deep spiritual understanding and deep devotion for Krishna. And so Srila Govinda Maharaja distributed that spiritual understanding and devotion to others.

The last time I met Srila Govinda Maharaja, in Govardhan, I thought our meeting particularly sweet. Srila Govinda Maharaja simply spoke of Krishna-katha, especially with reference to Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita. And he spoke with such an obviously deep relish for these topics that I felt very fortunate to hear from such an advanced Vaishnava. Though at that time his health was not very good--"I have become an invalid," he said--he was spiritually jolly. And his mood was very kind and friendly.

Now, physically, he is no longer present. But he lives on through his divine words of instruction, which exist forever on the spiritual platform, beyond the comings and goings of this material world. And by serving those divine words, his followers live with him forever.

Offering my respects at his holy feet, and at the feet of all the Vaishnavas, I beg to remain,

Your humble servant,

Jayadvaita Swami