Danavir Swami’s Book: His Divine Grace

Patita Pavana dasa Adhikary

The Nectar of Biography

We love to read the biographies of the Founder-Acharya scribed by the devotees of the Krishna Consciousness Movement. Such writings are proof that there is an ever-present divine energy we know as the disciplic succession, an eternal current that has flowed down to us like the waterfalls along the rivulets of nectar on Chandra-loka. Shrila Prabhupada said, “Whenever someone comes into one of our temples, it means that Lord Krishna has brought that person by the hand.” And this truth is all the more visible when the pure devotee’s servants—having been brought by the hand of the Supreme Lord to become fixed at the lotus feet of the pure devotee—glorify the incredible deeds of their spiritual master. And the incoming tides of the ocean of written glorifications about His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada by his servants and by the servants of his servants—ISKCON’s surdurlabha mahatmas—are ever increasing.

Shrila Prabhupada appeared on earth as the divinely-empowered representative of the Supreme Absolute Truth Shri Krishna. His lion-like roar was heard by the intelligentsia of a generation. And today there are more biographies depicting the Supreme Lord’s pure devotee than any other Twentieth Century mystic or yogi. We have heard from our Guru Maharaja that the beautiful story of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Shri Krishna has become sweeter by its recitation through the lotus lips of pure devotees headed by Shrila Shukadeva Goswami. And so it is that the minutes of the daily life of Shrila Prabhupada, as recorded by his faithful followers, continue to charm and fascinate those of us who struggle still to follow in the lotus footprints of the paramhamsa.

Devotees are aware of Satswarupa Swami’s Lilamrita. But there are other divinely-inspired volumes detailing the adventures of Shrila Prabhupada that truly deserve our attention. One of the earliest is enthralling Hare Krishna Explosion by Hayagriva dasa. For sheer weight, Shriman Hari Sauri dasa’s incredible five-volume Transcendental Diary—a veritable round-the-world trip with Prabhupada—is another must read. Mandatory, too, is the late lamented Mulaprakriti devi’s Shrila Prabhupada: A Friend to All, which ably documents hundreds of revelations by Guru Maharaja’s early associates, people he knew before he sailed off to New York. His Grace Kurma dasa Adhikary’s The Great Transcendental Adventure, an exceptionally well-written five-year project, skillfully describes how the pure devotee guided his disciples in establishing Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s sankirtana movement in the Land Down Under. Then there is Jaya Shrila Prabhupada, the philosophical tribute by one of the most dedicated preachers ever, HH Bhakti Vikas Swami. And yet new titles to the Shrila Prabhupada bio-genre—such as Brahmananda’s recently-added Swamiji—appear with understandable frequency. Then add to this growing list the three-volume set Memories, the touching recollections of hundreds and hundreds of Shrila Prabhupada’s disciples based upon the recorded series by Shriman Siddhanta dasa Prabhu, and we begin to understand a little bit about the greatness of the shudha-bhakta. These books give us an inkling of the world acharya who, by his divine example, represented the Supreme Personality of Godhead in ever thought, word and deed. They lend valuable insight into the Paschatya-desha-tarine who dedicated himself to saving a suffering planet misled by atheistic science and pseudo-religions that are little more than lewd ploys of Mayavada. Shrila Prabhupada always emphasized vani over vapu, but through faithfully written biographies, we practically get the advantage of vani and vapu in one.

In the blissful deluge of so much nectar of divine memoirs, one title may have been overlooked: His Divine Grace by His Holiness Danavir Goswami. I found my copy on the website of the Rupanuga Vedic College in Kansas City http://www.rvc.edu/rvc_books.html.

Bailed out by Shrila Prabhupada

The book His Divine Grace focuses on the development of Krishna consciousness on the West Coast during the early seventies. It was in those early days when the author, a college volleyball champ, joined up and became Danavir dasa Brahmachari and later Adhikary, and then temple president of the Portland ISKCON center. His stories of early preaching are fraught with pathos, transcendental derring-do and lots of philosophical humor. On page 134 His Holiness relates:

“Also on Saturday is an enormous, yearly parade through downtown Portland to which the temple sends a Hari Nama party. When the fifteen of us arrive, we see oceans of people lined up for nearly a mile on both sides of the blocked-off main street. The spectators, although captivated by the merry atmosphere, colorful floats and sounds of marching bands, welcome the Hare Krishna ensemble as it moves parallel to the parade. The Portland police, however, consider the chanting a disturbance and arrest the whole group of devotees, loading us into vans. Soon the devotees are locked behind bars and are even more shocked to learn that a bail of $50 per person has been set for their release. We are told that the case of ‘obstructing pedestrians,’ is to be handled Monday morning before the municipal judge, and until then we must stay put or pay $50 each to get out. We are allowed to phone the temple to tell them what happened, but unfortunately there is insufficient money to release even one devotee, what to speak of fifteen.

“After a couple of hours, the warden walks up to my cell and unlocks the door. ‘Come on, you’ve been bailed out, you are free to go,’ he barks gruffly. Although astonished, I quickly comply and follow him to the front desk where I sign a release paper. There I encounter the rescuing devotee who informs that it was Shrila Prabhupada who supplied the bail to release me.

“Upon arriving at the temple, I am told that Shrila Prabhupada wants to see me. I enter the room where His Divine Grace is seated peacefully and thank him for bailing me out of jail. He chuckles, ‘We had to save at least one,’ intimating that that it was not possible to bail out all the devotees. I suppose that being the person most involved in organizing the remainder of his itinerary is my qualification for being liberated early. At his request, I narrate the story of the arrest, and he relies. ‘Yes, Lord Chaitanya also had difficulties when the Kazi tried to stop the sankirtana movement. If the authorities object to your playing the instruments, you can just clap your hands (which he demonstrates) and chant Hare Krishna. In that way there won’t be any disturbance.’”

Chidananda: A Pure Devotee

Another description on page 93 reveals Shrila Prabhupada’s compassion and love for his disciples.

“Shrila Prabhupada … turns the topic toward one of his other students. Our tall Godbrother Chidananda, now in his mid-twenties, was one of the first to join the movement in San Francisco. His Divine Grace narrates how Chidananda went to India over a year ago to assist in spreading Krishna consciousness by traveling and preaching. Jayananda and I have seen photos of Shrila Prabhupada’s ‘dancing white elephants (including Chidananda) performing ecstatic Hari Nama in Surat and other Indian cities and towns.

“‘Chidananda became sick.’ Shrila Prabhupada continues. ‘Tuberculosis. As a result he grew thinner and thinner. Despite his deteriorating health, Chidananda was so devoted, so sincere, that he kept on serving and serving. He declined hospitalization preferring to depend on Krishna. Finally, I asked him to return to America and to recuperate his health.’

“His Divine Grace is very concerned about his disciple. He inquires whether we know anything about his present situation. I explain that as of a few weeks ago Chidananda was receiving treatment in a hospital south of San Francisco. When he last visited the temple, he described how the hospital authorities were restricting him from leaving and performing devotional practices. He had an argument which became physical. They wouldn’t let him wear tilaka, so he was using soap. Evidentially, he hit one of the staff members who were trying to restrain him.

“After hearing from me about Chidananda’s position, Shrila Prabhupada emphatically states, ‘He is a pure devotee. He was prepared to sacrifice his life for Krishna. You should take special care. Make sure he gets prasadam and whatever else is required.’”

Prabhupada was able to casually charm anyone who was willing to listen, or blast to smithereens any atheistic challenge. Danavir Swami’s academic analysis of Shrila Prabhupada’s speaking and teaching abilities are eye opening. He writes about a regular temple lecture:

“He normally speaks for about half an hour and does not ask for questions at the end as he does when guests are present. As days go by, I observe that Shrila Prabhupada’s enlightening as well as fascinating classes, although unprepared, generally contain fourteen literary elements:

1. Theme

2. Philosophical points

3. Citing Vedic authority

4. Sanskrit evidence

5. Word definitions

6. Logic

7. Analogies

8. Storytelling

9. Humor

10. Numbered examples

11. Local color / recent events

12. Personal experience

13. Missionary relevance

14. Conclusion

Shrila Prabhupada’s expertise at speaking and conveying the message of the great Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya sampradaya was so straight-forward and so natural—and the techniques His Divine Grace employed were so seamless—that the above elements would naturally have been missed by most listeners who sat in rapt attention at his lotus feet.

In the seventies Danavir Goswami became famous throughout ISKCON for his creation of the Bhakta Program which optimistically calculated a method by which to overtake the entire world with Krishna consciousness. On page 116 of His Divine Grace, the author explains a timeless seven-step formula for preaching the message of Bhagavad-gita As It Is to the colleges. In a nutshell, these are

Learn the Krishna philosophy perfectly
Preach to the students
Defeat all philosophies
Distribute profuse prasadam
Chant nicely
Dance nicely
Invite them to join us

Danavir Goswami’s His Divine Grace is not only a delightful romp through the early years of the Hare Krishna Movement, but it is also a valuable guide for preachers seeking to present Krishna consciousness in a dignified and respectable manner, and without any trace of compromise. The author is not only an academic devotee who has founded a Vedic college and who has written and/or published dozens of scholarly books and periodicals that are used in the college curriculum, but he sets a real example of service to Shri Guru in a most humble and exemplary fashion. He is one of ISKCON’s foremost stalwarts. His Divine Grace deserves a prominent place in every growing Krishna conscious library.

His Divine Grace by His Holiness Danavir Goswami, 2000, Rupanuga Vedic College, 240 pages, profusely illustrated, hardbound, printed in India.