A lway s E m b r a c e d
by
Kåñëa
impressed by the spiritual atmosphere of the whole region. He thought to himself, “Even the rickshaw-wallahs seem to be devotees of sorts.” Most of them would yell out, “Nitäi Gaura!” “Rädhe Çyäma!” It became obvious after a while that the rickshaw-wallah did not know the whereabouts of the äçrama. Deva-dharma ended up in the Nayapalli village, where some of the locals gave them proper directions. After going through a few fields and along some narrow tracks, Deva-dharma finally arrived at the holy äçrama. Deva-dharma däsa: Then of course I met for the first time His Holiness Gour Govinda Mahäräja. I could immediately appreciate that here is a true Vaiñëava. His whole appearance, his humility, his tone of voice, everything about him made me feel relieved and happy to be in his company. Çréla Prabhupäda had very much encouraged Gour Govinda Mahäräja, saying that he was leading the perfect sannyäsa life; living alone, doing your own cooking, washing your own clothes, simply preaching and chanting, and the most important thing: depending on Kåñëa. Gour Govinda Mahäräja was very appreciative and very personal. He had been alone until I arrived.
Çréla Gour Govinda Swami had been working steadily on the translating, so the number of books in Oriya was growing. Steadily, small books were being printed. These were very useful for when the devotees went out on saìkértana. Deva-dharma däsa: This Mahäräja was different from any previous sannyäsés that I had met. He did not demand anything from me, not even to wash his clothes or cook for him. I was simply encouraged to go out and try to sell some magazines and books. Orissa is a very poor place and not
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