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Undergo Hardship for the Guru
A lwAys E mbr A c E d by K åñë A
Kṛṣṇa-Balarāma Temple
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While in Våndävana, on the day of the opening of the KåñëaBalaräma Temple, Çréla Prabhupäda spoke to Gour Govinda Swami about the Bhubaneswar land. He said, “Is the land there the same as the land here in Våndävana, Ramaëa-reté? Is it the same as Våndävana?” Gour Govinda Swami replied, “Yes!” Therefore, Çréla Prabhupäda said, “Then call the temple that you are to build in Bhubaneswar the Kåñëa-Balaräma Temple.”
Do not Refuse Them
He also said to Gour Govinda Swami, “If anyone comes to you for help, do not refuse them.” Many years later, Çréla Gurudeva said in this regard, “I cannot refuse, but I can only give spiritual help; I cannot give material help.”
Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: So, after taking sannyäsa, I was thinking how to come here to Orissa. The first time I had come here with Bhägavata däsa, and then we went to Hyderabad. Then after taking sannyäsa, I returned to Hyderabad. From there, I came back to Orissa on the day of Ratha-yäträ with a group of devotees to preach in Puré. But I could not stay because the Hyderabad president called and asked me to come back, so I went back. So, two times, and the last time, the third time, I came and stayed here. 14
After Gour Govinda Swami had taken sannyäsa he went back to the temple at Hyderabad, and then from there, he
chapter. But Çréla A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda is an emissary from the spiritual world, and therefore he is tri-käla jïa, he knows ‘past, present and future’. He knows the nature and mood of every single one of his disciples. He thus saw fit to give sannyäsa to this ‘new man’, Gour Govinda däsa! Of course, our beloved Çréla Gurudeva, was a devotee from his birth! He was not a ‘new man’.
C hapter 1 S annyä S é Ö häkura
went on to Bhubaneswar alone. While in Hyderabad, he wrote to Çréla Prabhupäda about going to Bhubaneswar. The reply was as follows:
Bombay, 20 November 1975, Hyderabad
My dear Gaura Govinda Swami,
Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated 15/11/75 and have noted the contents. So, if you think your presence is required in Bhubaneswar, then you can go there for necessary action. I am going to Vrndavana, so you can come and meet me at Vrndavana and from there you can go to Bhubaneswar.
I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
After returning back to Våndävana to meet Çréla Prabhupäda, Çréla Gour Govinda Swami set out alone to Bhubaneswar. Our beloved Gurudeva was the first initiated disciple of Çréla A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda in Orissa; there were no others. This lone sädhu was sent to Orissa to face whatever may come. Çréla A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda’s preaching mission was in no way established in Orissa, which is the land of Lord Jagannätha and the glories of Orissa [Utkala], Bhubaneswar [Ekämra-känana Dhäma] and Puré
