All glories to Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga

Saint Petersburg, Russia

Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj's 22nd World Tour

Photos taken 12-14 October 2006, by Nitya Gopal Prabhu
Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Radha Madhavasundarjiu, presiding over our Saint Petersburg Ashram.
Srila Gurudev, His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj, addresses devotees in the nat mandir.
   

Vrinda Devi Dasi reports briefly from St. Petersburg:

The devotees here in our Saint Petersburg Math have worked heart and soul for the satisfaction of Srila Gurudev and the devotees. Vijay Raman Prabhu works day and night making sure that everything is running nicely.

Many devotees have come from all around the world and different cities of Russia to have the all-auspicious darshan of Srila Gurudev. Every day more and more devotees arrive at our Saint Petersburg Ashram to participate in the festival. Many lectures are scheduled daily to give some nourishment to the devotees and guests, in addition to Srila Gurudev's morning darshans.
 
An informal darshan by Srila Gurudev inside...
...and the devotees take the opportunity to have Srila Gurudev's darshan outside one day. In front are Kundalata Devi Dasi, Ramabhadra Prabhu, Syama Mohini Devi Dasi and Iswara Chandra Prabhu.
   
Srila Gurudev happily received the gift of a new camera, given to him by Sripad Bhakti Pavan Janardan Maharaj.
His Divine Grace also received the gift of a portrait from Baladev Prabhu...
   
...and a new Russian edition of the Sri Chaitanya Bhagavat from Sripad Bhakti Bimal Avadhut Maharaj.

Vrinda Devi Dasi writes on Srila Gurudev's response upon receiving this book:

These days Srila Gurudev has been inundating us with his mercy. Yesterday the devotees presented the new edition of the Sri Chaitanya Bhagavat of Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur. Srila Gurudev expressed that first Sri Krishna had manifested Himself in Russia in the divine form of Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Radha-Madhavasundar and now He had mercifully manifested Himself in the form of the Sri Chaitanya Bhagavat. He mentioned how Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur had given a super-position to Nityananda Prabhu, and that Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur said that this is the nature of suddha-bhakti: first he gave the super-position and glorification to Sri Guru, Nityananda Prabhu, and from there he started narrating the divine Pastimes of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Srila Gurudev said that our true identity has been given by Srila Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami:

jagai madhai haite muni se papistha
purisera kita haite muni se laghistha
mora nama sune yei tara punya ksaya
mora nama laya yei tara papa haya

emana nirghrna more keba krpa kare
eka nityananda vinu jagat bhitare
preme matta nityananda krpa-avatara
uttama, adhama, kichu na kare vichara
 (Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Adi-Lila: 5.205-208)

"I am more sinful than Jagai and Madhai and even lower than the worms in stool. Anyone who hears my name loses the results of his pious activities. Anyone who utters my name becomes sinful.

"Who in this world but Nityananda could show His mercy to such an abominable person as me? Because He is intoxicated by ecstatic love and is an incarnation of mercy, He does not distinguish between the good and the bad."

The dedicated Devirani Devi Dasi, visiting from China, is one of many devotees who have travelled far to be with Srila Gurudev on this occasion here in Saint Petersburg.
   
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