All glories
to Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga
Svarūpodbodhana Awakening the True Self
by Śrīla Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswāmī Mahārāj
Svarūpodbodhana was originally published in Śrī Gauḍīya Darśan on 15 November 1955. Summarising the glory of His Divine Grace is an impossible task, yet Śrīla Govinda Mahārāj himself has done so in a poem he wrote in his youth, in which he expressed his aim in life. The following is from the book Revealed Truth.
āmi guru-dāsa—nahi anya
I am a servant of Guru—nothing else.
āmi kariba bhramana chaudda-bhuvana
svarūpe sabāya kari’ udbodhana
hāte la’ye yāba premera niśāna
dharāba svarūpa chihna [1]
I will travel throughout the fourteen worlds awakening everyone to their true self. I will go with the banner of divine love in hand and cause everyone to recognise the sign of the true self.
āmi chhāḍāba sakale sarva-dharma
kariba chūrṇa jñāna o karma
rachiba viśāla bhakati-harmya
guru-dāsa nahi anya [2]
I will induce everyone to abandon all religions. I will demolish the pursuits of liberation and worldly enjoyment. I will construct a grand palace of devotion. I am a servant of Guru—nothing else.
āmi bhāṅgiba chhanda lāgāba dhanda
vāchālera mukha kariba banda
mṛtyure dhari dāniba śanda
nāhi kapaṭatā dainya [3]
I will break the customs, bemuse everyone, shut the mouths of the garrulous, hold back death, and distribute good fortune to all. I will do so humbly, without deceit.
sei mahābhāratera mahān parva
yāhāra prakāśe hayechhe kharva
dekhāba tā̐hāra asīma garva
kaitave kari khinna [4]
I will show the unlimited glory of He whose manifestation brought the great portion of the Mahābhārata to an end, and efface all duplicity.
āmi bājāba jagate vijaya-ḍaṅkā
ghuchāba sakala dvandva-śaṅkā
bahāba viśve bhakati-gaṅgā
tuṣi’ hari labhi puṇya [5]
I will sound the kettle-drums of victory throughout the world, dispel all quarrel and fear, and cause the Ganges of pure devotion to flow throughout the universe. Satisfying the Lord in this way, I will attain good fortune.
āmi āryānārya mlechchha sabāya
lāgāiba ba’le kṛṣṇa-sevāya
chaḍāiba sabe golokera nā’ya
pṛthvī kariba śūṇya [6]
I will forcibly engage all—the noble, the ignoble, and the barbarous—in Kṛṣṇa’s service. I will board them all in the boat to Goloka and empty the earth.
āmi chālāba sakale guru-pada bale
vādāma tuliba hari-bola bale
mahāmāyā-vinī chhalanā chhalile
kariba chinna-bhinna [7]
I will guide them all by the power of my Guru’s feet. I will hoist the boat’s sails by the power of chanting ‘Hari’. If Mahāmāyā presents any illusion, I shall cut it asunder.
āmi chinmaya-dhāme chālāiba tarī
chatur-bhuja habe yata nara-nārī
sthāvara jaṅgama sabe labhi hari
habe deva deva mānya [8]
I will drive the boat to the spiritual world, and all the men and women will become four-armed. All moving and inert beings will attain Hari and become worshippable to the demigods.
sabe eka parichaye dibe parichaya
labhibe svarūpa amṛta-maya
pūjibe śrī-hari dibe jaya jaya
nehāri’ ha-iba dhanya [9]
Everyone will identify with the same identity, realise their immortal self, worship Śrī Hari, and call out, ‘Jay! Jay!’ Seeing this, I will be satisfied.
āmi guru-dāsa nahi anya
I am a servant of Guru—nothing else. |