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Hare Krishna dear dandavats readers, please accept my humble obeissances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda. I beg for your patience while reading my personal tribute to Viśvambhara, a very dear Godbrother, whom I can say was instrumental in the Lord’s overall plan for making me a devotee. I will get into details. That the way liffe is. It is only through details of a person’s life that we can try to grasp the essence of that person.
Viśvambhara has always been at the root of my Kṛṣṇa consciousness since he was the first ever devotee I met when I first came to the Montreal temple on Park avenue in October 1970. Even though it was more than fifty years ago, I still remember my first visit to the temple as if it were yesterday. I arrived at the temple at 7:00 PM sharp, stood in the doorway of the temple. First there was nobody around, then I saw a tall devotee rushing right through to the temple room. Then that devotee came right back out of the temple room, as quickly as he had entered it, to greet me at the door and asked me if I would like to attend the ceremony that was to take place. That was Viśvambhara. I had come for the good food that I had heard so much about at college, but first things first, he took me to ārati. After ārati, I had my first prasād. And it was so uniquely tasty that I decided on the spot that I had to come back to have some again.
Many things won me over to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and among those, there were some that were personnaly related to Viśvambhara.
First and foremost, his smile. His smile was unique and very attractive to me. Just looking at his smile was something I was eager to catch again and again. His smile was so true, so pure, the splash of a sincere follower of bhakti. Just the honest smile of a through and through enthusiastic devotee. That smile, one of a kind, meant a whole lot to me. It meant authenticity. His smile was definitely part of the equation for drawing me to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. From the very first visit that night at the temple, I was hooked to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Credit to Viśvambhara for having welcomed me so friendly. From that night onward, I knew I had a confidant to whom I could come back to and speak my heart and philosophy. In Śrimad-Bhagavatam (3.22.21) Śrīla Prabhupāda writes :
Pure devotees are so absorbed in thought of Kṛṣṇa that they have no other engagement; although they may seem to think or act otherwise, they are always thinking of Kṛṣṇa. The smile of such a Kṛṣṇa conscious person is so attractive that simply by smiling he wins so many admirers, disciples and followers.
At the time I was a student at Old Montreal College which happened to be just down the street from the temple on Park Avenue. So going to the temple was only a ten-minute walk after school. I would manage to visit the temple not only on Sundays, but on week-days as well, three-four times a week.
On my second or third visit, Viśvambhara would answer my questions, etc. Doing so, he was the first devotee from whom I heard for the first time the name of Lord Caitanya. As soon as I heard that very name, my attention was struck. I immediately wanted to know about the life of Lord Caitanya. The very name of Lord Caitanya rang a bell. I did not know Lord Caitanya at that time and I asked Viśvambhara if there was a book on the life of Lord Caitanya. He told me that there was. I therefore bought the book Teachings of Lord Caitanya. —By the way, this was my first book of Śrīla Prabhupāda. I started reading the book. Upon one visit, Viśvambhara asked me if I understood something, if I had any questions. I said that I understood everything — just imagine. The more I read the book, the more my studies at college seemed meaningless and a waste of time. This book knocked down any doubts I still had as to whether the Absolute Truth was impersonal or personal. So about a month later of reading TLC, chanting, and visiting the temple, talking also with Dayalji on one Sunday, I decided the very next morning to move in the temple full time.
Before joining, Viśvambhara had showed me how to make my own japa-beads, how to chant on beads. Under his guidance it was an easy overnight decision to give up meat-eating and rather offer my food to Kṛṣṇa. He instructed me how to gradually increase chanting on beads from one round daily up to 16 rounds. Which I did.
Upon one morning visit of mine instead of an end of day visit, Viśvambhara asked me if I would like to go out and chant downtown with the devotees. I said yes. We walked down to Phillips Square. That was my first saṅkīrtan, not to be the last afterwards. Thanks to Viśvambhara for foreseeing that there was hope for me accepting to go out and chant with the devotees. That was a special experience I will never forget. I knew that devotees were chanting in public, I had seen them, but now I had done it too, that was something : I had gotten the guts to do it. As I was lined up with the devotees chanting at Phillips Square, one classmate came up to me and asked me if I liked it. I said yes. We had talked about the devotees chanting in public, and I had asked her if she could do that. She had answered me that she admired them, but she could never do that. I had answered her that I that I thought I could do that. By Viśvambhara’s mercy I was introduced to Lord’s Caitanya’s saṅkīrtan for real.
So Viśvambhara was a very attentive soul who took upon himself to take care of me and showed me the way to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Today I can recognize that such a person was indeed a patha-pradarśaka-guru for me. A guru who shows the way to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. I have always felt very grateful to Viśvambhara for caring for me in my beginnings in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Over years, I always remembered to do the same for each and every new devotee I would be in charge of.
Years later, we served in France in our respective capacities. But still that silent and permanent bond always remained. Up until now for a matter of fact. Despite his disappearance, there will always be room for Viśvambhara in my heart, such a kind and very dear role model for me. Vāṇī and vapuḥ. I will ever cherish remembering him for the person and devotee he was, as well the instructions he ever gave me.
So today I feel sadness but I am happy for him, being confident, that he will be enjoying a very bright future in the service of Śrīla Prabhupāda and Lord Caitanya.
I will be forever grateful for having met such a unique, enlightened and enlivening soul. I am looking forward to serve with him again by Kṛṣṇa’s arrangment, in Śrīla Prabhupāda’s service.
Thanks for your kind attention. Hare Kṛṣṇa.
Yhs, Prabhava Vigraha dasa (ACBSP)

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=112704