“NOT A BLADE OF GRASS MOVES WITHOUT THE SANCTION OF THE SUPREME LORD”—A TRIBUTE TO AYENDRA PRABHU
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED BY BHAKTI MADHURYA GOVINDA GOSWAMI (ACBSP) (MAKHANLAL DAS GOSWAMI)
The news of the sudden departure of Ayendra prabhu certainly comes as a great shock, as I am stunned along with all the devotees of the movement. There was certainly a great feeling of disbelief as I was given this report. He was my personal friend, as well as mybeloved God brother. There are undoubtedly devotees who were closer to him thanI, but we had an affectionate relationship of mutual respect and love. We wouldalways give fond embraces upon seeing each other. He was one of my primaryadvisors when I first began the worship of Salagram Sila, and he appreciated mymode of worship in which aishvarya (stiff formality) is conspicuously absent,though I carefully follow the rules of vaidhi bhakti (regulative principles ofdevotional service) in their worship. This feeling of mutual appreciation inSalagram seva contributed to our loving relationship. In this regard, I must narratea humorous event that took place in Mayapur a few years back. I had brought mySalagrams in their box, setting them down on a small table in front of Ayendraprabhu in the Pancha Tattva hall so that they could relish his kirtan. The hallwas filled with nearly 1,000 devotees who were there for his famous eveningkirtans. There was a break in the kirtan, so I took the opportunity to proudlyintroduce my new Salagram to him. He is a funny little deity only two inchestall, with a huge smile on his open mouth. In a very up-beat mood, Ayendrasmiled at seeing this jolly deity and was fully appreciating that Salagram hadpersonally come to enjoy his kirtan. Suddenly he picked up my deity and, in frontof 1,000 devotes, he sniffed Salagrams mouth! I was astonished at this instantburst of revealed relationship with the deity. Fully satisfied, Ayendradeclared, “Oh, he smells very good!” Struck with wonder, I also sniffed Hismouth, and sure enough, He smelled great! What an amazing way of greeting adeity, but this was Ayendra prabhu, revealing his raghanugu (spontaneous) moodof loving Bhakti.
He has been an icon of kirtan personified for decades, at least in the sense of being the sold out servant of the Holy Names of Sri Sri Radha and Krishna. Who can imagine Vrindavan and Mayapur festivals without him? He has been a sourceof inspiration and guidance for the devotees for decades. For this reason manydevotees may be bewildered and too much disappointed that he disappeared sosuddenly, seemingly “untimely”. The strange circumstance of his departure as aresult of a stove exploding may appear to the neophyte as being an “accident”,but was it really? Should we conclude that Sri Sri Radha Symasundar, firmlysituated in the heart of the Holy Dham, somehow lost control of their beloveddevotee, allowing their material energies to devastate Ayendra’s body as ifThey could do nothing to protect him? Is Srimati Radhika so negligent towardsher special devotee that She somehow became impotent or helpless? Oh, to thinkin this way would be a great aparadha! We must always remember the famous vedicinjunction that “not a blade of grass moves without the sanction of the SupremeLord”. This law is true even within the realm of the material energy. How muchmore, then, must it be true under the personal jurisdiction of Hladini Shakti,the internal potency personified in Radhika, who is the owner, controller,supervisor, and dear most guide to all the devotees, but especially to Her surrenderedsouls who are completely sold out to Her. The real explanation was given byMahanidhi Swami at the Delhi temple the morning after Ayendra’s departure. Hewonderfully explained that Radhika personally took Ayendra prabhu by the hand,saying “come with me and Bring your offering with you (he was in the middle ofcooking). We will offer this to Krishna together. You do not belong in thismaterial world. I am taking you now”! Did she make a mistake? Was thereactually an “accident”, or did She personally create this plan for “stealing”her beloved devotee? She has “stolen” him from our association, and it is ourfathomless loss, yet it was her carefully planned action—nothing less. Let usnot be atheists or doubters about this fact. Our faith in the Supreme Controllersshould not in the slightest shaken by this event, for “chance”, as explainedmany times by Srila Prabhupada, is a word in a fool’s dictionary.
There is a last point I would like to offer in relation to Ayendra prabhu’s sudden departure, which should further dispel any doubts regarding the timing of this event. Many of you know that along with being revered by thousands for his extraordinary kirtans, Ayendrawas a highly controversial personality. At Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance dayfestival in Vrindavan last year, he shocked the devotees with his ratherascorbic offering. Significant numbers were furious and even offended by his“offering”, but that did not even cause Ayendra prabhu to blink. He was beingbluntly straight forward in his opinions, popular or not. He was beingtruthful, according to his realization, right or wrong in the eyes of others.This was his level of integrity—uncompromising. There was a huge monsoon stormbrewing about the publishing of his highly controversial book, which isapparently critical of ISKCON practices. I have not read it, but controversialit is. His “salty” offering for Srila Prabhupada is contained in his book,which he told me offers “context” to his abrasive (my word, not his) “poem”.But now he is gone, entering into nitya lila with Sri Sri Radha Symasundar. Hadhe remained with us, there would have been a major disturbance, a virtual“battle of Kurukshetra” as his loyalists vigorously defended their hero, whileothers vilified him as allegedly not being an ISKCON loyalist. This could neverbe, however, because of his deep, unswerving love for Srila Prabhupada. Now,however, the issue is settled, Radharani’s way. She has her own independentways, not subject to any mundane calculation. Her determination was “I am notgoing to leave my beloved devotee to be subject to such quarrelling between mydevotees. I will take him to my own abode now, without reservation”. So in thewake of Srimati Radharani’s decision, let us all join together rememberingAyendra prabhu as the singing saint that he was, for indeed, this is theway She and Srila Prabhupada want him tobe remembered. Let all other considerations be set aside. He will live foreverin our hearts.
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