In honour of the disappearance day of Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj, we are presenting a poem he wrote in his youth wherein he prophesies his glorious service to his Gurudev, Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj. Verses from this poem adorn the Temple of Love and Affection.
Svarūpodbodhana
Awakening the True Self
Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj
Originally Published in Sri Gaudiya Darshan:
Volume 1, Issue 4, Tuesday, 15 November 1955
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 the Kṛṣṇa’s service. I 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.