vāñchā-kalpa-tarubhyaś ca
kripā-sindhubhya eva ca
patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo
vaiśṇavebhyo namo namaḥ

“I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Vaishnava devotees of the Lord. They are just like desire trees and can fulfill the desires of everyone, and they are full of compassion for the fallen conditioned souls.”

namo mahā-vadānyāya
kṛṣṇa-prema-pradāya te
kṛṣṇāya kṛṣṇa-caitanya-
nāmne gaura-tvishe namaḥ

“O most munificent incarnation! You are Krishna Himself appearing as Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. You have assumed the golden colour of Srimati Radharani, and You are widely distributing pure love of Krishna. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.”

he krṣṇa karunā-sindho
dina-bandho jagat-pate
gopeśa gopikā-kānta
rādhā-kānta namo ’stu te

“O my dear Krishna, You are the friend of the distressed and the source of creation. You are the master of the gopis and the lover of Radharani. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.”

tapta-kāñcana-gaurāṅgi
rādhe vṛndāvaneśvari
vṛṣabhānu-sute devi
praṇamāmi hari-priye

“I offer my respects to Radharani, whose bodily complexion is like molten gold and who is the Queen of Vrindavana. You are the daughter of King Vrishabhanu, and You are very dear to Lord Krishna.”

It is a great misfortune that Srila Bhakti Dayita Madhav Goswami Maharaj is no longer present among us. I had the opportunity to associate with him in my early days. I loved him wholeheartedly just as a younger brother loves an elder brother. He was an abode of good qualities and we should follow his ideal character. He has seated an absolutely qualified disciple as his successor. He was my elder God-brother whom I have lost forever.

I remember many old memories of him. In his early days he was known as Sri Hayagriva Das Brahmachari. Ramendra Chandra Deva Bhattacharya who later came to be known as Srila Bhakti Rakshak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj was also present at that time. Your Gurudev was previously called Hayagriva Das Brahmachari and later he came to be known as Madhav Maharaj. I am talking about a time period in our Gaudiya History which was filled with love and affection amongst devotees. During that period, when one God-brother met another God-brother the mutual joy they felt for each other was incomparable to anything else.

Srila Madhav Maharaj served Srila Prabhupada in many ways. He personally accompanied Srila Prabhupada in all the places the where he used to go for preaching, especially in places outside Kolkata, and he used to serve him there. Madhav Maharaj, who is an abode of good qualities and expert in rendering all sorts of services, is well known by the residents of Kolkata. All the qualities of a bona fide Vaishnava were present in him. He used to lead a pure, ideal life which should be exemplary for all of us. It is very natural that all of you who are connected with him are deeply aggrieved by his separation. My mind is very much agitated due to his separation and all sorts of old memories with him are repeatedly coming to my mind. I shall never be able to personally see him again in this life. I shall never be able to talk to him again nor go for preaching activities with him again in this life. I shall remember him as soon as I see you all. As long as I live I shall enliven my memories with him through you all. Srila Madhav Maharaj had come from the transcendental abode of the Lord to reclaim fallen souls and has now gone back there. Nobody was able to hold him back as it was his desire to go back. He was a personal associate of Sriman Mahaprabhu and had received the full grace of his Gurudev, Srila Prabhupada. He had reared all of you with the same ideal principles he had received from his Gurudev. Though he has physically left, he is alive amongst you all. Vaishnavas never die. They live eternally. He has imparted in all of you transcendental energy (vibhu-shakti) and has nourished all of you spiritually.

Srila Madhav Maharaj followed the ideal principles of Vaishnavism in every phase of his life which is exemplary for all of us. Our only goal should be to get the grace of the Lord and Gurudev. So all of you have received so much of his grace. I personally know many of you, especially Tirtha Maharaj. None of you should deviate from the teachings of Srila Madhav Maharaj. Srila Madhav Maharaj possessed an expression in his face which was always blissful in nature. All of you should remember that blissful expression that always adorned his face. The Vaishnavas appear and disappear by their own desire only to show that death is inevitable for one who is born. So when he was playing the pastimes of ill-health all of you have served him so much. So, before leaving he knew how much service you all have rendered to him. He has showered boundless love and affection to all of you as well as me. You have nothing to worry about. Srila Madhav Maharaj is always with you. All your God-brothers are always there for you. So, all of you please perform Hari-bhajan by fully dedicating your mind and bodies and remaining under the shelter of Srila Madhav Maharaj. If someone can perform one-pointed service to Hari by remaining under the shelter of Srila Madhav Maharaj, then he will surely get the mercy of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Sri Krishna. I have nothing to say more than this. Due to various situations myself and Madhav Maharaj stayed in different places. But in spite of that we were always together in mind and spirit. Nobody knew about our inner relationship. I am his eternally related brother. Our relationship is not like ordinary material brothers, but spiritual brothers. He was so much qualified in every field. He was so much expert in rendering all sorts of services. He was adorned beautifully by all the qualities of a bona fide Vaishnava. So I consider him to be many many times more superior than me. His Vaishnavism, his ideal character, expertise in rendering services, are much more superior than me. Despite being so much superior, he never had any pride but always bestowed boundless compassion, love and affection to all of us. That love and affection will remain with us forever. So, what more can I say today?

The tough situation that was created after the disappearance of Srila Prabhupada was not due to anybody’s fault. It was created by the desire of Supreme Lord. After the disappearance of Srila Prabhupada, his principal disciples preached the message of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu all over the world by the mercy of Srila Prabhupada himself. Among those disciples, one of the prominent ones was Srila Madhav Maharaj, who was very much qualified, possessed many qualities and was expert in many fields. I am an old man who will not live for long. But it is my request to all of you that please remain united under the shelter of Madhav Maharaj’s lotus feet and preach the message of Gurudev and Guruvarga all over the world. Please have mutual love and respect for each other and may there be no quarrel and fighting among each other. It is natural that a practitioner on the devotional path will possess both good and bad qualities. But the principal quality of a Vaishnava is that he will see the good qualities in others and see his own defects. So, instead of reflecting on the bad qualities of others please look at your own defects and try to rectify them.

So, please stay one-hearted under the shelter of the lotus feet of your Gurudev and preach the message of Srila Prabhupada and Mahaprabhu as your Gurudev did. In this way Srila Prabhupada will become satisfied and will bless you all from the eternal abode Goloka Dham. By the blessings of Srila Prabhupada all of your spiritual lives will become successful.