Vyasa-Puja Homage by Giriraja dasa

Back To Godhead Vol 64, April 1974 Back To Godhead Vol 64, April 1974 PDF Download Offering Guru Puja to Srila Prabhupada Three Occasions for Transcendental Festivals The Birth of Lord Krishna Prabhupada The Reality of Krishna’s Appearance Vyasa-Puja Day Address Who is that Girl with Krishna? To Understand His Greatness Vyasa-Puja Homage by Giriraja dasa Sri Gurvastakam

All glories to you
Who have given us light
To open our eyes,
Which were firmly shut tight.

When we first came to you
In the darkness of night
The words from your lips
Made everything bright.

“What is your goal-
Godhead to find
Or God to become?
Please make up your mind.

“If you want to become God,
You can’t be God now.
Can a non-God become God?
Please let me know how.

“God is within you,
Sitting there in your heart,
Just waiting for your
Loving service to start.

“But if you insist
That you want to be Him,
You’re cheating yourself
And have nothing to win.

“If the seed of devotion
With chanting you sow,
Then God will give sunlight
To help make it grow.

“But if to become God
Remains your ambition,
Why then should God
Help His own competition?

“Krishna is God,
And God He is always,
On Yasoda’s lap
Or in Dvaraka’s hallways.

“Or in Kuruksetra,
He’s God all the same-
It’s not that by yoga
The Lord He became.

“You are a spark,
And God is the fire:
And you can be Godly
If you truly desire.

“Your qualities match His,
But the quantity’s different,
For God’s nature is infinite
Whereas you’re insignificant.

“I cannot be God,
For I truly am small,
But He kindly allows me
To serve Him. That’s all.

“That is His mercy,
Transcendent and sweet.
Take it! Be happy!
That’s all I entreat.”

Thus Your Divine Grace
We were blessed to meet,
And thus we were forced
To fall at your feet.

You poured nectarlike words
Through the holes in our ears
To clean out our hearts
And vanquish our fears.

Arousing within us
Our love for the Lord,
Our actual life
His servant restored.

Now we beg to remain
Individual souls,
Serving the servant
Of the one Spirit Whole.

All glories to you
Who have given us this;
A life that’s eternal,
Full of knowledge and bliss.

Taking us from the darkness,
Cold and alone,
Back to Godhead,
Back to home.

Giriraja dasa, the son of a Massachusetts lawyer, is a graduate of Brandeis University and is President of ISKCON’s center in Bombay.