The following was submitted upon request for the memorial function at Vrindavan organized in the ISKCON Krishna Balaram temple to honor Bhubaneshwar Prabhu(ACBSP), who left his body just a few days back.
Remembering Bhubaneshwar Prabhu – a very short essay by Basu Ghosh Das
Not sure how I can properly glorify our dear departed Bhubaneshwar Prabhu. Now that he has left our association, I can only lament that my relationship with him wasn’t closer than it was.
Because I was an occasional visitor to Vrindavan over the years, and well, he had become a Vrajavasi, residing at holy Vrindavan dham for thirty-five years! There were some breaks from Vrindavan during that long period, but they were few and far between. It’s a fact that during my Vrindavan visits I would not spend much time with him, although I did visit him in his room, now and then.
But what I do have is a record of text messages he sent me over the past few years on my smartphone!
Now I see that the record of messages as saved on what is now my “old phone” only goes back to April 2019. Not a very long record. But I know that there were messages from before that, and I suppose that to obtain the records of those messages, I would have to inquire from the phone company.
Anyway, for the purpose of remembering Bhubaneshwar Prabhu, here are some of the messages he sent me. He was well known in devotees circles as having a “wry” sense of humor, and that is born out in some of these messages.
Sunday, April 19, 2019: “App Lord Rama green as grass”.
Wednesday, February 4, 2020: Ekadashi fasting to noon for Varaha no beans grains / bat soup.
Friday, April 3, 2020 – When will shut down over Jai Radhe!
Tuesday, April 21, 2020 – No shortage no visitors no Bhava no travel no cricket.
Tuesday, May 5, 2020 – Lord Nrsimhadev app. Fasting dusk not day nor night pray to do bhajan
Thursday May 7, 2020 – no end to this crisis
Friday May 8, 2020 – 16.9 no mention of disease (I had send him a response to the May 7 message, but mistakenly wrote Bhagavad-gita 16.9, but meant to write 13.9 – he caught the mistake).
Thursday May 14, 2020 – devotee can’t get virus, who’s name, not me.
Sunday May 17, 2020 – Any change in lockdown status? U.P.? All India?
Monday May 18, 2020 – Happy Apara ekadashi. Devotional service can never be stopped any place or time.
Wednesday June 3, 2020 – Riots USA – danger every step (In connection with the killing by police of George Floyd, as I recall)
Saturday June 6, 2020 – No nothing this year (due to lockdown). Jai Radhe.
Monday June 15, 2020 – Have we attained the brahman platform?
Tuesday June 16, 2020 – Time to renounce all attachments take sannyas
Same day – Happy Yogini Ekadasi. No mundane talk, L.C. to Raghunath Das G.
Wednesday June 17. 2020 – Trump going to war China? Virus not enough more suffering for all.
Saturday June 20, 2020 – Puri rath on?
Monday June 22, 2020 – What percent dying. Why so much precaution? Jai Radhe.
Saturday July 4, 2020 – All glories to B. Charu Swami
Sunday July 5, 2020 – So where his body?
Wednesday July 8, 2020 – What about Maharaj leaving body America?
Wednesday July 15, 2020 – Happy Kamika Ekadasi – no mundane talks.
Saturday August 8, 20202 – No end. (of the pandemic period – still on today!)
Tuesday August 11, 2020 – Happy quiet Janmastami. Jai Radhe.
Thursday August 12, 2020 – Srila Prabhupada app. Today he was a Vaikuntha man
Tuesday August 18, 2020 – Fill your lips with harinam happy or distress says Bhaktivinode. Sri Nama.
Just after this, I left India for the USA on August 23, 2020, and since Bhubaneshwar Prabhu wasn’t so “high tech”, because he didn’t use WhatsApp or Facebook, we fell out of touch.
So, I will miss him. We were friends, even if not the closest of friends, but this type of correspondence went back longer than I have records for. So, it is a loss that’s hard to recoup – his leaving this world.
Certainly, we have faith that he’s now joined Lord Krishna’s eternal lilas in Goloka Vrindavan. His life was glorious as a sadhaka, sevak, and Vrajavasi. What more can I say?
“He reasons ill who tells that Vaishnavas die,
When thou art living still in sound!
The Vaishnavas die to live, and living try
To spread the holy name around!”