Swami Mukund Hariji and Asim Krsna Das ~ Shyam Das with Maharaj Prathameshji

  

My favorite photo of Swami Mukund Hariji Maharaj

¸. *ღ☆¸.•°*♥ JAI SRI KRISHNA! ¸. *ღ☆¸.•°*♥

                   Dr. Asim Krsna Dasji  in Vrindavan     

     Dr. Asim Krishna Das was born as Alan A. Shapiro on a Thursday, July 6,1944 in New York City, of a very very Jewish family! He said he was still in collage when he got drafted, and dodged it by moving to Canada and even had a Canadian Pass Port!  Then he went for some time to Paris, learned fluent French (as he later did Hindi and Sanskrit). He travelled through Europe and I have written earlier in my blog about how he came into India in 1969, as a tourist and at an Ashram in Bhatinda, Punjab,was directed to go and meet Sri Krishna in Vrindavan by Sankirtana Samrat Swami Mukunda Hari!

    Once in Sri Vrindavan he took as his Guru Swami Bon Maharaj, Bhakti Hridaya Bon Tridandi Swami, Gaudiya Math, founder of the Institute of Oriental Philosophy, Vrindavana. He also translated into English the work of Rupa Goswami's Sanskrit classic, Bhakti-Rasamrit-Sindhu.

    The very 1st day I came into Vrindavan in 1971, I passed by and saw Asim, shaved head, smiling and wearing a doti and Tulsi mala etc., so he had already been initiated by then. I only later met him in the company of Sripad Babaji, that same year.  By that time he was a serious student of Sanskrit, but there was always much tapsya whenever in the company of Baba Sripadji!  He was in this state of Bhakti-tapsya, or Prem inspired Vairagya,  full of bhava and moving with Babaji in all of Vraj Bhoomi, mostly in Sri Vrindavan for years. One of his greatest friends, whom he shared much in common with was Shyam Das, and they were sometimes together in the company of the great Lineage Holder of the  Pushti Marg, Prathameshji Maharaj. Here with Asim and Radha Dasi is where I first met Shyam Dasji and had a very wonderful darshan of Maharajji. I remember that Asim and Shyam Das would suddenly start speaking with each other in French!! It was the chaurasi kos somewhere in Govardhan in tents!!
    When President Carter, promised to give entrance to all draft dodgers,  Asim's parents prevailed on him to came back to the USA to complete his undergraduate degree at the City College of New York. 

Radha Dasi and I saw him off at the Delhi Airport wearing his doti as usual!

   While studying he also drove a taxi in Manhattan during the night with Sri Bankey Bihari's photo up in front of him. After graduating to get entrance back into India and his beloved Vrindavan, he entered Columbia Univ. and started his Doctorate. Subject: Shalagram! He said he chose this subject because all the other Vaishnava subjects for dissertation had already been done at Columbia!! 

   Once back in Vrindavan I met him among all his books and he laughed and said I used to be a poor 

Bhakta here, and now that I have this scholarship they pay me to live here! He often visited Nepal for his research on Shalagrams.  It was a fascinating subject as he spoke of it, and would show shaligrams and explain the intricate beauty and details of each one. 

    So, around 1992 Asim Krishna Das received his PhD in Sanskrit at Columbia University. In Vrindavan he was Assistant Director of the Research Center at Sri Chaitanya Sampraday.  

     Here he supervised the creation of a bibliograph of sources on the history of Vraj, the poet saints of Vraj, for the Indira Gandhi National Centre of Arts, New Delhi. He said it was amazing, that 

the more they searched throughout Vraj villages, the more old manuscripts and paintings were discovered! He also worked with the Vijayanagara Research Project for 5 yrs. translating the Pampamahatmya. This, too he totally enjoyed. Dr.Asim Krishna Das and Sri Shyam Das remained best friends all their life of Supreme Bhakti Bhava. 

   Sri Sri Prathameshji Maharaj and Sri Shyam Dasji¸. 
               
        *ღ☆¸.•°*♥ JAI SRI KRISHNA! ¸. *ღ☆¸.•°*♥

*Shri Mukundhari ji Maharaj ~ Sankirtana Samraat of India!

*This is Shri Mukundhari ji Maharaj,~Sankirtana Samraat of India~, and there are actually some CDs of his available!!
      He is peerless and unequaled in ecstatic Bhava!!There are some earlier posts here about this wonderful saint as I knew him.  And  some short videos were made of the one amazing Sankirtana that I had tapped years ago, of which the actual full complete one is over an hour long & also ecstatic! And one doesn't even need to know Hindi, Urdu or Panjabi to enjoy them and become swept away in the Love of God!!
     So it is so good to have received these CDs by mail, from a wonderfully inspired Bhakta.
These may be ordered online!!

All Gratitude, Bliss and Love at the holy feet of Shri Mukundhariji Maharaj!!

We will ever remember you through the Hari Bhava Ecstasy of your Sankirtana.

                      ~*~*~*~ Jai Jai Shri Radhey! ~*~*~*~

Sankirtan Samraat Swami Mukund Hariji Maharaj of Bathinda & Hari Nikunj Ashram.

His Ashrama, Sri Hari Nikunj,in Bankey Bihari Basti was the first place I stayed in Vrindavan way back in 1971. At that time it was a delightful friendly little Ashram, where one was invited to stay by Maharajji himself, who was often there, though he had a lovely place in Bathinda, Punjab also. There was daily kirtan and puja, but most outstanding to me was that this small Ashram would daily prepare food and distribute it to more than 50 mahatmas, sanyasis, and sadhus,who calmly stood in a long line with their own containers to be filled. And last would be feed just anyone who wanted to eat! At least in those days there were three or four places in Vrindavan, this holy abode of Lord Krishna, that were "free kitchens" for sadhus and devotees of all kinds. I thought that was so beautiful! And I still do. Every day we would rush to have the 'Darshan' of these sadhus. The first one always to be fed was a young Mauni Baba who would come, but only sit under the tree outside, and never even stood in the line. Years later we came to know this Bengali Baba as Swami Vimalananda Saraswatiji, a disciple of the renowned Swami Akhandananda saraswati. The Mahant, manager-sadhu, of the Ashram at that time was Sri Ladali Sharonji,from Punjab. All our time was spent in spiritual pursuits. This was the address in Vrindavan left on all letters I had received from Baba Sripadji, that brought me to the ecstasy that is Sri Vrindavan. And the meeting of Swami Mukund Hariji, his kindness of magnificent Grace that manifested around him no matter the occasion, what to say of witnessing his amazing sankirtanas, that I always tape-recorded. Specially since Balyogiji Sripad Baba had given me a new portable tape-recorded(rare at the time)for this purpose. One of the Greatest experiences of my life was at the Opening of the new Ashrama, when the entire 7 days of the Srimad Bhagavath Septha was completed with me sitting right up in front taping the whole thing, in the company of these wonderful saints. This was in the early 1970's. The inspired Speaker was Goswami Atul Krishnaji and the exalted Listener was Swami Mukunda Hariji. Baba Sripadji and countless saints and devotees were present for the Kathas and kirtana daily. The end result, which I was completely not expecting, is an ecstasy and vision far beyond words to describe!! So is the company and grace of the saints. ~*~ Hari Om ~*~

Sankirtan by Swami Mukund Hariji Maharaj ~ Part 1

Sankirtan by Sri 1008 Swami Mukund Hariji Maharaj 2.

Sankirtan Samrat Swami Mukund Hariji Maharaj, Delhi. 1973 ~

Swami Mukund Hariji Maharaj and Sri Asim Krishna Dasji

    
      Swami Mukund Hari Maharajji is one of the first Saints I met with Baba
Sripadji when I came to Vrindavan, in 1971 and I stayed in his Ashrama,
Sri Hari Nikunj. Totally Delightful and full of Loving kindness was he.
Radha Dasi, Asim Krsna Das and I would often have tea with him in the
afternoon and he would make us laugh with his stories and questions!!
Once on a Christmas Eve he asked us to sing Christmas Carols for him and
we did to his joy, and specially, ours! He was always full of bliss and blessings
whenever I met him!!
     It was a little later that I was to attend his amazing Kirtanas in Delhi and
Chandigarh where hundreds joined, and I came to then understand why he
was known in India by the title of 'Sankirtan Samrat'.
     Years later Asim K Das told me how he first met Swamiji. He said coming
to India then was a traveling adventure for him only and  when he came across
the border into Bhatinda, for some reason further traveling was restricted and
he had to spend some unexpected time there. So he asked the crowd of people
around him, "What is there to do here in your city?" They said there is nothing
entertaining and special to do here and all shook their heads. Then one man
spoke up and said,  "We do have something special here, we have a saint!"
And Asim said, "Oh, that's amazing! The only saints we have in the West are
dead saints!!  Please take me to see him just now!"
      At the end of that first meeting of Asim with Swamiji, after the evening
kirtana, and when all was ended in the wonderful nights at the Bhatinda
Ashrama; Swamiji gave Asim a note and said, " Now, when you go around
seeing India, see also this wonderful person in a place called Vrindavan."
There was written an address and Asim, from New York City, did go there
to meet Sri Krsna and ended spending most the rest of his life at the beloved
feet of the Lord. "Hare Bol!"

             Sri Asim Krishna Das with Baba Sripadji at Vraj Acadamy in Vrindavan