Mon 26 Nov 2007
Tribute for Taru
Posted by mg under The Old Days, Contributors
by Dulal Candra das (written for a memorial held by his family)
audio is available at:
http://dulal.podomatic.com/entry/2007-11-26T07_55_38-08_00
Dear Friends,
I say friends not because we have ever met, but because of the close friendship I had with your intimate relative and friend, a kind soul I knew as “Taru”: devotee, writer, public speaker, humorist, ascetic and a true lover of the Supreme Lord. I dare say that my knowledge and appreciation of Taru differs considerably from yours simply because of our varied perspectives. You, of course, knew him as a close relative, someone you grew up with and loved, or nurtured into adulthood by your good guidance and love. Others of you were his contemporaries in companionship and again, dare I say, love. But as Taru matured into manhood his interests and attentions were diverted. He (seemed to) began to distance himself from your love, and he sought his love elsewhere. And this, I know, must have broken your hearts. Where was your dear Tom? Why had he gone off to some commune in the back hills of West Virginia? Did we do something wrong?
Well, let me set your mind and fond memories as ease. All of your nurturing loves combined to develop the most magnificent, benevolent, and spiritually advanced Taru, who was my dear friend. Today’s society places little value on those traits of character which are truly admirable for those seeking spiritual advancement in this human form of life. Too often we throw aside truthfulness, austerity, cleanliness, and mercy for greed, hypocrisy, deceitfulness and other lustful ambitions which we will not discuss on this auspicious occasion. But Taru held the truly admirable characteristics of saintly behavior like a torch as he sough to find the essence of all existence.
Although we are not here today to discuss religious philosophy, I could not in good conscience offer any homage to Taru without glorifying what he held most dear to his heart. So please give a moment of your time to contemplate the essential life teachings that Tom held so dear and to which he dedicated his life. To this end please allow me to crack open the timeless transcendental teachings of Vedic culture, in order to shed some light on Taru’s truly saintly character. Unknown to our culture, but commonly accepted throughout time and the varied universes, concrete spiritual direction is available to all humanity in the eternal spiritual instruction coming from the Lord Himself. To that end Taru humbly submitted to a bonafide spiritual teacher, one who actually knew God personally, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, loving referred to as Srila Prabhupada by his disciples.
Srila Prabhupada, a pure devotee of God of the topmost stature, accepted Taru as his disciple. And Taru accepted Srila Prabhupada as his guru, his spiritual instructor, and he took the instructions of Srila Prabhupada as his very life and soul. This was not done as some passing fancy. He did not fall sway to some charlatan swami. He was not conned into some mindless cult, for you know his determined character would never fall prey to any cheap tricks when it came to that thing he held most dear, true knowledge - the absolute truth. Rather Srila Prabhupada offered the topmost knowledge of the soul and a simple spiritual solution to the dilemma of material existence, pure love of God through complete immersion in God consciousness by chanting the Lords holy names. And of all Gods hundreds and millions of names the name Krishna, meaning “all attractive”, Rama meaning “all powerful” and Hare “the one who takes away all obstacles” are most significant. Thus this practice of spiritual realization is commonly referred to as the Hare Krishna Movement, for the followers chant
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare
to attain spiritual perfection.
I know that if I were personally with you today, many of you would approach and ask, tell me about the time you spent with Tom. What did you do? how did you live? where did you live? what kept him in a farm commune in West Virginia instead of studying at the university or working in a profession? So let me provide a small glimpse into those days on the farm back in the ’70s.