Vyasa-Puja Address at New Vrindavan

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Śrī Vyāsa Pūjā Address — September 2, 1972, New Vrindavan 720902VP-NEW VRINDAVAN [27:52 Minutes] VyasaPuja_720902VP-NEW VRINDAVAN Prabhupāda: [prema-dhvani] Thank you very much. Devotees: All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda. [obeisances] Viṣṇujana: Flowers will now be offered to the spiritual master in succession, starting with sannyāsīs, temple presidents and so forth. And then the guests are also invited to join in offering flowers at the lotus feet of the spiritual master. Please do not throw the flowers right on the body of Śrīla Prabhupāda, but on his lotus feet, please.

And we will circumambulate, if you can. [break]

Prabhupāda: Sit down. Hare Kṛṣṇa [japa] [break] [02:09] Ladies and gentlemen, this ceremony... Of course, those who are my students, they know what is this ceremony. Those who are visitors, for their information, I may inform you something about this ceremony, otherwise, it may not be misunderstood.

A outsider may see it that "Why a person is being worshiped like God?" There may be some doubt. So this is the etiquette. This ceremony is called Vyāsa-pūjā. Vyāsa.

Vyāsa means the original author of Vedic literature. He is incarnation of Nārāyaṇa. He gave us all Vedic knowledge. He received the knowledge from Nārada.

Nārada received the knowledge from Brahmā. Brahmā received the knowledge from Kṛṣṇa. So in this way, by disciplic succession, we get transcendental knowledge. So Vyāsadeva...

Formerly, before Vyāsadeva, say five thousand years ago, before that time there was no need of written literature. People were so sharp in their memory that whatever they would hear from the spiritual master they would remember for life. The memory was so sharp. But in this age—it is called Kali-yuga—we are reducing our bodily strength, our memory, power of memorizing, our feelings of sympathy for others, compassion, age, duration of life, religious propensities.

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