Viraha Astaka
By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Recently translated and published from the Bengali into English by Dasaratha-suta dasa, the following is an offering of eight prayers to Srila Prabhupada’s spiritual master, His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur, composed sometime in December, 1958.
First Octet: The Flood of Krishna Prema
1) O Srila Prabhupada! You personally suffer
to see the suffering
of the fallen conditioned souls.
On this anniversary of your separation
I am utterly despondent.
2) “The ocean of mercy was previously held back by a dam,
but Lord Nityananda personally cut a channel in it
and thereby released the outpouring flood
of pure ecstatic love of God.”
(from Lochana dasa’s song “Nitai Guna Mani”)
3) Those devotees to whom the responsiblity was given
to continue spreading this flood of love
somehow became overpowered by Maya
and were thus reduced to simply performing
ritualistic Hindu ceremonies
for the benefit of the materialists.
The Hare Krishna Movement 