RADHA-DAMODARA VILASA (Vol. 1) The Inner life of Vishnujana Swami
and Jayananda Prabhu
700 pages (hard bound including 32 pages of photos)
Radha-Damodara Vilasa is a sankirtan adventure saga tracing the history of
the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy--to bring the Holy Names of God to every town, village and city street throughout the world.
In the early days of the
Hare Krishna Movement in America, Sri Sri Radha-Damodara were the first Deities that most people ever saw. This was because Radha-Damodara did not remain confined to a temple building.
Instead, since Their temple happened to be a bus, They were constantly on the move.
The ups and downs of life on the road were not only experienced by
the devotees, but Sri Sri Radha-Damodara compassionately encountered these hardships as well, just as the Lord in the heart witnesses the trials and tribulations of every living being. It is stated
that Lord Chaitanya is the combined form of Radha and Krishna. In this way, Lord Chaitanya, by His inconceivable potency, came to fulfill His own prophecy.
The main theme of the story portrays the advent and unparalleled pastimes of Sri Sri Radha-Damodara with Their devotees as They gradually reveal a plan to fulfill the mission of Lord Chaitanya. The
supporting theme of our story describes how the surrendered souls disburse the Lord's mercy and inspire others to participate, thus facilitating the conditioned souls' exit from the material world.
The readers of Radha-Damodara Vilasa relive this sankirtan mood through the lives of three of Prabhupada's most influential disciples. Jayananda Prabhu, Vishnujana Swami and Tamal Krishna Goswami
had joined the San Francisco Radha Krishna temple within the first year of its opening in the mid '60s. Together they helped establish Lord Chaitanya's mission in California while inaugurating the first
traveling sankirtan party in the Western world.
Attracted by Srila Prabhupada's purity and love for Krishna, young people from all walks of life embraced his teachings and took to the
path of self-realization. As he gradually introduced deeper truths of bhakti-yoga, Prabhupada imbued his disciples with greater spiritual fervor, empowering them to travel the globe to spread the glories of
the Holy Name, and to establish temples along the way.
The Radha-Damodara Party was the largest traveling sankirtan army the world had ever seen, comprising six buses with numerous satellite
vans and cars that crisscrossed the North American continent. They distributed millions of transcendental books and inspired other parties around the world to do the same.
Srila Prabhupada always had an intimate relationship with Radha-Damodara. For years he lived at the Radha-Damodara Mandir in Vrindavan where he had written his Srimad-Bhagavatam
purports under Their shelter. Prabhupada told us that he lives eternally at Radha-Damodara temple and has requested that we continually venerate his rooms there.
Radha-Damodara were also the beloved Deities of Srila Rupa Goswami and Srila Jiva Goswami. These two eminent Acharyas were dedicated to spreading the mission of Lord Chaitanya worldwide.
Srila Prabhupada had regularly prayed for the mercy of these Acharyas, whose life and soul were Radha-Damodara.
When Prabhupada suffered a heart attack on his maiden voyage to
America, he wrote the following in his diary: "I feel better today, but I am feeling separation from Sri Vrindavan and my Lords, Sri Govinda,
Gopinath, Radha-Damodara." By leaving the Radha-Damodara temple in Vrindavan, he brought Lord Chaitanya's sankirtan mission to the world and sparked a spiritual revolution through the chanting of
Hare Krishna.
Krishna is famous for speaking the immortal Bhagavad-gita to His devotee Arjuna, thereby re-establishing eternal dharma for the benefit
of future generations. But He is no less famous as Damodara, the naughty child of Mother Yasoda, and in these pastimes He reveals even more about Himself and His intimate relationship with His devotees.
Appreciations for "Radha-Damodara Vilasa"
Hari Sauri dasa: Just a word to congratulate you on
Radha-Damodara Vilasa. It's a wonderful presentation, well
researched and excellently written. My wife read the whole
thing in four days, she couldn't put it down. When I saw the
sub-title, "The Inner life of Vishnujana Swami and Jayananda
Prabhu" I couldn't help but be skeptical. But actually you
have really conveyed their pure and humble characters in a
way that is in complete harmony and keeping with the spirit
of their times. Thank you very much for doing this, it is
a great service to the devotee community.
Ekanath dasa (Bhaktivedanta Archives): Thank you very,
very much for publishing Radha-Damodara Vilasa. You have done
the greatest service to the Vaishnava community. It's fantastic
and very inspiring. A fabulous piece of concrete spiritual
history for ISKCON, Srila Prabhupada, Vishnujana & Jayananda.
Dhanistha dd: I read your book at every opportunity
after I got home from traveling--couldn't put it down. I laughed
deep good laughter and cried deep good tears. You were able
to weave balance, symmetry, truth, and mystical insights into
these stories that are an irreplaceable part of our transcendental
history, lineage, and spiritual lives. You have shed more
light on these wonderful Vaishnavas, and helped immensely
to give us the ability to appreciate the love, truth, and
inspiration they emanated during their time here with us.
And they continue to do so even now. I will read it again
and again. It makes me very happy.
Sarvabhauma dasa: I am very impressed with how you
have woven the glorification of two American Vaishnava legends
within the historical setting of the original Radha Damodara
Deities and the philosophy and preaching of the Goswamis.
You have done so in a natural, authorized way. It doesn't
come off as contrived, as if you're trying to artificially
link American hippie Hindu converts to the glorious Gaudiya
Vaishnava tradition. Indeed you show that they are an important
part of that same tradition. Your well-chosen tidbits of philosophy
add authority without becoming cumbersome. And your brevity
in showing the broad Gaudiya history in a condensed way is
a great achievement: you tell a lot in a minimum of words.
This demonstrates both good writing and also a nice realized
knowledge of that history. Thank you so much for this gift.
A good teacher can open up the world for his students. You
have opened up the spiritual world in the form of this book.
The following is from Vishnujana Swami's sister:
The books arrived yesterday and I have read 160 pages so far.
It is amazing how you have linked together historical and
personal glimpses into the life of my brother and Jayananda
without losing the reader's interest or train of thought.
There is so much I didn't know about that stage in his life
and I feel like I may understand him better because of your
book. You must have researched forever to the point of exhaustion.
Thank you once again for your devotion and friendship with
Mark. Take care and keep in touch. Appreciatively, Theresa
Rati Manjari dd: I want to voice my deep appreciation
for the wonderful work you have done in producing your book
"Radha-Damodara Vilasa." I have found it tremendously inspiring.
It is just my kind of book, full of glorification of the devotees
and adventures in the preaching spirit. I have been fortunate
to spend many years on sankirtan myself and your book brings
back many good feelings which I thought I had lost. I feel
indebted to you for that. And it is very well written also.
I never knew that besides being a legendary singer, you were
such a good writer as well. As Vishnumurti Prabhu -whom you
may know - put it, "a magical book."
Haripada dasa: Prabhu, we have seen your book and
it is beautifully printed. First class! The devotees who have
them here in Prabhupada Village won't even consider lending
them out. They're very attached to them. Some cry when reading
it and no one can put it down. You've managed to inspire the
Vaishnavas. Congratulations.
Following is a quote from the Tamal Krishna Disciples
Newsletter: This new book by His Grace Vaiyasaki Prabhu
is of interest to all devotees. It is relevant for disciples
and friends of HH Tamal Krishna Goswami (Srila Gurudeva) because
it churns the nectarian exploits of two of ISKCON's saintly
pioneers-HH Vishnujana Swami and His Grace Jayananda Prabhu-who
were close friends, godbrothers and inspirations to Srila
Gurudeva. By weaving the history of the Goswamis and the original
Radha Damodara Deities in Vrndavan with the more recent history
in the West of Prabhupada, the modern Radha Damodara Deities
and the Western devotees, Vaiyasaki helps us to view this
more modern chapter of Vaishnava history transcendentally.
He makes a nice comparison: "Just as Lord Ramachandra engaged
an army of monkeys to liberate Srimati Sitadevi, similarly
Srila Prabhupada recruited an army of the sons and daughters
of the mleccha and yavana countries to fulfill the prophecy
of Lord Chaitanya."
Ajamila Dasa:
This book will survive the test of time, for the next ten thousand years. It reflects a glorious part of ISKCON's history. Great service. If we pick it up we can't put it down and so all our other
services stop. It's too addictive. I'm not complaining though. Congratulations.
Akhilesvara dasa: Prabhus! This book is a must! It
is an invaluable work for posterity. There is one crucial
key for spreading Krishna consciousness and making every one
happy and that is a festive mood. And that is what Vaiyasaki
is giving in this book. He is endowed with the power to share
the joy of Krishna consciousness. I will say nothing more.
$29.99 US dollars
" At a certain point, it became obvious
to me that the
direction of the book was being guided by higher authority..."
- Vaiyasaki
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