Dedication to Brother Haridas Acharya

Hari om.

Some twenty-five or twenty-six years ago I had the opportunity of meeting an individual very much my junior, but whose spiritual attainment surpassed many people that I have met in my lifetime. And we spent many, many weekends together; many days; outings. We travelled the length and breadth of kwaZulu-Natal. And his name was, or he was very lovingly called, Brother Haridas. And today we remember him on this 12th of October. For on this day he left this mortal plain, his physical body, and took his abode in the astral, cosmic plane. And I find that Brother Haridas has left a legend at the Gayathri Peedam. I cannot say much about others but I know here at the Gayathri Peedam he has left behind a beautiful legend in the short time he spent with you and me.

I remember when we used to travel to Richards Bay on a Saturday to do Ram bhajan in Brackenham, and we'd finish at about 1.30. I would drive all the way to Tongaat to take Brother Haridas home, then drive back to Stanger, or sometimes to Eshowe. But there was no pain or tiredness in our driving for he would sing all the way, tapping on the dashboard or on the roof of the car; and he'd sing to Krishna most of the time.

To the Gayathri Peedam and to the Shankarananda family, Brother Haridas has left behind a great love, a great peace, and above all he has left behind a great togetherness. I think that one of his greatest desires was to see people together, be it people he met for the first time in the congregation, or his own family. He had this unique calmness when he taught. He used to say to me, 'It's not one hundred percent, say it again'. Then many years later I learned of Babaji whose guru was exactly like that. No matter what Babaji did his guru would say it's wrong. And then he would do exactly the same thing and his guru would say it's right. I used to feel the same way and sometimes would think that Brother Haridas had ego, and wanted me to say it in his voice tone. Many years later I realised we had the same relationship as Babaji and Bhogar.

He's not gone in the sense of never-to-be-remembered; he's gone in the sense of this physical plane. But wherever he is, he's guiding each one of you that have followed him. And sometimes I see him sitting in my meditation and it gives me great joy, that I could have a glimpse of my master, my guru, and because of that the Gayathri Peedam will continue to observe this day, even if it's after my lifetime. This day will never be erased from the calendar of the Gayathri Peedam.

So we dedicate this pournami, a unique pournami, to Brother Haridas Acharya.

EXCERPT FROM DISCOURSE ON POURNAMI FULL MOON POOJA, 12 OCTOBER 2011.