SHYAMDAS 1953-2013 IN MEMORIAM

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the West and was one of the first (if not the first) kirtan wallahs to be showcased in yoga studios in America in the 1990s, beginning with the Jivamukti Yoga Center run by Sharon Gannon and David Life in New York City. Jai Uttal, the influential kirtan artist, is a longtime friend of Shyamdas and tells a funny story about their time together in those days. Jai was living in Berkeley, California, and was a well-known and busy musician with a host of responsibilities. Shyamdas would often drop by unannounced (sometimes more than once a day) and just want to hang out and chat and share stories and do kirtan, and Jai would be trying to politely get him to leave. But Shyamdas would say, “I’m not leaving until we sing Hari’s name together.” And he would practically force Jai to drop whatever plans he had and sit and sing with him or he would refuse to leave. Once they finished chanting, Shyam would leave happily. I asked Satyaraja Dasa about his relationship with Shyamdas and why he thought the beloved chanter was important to the modern kirtan scene. Here's what he said: "Shyamdas was in a unique position to bring spiritual practitioners – especially in the modern yoga community – to the next step. You see, he was a disciple of the spiritual luminary Neem Karoli Baba, and he was also a disciple of Goswami Prathmeshji of the Vallabha Sampradaya, a legitimate Vaishnava lineage. Because of this, he was able to serve as a bridge, linking practitioners from the two traditions – this has proven to be beneficial for both. In addition, I would say that Shyamdas served the contemporary yoga world by conveying true jnana, i.e., knowledge, from a bona fide source. His bhakti-infused pronouncements were always rich with traditional commentary and insight. Indeed, he was a scholar of numerous Indic languages and he used that scholarship to good effect. But he was not merely a scholar; he was a consummate practitioner, and a jokester too. In fact, these latter qualities speak to why he will be so missed. It's why I miss him. I can say that for certain. His heart was full of joy, and this, more than anything else, came out in his kirtan. This joy, or ananda, is a gift from God, as was Shyamdas himself. He was a gift from above, no doubt, and I miss him already, more than words can say." In my experience, Shyamdas was a source of incredible encouragement and enthusiasm. He would often shower me and our kirtan groups with praise. He commented that he liked the way we presented the philosophy and culture of sacred India in an accessible way, while still keeping the essence. We would often stay up with him late into the night long after the festival attendees had gone to bed discussing and even debating ideas and sharing realizations and aspirations. We shared about our tradition and teachers and he shared about his studies and translations. He urged us to think deeply about everything we said and did. In my heart and mind Shyamdas is an uncle and friend, a mentor and champion in the mission of spreading the Holy Name. His companionship will be sorely missed. I am hon- 10 Special Issue • Shyamdas ~ In Memoriam ored though to continue this seva in his absence. There is a famous poem about the passing of devotees by Bhaktivinoda Thakur, that hasn’t left my mind since I heard the tragic news. He reasons ill who says that devotees die, When thou art living still in Sound! The devotees die to live and living try, To spread the holy life around! Below are some specifics about Shyamdas’s passing, written by his friend Mohan Baba: “Farewell Shyam Das Ji In the early hours of January 20, 2013, we lost our dearest Shri Shyamdasji. Born Stephen Schaffer in Connecticut, USA, Shyamdasji passed away at the Vrindavan Hospital in Mapusa, North Goa, India following a tragic motorcycle accident on a winding, hilly road near the Goa-Maharashtra border. He was 21 days shy of his 60th birthday. His companion, Allyson Kreim, riding with him on the back of the motorcycle, sustained serious but thankfully not critical injuries. She was released from the hospital after a few days, has loving support of her family and many friends, and will make a full recovery. Shyamdasji was a shining light for all of us, and we deeply mourn his passing. We mourn because we have lost one of the greatest Western scholar-practitioners of Sri Vallabhacharya’s Pushti Marg (Path of Grace). We mourn because he authored and translated so many beautiful and profound books, making available to the English-speaking world the sublime teachings of Shuddha Advaita in which Krishna himself is seen as everything, everywhere, and in everyone! We mourn because Shyamdasji was a master and lover of the divine language of Sanskrit, as well as Vrajbhasha, Hindi, and other regional languages. We mourn because of the many books that most certainly would have continued to come from the pen of his bhakti-filled hands. We mourn because Shyamdasji was a gifted kirtan singer, whose performances and recordings were so filled with love and joy. We mourn because of the ecstatic music he would have continued to make to uplift and inspire so many people, bringing them closer to the divine. But perhaps most of all, we mourn his loss because of what he taught us about bhakti – what it really means to love God with unswerving devotion every day, every week, every year, every decade. Writing about God, talking about God, singing about God, reveling in God, and doing God’s seva (devotional service) was the joy and the calling of Shyamdasji's life. He was what is known as an ananya bhakta, “one who has exclusive devotion to God alone.” He was a powerhouse reveling in the divine play that is Krishna’s Lila. He could not be pried away. On the very day that Shyamdasji left behind his mortal form (at the Vrindavan Hospital, of course), he was teaching a Sanskrit text to a small group, repeating the refrain over and over again as it appears in the text: Krishna eva gatir mama – Krishna alone is where I am going; he is my only support, my only ref-
uge. In the Bhagavad Gita Krishna says, “My bhakta comes to me.” There can be no doubt that our sweet Shyam-ji is now with his support, his refuge, his Beloved Krishna. We will miss him dearly. Shyam Das will be cremated at 6:00 pm in Goa on January 22, 2013 in accordance with the rites of his Pushti Marg tradition. Thereafter his ashes will be immersed in a portion of sacred Ganga in Braj, in the presence of his family, friends, and members of his ancient lineage. For 12 days following the cremation, continuous pujas and rituals will be held in the Braj area, Shyamdasji's home for many decades, culminating in a large bhandara (feast). -Jai Sri Krishna-" Shyamdas at the entrance to his home in Jatipura. Photo by Ally Gopi. In my recent conversation with Satyaraj-ji, he made the following point about Shyamdas's departure. I think it an appropriate ending for this offering: "Shyamdasji's disappearance from our vision is disheartening, to say the least, especially for those of us who know and love him. We can take solace in the fact that, like Krishna, he resides wherever the holy name resounds. I will say this for certain: From this moment forward, when I attend kirtan and see hands joyously upraised in supplication of Sri Sri Radha- Krishna, I will sense Shyamdas's presence, see his familiar form, smiling and goading us on, encouraging us to chant with increasingly greater enthusiasm." January 2013 11
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Page 15 and 16: We sat down in a cozy, quiet corner
Page 17 and 18: Leading Kirtan at Bhakti Fest Midwe
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Page 21 and 22: “To awaken the wives of the gods,
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Page 25 and 26: offering. A short while later, Rasa
Page 27 and 28: Brahmaváda philosophy, in which ev
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Page 31 and 32: YAMUNA’S STORY SHYAMDAS few years
Page 33 and 34: Although the nature of Brahman is b
Page 35 and 36: joy of His own Being. And it was th

SHYAMDAS 1953-2013 IN MEMORIAM

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