SHYAMDAS 1953-2013 IN MEMORIAM

IN MEMORIAM
GAURA VANI
KIRTANIST & MUSIC PRODUCER,
AS KINDRED SPIRITS
MANTROLOGY.COM
Shyamdas and Gaura Vani
On the early morning of January 20th, 2013, a rare
and special soul was taken from this world. Shyamdas,
world-renowned scholar, author and translator, kirtan leader
and dear devotee of Krishna, was killed in a motorcycle
accident while in Goa, India. He was there with a group of
friends, students, god-brothers and sisters teaching Sanskrit,
leading chanting and sharing his deep love for Radha and
Krishna. The following note is posted on his website about his
final days in Goa:
a r i OM...Ou r priceless f r i e n d shy a M d a s j i
Hleft
this world last night. He spent his remaining
hours, as usual, in satsang and bliss with
a group of dear friends. On this night in particular
they were reading Shri Vallabhacarya’s teaching
“Krsnashraya” and reflecting deeply on and
repeating the refrain, “Krsna eva gatir mama"…
"Krishna is my refuge and destination.” He has
arrived at his final refuge and destination now.
Shyamdas' passing gives me an opportunity to share
my appreciation for him as a devotee of Krishna and
genuine lover of God. I am indebted to him in many ways,
for, although he was from a different lineage than I am
(Vallabhacharya’s line, also called Pushti Marg), he made an
undeniable impact on my world by his example of tirelessly
spreading the yuga-dharma (the prime spiritual duty for this
age) of chanting God’s names and introducing thousands
to the beauty and joy of kirtan. Because of this, he holds
a place as a very important teacher in the modern age who
influenced some of the most well-known and important cultural
icons of our time, such as the musicians Sting and the
Beastie Boys. He also acted as a link to the sacred land of
Krishna, known as Vraj or Vrindavan, for many in the modern
American yoga scene, inviting them and guiding them
into a physical and spiritual connection with that holy land.
So we celebrate his life with this humble remembrance.
Shyamdas is mostly known as a kind of divine madman
whose kirtans were filled with spontaneity and humor. He
was an incredible raconteur and extemporized during his kirtans
about everything from current events to stories of Radha
and Krishna. He could speak five languages and translated
many of the songs and writings of saints from the Pushti Marg
tradition, including those of Vallabhacharya, Govinda Svami,
Raskhan, Surdas and others. He was always distributing
prasad (sanctified food) that he’d cooked for his deities and,
magically, always had enough for any last minute guests. He
played tennis in a dhoti. He always wore bundi-style kurtas
that seemed like a throwback to a bygone era in Indian devotional
fashion. He was a do-it-yourselfer and had no problems
doing any service, whether it was humble or grand.
There are some beautiful stories about Shyamdas’s
life and spiritual journey in the book The Yoga of Kirtan
by Satyaraja Dasa (Steven J. Rosen) www.yogaofkirtan.com.
One incredible story stands out in my mind. He was taken
to a psychologist as a young child because he would often
tell his family about a beautiful, “blackish boy” who would
sometimes follow him. He remembers having visions of this
boy throughout his childhood, which were accompanied by a
mystical and transcendent feeling. Later he came to the conclusion
that this “boy” was actually a form of Krishna, who is
also often described as blackish or blueish in complexion.
Shyamdas was introduced to spirituality in the 60’s and began
reading books on Buddhism and yoga. Somehow from
his reading, a very specific question arose clearly in his mind
which then fueled his search for a guru and led him to India
and ultimately to his life’s work of devotion to Krishna and
kirtan. He wanted to know whether God was formless and
devoid of qualities or whether he was the possessor of all diversity
and all qualities. This search brought him with a group
of other young seekers to the ashram of his first guru, Neem
Karoli Baba, in Vrindavan. Shyamdas stayed and studied with
saints in Vrindavan, eventually meeting his second guru Sri
Prathameshji, whom he studied with for twenty years. Shyamdas
began to carry these teachings with him when he visited
January 2013
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