This year 2014, just after attending the Gaura purnima festival at Sridham Mayapur, Srila Subhaga Swami Guru Maharaja came to preach Krishna Consciousness at his Prabhudatta desa, Bangladesh with few materially highly qualified B. Tech., M. Tech., Phd's Brahamacari disciples. (The field or service specified by one's Guru is technically called Prabhudatta desa).
Srila Guru Maharaja was personally instructed by Srila Prabhupada to preach at Bangladesh in early 70's. That was the time when Bangladesh was fighting for independence, therefore it was not possible to come and preach at that time. Later Guru Maharaja was again asked by Srila Prabhupada to go to Bangladesh with HH Hridayananda Goswami but Guru Maharaja could not come because of some VISA problems.
It was in the early 1980's that Guru Maharaja came to Bangladesh and started preaching Krishna Consciousness along with HH Prabhavishnu Swami and HH Bhakti Vikas Swami (earlier known as Elapati Prabhu), though Srila Prabhupada had physically disappeared from this mortal world. The spectrum of preaching activities was very broad starting from village preaching to common man by organizing pandal programmes, cultivating good household devotees, strengthening regular brahamacaris, among educated community by the means of standard presentations, among scientific community by the means of scientific discourses. Srila Prabhupada once remarked for Guru Maharaja that "here is our Bengali scientist". Guru Maharaj was earlier a Graduate student in Chemical Engineering at London.
ISKCON preaching activities began from Tejkuni Para, Farm gate area of Dhaka. There was one small temple Hall and two rooms for staying and one Bathroom for everyone. It was very austere to live and more difficult to preach against prevailing caste systems. Simultaneously, political disturbances used to create difficult situations to preach Krishna consciousness, even risking life was a commonplace.
Depending on the mercy of Srila Prabhupada and Krishna, Guru Maharaja fearlessly preached Krishna Consciousness all over Bangladesh, his bold speaking cut the tight knot of Avidya and people immediately became Krishna Conscious and followers of ISKCON by following the four regulative principles of no meat eating, no gambling, no intoxication and no illicit sex life. Though many times Guru Maharaja was attacked by opposition groups of so-called Hindu religion and others but as a fearless preacher he never got discouraged and took the instruction of Srila Prabhupada as his life and soul.
Presently, there are more than 20,000 (twenty thousand) initiated devotees in ISKCON Bangladesh (most are disciples of HH Jaypataka Swami). It seems from the statistics that the most effective preaching activities are going on in Bangladesh as compared to the other countries all over the world because of high percentage of devotees in the total population.
Srila Subhaga Swami Guru Maharaja must be credited as he persisted month after month, year after year, decade after decade for last 35 years to create the waves of Krishna consciousness/ pure devotion flow across the country by his invigorating hari katha and focus on strict brahamacari principles as laid down by Srila Prabhupada.
After tilling the field and creating positive spiritual vibes all over the country, it was in the year 2006 that Srila Subhaga Swami Guru Maharaja, finally, for the first time, started showering direct mercy or blessings in the form of direct initiation in Bangladesh at Rupa Sanatan Smriti mandir, Jessore to six devotees.
Since then, Guru Maharaja many times have conducted diksha anusthans (initiation ceremonies), a recent one of them was held at ISKCON Netrakona, Sri Sri Jagannath Ballabh Temple on 18th April 2014, where more than 40 devotees were blessed by Guru Maharaja to enter into spiritual life.
It is always very moving and emotional at the time of transition or departure from one place to another while on Bangladesh preaching tour as the devotees cannot check their spiritual sentiments and pain in their heart due to feeling of separation gets an outlet through tears in their eyes. A similar heart touching scene was created where so many devotees unable to restrain their emotions were crying at the time of Guru Maharaja departure from Netrakona.
All the devotees at Netrakona requested Guru Maharaja to come again and again and bless everybody by delivering nectarine hari-katha.
Srila Subhaga Swami Guru Maharaja ki jay!
Srila Prabhupada Ki Jay!