Our
Affectionate Guardians
Chapter One: A Transcendental Friendship
Srila
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and Srila
Bhakti Raksaka Sridhara Deva Goswami first met
sometime in the year 1930 in Allahabad, India.
In a conversation recorded in 1973 at Srila Sridhara
Maharaja's Math at Navadvipa Dhama, Srila Prabhupada
recalls: "So,
we are very fortunate to hear His Divine Grace, Om
Visnupada Paramahamsa Parivrajakacarya Bhakti
Raksaka Sridhara Maharaja. By age and by experience,
in both ways, he is senior to me. I was fortunate
to have his association since a very long time,
perhaps in 1930."
Our Relationship is Very Intimate
[To Srila Sridhara Maharaja] "Maharaja, I think you remember the incident when you went to Allahabad? On that auspicious occasion, we were connected. There is a long story, it will take time, but I had the opportunity of associating with Sridhara Maharaja for several years. Krsna and Prabhupada liked him to prepare me. Sridhara Maharaja lived in my house for many years, so naturally, we had very intimate talks and he was my good advisor. I took his advices, instructions, very seriously because from the very beginning I know he is a pure Vaisnava, a pure devotee, and I wanted to associate with him and I tried to help him also. Our relationship is very intimate."
Herein,
we find the history of a transcendental relationship
between these two pure devotees of the Lord. Intimately
associating and discussing Srimad-Bhagavatam together for a concentrated
period of over five years, often for five to seven
hours daily, Srila Prabhupada considered that "Krsna
and Prabhupada [Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur]
liked him to prepare me" for his future expansive
missionary activities in the Western world. Satsvarupa
Maharaja writes in the Srila Prabhupada Lilamrta, "Here Abhay and Sridhara Maharaja
and his followers could remain aloof from the warring
factions [of the Gaudiya Math] and together pursue
their plans for spreading Krsna consciousness." [Lilamrta,
Vol. 1, p. 100] While remembering their intimate talks,
specifically in regard to Bhagavad-gita, Srila Sridhara Maharaja
recalls the depth in penetration of their discussions. "Once
while discussing the verse dadami buddhi
yogam tam yena mam upayanti te [Bg.
10.10 "I give them the understanding by which
they can come to Me."] I submitted to him that
here, upayanti is indicative of parakiya-rasa
[paramour relationship]. On this point he agreed with
me, saying, 'Yes, at this point there cannot be anything
but the parakiya-rasa
of Vraja. The conclusion of Bhagavad-gita must
come to this."
Please Look After Them
In
March of 1982 Srila Sridhara Maharaja said, "When
he [Srila Prabhupada] began his translation of
the Bhagavad-gita, it
was in consultation with me in a very deep way.
Anyhow, he requested me many a time that, 'Please
look after them; I am taking them this side. You
have got some responsibility to look after them.'"
Recognizing
Srila Sridhara Maharaja as "a pure Vaisnava,
a pure devotee" since the beginning of their
relationship, Srila Prabhupada most highly valued
his instructions and advice. He would often consult
with him regarding the spiritual significance of
his failing business and family relationships. Srila
Sridhara Maharaja confirmed the profound significance
of Srila Prabhupada's suspicion that Krsna's special
mercy was especially being shown to him by taking
away all his material possessions as per the Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.88.8 verse, yasyaham anugrhnami.
[Lilamrta, Vol. 1, p. 88]
An
example of Srila Prabhupada's helping with Srila Sridhara
Maharaja's preaching work is seen in his appreciation
of Srila Sridhara Maharaja's exceptional brilliance
for extracting the essence of the scriptures [Lilamrta,
Vol. 1, p. 87] by helping to finance the publication
of Srila Sridhara Maharaja's original Sanskrit-Bengali
work entitled Prapanna-jivanamrta: Life-Nectar
of The Surrendered Souls. [Lilamrta, Vol.
1, p. 103] This book, as well as containing many original
Sanskrit verses composed by Srila Sridhara Maharaja,
is a compendium of supporting verses from various
Vaisnava scriptures such as Srimad-Bhagavatam, and
includes excerpts from the works of Srila Rupa Goswami.
It is divided according to the six divisions of surrender.
Often associating, whether in Allahabad, Bombay, Calcutta, or other parts of India, Srila Prabhupada and Srila Sridhara Maharaja's relationship continually developed. Srila Prabhupada continues to recall their meeting:
"In
my householder life I had opened an office in Bombay
for our business. The Bombay Gaudiya Math was established
by Sridhara Maharaj and myself. We made two parties
for begging, collecting alms, Sridhara Maharaja, myself,
and Bhakti Saranga Goswami Maharaja. So, I took them
to my chemist friends and we collected about five
hundred rupees. Sridhara Maharaja would speak, I would
introduce, and Goswami Maharaja would canvass." [Lilamrta, Vol. 1, p. 81]
In
the Srila Prabhupada-lilamrta, Satsvarupa
Goswami writes, "Abhay would often accompany
Sridhara Maharaja and his assistants at preaching
programs, where he would play the mrdanga. And when
Sridhara Maharaja fell ill, Abhay led the other devotees
on preaching engagements, performing kirtana, playing mrdanga, and giving lectures
on the Bhagavatam."
[Lilamrta, Vol. 1, p. 100]
Europe Defeated by Asia
While
still in Bombay, Prabhupada and Sridhara Maharaja
were the receiving party for a Gaudiya Math sannyasi upon his
return from Europe. Although dismayed by his changed
appearance which was missing the tridanda of a Gaudiya
sannyasi, the sikha
of a Vaisnava, as well as the traditional robes, they
still eagerly inquired in regard to the preaching
field in the West. The sannyasi remarked, "They ask questions that cannot be
answered." Prabhupada inquired further as to
the nature of those questions and one after another
Sridhara Maharaja answered them all. At last, the sannyasi was
left dumbfounded and Prabhupada boldly declared, "Today,
Europe has been defeated by Asia!"
Further confirmation of Srila Prabhupada's implicit trust of Srila Sridhara Maharaja is found in his letter of 30 January 1970 to Satsvarupa Maharaja, the editor of Back to Godhead: "Regarding Sridhara Swami's article: I do not know what sort of article it is, but whatever it may be, the writer's name should be Swami B. R. Sridhara. Besides that, there is no need of giving any short introductory note at the present moment. Whoever sends an article for publication in our paper, and if we publish such article it is to be understood that the version of such article is not different from ours." In other words, even without seeing Srila Sridhara Maharaja's article, he understood that his article was philosophically sound and in agreement with Prabhupada's mood of presentation of philosophy.
After the disappearance of Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura, the Gaudiya Math gradually diverged. With full knowledge of the events surrounding the disintegration of the Gaudiya Math, Srila Prabhupada told his disciples in the same 1973 conversation, "Our relationship is very intimate. After the breakdown of the Gaudiya Math, I wanted to organize another organization, making Sridhara Maharaja the head."
Srila
Sridhara Maharaja advised the leaders of the Gaudiya
Sangha to confer the title "Bhaktivedanta" upon
the then Abhay Caran. [Lilamrta,
Vol. 1, p. 103]. Later, his sannyasa-guru, Sripada
Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Maharaja, one of the seniormost
disciples of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura,
and the third sannyasa disciple
of Sridhara Maharaja gave sannyasa to Abhay Caran, retaining
the title "Bhaktivedanta," and conferring
the sannyasa name "Swami."
What I Came to Say, Will Remain
During
the lifetime of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur,
Srila Sridhara Maharaja once composed a ten stanza
poem describing the ontological position of Bhaktivinode
Thakur and the line of disciplic succession stemming
from Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati
Thakura was so pleased with the poem's ontological
depth and its happy style that he remarked to his
sannyasa disciple Goswami Maharaja, "Bhaktivinode
Thakura has written this through him. Now I am
satisfied that after me what I came to say, that
will stay, that will remain, I find in these slokas
the siddhanta." And in appreciation of
Srila Sridhara Maharaja's writings, Bhaktisiddhanta
Saraswati Thakura informed the editors of the Gaudiya
Math's periodicals, "If you include articles
written by Sridhara Maharaja, the quality of your
publications will be greatly improved." Further
confirming Sridhara Maharaja's profound erudition
in the sastras,
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura gave the title
Sastra-nipuna
[one who has very deep knowledge of the scriptures]
to Srila Sridhara Maharaja. Among other original compositions
of Srila Sridhara Maharaja are the ten stanza, pranamami
sada prabhupada-padam poem,
glorifying Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura,
which was requested by our Srila Prabhupada to be
sung regularly in all his temples, and the sublimely
beautiful 72 stanza prema-dhama deva stotra, divinely
presenting the full-fledged theistic conception of
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's blessed lila.
It is about this offering that the late Niskincana
Krsna dasa Babaji Maharaja said he found the presence
of Srila Rupa Gosvami Prabhupada, the very leader
of our sampradaya.
Senior
sannyasi godbrothers would often
invite Srila Sridhara Maharaja to explain the words
of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada. Sridhara Maharaja
explains, "I explained and they were satisfied.
Prabhupada's discourses were very deep. The general
public could not understand. It was deep philosophy,
so I was requested to repeat his message by the
elevated servants of our guru maharaja. I could
repeat this at least to their satisfaction. Gaura
Hari Bol. Gaura Hari Bol. Madhusudhan Maharaja
and others were always of a very skeptical nature,
not prepared to rely on anyone else. But they also
spoke that when they listened to me that it was
as if they are hearing Prabhupada. So, my type
is very akin to that of my guru maharaja. By his
grace. Many persons have told us this. That is
the ontological color, the ontological representation.
The nature of my delivery about spiritual things,
I think is that I always talk from the plane above
that of knowledge, jnana. Bhakti transcending jnana, the
sphere of knowledge. Never on this side, on the
side of exploitation. Exploitation, renunciation
and dedication. Renunciation is the negative side
and then the positive side, the land of dedication.
It must be of that characteristic."
Lord Chaitanya's Prophecy Fulfilled
Additionally,
when Srila Prabhupada returned to India in October
of 1967, after his successful preaching initiative
in America, he stayed with Srila Sridhara Maharaja
in Navadvipa, and observed his Vyasa-puja celebration.
At that time, Prabhupada wrote a letter to Satsvarupa
Maharaja saying, "Yesterday, we
have all come to Navadvipa-dhama. This place is an
establishment of one of my Godbrothers. It is a very
nice and extensive place, and my Godbrother B. R.
Sridhara Maharaja has spared one entire house for
our stay. He has also agreed to cooperate with our
society. We shall observe his birthday celebration,
and the brahmacaris shall
learn how to celebrate the spiritual master's birthday."
(Oct. 26, 1967) Shortly afterwards, Srila Prabhupada
asked Srila Sridhara Maharaja to be the head of his
newly formed society-the International Society for
Krishna Consciousness. "Srila Sridhara Maharaja
praised Srila Prabhupada's preaching in America, repeatedly
using Prabhupada's phrase 'Krsna consciousness.' Swamiji's
work, he said, was the fulfillment of Lord Chaitanya's
prophecy that Krsna consciousness would one day spread
all over the world. He laughed and smiled and praised
the Krsna consciousness movement with no trace of
jealousy." [Lilamrta,
Vol. 3, p. 203-4]
Srila
Prabhupada wrote his godbrother Bon Maharaja on
7th July 1975, "Sripad Sridhara Maharaja also
appreciated my service. He said that Caitanya Mahaprabhu's
prediction:
prithivite ache yate nagaradi grama sarvatra pracara
haibe mora nama, would remain
a dream only, but he congratulated me that I have
done it practically."
During
the Vyasa-Puja celebration, Acyutananda
Swami saw Prabhupada and Sridhara Maharaja fully
absorbed in a deep discussion in Bengali. Upon inquiry
as to what was the nature of their talk, Prabhupada
replied, "If I were to tell you, you would faint. Sridhara
Maharaja has very high realizations." [Lilamrta, Vol.
3, p. 205]
Live Forever
That Srila Prabhupada regarded Srila Sridhara Maharaja as his confidential friend and well-wisher throughout his life is clear in the following letter written by him. Concerned about his failing health, he had written Sridhara Maharaja asking whether he should continue living in the United States or return to India to live his last days in Vrndavana. After receiving Sridhara Maharaja's reply, he wrote, "What Sripada Sridhara Maharaja has directed, I take it on my head. He is my always well-wisher. After the departure of Prabhupada [Bhaktisiddhanta] it is appropriate that I should accept his direction. I got direction from him that I shall live in this country forever." [Letter to Govinda Maharaja~Jan 29, 1969] The good advice of a friend is welcomed, even by someone as self-sufficient as Srila Prabhupada.
Srila Sridhara Maharaja travelled and preached extensively all over India, personally accompanying Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura for many years. Nearly fifty years ago, he established the Sri Chaitanya Saraswata Math on the banks of the Ganges in Navadvipa Dhama. His Sanskrit and Bengali writings have been appreciated by both scholars and devotees for their originality, depth of realization, and happy poetic style.
My Siksa Guru
Throughout
his life, Srila Prabhupada always maintained the
highest respect and confidence in Srila Sridhara
Maharaja. He considered that sometimes, when it
was not possible for his disciples to proceed directly
under his guidance, that they should take direction
from Sridhara Maharaja. On January 31, 1969 he
wrote in a letter to one of his disciples, Hrsikesa
dasa, "Because you are
my disciple, and I think, a sincere soul, it is my
duty to refer you to someone who is competent to
act as siksa-guru. For
spiritual advancement of life, we must go to someone
who is actually practicing spiritual life; not to
some head of a mundane institution, not to someone
who has offended his spiritual master in so many ways.
I do not wish to go into details here . . . So, if
you are actually serious to take instructions from
a siksa-guru,
I can refer you to the one who is the most highly
competent of all my godbrothers. This is B. R. Sridhara
Maharaja, whom I consider to be even my siksa-guru, so
what to speak of the benefit that you can have by
his association. So, if you are serious about the
advancement of your spiritual life, I will advise
you to go to Sridhara Maharaja. It will be very good
for your spiritual benefit, and I will feel that
you are safe. When I was in India with the others,
we lived with Sridhara Maharaja. You can also make
arrangements for your other godbrothers to go there
in the future. "
In March of 1981 it was related to Srila Sridhara Maharaja that Acyutananda dasa had written about him in his book, Autobiography of a Jewish Yogi:
He compares you to a great general, when he met you. And he tells of the instructions, how Srila Prabhupada told him that he regarded you as his siksa-guru,
Additionally Hansadutta dasa has revealed that Srila Prabhupada told him twice that he had learned "everything I know" from Srila Sridhara Maharaja.
We are Happy, We are Glad, We are Proud
Although it may be said that Prabhupada encouraged his godbrothers in general, no one anywhere can produce similar statements of endorsement. The fact is that Srila Prabhupada possessed the highest respect and appreciation for Srila Sridhara Maharaja, and Sridhara Maharaja is unparalleled in his understanding and admiration of Prabhupada, as evinced in the following eulogy. "So our Swami Maharaja has done a miracle! Thakura Bhaktivinode conceived and Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura began to translate this conception into action. And we find that through Swami Maharaja, in his last days, it has been fulfilled to such a great extent. We are happy, we are glad, we are proud!"
In
response to this, Prabhupada with great humility,
his voice choked with emotion, tearfully replied, "So,
by guru and Vaisnava, whatever position I have
got it is by guru's mercy and the blessings of
the Vaisnavas. Otherwise, how I may have? So, I
wish that Sridhara Maharaja may bestow his blessings
as he was doing always, and may guru maharaja
help me so I can do some service. By his grace it
has become successful. I have no credit. I do not
know how things are happening, because I am not at
all qualified: chadiya vaisnava seva, nistara payeche
keba.
[Without serving an ideal Vaisnava, who can be delivered
from the clutches of maya ?]"
And after the disappearance of Srila Prabhupada, Srila Sridhara Maharaja declared,
I consider him to be saktyavesa avatara,
With such appreciation, there should be little doubt why Srila Prabhupada had implicit faith in Srila Sridhara Maharaja. He had even heard directly from Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura of the exceptional qualifications of Sridhara Maharaja. In their last known recorded meeting in 1977, just prior to Prabhupada's leaving this mortal world, we find him imploring Srila Sridhara Maharaja to take up residence at his temple in Sridhama Mayapura.
Please
Stay With Me
Excerpt of 1977 Room Conversation in Navadvipa.
Srila Prabhupada: I do not know for how long I will be able to carry on. So, I came to see Sridhara Maharaja.
Devotee: If you all go away, then the world will become dark.
Srila Sridhara Maharaja: [to Prabhupada] It is so wonderful that the will of the Lord becomes manifest through someone.
Srila Prabhupada: I want very much, Maharaja, that you come and stay at Mayapura. Because Prabhupada always desired that you preach. He told me quite a few times, "Why don't you pull him out?" [They both laugh.] You know, I also tried to some extent before, but somehow or other it did not work out. Now, why don't you come and stay at Mayapura? Srila Prabhupada [Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura] told me also, "Sridhara Maharaja is one of the finest preachers." I want to take you everywhere. At least at the place we have in Mayapura, people are coming from all over the world. If you just agree, then whatever kind of building you want, I will arrange it for you. They are trying to build a house for me. So both of us will stay there. And whenever you want, you can come here to your math.
Srila Sridhara Maharaja: Yes, as long as I am alive to fulfill Prabhupada's desire.
Srila Prabhupada: This is my earnest desire. Since you could not go around the world and preach, at least stay there and people will come to you. I shall make that arrangement. If you stay, then it will be helpful to me also. Sometimes I need to consult with someone and there is no one. There is no one that I can consult. I feel this deficiency very greatly.
Devotee: If he stays in Mayapura, then, all kinds of people will get to hear from him.
Srila Prabhupada: Yes, that's right.
Srila Sridhara Maharaja: Yes, people from all kinds of cultural backgrounds will come there.
Srila Prabhupada: Yes, and they are already coming. And in that house I will make arrangements for an elevator so that you won't have to go through the difficulty of walking up and down the stairs. You won't even have to move a step yourself. I'll make arrangements for a car and a lift. My disciples are telling me that they will build a house for me. So, both of us will stay in that house. Most of the time I am traveling around, so if you are there, then they can get some guidance. So, Maharaja, please, give me the order and I will make all the arrangements for you.
That Planetarium [The Temple of Understanding] also will be built under your direction. My idea is to combine the Indian culture and the American money-the lame man and the blind man policy. I tell them also that this will be very beneficial for the world.
He Can't Be Converted
In a talk on 8th October 1981 Srila Sridhara Maharaja remarked, "Some faith, yes, he had some faith in me. I can't deny that. In his last days he expressed that two quarters side by side will be built here. And you will live in one and I in the next. Birds of the same feather flock together. Common interest has drawn us near, our common attraction has brought us nearer, closer."
Here, in their final meeting, Srila Prabhupada prophetically refers to his imminent disappearance and reveals that it is in this connection that he has come to see Srila Sridhara Maharaja. In friendly jesting, they discuss Sridhara Maharaja's reticence regarding large-scale preaching work. Of himself, Sridhara Maharaja had remarked,
I did not want to become a big person. That is not my nature. I did not want to move around with many people. I am just satisfied with whatever I have. My spiritual thinking is my life. The conclusions of the scriptures, the advices of the mahajanas, to relish them and practice them and to discuss them in a small confidential circle, that is the main goal of my life.
Prabhupada testifies to his having personally heard Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura mark the high qualifications of Sridhara Maharaja, whom he first chose to go to the West. Many of the mission stalwarts recommended Sridhara Maharaja to preach, "He is the fittest man to preach in the West." In this regard, Sridhara Maharaja once remarked,
My guru maharaja wanted me to go to the West for preaching, but I don't consider myself a fit person to preach in the West. Because, you see, I can't follow your intonation. So, [laughing] I must listen clearly, then I shall tell. So, in this way, I told that if you order, I must go, but I don't think that I am fit to preach in the West. Anyhow, it was stopped, and Goswami Maharaja was sent to the West. I am of reserved type, of reserved mood. I am a man of more thinking and less speaking.
When Sridhara Maharaja had been selected, one of his godbrothers came to him and revealed the reason why Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura had chosen him to preach in the West. This godbrother explained,
Do you know why Prabhupada wanted you to be sent to the West? He said, 'Because he can't be converted. You have checked such an ambitious chance. If you went to the West, a big name you could acquire easily as a preacher, but you left it so easily.' I simply told, 'Yes, Maharaja, you please bless me that no other ambition may enter into my heart but to become a servant of Mahaprabhu. I pray for such a benediction from you. I have no ambition for a big name, only that Mahaprabhu may capture the whole of my heart. In this way I pray for your blessings.'
Bhakti Raksaka
And
just twenty-four hours before his departure from this
mortal world, Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura called
for his beloved disciple Sridhara Maharaja, and asked
him to sing the song of Narottama dasa Thakura: Sri-rupa-manjari-pada(the
lotus feet of Rupa Manjari are my treasure). Sridhara
Maharaja recalls: "So I did, hesitatingly. My
nature is always hesitating, pushing back. Then,
Kunja Babu asked me to stop. I was not a good singer,
so as soon as he suggested, I stopped. Then, Kunja
Babu asked Puri Maharaja of Kalna, 'You sing.' So
he began. Then, Srila Prabhupada was a little disturbed.
'I don't like to hear the sweet tune of the song,'
he said. Then, he stopped singing, and I had to begin
again with Sri-rupa-manjari-pada, sei mora sampada. He wanted me to sing that song." That
is the fulfillment of life of everyone of us, to
be rupanuga followers
of Sri Rupa.
Senior
godbrothers who witnessed this exchange [notably
Srila Bhakti Promod Puri Maharaja] have described
it as a "mystic transmission" in which
Sridhara Maharaja was given admittance into the
eternal entourage of Sri Rupa Manjari. Srila Sridhara
Maharaja's humble vision, however, is that he was
posted as the gatekeeper, the guardian of devotion
(bhakti-raksaka),
to protect the storehouse of conclusive truths about
the full-fledged theistic conception of Sri Krsna,
as given by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Senior godbrothers
were of the opinion, that when listening to Srila
Sridhara Maharaja's nectarean krsna-katha, it was as if they were listening
to Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura. Regularly
they requested Srila Sridhara Maharaja to explain
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasawati Thakura's lectures.
Further expressing his appreciation for Srila Sridhara Maharaja's "high realizations" in Krsna consciousness, Srila Prabhupada says, "I want to take you everywhere. At least to the place we have in Mayapura, people are coming from all over the world. Why don't you stay there?" Six times during this conversation Srila Prabhupada implores Srila Sridhara Maharaja to please come and stay with him in Mayapura. Sometimes it is wondered why Sridhara Maharaja apparently did not take up Prabhupada's offer. Sridhara Maharaja explains, "I said, 'Of course I shall try to help you. Sometimes I shall go and stay there with you.' But I really did not think at the time that I shall survive [live longer than] him."
Temple of Understanding
Also,
Srila Prabhupada refers to "that planetarium." Srila
Sridhara Maharaja is very fond of Sanatana Goswami's
most famous work, the Brhad-bhagavatamrtam, in which devotees, devotional
service, and Krsna are described very scientifically.
On the basis of this transcendental literature,
Sridhara Maharaja had contemplated an elaborate
preaching exhibition, showing graphically, with
the use of dioramas depicting the varieties of
material and spiritual planetary systems, how the
ultimate spiritual destination is Krsna's own abode,
Goloka Vrndavana. Due to insufficient funds, Sridhara
Maharaja humbly submitted his idea to Srila Prabhupada,
who approved, saying, "It
will be built under your direction."
In
spite of Srila Prabhupada's sometimes strong criticism
of his godbrothers in response to their activities
Prabhupada wrote on 18 November 1967, "Even
if there is misunderstanding among the Godbrothers
of my guru maharaja, none
of them deviated from the transcendental loving
service of Krsna." In his last days Srila
Prabhupada instructed that the policy of ISKCON's
non-cooperation with the Gaudiya Math was changed
and that we should cooperate-"The war is over."
Prabhupada created the Bhaktivedanta Swami Charity
Trust to "bring unity amongst the Gaudiya Vaishnavas
especially the followers of His Divine Grace Srila
Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura." The purpose
of the Trust was to develope Gauda-mandala-bhumi. The
first two projects were to finish Sridhara Maharaja's
darsana mandapa [Natha-mandira]
and build the darsana mandapa at Yoga pitha.
[771030R2.VRN & 771106RC.VRN]
We are also happy to report that our Godbrother, His Holiness B. A. Paramadwaiti Maharaja has persisted in the same mood of cooperation, in spite of a lack of initial response, in forming a World Vaishnava Association for unifying all of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura's spiritual children and grandchildren and is having some real success.
Divine Qualities
The innumerable high qualities and praises of our Srila Prabhupada are well known and accepted by the vast majority of Vaisnavas around the world, so there is no necessity of repeating them here. We would however like to list a few of the divine qualities of Srila Sridhara Maharaja:
- High recognition by other saintly personalities including Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura, Srila Prabhupada, Niskincana Krsna dasa Babaji Maharaja, Srila Bhakti Promod Puri Maharaja and a host of godbrothers.
- His immumerable literary contributions [given above] — especially his madhurya
- Brahma-gayatri Commentary — unprecedented in our sampradaya.
- Spotless character — personally and publicly.
- Freedom from envy and faultfinding.
- Ability to always harmonize the environment.
- Kind and affectionate nature in dealing with subordinates.
- Great attachment for discussing the pastimes of the Lord and Krsna conscious siddhanta
- Superexcellent realization and clarity of presentation of Gaudiya siddhanta
- Blessing of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura with the position as the Guardian of Devotion (Bhakti Raksaka) and further as the representative of the Rupanuga-siddhanta (Rupanuga-acarya).
Just
prior to his departure from this mortal world, Srila
Prabhupada advised his senior disciples that in his
absence, when the necessity arose to consult higher
authority for clarification of certain philosophical
points, that they should consult Sridhara Maharaja.
We humbly submit that the transcendental relationship
between Srila Prabhupada and Srila Sridhara Maharaja
be viewed and respected in terms of their eternal
spiritual positions, and long standing appreciation
and affection for each other.