Srila Bhakti Kankan Tapasvi Maharaja was another example of a loving devotee who used to visit Srila Sridhara Maharaja. The sweetness of their relationship was self-evident. This is the type of loving relationship we should see amongst devotees. This is my goal. I always request that anyone who comes to me in my mission has to be loving with others. If you can’t be loving towards another person, then you had better stay away from that person, but you should never have any harsh or bad relationships. To have harsh and bad relationships is simply a disqualification for spiritual advancement. Never say anything which brings the other person unnecessary pain. If by the words you speak, you cause pain to another devotee, that will not deepen your devotion at all. It’s not about the quantity; it’s about the quality. Our spiritual masters taught us this lesson in an exemplary way.
The love between Srila Prabhupada and Srila Sridhara Maharaja was amazing. One time, one of my Godbrothers, Acyutananda prabhu, was listening to Srila Prabhupada talking to Srila Sridhara Maharaja. Later he asked him, “What were you talking about with such enthusiasm?”
Prabhupada answered, “If you knew, you would faint.” For years, Srila Prabhupada used to have conversations like this with Srila Sridhara Maharaja. That’s why he wanted to make Srila Sridhara Maharaja the president of ISKCON. That’s why he wanted his disciples to go there. He said, “If Srila Sridhara Maharaja is my siksa-guru-guru, just imagine the benefit you can get from him.”
There was intensive love, but it was not Sri Krsna’s desire to make Srila Sridhara Maharaja the president of a large worldwide institution. It was His desire that Svami Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada go out and do what he did. He wanted this love between them to be noticed by the whole world in order to set an example of how all the devotees should deal with each other in a loving way. They should never think, “I have it and you don't. My mission saves people and yours doesn't.” Such negative attitudes are not good at all. We should really learn to become very broadminded, following in the footsteps of our great example setters.
Srila Sridhara Maharaja gave everyone a chance to come and have his association. He didn’t encourage any rivalry between missions. If devotees neglect his example, true love simply becomes an illusion, a theory without any taste.