In a similar way, Srila BR Sridhara Maharaja also faced many challenges. After he had started his own mission, he used to stay in his asrama on the bank of the Ganges in Navadvipa. At one point, the government tried to take away the few acres of land belonging to the Matha. In those days, the communists ruled in Bengal. They made a law that nobody could own more than one acre of land, and since the asrama had four acres, they wanted to seize three of them. One can imagine what a disaster this would have been for the asrama. The government quickly filed a court case to seize the land from the asrama. Srila Sridhara Maharaja struggled very hard. In court, he argued that the Matha consisted of four people: Guru, Gauranga, Radha and Krsna. “That’s four people, so we can own four acres.” The judge said it was more complicated. They could only have three acres because Radha and Krsna are married and a couple can only have one acre. Then Srila Sridhara Maharaja produced many scriptures as evidence to prove that Radha and Krsna are in parakiya-rasa; they are not married. Hence, they can each have their own acre. In this way, Srila Sridhara Maharaja saved the asrama from great difficulty.
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Adhikara, Who Can Tell?
The debate following Srila Prabhupada’s departure about “Who can be a guru?” filled many papers and books. There was the question of the adhikara, qualification, of a particular devotee. Was he or she a kanistha-adhikari (a neophyte), madhyama-adhikari (a preacher) or an uttama-adhikari (a highly advanced devotee)? This was a great question for all, but who could tell? Who could make that determination? Were we to ask the individual preachers whether they were qualified? Why is it that Srila BR Sridhara Maharaja did not consider himself qualified to initiate until he was chastised by Lord Nityananda? Srila Sridhara Maharaja had not accepted disciples, even though many of his Godbrothers had urged him to. He was requested by some devotees to take charge of the Gaudiya Matha at a certain point in time. Even Srila Prabhupada wanted to start a new mission and make Srila Sridhara Maharaja the spiritual head of it. Practically everybody who knew Srila Sridhara Maharaja knew he was qualified to accept disciples, but he did not consider himself qualified. So he lived by alone, chanting with his attitude. Then one day he made a pilgrimage to Ekacakra, the holy abode where Lord Nityananda appeared in the house of Hadai Pandita and Padmavati Devi. There he prayed for the mercy of Lord Nityananda. In his heart he felt the message: “Why are you asking me for more mercy; you are not giving any to others” This loving chastisement of Srila BR Sridhara Maharaja by Nityananda prabhu in Ekacakra, brought him to the realization that he also had to give mercy to others. He then changed his attitude and started to accept devotees who approached him for initiation. As a result, some westerners were fortunate enough to establish a connection with that divine personality, and some even received sannyasa initiation from this great soul. When devotees started coming to Srila Sridhara Maharaja for guidance, some problems and misunderstandings arose. Some fanatics even threatened to kill Srila Sridhara Maharaja. These people could not understand the spiritual importance of Maharaja’s guidance for the devotees who had come under his shelter. As a consequence of their offensive mentality, they lost their own spiritual lives. You can’t offend a pure devotee without serious consequences. This becomes clear by looking at all the souls that did great service for Srila Prabhupada, but have fallen down from the platform of devotional service due to offenses to Srila Sridhara Maharaja. We should learn a lesson from this, in order not to fall into the same trap. Judas, the Opponent Rendering Service Some devotees once asked Srila Sridhara Maharaja what he thought about a certain antagonist, who had given trouble to the movement of the Vaisnavas. His response was absolutely amazing. He asked whether we knew Judas, the man who betrayed Jesus Christ and delivered him to the Romans. Everyone looked at him and wondered what importance this Biblical episode had in relation to their question. Sridhara Maharaja said that while Jesus wore a crown of thorns carrying the cross on his shoulders to the crucifixion ground, there was a crowd of people watching. Jesus all of a sudden stopped and looked into the crowd. He looked right into the eyes of Judas, who was standing in the back. He looked for a long time, then lowered his head and proceeded. What did Judas do at this moment? He threw away all the money he had gotten for betraying Jesus and hanged himself. Sridhara Maharaja asked what Judas had seen in the eyes of Jesus that made him throw away the money and hang himself. What made him change his mind? He had seen gratefulness in the eyes of Jesus. “O Judas, you did the most difficult of all services: the antagonist service - the traitor service! You will be known in the world’s history as Judas, the betrayer” That was too much for Judas to handle; he could not live with that burden. 87 Then, Srila Sridhara Maharaja looked at us and said, “Sometimes there are antagonists in this world, troublemakers, and offenders. But in one way or another, they all fulfill a purpose. They all serve some higher meaning of the Lord’s plan. We should not try and figure it out. If somebody was a famous devotee, then falls down and simply lives as an ordinary person, a sense gratifier, it´s hard to conceive of anything worse. That is such a chastisement! Sri Krsna says to Arjuna that having once been glorified, infamy is worse than death. So these devotees have done a great service by showing that vaisnava-aparadha is very dangerous (an offense at the feet of a Vaisnava is never tolerated by Krsna, Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.21.37).
Srila BR Sridhara Maharaja offered enlightening instructions, and he proposed a solution to the whole problem. However, for some reason it was not meant to be that way. His enlightening instructions were only heard and recognized by a few devotees, while others neglected them. Later, when ISKCON finally recognized the deficiency of the zonal guru arrangement, they still couldn’t understand that they had been given sound advice from the right person long before. Even worse, adding insult to injury, some of the members dared to accuse Srila BR Sridhara Maharaja of being the actual creator of the zonal acarya system. Thus the devotees in North America had neither a clear understanding of what the problem was, nor the solution. Spiritual life is a descending process, the mercy comes from above. You can’t fabricate solutions when there is no enlightened information. You can think and talk about the topic again and again, but it is not a process by which you can ascend using your own capacities. We should always search for the enlightenment and the grace of pure devotees. All of this had been foreseen by 86 Srila Prabhupada when he said that if his disciples had any difficulties with philosophy, they could approach Srila BR Sridhara Maharaja for solutions. So those of us who went to Srila Sridhara Maharaja felt very secure, because we also wanted to serve Srila Prabhupada with all our hearts. He had made a clear indication. When it really comes to difficulties, the point is that we need practical solutions. We don’t need dogmatic phrases of what to do and what not to do. Spiritual life is very intimately connected with common sense, and common sense means producing a situation which is just, progressive and functional.
Preaching was Srila Prabhupada’s real message, and that preaching was found in the spirit of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura and Prabhupada’s Godbrother Srila BP Puri Maharaja as well. Although Srila Sridhara Maharaja was quite reserved and unassuming, to please his spiritual master he was very instrumental in opening several temples. He opened the Radha Krsna Milan Mandir in Kuruksetra on the banks of the Brahma-sarovara. He also opened the Madras Gaudiya Matha and the Bombay Gaudiya Matha. He was always at the side of his spiritual master in his different activities. Later, at an advanced age, he was again able to open many centers and to preach and to inspire many of Srila Prabhupada’s disciples. He encouraged them to go on, despite the difficulties that had arisen within Prabhupada’s organization. He inspired them very generously to go on and never give up the preaching, which was the path Srila Prabhupada had sought out for them. In this way, by his inspiration, once again many books were published and many new temples were opened. In South America and in Europe, the mercy of Srila Sridhara Maharaja was extremely appreciated. It was in North America that devotees had more difficulty accepting Srila Sridhara Maharaja’s guidance. Since Srila Prabhupada had started his mission in North America, the majority of the senior devotees were from there. It was very hard for them to accept the fact that they had made decisions which were not very favorable for spiritual growth. They had turned the movement into something too bureaucratic and too impersonal. Furthermore there was the great miscalculation of dividing the world into different areas in which everybody had to take shelter, practically by obligation, of a specific guru of Prabhupada’s mission. This zonal acarya system was not very much appreciated by a lot of devotees, because the transaction between the spiritual master and disciple should be a heart to heart relationship. The choice for that connection must be without hindrances and only under the supervision of the Supreme Lord as the Supersoul in the heart. The defective zonal system created many differences and difficulties.
The loving dealings between advanced souls are further criteria of their progress. If devotees are not able to deal very lovingly with each other and are always in a confrontational mood or are minimizing what others do, that’s not a very good sign. We should be very humble. Naturally this love is not a cheap thing.
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. This is another story told by Srila Bhakti Raksaka Sridhara Maharaja. He explained to us that sometimes we can’t understand how the blessings are coming to us. We should be very cautious, especially when something negative arises from within. He told us the story of a young Bengali boy who was a great poet. He was so talented that he was chosen by the Indian government to represent India in a poetry convention held in Italy. He went there and won a price for his poetry. When he returned to Bengal he was very proud. This boy had one big problem- his father. His father would always tell him, “Ah, you’re just foolish and ignorant. You’re just a small boy. Stop being so arrogant.”
The boy was extremely dissatisfied with this and said, “Everywhere I go people offer me pranams and respect, but my father is my enemy. He’s always criticizing me. I can’t tolerate it anymore.” Such was his consciousness, when, one day he decided to kill his father. In the evening he hid in the closet with a knife, waiting for his father to arrive. When his father arrived and got into bed, his mother said, “Oh, look at the full moon! It’s so beautiful.” Then the father said, “The full moon is nothing compared to the shining face of our son.” The mother replied, “But you always chastise him so severely, and this is very difficult for him.” Then the father said, “I’m only doing that because I love him so much. I don’t want him to be proud and to spoil his life by being arrogant. He mustn't become a fellow that doesn’t accept anything from anyone.” The son, who was sitting inside the closet listening to this conversation, came out and fell at his father’s feet. He exclaimed, “Oh father, I totally misunderstood you. I’m such a sinful wretch!” Then he confessed how he had been suffering In this way Srila Sridhara Maharaja was warning us. By this story we can understand that Sri Krsna always loves us, even if he’s pulling our ears. Even if something is not going the way we think it should go, we should be very thankful because Krsna is always our best friend. One day a devotee asked Srila Sridhara Maharaja why the different Gosvamis were presenting different aspects of the transcendental teachings. Srila Jiva Gosvami worked very hard to find sastric quotes to protect everything taught by his predecessor acaryas. Srila Gopala Bhatta Gosvami was very keen to explain the rituals and all the different processes of deity worship. This is still apparent in his Radha-ramana temple, where high standards are kept to this day. Srila Sanatana Gosvami was very focused on the sambandha aspect of devotional life. Srila Rupa Gosvami is the abidheya acarya and Srila Ragunath dasa Gosvami our prayojana acarya. In this way, each and everyone had something to contribute. Srila Sridhara Maharaja looked very sternly and said, “Do not think that any one of the Gosvamis could not have done any of the things the others did. It’s not that one is higher or lower than the other. It’s just that it developed according to the sweet will of Sri Krsna.”
So, when you look at the acaryas, don’t look down on the ones that did not go around the world, like Srila Prabhupada. This type of classification comes from an “Olympic” consciousness. In the West we often only appreciate the “gold medalists” and disregard everyone else. This mentality is not a Vaisnava mentality. Everybody does what destiny has designed for him. I’ve met many of the disciples of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, who fit perfectly into the category of the nirupadhi Vaisnava. The nirupadhi Vaisnava is that Vaisnava who externally doesn’t have any distinction. He may not be an acarya; he may not even be a sannyasi or the founder of a temple, but in his heart devotion lives and shines brightly, just like in the heart of somebody else that has done extraordinary things. If we disrespect such a nirupadhi Vaisnava, our whole process will be in vain. Srila Sridhar Maharaja was very humble. One time a devotee came to him and asked him whether he knew what was being said about him. Srila Sridhar Maharaja replied, “They say that I want to destroy the mission of Srila Prabhupada, that I want to break the institution because I've said that I’m a form breaker.” So many other accusations were there. Then he responded, “They only say that because they don’t know how bad I really am.”
He said that Krsna is the form breaker when he says in Bhagavad-gita: sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja aham tvam sarva-papebhyo moksayisyami ma sucah (Bhagavad-gita 18.66) Krsna breaks the path of dharma to show the higher love. We should be interested in the substance and not in the form. We have come for the love, and not for a position in an institution. In this way, the deep help from Srila Sridhara Maharaja was very enlivening for everybody. Back-pushing Nature
In the case of Srila Sridhara Maharaja, his art was specifically revealed through his poetry. In his Prema Dhama Deva Stotram, he describes devotional mellows in beautiful Sanskrit slokas. Even his own guru would greatly appreciate his compositions for Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and for Srila Gaura Kisora dasa Babaji. As a matter of fact, after reading one of those poems, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura remarked, “Now I can leave this world peacefully, because I know somebody remains behind who understands and appreciates the real inner meaning of this mission” This type of comment was particularly the reason why Srila Sridhara Maharaja (amongst many of his godbrothers) was considered the senior-most exponent of the transcendental rupanuga line. Srila Sridhara Maharaja once told Srila BP Puri Maharaja, “You are my senior” Srila Puri Maharaja responded, “No, you are my senior in so many ways. I see that you are very dear to our gurudeva.” Actually, many of the Godbrothers, like Srila Krsna dasa Babaji, used to go to Srila Sridhara Maharaja’s birthplace in Hapaniya to chant there and see family members of Maharaja, who also happened to be his disciples. One time Srila Sridhara Maharaja chastised Babaji Maharaja, “Why are you going to Hapaniya? What business do you have there?” Babaji Maharaja replied, “Oh, I know what I am doing. I have something very important to do there.” The writings and poems of Srila Sridhara Maharaja were not only artistic, but they were also in the realm of realization. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura said, “He could not have written that. Only Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura could have written that.” This was the intensity of the appreciation. Srila Puri Maharaja and Srila Sridhara Maharaja had such an intimate association with Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. He used to dictate his articles to Puri Maharaja, and whenever there was an installation of deities somewhere, he would take one or the other along. Srila Sridhara Maharaja used to say that he had a ‘back-pushing’ nature. Maharaja always tried to stay in the back with some confidential devotees and dive deep into the meaning of the scriptures in his conversations with them. By Sri Krsna’s plan, he was always pulled out of that position. Devotees and acaryas would come to him and Maharaja was always there to give his love to everybody. |
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