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EDITORIAL August 3, 1999 VNN4425 Related VNN Stories Srila Bhaktiraksak Sridhar Gosvami Maharaj's Appearance Day BY GIRIDHARI DAS EDITORIAL, Aug 3 (VNN) — A lecture by Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayan Maharaj on the occasion of Srila Bhaktiraksak Sridhar Gosvami Maharaj's appearance day translated by Giridhari das Today it is our great fortune to celebrate the appearance day of nitya-lila pravista Om visnupada Sri Srimad Bhakti Raksaka Sridhara Gosvami Maharaja. It is true to say that "vaisnaver cinite nare dever sakati". Even the demigods are unable to understand the Vaisnavas, what to speak of human beings. But we have heard about him from our Guruji (Srila Bhaktiprajnana Kesava Maharaja) and from the lotus-mouths of other Vaisnavas. In his youth, when Srila Sridhara Maharaja was a student of law, he came to Navadvipa-dhama to take darsana. There he met Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. He became so impressed by his teachings that he left family, home and everything, and became engaged in Prabhupada's service. Guruji commented that he was an expert scholar and philosopher in the tenets of Gaudiya Vaisnavism. He used to write and read everything in the Sanskrit language. Once, at the end of Prabhupada's time, all sannyasis and brahmacaris abandonend the preaching work and sat in the asramas. The bhiksa seva (service of collecting alms) also stopped. They reflected that the persons, whom they entrusted with the collections, were sending the money to their homes and were thus serving their own family members. Therefore, all sannyasis and brahmacaris resolved to give them nothing anymore. Whatever there is, will be delivered to the feet of Prabhupada. One day Prabhupada was chanting harinama with gravity as he paced up and down the veranda of the Bag Bazar Gaudiya Math in Calcutta. At that time everyone sent Srila Sridhara Maharaja to Prabhupada, in order to express their concerns. When Srila Sridhara Maharaja spoke to Prabhupada, he became very serious and stood still, saying that the minds of all have become distorted. They have no discernment to consider the absolute goal, and why don't you also reflect on this ? Have you people come to count dollars and cents or have you come to do hari-bhajana ? If I engage someone to look after the accounts, then surely he will take some wage. Why don't you people do any bhajana. If you also need money, then I will make arrangements and give it to you. Hearing this, Srila Sridhara Maharaja bowed his head and said "My thoughts and those of the others are mistaken". Srila Sridhara Maharaja expressed this opinion with his own mouth. He said that we have come to do bhajana and not for money or prestige. If other people are bent on destroying themselves by taking all these goods, we shouldn't be preoccupied with them, we should do our own bhajana. Srila Prabhupada had given our Guruji the books dealing with Vedanta. Our Guruji and Srila Sridhara Maharaja used to sit for hours discussing tattva-siddhanta and philosophical points, and everyone listend with great joy. On the 5th September 1941 our Guruji accepted sannyasa from him in Katva. Guruji used to meet him after the Navadvipa parikrama. At that time they showed great esteem to each other. Once after the disappearance of our Guru Maharaja, I went to him and asked him some questions concerning vaidhi-bhakti and raganuga-bhakti. He gave the following answer: "matila gaura jana kirtana range- kujala ragapatha gaurava bhange" ("The devotees of Sri Gauranga were intoxicated in the carefree abandonment of kirtana. Thus the enchanting path of spontaneous love dismantles the barrier of awe and reverence. ") The meaning of gaurava-bhange, or dispelling the mood of reverence, is that all of Mahaprabhus' devotees became enraptured in gaura-kirtana, but there is a particular feature to this: bahiranga sange kare nama-sankirtana- ara antaranga laiya kare rasasvadana. Caitanya Mahaprabhu performed nama-sankirtana with His bahiranga-bhaktas (external devotees), and with His antaranga bhaktas (internal devotees), especially the three-and-a-half associates Svarupa Damodara, Ramananda Ray, Sikhimahiti and His sister Madhavi devi He relished transcendental mellows (rasasvadana). There is no certainity that one will attain raganuga-bhakti even after performing vaidhi-bhakti for thousands of years. By hearing the rasika exposition of the Srimad Bhagavatam and other such literatures from the mouth of a pure, rasika and bhavuka devotee, it may be, that among millions of people one developes greed for devotional service in the mood of the residents of Vraja. And what will happen when this greed appears ? -"kujala ragapatha gaurava bhange"-, the enticing path of raga will cause the gaurava-bhava or conception of God's grandeur to leave the devotee. Bhagavan's aisvarya-bhava will go far away. At that time he can enter the path of spontaneous devotion (ragapatha). He told us many things more, but I will conclude my lecture here. Related VNN Stories  Comment on this storyContact VNN about this storySend this story to a friend
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