(5) Remembering Srila Guru Maharaj (1)

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj's tirobhav
Sri Nrisingha Palli, 11 August 2018, morning, part 5
Translated from Bengali

Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj composed many books, verses and mantras. Among them is the beautiful pranam-mantra of Srila Prabhupad:

নিখিল-ভুবন-মায়া-ছিন্নবিচ্ছিন্নকর্ত্রী
বিবুধবহুল-মৃগ্যা-মুক্তি-মোহান্ত-দাত্রী ।
শিথিলিত-বিধি-রাগারাধ্য-রাধেশ-ধানী
বিলসতু হৃদি নিত্যং ভক্তিসিদ্ধান্ত-বাণী ॥

nikhila-bhuvana-maya-chhinnavichchhinna-kartri
vibudhabahula-mrgya-mukti-mohanta-datri
sithilita-vidhi-raga-radhya-radhesa-dhani
vilasatu hrdi nityam bhakti-siddhanta-vani

‘He slashed to shreds the illusion of the whole material universe, putting a stop to scholarly speculations and conceptions of liberation; he eased the strict rules and regulations, bestowing the conception of natural loving worship of the Divine Couple – may the devotional teachings of this Sri Bhaktisiddhanta play eternally in our hearts.’

(Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj)

If you read our books, you will find many of his works and compositions in them. He also composed this kirtan that is sung now at every temple:

সুজনার্ব্বুদরাধিতপাদযুগং
যুগধর্ম্মধুরন্ধর-পাত্রবরম্ ।
বরদাভয়দায়ক-পূজ্যপদং
প্রণমামি সদা প্রভুপাদপদম্ ॥

sujanarvuda-radhita-pada-yugam
yuga-dharma-dhurandhara-patra-varam
varadabhaya-dayaka-pujya-padam
pranamami sada prabhupada-padam

‘I am offering obeisance to Prabhupad (Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur), whose holy lotus feet are worshipped by millions of pious souls, who is the establisher of the religion of the age (Krishna-sankirtan), who is the presiding divine successor (at the Visva-Vaishnava-Raja Sabha, the Universal Assembly of Vaishnavs), and who fulfils the desires of the dispellers of all fears – I offer obeisance at his holy lotus feet. I eternally offer obeisance to the radiance emanating from the toenails of my master.’

(‘Sri Sri Prabhupadapadma Stavakah’, Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj)

Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj's outstanding qualities were his deep intelligence, disinterested (detached) nature and strong common sense. Always remember this. I pray to you all that you follow and accept the person whom he left as the guru after himself. Srila Prabhupad Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur gave 'certificate' to Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj, indicating that he would become the next Rupanuga acharya.

One time, when Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj later returned from Vrindavan and established his own temple, one great pandit heard his name and came to meet him. When he came to the temple, Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj was doing some gardening in a simple gumcha (the temple had no money, so he would do the works himself). (In our new acquired Mayapur land also, I saw that there was a danger of floods, so I told them to plant trees around the perimeter of the land, making a kind of a fence.) Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj was the acharya of the temple, but he did not shun manual work – he cleaned the place where stool was passed himself, he did many of the works himself. In the early days, there were actually no toilets – Param Guru Maharaj did not have even half a rupee in his pocket to make any bathrooms, so everybody passed stool under some tree. Some time later, his godbrothers started coming to him, and they requested him to make some arrangement. Then, they purchased a piece of plastic and made the place a little private. There was also no fence or wall around the territory of the temple, so Param Guru Maharaj planted some trees to mark the territory. So, when that big scholar came to see him, he saw him and asked,

'Excuse me, do you know where Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj stays?'

'Oh, he is staying over there, upstairs,' Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj replied. 'Please wait here, I will go and inform him that you want to see him.'

Then, Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj went upstairs, took off his gumcha and, washing his hands and legs, put on his clothes and sat in his chair. Then, he sent some devotee downstairs to call that man.

The man came upstairs and as he offered his obeisances he was surprised, 'Oh! It is the same man I saw outside, who was wearing a gumcha and was making a fence!'

Such was Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj's nature.

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