THE GUARDIAN OF DEVOTION (3)

MARCHING ON TO GLORY

By Sri Yudhamanyu Prabhu Seva Vikram

His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj has clearly pointed out that the main problem of everyone is how to discard our internal hankering for anything other than Krishna and His servitors. The infinite road towards the realm of love and beauty, where the Divine Lord Sri Krishna can be found enjoying with His most confidential associates, is not one covered with flowers. Nasty desires and troublesome situations are sure to strike suddenly like thieves hiding in bushes. They appear constantly and they act as if they are taking us away from Krishna. But Srila Sridhar Maharaj kindly explains that these so-called dacoits are coming to us as a test to prove our faithfulness to Him. Therefore, we should not be afraid of obstacles that seemingly appear to hinder our progress on the road of spiritual life, but rather, we should “boldly stand those tests.”

It can readily be imagined that the journey towards the infinite, with all of the trials and tribulations encountered on the way, would be a discouraging, exhausting and self-defeating exercise yielding nothing tangible or positive for the traveller. Yet that does not need to be the case at all. Srila Sridhar Maharaj advises that one should not traverse the spiritual path alone, but with good association, one can minimize the disappointment, dejection and weariness one faces while travelling. “With a good group,” he says, “we can forget all these problems and we’ll get strength from one another and the long march will be a pleasant thing for us.” To perfectly exemplify the advantage of having such favorable association, Srila Sridhar Maharaj uses a reference found in history, known as the “Napoleonic chair.” Once, during a march, Napoleon and his soldiers became bogged down in a marsh. They were forced to stand for a long, long time. Unable to get any relief from standing, due to the wet condition of the area, the soldiers were ordered by Napoleon to form a circle. While standing in a circle, with each man facing the back of another man, Napoleon asked them to sit down so that the lap of one man was a seat for another. In this circular fashion, Napoleon’s army was able to rest without sitting on the wet surface.

Represented by this footnote in history, the obvious parallel to the situation all of us face in spiritual life dramatically illustrates the necessity of sadhu-sanga. When my mind is disturbed in some way, the others will encourage me and when in due course someone else’s mind becomes perplexed, then perhaps I will have the strength at that time to come to his aid. In this way our journey proceeds joyfully. Everything becomes even more ecstatic when, by the mercy of Mahaprabhu, we can have as our Napoleonic Guru, His Divine Grace Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj to lead us on the march back home, back to the land of the Sweet Absolute.

CONTENTS

Editorial
Declaration of the Spiritual Succession
(1) Complete Dedication
(2) Pure Devotion
(3) The Only Enjoyer
(4) The Wave of Love
(5) The Krishna Conception of Divinity
(6) Personal Knowledge
(7) Service to Guru
(8) Marching on to Glory
(9) An Experience on the Way
(10) Advent of Golden Moon
(11) Holy Talks of the Supreme Lord

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