Gurudev, the Incarnation of Srimati Radharani

This year, 25 December 2007 is the 79th Appearance Day of our Gurupadpadma Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj.

On this day I wish to hear from our Sri Guru-varga, Godbrothers and Godsisters the glorification of His Divine Grace. I have no qualification to speak properly about our Srila Gurudev because his glorification is always chanted by all the liberated groups.

Just as we cannot think about Krishna without Srimati Radharani, we cannot cultivate thoughts about the service to Krishna without the guru. Prabhupad Srila Bhakti Siddhanti Saraswati Thakur said that bhajan means serving the guru and Vaishnavs under their guidance and thereby pleasing the guru. We always follow our minds, but our Param Gurudev Srila Sridhar Maharaj told our Gurudev, “Do not follow your mind, always follow me.” Our Gurudev listened to it and he did that fully. This is the example. Srila Gurudev is the example that through his service to his guru and the Vaishnavas he is in the position of Srimati Radharani.

Another example I can give in this regard is that if you invite Krishna, Krishna cannot come Himself without His mother. But if you invite Mother Yasoda, then it is not necessary to invite Krishna separately as she must bring her son in her arms.

In this world, we can serve Srila Gurudev from every corner – we must only follow his instruction. Not all devotees can physically live together with him, but from any physical distance they follow his instruction and remember Srila Gurudev, the holy dham, his guidance, etc., and that is service.

As for those who live at the temple in Nabadwip Dham or any holy place, if we do not think about the guru and do not think about service but think about ourselves, then that is not service and that is not living in the dham. Whereas someone may live far away but if they think about Nabadwip, then they actually live in Nabadwip.

Our Gurudev always gives us affection, but we always make mistakes and sometimes he chastises us for our purification. Sometimes we cannot understand this and may want to go far away. This is a kind of examination, and if we do not understand it, we can lose our real direction.

Krishna Himself came as a guru to pick us up to our own home. We lost our Supreme Father a long time ago and have lived without Him for many, many births, but in this Kali-yuga we have fortunately got this human body and a bona fide guru. If you see it and follow his instructions, then it is not necessary to worry about anything, even about your spiritual lives. Our Mission is like a big ship going in the ocean: we are all the passengers of the ship, and Gurudev is the captain. The ship is slowly going towards its destination. It is not necessary to ask the Captain so many things; it is only necessary to stay in the ship, and the Captain (the guru) will take us with him and we will reach our destination.

At the same time, if you see, perhaps, a speedboat going on the way and jump from your own boat to the other boat, then after some time that boat can be stopped before reaching the main destination.

Now everyone wants to be a guru but we should know that if someone wants to be a guru, they should first become a disciple. Our Srila Gurudev said that his guru had waited for thirty years to give his chair to him. But now we see that by hook or by crook so many want to possess such a chair. This is not bhakti-yoga or spiritual matter. Srila Sridhar Maharaj knew that our Srila Gurupadpadma had always had a disinterested nature towards such a position.

On this day of Sri Guru Puja we are praying at his lotus feet that we may be proper disciples and obey His Divine Grace’s instruction and be secure in service.

Praying for the Vaishnavs’ merciful glance,

Bhakti Nirmal Acharya
Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, Nabadwip

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