Category Archives: Divine Words

Śrīla Bhakti Rakṣak Śrīdhar Dev-Goswāmī Mahārāj describes Vasudev’s vision in Mathurā.

Devotee: Could you describe the details of Kṛṣṇa’s birth?

Śrīla Śrīdhar Mahārāj: On the whole, it is something like imitation. It is nothing like the things we conceive of with our material senses. Kṛṣṇa, a spiritual body, came and showed Himself being born physically. It was an imitation, a show, like a drama, a play.

Devotee: Did Kṛṣṇa appear as a child with four arms or in His mature Viṣṇu form with a crown and ornaments?

Śrīla Śrīdhar Mahārāj: When He came out, Vasudev and Devakī’s eyes were attracted, and they saw Him with four arms and many ornaments. By His will, the iron gate to their cell opened, and the Yamunā, even during in the rainy season, became shallow. A jackal showed Vasudev the path, and he walked through the water of the Yamunā. When he came back, the gate of the cell closed as it was previously. From the material standpoint, all these supernatural events are inconceivable and impossible. They took place only by the Lord’s will. The Lord did not come here by any particular material process, but He did imitate material processes as far as possible.

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Divine Words of His Divine grace Srila Bhakti Rakshaka Sridhar Dev Goswami

Devotee: When the environment comes to attack us, how can we see that as Krsna?

Srila Guru Maharaj: When the environment is unfavorable?

Devotee: Yes.

Srila Guru Maharaj: We shall try to find out the Supreme Will there. We should feel, “I have done something wrong, so this is coming to control me and to exact the reaction for my offenses. Tat te ‘nukampam susamiksamano. In the perfect vision, we are not to quarrel with the environment. “Not even a straw can move without the Supreme Will, without the order of the Supreme Will. So, whatever is coming to attack me is my necessity. Just that is necessary for me, to correct me.” Just as when the mother is punishing the child, she does so only with the good will to correct the child. Similarly, the Absolute has got no vindictive nature to punish me, but His dealings are only for my correction. We shall have to see and approach in that way.

Tat te ‘nukampam susmiksamano bhunjana evatma-krtam vipakam:

“Whatever undesirable I find here is the result of my previous karma, and by the good will of the Supreme, that previous karma is going to be
finished. I will be relieved. I will be made fit for higher; service to Him, so this has come.” That is the advice in Bhagavatam. Don’t quarrel with the environment.

Try to be adjusted with it; correct your own ego.

From: Sri Prema dhama Deva stotram

— Verse 23 —

godavarya-vama-tira-ramananda-samvadam
jnana-karmma-mukta-marma-raga-bhakti-sampadam
parakiya-kanta-krsna-bhava-sevanakaram
prema-dhama-devam eva naumi gaura-sundaram

The famous conversation of Lord Gaurasundar with Ramananda Ray on the banks of the Godavari River is known as the Ramananda-samvad in the Sri Chaitanya-charitamrta. In those discussions, the highest form of dedication is pure love of God in a heart free from fruitive aspirations and scriptural calculation. Also, Lord Krishna, who appeared as the son of Nanda Maharaj, was ascertained as the sole recipient of the sweetness relished in the mellows of parakiya-rasa. I offer my obeisances to that beautiful Golden Lord, Gaurangasundar, the divine form of Krishna prema.

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Srila Bhakti Raksaka Sridhar deva Goswami

To bring Sri Gauranga nearer to our soul is to get, even unconsciously, a guarantee of our achievement in krsna-lila. For the fallen souls it is more useful to cultivate devotion for Sri Gauranga. That will give us the complete fulfillment of life with the least trouble. Devotion to Gauranga will not lead us to any haphazard or misconceived Krsna consciousness, but real Krsna consciousness. We can have full Krsna consciousness by the help of Gaura consciousness. By developing devotion to Sri Gauranga, we will be able to feel that Sri Gauranga consciousness also includes Krsna consciousness—plus something more. What is that? The distribution of Krsna consciousness.

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Do you want to live? Then come to die. We shall have to invite wholesale dissolution of everything in our experience. Hegel’s words help us: “die to live.” What is generally considered a concrete, valuable thing must be cast into the fire, in exchange for some hope that is unknown and unknowable. That is sacrifice. In Vedic ritual, we pour clarified butter into the fire as a sacrifice to please the Lord. Ghee, a valuable foodstuff, is burnt in the fire to create a healthier atmosphere. Of course, to say such a thing is improper and ridiculous according to material understanding, yet the benefit from the unknown quarter is there.

Be disgusted with your known world of knowledge, of pleasure—everything. Die to live. Now it appears to be all risk, no gain. Then, when the destination is reached to a certain extent, it will be all gain, no risk. Actually, what we risk is all concoction, misunderstanding. We only need to throw our misconception into the fire to gain a proper conception of reality. When the unreal is put into the fire, we gain the real. This is what “die to live” means.

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martyo yada tyakta-samasta-karma
niveditatma vicikirsito me
tadamrtatvam pratipadyamano
mamatma-bhuyaya ca kalpate vaitatraiva
SB. 11.29.34

Utterly abandoning desire for worldly enjoyment or liberation, or the desire to become one of the demigods, the souls who embrace the service of Sri Krsna realize their eternal divine identity and attain confidential servitude to the Lord, gaining admission into the group of the followers of Srila Rupa Goswami – “When the mortal being gives up all worldly attempts, completely offers himself to Me, and acts exclusively according to My desire, he attains to the state of nectar or positive immortality. He is then accepted: he becomes qualified to enjoy the acme of divine ecstasy, united with Me as My family member.”