Supreme Fortune and Earnest Prayer

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj's
Disappearance festival, Dum Dum Park, Kolkata
1 August 2019, part 5

After Srila Sridhar Maharaj got sannyas in 1930, he went to many temples. He helped to make the Madras Chaitanya Math temple and was in charge of the temple there, he managed other temples also. Moreover, he composed many slokas—one of his works is Bhaktivinod-viraha-dasakam. It is a very nice poem, I cannot recite all of the slokas from it, but there is one sloka in it that is very important,

srigauranumatam svarupaviditam rupagrajenadrtam
rupadyaih parivesitam raghuganairasvaditam sevitam
jivadyair abhiraksitam sukasivabrahmadi sammanitam
sriradhapadasevanamrtam aho tad datum iso bhavan

"What was sanctioned by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu by His descent was intimately known only to Sri Svarupa Damodara Goswami. It was adored by Sanatan Goswami and served by Rupa Goswami and his followers. Raghunatha Das Goswami tasted that wonderful thing fully and enhanced it with his own realization. And Jiva Goswami supported and protected it by quoting the scriptures from different places. The taste of that divine truth is aspired for by Brahma, Siva, and Uddhava, who respect it as the supreme goal of life. What is this wonderful truth? Sri radhapadasevana: that the highest nectar of our life is the service of Srimati Radharani. This is most wonderful. O Bhakti Vinoda Thakur, you are our master. It is within your power to allow them to bestow their grace upon us. You are in a position to bestow the highest gift ever known to the world upon us all. It is at your disposal. O Bhakti Vinoda Thakur, please be kind to us and grant us your mercy."

The meaning is this—what is coming from the heart of Sri Svarup Damodar, what Srila Sanatan Goswami gives love and affection to and looks after, what Srila Rupa Goswami is distributing, what Srila Raghunath Das Goswami relishes and Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu protects, what Suka, Sivji Maharaj, Brahma give honour to—Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur, you are donating that to all the devotees. Such types of things Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj writes.

He also wrote the pranam-mantra of Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur—

sri-siddhanta-sarasvatiti vidito gaudiya-gurv-anvaye
bhato bhanuriva prabhata-gagane yo gaura-sankirtanaih
mayavada-timingilodara-gatan uddhrtya jivaniman
krsna-prema-sudhabdhi-gahana-sukham pradat prabhum tam bhaje

I serve my lord, who is known as Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur. Within the Gaudiya sampradaya's lineage of Gurus, he shines like the sun in the morning sky. Through the sankirtan of Sriman Mahaprabhu he rescues the souls engulfed within the belly of the timingila of illusionism and bestows upon them the ecstasy of swimming in the nectarean ocean of divine love for Krishna.

He wrote Sri Gaura Saraswat Arati—

জয়রে জয়রে জয় গৌর-সরস্বতী ।
ভকতিবিনোদান্বয় করুণামুরতি ॥

jayare jayare jaya gaura-saraswati
bhakativinodanvaya karuna murati

'All glory, all glory to Sri Gaura–Saraswati, the holy embodiment of mercy in the line of Sri Bhaktivinod Thakur'.

প্রকাশিলে গৌরসেবা ভূবনমঙ্গল ।
ভখতিসিদ্ধান্ত শুদ্ধ প্রজ্ঞান উজ্জ্বল ॥

prakasile gaura-seva bhuvana mangala
bhakatisiddhanta suddha prajnana ujjvala

'Revealing service to Sri Gaura, which spreads auspiciousness in this world, you presented devotional teachings (bhakti-siddhanta) that radiate self-effulgent pure transcendental knowledge'.

"Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur spread Mahaprabhu's service (Gaura-seva) all over the world in order to inspire and rescue all fallen souls (bhuvana-mangala)." This arati was composed by Srila Sridhar Maharaj and is sung in each of our temples.

He also wrote Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur's pranam-mantra—

গুরুদং গ্রন্থদং গৈরধামদং নামদং মুদা
ভক্তিদং ভূরিদং বন্দে ভক্তিবিনোদকং সদা

guru-dam grantha-dam gaura-dhama-dam nama-dam muda
bhakti-dam bhuri-dam vande bhakti-vinodakam sada

"He is the giver of Sri Guru; he is the giver of scriptures; he is giver of the holy dham of Gaura; he is the giver of the Name; he is the giver of pure devotion; he is the greatest donor. I always offer my obeisance to this Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur."

(Sri Laghu-chandrika-bhasya, 1.8)

Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur gave us the Guru, he gave us all the scriptures, he gave us Mahaprabhu's birthplace—he gave us Nabadwip Dham, Mayapur Dham, which had been concealed by the Ganges. Who could recognise all this? Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur. He gave us the pure Name—there are so many names chanted in this world (all the sahajiya babajis chant Names—aul, baul, karttabhaja, neda, daravesa, sani, sakhibheki, jata-goswami), but he gave us the pure Name that Mahaprabhu had brought. Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur gave us 'Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.' Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur considered himself a sweeper of the Nama-hatta, the market of the Holy Name. Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur has given us all this. Who writes this? Who composed this sloka in Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur's glorification? Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj. We are also very fortunate because Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj has also given us such Guru as Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj—he presented us with such kind of guru! This is our fortune.

He also composed "Bhayabhanjana jayasamsana"—

ভয়ভঞ্জন-জয়শংসন-করুণায়তনয়নম্ ।
কনকোৎপল-জনকোজ্জ্বল-রসসাগর-চয়নম্ ॥
মুখরীকৃত-ধরণীতল-হরিকীর্ত্তন-রসনম্ ।
ক্ষিতিপাবন-ভবতারণ-পিহিতারুণ-বসনম্ ॥
শুভদোদয়-দিবসে বৃষরবিজানিজ-দয়িতম্ ।
প্রণমামি চ চরণান্তিক-পরিচারক-সহিতম্

bhayabhanjana jayasamsana-karunayatanayanam
kanakotpala janakojjvala-rasasagara-chayanam
mukharikrta-dharanitala-harikirtana-rasanam
ksitipavana-bhavatarana-pihitaruna-vasanam
subhadodaya-divase vrsaravija-nija-dayitam
pranamami cha charanantika-paricharaka-sahitam

He (of divine form) came forth from the birthplace of the golden lotus—the ocean of the mellow of divine consorthood. His large, merciful eyes dispel (the suffering souls') fear and proclaim (the surrendered souls') victory. His tongue (constantly) vibrates the whole Earth planet with Sri Krishna-sankirtana, his beauty resplendent in the robes of the sun's radiance (saffron) that purifies the universe and dispels the suffering of material existence. On his Holy Day of Advent, I (again and again) bow down unto that beloved associate of Sri Vrisabhanu-nandini, and the servitors of his lotus feet.

শরণাগত-ভজনব্রত-চিরপালন-চরণম্ ।
সুকৃতালয়-সরলাশয়-সুজনাখিল-বরণম্ ॥
হরিসাধন-কৃতবাধন-জনশাসন-কলনম্ ।
সচরাচর-করুণাকর-নিখিলাশিব-দলনম্ ॥
শুভদোদয়-দিবসে বৃষরবিজানিজ-দয়িতম্ ।
প্রণমামি চ চরণান্তিক-পরিচারক-সহিতম্

saranagata-bhajanavrata-chirapalana-charanam
sukrtalaya-saralasaya-sujanakhila-varanam
harisadhana-krtabadhana janasasana-kalanam
sacharachara-karunakara-nikhilasiva-dalanam
subhadodaya-divase vrsaravija-nija-dayitam
pranamami cha charanantika-paricharaka-sahitam

The devotees surrendered in pure devotion are eternally protected at his lotus feet. He is worshippable by the pure souls endowed with sincerity and good fortune, and he accepts (even) those who obstruct the service of Sri Hari, just to rectify them. As the very fountainhead of mercy upon all mobile and immobile beings, he crushes the inauspiciousness of the whole universe. On his Holy Day of Advent, I (again and again) bow down unto that beloved associate of Sri Vrisabhanu-nandini, and the servitors of his lotus feet.

That is what Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj writes about Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur. It is very beautiful. Srila Sridhar Maharaj has given everything to us, and that is why we are very fortunate.

Today is Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj's disappearance festival, and we are praying to him—"Wherever you are, you can see all the situation. Maharaj, you have made this Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math temple and you can see what is going on now in this temple, what kind of service is going on there. They think you are in the samadhi—that you are in a piece of stone there—but you can see everything, you can see what is going in your temple." I am praying to Srila Guru Maharaj and Srila Gurudev, "You can give solution to this. You can think of something. What is your desire? Your desire is not that they occupy the building like this, your desire is to preach Sri Rupa-Raghunath katha all over the world, but how will you fulfil your desire? Only you can solve it." Therefore, I am praying to Srila Guru Maharaj on this day, and this is my only earnest request to him, "Please, solve this problem."

Jay Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay
Jay Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj ki jay

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