(5) Beautiful Twist of Fate

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Hapaniya Dham, Vyasa Puja Mahotsav
22 October 2019, morning, part 5
Translated from Bengali

As I have told earlier, it is the month of Kartik now, Kirtika-nandini's (Srimati Radharani's) most favourite time of the year. Today is also the appearance day of Sri Virachandra Prabhu, the son of Sri Nityananda Prabhu. On the same days is the divine appearance day of our Param Guru Maharaj, Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj.

We are present here today at this auspicious time, at this auspicious moment. Not everybody has had an opportunity to visit Vrindavan – not everybody has this kind of fortune; and even though we may have visited it, we do not have the eyes to see Vrindavan.

অন্ধীভূত চক্ষু যার বিষয ধূলিতে ।
কেমনে সে পাইবে পরতত্ত্ব দেখিতে ॥

andhibhuta chaksu yara visaya dhulite
kemane se paibe para-tattva dekhite

‘My eyes are blind with the dust of visaya, the material world – how can I see the transcendental world?’

How can one see? Still, a lotus can bloom even in a hill of cow dung (gobare padma-phula phote, গোবরে পদ্মফুল ফোটে)...

You may look at this place here and feel that it is small, shabby, that it is very simple, but this is the place where a very great soul, our Param Guru Maharaj, Om Vishnupad Jagad-Guru Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj, made his advent. The room where the Deities are is the actual room where he appeared. There was no temple here before – it was a labour room (atula ghor, অতুল ঘর; or garbhavas, গর্ভবাস) where his mother gave birth to him. Later, our Gurupadpadma made this temple.

We come here every year in Kartik, on the next day after Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj's appearance, but this year I thought that if we made a festival here on the next day, it would clash with our travels to Vrindavan, so I decided to make the main festival here this year. I have sent letters to Mayapur sadhus inviting them to come here. They are on their way now.

The Deities here were installed by Pujyapad Bhakti Pramode Puri Goswami Maharaj in 1950, many years ago. Srila Jajavar Maharaj told about this place that it is non-different from Varsana in Vrindavan. It is situated on an elevation. When there was a flood in Nabadwip that submerged everything up to the two-floor level, there was no water here. There was a flood in all four directions, but here there was no water. So, this place is elevated. Just as Varsana is located on a hill, Hapaniya is also situated like that.

As you know, Srila Sridhar Maharaj lived here in this childhood before coming to Kolkata. All his family was highly educated – they were experts at Sanskrit and spoke Sanskrit at home. You think that you have struggled to come here (the temple is situated within a walking distance from all bus stops or train stations), but Srila Sridhar Maharaj would go to bathe in the Ganges every day (the Ganges flows near the Patuli train station). On his way back, he would bring a lotus flower from a pond, and he would offer it to Lord Siva at the small temple that is just outside our temple (the small temple was not there at that time, but the Siva linga was there). In his childhood, Srila Sridhar Maharaj would also gather all the boys and chant kirtan (the Hare Krishna maha-mantra).

[A group of people enters.] Look at this. Did I not tell you all yesterday? You must keep up Hapaniya's dignity! Just now all the sadhus will come, but you have come without tilaks, without neckbeads. Do you even know who Guru Maharaj is? You have many brothers, sisters and friends, but can you tell anything about them? Thousands of people come here from all over the world, why do you think they come?...

...Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj went to Okorsa High School. He finished his primary and high-school education there, and after that he went to study at a college in Kolkata. Finishing college, he earned his B.A. degree. After that, he was enrolled at a law college. He intended to become a lawyer, but, as Guru Maharaj wrote in one of his poems, 'Kara bhagye ki achhe? (কার ভাগ্যে কি আছে) Who knows what one is destined to?'

From his early childhood, Srila Sridhar Maharaj was very detached, indifferent to all material things. He did not feel any appeal to the material world, did not care about his family's land, house, about having children or anything like that. After passing B.A. and enrolling to study law, he joined Gandhi's movement. It was the time of British rule, so he decided to join that movement fighting against the colonial government.

At that time, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur was staying at Ultadanga in Kolkata. There was no Baghbazar Gaudiya Math or any temple in Kolkata – Srila Prabhupad just rented a house and stayed there with a few devotees, speaking Hari-katha every day.

Srila Sridhar Maharaj's name at that time was Ramendu (Ramendra) Bhattacharya. He was born on a navami-tithi, similar to Lord Rama (a navami-tithi, too), so his father called him Ramendu. His father's name is Upendra Chandra, and his mother's name is Sri Gauri Devi. The people in Hapaniya do not know this anymore. If you ask them, will they be able to say who Srila Sridhar Maharaj's parents are? So, one day, Ramendu heard that there was one gentleman giving lectures every day. He came to listen to it, and after meeting Srila Prabhupad for the first time, he became attracted. He sat at the lecture and listened quietly. After that, he started coming regularly.

Seven days later, the person who was in charge of the preaching place told him, 'Please do not come again.' Srila Sridhar Maharaj went to Kali Ghat (it is called Muri-Ganga now) and sat there, feeling depressed. He thought, 'I have been listening to such nice lectures, I did not ask them for any food, I did not want anything from them, but they have kicked me out.' Then, he felt a change of heart, 'No. Even if they chase me away, beat me or kick me out with a shoe, I will still come!'

In the meantime, Srila Prabhupad asked a devotee, 'Where is that boy, Ramendu? He has been coming for seven days, but I do not see him today.' The devotee said that they did not know anything, that nobody had told Ramendu anything. The next day, when Ramendu came again, Srila Prabhupad asked him, 'What has happened? Why did you not come yesterday? Was there some problem?' Ramendu replied, 'Yes, something came up.' Srila Prabhupad said then, 'All right, come and sit. You must come every day. Even if they prohibit you to come, do not listen to anybody. You must come.' And he did.

After a while, Srila Sridhar Maharaj went to Chaitanya Math in Mayapur and it was there that he received initiation from Srila Prabhupad. After initiation, he stayed at the temple full time, and after a very short time, he was given sannyas. There were a lot of much more senior devotees in the mission at that time, but crossing them, Srila Prabhupad gave sannyas to Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj. He gave him the name Sri Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Maharaj, 'he who can protect devotion': he is not a guardian of any other things – he is a guardian of devotion.

— : • : —

{ 2001  |   2002  |   2003  |   2005  |   2009  |   2010  |   2011  |   2012 }
{ 2013  |   2014  |   2015  |   2016  |   2017  |   2018  |   2019  |   2020  |   2021 }