Srila BR Sridhar Maharaja: Writings

This Bengali bhajana was composed by His Divine Grace Srila Sridhara Deva Gosvami Maharaja commemorating the divine appearance of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

We can participate if we simply remove all our selfishness, crookedness, and jealous temperament. Then we will be considered fit to connect with that most fundamental wave of Absolute sweetness. This is the background of Radha-Govinda lila.

Thousands of devotees from across India and from around the world recently gathered in Vrndavana for Karttika and on the evening of October 11th the appearance of Radha-kunda was celebrated. In the days leading up to October 11th many devotees made their way to Radha-kunda and took a holy dip in the kunda that is considered as non-different from Srimati Radharani. The 11th evening saw the greatest crowds as devotees [especially Vraja-bhasi women] bathed in Radha-kunda throughout the night.

We did not venture to enter the details of madhurya-rasa. Our Guru Maharaja did not like it. But it will come irresistibly within you, you go on, sravana kirtana. Pujala raga-patha gaurava-bhange. Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. It is so high. When it will come it will awaken within you. It won’t be awakened by any other person.

"Guru Maharaja, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, preached exclusively this Madhurya-rasa, but with great precaution. What is not that thing, he used perhaps 90% of his energy to point out the negative side - "This is not Madhurya-rasa" - and clear away the negative side. He had to spare, in his words, 'gallons of blood' to establish what is not that Madhurya-rasa."

The innate principle of life is to save one's own self, to become immortal, to come out of ignorance, and to become happy. Our very existence is being threatened at every second here where we live; also, ignorance is threatening to cover our knowledge; and we are always being threatened to be swallowed by misery. These are our standing enemies, our born enemies which are constantly threatening us.

The gayatri mantra will excite us to be mindful about Srimati Radharani's lotus feet, to obey her order. Radha-dasyam, the service of Srimati Radharani, is the ultimate meaning to be extracted from the gayatri mantra.

If immortality means 'no influence of mortality' what, then, is its positive conception? What will be the nature, movement, and progress of that which is immortal?