A True Servant—A True Master
by Swami Bhaktivedanta Madhava Maharaja | 2021 | 174,865 words
This page relates ‘Accepting whatever situation Shri Bhagavan puts us in,...� of book�"A True Servant, A True Master" which offers a collection of 128 handwritten letters by Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Vamana Gosvami Maharaja—a revered figure in the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition. This book showcases the profound spiritual insights and practical guidance on executing devotional service and addresses both Sadhakas (male practitioners) and Sadhikas (female practitioners) with equal respect.
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Letter 69 - Accepting whatever situation Śī puts us in,...
Accepting whatever situation Śī puts us in � A home that is full of -īٲԲ is Goloka-ṛn屹Բ � We obtain the service and proximity of guru and ղṣṇ by remembering them � If one performs bhajana, gender makes no difference � All living entities are śپ, or female
श्री श्री गुरु-गौराङ्गौ जयतः
śī śī guru-gaurāṅgau jayata�
Śī Vinoda-bihārī Gauḍīya Ѳṻ 28 Haldar Bagan Lane Kolkata�4 28/3/1984
ṇīy�
Dear—�! I hope you are all well by the grace of God. � I fell sick at your place there due to lack of regulation and a lack of rest. After 貹, I always rest for seven days and then go elsewhere. This time I did not have that rest. What Śī does is for our auspiciousness. If I had not been unwell, perhaps I would not have stayed at your home for many days. We have to accept whatever situation Śī puts us in. How and to whom He shows His mercy is not comprehensible to conditioned souls. What power do we have to fathom His causeless mercy? The mercy of guru and ղṣṇ is something to be realized internally. Those who have mundane pride can never appreciate this. Only by serving guru and ղṣṇ without duplicity is bhagavad-bhakti obtained.
In your home, Śī Gaura-DZ, ṛṣṇa-DZ, Guru-DZ, and others are being eternally served and worshipped. Hence you are especially fortunate. If you as much as try, śī ūپ will converse with you directly and you will find bliss and peace.
You are to always remain engaged in the Lord’s service. A home that is full of hari-īٲԲ is Goloka-ṛn屹Բ; Śī ’s eternal residence is there.
जे दि� गृहे भज� देखि, गृहेते गोलो� भा�
Je dina gṛhe bhajana dekhi, gṛhete goloka bhāya[1]
“The day I see bhajana in my home, Goloka appears there.�
Chant a fixed number of śī 峾. Make a practice of īٲԲ and studying granthas and so forth. Only then will your home remain full at all times. Many deities are present in your home. Why did you write that your home is empty? �
You wrote that your place there is devoid of sat-ṅg. The transcendental books are your -ṅg, which is unseen but true (貹ǰṣa), so why have you written that there is an absence of sat-ṅg in your region? For those who have obtained the causeless mercy of , guru, and ղṣṇ, why would there be a dearth of -ṅg? The injunction has been given in the scriptures to remember Śī Hari, guru, and ղṣṇ while residing in distant lands.
If you do not want to stay in your home and you also do not want to go to other people’s houses, then rope together a cottage in the forest and do Բ-ᲹԲ there. It is not that all young women have to go to another’s house. A young woman’s guardians think that if they can get her married and send her to someone else’s house, then they are relieved of all responsibility, but one possessing high-class intelligence should not go there and spend their time in a state devoid of Բ-bhajana. I think that wherever constant remembrance of Śī can be kept intact is the right place to be. If we can always stay in the proximity of guru and ղṣṇ, we will meet with auspiciousness.
Śī alone is the enjoyer, caretaker, and maintainer of the whole of creation. By His sweet wishes, the infinite material existence is maintained and nurtured in a beautiful orderly fashion. He is Բٳ, Jagatpati, Viśvapati. It is only because the embondaged souls have forgotten Him that they are bobbing up and down in the ocean of the illusory material existence. It is only by cultivating the hearing, chanting, and remembering of the holy name, form, qualities, and pastimes of that omnipotent that the living entities obtain real well-being. Only by good thoughts (sac-cinta) and good feelings (sad-屹) is our well-being possible. No matter where we live, we have to create that sort of environment. Only by ṇa (remembrance) do we obtain the service and proximity of guru and ղṣṇ. That is possible from even thousands of miles away.
If one performs bhajana-Բ, then it does not make a difference whether one is a man or a woman.
जे� भज�
Jei bhaje, sei baḍo
“He who worships is greater.�
This is the word of the eternal scriptures.
किबा यत� सती, किबा नी� जाति, जे� हर� नाहि भज�; तब� जनमिया, भ्रमिय� भ्रमिय�, रौरव नरके मज�
Kibā yati satī, kibā nīca jāti, jei hari nāhi bhaje; tabe janamiyā, bhramiyā bhramiyā, raurava narake maje[2]
“Whether one is a mendicant, a chaste woman, or of a low caste, one who does not worship Hari will take birth in the hell of Raurava and wander and roam, drowning there.�
This is the accepted scriptural equality of women and men. In other deliberations on śٰ, the following is seen:
�ī-ܰṣoٳٲ Śī ṛṣṇacandra alone is the Supreme Person. All other entities are śپ, or female (ṛt). This is the constitutional identity of the ī. Since the living entity is ’s servant, his sole dharma is to serve .�
If he forgets this dharma of service, then the mundane condition of being a man or woman gains prominence.
“The infinite living entities are all Śī ’s maidservants.�
If you can understand this, you will no longer feel remorse about being born a woman.
If you have a particular desire and convey anguished prayers, Śī will give you residence in śī 峾. Even if we have been born in śī 峾, our life becomes blessed only if we obtain the mercy of śī 峾, which is part of the form and opulence of the Lord (tad-ū貹-vaibhava). Then we find the opportunity and advantage of beholding śī vigraha, hearing -첹ٳ, etc.
When you have offered your soul unto śī guru and , there is nothing to call your own, nor can there be. Then why the question of fault and mistake? 첹 and reap results according to the distinct qualities of their services. You have sacrificed your soul to the service of , so such a result is determined for you. Do not cling to your own sense of accomplishment. If you can do that, then you will reap actual results. Take my affectionate blessings. What more? Iti�
Your eternal well-wisher,
Śī Bhaktivedānta 峾Բ