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A True Servant—A True Master

by Swami Bhaktivedanta Madhava Maharaja | 2021 | 174,865 words

This page relates ‘Establishing Shri Nilacala Gaudiya Matha,...� 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.

Letter 42 - Establishing Śī ī峦 Ҳḍīy Ѳṻ,...

Establishing Śī ī峦 Ҳḍīy Ѳṻ � If one is not impartial, one cannot defend the principles of true religion � Different types of charity � Instructions from 岵ٲ on building temples � Kṣīracorā ҴDZīٳ � Realizing 󲹲’s mercy requires the strength of 󲹲Բ

श्री श्री गुरु-गौराङ्गौ जयतः

śrī śrī guru-gaurāṅgau jayata�

Śī ī峦 Ҳḍīy Ѳṻ Gourbatsahi, Swargadwar (ʳܰī) 30/10/77

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Mā Umā! Trying to appease everyone’s mind leads to no task being successful. In all such matters, you need to have some of your own independence. Not everyone is ready to take responsibility, but every hero is very busy trying to �show cause� when it comes to the minutiae of the mission. Who is going to bear the costs? There is no arrangement for whose cooperative efforts will run the and mission, but the budget is fixed. Can there be any logicality to this? The real issue is that while no one is willing to take responsibility for running the and mission, they will not stop throwing their weight around. That is why I have been sitting silent in regard to the affairs of the ʳܰī for four years. I have seen who has bravado and how much, and I have also seen how much of an actual sense of responsibility they have. This is not my personal asset, and I do not want permanent settlement here. Still, apparently, Śī ī峦 Ҳḍīy Ѳṻ belongs to 峾Բ ѲᲹ. Once the work is finished here, the deities are installed, and the starts functioning, my responsibility is finished. I am not going to come here considering it my birthright and sit on the beach to enjoy the breeze of the Bay of Bengal or count the waves. It is only proper that the Samiti should have a preaching centre in this famous holy place. That is all I have endeavoured to achieve. I have no hope for personal profit, worship, or prestige in this, and I have no intention of advertising any sort of bravado.

I have not asked anyone for any sort of financial support for Śī ī峦 Ҳḍīy Ѳṻ and nor will I ever do so in the future. Of their own accord, a few people have made some small contributions, which I have accepted. I think it proper to express gratitude to them, and so I will put nameplates up containing their names. It is not possible in accordance with government law to list the amount of money donated on the name-stones, so the names will be listed according to merit. Those who tossed Śī ī峦 Ҳḍīy Ѳṻ to the wayside and sneakily, secretly syphoned funds to other ṻs will certainly warrant a critical review in the future. If you take someone else’s things without saying anything, it is called stealing, and once you have taken those things without saying anything, even if you say something later, it is still considered theft. That is what the law says. If you commit a crime and confess to it later, it is still considered a crime. That cannot be proven to have been justified. A foregone conclusion suggests impropriety and indiscretion. Similarly, if confession and compulsion are used to conceal fault, I also consider that injustice and dishonesty.

It is my firm belief that if there is any sort of partiality in the management and administration of the and mission, no one can ever be benefitted. Śī 󲹲 will grace you with the intelligence to understand all these matters someday.

Śīmad-岵ٲ [10.22.35] says: 

प्राणैर् अर्थैर� धिया वाचा श्रे� आचरण� सद�

Prāṇair arthair dhiyā vācā śreya ācaraṇa� sadā 

“Service to 󲹲 is effected through one’s life energy, money, intelligence, and words.� 

As one acquires 貹ٳ (the supreme wealth) through wealth, which forever entails suffering, it becomes sublime through dedication or, in other words, through full surrender or the offering of one’s heart and soul. Man’s hard-earned money is dearer to him than his own life airs, which is why people trade any person or thing of this world to hold on to this artha, which is actually an anartha (non-wealth, or impediment), and brings only sorrow in the beginning, middle, and end. If someone can, with his or her intelligence, utilize that wealth for 貹ٳ, then that man or woman is truly intelligent. Selfless charity has no comparison. Generally, people give charity for the sake of mundane prestige. They retain some ulterior motive in giving said charity. Therefore, they do not reap the actual results. 

That is why, in the ī and 岵ٲ, three types of charity are mentioned�ٳٱ첹, Ჹ첹, and 峾첹.

ममार्च�-स्थापन� श्रद्ध� स्वत� संहत्य चोद्यम�, उद्यानोपवन�-कृईड-पु�-मन्दिर-कर्माण�

Mamārcā-sthāpane śraddhā svata� saṃhatya codyama�, udyānopavanā-kṛīḍa-pura-mandira-karmāṇi.

In this (Śīmad-岵ٲ 11.11.38) and subsequent verses, [󲹲 states]: 

“You should serve My home by beholding, touching, worshipping, serving, praising, and bowing [to My śrī vigraha and My devotees] by performing īٲԲ of My qualities, becoming attached to hearing about Me, meditating on Me, submitting all profits and achievements unto Me, accepting a position of servitude to Me, submitting one’s heart and soul, performing īٲԲ of My birth and activities, observing fasts and sacred occasions, singing, playing instruments, dancing, participating in ṣṭ-ṣṭī discussions and festivals in My temple and on annual holiday festivals, offering gifts, showing love and attachment for the establishment of My deity form, and endeavouring to build flower gardens, orchards, playgrounds, fields, cities or residential areas, and temples, either alone or with others and, like a servant, with genuine sincerity, cleaning the śrī mandira, reapplying cow dung, and irrigating and landscaping the grounds. Giving up all pride and arrogance, you should surrender all that you aspire for and all that you cherish unto Me. In this way, your offerings remain everlasting, and you attain the ultimate destination of ղṇṭ.�

I am delighted to know you participated in the deity installation festival and niyama- in Śī Kṣetra. Only you can say whether or not 𳾳ṇ�’s Kṣīracorā ҴDZīٳ will give you His 岹śԲ. In any case, if you are exclusively devoted to Him, He can steal ṣīr for you too and feed it to you. ٲśԲ is a general privilege. When you have this much eagerness, then I think He will surely give you 岹śԲ. When you are on your way back [from ʳܰī] that will be possible.

Śī 󲹲 is omniscient. He fulfils our innermost desires. His mercy is also causeless and unpredictable. The living entity cannot even begin to comprehend His mercy and favour; that is why He is ܰñⲹ-tattva (a truth seldom known). If a person wishes to realize His mercy, he needs the strength of 󲹲Բ. This causeless compassion cannot be experienced as long as mundane egotism or perception remains. Only by a sincere inclination to serve does it become a matter of realization. Iti

Forever your well-wisher,
Śī Bhaktivedānta 峾Բ

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