Śrīdhara Mahārāja Will Save Our Bhakti! (Colonial Cataracts and Societal Selectivity)

On June 27th, 1973, Śrīla A.C. Bhaktivedānta Swami Prabhupāda crossed the Gaṅgā from Māyāpura and visited his dear godbrother, Śrīla B.R. Śrīdhara Deva Gosvāmī Mahārāja in Navadvīpa. Sitting together at Śrī Caitanya Saraswat Matha, their conversation shifted between English and Bengali as they spoke about various topics – Prabhupāda told Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja about his world preaching campaign, they talked about the proposed Planetarium in Māyāpura, and they discussed some of the Sanskrit compositions of Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja.

Undoubtedly, when two paramahaṁsas meet, every word they exchange carries profound significance. However, there is one particular part of this conversation that stands out. It’s very easy to miss – it lasts for about 20 seconds and is spoken in Bengali.

Śrīla Prabhupāda: In Bombay, when both you and me were present, (Bhaktisiddhānta) Prabhupāda said, “Bhakti Rakṣaka Śrīdhara Mahārāja, in times to come, will save our bhakti.”

Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja: Is that so?

Śrīla Prabhupāda: It is so.

This conversation was recorded and, like most of Prabhupāda’s discussions, is available in both audio and transcript formats. Yet in most Vedabase transcripts where Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks in Bengali or Hindi, translations are generally absent. Despite having numerous Bengali-speaking devotees and scholars, why has Iskcon largely overlooked these conversations?

Firstly, it could be argued that many western devotees in Iskcon are subconsciously afflicted with colonial cataracts, prompting them to believe that anything Śrīla Prabhupāda spoke which isn’t in English, is unimportant. The same could be said for the writings of Prabhupāda prior to his coming to the west – they are given little to no importance by western devotees. This colonial mindset even extends to altering the written words of His Divine Grace, simply because they consider his English to be grammatically incorrect or too archaic (which is a topic that warrants a separate article).

Secondly, there could be a concern amongst the ‘powers that be’ that in recordings where Śrīla Prabhupāda is speaking his mother tongue that he may say something which contradicts the current policies of the society. As a result, the prevailing attitude among the leaders is to ignore it, hoping that it remains unnoticed and eventually fades away. For example, when the Bengali portions of this 1973 conversation were first translated in 2013, Śrīla B.G, Narasiṅgha Mahārāja and his godbrother, Śrīpāda B.K. Araṇya Mahārāja shared it with some of their godbrothers in Iskcon – a number of whom held GBC positions and even one prominent Bengali guru. Yet the response they received was a deafening silence.

If Sarasvatī Ṭhākura had made this prediction about Śrīla Prabhupāda and Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja had reported it, we can be certain that Iskcon would have proclaimed it far and wide, from the mountains to the seas! However, many devotees are stuck in the quagmire of āmāra guru jagat-guru (‘my guru is the universal guru!’), forgetting that their emphasis is on āmāra (my) rather than guru. They fail to understand the fundamental concept of akhaṇḍa-guru-tattva – the undivided guru-principle and only see things in terms of ‘my guru’ and ‘your guru.’ As Śrīla Prabhupāda himself said in his address at the Bombay Gauḍīya Maṭha in February 1936:

“…the ācāryadeva is not a sectarian concern, for when we speak of the fundamental principle of gurudeva, or ācāryadeva, we speak of something that is of universal application. There does not arise any question of discriminating my guru from yours or anyone else’s. There is only one guru who appears in an infinity of forms to teach you, me, and all others.”

Let us ask ourselves – what kind of remarkable individual was Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura who produced such extraordinary personalities as Śrīla Prabhupāda, Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja and other great Vaiṣṇava stalwarts? Undoubtedly, Śrīla Prabhupāda was a śaktyāveśa-avatāra, empowered by Nityānanda Prabhu to spread the message of Mahāprabhu throughout the world – yet here in this recording form 1973, we find that same śaktyāveśa-avatāra reminding us that his own great spiritual master has prophesied that in future, Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja would “save our bhakti.” How can we neglect such an important revelation? For a society that has ‘Prabhupāda saids’ coming out of their ears, the leaders are very selective about which ones they accept!

Why did Sarasvatī Ṭhākura declare, “In times to come, Bhakti Rakṣaka Śrīdhara Mahārāja will save our bhakti”? In order to understand this, we must look at other incidents in relation to Sarasvatī Ṭhākura and Śrīdhara Mahārāja:

• Firstly, we must look at his name, Bhakti Rakṣaka – ‘The Guardian of Devotion.’ When Śrīdhara Mahārāja was accepting sannyāsa in 1930, Sarasvatī Ṭhākura was thinking for a long time which name to give him. Then he remembered how in his Vaiṣṇava Toṣaṇī, Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī had referred to the famous Bhāgavatam commentator, Śrīdhara Svāmī as bhaktyeka-rakṣaka – the sole defender of bhakti. Then he gave Śrīdhara Mahārāja the name ‘Bhakti Rakṣaka Śrīdhara.’

• In 1935, regarding Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja’s Sanskrit composition, Bhaktivinoda Viraha Dvādaśakam, Sarasvatī Ṭhākura told his disciple, Śrīpāda Sāraṅga Gosvāmī, “I am satisfied, that after me, what I came to say, that will remain. I find in these ślokas the siddhānta.”

• In 1936, on the occasion of his Vyāsa Pūjā, Śrīla Sarasvatī Ṭhākura referred to Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja as śāstra-nipuṇa (‘one who is expert in the śāstra’).

• Before leaving this world, Sarasvatī Ṭhākura requested Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja to sing Śrī Rūpa Mañjarī Pada by Śrī Narottama Dāsa Ṭhākura. Śrīdhara Mahārāja was not noted for his singing, but nevertheless, he was asked to sing. When another devotee was brought forward, Sarasvatī Ṭhākura stopped him, saying, “I don’t want to hear a nice tune!” and again requested Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja to sing. Many of his godbrothers considered that, “Prabhupāda has given you admission to Śrī Rūpa Mañjarī rasa. You have been given admission thereby to the rasa-sevā section.”

At this point, we could continue to describe many things concerning Prabhupāda’s relationship with Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja, however, this article would become too voluminous. Suffice to say that in his last days, Prabhupāda wanted his disciples to take the association of his esteemed godbrother, especially in regards to Gauḍīya siddhānta. Prabhupāda trusted Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja and knew that as The Guardian of Devotion, his disciples would be in safe hands. Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja helped nurture the delicate bhakti-creeper that Prabhupāda had planted in the hearts of his disciples by providing a deeper understanding of what Śrīla Prabhupāda had given them. In this way, he saved their bhakti.

The consequences of ignoring the wise counsel of Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja became increasingly apparent over time. Ignoring his advice, the new ācāryas created havoc among their godbrothers and godsisters, forcing them out of temples, coercing newcomers to accept them as guru, and establishing a zonal ācārya system. The sad irony is that the new gurus eventually blamed the zonal ācārya system and the other woes of Iskcon on Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja (“our only mistake was listening to Śrīdhara Mahārāja!”) and those gurus that still remain from the original eleven continue to condemn him to this day. From the philosophical standpoint, their rejection of Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja led to misunderstandings of Gauḍīya siddhānta in regards to guru-tattva, jīva-tattva, rasa-tattva, sādhana-tattva, śakti-tattva etc. and these apa-siddhāntas continue to be upheld by the society.

Many persons in the institution possess a negative opinion of Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja merely based upon misinformation, hearsay from others, or a lack of understanding in regards to some of the quotes of Śrīla Prabhupāda concerning Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja and the Gauḍīya Maṭha. However, most of these people never met Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja, never read his books, and never heard his lectures. Other persons maintain a prejudice against him because they have an agenda. Their offences have ossified to such an extent that no matter what they hear – even if it is directly from the mouth of Śrīla Prabhupāda and Sarasvatī Ṭhākura – they cannot change their vitriolic mindset. With the excuse of being loyal to their guru, they hold onto their bitter convictions, giving a plethora of excuses as to why they must disregard any favourable statements that His Divine Grace may have made concerning Śrīdhara Mahārāja. Such persons are described by Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura as bhāravāhīs – ass-like persons who bitterly carry the heavy load of aparādha.

However, those Vaiṣṇavas who are unbiased and are sāragrāhīs (seekers of the truth), who study the works of Śrīla Śrīdhara Deva Gosvāmī and listen to his lectures, will undoubtedly come to understand why Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura told our Śrīla Prabhupāda that Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja would save our bhakti in times to come.

• 📖 Prabhupāda Vijaya by Swami B.G. Narasiṅgha Mahārāja
• 📖 Follow the Angels by Śrīla B.R. Śrīdhara Mahārāja
• 📖 Upadesamrta with Illuminations by Śrīla B.R. Śrīdhara Mahārāja
• Big Fish in a Small Pond by Swami B.G. Narasiṅgha Mahārāja
• My Dīkṣā and Śikṣā-Gurus by Swami B.G. Narasiṅgha Mahārāja
• Hope For The Hopeless by Swami B.K. Araṇya Mahārāja
• The Compassionate Nature of Śrī Guru by Swami B.K. Araṇya Mahārāja
• A Letter from Disciple to Guru

The conversation between Śrīla Prabhupāda and Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja wherein Prabhupāda reveals what Sarasvatī Ṭhākura said about Śrīdhara Mahārāja. (June 27th, 1973)