Srila Prabhupada’s Confidential Associate
We can know the degree to which Śrīla Prabhupada trusted Śrīla Gurudeva and considered him to be a responsible servant and intimate associate from comments he made in March of 1936, on the occasion of the installation of Śrī-Śrī-Guru-Gauranga-Gāndharvikā-Giridhara deities at the Sarbhog (Assam) Gaudiya Math.
The Sarbhog Gaudiya Math in Assam’s Kamrup district (at present in Barpeta district) was one of the 64 maṭhs and preaching centres that was established during Śrīla Prabhupada’s time. Śrīla Prabhupada sent Śrīla Gurudeva along with his senior Godbrother, Srila Bhakti Rakshak Sridhar Mahārāja, Janaki Vallabha Das Brahmachari and others in advance to make the preparations for the Deity installation ceremony. At that time, the Math was under the direction of Śrīla Gurudeva’s senior Godbrother, Tridaṇḍi Swami Bhakti Vijnan Ashram Mahārāja. Śrīla Gurudeva’s party arrived in Sarbhog only a few days before the festival date and was shocked to find that little or nothing had been done in preparation for Śrīla Prabhupada’s coming and the installation of the Deities.
Śrīla Gurudeva’s transcendental nature was such that he would never lose enthusiasm or stop working until his desired goals were achieved. He immediately brought all his efforts to bear on finding temporary quarters for Śrīla Prabhupada and the other devotees who would be coming with him.
When Śrīla Prabhupada arrived at the Sarbhog rail station at 6:30 AM on Sunday, March 15, 1936, he was greeted by a large party of devotees and local citizens. Noteworthy amongst those who accompanied him were Kunja Bihari Vidyabhushan Prabhu, Paramananda Vidyaratna Prabhu, Vasudeva Prabhu, Kirtanananda Brahmachari, Sajjana Mahārāja, and Krishna Keshava Brahmachari. On each of the three days that Śrīla Prabhupada remained in Sarbhog, thousands of men, women and children were satisfied with varieties of maha prasad.
On the following day, Śrīla Prabhupada ordered Tridandi Swami Bhakti Rakshak Sridhar Maharaj to make arrangements for Śrī-Śrī-Guru-Gauranga-Gāndharvikā-Giridhara’s installation rituals, over which he was to officiate. As a part of these arrangements, Śrīla Sridhar Mahārāja dressed the deities and decorated them with flower garlands and other ornaments. At the auspicious moment at 10 o’clock in the morning, upon being told that everything was ready, Śrīla Prabhupada entered the temple room, took darshan of the garlanded deities and paid his prostrated obeisances to them. He said, “The deities have already been installed.” On hearing this, Śrīla Sridhar Mahārāja immediately became remorseful, thinking that he had committed an offense by doing something that Śrīla Prabhupada had intended to do himself. Despite his faux pas, the installation of the deities was performed in great splendour according to the regulations of the Vaiṣṇava Smritis and in the midst of joyous sankirtan.
At the end of the installation ceremony, Ashram Mahārāja repeatedly asked Śrīla Gurudeva to tell Śrīla Prabhupada that Nimananda Brahmachari had not carried out his duties. Śrīla Gurudeva was reluctant to anything which would be displeasing to Śrīla Prabhupada, and so at first refused. Upon being pressed, however, he felt obliged to do as he was asked out of respect for his senior godbrother.
Later that day, Śrīla Gurudeva followed Śrīla Prabhupada when he went out for a walk, fanning him to keep insects away. As they were talking, he told Prabhupada of Ashram Mahārāja’s complaint. As soon as Śrīla Prabhupada heard it, he became angry and chastised Śrīla Gurudeva who felt extremely sorry at having displeased him. Srīla Prabhupada, however, seeing the effect his words had on Śrīla Gurudeva, immediately changed his mood and began to praise him affectionately. Śrīla Gurudeva was not happy at hearing such praise either, because he took it to mean that Śrīla Prabhupada felt he would not be able to take criticism. However, Śrīla Prabhupada took the opportunity to give him many valuable personal instructions that showed the extent to which he held his disciple dear.
Śrīla Prabhupada first said, “Why do you want so much? And why do you let it bother you that much? It is not proper to expect so much service from any person. Your service to your spiritual master and all its details are your responsibility alone. You should be grateful if anyone else contributes to it in any way. Krishna’s ‘major domo’ is Srimati Radhika. She knows that She alone is entirely responsible for Krishna’s pleasure. If anyone comes forward to help Her, She is filled with gratitude.”
Here, it is apparent that Śrīla Prabhupada was saying that it was up to Śrīla Gurudeva to take full responsibility for his service in its entirety. If anyone should assist him in the fulfilment of that responsibility, he should be grateful. From this statement it is clear that Śrīla Prabhupada considered him to be a confidential associate. Because of this affectionate relationship and the physical similarity of Śrīla Gurudeva to the tall, light-skinned Śrīla Prabhupada, people often mistook him to be his son.
Śrīla Gurudeva often recounted the story of the Sarbhog Gaudiya Math when he wished to give an example of the process of surrender to his disciples. We have already stated that Śrīla Sridhar Maharaj humbly felt as though he had committed an offense for having garlanded the deities in the place of Śrīla Prabhupada. Śrīla Sridhar Mahārāja asked Śrīla Gurudeva to approach Śrīla Prabhupada and ask him for forgiveness on his behalf, that he made the mistake unintentionally. Having been so entreated by Śrīla Sridhar Mahārāja, Śrīla Gurudeva wrote a letter to Śrīla Prabhupada in which he prayed for forgiveness on Śrīla Sridhar Mahārāja’s behalf. Śrīla Prabhupada answered that a surrendered soul never commits offenses. The Lord never sees the faults of one who is surrendered to Him, always forgiving him, for the surrendered person has given up everything for the service of the Lord without any ulterior motive. On the other hand, someone who has ulterior motives and is not surrendered must fear offenses at every moment.