Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati's Appearance Day

Today is the most auspicious appearance day of His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati, the spiritual master of my beloved guru, Srila Prabhupada. I was here in Atlanta in 1975 with Srila Prabhupada on this day when we along with him worshipped his spiritual master. To stand there near Srila Prabhupada seeing how devotedly he offered arati to his Guru Maharaja made a deep and lasting impression upon me. It was awesome to witness his intense devotional mood. Srila Prabhupada, please bless me that as you are unflinchingly devoted to your spiritual masters that I can also be unflinchingly devoted to you.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur

Answers According to the Vedic Version:

Question: How to Be Humble and Strong?

̇Respected Sir,

I touch your feet.

Sir, should a chanter of mahamantra be humble? If yes, how to be humble and at the same time talk strongly with nondevotees?

Warm regards,

Sunil

Answer: By Love

If one is motivated by genuine compassion, one easily be humble and strong at the same time. It is not difficult. A devotee's humility is to fully submit himself to the order of Lord Caitanya to deliver the people of this world from their suffering condition in the cycle of birth and death. This is his humble service to them. Just like one sometimes may have to yell strongly at a child to get out of the street to save him from being hit by a car, sometimes a devotee may speak strongly to someone to save him from the cycle of birth and death. This strong speaking is not done out of pride or arrogance. It is done in a mood of humble loving service to that person to try save him from his precarious predicament in the cycle of birth and death.

So in conclusion we can understand that because the devotee's humility is rooted in strong compassion his strength is his humility and his humility is his strength. In fact there is no one more humble than a devotee and no one more strong. Because of his perfectly humble service mood completely free from any personal motivation for sense gratification he can lead the entire world out of chaos.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

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