Your Mercy is All That I Am Made Of

The disciple never thinks that he can surpass his spiritual master in any way, even though externally it may appear that he has done so. For example, Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur, the spiritual master of Srila Prabhupada, was able to spread the Krishna consciousness only within India, while Srila Prabhupada was able to spread it all over the world. Srila Prabhupada never thought for a moment that he had surpassed his spiritual master. He always knew that whatever he was doing was actually all being done by the mercy of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati and that he was only an instrument in the hands of his spiritual master. In this mood the disciple always gives all credit for whatever he has accomplished to his spiritual master and he prays to his spiritual master, "Gurudeva, your mercy is all that I am made of."

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur

Answers by Citing the Vedic Version:

Question: Can We Pray For Others to Advance Spiritually?

Gurudeva, your answers teach me to surrender more and more. My rascal mind is shirking all the time, but I (the soul) am very thankful to you. Please accept my respectful obeisances.

I am asking you to answer the following questions.

Does it make sense to pray for others (asking spiritual advancement for them)? If yes, why and how it works (in case of austerities it is useless to do them for other person)? There are a lot of such prayers in our and other traditions, so maybe it is a duty of Vaishnava?
I apologize if my question was worded incorrectly.

Thank you very much for your care :)

Your unworthy servant,
Amalatma das

Answer: Here is the Ideal Prayer

Yes, we can pray for the deliverance of others. Here is the ideal prayer from the Srimad Bhagavatam:

svasty astu viśvasya khalaḥ prasīdatāṁ
dhyāyantu bhūtāni śivaṁ mitho dhiyā
manaś ca bhadraṁ bhajatād adhokṣaje
āveśyatāṁ no matir apy ahaitukī

"May there be good fortune throughout the universe, and may all envious persons be pacified. May all living entities become calm by practicing bhakti-yoga, for by accepting devotional service they will think of each other's welfare. Therefore let us all engage in the service of the supreme transcendence, Lord Sri Krishna, and always remain absorbed in thought of Him."
--SB 5.18.9

This is so powerful because when you pray this you are praying for the deliverance of all persons within the universe.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

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