śrī śrī guru gaurāṅga jayataḥ!
Year 14, Issue 11
Posted: 23 December 2021
Dedicated to
nitya-līlā praviṣṭa oṁ viṣṇupāda
Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja
Inspired by and under the guidance of
Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja
Your Son Is a Servant of Kṛṣṇa
śrī śrī guru-gaurāṅgau jayataḥ
Śrī Gauḍīya Maṭha, Kolkata
29 May, 1927
Sneha-vigraheṣu (personification of my affection)—
Today, in the morning, I arrived at Śrī Gauḍīya Maṭha from Purī with Śrīmān Paramānanda. As soon as I arrived at the station, I heard that, as per Bhagavān’s will, Totā has left us – departed. You knew Totā as your son; he is a servant of Kṛṣṇa. He came into the home of a Vaiṣṇava, and you, as the father and mother of a Vaiṣṇava, have served him. He received as much service as he needed to accept and then left. Totā had received a body from you both, but he is a spirit soul (jīvātmā) and a Vaiṣṇava. His eternal duty is service to Bhagavān.
Vaiṣṇavas come into this material world on the pretext of their individual karma and dwell within the realm of material elements for a time, as determined by their karma. After that, according to their qualification, they go wherever Baladeva sends them. Within Baladeva is the domain of Mahā-Lakṣmī, and within Mahā-Lakṣmī is Bhagavān – thus, Totā has gone to render service to his object of worship (upāsya-vastu). Given that he is a spirit soul and a Vaiṣṇava born of Nityānanda Prabhu, who is the personification of sandhinī, you will not experience any further absence if you learn to establish Viṣṇu as your son. Bhagavān has presided as Totā’s indwelling Supersoul and you have served that Bhagavān, so now too, you should continue to serve Baladeva. That aggregation of material elements has mixed back into the elements. Totā’s spirit soul will remain engaged in the service of śakti and śaktimān. That son whose company you could enjoy has been separated from his father, whose company he could enjoy. He is an entity to be enjoyed by Bhagavān; as such, his duties are those of a Vaiṣṇava.
As I know you are not bound in the grips of māyā like I am, it is my conviction that Bhagavān will grant you His limitless mercy and will not overwhelm you with sorrow. Remember the story of Śrīvāsa’s son. Read Śoka-śātana and Śrī Caitanya-bhāgavata. When Mahāprabhu accepted sannyāsa, he told his elderly mother, his wife Viṣṇupriyā-devī, and the residents of Navadvīpa: “I am but a human being. I am connected to you in a variety of relationships. When I go, you should establish all those relationships with Kṛṣṇa, instead of with Me, and thereby give Me the chance to serve Hari independently.”
In Totā’s absence, you too will find more time to serve Bhagavān. What Bhagavān does, He does for the sake of auspiciousness. I am a soul bound by māyā. What more can I convey?
Nityāśīrvādaka (Your eternal well-wisher),
Śrī Siddhānta Sarasvatī
Translated by the Rays of The Harmonist team
