Every Wave Is Favorable
Its a beautiful letter by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati, really worthwhile reading again and again when we feel upset, sad or lost due to our losses in material life. Hare Krishna!
[Originally published in The Harmonist]
September 1927, 441 Chaitanya Era
My affection-incarnate,
I have this morning come to Sri Gaudiya Matha from Puri. Immediately on arrival at the station I heard that by the will of God your son has gone away from us. You knew him as your son; he is a servant of Krishna. He came into the household of a Vaishnava, and you served him in the office of the parents of a Vaishnava, he has gone away after accepting that amount of service which he was in need. Your son indeed got his body from you, but he is a soul — a Vaishnava. His eternal duty is service of God.
A Vaishnava comes into this world on the pretext of individual need and remains in material space for the allotted period of such mission and thereafter proceeds where-so-ever Baladeva sends him according to his fitness. You know Maha Laksmi (Sat-Energy) dwells in the heart of Baladeva, and Krishna with His Ecstatic Energy dwells in Maha Laksmi; therefore, your son has gone away in order to serve the object of his worship. As he happens to be a soul — a Vaishnava emanating from Lord Nityananda, the Incarnation of the Power of Being, if you learn to look upon Nityananda as son, you will no longer experience any want. Nityananda Himself has been present as the Knower of the heart of your son; you have served Him; continue to serve Him still.
The mass of matter of which the body of your son was composed in elemental space, has dissolved into five elements. But the Soul of your son remains employed in the constant service of God and His Energy. Your son, as an object of selfish enjoyment has been disassociated from the company of his father as a similar object of selfish enjoyment. He is an object of enjoyment of God, and therefore, his duty as a Vaishnava is to remain the object of God’s enjoyment, that is, God’s servant.
God knows that you are not enthralled in the bondage of Maya (Illusory Energy). He will not, therefore, overwhelm you in misery, aiding you with the Power of His Infinite Mercy. Please, recall to memory the Story of Srivas and His son. Peruse ‘Shokashatan’ of Thakur Bhaktivinode and Sri Chaitanya Bhagavat of Thakur Vrindavana dasa. At the time when Mahaprabhu accepted Sannyasa, He said to His aged mother, His wife Vishnupriya devi, and to the inhabitants of Navadvip: “I am only a being, variously connected with you. After my departure, establish in my place all these relationships with Krishna and afford me the opportunity of freely serving Krishna.”
In the absence of your son, you also will have more time for serving Godhead. What God does is for our good. What more can I say to console you?
With Eternal Blessings,
Sri Siddhanta Saraswati
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