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devam divyatanum succandavadanam balarka celancitam
sandranandapuram sadekavaranam vairagya-vidyambuddhim
sri siddhanta-nidhim subhaktilasitam sarasvatanambaram
vande tam subhadam madekasaranam nyasisvaram sridharam

"I offer my respectful obeisances unto His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Rakshak Sridhara Dev Goswami Maharaja, who is especially beautiful and kind. He presents the highest ontological truths in the most pleasing poetic style. His transcendental body is decorated with fine garments colored like the newly risen sun. He is the spiritual storehouse of concentrated bliss and the single fit choice of the honest devotees. He is an ocean of renunciation, knowledge, and the conclusions of pure devotional service. He is the most distinguished among all learned devotees of Krsna. Sporting in the pastimes of pure devotional service, radiant with the highest mellow of love of Godhead, He bestows the highest auspiciousness. He is the spiritual master and commander-in-chief of the Gaudiya Vaishnava sannyasis, and he is my only shelter".

Today marks the glorious and auspicious day of the one hundredth advent celebration of our most worshipable acharyadeva Om Vishnupada Paramahamsa Chudamani Sri Srila Bhakti Rakshak Sridhara Dev Goswami Maharaja, the most beloved disciple of Nitya Lila Om Vishnupada Paramahamsa Paribrajakacarya Sri Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Maharaja. It is the beginning of a year-long worldwide centenary festival culminating in the celebration of the 100th. anniversary of the appearance of His Divine Grace Srila Sridhara Maharaja. The festival is the inspiration of our most beloved President Acharya His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaja and is being conducted under his divine guidance for the satisfaction of Srila Sridhara Maharaja, his disciples, followers, and friends.

In our Math we are regularly observing many wonderful events connected with Krishna, His Avatars, expansions, pastimes and devotees. Yet, as splendid and meaningful as these observances are none can excite the heart of the disciple as deeply as the celebration of the appearance of our most beloved Gurudeva. Although Krishna tells us acharyam mam vijaniyam "I am the Guru", still Krishna Himself remains at a distance hidden from our view. It is His devotee, the supreme personality of servitor Godhead, our Gurudeva, who is close at hand guiding us with his supreme kindness and utmost patience as we struggle to culture our spiritual life. Without his guiding hand we are lost to the never-ending onslaught of the mind's attraction to the mundane world. We are, in the most real sense, helplessly and hopelessly dependent on his mercy.

This is not to say the disciple is without hope altogether. He is always hopeful of receiving the mercy of Sri Krishna knowing that Sri Gurudeva is the most merciful manifestation of the Supreme Lord. With this knowledge the disciple is confident that executing the instructions of the guru will bring about the greatest transcendental reward. It is those portions of the shastra that address these points that seem most inspiring to us.

In his prayer Sri Sri Gurv-astakam, Srila Vishvanatha Cakravarti Thakura writes yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasado, by the grace of the spiritual master one receives the mercy of Krishna, and perhaps more importantly yasyaprasadan na gatih kuto 'pi without the mercy of the guru there is no possibility of making advancement in devotional life. Therefore, dhyayan stuvams tasya yasas I must constantly meditate on, praise, and glorify my spiritual master.

The feeling of the disciple toward his guru is that by his grace anything is attainable, nothing is impossible. This is the ultimate expression of hope and confidence. mukam karoti vacalam pangum langhayate girim, yat-krpa tam aham vande sri gurum dina tarinam By the mercy of the spiritual master a lame man can cross over mountains, a dumb man can speak beautiful poetry and the fallen souls can be delivered from the clutches of material life.

The infinitesimal is running after the infinite in an effort to understand Him and know Him. It is a hopeless, reckless pursuit, yet we are so confident of our Gurudeva's intimate connection with the Absolute Truth and his infinite goodwill toward us that we proceed fearlessly into the unknown. Gurudeva is not only our guide, he is our guardian. Srila Sridhara Maharaja was given the name Bhakti Rakshak, the guardian of devotion. He is the ever vigilant guard posted by Srila Saraswati Thakur at the door of the storehouse of Krishna Bhakti. With his charming countenance he extends himself to greet and welcome the deserving aspirants to relish the contents, while his unswerving adherence to the bhakti siddhanta bars entrance to the undeserving.

The gross materialists are easily diverted from their attempts to gain entrance to the storehouse by the charm of maya acting as a moat surrounding the castle of the sweet Absolute where the storehouse is situated.

Yet, there is another group of intruders more cunning and stealthy who, posing as friends, attempt to gain entrance. These are the insincere, curiosity seekers, and imitationists, who would delight in exploiting the all beautiful absolute. Cloaked in the veil of devotion they disarm the less astute, but they can never elude the penetrating glance of the Bhakti Rakshaka. Simply by his piercing vision their inner motives are exposed causing them to flee in fear of themselves. These are the same types as those who would seek the company of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who was always protected by the watchful eye of Sriman Svarupa Damodar.

As he is the guardian of the storehouse of Krishna Bhakti, Srila Sridhara Maharaja is also the guardian of the devotional life of his sincere followers. If we accept his protection by following his divine guidence we can rest assured that all impediments to our devotional life will be removed. In Bhagavad Gita Krishna says ye yatha mam prapadyante tams tathaiva bhajamy aham "Those who surrender unto me are rewarded in proportion to the degree of their surrender". However, our gurudeva is so merciful that even the smallest service will bring enormous benefit. Still we should never take advantage of his generosity and shall try to assume the position of all risk and no gain. We will happily risk everything of our own for his service while not expecting the least remuneration.

His Divine Grace Srila Sridhar Dev Goswami Maharaja is so exalted that his glories are sung even by the nitya siddhas, the eternally pure and perfect devotees of the Lord. By comparison we are like a candle trying to illuminate the sun. Still, we cannot restrain our heartfelt desire to praise the glorious qualities of our divine master and pray for his continued blessings on us all.