120719 pm Srila Sridhar Maharaj Disappearance Day.mp3 (56 minutes, 32.3 MB)

An excerpt from Srila Janardan Maharaj’s lecture:

…Guru Maharaj [Srila Sridhar Maharaj] was doing guard duty early in the morning. He had done his guard duty and then retired but Srila Saraswati Thakur asked that the devotees would get him and bring him. Srila Sridhar Maharaj was called before Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur and asked to sing sri rupa manjari pada.

We heard how Guru Maharaj at first was hesitant because in the words of Srila Govinda Maharaj, “Guru Maharaj, he wasn’t known so much as a singer. He was known more as a dancer.” That was the way that Srila Govinda Maharaj phrased it. So Guru Maharaj began to sing but hesitatingly, and seeing that hesitation Kunja Babu, who was Bhakti Vilas Tirtha Maharaj–at that time Kunja Babu–he saw that hesitation and he asked another exalted vaishnava to sing. But, when he sang Srila Saraswati Thakur stopped him and said “No, I am not just interested in hearing the melody of the song. I want Srila Sridhar Maharaj to sing.” Then Srila Sridhar Maharaj began singing sri rupa manjari pada.

It is described how all those present could see there was occurring what was termed a “power transmission,” a transfer of the responsibility for the Sri Rupanuga Sampradaya from Srila Saraswati Thakur to Srila Guru Maharaj, Srila Sridhar Maharaj. Srila Sridhar Maharaj acknowledged and said, “I considered that I was being posted as a gatekeeper.”

After that time so many of the exalted vaishnavas in the line of Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur came to get Srila Sridhar Maharaj’s association at Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math. A multitude of many exalted vaishanvas. For instance Srila Govinda Maharaj said that Bhakti Sharanga Goswami Maharaj, who was senior to [Srila Sridhar Maharaj], took sannyas from Srila Sridhar Maharaj. He would come and offer his dandavat pranams to Srila Sridhar Maharaj. Srila Govinda Maharaj jokingly once said to him, “Why are you offering dandavats to Srila Guru Maharaj when you are senior to him?” Bhakti Sharanga Goswami Maharaj said in return, “You do not know what is in the sannyas mantra that he has given. It is the entrance into Radha dasyam. Actually Srila Sharanga Goswami Maharaj, he always looked to Srila Sridhar Maharaj…