Dear Sridhar Swami,Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
Yesterday, before you left your body, my son and I were discussing his"favorite" friends in Krishna consciousness. First from his lips were,"I really like Sridhar Swami." How many voices have said the same words.Who amongst those that have had the good fortune of knowing you has not said the same thing? "I really like Sridhar Swami." Practically, that phrase has become a traditional Iskcon mantra. In or out of the Iskcon camp, "I really like Sridhar Swami" is a commonly held opinion. Somehow you transcended all designations that separate the conditioned souls; infact, you remained a unifying figure in a variegated universe ofdiversity. Everyone can agree on at least one point: "We really like Sridhar Swami."
There are the obvious qualities that we all liked - the jolliness, the knowledge, the stories, the sincerity, the universal appeal of triumph over adversity, the humility, the essential humanness, the sensitivity,the commitment, etc. Yet, beneath even the most attractive of these qualities there was a feeling that permeated each and every word and action - love. We bathed in your love - your love for Srila Prabhupada,your love for your godbrothers and godsisters, your love for yourdisciples, your love for humanity, and your love for Lord Caitanya, LordKrishna, Lord Jagannatha, Lord Nrsimhadeva, and all of the expansionsthereof. Oh, but to take shelter of your love again. Where will I find such shelter in this shadowy existence.
I cry for your smile, your approval, your rebuke, and your compliments.I yearn for the vast memory of your Prabhupada stories. I mourn for the loss of even the comfort of knowing that you are present somewhere on this vast planet. I feel somewhat "less than" without your form manifest in some temple, festival, or harinam party. I truly feel vacant without you here.
Yet I am happy that you no longer suffer in that body that was always so troublesome. No more coaxing of a worn engine to perform. Krishna has awarded you a new car, your eternal vehicle, with which to roam the material and spiritual planets so you can preach to your heart's content. There are many living entities whose good fortune is yet to come, for you are on the way to their hearts after conquering ours.
This material manifestation can take away many things. It can snatch away our loved ones. It can blind us to our benefactors. It can remove even our memories. But it cannot erase our feelings of love. Those are ours to keep forever, and I will treasure your love for me eternally because I really like, and will always love, Sridhar Swami.
I beg to remain...
Your fallen servant,
Nrsimhananda dasa(ACBSP)
Yesterday, before you left your body, my son and I were discussing his"favorite" friends in Krishna consciousness. First from his lips were,"I really like Sridhar Swami." How many voices have said the same words.Who amongst those that have had the good fortune of knowing you has not said the same thing? "I really like Sridhar Swami." Practically, that phrase has become a traditional Iskcon mantra. In or out of the Iskcon camp, "I really like Sridhar Swami" is a commonly held opinion. Somehow you transcended all designations that separate the conditioned souls; infact, you remained a unifying figure in a variegated universe ofdiversity. Everyone can agree on at least one point: "We really like Sridhar Swami."
There are the obvious qualities that we all liked - the jolliness, the knowledge, the stories, the sincerity, the universal appeal of triumph over adversity, the humility, the essential humanness, the sensitivity,the commitment, etc. Yet, beneath even the most attractive of these qualities there was a feeling that permeated each and every word and action - love. We bathed in your love - your love for Srila Prabhupada,your love for your godbrothers and godsisters, your love for yourdisciples, your love for humanity, and your love for Lord Caitanya, LordKrishna, Lord Jagannatha, Lord Nrsimhadeva, and all of the expansionsthereof. Oh, but to take shelter of your love again. Where will I find such shelter in this shadowy existence.
I cry for your smile, your approval, your rebuke, and your compliments.I yearn for the vast memory of your Prabhupada stories. I mourn for the loss of even the comfort of knowing that you are present somewhere on this vast planet. I feel somewhat "less than" without your form manifest in some temple, festival, or harinam party. I truly feel vacant without you here.
Yet I am happy that you no longer suffer in that body that was always so troublesome. No more coaxing of a worn engine to perform. Krishna has awarded you a new car, your eternal vehicle, with which to roam the material and spiritual planets so you can preach to your heart's content. There are many living entities whose good fortune is yet to come, for you are on the way to their hearts after conquering ours.
This material manifestation can take away many things. It can snatch away our loved ones. It can blind us to our benefactors. It can remove even our memories. But it cannot erase our feelings of love. Those are ours to keep forever, and I will treasure your love for me eternally because I really like, and will always love, Sridhar Swami.
I beg to remain...
Your fallen servant,
Nrsimhananda dasa(ACBSP)
