Played by God (Srila Sridhar Maharaj)

Excerpts from The Loving Search for the Lost Servant 

Srila Sridhar Maharaj

(Headings, linebreaks, notes by Sd)

Srila Sridhar Maharaj

Played by God
We must accept victory or defeat in the mood of a player.
Everything is the play of Krishna.
When we think that somethng is a great loss, or gain,
then we are not seeing the lila [play] of the Lord.
Then we are outside of the Divine Flow; we are not in harmony
with the flow of the lila.
Then it appears that reality is not His lila, and we find some other
reason for being, see some other objects, conceive of relative interest,
and find loss and gain, victory and defeat, and so many other
misconceptions.
But everything is His lila.
And that is nirguna, faultless.*
In that plane, everything is all right.
Everything is perfect.
Every inch of movement there is perfect.



 
Already there
The wave of the most fundamental plane is bhakti, devotion,
where everything follows the sweet will of the center — nirguna.
That divine flow can never be opposed.
We should take our stand in that plane.
Bhakti is nirguna.**
And it is causeless — that divine flow is eternally going on.
And it can never be checked by anyone — it is irresistable.
This is the nature of the flow of devotion.
Anyone who takes their stand in harmony with that flow
will find the same thing:
It can never be checked or given any successful opposition.
Bhakti is the highest function of the soul.




The perfect surfing of the perfect wave
Our duty must have its origin in the plane of bhakti;
we must be able to read and catch and utilize that flow.
Everyone's highest duty will be full submission
to the unseen, undetectable causal power,
which has no cause, no rhyme, no reason.
Then only will we find our soul's greatest satisfaction.
We will find real satisfaction
only when we come in touch with that most fundamental harmonious wave.
Then we can feel the highest ecstasy.
That is bhakti.




No attachment to outcome
Krishna tells Arjuna:
“Give full concentration
to discharging your duty
and not to the result of your work.
The result is with Me;
all responsibility is with Me.”




Closer to You
Whatever obstacles we must cross
are only small losses and gains, victories or defeats.
We should not let them disturb
our march towards the Truth.

*

Notes

* Above the imperfections of the inferior material energy (the gunas).

** Beyond the influence of material nature. Transcendental.