Trust?
BY: JAGABANDHU DASA
May 13, FORT WHITE, FLORIDA (SUN) — In 1978, when the new Zonals approached Srila Sridhar Maharaj, they told him that they were appointed by Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada as his chosen successors. Because of his saintly nature, Sridhar Maharaj simply trusted their word and also very much wanted to give ideological assistance to the Sacred ISKCON Mission during a time of great turmoil. However, some years later in the early eighties, when their true character and less than truly spiritual behavior began to manifest, Srila Sridhar Maharaj came to his own conclusion based on his own perception that Srila Prabhupada did not really make any such appointments of these individuals as his allegedly chosen successors.
What first drew myself (and later my good wife) to Srila Sridhar Maharaj's Teachings were his various expressions about "society consciousness (wherein the outer world of pretense and appearance in a social setting is given emphasis)" as opposed to true "God Consciousness" (which the real inner life or development is emphasized and is rarely seen in an organized collective setting despite many noble attempts to do so.)
Although being raised on opposite ends of America, my wife and I had both ended up frustrated and unfulfilled by all of our experiences with organized religion, which we unfortunately found to be largely superficial in application resulting in much socialized 'religious" hypocrisy and very little real God Consciousness.
It may be interesting for our audience to consider that both Srila Sridhar Maharaj and Srila Prabhupada were not naively idealistic supporters of their own Guru Maharaj's Sacred Mission after his departure, but rather they followed the spirit of His Divine Grace's message which they expertly conveyed within whatever setting was arranged for them by the Sweet Will of Providence (after they both became unenthusiastic to participate in the "society" consciousness collectively displayed and ostensibly manifesting as God Consciousness).
Regarding "societies," if His Divine Grace Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada were a young man seeking for spiritual truth (and also suspicious of the garden variety "sadhus" foisted upon him by the polite culture of his youth), would the current attempt at socialized Krishna Consciousness be something which he would feel inspiration and attraction towards, thereby naturally compelling his participation and involvement? Or would he simply feel disgust as he turned his back and walked away to pursue his own inner life, leaving the acolytes of Churchianity (or society consciousness) to become overwhelmed with dismayed despair and a 'religious" disaster of their own making?
