In His Divine Presence, All Distress is Removed

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When I saw Gurudeva for the first time in Māyāpura, the door to his room had opened, and I saw something so beautiful that I never saw before; something beyond my imagination that was so beautiful and golden shining—it is beyond words to explain. 

Guru Mahārāja was sitting on the ground, and I bowed down and sat next to him. That was my first trip to India and I was traveling first by car and then by three airplanes that were often delayed. I went by car to Māyāpura also, so all together, it was a very long journey and I was very tired. 

Guru Mahārāja, knowing my heart, first asked me, “How was your travel?” 

In a bit of a complaining mood, I told him, “Oh, very long time. I’ve already been traveling for three days.” 

Then Guru Mahārāja gently asked in astonishment, “Three days?” 

His mood brought me to sincerity. 

I said, “Okay, not three days, but very long.”

Then Guru Mahārāja said, “Everything depends on the will of Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa.” 

When I heard this from Śrīla Gurudeva, it was something different that I had never heard before. I felt that Śrīla Gurudeva knows Kṛṣṇa personally. My tiredness and complaining mood due to traveling vanished from my mind and I felt peace in my heart. 

Because Guru Mahārāja is established in that realized plane, he is directly seeing that everything happens by the will of the Supreme Lord, that He is all good, and does everything for our eternal benefit. Just one drop of that realization came to me from Śrīla Gurudeva and all my miseries were gone in a moment. 

One who is devoted to Kṛṣṇa cannot be in distress at any time, in any place, or during any circumstance. Guru Mahārāja is firmly established on that platform, so he can give that to others; he can remove their distress immediately. If we can surrender to him, then, by his mercy we will get that devotion to Kṛṣṇa. 

–Madana Gopāla Dāsa (Slovenia)


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