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Monday Morning Greetings 2023 #10 – God’s Problem: The Story of Sri Chaitanya

March 6th, 2023

I tried my hardest but wasn’t able to finish this week’s Monday Morning Greetings. This is the fourth week without a computer where I write my Monday Morning Greetings by hand. Within two weeks I should have my computer back. In one sense I will miss writing by hand. When I put my pen to the page it really activates my mind and ideas flow very spontaneously. In fact, I still may write my first draft by hand. The problem comes when I have to organize them for clarity and force without a word processor. Even as I go back to writing by computer, I am now free from a lingering fear: “What if my computer breaks and I can’t write my Monday Morning Greetings?” As I hope you can see, I am very much dedicated to this craft and service but at least I am now no longer a slave to technology to write them.

 

For this week’s Monday Morning Greetings, in honor of Sri Gaura-purnima, I will again offer an article that I have posted many times for this day called “God’s Problem.” I was hesitant to post it again, but when I read it over it still seemed very fresh as a short explanation and glorification of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Enjoy!

 

 

God’s Problem: The Story of Sri Chaitanya

March 21, 2016

 

God has a problem.

 

And it is the same problem that we have.

 

What’s the problem?

 

He is not a devotee.

 

What is a devotee?

 

A devotee is one who loves God.

 

And love means to have a particular relationship with God. Why is that our problem?

 

Because in this sense we are trying to become devotees. But why is that a problem for God?

 

It’s a problem because God doesn’t have love of God. How does God lack that?

 

Love of God is in the heart of His devotees, not in God’s. God is the object of such love (the beloved), not the abode of such love (the lover of God, the devotee).

 

And why is that such a problem?

 

It’s a problem because to love is higher than to be loved. God is supposed to be the Supreme Enjoyer, but He lacks the highest pleasure—to love God—and to lack love (as the giver) is a problem.

 

What does God do about that? Surely, He can make a solution.

 

Yes, that is the story of Sri Chaitanya. God becomes His own devotee to become complete in His experience of love. And not only does He become a devotee, but He becomes His highest devotee, Sri Radha, at the height of Her love, in Her deepest feelings of love—Her moments of separation from Krishna.

 

Happy Gaura-purnima (The appearance of Sri Chaitanya)!

 

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