My Dear Lord, Where Are You?

Once there was a man who walked with the Lord along the beach every day at dawn, when the sky loosened its hold on the night, spilling pale gold across the horizon while the last stars faded like whispered secrets. A cool hush lingered in the air, touched by the scent of dew and waking earth. Birds began their tentative songs one by one.

The cool waves kissed the man’s feet before retreating once more to their origin—the gigantic, never-ending ocean that cradles countless little waves which, for a fleeting moment, forget that they are part of something vast, deep, eternal, and incapable of abandoning them.

The man knew he was never alone, for beside his own footprints in the sand was always another set.

He never doubted why the Lord walked with him, because he knew the Lord was his dearest friend, and the Lord had promised that He would always remain by his side. So he told Him everything that passed through his mind and heart. He spoke of his fears and hopes, the burdens that weighed upon him, and the beautiful moments that made him smile and think of Him. He shared his plans for the coming day and the memories of the day gone by. Nothing was too small, too broken, or too insignificant to place before the Lord.

Every morning, he rose eagerly for those walks. Whatever life brought before him, he never missed them. That sacred hour before the world fully awakened had become the most treasured part of his day—the time he could pour out his heart to the One who would never judge him, never misunderstand him, and never leave him.

The Lord listened silently, lovingly, patiently. And the man knew he was completely safe.

One morning, as he walked beside the Lord in the cool dawn air, the pink hues of sunrise slowly melting into amber, while the whole sky burned for a fleeting moment with golden fire, the man found himself reflecting upon the journey of his life. Memory after memory rose within his heart.

And in every memory, he noticed footprints in the sand.

Sometimes there were two sets of footprints.

And sometimes there was only one.

Bewildered, the man turned to the Lord and asked:

“My Lord, You promised me that You would always walk beside me. Why then, during the lowest periods of my life, when I needed You most, was there only one set of footprints in the sand?”

And the Lord replied:

“My beloved friend, the moments when you saw only one set of footprints were the moments when I carried you in My arms.”

When Hiranyakashipu became enraged by Prahlada’s unwavering devotion to Vishnu, he ordered his servants to take the young boy to the top of a massive mountain and cast him down.

The winds roared around them as they climbed higher and higher. At the edge of the cliff, the demons looked down upon the jagged rocks below and thought that surely no one could survive such a fall.

But Prahlada stood peacefully.

His eyes were closed.

And upon his lips were only the Holy Names of the Lord.

With cruel force, they pushed him from the mountain.

Prahlada fell through the open sky, yet not even a trace of fear entered his heart. He did not scream. He did not struggle. He simply prayed:

“O Lord, if You wish to protect me, no danger can touch me. If You wish otherwise, I am still Yours.”

We see this same mood of complete surrender in the eighth verse of the Shikshashtakam, where Chaitanya Mahaprabhu prays with unconditional devotion and surrender to the  Lord’s will.

As Prahlada prayed in this way, suddenly the air itself seemed to glow.

Before the child could touch the ground, Vishnu appeared and caught Prahlada gently within His divine arms, as tenderly as a father catches a sleeping child.

The Lord of the universe is not distant from His devotees. He is their protector, their eternal companion, their ever-well-wishing friend. Even when the devotee cannot perceive the Lord’s hand in their life, the Lord is still quietly protecting, guiding, arranging, and carrying them through every storm.

In the Bhagavad-gītā 11.8, Krishna tells Arjuna that no one can see Him unless He grants divine eyes. Yet by the causeless mercy of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the Lord has made Himself accessible to everyone through His Holy Names.

One does not need wealth, scholarship, status, or perfection.

One simply needs to call out to Him with sincerity.

Raghunatha Dasa Goswami beautifully describes the sweetness of the Holy Names in his Stavavali:

“An excellent fresh nectar drink with endless subtle tastes; 

Such is the name of Radha, by whom all three worlds are graced.

Condensed milk that is wonderfully delicious—thick and sweet;

Such is the name of Krishna, in whom all attractions meet.”

The Lord has invested all His potencies within His Holy Names, as described in the second verse of the Shikshashtakam. This means we may speak with our dearest friend whenever and wherever we wish. There are no harsh qualifications to meet, no rigid barriers, no impossible conditions.

And yet somehow, we forget Him.

We become lost in the endless noise of the world—its anxieties, ambitions, distractions, and temporary promises. We become so busy carrying our burdens alone that we forget there is One who has been waiting all along to carry them for us.

The Lord is not asking for perfection.

He is not waiting for us to become flawless before approaching Him.

He simply wants us to remember Him.

To call out to Him.

To allow Him back into the deepest chambers of our hearts.

For all this time, He has been patiently waiting for us to quiet the deafening noise of this world and hear His gentle call:

“Come back home.”

Just as the wave forgets, for a moment, that it belongs to the endless ocean, we too have forgotten our origin—the infinite ocean of divine love to which we have always belonged.

In His remembrance, we return home.

Acknowledgments

The quoted verse from Stavavali by Raghunatha Dasa Goswami is presented using the poetic English rendering of Dravida Dasa.