Accept limited disciples

09-22-1999, 11:36 AM

The following is taken from an Indradyumna Swami darshan and addresses the
issue of how a guru with many disciples cares for them. It may not satisfy
everyone in every way (is that possible?) but is certainly relevant to this
discussion.

Q: Dear Srila Gurudeva, because of your intense preaching you often cannot
answer our letters. What we should do, if we ask very important questions
and you do not answer them? Some of my godbrothers and godsisters even doubt
that you can take care of all of your disciples.

A: So the insinuation is that by not answering letters or dealing personally
with disciples, the guru may not be taking proper care of the disciples. But
I would offer that there is a misconception here in guru-disciple
relationship. Of course, it is certainly nice if one can have some personal
instruction, a personal direction in one's life from the spiritual master.
But one's success in Krsna consciousness is not necessarily based on that.
Srila Prabhupada personally interacted with his spiritual master maybe three
or four occasions. I think, he wrote two letters to Bhaktisiddhanta
Sarasvati, and received one reply. And if one's advancement in Krsna
Consciousness is dependent upon the personal association of the spiritual
master, directing one in one's daily activities, then what are the chances
of me in perfecting my Krsna consciousness because my spiritual master
passed away in 1977? I haven't seen Srila Prabhupada almost twenty years. So
I think there is a fallacy, there is something wrong in this mentality, that
the spiritual master is not taking proper care of his disciples if he is not
able to answer each and every one of their letters.

Prabhupada told Jayapataka Swami that he should take 10,000 disciples. If
those disciples wrote to him even just a couple times on year, that's 20,000
letter a year. That is almost two thousands letters a month! That is almost
a hundred letters a day. And there are only 12 hours in a day... I mean, how
is that possible? So there is a misunderstanding here. A spiritual master
has many services, one of which is his disciples. But there are other
projects which he has to oversee and develop. Disciples should consider
themselves servants of his spiritual master, be wanting to help him, to
share that responsibility, and in this way become dear to the spiritual
master and make spiritual advancement. Writing a letter to the spiritual
master and receiving answers is one way, but the main relationship with the
spiritual master, understanding how to solve one's problems, comes from
hearing from the guru. The classic example is Krsna and Arjuna. When Arjuna
was in difficulty, he approached Krsna, and Krsna said, «Tac chrinu. You
just tac chrinu, listen, hear from Me. And then, armed with knowledge, O
Arjuna, stand and fight». So the disciple has to be mature and has to solve
his own problems by getting the knowledge from the spiritual master how to
do so. Not that the spiritual master has to personally solve the problems of
each and every one of his disciples, but he gives the knowledge which one
can use to solve the problem.

The spiritual master is not Krsna. He can't expand himself in 16,108 forms
and personally be with each disciple. That's not to say that he is not
personally concerned about each disciple. A guru doesn't take a disciple
unless he seriously thinks, «I am responsible for taking this person back to
Godhead». At least I, at the initiation ceremony, when someone comes forth
and says the vows, in my heart I'm also saying to Prabhupada and Krsna,
«Okay, I take responsibility for taking this person to your lotus feet,
whatever that means... This is my responsibility to deliver this person to
your lotus feet». So the way that I do that is, first, to set a very good
example, or to try to set a good example - what it means to be a good
disciple. I try to be a good disciple of my spiritual master, so my
disciples can be inspired to follow that example.

So, is that 'not taking good care of the disciples'? That's a general
example which all the disciples can follow. And preaching... When the
disciples are assembled for class, then the disciples should think, «O, my
Guru Maharaja is personally instructing me». It's not just a general lecture
which can be taken arbitrarily - accept some things and don't accept other
things. No. When the guru is speaking, each disciple should think that, «My
spiritual master is speaking into my heart». We are thinking of each of our
problems as special, but actually, our problems are generally pretty much
the same. But we think they are special for us. And the solution is always
Krsna consciousness, surrender to Krsna. So we can actually solve all of our
problems by hearing very carefully from our spiritual master. When I think
of the last thirty years that I've been a devotee and have been preaching -
because I was asked to give my first class after six days in the temple -
how many subjects matters I have covered in my speaking, in my lectures? I
don't think I've missed anything. I've touched on every subject matter. So
if my disciples listen very carefully to the lectures, to the tape ministry,
and read the few books that I've printed, and carefully study Srila
Prabhupada's books, I feel that they are armed with knowledge to stand and
fight against the material energy. I am completely, hundred percent
confident of that. That's the way I follow myself in my relationship with
Prabhupada, my spiritual master. I had the liberty in one or two occasions
to ask from Prabhupada for some personal instruction, but now, if I need to
understand something, I read the books or I can solve it with my
godbrothers. So then I ask the disciples to do the same.

The fact that the guru doesn't reply to your letter then, you can't think,
«O, he doesn't like me anymore». This is sentimentality. This summer I put
on forty festivals with the group of 60, and sometimes, 310 devotees at
another time. And there were no less, I'm not exaggerating, no less than
3,000 people on each festival. Sometimes up to 6,000. So forty times three
is a 120,000 people. That's a very big doze of Krsna consciousness, five and
a half hours of stage programs, and prasadam. 120,000 people. We distributed
over 15,000 books, over 100,000 plates of prasadam.

Devotees: Haribol! (applauds)

Gurudeva: We had a huge festival... There was 50,000 people there. We had a
huge village, we called it «Krsna's village of peace», and the organizers of
the Woodstock festival renamed it to «Krsna's city of peace». It was so
big... Our tent was as big as a football field. And our band... they played
a 45 minutes concert to 40,000 kids who were all chanting like crazy, 'Hare
Krsna...' All it took every ounce of my energy. Even the devotees who was
with me, they haven't recovered yet, they are still laying down, catching
their breath (laughter). This was from May through September. Now I mean, I
didn't answer many letters. I tend to answer the letters that were on COM,
on e-mail. I just push the button, and they, whoom! go off with e-mail.
Generally those replies are, «Dear Krsna das or Radha dasi, please accept my
blessings. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. I got your letter, keep up the
good work. Your ever well-wisher.» (laughs) (laughter). Because it takes a
lot to preach to 120,000 people, or to distribute 100,000 plates of
prasadam. And I am not just doing it for the people, I am doing it as an
example to my disciples, what it means to be a disciple, to do something
practical for the spiritual master - whether it is festivals, or books, or
raising children, or running business... But you know... there were many
letters on my desk, and in those letters, «Dear Guru Maharaja, how can I
control my mind?» Or, «Dear Guru Maharaja, could you please explain... I am
very concerned with the exact details how Ksiroadakasayi Visnu enters into
the material world, creates the cosmos, and then, the material energy... I
need to know this, otherwise I'm going to blub.» (laughter) «Dear Guru
Maharaja, there are two boys who proposed to me, one is fat and one is
skinny. I cannot decide which one I want to marry. (laughter) I am really
attracted to both of them but because I can only have one, I am thinking
that maybe I could take sannyasa. Can't women take sannyasa?» So, you
know... (laughs). Of course, a number of the letters, they do have serious
problems. But again, I feel like... If there's a problem of that nature, if
we are fortunate and our guru is there, and he can answer, that is very
nice. But there is always the books, there is the tapes, there is the
association of other devotees to help solve the problem.

In material society people don't solve their problems because they don't
have the knowledge. But we do have the knowledge. It is available in Srila
Prabhupada's books, it is available through our spiritual master's lectures,
through Nilakantha's tape ministry. There is a lot! There is more that comes
out from this tape machine than just plastic tapes (shakes a tape). What
really comes out of that tape recorder on these tapes is divya-jnana, or
transcendental knowledge. And if you take this knowledge, stand and fight.
Otherwise this is sentimental. The spiritual master can be accused that he
is not taking care of his disciples because he doesn't answer all their
letters. That's sentimental. That means a very shallow understanding of
guru-disciple relationship. Durvasa Muni had 60,000 disciples. And the way
that he enlightened them in Krsna consciousness is just like this, sitting
on the Vyasasana and speaking Krsna consciousness. And those disciples
weren't so fortunate - in those days they had no tape recorders or video
machines, and they couldn't all have books. That's why I am always
encouraging disciples to listen to the tapes from tape ministry. Of course
if there is ever a really serious problem, of course, I can become involved,
if it is really like life and death situation.

The other day my godsister, she was sick with cancer. Vilasini Devi Dasi.
Actually she was a devotee when I first came to the temple. She used to
preach to me. Very intelligent lady, she worked for many years in the BBT,
and she was also instrumental in helping to establish various Radha-Krsna
Deities in different temples in Europe. So some years ago she learned she
had cancer, and soon she started to deteriorate. We didn't expect it, we
thought she would live for a couple more years, but one morning I got a
phone call. We were quite close, myself and Vilasini, although we served in
different temples. But someone called me and said, «Vilasini is in coma, and
the doctors say she has two hours to live». I was in Warsaw, and she was in
London in a hospital. So I said, «Just offer her my humble obeisances». And
while I was talking on the phone, her husband came to the phone, and she
came out of the coma. She opened her eyes, she was fully conscious, but she
was so weak that she couldn't speak or she couldn't move. But I knew that
she was [in full Krsna consciousness because last six months of her life she
chanted one hundred rounds a day]. So then I said to her husband, «Can I
speak to her?» He said, «No, the phone is attached to the wall, it doesn't
reach to her bed». So I said, «Just find if someone has a portable phone,
and give me the number, and I'll call back and you will put the phone to her
ear». So there was a doctor standing nearby, and he said, «Doctor, can we
use your phone? You know, this friend wants to call her». And he said,
«Yeah, all right.» He gave me the number, I hung up and called back on a
portable phone. And they put the phone to Vilasini's year. I just preached
to her. I said, «Mataji, this is it. If you got any material attachments,
let them go. Don't be afraid. You knew you were going to die, you must be
prepared. I know you can't speak but I know you are thinking these things
now. Now it's your chance to go to Prabhupada. Just be a brave soldier,
chant Hare Krsna. I know it is not easy, you are now in painful condition.
But I saw the service you did to Srila Prabhupada. I'm sure he will be very
merciful to you in these difficult moments.» I preached to her for fifteen
minutes. Then I said, «Okay, let's have a kirtan. You always liked my
kirtans.»

One time I was on traveling sankirtana for about two months, and when I came
back to the temple, Vilasini was the head pujari for our Radha-Krsna deities
in Paris. So she knew we were coming back, and she dressed the Deities very
nicely that day. And when I came in the temple, we had kirtan up to stairs.
And we came in just when the curtain was opened. We had big sundara-arati.
So while she was doing the arati, she turned around to wave an incense to
the audience, and I saw tears coming down from her eyes (break).

So this is the deep exchange between disciples of the spiritual master. As
the disciples advance and become purified, their relationships become more
intimate on transcendental platform. So anyway, we were close. And I said
'Let's have a kirtan.' So then we did kirtan, or she didn't, I did - we
chanted Hare Krsna. I said, 'Okay mataji, keep a place for me up there.'

I called her husband back about one hour later, and she just passed away. So
I took that it was Krsna's arrangement, that somebody called me from London.
I was just getting ready to go out on sankirtana, I picked up the phone,
'Yeah, what is it? Hurry up, I get...' 'Vilasini is passing away'. 'Really?
O, let me speak to her husband'. I was able to actually do the service for
my godsister at the last moment, just preach to her and encourage her, and
just after that she left. So my point is that if it is necessary, the
arrangement is there - guru is there, godbrothers are there, Krsna is there.
If it really gets serious, some arrangement is made by the Lord. Yogi-ksemam
vahamy aham. Krsna says, 'For My devotee I personally care of what he lacks
and I protect what he has.' Otherwise the general example of the spiritual
master is there, and the classes are there, and the books are there. There's
more than enough of the spiritual master's association to remain
enthusiastic, but we just don't take advantage of it. Just like the holy
name. Mahaprabhu was praying, 'You've appeared in the form of Your name and
You made approach to You so easy. But how unfortunate I am! I have no
attraction.' So is that Caitanya Mahaprabhu's fault, or the aspiring
devotee's fault? You can take a horse to water but you can't make it drink.

So the disciples should learn the art of cultivating the relationship with
the spiritual master through hearing, and chanting, and ...writing! But the
best kind of letters I like is Bala Gopala's letters. She always writes me
what she is doing on sankirtana, little stories about sankirtana and the
results of her sankirtana. I have other disciples also. I have some
householder couples, they write me how their children are growing, and the
problems... Yeah, they may inform me, 'Don't worry, Guru Maharaja, by your
mercy everything will be all right.' (laughs). Often I also get letters
like, 'Gurudeva, I followed your instruction, and the problem was solved.'
Or, 'I was unable to follow your instruction, therefore I still have this
problem.'
(Text COM:1974636) -----------------------------------------