How can we have unalloyed devotion to our guru...???

[krsna]

Questions and Answers with Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja


QUESTION: How can we have unalloyed devotion to our guru and also see the godbrother of our spiritual master as our spiritual master?

GOUR GOVINDA SWAMI: We will offer the same respect to him as we pay to our spiritual master. But as Hanuman says, Rama has occupied my heart:


sri-nathe janaki-nathe cabhedah paramatmanih
tathapi mama sarvasvam ramah kamala-locanah
There is no difference between Sri-nath (Vishnu, the Lord of the goddess of fortune) and Janaki-nath (Rama, the Lord of Sita), since They are both the Supersoul. Still, lotus-eyed Rama is everything to me.
(Prema-bhakti-candrika, text 29)
We should not deviate from our guru. That is unalloyedness. Don't be affected by any differences between our guru and his godbrother. We should overlook them. Still, our attitude should be, "I am following the instruction of my guru. I am not following the instruction of the godbrother of my guru."

QUESTION: What should we do when we see that some superior vaisnava needs correction?

GOUR GOVINDA SWAMI: Keshava Bharati was the godbrother of Iswara Puri, who was the guru of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Mahaprabhu corrected Keshava Bharati. But we should not imitate Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and we are not. We should not try to correct anyone who is superior to us. We must act in such a way that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu will give us the intelligence what to do:

tesam satata-yuktanam bhajatam priti-purvakam dadami buddhi-yogam tam yena mam upayanti te

To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me. (Bg 10.10)

Krishna says, "I'll give you the intelligence." So, if you are a true follower of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, He will give you intelligence. You will be able to act in such a way that the vaisnava becomes automatically corrected.

You won't need to correct him directly. You should not have this thought in your mind, "Let me correct him." No, no, no, no, no, no! We are not qualified to correct them. Our attitude should be, "trnad api su-nicena taror iva sahisnuna - I am the lowest of the low (Siksastaka 3).

QUESTION: How do you correct a godbrother?

GOUR GOVINDA SWAMI: With a godbrother we have a friendly relationship. So we may talk to him in a friendly way. Sometimes we may even cut jokes with him.

To correct him we may say something at some opportune moment when we know it will not hurt him. An intelligent man will do like this. You must speak in such a way that it will not hurt his feelings. Mahaprabhu said:

prani-matre mano-vakye udvega na diba

Neither by mind nor words should a devotee cause anxiety to any living entity, regardless how insignificant they may be. - CC Madhya 22.120

Don't speak or act in such a way that will hurt their feelings. Don't agitate them. This is the devotee's behavior.


yasman nodvijate loko lokan nodvijate ca yah
harsamarsa-bhayodvegair mukto yah sa ca me priyah
He for whom no one is put into difficulty and who is not disturbed by anyone, who is equipoised in happiness and distress, fear and anxiety, is very dear to Me. - BG 12.15
Krishna says, "He who is not agitated in any circumstances is very dear to Me. If someone tries to agitate him he never agitates back or disturbs anyone. He is equal in both harsa and amarsa, favorable and unfavorable conditions. In all conditions he is equal, sama. Bhayodvegair, he has no fear, no anxiety. He is very dear to Me."

As Mahaprabhu has instructed, one should speak very sweetly so the devotee may be corrected, but in such a way that they will not be disturbed. For one who is intelligent, who is a true devotee, Mahaprabhu will give them intelligence whereby you will know how to act and speak in such a way that you will not hurt the devotee and at the same time you will correct them.

And you should never have this thought in your mind that, "I'll correct him." You should think, "I am not a qualified person to correct him. I'm the lowest of the low. I am an ignorant fool, murkha. I have no qualification." You should not cherish the thought in your mind to correct them. This thought is very bad and offensive. This is a very, very subtle point. It is very difficult for ordinary people to understand. But those who are devotees, who have made some advancement in spirituality, they can understand this point.

QUESTION: We cannot approach Krishna without a spiritual master. What about approaching Chaitanya Maharabhu?

GOUR GOVINDA SWAMI: Unless you approach a spiritual master you cannot approach Mahaprabhu. Mahaprabhu is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is Krishna. The spiritual master is the expansion of Nityananda Prabhu. You get the mercy of Nityananda through the spiritual master, not directly. Guru is rupanuga-dhara - a follower of the Goswamis in disciplic succession.

QUESTION: Who will decide who is a spiritual master?

GOUR GOVINDA SWAMI: Are baba! The decision comes from Krishna. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has ordered:

yare dekha, tare kaha 'krsna'-upadesa
amara ajnaya guru hana tara' ei desa "Whomever you meet, tell them about Krishna: 'O brother, Krishna has said this thing.' Don't concoct. Just present it as it is. I order you to become a spiritual master and deliver the world." If you just do this, if you just present things as they are, following the disciplic succession, you will become guru. Krishna will give you that position. Don't hanker after it.

Just do it. The decision comes from Krishna, from Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

There is no question that someone will decide (laughs). Apratihata - it will automatically come. If Chaitanya Mahaprabhu wants, if Krishna wants, no one can check it. You should have full faith and patience. Don't be pessimistic.

There is no question of pessimism. We should be full of optimism. We don't need to bother about these things. Those persons who are now blowing their own trumpet, beating their own drums, Krishna will finish them at any time.

Don't be disturbed. You should have patience and full faith in guru-sadhu-sastra. Because it is the material world some disturbances will come up. pade pade vipada - "At every step there is danger." And at the same time it is Kali-yuga, the age of quarrel and hypocrisy. This world is filled with hypocrites. So some hypocrites will come and say, "Oh, I am guru. I am sadhu. I am such a great man." He may come and beat his own drum, blow his own trumpet, and make some politics. It is quite natural. These things should not disturb you. Be dhira, don't be disturbed. Have full faith in guru-sadhu-sastra. Just do your duty as guru has instructed, as it is.

Present Krishna consciousness as it is. Time will change things in the long run. You need not be worried. Have patience. Quote sastra and the acaryas.

Our basis is guru-sadhu-sastra. I never say anything different. I always quote authority.

Although he was a householder, Srila Prabhupada got the full mercy of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He never spent any time in the matha, but he became acarya because he was very, very simple, not envious. You cannot put a stamp on someone, "You are acarya." Or else the day may come to prove that he's not an acarya.

I will tell you a nice story. Once a jackal fell into the blue dye-water of a washerman. The jackal became blue. Then he went to the forest and declared to everyone, "I am the king of the animals." All of the animals said, "Oh yes! He is strange looking. He might be king." Thus they made the jackal king and he sat on the throne. Then when evening came, all of the jackals began howling, "Youka hou! Youka hou!" So the jackal king also started howling, and then everyone saw, "Oh! He's a jackal! Beat him! He's not king!" In this way, he was revealed. We know these things, so why we should be disturbed? Don't be disturbed. The time will come. Krishna and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu will reveal everything. Have patience.

QUESTION: We can see that envy may be very subtle. What is our hope?

GOUR GOVINDA SWAMI: We should have full faith in guru-sadhu-sastra and we must do our service. Some disturbance may come - and it will come. It is the nature of this material plane, and at the same time Kali-yuga is here. It is very, very horrible. But one should have firm determination and patience.

You should not deviate in any circumstance. Always pray to guru and Lord Chaitanya. They will help you. We are very weak, but caitya-guru is in our heart. He will give inspiration. For a sincere soul who is very eager to have this, Krishna makes arrangements. He knows, "This soul wants this thing." So He makes arrangements for it to happen. Is there anything impossible for Krishna? It is impossible for us, but nothing is impossible for Krishna. Our business is to always pray to Krishna, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and Guru Maharaja, "Just help me!" You'll get help. Have full faith in this. Don't be desperate. We should be very eager to get this mercy and to have association of pure devotees who are more advanced than ourselves. Then you'll benefit. Sadhu-sanga means you will associate with a person who is more advanced than yourself. Then you will benefit. Otherwise, no benefit will come. It may seem impossible to get such association. Still, nothing is impossible for Krishna. Krishna will make arrangement. Vani, instructions, are there. When nothing is available we should associate with instructions and books, and with our sincere prayers we will reach Krishna.

The day will come when you will meet such a person. It's impossible for us, but it's not impossible for Krishna. But we should always be praying, "Krishna, please help me!" Chanting hare krsna means the soul is crying, hare krsna hare krsna krsna krsna hare hare - "O Krishna's sakti Radharani! O Krishna! Please engage me in Your service. I am fallen."

ayi nanda-tanuja kinkaram patitam mam visame bhavambudhau krpaya tava .-pankaja- sthita-dhuli-sadrsam vicintaya

"O Krishna! I am Your kinkara, Your servant! But somehow I've fallen into the depths of this ocean of nescience. Please shower Your mercy on me and accept me as a particle of dust at Your lotus feet."(Siksastaka 5) If the soul is crying and crying by uttering this hari-nama, "hare krsna hare krsna", if you chant in this way, then you'll get the necessary association miraculously and unexpectedly. It is impossible for us, but nothing is impossible for Krishna. Krishna wants that thing. The only lacking is with us. Thank you very much.

- Paris 1987, at the home of Sripad Harivilas Prabhu

[krsna]

THE SHORTCOMING IS NOT WITH GURU


Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja

Devotee: It occurred to me when you were saying how Srila Prabhupada had many disciples that there was no shortcoming on the part of their bona-fide spiritual master.

Gour Govinda Swami: No. The shortcoming is with you. How will the disciple be benefited if he doesn’t follow the instructions of guru, as it is, without deviation, without adding any deliberation or any twisting?

Those who add some deliberation to the instruction of their spiritual master, Prabhupada, those who have twisted his instructions, they failed.

They cannot get the mercy of the spiritual master. Do you understand me?

The shortcoming is with you. The shortcoming is not with guru. That is the whole trouble. Nothing else.

— Interview with the Prabhupada Benevolent Foundation, 17 August 1991.

[Kulapavana]

"How will the disciple be benefited if he doesn’t follow the instructions of guru, as it is, without deviation, without adding any deliberation or any twisting?"

you have to first UNDERSTAND what the instruction is. How can you execute the instruction if you do not understand it? that requires deliberation.

[krsna]

Lecture given by Srila Gour Govinda Swami on 7 April , l992, at Bhubaneswar, India:

"The Gaudiya sampradaya, the parampara of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, is a bona fide Vaisnava sampradaya. One should accept the instructions which are coming from the acaryas in this parampara as it is and practice them in one's life. Then You will get the mercy of Mahaprabhu. With a simple heart, that is krsna-seva. We are not speaking anything pseudo-sampradayist. We should not hear the words of pseudo-sampradayists.

When Mahaprabhu ordered, "You become guru and deliver this world," that instruction has come unto my guru, Srila Prabhupada, and my guru gave me this same order. So I will never develop any duplicity or crookedness in executing this order.

That means I will never come in murkha--sampradaya or kapatya-sampradaya or phalgu-sampradaya, the school of fools, hypocrites and pretenders. I will never teach duplicity or crookedness to anybody. Those who are visayis, materialistic persons, are duplicitous, crooked, and envious, they come under pseudo-sampradaya. They are selfish persons.

Those who are under the bonafide sampradaya coming from Gauranga Mahaprabhu, they are so powerful that they kick all such sampradayas. They are always twenty-four hours day and night engaged in loving service ot the lotus feet of Radha and Krsna, executing the order of their guru. They never desist from rendering pure service without duplicity, nikapata-seva.

An acarya is natural, not pretending, he is not pretentious. He is not pretending as acarya. He is a natural acarya, not artificial. He is more humble than a blade of grass lying on the street and as tolerant as a tree. He gives respect to one and all, seeing Krsna in everybody and never demands respect for himself.

Our teachings which are coming through our parampara are true, coming form Mahaprabhu. They are our sadacara, our regulative principle. They are law for all humanity. And this law, this sadacara, has come down to us through parampara. If we disrespect it, if we don't execute it in our life, if we add any deliberation, if we twist it, then we will become offenders. We will commit offence by not obeying the orders of guru. Yes, namaparadha. Then we will be far away from the lotus feet of our guru. Guru will never keep us at his lotus feet.

If, in order to execute, to obey the order of my guru, it is needed to become very proud, I will never hesitate to become very proud. If it is needed to become an animal, I will never hesitate to become an animal. If it is needed to go to hell for guru, I will never hesitate to do it. Do you follow me? That is how to execute the order of the guru. That is how to become a true follower of guru.

I will never hesitate to do it. I will never hear from anyone but my guru. Those who are saying something different form this teaching coming through bonafide parampara, coming from Mahaprabhu; we will never listen to them. If somebody says something different, then like Bhimasena, with my fist, I will crush it. I will destroy it. I will defeat it. I am so proud. With just one speck of dust form the lotus feet of my guru, crores and crores of people of this world will be delivered. You should understand how powerful one little speck of dust of my guru's lotus feet is.

There is no such a scholar as my guru. I will never accept anyone else as a scholar. There is no such teachings as those that my guru has imparted, to be found in any human being, or in any demigod. I know it very well. No one else can give such teachings. There is nothing in this world that is as heavy as a tiny speck of dust from the lotus feet of my guru. This is the follower of true parampara, I am following such parampara. This is the teaching, one should understand it very well.

Only Mahaprabhu gives prema. Mirabai got sayujya mukti, but we hate it. Gaudiya Vaisnavas hate it. We won't hear all these things. Get out from here! I am so proud, I will crush it with my fist! Entering into the body of the Lord, that was her desire. Jiva Goswami appreciated that she said that Krsna is the only male, but after that finish, chelo! Get out! Do you follow?

Only Mahaprabhu gives prema, nobody else. It is a simple fact. Why are you making it complicated? It is very simple. Don't twist it, don't add any deliberation to it. As it is. This s most important. It appears contradictory but in tattva there is on contradiction. You should understand in tattva. Apparent considerations are not tattva. Apparent considerations and absolute considerations - apara vicara and tattva vicara. All our Gaudiya Vaisnava philosophy is bassed on tattva vicara, not apara vicara."

[Kulapavana]

"There is no such a scholar as my guru. I will never accept anyone else as a scholar. There is no such teachings as those that my guru has imparted, to be found in any human being, or in any demigod."

can you quote any shastra to back up such talk?

I have seen all kinds of foolish disciples, intoxicated with statements like that, doing all kinds of ugra-karma while thinking they are doing the right thing. for the really nasty examples of such foolish behavior I recommend looking at the New Vrindavan community couple decades ago...

[krsna]

Srila Gour Govinda Swami

"The sad-guru or Sri Guru is an eternal associate of the Lord. When he disappears he enters into the nitya-lila of the Lord and goes to the abode of Krsna. But if he has accepted someone as his disciple, and if he has not rejected that disciple, then he is responsible for
taking that disciple to the lotus feet of Krsna.

As we speak of sad-guru, similarly there is sat-sisya. As it is very difficult to find a sad-guru, it is similarly difficult to find a sat-sisya, a true disciple."


"One who is very, very eager and very, very inquisitive, prays to his spiritual master, "Oh my spiritual master, you have departed. You are not physically present, so I cannot understand. I am such an ignorant fool. I have no qualification. Though your instructions are there, I cannot understand what you have said. Please help me."

In Another Form

So guru will also come, but not in the same form. He may come in the form of a sadhu, a very dear devotee, who is also very dear to your spiritual master. Through him this will be revealed. Doubts will be cleared. Through him you will be able to understand tattva, purport. You should think, "My guru is teaching me, he is speaking to me in this form." Don’t think, "My guru is not here. He has departed. What shall I do?" Pray fervently to your spiritual master. He must help you. We have personal experience. We have been helped in this way. "

- The Worship of Sri Guru, 'Sri Guru My Eternal Master.'

[krsna]

APPROACH A PREMI BHAKTA

Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja

Who is a real sadhu? A real sadhu is completely surrendered unto Krishna. He has no other desire than to serve Krishna with pure love, twenty-four hours, day and night, anukalyena krsnanu-silanam.

One who has gotten prema-bhakti, who has gotten Krishna, is a real sadhu. One should accept such a sadhu, then he can approach Krishna. One cannot approach directly.

Caitanya-caritamrta(madhya 19.151) states:

brahmanda bhramite kona bhagyavan jiva guru-krsna-prasade pāya bhakti-latā-bīja

This is Mahaprabhu’s teaching to Sanatan Goswami: After undergoing lakhs and lakhs of species of life, through lakhs and lakhs of universes, if someone is bhagyavan, fortunate, he gets the mercy of Krishna and guru, and the seed of bhakti is sown in his heart.

This word bhāgyavān, fortunate, is significant. What is genuine good fortune? That person who meets guru, the bona-fide representative of Krishna, is fortunate. Only one who has gotten Krishna, who has bound up Krishna in his heart, only he can make Krishna appear in the heart of his devoted disciple. No one else can give you Krishna. If someone has not gotten, how can he give?

If you have one dollar, you can give fifty cents, sixty cents or one dollar. But if you don’t have, then how can you give? Similarly, we should approach someone who has obtained Krishna, who has developed prema-bhakti and has bound up Krishna in his heart.

Srila ThakurBhaktivinode has written
(Śaranāgati,Bhajana-lālasā, song 7):

krsna se tomāra,krsna dite pāra
tomāra śakati āche
āmi to’ kā
gāla, krsna krsna bali’,dhāi tava pāche pāche

O vaisnava Thakura, Krishna belongs to you because you have bound Him up in your heart by the rope of prema. Only you can give me Krishna because you have gotten Him. I am kangala, a pauper. I am bereft of Krishna. So I am running behind you begging your causeless mercy,

“Please give me Krishna! Please give me Krishna.”


Katha Upanisad (1.2.23) says:

nāyam ātmā pravacanena labhyo
na medhayā na bahunā śrutena
yam evai a vaisnute tena labhyas
tasyaisa ātmā vivinute tanūm svām

One may hear pravacanas, lectures, from so many persons, but if they are not realized souls, if they have not gotten Krishna, not developed prema-bhakti, one will not be able to understand this paramartha-tattva, this supreme goal. One cannot understand this tattva by dint of his merit, scholarship, or intelligence.

It can be understood only by one who is always crying in his heart,

“Oh Krishna, how can I know You? How can I approach You?”

Krishna is there in the heart. He understands, “This soul is crying for Me.” So He arranges for that person to meet abona-fide guru who can give him Krishna, who can teach him about krsna-tattva. That dear devotee, who is Krishna’s bona fide representative, is the manifestation of paramatma. That is guru-tattva.

Paramatma only manifests Himself as guru before a person who is crying for Krishna in his heart.

“How can I get Krishna? How can I approach Krishna? How can I serve Krishna? Without Krishna’s dear devotee, His representative the guru, I cannot do so. I don’t know who is guru. I am a conditioned soul having four defects. I cannot recognize such a person with my defective senses.
But Krishna, You know who is Your dear devotee. Unless You help me, how can I come to You?”

This is the prayer to be offered to Krishna. By Krishna’s mercy, one will meet such a guru who is Krishna’s dear devotee and bonafide representative. Take shelter of him and completely surrender — gurupadasraya diksa.

As Gita says, praripatena pariprasnena sevaya — serve him, please him, satisfy him, and then humbly ask questions relating to tattva. By his causeless mercy, he will impart tattva-jñana. This is the process. Take shelter of him and do bhajana under his guidance.

You don’t know how to do bhajana. Krishna is the bhajaniya-vastu, the worshipable object. Guru will teach you how to serve Krishna, how to surrender unto His lotus feet, how to please Him. He will teach you by his own example, not theoretically. Under his guidance, you will do sadhana, bhajana.

Caitanya-caritamrta(madhya 22.25) states:

tāte krsna bhaje
kare gurura sevanamāyā-jāla chu
e, pāya krsnera carana

If the conditioned soul engages in the service of the Lord and simultaneously carries out the orders of his spiritual master and serves him, he can get out of the clutches of maya and become eligible for shelter at Krishna’s lotus feet.

Heavy Responsibility

Such a guru, who is a bona-fide representative of Krishna, has come down from Krishna’s abode. There is a prema-bhakti-sutra. Sastra means “rope” or “thread”. One end of the prema-bhakti-sutra is attached to the lotus feet of Krishna in Goloka Vrindavan. The guru has come with the other end of that rope here.

The conditioned souls, fallen in the deep, dark well of material existence, are suffering. Such a guru is outside the well. He’s not under the grip of maya. He throws his end of the rope to the conditioned souls in the dark well of material existence and says, “Clasp it very tightly.” Then he pulls you up. This is the process.

The guru does this. It is not an easy affair to deliver even one conditioned soul from the fort of maya. The guru has to spend gallons and gallons of spiritual blood to deliver just one soul. It is a heavy responsibility. If even one conditioned soul is delivered, the guru feels so much happiness.


It is a reciprocal affair. It is not one-sided. You should clasp the end of the rope very tightly. That means you should follow the guru’s instruction as it is. Don’t twist it. Don’t add any of your deliberation to it. Whatever he says, just do exactly that. He gives some“do’s” and some “don’ts”. You must strictly follow his instructions. Don’t be lazy. Then the guru will pull you up. Otherwise, if you are not serious, if you are lazy, careless, or superfluous, you will never accept guru’s instruction. Or you half accept it and half reject it. You add your own deliberations and twist it. Then you cannot be helped.

If you are very serious, very strict, then guru will pull you up. That is his duty. Otherwise, guru may lift you up, then you deviate or become lenient and then you again fall down. Seeing this, the guru feels great pain in his heart, “I spent so many gallons of blood to deliver him, but this fellow didn’t follow, so he fell down.”

To deliver just one soul from maya’s fortress is a very difficult task. It is a heavy responsibility. This is guru.

— Excerpted from chapter seven of “The Process of Enquiry"

[Kulapavana]

just because Maharaja says so, does not make it true in absolute, general sense. like I said:

can you (or anybody else) back up the above quote with some shastric evidence?

that is a simple request, isn't it?

that quote may reflect Maharaja's sentiment and his mood of devotion - but not much more than that.

[krsna]

From Bhaktisiddhanta Sarawati Thakura on how to see guru:

One has to be devoted to the spiritual master in the same way one is devoted to Krishna. One should think of the spiritual master in the same way that one thinks of Krishna, for he is in no way less than or inferior to Krishna. It is the duty of a pious person to recognize the spiritual master as equal to Krishna and to worship him and serve him in that way. If one does not do so, then is destituted of his status as a disciple.

Those who see the guru and Krishna as the same will be able to understand the essence of the scriptures. They alone will be able to chant the Holy Names and they alone will be able to speak on Krishna.

Sri Krishna himself has descended in the form of the spiritual master in order to teach service to himself. Those on whom fortune smiles will be able to understand this spotless scriptural truth. If not, their doubting minds will plunge them into the ocean of samsara.

The spiritual master is neither the ultimate object of devotion, viSaya-vigraha, nor the original reservoir of devotion, Azraya-vigraha. He is a manifestation or prakAza-vigraha of the original reservoir of devotion. Sri Krishna is the supreme object of all love, whereas the guru is the reservoir of divine love. Krishna is the predominating absolute, the bhoktA bhagavAn, while the guru is the predominated absolute, or sevaka-bhagavAn; he is God as worshiper or servant. Even though the spiritual master is the reservoir of love, he is Krishna himself; at the same time he is the most beloved of Krishna. This is the inconceivable paradox of guru tattva. Krishna is the complete omnipotent and the spiritual master is his complete potency. The spiritual master is not an ordinary living entity, he is master of all living entities. The spiritual master is the supreme consciousness, the plenary manifestation of the Lord's potency, his internal potency. We ordinary jivas on the other hand are atomic particles of consciousness, Krishna's marginal potency and separated parts.

[krsna]

Assuming Responsibility of Being Guru
by
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura


"We have taken upon ourselves the responsibility of welcoming this grave charge. All the audience have accepted ordinary seats, I alone have been provided with a lofty seat. All are being told in effect - "Do have a look at a big animal from the Zoo-gardens. What arrogance! So foolish! So wicked! Have you ever seen such a big brute?

Garlands of flowers have been put round his neck! What laudations! What bombastic long-drawn, and hyperbolic adjectives! And how complacently too he is listening to the praise of his own achievements, how intently, and with his own ears! He also evidently feels delighted in mind!

Is he not acting in plain violation of the teaching of Mahaprabhu? Can such a big brute, so selfish and insolent, be ever reclaimed from brutishness?

I happen to be one of the greatest of fools. No one offers me good advice on account of my arrogance. Inasmuch as nobody condescends to instruct me I placed my case before Mahaprabhu Himself.

The thought occurred to me that I would make over the charge of myself to Him and see what He would advise me to do. Then Shri Chaitanyadeva said to me:

"Whom-so-ever thou meet'st, instruct him regarding Krishna, By My command being Guru deliver this land; In this thou wilt not be obstructed by the current of the world; Thou wilt have My company once again at this place."

In these verses is to be found the proper explanation of the apparent inconsistency noticed above.

He whose only teaching is humility greater than that of a blade of grass, said- "By My command being Guru save this land!" - In this instance Mahaprabhu Himself has given the command.

His command being "Perform the duty of the Guru, even as I do it Myself. Also convey this command to whom-so-ever you chance to meet."

Chaitanyadeva says, "Tell them these very words, viz. By My command being Guru save this land Deliver the people from their foolishness." Now who-so-ever happens to hear these words would naturally protest with palms joined - "But I am really a great sinner, how can I be Guru? You are Godhead Himself, the Teacher of the world. You can be Guru." To this Mahaprabhu replies:

"Do not practice the craft of a Guru for the purpose of injuring others through malice. Do not adopt the trade of a Guru in order to get immersed in the slough of this world. But if you can, indeed, be My guileless servant you will be endowed with My power--then you need not fear.

I have no fear. My Gurudeva has heard this from his Gurudeva. And it is for this reason that my Gurudeva has accepted even such a great sinner as myself and has told me. "By My command being Guru save this land."

It is only those who have never heard these words of Gaursundar who say "How odd! to listen to one's own praise!" While the Guru is instructing his disciple in the eleventh Skandha of the Bhagavatam what a great sin, in their opinion, is he not perpetuating! What is the Acharya to do when he has to explain the Shloka Acharya Mam Vijaniyat: "Never disregard the Acharya; never entertain the idea that the Acharya is your equal in any sense." These are the words of Shri Krishna Himself by which the jiva is to be benefited.

Is the Guru to take himself off, to desert his seat--the seat of the Acharya--from which these words are to be explained?

That office his Gurudeva has conferred on him. If he does not act up to its requirements he is doomed to perdition by reason of his offense against the holy Name in the shape of disrespect towards the Guru. He has to do it in spite of the fact that such procedure is apparently open to the charge of egoism. When the Guru imparts the mantram to the disciple should he not tell him by this mantram to worship the Guru? Should he say instead, "Give the Guru a few strokes of the shoe or the horse-whip?" The Guru is never to be decried. The Guru is the abode of all the gods. Should the Gurudeva abstain from communicating these words to his disciple while reading the Bhagavatam to him? "To him alone who possesses guileless spiritual devotion, similar to the transcendental devotion that is due to Krishna Himself, to the Gurudeva, the holy mysteries are manifested." Is the Gurudeva not to tell these things to his disciples? "Athau Gurupuja: the worship of the Guru has precedence over all others." The Guru is to be served just as Krishna is served. The Guru is to be worshiped in a particular way. Is the Guru to desert his seat without telling all these things to the disciple? In the angle there is always the defect in the shape of absence of the fullness, the evenness of level, of 180 degrees or of 360 degrees. But in the plain surface, in 360 degrees, there is no such defect. That in the emancipated state no defect is possible, this simple truth ordinary foolish people entirely fail to grasp.

As the saying goes, "having started on the dance it is no use to draw close the veil." I am doing the duty of the Guru, but if I preach that no one should shout "Jai" to me, that is to say, if I say in a round about way, "sing Jai to me," it would be nothing short of duplicity. Our Gurudeva has not taught us such insincerity. Mahaprabhu has not taught such insincerity. I have to serve God in the straightforward way. The word of God has come down to the Gurudeva; I have to obey it in all sincerity. I will not disrespect the Guru at the instance of any foolish or malicious sectarians. Especially as Shri Gurudeva has directed me saying, "By My command being Guru save this land." This command has my Gurudeva preached. My Gurudeva in his turn has conveyed the command to me. I will not be guilty of any insincerity in carrying out that command. In this matter I will not accept the ideal of ignorant, insincere, pseudo-ascetic sectarianism. I will not learn insincerity. The worldly-minded, the malicious, the pseudo- renunciationists, the selfish cannot understand how the devotees of God, spurning at everything of this world by command of God, never, not even for a second, deviate from the service of God through all the twenty-four hours.

Hypocritical sectarians, pseudo-Vaishnava sects, those sects that cherish internally the longing for earthly fame, naturally enough think "what a shame it is for one to listen to the eulogies of disciples occupying the seat of the Guru." But every Vaishnava regards everyone of the Vaishnavas as the object of his veneration. When Thakur Haridas exhibits the attitude of humility Mahaprabhu says - "You are the greatest of the world, the crestjewel of the world. Be agreeable, let us have our meal together." He carried in His arms the body of Thakur Haridas which is eternally existent, self-conscious and full of spiritual bliss. In the community that follows Srila Rupa, the qualities of desiring no honor for oneself and of readiness to duly honor others are fully present. Those who detect any disparity are, like the owl, blind while the sun shines. They commit an offense by such conduct.

If I disobey the law which has come down to me through the chain of preceptorial succession, the offense due to omission to carry out the command of the Guru will sever me from the lotus-feet of Shri Gurudeva. If in order to carry out the command of the Vaishnava Guru I have to be arrogant, to be brutish, to suffer eternal perdition, I am prepared to welcome such eternal damnation and even sign a pact to that effect. I will not listen to the words of other malicious persons in lieu of the command of the Gurudeva. I will dissipate with indomitable courage and conviction the currents of thought of all the rest of the world, relying on the strength derived from the lotus feet of Shri Gurudeva. I confess to this arrogance. By sprinkling a particle of the pollen of the lotus-feet of my Preceptor crores of people like you will be saved. There is no such learning in this world, no such sound reasoning in all the fourteen worlds, in no man-gods, that can weigh more than a solitary particle of the dust of the lotus-feet of my Gurudeva. Gurudeva in whom I have implicit trust can never spite me. I am by no means prepared to listen to the words of any one who wants to hurt me or to accept such a malicious person as my preceptor.

[krsna]

"There is no such a scholar as my guru. I will never accept anyone else as a scholar. There is no such teachings as those that my guru has imparted, to be found in any human being, or in any demigod."

The above is practically a paraphrase of so many sastric references of Sri Guru's unique position in the eyes of the disciple. "saksad haritvena samasta sastrair,etc..."

[krsna]

—Part One

Why the Feet of Sri Guru


By Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja




One should understand what is sri-guru-carana-padma. The words "sri-guru" are very significant. "Sri" means sobha, beauty; sampada, transcendental wealth, or asset; and srestha, the topmost. "Sri-guru" means that guru who is endowed with sri, with prema-bhakti. The word "sri" is used because there is no question of Sri Guru disappearing or not being manifest. It is only applicable to a guru who is eternally manifest. Otherwise such a word would not be used.

The Only Wealth

In this world, Sri Guru is the only beauty or asset, wealth. There is nothing else. Carana means feet. Sri-guru-carana-padma the feet of Sri Guru are compared to the lotus. This is also very significant. Why are his feet compared to the lotus and not to anything else? The lotus flower looks very nice and beautiful, and it also provides very sweet honey, madhu. The bumblebee collects honey from different flowers, but especially from the lotus flower. So what sort of special quality is there in the honey collected from the lotus flower that is not present in the honey collected from other flowers? It is a special type of honey known as padma-madhu. The disciple who is like a bumblebee, who is very hungry and greedy for that honey, relishes it.

Mellow of Bhakti

Although the lotus flower grows out of the water, it is not touched by it. One of the synonyms for water is rasa, mellow. The feet of Sri Guru are compared to a lotus, but this lotus grows in the transcendental water of bhakti-rasa, the mellow of bhakti. Such are the lotus feet of Sri Guru. His lotus feet are aprakrta, not material, but transcendental. They are bhakati-sadma, the abode of transcendental bhakti-rasa as well as all madhuri, beauty. The lotus looks beautiful to the eye and is very attractive to the heart.

Similarly, the shining lotus feet of Sri Guru are very beautiful in the eyes of the disciple and very attractive to his heart. All of the activities, form, qualities, and pastimes of Sri Guru are very beautiful in the eyes of the sadhaka-bhakta. Through the eye of meditation the sadhaka-bhakta sees the beautiful lotus feet of Sri Guru. Upon seeing those lotus feet he feels a soothing effect in his afflicted heart. His heart is afflicted with the three tapas, sufferings: adhyatmika, sufferings arising from one's own mind and body; adhidaivika, sufferings arising from nature; and adhibhautika, sufferings arising from other living entities. When the disciple meditates on the beautiful lotus feet of Sri Guru he feels a soothing effect and his affliction is cooled down. At the same time he also smells the nice scent that is coming from the lotus feet of Sri Guru, like the scent that comes from the lotus.

Cooling Shade

The bumblebee wanders everywhere, going to various types of flowers. One type of flower is the ketaki flower. That flower is found in India, but not in the West. The tree on which the ketaki flower grows, like the rose plant, has thousands of thorns. The ketaki flower has a nice scent, and a bumblebee that becomes attracted by the scent from the ketaki flower goes there. But because of the many thorns on the tree his wings become torn and he feels so much pain and affliction.

The bumblebee thinks, "Where to go now? Can I get shelter in a place where there is no pain and affliction? Where can I get peace?" After wandering hither and thither, at last he comes to the lotus flower and experiences the cooling, soothing effect there. He takes shelter inside the lotus flower, sucks the sweet honey there, and thus gets nourishment.

Similarly, the jiva who is wandering and wandering through the innumerable universes and through the innumerable species of life of this material world — brahmanda bhramite kona bhagyavan jiva* — gets only more and more suffering, misery, and torture. There is no cooling effect in the material world, which is like a blazing forest fire — samsara-davanala.

Nobody starts the forest fire, but automatically by the rubbing of two pieces of wood, the whole forest is burned and the animals that live in the forest are burned to ashes. They feel the burning heat, which is very painful. Similarly, the conditioned souls in this material world feel the burning sensation coming from the three tapas: adhyatmika, adhibhautika, and adhidaivika. After wandering through innumerable universes and innumerable species of life, at last the fortunate soul, bhagyavan jiva, comes to the lotus feet of Sri Guru and takes shelter in the cooling shade there. As the bumblebee sucks honey from the lotus flower, similarly, the guru-.-padma, the lotus feet of Sri Guru, allow that jiva, who is compared to the bumblebee, to suck the nice honey whereby he gets real nourishment and also premananda, loving happiness.

Special Type of Honey

Padma-madhu, the honey collected from the lotus flower, is a special type of honey. The Ayurveda-sastra says tha