Puru_Das

TEXT 35 mantra-guru ara yata siksa-guru-gana tanhara carana age kariye vandana SYNONYMS mantra-guru--the initiating spiritual master; ara--and also; yata--as many (as there are); siksa-guru-gana--all the instructing spiritual masters; tanhara--of all of them; carana--unto the lotus feet; age--at first; kariye--I offer; vandana--respectful obeisances. TRANSLATION I first offer my respectful obeisances at the lotus feet of my initiating spiritual master and all my instructing spiritual masters. PURPORT Srila Jiva Gosvami, in his thesis Bhakti-sandarbha (202), has stated that uncontaminated devotional service is the objective of pure Vaisnavas and that one has to execute such service in the association of other devotees. By associating with devotees of Lord Krsna, one develops a sense of Krsna consciousness and thus becomes inclined toward the loving service of the Lord. This is the process of approaching the Supreme Lord by gradual appreciation in devotional service. If one desires unalloyed devotional service, one must associate with devotees of Sri Krsna, for by such association only can a conditioned soul achieve a taste for transcendental love and thus revive his eternal relationship with Godhead in a specific manifestation and in terms of the specific transcendental mellow (rasa) that one has eternally inherent in him. If one develops love for Krsna by Krsna conscious activities, one can know the Supreme Absolute Truth, but he who tries to understand God simply by logical arguments will not succeed, nor will he get a taste for unalloyed devotion. The secret is that one must submissively listen to those who know perfectly the science of God, and one must begin the mode of service regulated by the preceptor. A devotee already attracted by the name, form, qualities, etc., of the Supreme Lord may be directed to his specific manner of devotional service; he need not waste time in approaching the Lord through logic. The expert spiritual master knows well how to engage his disciple's energy in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, and thus he engages a devotee in a specific devotional service according to his special tendency. A devotee must have only one initiating spiritual master because in the scriptures acceptance of more than one is always forbidden. There is no limit, however, to the number of instructing spiritual masters one may accept. Generally a spiritual master who constantly instructs a disciple in spiritual science becomes his initiating spiritual master later on. One should always remember that a person who is reluctant to accept a spiritual master and be initiated is sure to be baffled in his endeavor to go back to Godhead. One who is not properly initiated may present himself as a great devotee, but in fact he is sure to encounter many stumbling blocks on his path of progress toward spiritual realization, with the result that he must continue his term of material existence without relief. Such a helpless person is compared to a ship without a rudder, for such a ship can never reach its destination. It is imperative, therefore, that one accept a spiritual master if he at all desires to gain the favor of the Lord. The service of the spiritual master is essential. If there is no chance to serve the spiritual master directly, a devotee should serve him by remembering his instructions. There is no difference between the spiritual master's instructions and the spiritual master himself. In his absence, therefore, his words of direction should be the pride of the disciple. If one thinks that he is above consulting anyone else, including a spiritual master, he is at once an offender at the lotus feet of the Lord. Such an offender can never go back to Godhead. It is imperative that a serious person accept a bona fide spiritual master in terms of the sastric injunctions. Sri Jiva Gosvami advises that one not accept a spiritual master in terms of hereditary or customary social and ecclesiastical conventions. One should simply try to find a genuinely qualified spiritual master for actual advancement in spiritual understanding. Cc. Adi 1.35

Suggested reading for non sectarian thinkers: "Gentlemen, on behalf of the members of the Bombay branch of the Gaudiya Math, let me welcome you all because you have so kindly joined us tonight in our congregational offerings of homage to the lotus feet of the world teacher, acaryadeva, who is the founder of this Gaudiya Mission and is the President-acarya of Sri Sri Visva Vaisnava Raja Sabha-I mean my eternal divine master, Om Visnupada Paramahamsa Parivrajakacarya, Sri Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Maharaja. Sixty-two years ago, on this auspicious day, the acaryadeva made his appearance by the call of Thakura Bhaktivinoda at Sri Ksetra, Jagannatha Dhama at Puri. Gentlemen, the offering of such an homage as has been arranged this evening to the acaryadeva is not a sectarian concern, for when we speak of the fundamental principle of gurudeva or acaryadeva, we speak of something that is of universal application. There does not arise any question of discriminating my guru from yours or anyone else’s. There is only one guru, who appears in an infinity of forms to teach you, me and all others. In the Mundaka Upanisad (1.2.12) it is said: tad-vijnartham sa gurum evabhigacchet samit-panih srotriyam brahma-nistham "In order to learn the transcendental science, one must approach the bona fide spiritual master in disciplic succession, who is fixed in the Absolute Truth." Thus it has been enjoined herewith that in order to receive that transcendental knowledge, one must approach the guru. Therefore, if the Absolute Truth is one, about which we think there is no difference of opinion, the guru cannot be two. The acaryadeva to whom we have assembled tonight to offer our humble homage is not the guru of a sectarian institution or one out of many differing exponents of the truth. On the contrary, he is the jagad-guru, or the guru of all of us, the only difference is that some obey him wholeheartedly, while others do not obey him directly. excerpted from http://bvml.org/ACBSP/oeg.htm

TEXT 71 TEXT rati-prema-taratamye bhakta----tara-tama ekadasa skandhe tara kariyache laksana SYNONYMS rati--of attachment; prema--and love; taratamye--by comparison; bhakta--devotee; tara-tama--superior and superlative; ekadasa skandhe--in the Eleventh Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam; tara--of him; kariyache--has made; laksana--symptoms. TRANSLATION "A devotee is considered superlative and superior according to his attachment and love. In the Eleventh Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, the following symptoms have been ascertained. PURPORT Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura has stated that if one has developed faith in Krsna consciousness, he is to be considered an eligible candidate for further advancement in Krsna consciousness. Those who have faith are divided into three categories-uttama, madhyama and kanistha (first-class, second-class and neophyte). A first-class devotee has firm conviction in the revealed scriptures and is expert in arguing according to the sastras. He is firmly convinced of the science of Krsna consciousness. The madhyama-adhikari, or second-class devotee, has firm conviction in Krsna consciousness, but he cannot support his conviction by citing sastric references. The neophyte devotee does not yet have firm faith. In this way the devotees are typed. The standard of devotion is also categorized in the same way. A neophyte believes that only love of Krsna or Krsna consciousness is very good, but he may not know the basis of pure Krsna consciousness or how one can become a perfect devotee. Sometimes in the heart of a neophyte there is attraction for karma, jnana or yoga. When he is free and transcendental to mixed devotional activity, he becomes a second-class devotee. When he becomes expert in logic and can refer to the sastras, he becomes a first-class devotee. The devotees are also described as positive, comparative and superlative, in terms of their love and attachment for Krsna. It should be understood that a madhyama-adhikari, a second-class devotee, is fully convinced of Krsna consciousness but cannot support his convictions with sastric reference. A neophyte may fall down by associating with nondevotees because he is not firmly convinced and strongly situated. The second-class devotee, even though he cannot support his position with sastric reference, can gradually become a first-class devotee by studying the sastras and associating with a first-class devotee. However, if the second-class devotee does not advance himself by associating with a first-class devotee, he makes no progress. There is no possibility that a first-class devotee will fall down, even though he may mix with nondevotees to preach. Conviction and faith gradually increase to make one an uttama-adhikari, a first-class devotee. Cc. Madhya lila 22.71

You can find a complete list here: http://purebhakti.com/centers/index.shtml Sri Vraja Mandala Parikrama 28th October - 28th November 2004 Dear Devotees, We like to invite all of you to attend the festival of Sri Vraja Mandala Parikrama 2004, organized under the auspices of Om Visnupada Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja. For nearly half a century, Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja has been conducting this annual parikrama, humbly facilitating and nourishing fortunate pilgrims from all parts of India, as well as from all other countries, with his beautiful Hari-katha. Sri Vraja Mandala Parikrama will start on 28th Oct. and ends on 28th Nov. There will be lectures on Damodarastakam, Srimad-Bhagavatam and other bhakti literatures; kirtana, darsana and parikrama of the famous pastime-places in Vraja mandala. We cordially invite everyone to come and join this beautiful festival, which will be an unforgettable transcendental experience. A minimum contribution of Rs. 5500, US $120 or Euro 100 is required in order to help cover the basic parikrama expenses. You are most welcome to hear the unprecedented Hari-katha, use the simple facilities and honor the delicious maha-prasadam throughout this month. For further information, you can contact Brajanath dasa, Vrinda-devi dasi or Tungavidya dasi. Please forward your attendance by phone or preferably by E-mail as soon as possible. E-mail: / / Sri Keshavji Gaudiya Math, Mathura (UP) 281001 Tel: (+91) 565-250.2334 N.B. Our parikrama will be in Vrindavan from the 27th of October until the 10th of November. From the 10th of November until the 29th of November we will be in Govardhan. Though it may not have been clear on the original Parikrama announcement, all the devotees are invited to attend the inauguration of our new Sri Giridhari Gaudiya Math in Govardhan. This will take place on the 28th and 29th of November along with the installation of Sri Vigraha. Srila Gurudeva has requested that the devotees coming for Kartik adjust their return date in order to attend this auspicious festival. FYI theist, when it comes to iskcon, gbc or so called godbrothers who have chosen pratistha instead of suddha bhakti I find it more adviseable to follow His Divine Grace's advice in Cc. Madhya 1.218 TEXT 218 TEXT dui jane prabhura krpa dekhi' bhakta-gane 'hari' 'hari' bale sabe anandita-mane SYNONYMS dui jane--unto the two persons; prabhura--of the Lord; krpa--the mercy; dekhi'--seeing; bhakta-gane--all the devotees; hari hari--the holy name of the Lord; bale--chant; sabe--all; anandita--cheerful; mane--in the mind. TRANSLATION When all of the devotees saw the mercy of the Lord upon the two brothers, they were very much gladdened, and they began to chant the holy name of the Lord, "Hari! Hari!" PURPORT Srila Narottama dasa Thakura says, chadiya vaisnava seva nistara payeche keba: unless one serves a Vaisnava, he cannot be delivered. The spiritual master initiates the disciple to deliver him, and if the disciple executes the order of the spiritual master and does not offend other Vaisnavas, his path is clear. Consequently Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu requested all the Vaisnavas present to show mercy toward the two brothers, Rupa and Sanatana, who had just been initiated by the Lord. When a Vaisnava sees that another Vaisnava is a recipient of the Lord's mercy, he becomes very happy. Vaisnavas are not envious. If a Vaisnava, by the mercy of the Lord, is empowered by Him to distribute the Lord's holy name all over the world, other Vaisnavas become very joyful--that is, if they are truly Vaisnavas. One who is envious of the success of a Vaisnava is certainly not a Vaisnava himself, but an ordinary mundane man. Envy and jealousy are manifested by mundane people, not by Vaisnavas. Why should a Vaisnava be envious of another Vaisnava who is successful in spreading the holy name of the Lord? An actual Vaisnava is very pleased to accept another Vaisnava who is bestowing the Lord's mercy. A mundane person in the dress of a Vaisnava should not be respected but rejected. This is enjoined in the sastra (upeksa). The word upeksa means neglect. One should neglect an envious person. A preacher's duty is to love the Supreme Personality of Godhead, make friendships with Vaisnavas, show mercy to the innocent and reject or neglect those who are envious or jealous. There are many jealous people in the dress of Vaisnavas in this Krsna consciousness movement, and they should be completely neglected. There is no need to serve a jealous person who is in the dress of a Vaisnava. When Narottama dasa Thakura says chadiya vaisnava seva nistara payeche keba, he is indicating an actual Vaisnava, not an envious or jealous person in the dress of a Vaisnava.

Because then you are ignoring the clear instructions of ISKCON's founder-acrya, Srila Rupa Goswami,Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura and our whole guru varga regarding guru tattva. You simply have a society of the blind leading the blind. You get a society that makes real sadu-sanga "illegal", and misrepresents how anyone really makes spiritual progress, which is by guru krpa and "adau-sraddha tatah sadhu-sanga" and by following Bg. 4.34. Then everyone pick from a list the "guru" that suits his own mundane conception, instead of connecting to someone who can actually deliver him from birth and death. In these verses from Cc. such material adjustment is rejected by Srila Krsnadas Kaviraja Gosvami: TEXT 9 TEXT keha ta' acarya ajnaya, keha ta' svatantra sva-mata kalpana kare daiva-paratantra SYNONYMS keha ta'--some; acarya--the spiritual master; ajnaya--upon His order; keha ta'--some; sva-tantra--independently; sva-mata--their own opinions; kalpana kare--they concoct; daiva-paratantra--under the spell of maya. TRANSLATION Some of the disciples strictly accepted the orders of the acarya, and others deviated, independently concocting their own opinions under the spell of daivi-maya. PURPORT This verse describes the beginning of a schism. When disciples do not stick to the principle of accepting the order of their spiritual master, immediately there are two opinions. Any opinion different from the opinion of the spiritual master is useless. One cannot infiltrate materially concocted ideas into spiritual advancement. That is deviation. There is no scope for adjusting spiritual advancement to material ideas. TEXT 10 TEXT acaryera mata yei, sei mata sara tanra ajna langhi' cale, sei ta' asara SYNONYMS acaryera--of the spiritual master (Advaita Prabhu); mata--opinion; yei--what is; sei--that; mata--opinion; sara--active principle; tanra--his; ajna--order; langhi'--transgressing; cale--becomes; sei--that; ta'--however; asara--useless. TRANSLATION The order of the spiritual master is the active principle in spiritual life. Anyone who disobeys the order of the spiritual master immediately becomes useless. PURPORT Here is the opinion of Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami. Persons who strictly follow the orders of the spiritual master are useful in executing the will of the Supreme, whereas persons who deviate from the strict order of the spiritual master are useless. TEXT 11 TEXT asarera name ihan nahi prayojana bheda janibare kari ekatra ganana SYNONYMS asarera--of the useless persons; name--in their name; ihan--in this connection; nahi--there is no; prayojana--use; bheda--differences; janibare--to know; kari--I do; ekatra--in one list; ganana--counting. TRANSLATION There is no need to name those who are useless. I have mentioned them only to distinguish them from the useful devotees. Cc. Adi lila Ch. 12, Txt 9-11 Naive perhaps, but more likely you've simply been told what to think by individuals with an institutional agenda. You should try to take your understanding guru tattva from what His Divine Grace has written in his books, and not what the gbc legislates. The iskcon gbc can't change gaudiya siddhanta regarding ekanda guru tattva simply to suite its "management" of an institution. That is the very thing that His Divine Grace objected to when the GM gbc held elections for the next acarya. The GM member who did not follow SBSST strictly then split into two camps, one in favor of Ananta Vasudeva and the other Vilasa Tirtha Maharaja. If you read Srila Prabhupada's letter to Rupanuga carefully you can see that what he objected to was the election of any individual to be the next acarya of the GM by their gbc. ". . . He(SBSST) never recommended anyone to be acarya of the Gaudiya Math. . . If Guru Maharaja could have seen someone who was qualified at that time to be acarya he would have mentioned. Because on the night before he passed away he talked of so many things, but never mentioned an acarya. His idea was acarya was not to be nominated amongst the governing body. He said openly you make a GBC and conduct the mission. So his idea was amongst the members of GBC who would come out successful and self effulgent acarya would be automatically selected." He thought that the next acaryas would manifest by self effulgence, as they indeed did in the many missions that sprang from the GM, when its leadership deviated from vanih given by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. Ananta Vasudeva wrote a book that minimized the importance of our guru varga, and proposed that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu had established a fifth sampradaya, and was not actually in line with Madhvacarya by dint of siksa. Sria Bhakti Prajnan Kesava Maharaja (Srila Prabhupada's sannyasa guru-and senior godbrother) defeated such proposal in a book and articles of his own, in defense of our sampradaya's connection to the Madhva sampradaya. A similar defense of our connection to Madhva sampradaya was made by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana in Jaipura,many years earlier, when the Ramvadis of the Sri sampradaya made a similar claim,that our guru varag was not connected to any bona fide sampradaya or to Madhvacarya. They also objected to the worship of Radha next to Sri Krsna in the Govindaji mandira, and claimed the Gaudiya's had no commentary on the Vedanta-sutras and could not be accepted as bona fide. Baladeva Vidyabusana compiled Govinda-bhasya and defeated all of their arguments. You should try to understand why Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura did not appoint any one individual. He didn't appoint Abhaya Charana Das either, and his self effulgence as an acarya certainly became an apparant fact some years later, did it not? What Srila Prabhupad objected to in the GM managment ,after the maha samadhi of his gurudeva, is more fully explained in the purport of his translation of Srila Krsnadas Kaviraja's Cc. Adi lila Ch. 12,TXT 8. TEXT 8 TEXT prathame ta' eka-mata acaryera gana pache dui-mata haila daivera karana SYNONYMS prathame--in the beginning; ta'--however; eka-mata--one opinion; acaryera--of Advaita Acarya; gana--followers; pache--later; dui-mata--two opinions; haila--became; daivera--of providence; karana--the cause. TRANSLATION At first all the followers of Advaita Acarya shared a single opinion. But later they followed two different opinions, as ordained by providence. PURPORT The words daivera karana indicate that by dint of providence, or by God's will, the followers of Advaita Acarya divided into two parties. Such disagreement among the disciples of one acarya is also found among the members of the Gaudiya Matha. In the beginning, during the presence of Om Visnupada Paramahamsa Parivrajakacarya Astottara-sata Sri Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada, all the disciples worked in agreement; but just after his disappearance, they disagreed. One party strictly followed the instructions of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, but another group created their own concoction about executing his desires. Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, at the time of his departure, requested all his disciples to form a governing body and conduct missionary activities cooperatively. He did not instruct a particular man to become the next acarya. But just after his passing away, his leading secretaries made plans, without authority, to occupy the post of acarya, and they split into two factions over who the next acarya would be. Consequently, both factions were asara, or useless, because they had no authority, having disobeyed the order of the spiritual master. Despite the spiritual master's order to form a governing body and execute the missionary activities of the Gaudiya Matha, the two unauthorized factions began litigation that is still going on after forty years with no decision. Therefore, we do not belong to any faction. But because the two parties, busy dividing the material assets of the Gaudiya Matha institution, stopped the preaching work, we took up the mission of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura and Bhaktivinoda Thakura to preach the cult of Caitanya Mahaprabhu all over the world, under the protection of all the predecessor acaryas, and we find that our humble attempt has been successful. We followed the principles especially explained by Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura in his commentary on the Bhagavad-gita verse vyavasayatmika buddhir ekeha kuru-nandana. According to this instruction of Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, it is the duty of a disciple to follow strictly the orders of his spiritual master. The secret of success in advancement in spiritual life is the firm faith of the disciple in the orders of his spiritual master. The Vedas confirm this: yasya deve para bhaktir yatha deve tatha gurau tasyaite kathita hy arthah prakasante mahatmanah "To one who has staunch faith in the words of the spiritual master and the words of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the secret of success in Vedic knowledge is revealed." The Krsna consciousness movement is being propagated according to this principle, and therefore our preaching work is going on successfully, in spite of the many impediments offered by antagonistic demons, because we are getting positive help from our previous acaryas. One must judge every action by its result. The members of the self-appointed acarya's party who occupied the property of the Gaudiya Matha are satisfied, but they could make no progress in preaching. Therefore by the result of their actions one should know that they are asara, or useless, whereas the success of the ISKCON party, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, which strictly follows guru and Gauranga, is increasing daily all over the world. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura wanted to print as many books as possible and distribute them all over the world. We have tried our best in this connection, and we are getting results beyond our expectations. Cc. Adi lila Ch. 12, Txt 8 In this purport Srila Prabhupada makes a very strong statement against the second faction who wanted the acarya of the GM appointed without the sanction of its founder, His Divine Grace Sri Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. So what difference is there in what the GM gbc did and what the current iskcon gbc is doing by rubber stamping individuals who are not necessarily uttama adhikari, and cannot give sufficient guidance toward the ultimate goal of krsn prema, or real diksa? Not much! The leading secretaries of the GM deviated from the principle of ekanda guru tattva to elect their choice for acarya, and the current gbc has similarly flip flopped on the guru issue for years, coming to no real understanding that guru is self effulgent and either, a direct manifestation of Lord Nityananda or an eternal maideservat of Srimate Radharani, but not any conditioned soul elected by another group of conditioned souls. Read in Srila Prabhupada's Cc. Adi lila 1. txt 35-48 for his clear declarations regarding guru tattva. Read Cc. Madhya 15.108 to get some understanding of the importance and necessity for real diksa from a sad guru. You should also know that the objections Srila Prabhupada took to GM matters were published in the periodical published by Srila Bhakti Prajnan Kesava Maharaja in Mathura. Read this excerpt from "MY SIKSA GURU AND PRIYA BANDHU" Remembrances Of His Divine Grace Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Compiled from selected interviews, lectures and writings bySrila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja http://bvml.org/SBNM/msgapb.htm EDITORIAL SEVA In 1953, our magazines 'Gaudiya-patrika' and 'Bhagavata-patrika' were started. Our Gurudeva requested Abhay Caranaravinda Prabhu, "I want to establish a publication in Bengali and other languages. I especially want you to write articles for that." Earlier he had written articles for the Harmonist, and now he continued to write many wonderful essays, Gita purports, etc. He wrote so marvelously that everyone praised him. He challenged all who were opposed to pure bhakti at that time, especially the 'Murgi Mission'. He called the Ramakrsna Mission 'the Murgi Mission' because the members ate chicken. In fact, they took flesh, eggs and many abominable things. Vivekananda and his Ramakrsna Mission were very prominent in those days. They were renowned by the public who said, "Oh, these are such high-class devotees. In all of India only they are following the Vedas, and all others are not. The Gaudiya Mission and others are not Vedantic." Abhay Caranaravinda Prabhu wrote this one particular two-part article about the murgis. He began with the first part, and when the second part was also printed all were astonished and convinced. It was like a drama. Everyone requested him to write more articles like these which called for the reform of religious institutions and samskaras . Later Abhay Caranaravinda Prabhu wrote another dramatic article - this time about some of the leaders in the Gaudiya Matha. The article explained how the institution was coming apart after Srila Prabhupada's departure. Grhasthas were giving up their wives and loving others' wives; others' wives were then loving others. Now, in the name of developing the mission, some were putting all the money in their pockets. Sannyasis, even those who had been with their Prabhupada, were making buildings and sending all the money to their sons in their former homes to go to high school and university, or to go to England and America to study law and other things. He wrote about this situation and the first part was published in our Bhagavata-patrika and Gaudiya-patrika. At once a big storm broke out in the whole Gaudiya Mission. Although only about three pages were printed, letters began to come from many Gaudiya Mathas. It was like a revolution. Our Guru Maharaja and Abhay Caranaravinda Prabhu were talking and smiling very secretly together. Prabhu said, "We should publish more of it. Why not?" Guru Maharaja was also in favor of publishing it. However, many of the Godbrothers exclaimed, "Oh, Kesava Maharaja, what are you doing, printing this? Then everyone will know and all will criticize the Gaudiya Matha. These are our private family matters." Even Pujyapada Srila Sridhara Maharaja, who was highly respected by all, was consulted. Many Godbrothers came to Mathura at that time and Abhay Caranaravinda Prabhu was residing here in our matha. Srila Tirtha Maharaja and other devotees asked, "What are you going to do? If you print this then our present institution will be smashed." Guru Maharaja and Prabhu were smiling and asking each other, "Oh, what to do?" But when requested by so many Godbrothers they decided, "Accha. Later on we will see, but for now we should obey their orders." At that time the president of India was Dr. Radhakrishnan. He was very scholarly and his English was quite high-class, but he was world famous as a very bold mayavadi. He wrote an article in English saying that in Krsna's body the soul was there, and that soul was God, but Krsna's body was not God. He said that, as with our body and soul, there was also some difference between Krsna's body and soul. Guru Maharaja was not here then, but Abhay Caranaravinda Prabhu was here. So he wrote a very powerful article in response. He took many examples from here and there with strong quotations. He declared, 'Those who speak like this are rascals. There is no difference between deha and dehi, possession and possessor. All His qualities, pastimes, and names are transcendental. If one does not have a very pure and realized guru, he cannot understand this idea. You have no guru and you are reading sastra yourself. Just as Gautama Buddha became sunyavadi, you are just like that. At some time in South India you met with the very renowned Sankaracarya's teachings, but you have not read Ramanuja, Madhvacarya, Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and Jiva Gosvamióyou have never read Baladeva Vidyabhusana. You should try to know what is acintya-bheda-abheda. Do not be sectarian. You should be very liberal to us because you are an authority of India, the President. But you are not an authority in religion. You will have to learn something from us". Prabhu then challenged him to discuss all these issues face-to-face in any big council. He asked me to translate his article into Hindi for publication and it was printed in both of our magazines. He also wrote it in English and sent it to the Parliament of India, addressing it to the President, Mr. Nehru and the others. Their secretary received it and said 'Thank-you', but Dr. Radhakrishnan never accepted that challenge. He had nothing to reply because all of Prabhu's evidence had come from the Vedas, Upanisads, and from other bona-fide scriptures. In this way Abhay Caranaravinda Prabhu was such a bold and powerful preacher. He never compromised. Srila Vamana Maharaja appointed Abhay Caraaaravinda Prabhu to be the savapati (head of the editors) of the Gaudiya Patrika. Savapati means top of the editorial department, or editor-in-chief. I was also in the editorial sanga for the Hindi Bhagavata-patrika. He usually submitted his articles in Bengali, and sometimes if he wrote in Hindi I would edit and then submit it, because his mother language was not Hindi. Mostly he wrote his articles for our Gaudiya-patrika in Bengali. I then translated these into Hindi and printed them in the Bhagavata-patrika. Prabhu also was expert in the skill of stenography, before the time of tape machines. During lectures of my Gurudeva and other senior Vaisnavas he took shorthand perfectly and recorded those talks in his notebooks. His accurate transcriptions were also used for articles in the Gaudiya-patrika magazine. Abhay Caranaravina Prabhu continued writing for our magazines regularly every month for many years. Some of those original editions are still preserved at our manha. (Appendix 6) You can also read this article to see all the quotes from His Divine Grace with regard to his godbrothers,and perhaps put the matter in better historical and philosophical perspective. Srila Prabhupada and His Godbrothers SRILA PRABHUPADA AND THE GAUDIYA MATH By Sridam sakha das http://bvml.org/contemporary/srila.htm FYI, Theist prabhu, I don't believe that the followers of Srila Narayana Mahraja are particularly concerned or obsessing with regard to iskcon. Those of use who took our second birth there (ISKCON), are certainly dismayed to see it become apasiddhanta, with regard to guru, jiva, nama and other tattvas, but what can be done? Personally I have little or nothing to do with them. I haven't even posted on any forums discussing the matter for some time now. If you have any interst you can read my http://bvml.org/ mission statement to understand why: Bhaktivedanta Memorial Library Mission Statement http://bvml.org/ms.html

Suggested reading for non-sectarian thinkers. Krishtianity by Asamordhva Das When votes count more than theology. http://bvml.org/contemporary/Krishtianity.htm

TEXT 164 TEXT mahantera apamana ye desa-grame haya eka janara dose saba desa ujadaya SYNONYMS mahantera--of persons who are highly advanced in spiritual life; apamana--disrespect; ye desa-grame--in which country or village; haya--is; eka janara--of one man; dose--for the fault; saba desa--the whole country; ujadaya--becomes afflicted. TRANSLATION Wherever an advanced devotee is insulted, for one man's fault the entire town or place is afflicted. Cc. Antya lila 3.164 The dilemna for anyone in iskcon is that they all share in the result of the offences of its gbc, which has had a consistant policy of sadhu ninda, since l977. Also anyone who accepts an ecclesiastical appointment as a "guru" and allows others to think of himself in that way, is culpable for complicity in distorting guru tattva: paramartha-gurasrayo vyavaharika-gurvadiparityagenapi kartavyah "One should not accept a spiritual master based on hereditary, social or ecclesiastical conventions. Such a professional guru should be rejected. One must accept a qualified spiritual master, who can help one advance toward the ultimate goal of life, krsna prema (Srila Jiva Gosvami's Bhakti-sandharba, annucheda 210) Ignoring the importance of this principle with regard to sad guru cheapens the mission of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu by not actually teaching the real instructions of Srila Rupa Gosvami. "According to Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, the science of devotional service: "adau sraddha tatah sadhu-sango 'tha bhajana-kriya tato 'nartha-nivrttih syat tato nistha rucis tatah athasaktis tato bhavas tatah premabhyudancati sadhakanam ayam premnah pradurbhave bhavet kramah "In the beginning one must have a preliminary desire for self-realization. This will bring one to the stage of trying to associate with persons who are spiritually elevated. In the next stage one becomes initiated by an elevated spiritual master, and under his instruction the neophyte devotee begins the process of devotional service. By execution of devotional service under the guidance of the spiritual master, one becomes free from all material attachment, attains steadiness in self-realization, and acquires a taste for hearing about the Absolute Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna. This taste leads one further forward to attachment for Krsna consciousness, which is matured in bhava, or the preliminary stage of transcendental love of God. Real love for God is called prema, the highest perfectional stage of life." In the prema stage there is constant engagement in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. So, by the slow process of devotional service, under the guidance of the bona fide spiritual master, one can attain the highest stage, being freed from all material attachment, from the fearfulness of one's individual spiritual personality, and from the frustrations resulting from void philosophy. Then one can ultimately attain to the abode of the Supreme Lord." His Divine Grace Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Bg. As It Is 4.10 In the introduction to Sri Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu of Srila Rupa Goswami we can read: (II) SADHU SANGA: Company of Sadhus or Saints. This means an individuals eager desire to be in the company of a Sadhu in order to learn the methods of spiritual practices for God realization alone and for no other purpose. But who is a Sadhu? According to Bhagavatam, Canto XI, Chap. 11, Slokas 29 to 31, the following are the qualities of a genuine Sadhu or Saint: A Sadhu is kind; he cherishes animosity toward none; he smilingly endures even the bitterest miseries; he loves Truth as the vein-blood of his life; he never allows any evil thought to pollute his mind; he looks upon all with equal love and compassion; he does not entertain any kind of mundane desires to darken his mental quantum; he is self-controlled, amiable and pure in character; he remains farthest from any attempt to accumulate for his future subsistence and does not beg anything form anybody; he is abstentious and peaceful; he is steady in his mind; he depends absolutely on the Supreme Lord Sri Krsna, and remains in constant remembrance of the Lord; he is patient, solemn, magnanimous and undisturbed even by utmost provocations and turmoils; he has control over hunger, thirst, lamentations ,infatuation, birth and death; he does never aspire after respect for himself, but is always respectful to others; he is friendly to all; his heart is full of compassion for others; he is fully conversant with the real nature of God; and he is erudite. To keep company with such a one in person, thought and through discussions is Sadhu-sanga. Introduction Srila Hrydaya Bon Maharaja The minimization of this important principle of the vapuh association and receiving diksa from a fully self realized sad guru is ever present in present day iskcon and its ecclesiastical appointments. There is no need to unduly criticize sincere preachers, but one must stil speak the truth, satyam eva jayate, with regard to distortions of gaudiya-siddhanta. Srila Prabhupada wrote: "In this verse Srila Rupa Gosvami advises the devotee to be intelligent enough to distinguish between the kanistha-adhikari, madhyama-adhikari and uttama-adhikari. The devotee should also know his own position and should not try to imitate a devotee situated on a higher platform. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura has given some practical hints to the effect that an uttama-adhikari Vaisnava can be recognized by his ability to convert many fallen souls to Vaisnavism. One should not become a spiritual master unless he has attained the platform of uttama-adhikari. A neophyte Vaisnava or a Vaisnava situated on the intermediate platform can also accept disciples, but such disciples must be on the same platform, and it should be understood that they cannot advance very well toward the ultimate goal of life under his insufficient guidance. Therefore a disciple should be careful to accept an uttama-adhikari as a spiritual master." Nectar of Instruction Purport Verse 5 I didn't read anyone on this thread unduly criticising anyone. The problem is that if you simply repeat what Srila Prabhupada has written you will find yourself philosophicaly opposed to the current managers of His Divine Grace's external mission, the iskcon inc.