Gurus

[Guest guest]

On Wed, 13 Mar 2002, Rama Kesava (das) BVTS (Edinburgh - UK) wrote:

> > No, prabhu, there are a few! Tamal Krishna Goswami, for one. I wasn't

> > aware that he'd left Satsvarupa Maharaj is another.

> Whoopsie! I don't know why, but I was somehow thinking of both the eleven

> and the GBC all rolled in to one, and the only one I could think of as being

> left was Jayapataka Swami, like I said. But of course Tamal Krsna Goswami

> and Satsvarup dasa Goswami are around.

 

Let's not forget Sripad Hrdayananda Gosvami too; he's given us the

rest of the Bhagavatam.

 

MDd

[Guest guest]

Babhru prabhu wrote:

>

> The disciple also needs good association and guidance from sahdu and

> shastra. However, no legislation or social pressure of any sort can

> determine who one's spiritual master is.

 

The point you made about association and guidance from sadhu and sastra is

what I was getting at. I'm sure if you asked the millions of people who have

followed bogus gurus over the eons if they were sincere, their answer would

be 'yes'; and whilst that may be the case, protection and guidance as you

mentioned is crucial. A society is necessary for those reasons: because the

existence of the society and its activities is the attracting mechanism for

many at the beginning of spiritual life, and in its being provides the

necessary ingredients for the cultivation of that spiritual life. That it

becomes 'institutionalised' is incidental, and possibly unavoidable. If,

within that institutionalisation, legislation and social pressure come to

have bearing on the choice of guru, then obviously something is wrong, but

it doesn't negate the whole.

 

Ys

Braja Sevaki dd