anadi 0 Report post Posted January 8, 2005 Afirmation: -- b) It's a popular myth that Madhva's connection to Vyasa is that of 'siksa.' -- Reply: No, actually its a fact as is recorded in his biographies. Vyasa did not initiate Madhva into pancaratrika diksha and there is no evidence anywhere to suggest this. Simply because the word diksha has been used in Gaura-ganodesa-dipika does not mean he has recieved pancaratrika mantra diksha from Vyasa. Diksha means to implant divya-jnanam, and that can be performed through siksha. This is the case as is confirmed in Madhva's biographies. Any other idea is speculative and imaginative. Hey... Maybe Madhva received siddha pranali from Vyasa, why not? Can anybody help with a scriptural quotation, where it is stated, that there is no need of diksa, because shiksa is doing the same thing? Please only scriptural quotation. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
anadi 0 Report post Posted January 9, 2005 From Bhakti Sandarbha Anuccheda 283 16 Now will be considered worship of the Lord (arcana), which begins with the invitation (avahana) to the Lord to appear. If one has faith in the path of worship, one should take shelter of a bona fide spiritual master (first anga of bhakti - guru pada-ashraya)and ask questions of him (fifth anga of bhakti - bhajana riti niti prashana). This is described in these words of Srimad Bhagavatam (11.3.48): "Having obtained the mercy of his spiritual master, who reveals to the disciple the injunctions of Vedic scriptures, the devotee should worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the particular personal form of the Lord the devotee finds most attractive."*** 17 Although in the opinion of Srimad-Bhagavatam the path of worshipping the Deity, as it is described in the Pancaratras and other scriptures, is not compulsory, and without engaging in Deity worship one may attain the final goal of life by engaging in even only one of the nine processes of devotional service, processes that begin with surrender, nevertheless, in the opinion of they who follow the path of Narada Muni and other great sages, by accepting initiation from a bona fide spiritual master one attains a relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, a relationship established through the feet of one's spiritual master, and when one is thus initiated, the process of Deity worship is compulsory. 18 Therefore in the Agama-sastra it is said: "Diksa is the process by which one can awaken his transcendental knowledge and vanquish all reactions caused by sinful activity. A person expert in the study of the revealed scriptures know this process as diksa.* 19 "It is the duty of every human being to surrender to a bona fide spiritual master. Giving him everything: body, mind and intelligence, one must take a Vaisnava initiation from him."* 20 The words "divyam jnanam" (transcendental knowledge) here refers to the descriptions of the Lord's transcendental form in sacred mantras. Chanting those mantras establishes a relationship with the Supreme Lord. This is explained in the Padma Purana, Uttara-khanda's description of the eight-syllable mantra. ... Srila Rupa Gosvami says in the 4-th anga of bhakti: Sadhu marga-anusharah, i.e. "No path can be ascertained by any one individual. All the previuous mahajanas following in consecutive succession have made the path of bhakti neat and clean." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
