hare krishna

thank you, prabhu
for your great article of His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada! I enjoyed it a lot and you made a good choice how to explain what one can do against suffering in this world. Simply, look inside of you, the answer is already there. You won't find yourself "outside".


Dictatorship and government of one is still present. Democracy is a fraud. If people stopped thinking only for themselves, then the real democracy would be possible. We have choice? No, we have not. They say: "Here is your choice!" What kind of choice is that? People are brainwashed on a daily basis by television, movies, music, radio and internet as well. Everything is advertisment, commercionalized. I took a class about media and I've learnt that ads in newspapers, billboards, on tv...wherever, they don't serve to sell product. It doesn't work like": Buy this product you see it and then you buy it no. People are not that stupid. Advertisment is selling way of life! When you think about it, that's like a religion!! And way more powerful than other religions. We are exposed to hudreds of ads daily! -that has been proven.
They all work together, all companies -that's why you are not able to find the big dictator, there's no any!
The strategy is to convince you that you have your opinion, they emphasize freedom, your own choice and all these lies are nothing but manipulation. The problem is alienation of words. People are too much attached to words. They think that whoever says: Freedom, he actually mean it. We can see that in Krishna consciousness too. You say God, but people understand their own vision of God. Words are meaningless as long as you don't do as you say. People should verify every word, look for its real meaning, they should think first before accepting. They use to say: "No, I don't want to be a slave to any kind of religion, I am free." But it means nothing -empty words, because he's conditioned anyway by three modes of material nature. So he is slave. Freedom is a state, which cannot be lost. We can't own freedom! If you're afraid that you're gonna loose your freedom -what freedom is that? Illusion.
The same thing can be said about democracy. We don't know. Is it democratic just because we feel good? We call it democracy, but democracy means to freely vote for a candidate we support. Freely. What is the freedom, if we are lied to from every corner of this society? We think we are free, but we serve maya instead.
haribol!

 

Unfortunetely what you say is true. There is so much that is beyond our control because of the giant influence of Maya on our society...indeed it gets to the point where you just want to scream...there's a girl I know who is very opinionated (so opinionated that she had me brainwashed that I was too innocent for my own good...but that is another story for another time...) and she had told me that my desire to go to other countries and see the world was BS and unpatriotic...and I asked her why and she told me that it was because the world doesn't like the US and that if I went out there that I would be supporting something that didn't like us...now last time I checked...we were all human and it didn't matter... Last time I checked...I had decided that I would be just a traveler and an observer...seeing what is without all the BS...the world and its people as they are...I'm becoming an archaeologist/anthropologist because I need to see the world as it is...not as they tell me... but that is an example of brainwash...actually I have so many more instances of this...my sister the other day asked me if I knew that Mary Kate Olsen was anorexic...why should I care...yes it is sad...yes she is human but as I looked up from my book about Krishna Consciousness...I asked myself what led her to that...brainwash...that we need to be that perfect body image...but if we are not our bodies...it doesn't matter, does it?

And about the democracy...no it is not true democrasy...not at all. If it were true democracy I doubt that we would be in a war over oil...but then again it depends how much of the US is truly and completely blinded by Maya (I mean to the point of not being able to see a centimeter in front of them)...now I'm not saying I'm perfect...I'm far from... I am affected by Maya...I eat meat (though I am trying not to so much anymore)...but I at least know that its there and to watch out for it...those of us here know its out there and to watch for it...if we didn't we wouldn't be ranting about the existance of it...

and finally...if none of what I just said made sence...let George tell you (its ironic because I had this song stuck in my head...)

Brainwashed- George Harrison

Brainwashed in our childhood
Brainwashed by the school
Brainwashed by our teachers and brainwashed by all their rules

Brainwashed by our leaders
By our kings and queens
Brainwashed in the open and brainwashed behind the scenes

God God God
A voice cries in the wilderness
God God God
It was on the longest night
God God God
An eternity of darkness
God God God
Someone turned out the spiritual light

Brainwashed by the Nikkei
Brainwashed by Dow Jones
Brainwashed by the FTSE
Nasdaq and secure loans
Brainwashed us from Brussels
Brainwashing us in Bonn
Brainwashing us in Washington
Westminster in London

God God God
You are the wisdom that we seek
God God God
The lover that we miss
God God God
Your nature is eternity
God God God
You are Existance, Knowledge, Bliss

The soul does not love. It is love itself.
It does not exist. It is existance itself.
It does not know. It is knowledge itself. - How to Know God, pg. 130

They brainwashed my great uncle
Brainwashed my cousin Bob
They even got my grandma when she was working for the mob
Brainwash you while your sleeping
While in your traffic jam
Brainwash you while you're weeping
While still a baby in your pram
Brainwashed under the millitary
Brainwashed under duress
Brainwashed by the media
You're brainwashed by the press
Brainwashed by the computer
Brainwashed by mobile phones
Brainwashed by the satallite
Brainwashed to the bone

God God God
Won't you lead us through this mess?
God God God
From the places of concrete
God God God
Nothing's worse than ignorence
God God God
I just won't accept defeat

God God God
Must be something I forgot
God God God
Down on bullshit avenue
God God God
If we can only stop the rot
God God God
Wish that you'd brainwash us too...

Namah Parvarti Pataye Hare Hare Mahadev
Namah Parvarti Pataye Hare Hare
Namah Parvarti Pataye Hare Hare

Shiva Shiva Shankara Mahadeva
Hare Hare Hare Hare Mahadeva
Shiva Shiva Shankara Mahadeva
Shiva Shiva Shankara Mahadeva

Namah Parvarti Pataye Hare Hare
Namah Parvarti Pataye Hare Hare
Shiva Shiva Shankara Mahadeva
Shiva Shiva Shankara Mahadeva

 

This article is from Ken Carey, one of my most favorite writers.
At the end you will find more information.
​

[size=+3]The Moment of Quantum Awakening [/size]

At the moment of quantum awakening, change will occur rapidly, rippling across the terrestrial surface like a wave. Everything in the earth's gravitational field will be affected in some way. There will be a time of massive change, of change on a scale that has no historical precedent, though it does have antecedents in the prehistoric events of this and of distant worlds. The changes that your generation will experience before it passes the torch to another are more fundamental than those that accompanied the agriculture revolution-and those changes took thousands of years. They are more far-reaching than the changes of industrialization, which took nearly three centuries to transpire. Yet, deep and fundamental, massive though these present changes are, they will occur within the span of just a single life.
​

Properly understood, these changes and their coming have the ability to inspire a degree of hope and optimism unprecedented in the history of your race; for they spell the end of mankind's subconscious condition and therefore portend, as the scriptures of the world foretell, an end to bloodshed, starvation, warfare, exploitation, and needless suffering.
​

Within your lifetime you will witness revelations that will show the foolness of much that was once deemed wise. You will watch as traditions and historical habit patterns once assumed to be survival imperatives are discovered to be detriment to a healthy life and to a healthy society. Behavior that made sense for creatures who imagined they were islands of individuality is abandoned by those who experience the interconnectivity of all life. The consciousness that is awakening upon this world is no respecter of Darwin values. Its perception brings new values and new ways of being. During these decades you are seeing the descent of the Angels of Healing. Even now, all around you-and perhaps in your own life-they are incarnating. In some cases these are beings who have not known human form since before the decent of historical time.
​

It is possible that you are among those who have held only a tenuous and flickering connection with your incarnational successions. It is no matter for judgment. Those who incarnate now, those who bring the fullness of their eternal talents, attributes, and perspectives into today's people, are the agents of healing. They alone have it in their power to experience this awesome time of transition as glorious or traumatic. All are invited to remember their essence, their purpose, their reason for being here, and to bring through into this age of transition the sense of celebration that invariable accompanies such remembrance.
​

Our numbers upon the earth have grown rapidly since our first large-scale arrivals began in the late 1960's. Yet it is not quantity, not numbers that will make the difference, but the quality of our compassion, the quality of the love that radiates from our hearts. Every individual who becomes a clear and undistorted channel for eternal love into these times offsets a thousand who remain locked in the dissolving values of the old.
​

We are rapidly dispelling what remains of human illusion, helping all to identify with the growing currents, the energies and the forces of love and life. You are already living in the dawning of the age of Planetary Awakening, the age of peace and community building. It is here now for the most sensitive to its fragrance, texture, majesty, and vision. The age has begun when the earth is to be cultivated like a flower garden and her gifts presented as conscious offerings to the gardeners of eternal beauty, the age when humankind return its gifts to the earth, to her soil, her streams, her mountains, her oceans, her creatures of water, air, fire, and clay.
​

The future, as always, holds an element of surprise. Yet some things are as certain as the movement of the stars. A mother never knows exactly what hour she will give birth to her child, but since she has a "due date," an approximate time when the baby is expected and will most likely be born. For millennia now there have been those in various traditions of both East and West who have known that the earth has a due date something during the second decade of the twenty-first century. Though there will be much awakening of individuals prior to the first unified movement of the awakened planetary organism, this movement, like a first breath, will occur in but a single moment. It is then that the Star Maker will consciously awaken in all systems of human biocircuitry capable of sustaining universal awareness.
​

Babies are sometimes born early, sometimes late. So be aware, be vigilant. Do not discount the possibility that the moment might come as a thief in the night. And do not be among the foolish who will wait until the last moment to come to terms with the rising awareness. This is to be an important occasion. It is the event that is central to all of human history. Our emphasis for many thousands of years now has been and continues to prepare you for this single moment. For though the changes will be dramatic, they need not be traumatic.
​

Though they will bring a fundamental human revisiting of reality's nature, this need not be perceived as threatening. Essentially, it is a positive and joyous event. The consciousness that will eventually emerge will be the consciousness of the Eternal One, the Creator, the Being of Life, awake and aware for the first time inside a material universe. Human circuitry is designed to accommodate this consciousness. In much the same way that your individual cells understand their relationship to you, each awakened human being understands him- or herself in hologramatic relationship to this unified field of awareness.
​

Since this perception of self differs significantly from historical perception, its emergence in collective human consciousness presents the potential of disorientation in those who might react to its coming in fear. We have much to do before the preparation of human consciousness is complete. Still, even if the awakening were to occur in this very moment with no further preparation, it would be an event of unprecedented beauty. However, in that case fewer people would be in a position to appreciate it. We wish to to maximize enjoyment and minimize discomfort for all concerned. If human beings understand more fully what is occurring, they will be less likely to react in ways that would cause them unnecessary discomfort.
​

Regardless of whether one accepts this change or attempts to back away from it, this event will be of greater power than any the earth has ever seen. More energy will be released in a very few moments than is typically released upon the surface of the earth in many years. This energy will take the form of heightened perception and deepened emotional connection, rejoining the individual and God.
​

 

​

Though this unprecedented time of intensified energy radiation still lies a few years before you, you are already near enough to it and the event will be so powerful that time is behaving with increasing subjectivity, bubbling and warping, creating islands of the future wherever there are those who deliberately invoke the energies of the emerging consciousness and demonstrate willingness to live their lives in love.
​

These are not disconnected islands beneath the receding seas of historical illusion. They are united in a veritable continent of rising awareness. As the new reality comes fully into human consciousness (at that moment when the Creator's luminous field comes into perfect alignment with the Earth Mother), all illusion of destructive nature will be dissolved. Though there have been many centuries leading up to this moment, when the moment comes it will be decisive.
​

There will be a great shift then, a single moment of quantum awakening. In this moment, the smallest interval of time measured in these dimensions-this interval that occurs in every atom between each of its billions of oscillations per second-will be lengthened unto infinity. An interval of nontime will expand. Through that expansion eternity will flow. Some will experience this moments as minutes or hours, others as a lifetime. Still others will experience this flash of nontime as a succession of many lives, and some few will, in this moment, know the Nagual itself, the great nameless Presence that exists before and after all these worlds.
​

In the expanse of the nontime interval, human beings will have all the time they require to realize, experience, and remember full consciousness of their eternal spirits and to recall the origin of their individuality in the primordial fields of being. All will have ample time to recharge their form identity and its biological projection with the awareness of who they are, why they have individualized, and why they have chosen to associate with the planet's human expression. Each one will have the choice to return to biological form or to remain in the fields of disincarnate awareness.
​

Those who choose to return to human form will do so fully aware of who they are. No longer will they be put partially incarnate; they will resume biological residence with the full memory and consciousness of their eternal natures, sharing the creative capacities of the Star Maker, whose reflective cells they will then know themselves to be.
​

Subconscious orientation in fear will be replaced by conscious orientation in love. The sudden release of power, as the polarity of the collective human emotional field shifts from outer to inner orientation, cannot be avoided no no matter how smoothly we seek to guide the transition. All will feel an unmistakable surge of power in the instant of quantum awakening. This is as inevitable as the daily rotation of the earth's continents into and out of the light of the sun.
​

But the effects? The implications? There is no way to predict them. They depend on the choices you make today. By extrapolating current trends of consciousness we can establish a probable range of effect. But there may be as many as eight billion people incarnate at that moment, each with complete freedom of choice. And though the choices each one makes in his or her lifetime prior to that moment will certainly predispose that person in one direction or another, there are no guarantees, no assurances.
​

The spiritual polarity of collective human consciousness did shift one before, triggering a reversal of the earth's magnetic field, a shifting in the position of the poles, and a great deal of destruction. However, that shift was a shift from consciousness to subconsciousness.
​

We will have a degree of control during this conscious shift that was absent then and so do not expect the same sort of cataclysmic shock waves. Still it would be underestimating the variables to assume that earth changes will not accompany this event. Almost certainly some will. These will be for the most part of benevolent nature-a melting of the polar ice caps, for example, bringing rain to arid regions and helping to cleanse toxins from polluted lakes and rivers, a warming and simultaneous moistening of climate that will open to agriculture the extensive plains and fertile river valleys of Greenland, Antarctica, and certain of the world's deserts.
​

To minimize the trauma of this moment for you and others of the human family, it is important that you prepare for it well ahead of time, establishing the habits that will leave your self-understanding fluid, relaxed., and trusting in the overall benevolence of the universe and its resident intelligence.
​

The best way to prepare for any future moment in time is be fully in the present moment now.
​

The only habit you must cultivate, though it may go against the programming and traditions of your society, is to allow your consciousness the relaxed flow of attention that brings you a clear and accurate picture of the phenomenal world and continuous awareness of the Eternal Presence from which it has unfolded. Such a state of consciousness will allow you to enjoy the rushing energy currents and heightened awareness that will sweep through the earth during the expansion of the nontime interval and will maximalize the stabilizing influence that radiates from you into your local surroundings.
​

Long before the moment of collective awakening there will have been established a sufficient core of people functioning on higher frequencies of awareness to enable the harmonic currents of their respective amplified radiations to displace the influence of those who may react in fear, both at the moment of collective awakening and beforehand. The frequency radiations or vibratory emissions of fear are not harmonious. Their effect on collective human consciousness increases at an arithmetical rate (1,2,3,4, etc.) for each additional person whose behavior is centered in fear, but they do not build in the kind of geometric progression (2,4,8,16, etc.) that is characteristic of the harmonic radiations of love.
​

Before the final instant of final awakening, the radiations of love will constitute the predominant vibrational influence on collective human consciousness, even while a numerical majority remains centered in the historical orientation. That condition is now very near. You who have motivated by love bring to bear on collective human awareness an influence much greater than your historical reason might suppose.
​

Individually you have an impact on the collective predispositions of your species far greater than that of those who are merely trodding the timeworn paths of self-centeredness. You who do your best to make your decisions out of love, who refuse to be controlled by the subconscious machinations of fear, who take time, if necessarily, in difficult situations to proceed slowly, consciously, lovingly, are truly among our own. Your awareness of these things will soon be in full. You are upon we can depend during the coming shift.
​

(From: " The Third Millennium-Living in the Posthistoric World" by Ken Carey)
​

Other highly recommended books written by Ken Carey are;
​

"The Starseed Transmissions"
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"Vision"
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"Return of The Bird Tribes"
​

 

yeah it can be done, Chief Cowpie, Vedas predict Golden Age. Just sincerely chant this mantra:

 

Sri Vyasa-puja Lecture London, August 22, 1973

To listen Srila Prabhupada's voice click the link below

http://www.krishna.org/RealAudio/FEST/FEST_06_A.ram

My dear sons and daughters, I am so much obliged to you that you have become so enthusiastic for offering Vyasa-puja. Now try to understand. Several times we have explained why this function is called Vyasa-puja. I have already explained in the morning, this offering worshiping, one may think that this man is teaching his disciples man-worshiping, anthropomorphism. But it is not man-worshiping. One should not misunderstand. Vyasadeva is the original spiritual master. Original spiritual master is Krishna. From Krsna, Brahma was initiated, Lord Brahma. Tene brahma hrdaya adi-kavaye muhyanti yat surayah. It is stated in the Srimad-Bhagavatam that when Brahma was created, it was all darkness within the universe. He could not understand what is the purpose of his becoming there. Then he engaged himself in tapasya, and he was initiated from within.

Krsna is within everyone. Isvarah sarva-bhutanam hrd-dese 'rjuna tisthati. So He is called caitya-guru, means guru within the heart. And when Krsna understands... Because Krsna knows everything, whatever we are willing, whatever we are doing. He is the Paramatma; He's sitting within our hearts as witness. Anumanta upadrsta. Upadrsta means simply observing what we are doing, and what we are desiring. So as we desire, Krsna is very kind, He gives us facility. We have many times explained. Therefore, we have got varieties of bodies to enjoy this material world. So when Krsna sees that a living entity is very anxious to understand Him or to revive his Krsna consciousness, then Krsna gives him all opportunity, especially by manifesting Himself as the spiritual master. Antar bahih. The spiritual master is therefore Krsna's manifestation--Krsna's mercy manifestation to help a person to develop his Krsna consciousness. From within He's helping. Therefore, He's called caitya-guru, and from without, He sends His representative to help how to become advanced in Krsna consciousness.

Therefore, to advance in Krsna consciousness we require two kinds of help--one from Krsna and another from the spiritual master. It is stated in the Caitanya-caritamrta... You'll be glad now that Caitanya-caritamrta is now published. (devotees: Jaya! Haribol!) Yes. (This) It is the... Our Panditji, Pradyumna, he has presented. Actually, he has worked for it, although I have translated. But I am very much indebted to him that he very carefully edits and makes the thing very perfect. So, now we have got translation of Srimad-Bhagavatam, Bhagavad-gita, and Sanskrit portion... Because mostly there is Sanskrit portion, so, so my beloved disciple, Pradyumna, I call him Pandit Mahasaya, because he is actually doing the pandita's work. So he edits and he works very hard. And... Not only that, his wife also helps in this connection. So actually, that is wanted.



kiba vipra kiba sudra nyase kene naya
ye krsna tattva vetta sei guru haya


I'm sometimes criticized by my Godbrothers that I have become a marriage-maker, because a sannyasi does not take part in a marriage ceremony, but I get my disciples married. This is also unique in the history. So they criticize me that I have become a marriage-maker. But they, they do not know why I take this risk. I have got many disciples, they are married couples, but all of them, husband and wife, they are helping this movement. Here is Bhagavan dasa, he's also married man, children.

So actually, married couples should be paramahamsas. Paramahamsa means the topmost stage of sannyasi. Paramahamsa. A sannyasi has got four stages: kuticaka, bahudaka, parivrajakacarya and paramahamsa. A sannyasi, in the beginning, he's supposed to make a small cottage, just on the border of the village, does not go home, but the, his necessities are supplied by his home, but he does not go home. This is called kuticaka. Then gradually, when he is practiced, he begs from home to home. He does not anymore depend on his own home. (aside Stop this. That is called bahudaka. Bahudaka means collecting his necessity from many places. And then as he becomes practiced, he becomes parivrajakacarya. He goes from place to place, village to village, preaching the message of Krsna. As our Sriman Revatinandana Maharaja is doing. He has now very nice bus. All others also doing. Grhasthas are also doing. Because our only business is Krsna. It doesn't matter whether a grhastha, vanaprastha, sannyasi. It doesn't matter. So when he preaches all over the world, that is called parivrajakacarya. And when he's experienced, he executes the work by his assistants. That is called paramahamsa. So grhasthas are supposed to be paramahamsa. Just like Bhaktivinoda Thakura, he was grhastha, magistrate, government servant, but he has worked so much for Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu in writing books. Not only writing books, but also begetting a child like Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja, my spiritual master. So that is grhastha. They should produce children like Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja. Because we want big stalwart men to preach this Krsna consciousness movement.

So everyone has got duty in Krsna consciousness, and this duty is taught by Krsna and the spiritual master. Guru- krsna-krpaya paya bhakti-lata-bija. Ei rupe brahmanda bhramite kono bhagyavan jiva. Anyone who is coming to Krsna consciousness, he's not ordinary living being. Anyone who is connected with our movement, he's not ordinary living being. Actually, he's liberated soul. And I am very much hopeful that my disciples who are now participating today, even if I die, my movement will not stop, I am very much hopeful. Yes. All these nice boys and girls who have taken so seriously... Bhaktivinoda Thakura wanted that European and American people may understand the philosophy of Caitanya cult and take part in it. That was his desire. My Guru Maharaja, His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Prabhupada, he also attempted to send his disciples to preach Caitanya cult in the Western world. One of them, he advised me also. First meeting, perhaps you know, he asked me to preach. So at that time I was young man, only twenty-five years old, and I was also householder. So I should have joined and executed his desire immediately, but due to my ill luck I could not immediately execute his order, but it was in my heart that it is to be done. So better late than never, I executed his order at the age of seventy years, not at the age of twenty-five. So actually I wasted so much time, I can understand that. From twenty... The message was there when I was twenty-five years old, but I began at the age of seventy years. But I did not forget the message. Otherwise, how could I do? That was, that is a fact. I was simply finding out the opportunity, how to do it. So anyway, although I began very late, at the age of seventy years, so by the help of my disciples this movement is gaining ground and is spreading all over the world. So therefore I have to thank you. It is all due to you. It is not my credit, but it is your credit that you are helping me in executing the order of my Guru Maharaja.

So this movement, Krsna consciousness movement, that you already know, that this is a most essential, most important movement to the human society. Last night the Ambassador of India, His Excellency Rasagotra, he was present here. He also appreciated that this movement is very important movement, and he was very pleased that I have done so much. So this movement will go on. Nobody can stop. So this Vyasa-puja ceremony means to offer our thanks to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, because He is is the original guru. As we receive this message through parampara system from Krsna to Brahma, Brahma to Narada, Narada to Vyasadeva, Vyasadeva to Madhvacarya, in this way, Madhavendra Puri, then Isvara Puri, then Caitanya Mahaprabhu, then six Gosvamis, then others, Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Jagannatha dasa Babaji, Gaura Kisora dasa Babaji Maharaja, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati. Then we have taken. So this, as we come to this Krsna consciousness understanding through this long parampara, similarly, in the Vyasa-puja ceremony, whatever respect, honor, and presentation you give, that goes to Krsna through that parampara system, from down. As it is received through the parampara system, so similarly, your offerings also goes through this parampara system to the Supreme. The connection.

 

Our system is gopi-bhartur pada-kamalayor dasa-dasanudasah. It is sometimes called bureaucracy. If you apply something, at least in India, to the President, you'll have to submit to the local collector. The collector will submit to somebody else, somebody else, then secretary, you go. Then to the President. So our system is that. So it is not that I am training my disciples to worship me, man-worship, I'm getting some honor from them for nothing. No. It is not that. Whatever honor, whatever respect, whatever presentation you are giving to your spiritual master, it will go to Krsna by parampara system. This is Vyasa-puja. Therefore, it is called Vyasa-puja. Vyasa-puja means Vyasadeva is the original guru. After Brahma, Narada, then Vyasa. And Vyasa is original guru, because from his literature we understand spiritual knowledge. All these literatures whatever we have produced, they are actually originally from Vyasadeva. The four Vedas, Brahma- sutra, Upanisads, Puranas, they are called Vedic literature. And whatever is written with the conclusion of this Vedic literature, that is also Vedic literature. Just like our books. All our books, they are not mental speculation. Whatever I have learned from my Guru Maharaja, I am presenting. That's all. It is not mental speculation--this philosophy, that philosophy. We kick out all these things. Unless we get the knowledge from the authorized source, we don't accept. Because how we can accept? A so-called philosopher, scientist, according to... Why according? Everyone can understand that however great philosopher, scientist one may be, he is imperfect. He's imperfect. Every man. I have several times recited this example that in our country Gandhi was very big politician. You know Mahatma Gandhi. He committed so many mistakes. At last he committed such a great mistake that he was killed. That's a long history. So even a great person like Mahatma Gandhi, he commits mistake. Therefore, the sastra says any conditioned soul, he must commit mistake. However great he may be in the estimation of fools and rascals. Sva-vid-varahostra. He must commit mistake, he must be illusioned, his propensity is to cheat, and at the end, all the senses are imperfect. We have several times described. So, so much imperfectness, how he can give perfect knowledge?

Therefore, a so-called philosopher, scientist's knowledge is always imperfect. The perfect knowledge can be received through this parampara system. From Krsna, Krsna to Brahma, Brahma to Narada, Narada to Vyasa, Vyasa to Madhvacarya. In this way, from Caitanya Mahaprabhu, six Gosvamis, then our Guru Maharaja, in this way. And our business is just to present whatever we have heard. This is very important point. And because we do not speculate mentally, just like so many svamis comes from India. They make their own presentation by speculation. So whatever little success I have got, it is due to this process, that I do not present anything which is created by me. That is the secret of success. All these rascals, I say, declare in this, all these rascals come, they manufacture. A spiritual thing cannot be manufactured--as God cannot be manufactured. God is always God, and the words of God is also God. If we present as it is, then it will be effective. That is said in the sastra:



satam prasangan mama virya-samvido
bhavanti hrt-karna-rasayanah kathah
taj-josanad asv apavarga-vartmani
sraddha bhaktir ratir anukramisyati


Everything is there. Satam prasangan. From a bona fide spiritual master you receive knowledge, because he will present as he has received from his spiritual master. He'll not adulterate or manufacture something. That is the bona fide spiritual master. And that is very easy. To become spiritual master is not very difficult thing. You'll have to become spiritual master. You, all my disciples, everyone should become spiritual master. It is not difficult. It is difficult when you anufacture something. But if you simply present whatever you have heard from your spiritual master, it is very easy. If you want to become overintelligent, to present something, to interpret something, whatever over you have heard from spiritual master you can make some further addition, alteration, then you'll spoil whole thing. Then you'll spoil whole thing. Don't make addition or alteration. Simply present as it is. Therefore, we have begun Bhagavad-gita As It Is. Don't try to become over spiritual master. Then you'll spoil. Remain always a servant of your spiritual master and present the thing as you have heard. You'll be spiritual master. This is secret. You should know it. Don't try to become overintelligent. That will spoil. Evam parampara praptam imam rajarsayo viduh. This is the... So (child talking) you can stop.(?)

So Caitanya Mahaprabhu says,



amara ajnaya guru hana tara ei desa
yare dekha, tare kaha, 'krsna'-upadesa


Just see. It is very nice. You'll find in Caitanya-caritamrta, now it is published. Caitanya Mahaprabhu says, He is the Supreme Lord, Krsna. He says, amara ajnaya. "Whatever I say, amara ajnaya, by My order, you become a spiritual master." Caitanya Mahaprabhu. So one may be very illiterate, no education, or no scholarship, may not be born in brahmana family, or may not be a sannyasi. There are so many qualification. But one may not have all these qualifications. He may be rascal number one, but still, he can become spiritual master. How? Amara ajnaya. As Krsna says, as Caitanya Mahaprabhu says, if you follow, then you become spiritual master. One may be rascal number one from material estimation, but if he simply strictly follows whatever is said by Caitanya Mahaprabhu or His representative spiritual master, then he becomes a guru.

 

So it is not very difficult. One may not think that "I am not qualified to become guru." No, you are qualified if you follow strictly the parampara system. Then you are qualified. That's all. Amara ajnaya guru hana... And what is the difficulty? Caitanya Mahaprabhu says, "Don't feel any difficulty." Because as spiritual master, what you have to do? Yare dekha, tare kaha, 'krsna'-upadesa. Whomever you meet, you simply speak to him the instruction which Krsna gives. What Krsna instruction gives? That is also very easy. What is that? Krsna says man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru. Krsna says "Just become My devotee, always think of Me, offer Me obeisances, and worship Me." So here is Krsna. If you simply think "Here is Krsna, Radha-Krsna Deity," you may be fool number, rascal number one. That doesn't matter. But you are getting impression of this Radha-Krsna, think of Him: "Oh, how nicely Krsna is decorated." This much. No erudite scholarship. Simply... Krsna says, man-mana bhava mad-bhakto. Here is Deity. Worship Him nicely as it is regulated principle. Even you are not worshiping, simply think of Krsna, "Here is Radha-Krsna." Impression. What is the difficulty? As soon as you see Radha-Krsna, you get some impression. Think of that impression. Where is the difficulty? Man-mana bhava mad-bhakto. "Worship me." If you have got opportunity, worship. If you are initiated, worship here. Or you install Deity at home, as our Ksirodakasayi Prabhu is doing. Everyone can do it. Where is the difficulty? Now ask him how he is happy. The whole family is happy. Not only he. But his wife, his children, everyone is happy. Practical. Man-mana bhava mad- bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru. And if you cannot do anything, simply come and offer your obeisances: "My dear Lord Krsna, I am so poor, so unfortunate, I cannot do all these things, but I offer my humble obeisances unto Your lotus feet." That much also. If you do this, you become spiritual master.

So, simply by accepting this principle, and even if you are not learned, illiterate, you are hearing so much from Bhagavad-gita, you simply repeat that. Simply repeat that. There is no question of becoming very learned scholar. God has given you this ear. Even if you are blind, you cannot read, you can hear. So Krsna upadesa, what is Krsna...? This is 'krsna'-upadesa. And at last, Krsna says, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja. So if you simply preach this cult, "My dear friend, my dear brother, you surrender to Krsna," you become spiritual master. You become spiritual master. You go door to door. No other talks. Simply say, "My dear friend, you are very nice, you are very learned." That was adopted by Prabodhananda Sarasvati.



dante nidhaya trnakam padayor nipatya
kaku-satam krtva caham bravimi
he sadhavah sakalam eva vihaya durad
caitanya-candra-carane kurutanuragam


The meaning is the preaching, very easy. Dante nidhaya trnakam. According to Indian system, if you put a grass on your mouth, it is a sign of that you have become very humble. If you approach a person with a grass in your mouth, he'll immediately know that you are coming there with very, very great humbleness. Therefore dante nidhaya. This was the system. Dante nidhaya trnakam, and touching his feet. Immediately, touch his feet. Immediately, even if he's enemy, he'll be a friend. Even if he's your enemy, it is so nice process. Take a grass on your mouth and immediately fall on his feet, padayor nipetya, and with folded hands, much flattering. Dante nidhaya trnakam padayor nipatya kaku- satam krtva ca. All flattering words. Aham bravimi. So immediately he will agree, "Yes, what you say I'll hear. I'll hear." Immediately, convert to hear you at least. Just see how perfect process is. "Then what is your purpose, sir? Why you are becoming so humble, meek? And now say." "Yes sir, I'll say." What is that? He sadhavah, "You are a great sadhu." Although he may be rascal number one. Still, you call him, he sadhavah. "Yes, I am sadhu, yes. What is your proposal?" "Now kindly forget all nonsense, whatever you have learned. That's all. I am flattering you because I want that you forget everything, all these yogis and this and that and that and meditation. Please kick out all these." "Then what I have to do?" "Caitanya-candra-carane kurutanuragam. Just adhere yourself to the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Then you become spiritual master. That's all."

So I hope that all of you, men, women, boys and girls, become spiritual master, and follow this principle. Spiritual master, simply, sincerely, follow the principles and speak to the general public. Then Krsna immediately becomes your favorite. Krsna does not become your favorite; you become Krsna's favorite. Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gita, na ca tasmad manusyesu kascin me priya-krttamah: "One who is doing this humble service of preaching work, Krsna consciousness, nobody is dearer than him to Me." So if you want to become recognized by Krsna very quickly, you take up this process of becoming spiritual master, present the Bhagavad-gita as it is. Your life is perfect.

Thank you very much. (end)

[730822VP.LON Sri Vyasa-puja Lecture London, August 22, 1973] His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

 

Thank you everyone for such wonderful preaching!!


Hari Haribol!!:sunglasse

 

Srila Gaura Govinda Maharaja Avirbhava Tithi
by Sripad Bhaktivedanta Aranya Maharaja

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupada Sri Srimad Gaura Govinda Swami Maharaja made his appearance on September 2nd 1929, in the village of Jagannatha-pura, not far from Jagannatha-puri Dhama, Orissa, India. Sri Braja-bandhu, as His Divine Grace was then known, grew up in the village of Gadai-giri, where he practiced devotional service to Krishna from his early childhood. His grandfather was a paramahamsa, whose only business was to chant Hare Krishna and cry before the Deity of Krishna, known locally as Gopal Jiu. He taught Braja-bandhu how to count by chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra on his fingers.

In his childhood Braja-bandhu would travel with his uncles from village to village chanting Hare Krishna and singing the songs of Narottama das Thakura. The Giri family, in which Srila Gaura Govinda Swami appeared, have been known among the most famous kirtana performers in Orissa since the time of Syamananda Prabhu. Three hundred years ago in the temple register of Jagannatha Puri, the King of Orissa wrote that the kirtana party of Gadai-giri should come perform kirtana for Lord Jagannatha whenever possible. In Orissa they are seen as kirtana-gurus.

From the age of six, Braja-bandhu worshiped the Deity of Gopal by making galands and sometimes, under the light of a candle, singing hymes for Him from palm leaf manuscripts. He would never take any food that was not offered to Gopal.

By the age of eight, Braja-bandhu had read the entire bhagavad-gita, Srimad-bhagavatam and Sri Caitanya-caritamrta and could also explain their meanings. At night many villagers would come to hear his recitation of the Oriya Bhagavata, Ramayana and Mahabharata. In this way, from the very beginning of his life he was absorbed in chanting Hare Krishna, studying Vaishnava literature and worshiping his beloved Gopal. His natural inclination to the Lord indicated his future devotional life, just as the morning shows the day.

After the death of his father in 1955, he became responsible for maintaining the family. And when he entered the grihasta ashrama, on the request of his widowed mother the burden increased. He met his wife, Srimati Vasanti Devi, for the first time during the marriage ceremony. Owing to financial constraints he could not avail himself of university education. But he prepared himself at night to attend the examinations. Within two months he successfully graduated, acquiring the second position among all the students of Utkal University. In this way he completed his B.A. and later his B.Ed. Despite many responsibilities, his devotion for Gopal never slacked. Always keeping Krishna in the center, he would daily speak to his family from the bhagavad-gita and early in the morning worship Tulasi. Also during this time as a householder, when he adopted the profession of a school teacher, he would take every opportunity to speak to his students, about Krishna and the devotional principles. Thirty years later, some of his students were to become his disciples.

On April 8th, 1974, his deep love for Krishna called him to renounce worldly life. At the age of 45 he left home and relatives in quest of spiritual perfection. Carrying only a bhagavad-gita and a begging bowl he wandered around India for one year and visited many sacred places along the river Ganges. He was searching for that person who could help him develop an understanding of the maha-mantra. After many philosophical debates with mayavadi sannyasis and yogis in the Himalayas, he proceeded on foot to Vrindavana, the sacred lila-bhumi of Sri Sri Radha and Krishna, thinking that in Krishna’s dear abode his desire would be fulfilled

Two weeks after arriving in Vrindavana he saw a signboard with the words International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Founder-acharya A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada. Then he met a group of Western devotees who gave him a copy of back to Godhead magazine. When he read the contents describing the glory of divine love for Krishna, his heart became anxious to meet the founder of the movement, Srila Prabhupada. At last he was to meet his eternal spiritual master, whose association he had been awaiting for such a long time.

Srila Prabhupada had just finished his lunch when Gaura Govinda Swami entered the room and paid his obeisances. Srila Prabhupada then asked him, “Have you taken sannyasa?”

Gaura Govinda Swami said, “no,” and Srila Prabhupada said, “Then I will give you sannyasa.” At that time Gaura Govinda Swami understood that Prabhupada knew his heart and surrendered to him.

In 1975, at the opening of ISKCON’s Krishna-Balaram Temple in Vrindavana, Srila Prabhupada accepted him as a disciple, gave him the name Gaura Govinda and awarded him the sannyasa order. Then Srila Prabhupada sent him to preach in Orissa, and construct a temple on the newly donated property in Bhubaneswar.

 

At that time, the donated land was a wild jungle full of mosquitoes, snake and scorpions. It was so far from the city center that even during the daytime people were scared to visit out of fear of dacoits. But Srila Gaura Govinda Swami, considering the desire of Srila Prabhupada his life and soul, was undaunted and worked with unwavering determination to fulfill it. Sometimes residing in the storeroom of a tea dealer and even sometimes sharing a small hut with the road construction workers, he began translating Srila Prabhupada’s books into Oriya as he had been instructed.

Spreading Krishna consciousness, Srila Gaura Govinda Swami would visit house after house, office after office, in and around Bhubaneswar, sometimes walking sometimes riding on the carriage rack of a bicycle peddled by a local student, who later became his dear disciple, Sacinandana dasa. In this way he collected some small donations and with his own hands constructed a thatched hut on the donated property.

In early 1977 Srila Prabhupada came to Bhubaneswar. Although arrangements had been made for Srila Prabhupada to stay comfortably in the government state guest house, Srila Prabhupada at once rejected this proposal. He said, “I will only stay where my disciple child Gaura Govinda has built a mud hut for me.”Srila Prabhupada stayed in Bhubaneswar for seventeen days, during which he laid the foundation stone of the temple-to-be on the auspicious occasion of Lord Nityananda’s appearance day. This was Srila Prabhupada’s last founded project.

In 1991, after sixteen years of determined endeavors, Srila Gaura Govinda Swami fulfilled the instruction of his spiritual master with the opening of a magnificent temple of Sri Sri Krishna-Balarama which now attracts thousands of people! to Krishna consciousness. Srila Gaura Govinda Swami said “I have opened a ‘crying school’ here in Bhubaneswar. Unless we cry for Krishna, we cannot get his mercy.” This was the message he preached so vigorously all over the world during the last ten years of his manifest pastimes.

Although Srila Gaura Govinda Swami was always meek and humble in his personal dealings, in his classes on Srimad-bhagavatam he would roar like a lion, smashing the pride and cutting the misconceptions from the hearts of his disciples. Sometimes he would read an apparently basic philosophical statement from Prabhupada’s purports. Then he would laugh like a child and say, “Here the topic of krishna-prema comes up, but it requires further explanation.” Then he would astound the devotees by giving more and more profound explanations of the same sentence for two or three hours. On one such occasion he said, “Look, Krishna is laughing at me because I am trying to completely describe this topic, which is unlimited.”

Srila Gaura Govinda Swami’s knowledge of scripture was formidable. He would substantiate everything he said with evidence from all over the Vedic literature. Sometimes he would question a disciple and if the disciple could not answer with reference to the scriptures, Srila Gaura Govinda Swami would at once exclaim, “He is a cheater. Don’t be a crooked person. A Vaishnava quotes authority.”

On February 9th, 1996, the holy appearance day of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, two senior devotees requested an appointment to see Srila Gaura Govinda Swami. They had never spoken with him before, but they had become eager to hear from him after reading some of his books. As if by providential arrangement, they entered his room at 6.00 p.m. and submissively inquired, "Why did Caitanya Mahaprabhu stay in Jagannatha Puri?" He laughed with delight and began to explain the confidential significance of Mahaprabhu's pastimes. In anser to this question he lovingly described the pain of separation felt by Radha and Krishna when Krishna was away from Vrindavana. He had often narrated this moving pastime as recorded in Chapter Eight of this great work, "The Embankment of Separation". Enchanting all the devotees in his room with the nectarean topics of Krishna, he gradually unfolded the pastime to the point where Radha and Krishna were finally united after Their long separation. He described how Krishna became so ecstatic upon seeing Radharani that He manifested a form with big round eyes, known as Lord Jagannatha. With a choked voice he said, "Then the eyes of Krishna fell upon the eyes of Radharani. Eye-to-Eye union." Overwhelmed with love for Radha and Krishna, he apologized with folded hands, "Please excuse me, I cannot speak". In a barely audible voice he gave his final instruction: "Nama Koro! Nama Koro! (Chant the holy name)" All the devotees began to chant as their spiritual master lay back on his bed, breathing very slowly and deeply. A servant nearby placed a picture of Gopal Jiu [his childhood deity] in his hand. Then, gazing lovingly at the picture of his worshipable deity, Srila Gaura Govinda Swami called out, "Gopal!" and departed for the spiritual sky to be united with his beloved Lord.

Every day before Srimad-Bhagavatam class, Srila Gaura Govinda Swami would sing a song he had learned as a boy. Now his prayer was fulfilled.

paramananda he madhava
padungaluchi makaranda

se-makaranda pana-kari
anande bolo 'hari hari'

harinka name vandha vela
pari karive caka-dola

se-caka-dolanka-payare
mana-mo rahu nirantare

mana mo nirantare rahu
'ha-krishna' boli jiva jau

'ha-krishna' boli jau jiva
mote udhara radha-dhava mote udhara radha-dhava
mote udhara radha-dhava

​

"O supremely blissful Madhava! The nectar is coming from Your lotus feet. Drinking that nectar, I blissfully sing 'Hari! Hari!' With the name of Hari I am binding a raft on which Lord Jagannatha will ferry me across this ocean of material existence. My mind always remains at the lotus feet of that Lord Jagannatha who has very large round eyes. In this way, I call out "Ha Krishna!" and give up my life. O husband of Radharani, please deliver me."​

The sadhu never speaks theoretically.


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Personality Cultism is Anti Vaishnava

by Sridam Sakha Das


Ever since the early nineties, papers by both official GBC sources and independent individuals have been written, giving a multitude of reasons as to why it is not a good idea to go and hear from our spiritual master Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayan Maharaja. Such papers have always been difficult to counter, since accusations and criticisms are always easier to make than to give the necessary exhaustive replies to. Our experience is that any inchoate refutation soon threatens to assume the alarming dimensions of an epic.

Since it is not practical or possible to try to refute all the challenges of such detractors in one fell swoop, we will start instead by addressing a misconception which seems to be common to them all. It is the most ingrained and deep rooted, and upon which all their other fallacies find their basis.

The misconception in question is the premise on the part of the authors that Srila Prabhupada is their sole authority and reference point, and that the relative standards which he set for ISKCON should be continued indefinitely.

For instance, in his paper of June '97 Badrinarayana prabhu states:

"Srila Prabhupada clearly intended the standards he established for the philosophy and practice of Krsna consciousness to remain as the norm for ISKCON for the next ten thousand years."

Similarly, in his recent paper "So many questions", Datta prabhu, after claiming to "fully and unconditionally" accept Srila Prabhupada as his "diksa guru siksa guru and Acarya" states: "The standards for ISKCON have been eternally defined by Srila Prabhupada, its Founder-Acharya. NO-ONE may re-define them" (his emphasis).

Ostensibly, such proclamations arise from the noble sentiments of loyalty and devotion to Srila Prabhupada. However, when we begin to analyze them in terms of the teachings of the personality whom they purport to represent, then it all begins to look less rosy. Why? For the simple reason that Srila Prabhupada never instructed or wanted that any of his disciples focus on him exclusively for posterity, or turn him into a messiah-type figure.

Rather, for the sake of determining truth, he painstakingly taught us that one should refer to *three* sources of authority, namely sadhu, sastra and guru:

"Srila Narottama dasa Thakura says, sadhu-sastra-guru-vakya, cittete kariya aikya. One should accept a thing as genuine by studying the words of saintly people, the spiritual master and sastra. THE ACTUAL CENTER IS SASTRA, the revealed scripture. If a spiritual master does not speak according to revealed scripture, he is not to be accepted. Similarly, if a saintly person does not speak according to the sastra, he is not a saintly person. SASTRA IS THE CENTER FOR ALL." (Madhya-lila: Chapter Twenty, Text 352)

Therefore, one who is truly a follower of Srila Prabhupada should follow the above, wherein he states that it is sastra which is in fact the main reference point, and not guru.

(see also appendix 1)

Out of a misplaced sentiment of loyalty, a disciple may decide that he will not hear from another vaisnava, or accept any other guru after the disappearance of his diksa guru. However, by so doing he will only cause more problems than he thinks to solve.

The reason for this is quite self evident. Coming to the material world, a guru is having to deal with relative conditions, and therefore sometimes his statements and actions will also be relative accordingly. That being the case, a disciple who refers to the teachings of his guru alone will not be able to discern between a teaching which is intended as siddhanta, and one that is meant for a specific person, place or circumstance. With this relativity in mind, Srila Prabhupada tells us:

"To broadcast the cult of Krsna consciousness, one has to learn the possibility of renunciation in terms of country, time and candidate. A candidate for Krsna consciousness in the Western countries should be taught about the renunciation of material existence, but one would teach candidates from a country like India in a different way. The teacher (acarya) has to consider time, candidate and country. He must avoid the principle of niyamagraha--that is, he should not try to perform the impossible. What is possible in one country may not be possible in another. The acarya's duty is to accept the essence of devotional service. There may be a little change here and there as far as yukta-vairagya (proper renunciation) is concerned. ...What is required is a special technique according to country, time and candidate." (Madhya-lila 23.105)

"It is the concern of the acarya to show mercy to the fallen souls. In this connection, desa-kala-patra (the place, the time and the object) should be taken into consideration." (Adi 7.38)

"The Vedas instruct us that knowledge must always be considered in terms of desa-kala-patra. Desa means 'circumstances,' kala means 'time,' and patra means 'the object.' We must understand everything by taking these three elements into consideration." (Life Comes from Life: The First Morning Walk April 18, 1973)

"As an ideal acarya, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu devised ways to capture all kinds of atheists and materialists. Every acarya has a specific means of propagating his spiritual movement with the aim of bringing men to Krsna consciousness. Therefore, THE METHOD OF ONE ACARYA MAY BE DIFFERENT FROM THAT OF ANOTHER, but the ultimate goal is never neglected." (Adi-lila Chapter Seven, Text 37)

"The supreme Lord Shree Krishna Chaitanya in pursuance of the teaching of the scriptures enjoins all absence of conventionalism for the teachers of the eternal religion." (Srila Bhaktisiddhanta saraswati, The Harmonist Vol. XXIX No 7 1932)

Even the Gosvamis were obliged to temper their preaching approach with this consideration in mind:

"Sanatana Gosvami wrote his Vaisnava smrti, Hari-bhakti-vilasa, which was specifically meant for India. In those days, India was more or less following the principle of smarta-vidhi. Srila Sanatana Gosvami HAD TO KEEP PACE WITH THIS, and his Hari-bhakti-vilasa was compiled with this in mind." (Madhya-lila23.105)

However, not only does an acarya sometimes compromise his presentation of the absolute truth for the sake of his disciples and followers, but on occasion he will deliberately speak isolated, outright untruths to them. In fact, he may even go so far as to consistently teach them an utterly false doctrine for the purpose of uplifting them, if he sees that they are sufficiently degraded or illusioned. We see that this was done by Sankaracarya and Lord Buddha.

Such merciful preaching tactics are not confined to them either:

"These are the secrets of the acaryas. Sometimes they conceal the real purpose of the Vedas and explain the Vedas in a different way. Sometimes they enunciate a different theory just to bring the atheists under their control." (Madhya-lila 25.42)

Even in our own vaisnava sampradayas, there are numerous examples of bonafide acaryas who deliberately preached doctrines which were quite contrary to siddhanta, in order to attract a certain class of person. This practice is known as "badasamisa nyaya", meaning the logic of using the bait to catch the fish. One example is that of Srila Sridhara Svami. Because he was writing his commentaries on the Bhagavatam in Varanasi, which is a stronghold of the followers of impersonalism, he introduced some of their faulty teachings into his writings in order to attract them to Vaisnavism. Understanding his reasons for so doing, far from rejecting his commentaries in wholesale fashion, later acaryas merely deleted those parts that were incorrect, and reverently preserved the main body for future generations. In our Rupanuga varga, we also have the example of Srila Jiva goswami, who wrote a book teaching that svakiya rasa (wedded love) is higher than parakiya rasa (paramour love), even though this is contrary to all the teachings of our acaryas. His reason for doing this was because some of his neophyte disciples were too disturbed by the concept of parakiya rasa between Krsna and the gopis. (see appendix 2) More recently, we have the example of Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura, whose immediate preaching field consisted largely of intellectual Indians who had been educated by the British. Since he did not want to prematurely jar their false sophistications with too intense a presentation of the Srimad Bhagavatam, he dismissed 5th canto accounts of hellish planets as mere puranic myths. He claimed that their inclusion within was only for the purpose of frightening ignorant and superstitious people into abstaining from sinful activity. (see appendix 3) Nevertheless, although this has never been stated by any other acarya, and is contrary to sadhu sastra and guru, Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura is nevertheless revered as "the seventh gosvami" by all subsequent acaryas.

However, despite understanding the above, a disciple may reason that since his means of deliverance from the material energy is from the mercy of his guru, he will not therefore concern himself about whether or not all of the statements his guru has given are all perfectly siddhantic. This logic may work for a time, at least for long as the guru and the extraordinary circumstances in which he is preaching are manifest. However, the guru also wishes that his disciple properly understand the siddhanta and thereby advance in spiritual life. He certainly does not intend for him to remain in ignorance and illusion. Speaking about this, Srila Prabhupada tells us:

 

However, despite understanding the above, a disciple may reason that since his means of deliverance from the material energy is from the mercy of his guru, he will not therefore concern himself about whether or not all of the statements his guru has given are all perfectly siddhantic. This logic may work for a time, at least for long as the guru and the extraordinary circumstances in which he is preaching are manifest. However, the guru also wishes that his disciple properly understand the siddhanta and thereby advance in spiritual life. He certainly does not intend for him to remain in ignorance and illusion. Speaking about this, Srila Prabhupada tells us:

"Therefore this imaginary meaning is gauna-vrtti, whereas the direct meaning found in the dictionary is mukhya-vrtti or abhidha-vrtti. This is the distinction between the two. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu recommends that one understand the Vedic literature in terms of abhidha-vrtti, and the gauna-vrtti He rejects. SOMETIMES, HOWEVER, AS A MATTER OF NECESSITY, VEDIC LITERATURE IS DESCRIBED IN TERMS OF THE LAKSANA-VRTTI OR GAUNA-VRTTI, BUT ONE SHOULD NOT ACCEPT SUCH EXPLANATIONS AS PERMANENT TRUTHS." (Adi-lila 7.110)

"Vaisnava who is preaching, it may be in a different way, according to time and place and the party. They have to change something, desa-kala-patra. BUT WE HAVE TO SEE THE ESSENCE." (Prabhupada's Lectures (Prabhupada's Lectures Srimad-Bhagavatam 1974 741008SB.MAY)

"The essence of devotional service must be taken into consideration, and not the outward paraphernalia." (Madhya-lila: 23.105)

"Just this morning we were reading, yah sastra-vidhim utsrjya. If he follows the rules and regulations and, uh, then it is sure that he will come to that stage. BUT YOU SHOULD NOT BE RIGID. Suppose I have come to certain stage. "Oh, therefore I'll take it as final." No. There is no improvement. YOU HAVE TO SEEK OUT, IF THERE IS MORE AND MORE KNOWLEDGE BEYOND THIS. Just like the higher mathematics and mathematics in the infant class." (660826BG.NY Lectures)

Since Srila Prabhupada's preaching mission was undertaken in quite exceptional and unprecedented circumstances, it was necessary for him perhaps more than an any other acarya since Srila Rupa Gosvami to employ the principle of badasamisa nyaya. Indeed, never could time, place and circumstance have been so radically different for preceding acaryas as they were for Srila Prabhupada. Wishing that his disciples and followers understand this principle very clearly, he spoke about it at length and in depth on a number of occasions. (see 4 - 6 in appendix)

Despite this, certain devotees see fit to criticize Srila Narayan Maharaja because some of his preaching and standards differ from those of Srila Prabhupada. Although they seem to think that the more faithfully they copy the external activities of Srila Prabhupada, the more qualified they will be, they are in fact entirely wrong. As has already been shown, there will inevitably always be differences between the preaching approach of one acarya and another. Therefore, far from being a disqualification, adjustment of preaching according to time place and circumstance is what we *would* expect to see from the bonafide acarya. It is in fact the artificial copying of the previous acarya which is condemned:

"One who tries to imitate the mahajanas just to become an imitative spiritual master is certainly far away from following in the footsteps of the mahajanas. Sometimes people cannot actually understand how a mahajana follows other mahajanas. In this way people are inclined to fall from devotional service. " (Madhya 17.185)

"We are not likely to benefit by any mechanical imitation of any practices of Thakur Bhaktivinode on the opportunist principle that they may be convenient for us to adopt." (Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, The Harmonist, December 1931, vo l. XXIX No.66)

"The mere pursuit of fixed doctrines and fixed liturgies cannot hold a person to the true spirit of doctrine or liturgy." (Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, The Harmonist, December 1931, vol. XXIX No.66)

A conditioned soul needs the personal guidance of a bonafide guru, and cannot make significant spiritual advancement by reference to sadhu or sastra alone. This applies as much to those who may have received diksa or siksa at one time, but are now physically separated from their guru, as it does to those who never had the good fortune of ever associating with a bonafide spiritual master. Indeed, one who refuses to accept a siksa guru after the disappearance of his diksa guru becomes an offender:

"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." (Adi 1.35)

Shortly after the disappearance of Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura, there were many of his disciples who were also of the mistaken opinion that they would be able to retain a spiritual connection with their guru independently of siksa guidance. Seeing this, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta saraswati wrote an entire paper to defeat their deluded theory. He states:

"Those who pretend to recognise the Divine Mission of Thakur Bhaktivinode WITHOUT ASPIRING TO THE UNCONDITIONAL SERVICE OF THOSE PURE SOULS WHO REALLY FOLLOW THE TEACHINGS OF THE THAKUR BY THE METHOD ENJOINED BY THE SCRIPTURES and explained by Thakur Bhaktivinode in a way that is so eminently suited to the requirements of the sophisticated mentality of the present Age, only deceive themselves and their willing victims by their hypocritical professions and performances. These persons must not be confounded with the bonafide members of the flock." (Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, The Harmonist, December 1931, vo l. XXIX No.66)

Sadhu sanga is our key to success, and is always necessary without exception. Even a madhyama-adhikari (what to speak of a neophyte) is instructed to both "study the sastras and associate with a first-class devotee", or he will "make no progress":

"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." (Madhya 22.71 The Process of Devotional Service)

 

krsna-bhakti-janma-mula haya 'sadhu-sanga' krsna-prema janme, tenho punah mukhya anga

"The root cause of devotional service to Lord Krsna is association with advanced devotees. Even when one's dormant love for Krsna awakens, association with devotees IS STILL MOST ESSENTIAL." (Madhya 22.83)

The above statement is borne out by the example of Bharata Maharaja who had progressed even to the point of bhava bhakti, but who fell down on account of not having the association of a physically manifest guru:

"Bharata Maharaja did not consult a spiritual master when he became overly attached to a deer. Consequently he became strongly attached to the deer, and, forgetting his spiritual routine, he fell down." (Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 5: Chapter Twelve, Text 14) vatam Canto 5: Chapter Twelve, Text 14)

(see also points 7 & 8 in appendix)

If mono-guru advocates are under the impression that Srila Prabhupada's books are going to yield their priceless contents to them by the simple expedient of independent reference, then they are quite mistaken. The books themselves tell us:

"Great authorities should be followed; otherwise, if we simply depend on the scriptures, we are sometimes misled by rascals, or else we cannot understand or follow the different spiritual injunctions." (SB 3.16.23)

Our process, repeated from sastra by Srila Prabhupada time and time again, is to hear the book Bhagavata from the person Bhagavata. In the Caitanya caritamrta, Srila Svarupa Damodara states:

yaha bhagavata pada vaisnavera sthane ekanta asraya kara caitanya-carane

"'If you want to understand Srimad Bhagavatam', he said, 'you must approach a self-realised vaisnava and hear from him. You can do this when you have completely taken shelter of the lotus feet of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu'". (CC Ant 5.131)

(see also points 9 - 17 in appendix)

Speaking of the teachings of his father, some of whose disciples also asserted that by their study alone they would be able to continue to progress spiritually, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta saraswati states:

"If his works are studied in the light of one's own worldly experience their meaning will refuse to disclose itself to such readers. His works belong to the class of the eternal revealed literature of the world and must be approached for their right understanding through their exposition by the pure devotee. If no help from the pure devotee is sought the works of Thakur Bhaktivinode will be GROSSLY MISUNDERSTOOD by their readers." (Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, The Harmonist, December 1931, vol. XXIX No.6)

"The writings of Thakur Bhaktivinode are valuable because they demolish all empiric objections against accepting the only method of approaching the Absolute in the right way. They cannot and were never intended to give access to the Absolute without help from the pure devotee of Krishna." (Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, (The Harmonist, December 1931, vol. XXIX No.6)

Unfortunately, although Srila Prabhupada has instructed us:

"The process of speaking in spiritual circles is to say something upheld by the scriptures. One should at once quote from scriptural authority to back up what he is saying. At the same time, such talk should be very pleasurable to the ear." (Bhagavad-gita 17.15)

Those who have seen fit to find fault with Srila Narayan Maharaja have neither quoted from scriptural authority to back up what they are saying, nor have they spoken in a way which is "very pleasurable to the ear". On the contrary, their literary compositions are, quite simply, systematic, slanderous propaganda attempts to invalidate Srila Narayan Maharaja in the eyes of the vaisnava community.

That this kind of conduct is utterly repugnant and the height of bad taste is an axiomatic truth for any vaisnava. However, what is really staggering is the fact that its perpetrators, many of whom are long standing members, appear to have no understanding or appreciation of the fundamental philosophical principles discussed in this paper.

To date, we have not found that any of their writings have ever contained any valid criticisms based on "scriptural authority". Rather, if they are not pushing ad hominem, then their contents otherwise consist of attacks made on the basis that because his preaching activities are not identical to those of Srila Prabhupada, that Srila Narayan Maharaja therefore cannot truly represent him. However, as the evidence of this paper so abundantly illustrates, such a theory is meaningless.

Nevertheless, we will in subsequent publications address the specific criticisms which have been made, and will show how in fact the actions and preaching of Srila Narayan Maharaja are wholely in line with sadhu sastra and guru.

--end--

 

Appendix

(1) "Narottama dasa Thakura, a great devotee and acarya in the Gaudiya Vaisnava-sampradaya, says that all spiritual activities should be understood from three sources, namely saintly persons, standard scriptures and the spiritual master. These three guides are very important for progress in spiritual life. The spiritual master prescribes standard literature for the prosecution of the yoga of devotional service, and he himself speaks only from scriptural reference. Therefore reading standard scriptures is necessary for executing yoga. Practicing yoga without reading the standard literatures is simply a waste of time." (SB 3.28.4 Purport)

(2) "According to another accusation, Srila Jiva Gosvami did not approve of the principles of the parakiya-rasa of Vrajadhama and therefore supported svakiya-rasa, showing that Radha and Krsna are eternally married. Actually, when Jiva Gosvami was alive, some of his followers disliked the parakiya-rasa of the gopis. Therefore Srila Jiva Gosvami, for their spiritual benefit, supported svakiya-rasa, for he could understand that sahajiyas would otherwise exploit the parakiya-rasa, as they are actually doing at the present. Unfortunately, in Vrndavana and Navadvipa it has become fashionable among sahajiyas, in their debauchery, to find an unmarried sexual partner to live with to execute devotional service in parakiya-rasa. Foreseeing this, Srila Jiva Gosvami supported svakiya-rasa, and later all the Vaisnava acaryas also appoved of it. Srila Jiva Gosvami was never opposed to the transcendental parakiya-rasa, nor has any other Vaisnava disapproved of it. Srila Jiva Gosvami strictly followed his predecessor gurus and Vaisnavas, Srila Rupa and Sanatana Gosvami, and Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami accepted him as one of his instructor gurus." (Adi-lila 10.85)

(3) "The religion of the Bhagavata is free from such a poetic imagination. Indeed, in some of the chapters we meet with descriptions of these hells and heavens, and accounts of curious tales, but we have been warned in some place in the book, not to accept them as real facts, but treat as inventions to overawe the wicked and to improve the simple and the ignorant. The Bhagavata, certainly tells us of a state of reward and punishment in future according to our deeds in our present situation. All poetic inventions, besides this spiritual fact, have been described as statements borrowed from other works in the way of retention of some old traditions in this book which completely superseded them all and put an end to the necessity of their storage." (The Bhagavat: Its Philosophy, Its Ethics & Its Theology, p.25)

(4) "To broadcast the cult of Krsna consciousness, one has to learn the possibility of renunciation in terms of country, time and candidate. A candidate for Krsna consciousness in the Western countries should be taught about the renunciation of material existence, but one would teach candidates from a country like India in a different way. The teacher (acarya) has to consider time, candidate and country. He must avoid the principle of niyamagraha--that is, he should not try to perform the impossible. What is possible in one country may not be possible in another. The acarya's duty is to accept the essence of devotional service. There may be a little change here and there as far as yukta-vairagya (proper renunciation) is concerned. Dry renunciation is forbidden by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and we have also learned this from our spiritual master, His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Gosvami Maharaja. The essence of devotional service must be taken into consideration, and not the outward paraphernalia. Sanatana Gosvami wrote his Vaisnava smrti, Hari-bhakti-vilasa, which was specifically meant for India. In those days, India was more or less following the principle of smarta-vidhi. Srila Sanatana Gosvami had to keep pace with this, and his Hari-bhakti-vilasa was compiled with this in mind. According to smarta- brahmanas, a person not born in a brahmana family could not be elevated to the position of a brahmana. Sanatana Gosvami, however, says in Hari-bhakti- vilasa (2.12) that anyone can be elevated to the position of a brahmana by the process of initiation.

yatha kancanatam yati
kamsyam rasa-vidhanatah
tatha diksa-vidhanena
dvijatvam jayate nrnam

There is a difference between the smarta process and the gosvami process. According to the smarta process, one cannot be accepted as a brahmana unless he is born in a brahmana family. According to the gosvami process, the Hari-bhakti- vilasa and the Narada-pancaratra, anyone can be a brahmana if he is properly initiated by a bona fide spiritual master. This is also the verdict of Sukadeva Gosvami in Srimad-Bhagavatam (2.4.18):

kira ta-hunandhra-pulinda-pulkasa
abhira-sumbha yavanah khasadayah
ye'nye ca papa yad-apasrayasrayah
sudhyanti tasmai prabhavisnave namah

A Vaisnava is immediately purified, provided he follows the rules and regulations of his bona fide spiritual master. it is not necessary that the rules and regulations followed in India be exactly the same as those in Europe, America and other Western countries. Simply imitating without effect is called niyamagraha. Not following the regulative principles but instead living extravagantly is also called niyamagraha. The word niyama means "regulative principles," and agraha means "eagerness." The word agraha means "not to accept." We should not follow regulative principles without an effect, nor should we fail to accept the regulative principles. What is required is a special technique according to country, time and candidate. Without the sanction of the spiritual master, we should not try to imitate. This principle is recommended here: suska-vairagya-jnana saba nisedhila. This is Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's liberal demonstration of the bhakti cult." (Madhya-lila 23.105)

(5) The method of worship--chanting the mantra and preparing the forms of the Lord--is not stereotyped, nor is it exactly the same everywhere. lt is specifically mentioned in this verse that one should take consideration of the time, place and available conveniences. Our Krsna consciousness movement is going on throughout the entire world, and we also install Deities in different centers. Sometimes our lndian friends, puffed up with concocted notions, criticize, "This has not been done. That has not been done." But they forget this instruction of Narada Muni to one of the greatest Vaisnavas, Dhruva Maharaja. One has to consider the particular time, country and conveniences. What is convenient in India may not be convenient in the Western countries. Those who are not actually in the line of acaryas, or who personally have no knowledge of how to act in the role of acarya, unnecessarily criticize the activities of the ISKCON movement in countries outside of India. The fact is that such critics cannot do anything personally to spread Krsna consciousness. If someone does go and preach, taking all risks and allowing all considerations for time and place, it might be that there are changes in the manner of worship, but that is not at all faulty according to sastra. Srimad Viraraghava Acarya, an acarya in the disciplic succession of the Ramanuja-sampradaya, has remarked in his commentary that candalas, or conditioned souls who are born in lower than sudra families, can also be initiated according to circumstances. The formalities may be slightly changed here and there to make them Vaisnavas. (SB 4.8.54)

(6) The expert devotees also can discover novel ways and means to convert the nondevotees in terms of particular time and circumstance. Devotional service is dynamic activity, and the expert devotees can find out competent means to inject it into the dull brains of the materialistic population. Such transcendental activities of the devotees for the service of the Lord can bring a new order of life to the foolish society of materialistic men. Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His subsequent followers exhibited expert dexterity in this connection. (SB 1.5.16)

(7) "One cannot understand Krsna by mental speculation. For one who does not take personal training under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master, it is impossible to even begin to understand Krsna." (Bg 11.54)

(8) "The process is that whatever we offer to the Deity, that is offered to guru. And guru offers to his guru. In this way goes to Krsna. We don't directly offer Radha-Krsna. No. We have no right. Neither He accepts in that way. The pictures of the acaryas, why there are? Actually, one has to offer the plate to his guru, and he'll offer his guru, he offers his guru, his guru. In this way it will go to Krsna. That is the process. YOU CANNOT DIRECTLY APPROACH KRSNA OR OTHER SUBORDINATES TO KRSNA. THAT IS NOT POSSIBLE."

(Prabhupada's Lectures Srimad-Bhagavatam 1971 710215SB.GOR)

(9) "A third-class devotee, therefore, has to receive the instructions of devotional service from the authoritative sources of Bhagavata. The number one Bhagavata is the established personality of devotee, and the other Bhagavatam is the message of Godhead. THE THIRD-CLASS DEVOTEE THEREFORE HAS TO GO TO THE PERSONALITY OF DEVOTEE IN ORDER TO LEARN THE INSTRUCTIONS OF DEVOTIONAL SERVICE." (SB 1.2.12)

(10) "The messages of the book Bhagavata, therefore, have to be received from the devotee Bhagavata, and the combination of these Two Bhagavatas will help the neophyte devotee to make progress on and on." (SB 1.2.18)

(11) "The more progress is made in devotional service under the guidance of the Bhagavatas, the more one becomes fixed in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. The messages of the book Bhagavata, therefore, have to be received from the devotee Bhagavata, and the combination of these two Bhagavatas will help the neophyte devotee to make progress on and on." (SB 3.8.2)

 

(12) eka bhagavata bada - bhagavata-sastra ara bhagavata - bhakta bhakti-rasa patra

dui bhagavata dvara diya bhakti rasa tanhara hrdaye tanre preme haya vasa

"One of the bhagavatas is the great scripture, Srimad-Bhagavatam. The other is the pure devotee bhagavata, who is absorbed in bhakti rasa. Through the actions of these two bhagavatas the Lord instills the mellows of bhakti rasa into the heart of a living being and thus the Lord, in the heart of His devotee, comes under the control of His devotee's love." (Adi-lila 1.99, 100)

(13) "And Bhagavata means the book Bhagavata and the person bhagavata. The person bhagavata is spiritual master or any exalted devotee. He is bhagavata, maha-bhagavata, bhagavata. So bhagavata-sevaya means not only reading Bhagavad-gita and Bhagavatam, but WE HAVE TO STUDY FROM THE PERSON BHAGAVATA. That is required." (Prabhupada's Lectures Bhagavad-gita 1975 750227BG.MIA)

(14) "Therefore, formerly there was no written book. Sruti, simply by hearing, a brahmacari would be educated, simply by hearing. There was no need of books, writing. Therefore the Vedic literature is known as sruti. It is to be learned by hearing. EVEN THERE IS BOOK, STILL, ONE HAS TO LEARN IT BY HEARING FROM THE REALIZED SOUL." (Prabhupada's Lectures 750730SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM.DAL)

(15) "SIMPLE THEORETICAL BOOK KNOWLEDGE IS NOT SUFFICIENT FOR A NEOPHYTE DEVOTEE. Book knowledge is theoretical, whereas the arcana process is practical. Spiritual knowledge must be developed by a combination of theoretical and practical knowledge, and that is the guaranteed way for attainment of spiritual perfection. THE TRAINING OF DEVOTIONAL SERVICE FOR A NEOPHYTE DEVOTEE COMPLETELY DEPENDS ON THE EXPERT SPIRITUAL MASTER who knows how to lead his disciple to make gradual progress towards the path back home, back to Godhead." (SB 2.3.22)

(16) "The instructions received from the spiritual master must be followed immediately. One should not deviate from or surpass the instructions of the spiritual master. ONE SHOULD NOT BE SIMPLY INTENT ON CONSULTING BOOKS but should simultaneously execute the spiritual master's order (yathopadesam)." (SB 5.5.14)

In the following, Srila Prabhupada is asked point blank by one of his disciples whether or not one can spiritually advance simply by reading his books alone. His answer is a quite definite "no":

(17) Madhudvisa: ...cannot become a medical practitioner by simply reading the books. He must study under a medical practitioner. So in the case of your books, is it possible to become a devotee without actually having personal association with you? Just by reading your books?
Prabhupada: No, it is not that you have to associate with the author. BUT ONE WHO KNOWS, IF YOU CANNOT UNDERSTAND YOU HAVE TO TAKE LESSON FROM HIM. Not necessarily that you have to contact with the author always. Devotee: Just like the textbooks are not written by the teachers; they're written by other professors.
Devotee: Usually you don't even meet the author.
Prabhupada: Simply one who knows the subject matter, he can explain.
Madhudvisa: But can your, would your purports, would that serve as explanation besides...
Prabhupada: NO, NO, ANYONE WHO KNOWS THE SUBJECT MATTER, HE WILL BE ABLE TO EXPLAIN. Not necessarily the author is required to be present there.
(Morning Walk Melbourne, May 21, 1975 750521MW.MEL)

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Chief CowPie: I believe this is a thread about Krishna consciousness, not about who is bigger guru. Many people don't even know who is Krishna -this is too confusing for them and I believe that it turns them off. Srila Prabhupada did a lot for spreading Krishna consciousness, his work is incomparable with anyone in the 20th century. There's no other way to understand Krishna than to chant His Holy Names- not by mental speculation. You don't need to care about who your guru is. It's all Krishna's work. He'll send you the guru you deserve. So please chant:

 

sleeping jiva, if you read those articles and you thought they were about who was the bigger guru and mental speculation and someone trying to displace SP, then you were asleep

 

A Living Sadhu

by Srila Gour Govinda Maharaja

[From Chapter Six of Pariprasna: The Process of Inquiry]

Devotee: Srila Prabhupada always emphasized that he was eternally present in his books, instructions, tapes, and letters. So when you say we should take association of a sadhu can we do that through Srila Prabhupada's books?

Present in His Books

Gour Govinda Swami: If Prabhupada says he is there, then you try to see him, associate with him and listen from him. Do you see Prabhupada? Is he speaking to you?

Devotee: Through his books.

Gour Govinda Swami: Through his books, yes. All sadhus speak through their books. Jiva Goswami, Rupa Goswami, Sanatana Goswami, Bhaktivinoda Thakur, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati and Srila Prabhupada all say that they speak through books.
This is not a new thing. This is our vaisnava procedure. But you should see him. Can you see Bhaktivinode Thakur? Can you see Jiva Goswami ? You may say, "Oh I have read their books, I have their association." That won't help you. You cannot understand what they have said merely by reading their books.Your consciousness is very low, so you cannot understand their words. They are very, very merciful, but you should follow the proper path. If you are intelligent you will understand how they are still here, not only in the form of their books but also they are here. You should see them. Why are you thinking so foolishly? So many books were already there, so why has Srila Prabhupada said this? You are thinking, "We need only to read books. There is no need of association with a sadhu who is physically present. Is there any sadhu? No, there is no sadhu at all."

Seeing is Believing

Your motto is, "Seeing is believing." You cannot see, so you cannot believe. Because you are a conditioned soul your vision is defective. You cannot see a sadhu.
Krsna is there, can you see him? No, you cannot, because you are not endowed with proper vision. First develop the proper vision and then you can see Krsna. Then you can see how a sadhu is there. It is not a fact that sadhus are not present. How is everything going on? How does the sun rise, the wind blow, and Indra give rain? All these things are going on. No sadhu? No Krsna? It's nonsense, foolishness. We are so proud and puffed up. We are indentifying our self as the body, mind and false ego. We think we are very great. So we say "Oh there is no sadhu." We are in the category of identification with the body and mind. We have not come to the beginning of the stage of purity. No!

Devotee: So we have to associate with a living sadhu?

Gour Govinda Swami: Definitely. There is always one there. But he is not a cheap person. Such a person is very rare. If you can get his mercy then you can see him. Otherwise, by your own effort and perception you cannot see him. No, no, no.
You always think that you are drasta, the seer, and that the sadhu is drsta, the one to be seen. Everyone is like this. They think they are the seers. But it is just the reverse. You are to are to be seen and they are the seer! Think this over very deeply. I think you cannot completely understand what I say. We always think that we are the seer and that they are to be seen, but this is not a fact. It is just the reverse. They are the seers and we are to be seen.

Merciful Glance

Devotee: How are we seen by the sadhu by our service?

Gour Govinda Swami: Yes. The sadhu is the seer. If he showers his mercy upon you, he sees you. If you receive that merciful glance then you are very fortunate. However, you are in the category of bodily consciousness. How can you have it?
Guru is the manifestation of the Supersoul, caitya-guru in the heart. He manifests a body and appears. He knows your heart.

Devotee: I don't quite understand. Gour Govinda Swami: Yes, try to understand. As I told you, just hear patiently. A new bhakta cannot understand it because it is a topic of the highest class. You are in pre-primary class, how can you understand? You are not even in the primary class. How can you understand this topic of the highest class? Just accept the bona fide authorities. That will help you. The teacher says, "Two plus two is four." The primary school student accepts it. If the teacher asks the child, "What is two plus two?" The child will reply, "Two plus two is four." "Why is two plus two four?" " My teacher says." He will answer like this. That means he has accepted authority. This is the only principle in the beginning. How is two plus two four? Why not three or five? That will be explained in a higher mathematics class, not in the beginning. You have to have patience and get a promotion. My guru maharaj says in his purport that the beginning is purity of consciousness. First come to this beginning stage, then gradually other things will come up. You are not in the beginning stage so how will the higher topics come up? This is a very, very subtle and very deep philosophy.
Putting full faith in the sadhu you need only submissively hear --- sravanam, sravanam, sravanam. In that way you can get the mercy of that sadhu. That will help you. Only one thing is required, nothing else --- sravanam, sravanam, sravanam. Just hear. Serve that sadhu, please him, hear submissively, surrender yourself at his lotus feet and submissively ask questions. Out of mercy the sadhu will impart tattva-jnana to you.
This is the only process.
Unless you get association with a living sadhu, what can you do? Will you put some question to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Prabhupada will answer you? This process is a living thing, it is always there, it is always current. It is not that inquiry was done a certain way in the past and now things are done differently. No! It is an eternal process, pranipatena pariprasnena sevaya.

 

sleeping jiva, and the reason why this is important is that there are three pillars to vaishnava philosophy... "sadhu, sastra and guru"...yes Prahbhupada is in his purports but is Prabhupada right there next to you to instruct you...therefore you must find have the association of a sadhu to elevate your consciousness