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What is diksa? The guru gives divya-jnana and takes the sinful reactions of the disciple:
Diyate, ksiyate, something is given, something is taken; that is diksa. According to
what? According to the guru’s capacity. But diksa is not dependent on formalities or a
ceremony. It is not a one-time affair. It is an on-going process. One is admitted in the
school of diksa. One is a real diksa-guru only if he can both give this divya-jnana and
Sri Guru-Tattva by Swami BV Suddhadvaiti 4
deliver from material bondage.
How is the karma taken? Srila Prabhupada gave the example of a fan being switched
off, so the guru has to be a properly authorized agent of the Lord to be able to turn off
the switch, not someone who has become a guru on his own initiative (Nectar of
Devotion, p116) Krishna invests his pure devotees with the bhakti-shakti and kripashakti,
the mercy potency. By the strength of the empowered guru, the sincere disciple
is blessed. Then by practicing according to the divya-jnana received by the authorized
guru and by chanting, sinful reactions are vanquished. The disciple is protected by the
guru and that counteracts all sinful reactions. (SBhag 9.9.8)
Then there is the consideration of the disciple’s surrender. “Diksa tends to confer
spiritual enlightenment by abrogating sinfulness. Its actual effect depends on the degree of
willing cooperation on the part of the disciple and is therefore not the same in all cases... It
imparts an initial impulse, the nature of which varies in accordance with the condition of
the recipient.” (Srila Sarasvati Thakura)
When the disciple surrenders fully, he is relieved from his sinful reactions. Since the
surrender is usually partial, artificial, conditional, there’s only partial relief on the
disciple’s part. Real initiation is not therefore automatically on the spot of the fireyajna.
It is considered complete upon achieving bhava-bhakti.
Srila Prabhupada mentions that one may even receive the seeds of material desires,
karma, fruitive action, and jnana, cultivation of knowledge aiming at liberation, instead
of the bhakti-lata bija, the seed of the plant of devotion, if the guru is not pleased: (see
CC Madhya 19.152) Srila Prabhupada explains in Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers:
Syamasundara das: One time you said that sometimes you feel sickness or pain due to
the sinful activities of your devotees. Can sometimes disease be due to that?
Srila Prabhupada: Krishna says: “I will deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear.”
So Krishna is so powerful that He can immediately take up all the sins of others and
make them right. But when a living entity plays the part on behalf of Krishna, he also
takes the responsibility for the sinful activities of his devotees. Therefore to become a
guru is not an easy task. He has to take all the poisons and absorb them. So sometimes,
because he is not Krishna, there is some trouble. Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu has
forbidden: “Don’t make many disciples.” That’s a fact. The spiritual master has to take
the responsibility for all the sinful activities of his disciples. Therefore to make many
disciples is a risky job unless one is able to assimilate all the sins. That idea is also in the
Bible. Jesus Christ took all the sinful reactions of the people and sacrificed his life. That
is the responsibility of a spiritual master. Because Krishna is Krishna, he is apapaviddha.
He cannot be attacked by sinful reactions. But a living entity is sometimes
subjected to their influence because he is so small. Big fire, small fire. If you put some
big thing in a small fire, the fire itself may be extinguished. But in a big fire, whatever
you put in is all right. When the spiritual master is in suffering, Krishna saves him.
Krishna thinks: ‘Oh, he has taken so much responsibility for delivering a fallen person.’ So
Krishna is there... because the spiritual master takes the risk on account of Krishna....
The pain is there sometimes so that the disciples may know, ‘Due to our sinful activities
our spiritual master is suffering.’” (Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers)
So, again, it is a question of being authorized. If someone wrongly becomes a guru, he
is liable to suffer. The real guru has so much love for Krishna that he wants that all give
their love to Him, that the Lord may not be deprived of the love of his parts and
parcels or jiva-amsa for Him. At the same time, because he loves Krishna and sees
everyone as part and parcel of Krishna, his heart bleeds out of compassion for the fallen
conditioned souls. That is guru. Srila Gour Govinda Maharaja said, “Guru means to
suffer on behalf of the conditioned souls.” That’s another reason why he is so dear to
Krishna. It is also mentioned in the Srimad Bhagavatam (8.4.15) that the guru has to
see a nightmare due to the disciples’ sinful reactions. And, “When a spiritual master
accepts a disciple, he naturally accepts the disciple’s sinful activities and their reactions.
Unless he is very powerful, he cannot assimilate all the sinful reactions of his disciples. Thus
if he is not powerful, he has to suffer the consequence for one is forbidden to accept many
disciples.” (CC Madhya 22.118)
Srila Prabhupada also says in a letter “He is not a liberated person. He cannot initiate one
in Krishna Consciousness. It requires special benediction from higher authorities.” (Letter
4.6) Who are the higher authorities? Guru and Krishna. “Self-appointed man cannot be
guru. He must be authorized by the bona fide guru, then he is guru. He must be authorized
by a superior, not be self-made.” (Lecture 10.31.72) “Nobody can become guru unless he
carries the order of the Supreme.”(Lecture 7.12.75)
Some say that a guru may fall down because he takes the disciple’s karma. But Srila
Prabhupada explains the fall downs of such “gurus” differently: “If one follows the order of
his guru, there’s no question of falling down. As soon as a foolish disciple tries to overtake
his guru and becomes anxious to occupy his post, then he immediately falls down.” (SB
5.12.14) and, “A bona fide guru will never become fallen.” (Nectar of Devotion). And,
“The contamination of material qualities can’t even touch them.” And, “There is no
possibility that a first class devotee will fall down even though he may be mixing with nondevotees
to preach.” (CC Madhya 22.71) And, “One shouldn’t imitate the behavior of the
uttama-adhikari for he will eventually become degraded.” (Upadesamrita 5)
One shouldn’t hope nor pretend that he can somehow of other eradicate the sins of
another conditioned soul when he is not yet pure himself.