spiritual master - Blog - ISKCON Desire Tree | IDT2024-03-29T04:37:19Zhttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/spiritual+masterFrom the Reservoir of Knowledgehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/from-the-reservoir-of-knowledge-12024-01-29T08:30:00.000Z2024-01-29T08:30:00.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><center>
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<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="color:#ff0000;">From Back to Godhead</span> </p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><em><strong>Personal Letters from Srila Prabhupada</strong></em></p>
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<p>As a genuine spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada takes personal responsibility for the advancement of each of his students in the spiritual life of Krsna consciousness. Although now his transcendental instructions are available in book form, when Srila Prabhupada first began the Krsna consciousness movement, the only way his new disciples could get the answers to their many questions was to ask Srila Prabhupada personally. Therefore, since 1966, Srila Prabhupada has written literally thousands of personal letters to his disciples, answering their questions, giving them encouragement and opening their eyes to newer and newer realizations of Krsna. A bona fide spiritual master is by nature very kind to his disciples, and as their ever well-wisher, he blesses them with genuine spiritual understanding. Some of Srila Prabhupada’s instructions are presented here.</p>
<p>“Your appreciation of the movement is very keen and interesting. Actually, I was also attracted by my guru maharaja [spiritual master] when he convinced me that God lives and we can live with Him. I find the same conviction in you, and it has given me such great pleasure. Yes, it is the greatest discovery. In human society under the spell of illusion, men are doing things each on his own responsibility, and they are becoming entangled in material existence. This is the greatest blunder in human society. They have not only forgotten God but they have declared openly that God is dead. This declaration of the foolish human society is thc greatest blunder in life. I therefore appreciate your conviction, and I am still more glad that you are determined to propagate this message to the world at large. I am sure you can do this because all of you who have come to me are sincere souls and you have understood the inner force of Krsna consciousness. Please try to propagate this movement together.”</p>
<p>“I know that you are a sincere devotee of Lord Krsna. When you drive your car you always chant ‘Hare Krsna,’ and when I was by your side I could understand how heartily you have accepted the philosophy of Krsna consciousness. Krsna is very kind to all, but He is especially kind to His sincere devotees. Krsna is always with us, within our hearts, and He is always ready to give us direction, but because everyone is independent, Krsna responds cooperatively. If anyone voluntarily cooperates with Krsna’s desire, He responds to his call very eagerly. Krsna descends to teach us Bhagavad-gita, begging our cooperation, and anyone who cooperates with Him becomes blessed. You are sincerely cooperating with Krsna, and therefore all you boys and girls in San Francisco are working together harmoniously. Harmony means Krsna consciousness. Without Krsna consciousness there cannot be harmony in the world. Your acknowledgement, ‘Krsna has been very merciful to me,’ is remarkable. You are realizing the fruit of chanting.”</p>
<p>“The sentiments you have expressed are very nice, and they are just suitable for spiritual advancement. The actual Vaisnava [devotee] always feels himself lowly and unqualified, but this submissiveness and humbleness is his actual qualification for becoming perfect in Krsna consciousness. In material life everyone is thinking, ‘I am so wonderful, I am so expert,’ but actually the living entity is an insignificant spark of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna. So when we see that we are becoming aware of our infinitesimal nature, then we begin to also understand something of how infinitely great Krsna is. One cannot be falsely puffed up and still expect to make progress in spiritual life. Rather, one must learn to accept his constitutional position as Krsna’s tiny servant. Then Krsna is pleased to reveal Himself to such a devotee, and the devotee becomes more and more perfect in rendering transcendental service to the Lord.”</p>
<p>“It is a fact that wherever we go, if we simply let people hear our chanting and if we repeat what we have heard from the bona fide spiritual master, then surely many, many sincere souls will become attracted to our movement. This is because Krsna consciousness is lying dormant in every living entity, just as fire is dormant within a match. If we simply strike the match, then the fire within will come out in blazing light. Our method of striking the match is Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare. This vibration is sufficient to awaken the sleeping spirit soul to the fact that Krsna is there, and if we try to remember Him always and spread His message of Bhagavad-gita, then our life becomes perfect, and we are perfectly acting in our position as part and parcel of the Lord. The boys and girls of America are generally good souls; that is why they have taken birth in such a nice country. Now they should perfect all of their opulence by engaging everything in Krsna consciousness.”</p>
<p>“The more we struggle for advancing our Krsna consciousness movement, the more we become advanced on the path. Really, devotional service means that we have to employ our energies for the purpose of Krsna consciousness, and it does not matter what the volume of such energy is because different persons have different types of energies. But the best means is to apply one’s energy as far as possible. That is the secret of success in Krsna consciousness. It is not that one has to acquire the energy of an elephant or that one has to become a very learned or intelligent man; one simply has to become sincere and employ whatever energy he has in his possession in the service of the Lord. That is the secret of success in Krsna consciousness.”</p>
<p>“Just as you are thinking of me so often, you should know that I am often thinking of you also. So if you can remember to always remember Krsna and the instructions of your spiritual master, then surely this will bring the highest benediction to yourself and to those with whom you come into contact. To the extent that we are thinking of Krsna, to that extent maya has no influence. But as much as we are desiring to forget Krsna and trying to enjoy ourselves, to that extent we must suffer the pains of maya. Our remedy for material life is very simple simply to chant for Krsna, to dance for Krsna, to work and prepare nice foods for Krsna. Then we become fully free from all other influences. Please always remember this secret and show all others by example.”</p>
<p>“We should learn to depend on Krsna more and more. Actually, Krsna is always guiding us as Supersoul, but due to our forgetfulness, we do not understand that Krsna is our friend everlasting. With advancement in Krsna consciousness one is able to realize that Krsna is always with His devotees—not only with His devotees but also with the nondevotees, but the devotees can recognize His presence and the nondevotees cannot. The more you make advancement in Krsna consciousness, the more you will see Krsna everywhere—not only on the bank of the river but also on streets, in trees, lamp posts and so on. The more you see in that way, the more you know that you are making tangible advancement in Krsna consciousness. Actually, there is nothing but Krsna all around us. This is explained in the Gita. He is the taste of water, the light of the moon, the fragrance of the flower, the light of the sun, the sound in the sky, the power of the strong and so on. One who is actually making progress in Krsna consciousness can see Krsna everywhere. At every stage of life, who can avoid the sunlight, the moonlight, the fragrance of the flower, the taste of the water, the sound in the sky and so on? But one has to learn that Krsna is there in all these vatieties of existence. Without Krsna there is nothing. It is simply by the influence of maya that we forget the relationship of Krsna with everything that be.”</p>
<p>“You have accepted me as father, so I have also accepted you as my dear and real son. The relationship of father and son on the spiritual platform is real and eternal; on the material platform such relationships are ephemeral and temporary. Although I cannot give you anything as father, still I can pray to Krsna for your greater and greater advancement in Krsna consciousness. Your sincerity and service mood will always help you in advancing your genuine cause.”</p>
<p>“I thank you very much for your nice letter and for your inquisitiveness. You are Krsna’s part and parcel. As you love your hands and legs and you feel when your hand is in trouble, similarly Krsna feels for you when you are in trouble. The hand has value when it is attached to the body. Similarly, we have value when we are Krsna conscious. The hand has no value detached from the whole body. Krsna is the whole, and we are His parts and parcels. Try to understand this philosophy.</p>
<p>“The hand and body are created at the same time. It is not that the body is created first and then the hand is created. Our relation with Krsna is like that of the hand and the body. Therefore, Krsna and ourselves are both eternal, and there is no history of eternity: it has no beginning and no end.”</p>
<p>“Personally I have no credit for myself, but I am trying to act as a faithful servant of my predecessors and just present without adulteration the message which I have received from my spiritual master. Similarly, if this message is presented by all of you who have accepted me as the spiritual master, then all the people of the world may be benefited by receiving this transcendental message of Krsna consciousness. Try to execute this mission wholeheartedly and faithfully, and all of you try to broadcast the message to your best capacity.</p>
<p>“Your humbleness is very much appreciated by me. This humbleness is the sign of progress in Krsna consciousness. A Krsna conscious person always thinks himself the lowest creature in the world, and the more one thinks like that, the more he becomes elevated. A Krsna conscious person is never falsely puffed-up. He is satisfied with his position as the servant of the servant of the servant of Krsna.”<br /> <br /> <strong>Source: </strong><a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=28731">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=28731</a></p></div>Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati’s South India Tourhttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/srila-bhaktisiddhanta-sarasvati-s-south-india-tour2022-12-12T08:30:00.000Z2022-12-12T08:30:00.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}2515279768,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}2515279768,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="2515279768?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="300" /></a></p>
<p><strong>By Srila Bhaktisiddhanata Sarasvati Thakura</strong></p>
<p>In the early 1930s, the intrepid preacher of Krishna consciousness receives grand receptions from the devoted people of South India.</p>
<p>Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura was the spiritual master of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. This article is an excerpt from Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Vaibhava.</p>
<p>South India, 1930–31 and 1932</p>
<p>Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati wanted to install 108 pada-pithas (replicas of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s footprints) at sacred locations that had been visited by the Lord, to create awareness of His having been there. But he was able to do so at only eight locations, five of them while touring South India in 1930.1</p>
<p>Advance parties were sent to arrange with local temple authorities for brief and modest installation programs. At each place, accompanied by a small party, Srila Sarasvati Thakura would install a stone imprint representing Mahaprabhu’s feet by washing it with Ganga water, performing arati, reading from the relevant section of Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, and performing sankirtana. He would give the priests and temple managers funds for the construction of a simple shrine for the footprints, and within a day or two move on.</p>
<p>The expedition began on 23 December 1930, when the party proceeded from Calcutta to Jajpur, Orissa. There Lord Chaitanya’s footprints were installed near the river Vaitarani, also known as Viraja. Lord Chaitanya’s grandfather, Upendra Mishra, was said to have hailed from Jajpur, and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati and his troupe visited the inhabitants of that area who claimed descent from Lord Chaitanya’s family. They also went to see the Varahadeva deity, whose temple was on the other side of the Vaitarani. While crossing, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati commented, “To pass over the Vaitarani means to leave the material habitat and enter Brahmaloka (the spiritual world).”2 On the night of 25 December they left from Jajpur station, at the periphery of thick jungle. When suddenly the sound of tigers was heard, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati asked, “Oh, are the tigers roaring?”</p>
<p>On 26 December the troupe arrived at Kurmakshetra, where the deity of Sri Kurma presides. In the evening, resident brahmanas offered a ceremonial welcome, and after performing a parikrama of the temple, Srila Sarasvati Thakura installed Lord Chaitanya’s footprints. Next the party established pada-pithas at Simhacalam (27 December), Kovvur (29 December), and Mangalagiri (31 December). At Kovvur, by consulting the local public and the description in Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, an advance party approximately ascertained the site on the bank of the river Godavari at which Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had first met and discussed with Sri Ramananda Raya. For establishing a pada-pitha there, Sripada Bon Maharaja, the leader of the party, selected a suitable plot, which the owner happily donated.</p>
<p>Srila Sarasvati Thakura and company reached Madras on 2 January 1931. The Harmonist described much of the rest of the tour thus:</p>
<p>After a stay of two days at Madras His Divine Grace started for Trivandrum, visiting on the way the temples of Sri Varadaraja at Vishnukanchi, of Sri Ranganathaji at Srirangam, and of Janardana Vishnu at Varkala.3 His Divine Grace reached Trivandrum on 7 January. He next visited Sri Ananta Padmanabha and then proceeded to Tiruvattar, where he saw Sri Adi-keshava. Sri Gaurasundara discovered the manuscript of the Brahma-samhita at this place. His Divine Grace visited Sri Kanyakumari on the ninth. This is the southernmost point of India, otherwise known as Cape Comorin. His Divine Grace returned to Trivandrum the same day and presided at a public lecture delivered in the local Jubilee Hall by His Holiness Srimad Bhakti Hridaya Bon Maharaja of the Gaudiya Mission. His Divine Grace returned to Calcutta on 14 January by way of Madras, where he presided at a second lecture by Swamiji Bon on the life and teachings of Sriman Mahaprabhu, delivered at the local Madhva Association. His Divine Grace had been pleased to visit the residence of Srijut Ramachandra Rao at the town of Rajmahendri, at his earnest prayer. This gentleman had made a free gift of some valuable lands at Kovvur for the erection of the shrine of the footprints of the Supreme Lord, in commemoration with His meeting with Raya Ramananda at that place in 1510 A.D. His Divine Grace was hospitably received on behalf of the Travancore State and provided with a suitable residence during his short stay at Trivandrum, at the Padma Vilasa Palace.4</p>
<p>Srila Sarasvati Thakura commented that the deity of Kanyakumari, after which the township was named, resembled that of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu at Sri Chaitanya Matha, and that although Kanyakumari was generally accepted to be Durga prior to her marriage with Lord Shiva, Vaishnavas consider her to be Lakshmi, daughter of the ocean, on whose shore she resides. He said that just as Kurukshetra is the place of the elder gopis, Kanyakumari is that of the unmarried gopis, and here vipralambha-bhava is triple that in Puri.5</p>
<p>Returning to Bengal prior to the Navadvipa-dhama Parikrama, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati remained in North India for almost a year before again heading for Madras (this time with twenty devotees), where he was accorded several formal receptions, the one conducted upon his arrival being unprecedented. Organized by members of the public in conjunction with the Municipal Corporation, it consisted of local traditional music parties, a brass band, kirtana groups, a procession of Boy Scouts, and throngs of people, many waving flags and festoons and all straining to see and hear this extraordinary saint from Bengal. Thirty-two guns were fired in Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati’s honor, and troops led by Britishers were deployed to regulate the crowd. All the important newspapers of the city covered the reception and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati’s subsequent activities in Madras. On 11 January 1932, under the heading “Gaudiya Matha Guru Maharaja in Madras,” the Justice reported:</p>
<p>His Divine Grace Paramahamsa Sarasvati Goswami Maharaja, the great Acharya of the Gaudiya cult and President of Sri Vishva-Vaishnava-raja Sabha, arrived in Madras yesterday by the Calcutta Mail.<br /> His Holiness’s party consisted of about thirty persons and included the secretary of the said sabha; his private secretary; the editor of the Gaudiya; Prof. J. Dasadhikary, Bhakti-Sastri; Prof. H. P. Mandal; and Mr. G. C. Deb, Retd. Deputy Supdt. of Allahabad.<br /> His Holiness was honored and garlanded on the way at Cuttack Station by the residents of the city, at Rajahmundry, Kovvur, and Basin Bridge.<br /> At Central Station, His Divine Grace was received with shouts of glory by many eminent citizens, and the members of the Madras Gaudiya Matha. As soon as the Svamiji got down, B. H. Bon Maharaja introduced to him the President of the Madras Corporation, T. S. Ramaswami Iyer; the Hon’ble Minister Mr. P. T. Rajan; S. V. Ramaswami Mudaliar; and the Hon’ble Dewan Bahadura S. G. Narayanswami Chettiar, C.I.E.; and they garlanded the Svamiji.<br /> His Divine Grace got into the very beautifully decorated car, and in a huge sankirtana procession consisting of tridandi-swamis, brahmacharis, gentries of the city, provincial scouts, several kirtana parties, and the devotees from Calcutta, started from the front of the Madras Club and slowly proceeded to Gaudiya Matha, Gopalapuram, passing through West Cott’s Road, Woods Road, Rayapettah Bazar Road, Lloyd Road, and Corn Smith Road.<br /> Besides the distinguished gentlemen who received the Goswami Maharaja at Central Station, the inhabitants of Rayapettah, Mylapure, and Gopalapuram received the great Acharya at the corner of Pycrofts Road, and Hon’ble Minister Dewan Bahadura S. Kumarswami Reddiar accompanied His Divine Grace to the Matha itself. The whole procession party with the Svamiji Maharaja got into the new site of the Gaudiya Matha, and then again his car stopped at the gate of the house of his disciples at Lloyd Road, where His Divine Grace was duly honored by the whole family with arati, etc.<br /> Then Guru Maharaja alighted from the car, and was conducted to the decorated “Sri Krishna Hall” of the Matha, where Prof. L. N. Govindarajan of Loyola College, on behalf of the residents of Gopalapuram colony, read an address of homage to His Divine Grace.<br /> The Hon’ble Minister Dewan Bahadura S. Kumarswami Reddiar also addressed, on behalf of the greater population of the province, and paid homage to Paramahamsa Maharaja. The Acharya then gave a suitable and short reply to them.6</p>
<p>On 23 January, Srila Sarasvati Thakura revealed the service of Sri Sri Guru-Gauranga–Gandharvika-Giridhari in the Madras Gaudiya Matha. On 27 January the governor of Madras Presidency, His Excellency Sir George Frederick Stanley, accompanied by Lady Beatrix and his private and military secretaries, came to the Madras Gaudiya Matha and laid the foundation stone for its Sri Krishna Kirtana Hall. His Excellency observed:</p>
<p>In spite of the very short time in which the Mission has been established in Madras, it has obviously made great headway; it has attracted many influential men to its fold and has succeeded in finding a permanent site on which to expand. I wish to say what a great pleasure it is for me to meet today the spiritual head of the Mission, the President Acharya, and I pray that his work and all the members of the Mission may be blessed by the divine grace which inspires them, and that they may ever progress toward their object of bringing peace to India and all mankind.7</p>
<p>Many South Indian Vaishnava brahmanas, themselves deeply learned in shastra, highly regarded Srila Sarasvati Thakura and his disciples for their adherence to sastra and spreading Vishnu-bhakti. Reciprocally, Srila Sarasvati Thakura and his followers esteemed the numerous Vaishnava brahmanas in South India who strictly upheld their culture and principles.</p>
<p>Srila Sarasvati Thakura expressed a desire to preach extensively in South India, considering it a place of devotion due to the widespread influence of Ramanujacharya and Madhvacharya. He appreciated the people’s piety and their developed philosophical sense, but regretted the prevalence of monism. He wanted big Gaudiya Vaishnava temples constructed there. He once said, “I will come again to pick up those disciples of mine who do not complete their bhajana and go back to Godhead. At that time I shall simultaneously fulfill my desire to preach in South India and Vrindavana, and will establish many pada-pithas of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.” He said that in South India people know arcana but not kirtana, and that they know Vishnu forms of the Lord such as Vasudeva, Kurma, Nrisimha, and Narayana, but not Radha-Krishna.8 However, in a lecture given in Bengal he stated:</p>
<p>The most merciful Sri Chaitanyadeva preached all over South India the glories of Radha-Govinda. Yet today the people there are in the same condition as before Sriman Mahaprabhu came. Therefore it is again required to preach to South Indians, to revive their original consciousness, because they have completely forgotten whatever Sriman Mahaprabhu had instructed. They say, “We are rational and intelligent men, not sentimental like Bengalis,” but they have no interest to hear about Sri Sri Radha-Govinda. When we installed the deity of Radha-Govinda in our Ramananda Gaudiya Matha in South India, local people opposed us and placed so many obstacles. They wanted us to instead install the four-armed form of Lord Vishnu. The people of Madras are busy with discussions of Partha-sarathi and do not know about Radha-Govinda–lila.9 They are very unfortunate; they have no qualification to see the beautiful service of the Supreme Lord that was inaugurated in North India by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s associates the Six Goswamis.10</p>
<p>While visiting Madras, Srila Sarasvati Thakura gave insights into his vast knowledge of shastra and Vedic culture by explaining to his disciples salient points about the dress of South Indian brahmanas, who characteristically wore a veshti as lower cloth, and a cotton wrap across the shoulders or tied at the waist, with the rest of the chest and back bare except for an upavita.11 He said that previously the upavita was not used, only the dhoti and upper cloth, but later it became acceptable for brahmanas to wear an upavita instead of an upper cloth. When the Bengali devotees expressed surprise that South Indian brahmanis wore their saris with a kaccha, Srila Sarasvati Thakura stated that this was the correct Vedic method.</p>
<p>After being offered Vyasa-puja in Madras, Srila Sarasvati Thakura headed back toward Bengal to attend the festival culminating on Gaura-jayanti. En route he halted for another rousing reception, this time in Ellore, a town in the Madras Presidency. Led by zamindar Rao Bahadura Mothi Gangaraju, practically the entire populace feted the acharya with a gala procession of elephants, horses, a band, and hundreds carrying flags, festoons, and ceremonial spears. Seated in a lavishly bedecked horse-drawn coach, Srila Sarasvati Thakura passed through packed streets under continuous showers of flowers. At the conclusion of the parade, he was accorded a highly enthusiastic reception by different religious associations, each presenting him with panegyrics and certificates of appreciation.</p>
<p>Shortly thereafter, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati again visited South India, stopping briefly in Madras before proceeding to Coimbatore and several other towns, eventually reaching the hill station Ootacamund, where he took relief from the heat of the plains. Remaining there over two months, he sometimes lectured but mostly concentrated on writing—revising Professor Sanyal’s English book Sree Krishna Chaitanya, working on the English translation of Brahma-samhita, completing his own Gaudiya-bhashya on Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata, and penning an English booklet about Sri Ramananda Raya. On the arrival of the cooling monsoonal rains he journeyed to Mysore, reaching there on 17 June 1932 to fulfill an invitation from the Maharaja of Mysore, Sir Krishna Rajendra Udaiyar Bahadura. The maharaja was well known as being, like his father before him, adept in both Eastern and Western philosophy and a liberal sponsor of Hindu causes, with particular admiration for the Ramakrishna Mission. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati was honored as a state guest and lodged in the fabulous Rama Palace. The maharaja arranged and attended public meetings at the palace, which featured speeches by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati.</p>
<p>While in Mysore, Srila Sarasvati Thakura pointed out that in the far west of Mysore District was situated Sringeri, where impersonalist Sripada Sankaracharya had established a matha; diametrically opposite, in the far east of the district at Mulbagal, a matha had been founded by Sri Vadiraja of the Madhva sampradaya, whose upholding of Shuddha-dvaita-siddhanta directly opposed Sankaracharya’s teachings; and since Mysore city is exactly midway between the two locations, it is fitting to at this place present Lord Chaitanya’s achintya-bhedabheda-tattva, which being the midpoint of unqualified monism and unrelenting dualism, harmonized both stances, bringing to a perfect conclusion the strengths of both.</p>
<p>In an entry dated 21 June 1932 in the visitor’s book of the maharaja’s Sanskrit college, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati wrote:</p>
<p>Visited H.H. Maharaja’s Sanskrit College on 20-6-32 and was very kindly received and shown over the premises by the worthy principal. We had a look at the famous collection of Sanskrit manuscripts and had a short talk with the professors of the college. We were impressed by the atmosphere of liberal all-round culture of the place and the cordiality of our reception by the instructional staff and students. We could not help feeling the absence of a chair of Srimad-Bhagavatam embodying the highest synthesis of religion in its comparative aspects.</p>
<p>Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati<br /> Patraraja12, Sri Vishva-Vaishnava-raja Sabha<br /> Sri Chaitanya Matha, Sri Mayapur<br /> Nadia, Bengal</p>
<p>After ten days in Mysore the next stop was Trivandrum, where the Maharaja of Travancore also received Srila Sarasvati Thakura and his party as state guests. He personally guided Srila Sarasvati Thakura around the magnificent Ananta Padmanabha temple, and heard from him about the teachings of Lord Chaitanya in relation to those of the Vaishnava acharyas of South India.</p>
<p>Bhakti Vikasha Swami, originally from England, is an ISKCON sannyasi, guru, and author. He spends most of his time in India, teaching Krishna consciousness.</p>
<p>NOTES<br /> 1. Several more such pada-pithas have since been established by discipular descendants of Srila Sarasvati Thakura.<br /> 2. The river Vaitarani that surrounds hell is manifested on the earthly plane as this namesake in Orissa. The prototype Vaitarani is described in Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.26.22: “A person born into a responsible family—such as a kshatriya, a member of royalty, or a government servant—but who neglects to execute his prescribed duties according to religious principles and thus becomes degraded, falls down at the time of death into the river of hell known as Vaitarani. This river, which is a moat surrounding hell, is full of ferocious aquatic animals. When a sinful man is thrown into the river Vaitarani, the aquatic animals there immediately begin to eat him, but because of his extremely sinful life, he does not leave his body. He constantly remembers his sinful activities and suffers terribly in that river, which is full of stool, urine, pus, blood, hair, nails, bones, marrow, flesh, and fat.”</p>
<p>Worldly people come to Jajpur to perform rituals whereby they can be freed from sinful reactions that could cause their incarceration in the hellish Vaitarani.</p>
<p>The prototype Viraja described in scripture is at the border of the material world and must be crossed before entering the spiritual realm. Viraja means vigata-raja (raja: material world; vigata: without). (See Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya 21.50)<br /> 3. Vishnukanchi: a neighborhood within the temple town Conjeevaram (Kanchipuram).<br /> 4. Harmonist 28.280 (February 1931).<br /> 5. The connection between Kanyakumari and the unmarried gopis (Vraja-kumaris) is that the latter prayed to Katyayani, who is nondifferent from Kanyakumari, to attain Krishna as their spouse.<br /> 6. Quoted in Harmonist 29.256 (February 1932).<br /> 7. Justice, 26 January 1932; quoted in Harmonist 29.286 (March 1932).<br /> 8. The statements in this and the previous paragraph were given by Jati Sekhara Prabhu.<br /> 9. Partha-sarathi: a name of Krishna meaning “charioteer of Arjuna.”<br /> 10. Srimad Bhagavata-tatparya 69.<br /> 11. Veshti: a dhoti worn double-folded and without a kaccha (the length tucked in at the back).<br /> 12. Patraraja: president.</p>
<p><strong>Source: </strong><a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=14600">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=14600</a></p></div>The Genuine Spiritual Master by Giriraj Swamihttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/the-genuine-spiritual-master-by-giriraj-swami2022-08-13T09:30:00.000Z2022-08-13T09:30:00.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9461737495,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9461737495?profile=RESIZE_400x" width="300" /></p>
<p>In February 1971, in Gorakhpur, India, Srila Prabhupada received the issue of Back to Godhead with my article “The Genuine Spiritual Master” and called for me. “I saw your article in Back to Godhead,” he said. “It was very nice. You should write. This is your first business. Go on writing. We require many, many articles about Krishna consciousness. So you should devote yourself to writing.” I have taken Srila Prabhupada’s instruction to me to heart. And that article, “The Genuine Spiritual Master,” follows.</p>
<p>The Genuine Spiritual Master</p>
<p>“Instant Problem Solving—Guru Inside.” We pass this sign every day as we Boston devotees chant the holy names in Harvard Square. The sign hangs on a local shop window, and it is sold in quantity inside. This week at the neighboring movie theatre a new movie is showing—The Guru. So, who is the guru?</p>
<p>The true guru is the person who says that Krishna, God, is our true friend. He does not pose himself as God or tell us that we can become God. The bona fide guru has various qualifications, and someone who is looking for a spiritual master must know the standards that the true guru must meet.</p>
<p>Today everyone is posing as a spiritual master, or guru, and so we have that facetious sign. One group of foolish persons thinks that they can become gurus by their own concoction, simply by proclaiming themselves spiritual masters. And a corresponding group of foolish persons accepts such phonies because the formula is so easy, offers so much sense gratification, and supposedly permits the practitioner to become God. They like to think that their problems will vanish in an instant, and thus they are cheated.</p>
<p>Despite such foolishness, there is such a thing as a bona fide guru, or spiritual master, and the sincere student of spiritual science should know how to recognize him. One should understand who the spiritual master is, what his position is, how he can be identified, and how we relate to him. And one should know the ultimate goal in accepting a spiritual master.</p>
<p>Simply stated, the ultimate goal of spiritual life is to develop love of God, and the duty of the spiritual master is to awaken this dormant love of God in the hearts of his students. The spiritual master is a servant of the Supreme Lord. Thus, the student becomes the indirect servant of God, and if a student serves God sincerely, God will ultimately reveal Himself to the student in a pure loving exchange. This process is described in the Bhagavad-gita and is recommended as the highest yoga by the Supreme Lord Himself, Sri Krishna, the original spiritual master.</p>
<p>So, in real spiritual life the spiritual master acts as the medium between us, so minute, and Krishna, so great. We are so limited that we cannot approach the unlimited God, but the spiritual master, out of his causeless mercy, makes himself available to help us approach the Supreme Lord.</p>
<p> The spiritual master has completely surrendered to God, and God has revealed Himself fully to such a pure devotee. The spiritual master acts as a medium between ourselves, who are contaminated by our association with matter, and Krishna, God. In this sense the spiritual master is even more merciful than God, since he comes and reveals himself to the conditioned soul, who is still contaminated by material association. But since the spiritual master is pure in his surrender to God and the will of God, he is, in a sense, one with God. Thus, the student who comes to hear and love the spiritual master also comes to develop knowledge and love of God.</p>
<p>Of course, it is the mercy of God to send the spiritual master, and then it is the grace of the spiritual master to deliver God. As stated in the Bhagavad-gita, the process for going back to Godhead is simply to engage in devotional service to God. But how can we, who are so minute and actually helpless, do anything for God, who controls and owns everything? The answer is to serve the spiritual master. It is like this: Suppose one knows a very rich man. What can one do to please him? Nothing. He has everything, and, in comparison, we have nothing. But suppose the man has a son. Then simply by giving a small piece of fruit to the son, one can please the son, and when the son is pleased, then automatically the father becomes pleased. So, in this way one can please a very rich man.</p>
<p>The spiritual master is very dear to Krishna, just as a son is dear to the loving father, and by pleasing the spiritual master, one can please God Himself. In the Bhagavad-gita, the Supreme Lord states, “There is no servant in this world more dear to Me than he, nor will there ever be one more dear.” (Gita 18.69) So, Krishna has feelings, and He dearly loves the spiritual master. In fact, as stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam, Third Canto, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is thinking, “There is no way I can ever repay My pure devotees.” When a man walks barefoot in the blazing sun, his feet are scorched but his head feels no pain. Similarly, although He may tolerate offenses to Himself, Krishna tolerates no abuse to His pure devotee. As He states in Srimad-Bhagavatam, Third Canto, “They captivate My heart who are gladdened in heart; they look upon the brahmanas [holy men] as My own Self and pacify them by praising them in loving words, even as a son would appease an angry father or as I am pacifying you.” So, by serving the spiritual master, we can please the Supreme Lord and thus go back to Him, by His divine grace.</p>
<p> Another example may help. Suppose you know of a very rich, famous, or distinguished person and want to gain entrance into his house. You cannot go to his home and say, “I make $200 a week, so let me in.” No. $200 a week or $500 a week or $1000 a week is nothing to him. You have no qualification of your own. But if you have the favor of one of his associates or servants, then by that person’s desire you may enter the rich man’s home. Similarly, the intimate associate of the Lord is the spiritual master, and the Lord is anxious to please His pure devotees. The relationship between the Lord and His devotee is transcendentally beautiful. As a devotee is elevated in all good qualities due to his being a devotee of the Lord, so the transcendental glories of the Lord are increased due to His being devoted to His servitor. In other words, as the devotee is always anxious to render service to the Lord, similarly the Lord is very anxious to render service to the devotee, the bona fide spiritual master.</p>
<p>With confidence in this relationship, the student, out of love, agrees to serve the spiritual master. There is no question of force. Where there is force, there is no love. Our spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, once said, “If a father calls his son, ‘Come here!’ and there is no love, the son will either refuse to come, or he will come reluctantly, thinking secretly, ‘How can I get back at my father?’ But if I say, ‘Satsvarupa [one of Srila Prabhupada’s students], come here!’ you will come immediately, out of excess of love. Is that not right?” Satsvarupa immediately nodded his head: “Yes!” Thus the service rendered by the student to the bona fide spiritual master is performed out of love. Anyone who sees His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada with his disciples is seeing the perfection of family life.</p>
<p>The mother, the Vedas, directs the child to the father, the bona fide spiritual master, as illustrated so personally in the Gita. Arjuna, who had very great spiritual as well as material qualifications, still confessed to Krishna, the supreme spiritual master, “Now I am confused about my duty and have lost all composure because of weakness. In this condition I am asking You to tell me clearly what is best for me. Now I am Your disciple, a soul surrendered unto You. Please instruct me.” (Gita 2.7) By nature’s own way, the complete system of material activities is a source of perplexity for everyone. Vedic wisdom therefore advises us that in order to solve the perplexities of life and to understand the science of the solution, one must approach a spiritual master, for a bona fide spiritual master is supposed to know everything.</p>
<p>Furthermore, the Vedas set forth the qualifications of the bona fide spiritual master. The first requirement for the bona fide spiritual master is that he be in the line of disciplic succession from the Supreme Lord Himself. Not just anyone can qualify as a spiritual master, nor should the student accept anyone to be a spiritual master simply on sentiment. Sri Krishna is the original spiritual master, as stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam: dharmam tu saksad bhagavat-pranitam: “The path of religion is directly enunciated by the Lord.” The bona fide spiritual master teaches the transcendental science, as first enunciated by the Lord, as it is, without concoction or alteration. He is able to do so because he understands the purport of the Lord’s teaching from the disciplic succession descending directly from the Lord.</p>
<p>The knowledge mercifully given by the Lord is like a perfect fruit passed down from the top of a tree. The fruit must be passed delicately. If someone drops the fruit, or lets it fall, or in any way mishandles it, then the whole fruit is spoiled. If the bona fide spiritual master is in the line of disciplic succession from the Supreme Lord, he is careful to pass the fruit of Vedic wisdom to us without personally motivated interpretation. The conclusion of all Vedic knowledge is that Sri Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the goal of all yoga, knowledge, and sacrifice. All the great saints and sages in our line of disciplic succession—the Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya Sampradaya, beginning with Sri Krishna and including Brahma, Narada, Vyasa, Lord Chaitanya, Srila Narottama Dasa Thakura, Srila Bhaktivinoda, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja Prabhupada, and finally His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada—have personally realized and taught Krishna consciousness. If the result of a process is good, then the process itself must be good. These great saints and acharyas are unmatched in spiritual realization, so the process of God realization first spoken by Krishna and passed on through the disciplic succession is also matchless.</p>
<p>The second requirement for the bona fide spiritual master is that he speak only on the authority of the Vedas or his spiritual master, so that the disciplic succession may be kept rigidly in line with the original teachings. The spiritual master never invents ideas or processes for self-realization; he always goes to the higher authorities. He is aware of the limitations of the minute living entity and his small mind and imperfect senses, so he similarly teaches his students to speak only from the higher authority.</p>
<p>Even the Supreme Lord Himself does this. In the Bhagavad-gita, Chapter Thirteen, Verse 4, Krishna states, “That knowledge of the field of activities and of the knower of activities is described by various sages in various Vedic writings, especially in the Vedanta-sutra.” Of course, Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the ultimate source of all the Vedas, and the supreme authority on all matters, but still He cites the accepted spiritual literature. Lord Krishna teaches by example how the bona fide spiritual master always gives evidence from previous authorities. That is the process. Similarly, Lord Chaitanya, who was also the Supreme Personality of Godhead, accepted a bona fide spiritual master in the line of disciplic succession, and He always quoted His spiritual master.</p>
<p>The spiritual master and student alike strictly follow the line of disciplic succession and the Vedic authorities, so others who are interested in spiritual life should follow this process, too. People are prone to indulge in transitory speculation, even when they are to educate themselves on areas beyond their empiric jurisdiction. They often mistake these illusory experiences, especially when influenced by a drug or a “meditative” process, for genuine spiritual realization, and often have “inspirations,” “visions,” “experiences,” and “revelations,” which are merely the concoctions of a limited and deluded mind. A person interested in spiritual life should therefore be wary of his own personal messages. God, Krishna, is in our hearts as Paramatma, Supersoul, and thus He can speak to us. But there are parallel tracks—God on the inside and the spiritual master on the outside—so a religious seeker must confirm his inner realizations by the authority of the spiritual master. This dual confirmation is very important; one must go to the spiritual master.</p>
<p>The third requirement of a bona fide spiritual master is that his knowledge must be realized. He must be a pure devotee of God, teaching by example, practicing what he is preaching—not that he teaches dry theory or philosophy. In the Bhagavad-gita, Sri Krishna describes the characteristics of His pure devotees, and by these characteristics one can recognize a bona fide spiritual master: “He who knows in truth this glory and power of Mine engages in unalloyed devotional service; of this there is no doubt. I am the source of everything; from Me the entire creation flows. Knowing this, the wise worship Me with all their hearts. Their thoughts dwell in Me, their lives are surrendered unto Me, and they receive great satisfaction and bliss, enlightening one another and conversing about Me.” (Gita 10.7–9) “They are always engaged in chanting My glories. Endeavoring with great determination, offering homage unto Me, they worship Me with devotion.” (Gita 9.14) These are the characteristics of pure devotees.</p>
<p>A bona fide spiritual master is always in ecstasy of love of God, having realized who God is, who the self is, and what is actually the relation between the Lord and the living entity. He is in a direct relationship of loving reciprocation with the Lord, and he fully accepts the Lord in His personal form. As stated above, the mahatma, or great soul, is always engaged in chanting the glories of the Supreme Lord Krishna, the Personality of Godhead, with no other engagement. That means he must glorify the Supreme Lord, praising His holy name, His eternal form, His transcendental qualities, and His uncommon pastimes, and he must pass on such information to his students. A bona fide spiritual master does not dwell on the impersonal Brahman feature of the Supreme Lord, in which the ananda, or blissful aspect of loving exchange, with the Supreme Person is missing.</p>
<p>A spiritual master, being completely attached to the Supreme Person, is not attracted to material or bodily affairs. He understands that he is not this body but is a pure spirit soul, part and parcel of the Supreme Person Krishna, and that his position is of loving service to Krishna. Therefore he is always joyful and free of anxieties, neither hankering nor lamenting about material affairs. He is self-satisfied, atmarama, and transcendental to the dualities of material life. His eyes are always wet with tears of love for Krishna, in fully realized knowledge of the Bhagavad-gita. And, as stated in the Gita itself, such a great soul is very rare.</p>
<p>A student of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada once said to Srila Prabhupada, “Prabhupada, you look so sad in this picture.” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “No, that was a moment of ecstasy.” Who can imagine the ecstasy of one who is in direct contact with Sri Krishna? His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada has all the qualifications of a bona fide spiritual master, and he is always in contact with Krishna, the all-attractive person, the supreme friend. His Divine Grace needs nothing but engagement in transcendental loving service to Lord Krishna, and that he has all the time. So, what need has he of us? He has no desire to accumulate wealth, nor any desire to enjoy beautiful women, nor does he want any number of followers. He wants only the Lord’s causeless devotional service. He has come to the West to spread this divine message only out of his causeless mercy upon us, in service to Krishna and to his guru maharaja, pouring the shower of his mercy on all the dried-up souls of the universe.</p>
<p>The fourth requirement of a bona fide spiritual master is that, realizing Krishna to be everything, he never poses himself as God, nor does he ever promise his students that they can become God. God is God, and we are His servants eternally. God is infinite, and we are infinitesimal parts of God, inconceivably, simultaneously one and different from God, but we are never God Himself. Actually, a spiritual master, having approached God and having realized how inconceivably great He is, always feels meek and lowly, completely dependent on the Lord for protection. Thus the sage is humble; he is ready to pay his respects even to the ant, and he considers himself the most fallen. This is humility. When the Lord was on earth five hundred years ago, He was known as Patita Pavana, the deliverer of the most fallen. When the great saint Narottama Dasa Thakura approached Him, the Thakura said, “You are the deliverer of the most fallen, so kindly save me first.”</p>
<p>Once Srila Prabhupada was in his room in Los Angeles with a few devotees surrounding him, and at one point in the discussions he began to cry, saying, “All I ask of you is to be humble. All we can do is be humble toward everyone and in everything that we do. That is all I ask.” Another time Srila Prabhupada went to the temple, and, seeing the throne that the devotees had just made for him, said, “Oh, I cannot accept this. I am the most fallen, and you have made this for me.” He was crying. A devotee replied, “Oh, please, Srila Prabhupada, please accept this as our offering to you.” And His Divine Grace said, “I have no qualification of my own, but I shall accept it for Krishna.”</p>
<p>Another time, a boy made some prasadam (spiritual food) for Srila Prabhupada and was waiting at Srila Prabhupada’s door to give it to him. When His Divine Grace appeared, he looked at the prasadam and opened his eyes wide and said, “For me?” After that, the boy smiled so hard that he got a headache, and he danced down the street all the way home. Later he said, “Up until that moment I had only theoretically known what humility meant. Now I have practical experience; now I understand humility.”</p>
<p>Even Lord Chaitanya, although He was actually the Supreme Personality of Godhead, never claimed to be God, because He wanted to demonstrate the proper behavior for a bona fide spiritual master. When people said that they recognized Him as God, He would cover His ears with His hands and say, “No, don’t say that!” He further said that one should chant the holy name of the Lord constantly “in a humble state of mind, thinking oneself lower than the straw in the street; one should be more tolerant than the tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige, and ready to offer all respects to others.” A true spiritual master is always humble. He sees on an equal level a learned and gentle brahman, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and a dog-eater, and he offers his services to all. He always points to Krishna, saying, “God is great, and we are very small. Therefore, we are not God, so we should surrender to God.”</p>
<p>Fake spiritualists are puffed up with notions of their own power, and they often think that they are God. “I am God, a dog is God, everyone is God.” Or they say, “All is one. We are actually God, but we are now under illusion.” If God is under illusion, then illusion is greater than God. And if everything is God, then our everyday meditation on dog—or anyone in our life—should be sufficient to give us liberation. Clearly, these pretenders are not God, and His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada urges everyone not to accept cheap gods and fake spiritual masters.</p>
<p>The story is told of one so-called spiritual master who was on the stage in an auditorium, sitting in so-called yoga and saying, “I am moving the sun, I am moving the moon.” But he had to leave the stage because he got a toothache. So was he God? He claimed to be moving the sun and the moon, but he could not stop a toothache. Another charlatan spiritual master was once going to give a lecture on the secret of eternal youth, but on the way to deliver the lecture he died. Still another yoga instructor, after giving a lecture, met with one of Srila Prabhupada’s students. The so-called yogi was sitting on a chair smoking a cigarette, and he said, “You know, I have been having a terrible problem. I just can’t give up smoking. Do you have any suggestions?” He was teaching yoga, but he could not give up smoking. Yoga means to control the senses, to renounce sense gratification, but although this rascal could not even control his tongue, he claimed to teach yoga. Is yoga such nonsense? “Surrender to Krishna. That is yoga. That is all,” says His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada.</p>
<p>He who teaches surrender to Krishna is a bona fide spiritual master, and such a spiritual master is the only refuge for one who wishes to end his material bondage and live in spiritual ecstasy. Lord Sri Krishna Himself states this in the Bhagavad-gita: “Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth.” (Gita 4.34) In other words, only someone whose hands are free can free someone whose hands are tied. The parampara purport to this verse is as follows: “One has to approach a bona fide spiritual master to receive the knowledge. Such a teacher should be accepted in full surrender, and one should serve the spiritual master like a menial servant, without false prestige. Satisfaction of the spiritual master is the secret of advancement in spiritual life. Inquiries and submission constitute the proper combination for spiritual understanding. Unless there is submission and service, inquiries from the learned spiritual master will not be effective. One must pass the test of the spiritual master, and when the spiritual master sees the genuine desire of the disciple, he automatically blesses the disciple with genuine spiritual understanding. In this verse, both blind following and absurd inquiries are condemned. One should not only hear submissively from the spiritual master, but one must also get a clear understanding from him, in submission and service and inquiries. The spiritual master is by nature very kind toward the disciple, and therefore when the student is submissive and is always ready to render service, the reciprocation of knowledge and inquiries becomes perfect.”</p>
<p>For Krishna consciousness to act, therefore, there must be a bona fide source of information and a sincere soul desiring to know, just as in order for there to be conception, there must be a potent male and a fertile female. If a man is potent and a woman is fertile, then by their combination there can be conception. Otherwise, if there is no reciprocation, conception is impossible. One should ask questions and learn from a person to whom one can surrender. If one has any doubts about the person, then one should not waste one’s time, since one will not accept his instructions anyway. At the same time, a person who approaches a bona fide spiritual master with a challenging attitude will never understand the transcendental message. One who is fortunate enough to have found a bona fide spiritual master must hear submissively in order to understand and benefit.</p>
<p>In Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto Three, verses 40–41, Krishna describes the qualifications for hearing in relation to a spiritual master: “This instruction should be imparted by the spiritual master to persons who have taken Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as more dear than anything, and who are not envious of anyone, are perfectly cleansed and have developed detachment from everything outside the purview of Krishna consciousness. Instruction in Krishna consciousness should be given to the faithful devotee who is respectful to the spiritual master, non-envious, friendly to all kinds of living entities, and ready to render service with faith and sincerity.” This attitude is demonstrated by Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra in the beginning of Bhagavad-gita. He understands that he has no facility to know the Truth by his own endeavors, and that he must surrender at the lotus feet of the authority, in this case the Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna. Therefore he says, “Now I am Your disciple and a soul surrendered to You. Please instruct me.”</p>
<p>Bhagavad-gita demonstrates the transcendental relationship between Krishna, the supreme authority, and Arjuna, the ideal listener. This relationship is established out of respect and love, and only from this personal relationship is God realization possible. The student takes the spiritual master as his spiritual father and follows the teachings of the spiritual master to his full capacity. Lord Jesus Christ said, “Unless you change and become like little children, you cannot enter the kingdom of God.” Only to one who has full faith in the spiritual master will all knowledge be revealed. The word of the spiritual master is the life of the student, and everything else is secondary. Then there is contact. If one touches electricity, even if the source is thousands of miles away, the current is there, and one who touches it can always feel the blissful association of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.</p>
<p>Everyone now has all facility to become happy by the mercy of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, our spiritual master. He wants everyone to be happy in Krishna consciousness, and he is offering all transcendental opportunities. He gives us Back to Godhead magazine, Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Teachings of Lord Chaitanya, Srimad-Bhagavatam, the many temples of Krishna consciousness, and himself wherever he appears. Greatest of all, he is offering Krishna Himself directly, in His holy name: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. These names form the maha-mantra, the great chanting for deliverance and the greatest benediction for the conditioned living entities. Finally, His Divine Grace is giving everyone the opportunity to become a spiritual master. The greatest spiritual master, Lord Chaitanya, the Supreme Personality Himself, said, “Whoever tells people, ‘Chant Hare Krishna,’ he is My spiritual master.”<br /> <br /> <strong>Source: </strong><a href="https://girirajswami.com/blog/?p=17369">https://girirajswami.com/blog/?p=17369</a></p></div>Unflinching Faith in Spiritual master by Giriraj Dashttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/unflinching-faith-in-spiritual-master-12021-11-25T08:30:00.000Z2021-11-25T08:30:00.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><div id="article_byline">
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<p>Last year there was an incident where I received a major chastisement because of not having properly understood the unique position of Srila Prabhupada. Well, I thought I understood his position but unknowingly and subtly I got led in way that would have meant exactly the opposite! The repercussion for me was polite but very grave, something I had never experienced in my spiritual or even in my material life. It was something I would carry whole life as it taught me a little what is meant by Guru Nishtha (firm faith in spiritual master).</p>
<p>Few days back I stumbled on a very unique correspondence between Srila Prabhupada and one of his most sincere disciples, HH Tamal Krishna Goswami, which I had read almost one a half years back but for some reasons I had saved it. Here, Srila Prabhupada also shares his present and previous life and explains the position of a spiritual master. As I read it again and again I understood a little better why the reaction I received was so severe and why must I be thankful for it till eternity.</p>
<p>Reading it, I also realised the importance of taking a break from the ‘auto-mode’ in our spiritual life and contemplate on important issues surrounding us.</p>
<p>I am sharing the same correspondence below and I pray that the readers get the intended message. I am first sharing the letter which HH Tamal Krishna Maharaj received from Srila Prabhupada and then his thought process and contemplation. This correspondence also shows the level of simplicity and openness which existed between Srila Prabhupada and his disciples. I have taken the liberty to highlight some portions, here it goes.</p>
<p>Prabhupada’s next letter arrived. Srila Prabhupada said:</p>
<p>Los Angeles, California, June 21st 1970</p>
<p>My Dear Tamal,</p>
<p>Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 18th June, 1970, sent by Special Delivery Air Mail.</p>
<p>Krishna philosophy is understood as it is stated in the Vedas:</p>
<p>yasya deve para bhakti yathadeve tatha gurou</p>
<p>tasya ete kathitha hi artha prakasante mahatmanah</p>
<p>“One who has got unflinching faith in the Supreme Lord and similar faith in his Spiritual Master to him only the imports of Vedic knowledge become revealed.”</p>
<p>A Spiritual Master is always liberated. In any condition of His life He should not be mistaken as ordinary human being. This position of a Spiritual Master is achieved by three processes. One is called sadhan siddha. That means one who is liberated by executing the regulative principles of devotional service. Another is kripa siddha, one who is liberated by the mercy of Krsna or His devotee. And another is nitya siddha who is never forgetful of Krsna throughout his whole life. These are the three features of the perfection of life.</p>
<p>So far Narada Muni is concerned, in His previous life He was a maidservant’s son, but by the mercy of the devotees He later on became siddha and next life He appeared as Narada with complete freedom to move anywhere by the grace of the Lord. So even though He was in His previous life a maidservant’s son there was no impediment in the achievement of His perfect spiritual life. Similarly any living entity who is conditioned can achieve the perfectional stage of life by the above mentioned processes and the vivid example is Narada Muni.</p>
<p>So I do not know why you have asked about my previous life. Whether I was subjected to the laws of material nature? So, even though accepting that I was subjected to the laws of material nature, does it hamper in my becoming Spiritual Master? What is your opinion? From the life of Narada Muni it is distinct that although He was a conditioned soul in His previous life, there was no impediment of His becoming the Spiritual Master. This law is applicable not only to the Spiritual Master, but to every living entity.</p>
<p>There are thousands of examples explained in our books that the conditioned soul is never affected with the material body. It is said in the Vedas asamga ayam purusa, which means the living entity is always unaffected with matter. Another example is given that the reflection of the moon on water appears to be moving, but actually the moon is not moving, it is fixed up. So any living entity is like that. His reflection on the material body appears to be changing, but the spirit soul is fixed up, therefore this movement is called illusion.</p>
<p>Liberation means liberation from this changing condition. So far I am concerned, I cannot say what I was in my previous life, but one great astrologer calculated that I was previously a physician and my life was sinless. Besides that, to corroborate the statement of Bhagavad Gita “sucinam srimatam gehe yogabhrasta samyayate” which means an unfinished yogi takes birth in rich family or born of a suci or pious father. By the grace of Krishna I got these two opportunities in the present life to be born of a pious father and brought up in one of the richest, aristocratic families of Calcutta (Kasinath Mullick). The Radha Krsna Deity in this family called me in 1966 to meet Him, and therefore last time when I was in Calcutta, I stayed in that temple along with my American disciples. Although I had immense opportunities to indulge in the four principles of sinful life because I was connected with a very aristocratic family, Krsna always saved me, and throughout my whole life I do not know what is illicit sex, intoxication, meat-eating or gambling. So far my present life is concerned; I do not remember any part of my life when I was forgetful of Krsna.</p>
<p>……………</p>
<p>Your ever well-wisher,</p>
<p>A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami</p>
<p>Upon reading this letter I was stunned as if jolted by an electric current. Literally I lost strength and had to sit down. As I sat alone in the temple, my mind reeled. I had not at all been prepared for such a letter.</p>
<p>Again I reread it to be sure that I had understood Prabhupada’s mood rightly. He was firm and straightforward in his defence of the spiritual master’s absolute position. I had committed a great blunder, which Srila Prabhupada by his causeless mercy had not tolerated. When previously I had committed the indiscretion of asking permission to chant the names of the gopis, he had only mildly replied that there was no need. But there was no such indulgence in this letter. The matter was far too serious. I had raised a question about his previous life and whether he had been subjected to the laws of material nature. Prabhupada sensed a doubt inherent in my questioning. If such doubt existed and was not at once quelled, my spiritual life would be undermined at its very foundation. Considering the gravity of the subject, Srila Prabhupada’s mood was extremely tempered.</p>
<p>I tried to examine my motives. Why had I asked such a question? I had been studying the life of Narada Muni from the First Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam. From my reading I had gotten the impression that at one time he was an ordinary, conditioned soul. That had led me to wonder about Srila Prabhupada’s previous life and whether he had also been conditioned at some previous time. But I felt no uncertainty about Narada Muni’s infallibility, nor of Srila Prabhupada’s. Narada Muni was traveling from planet to planet liberating the entire universe by spreading the glories of the Maha-Mantra, and Prabhupada was doing the same in this world on his behalf. Srila Prabhupada was actually my life and soul, and I meant exactly as I had written in a previous letter; everything I had, including myself, was his to do with as he wished. Surely Srila Prabhupada knew the depth of my sincerity. Then why such a strong letter?</p>
<p>I concluded that Prabhupada was taking no chances. If there was even a pinch of distrust for his transcendental position that unsealed flaw would one day crack my spiritual life. And like a fire, it had to be put out at once, thoroughly. Left to its own ways, doubt, like fire, could consume everything in its path. Unflinching faith in one’s spiritual master was the key to success in spiritual life. Lord Caitanya, though the Supreme Personality of Godhead, explained that total faith in His spiritual master’s words was the cause of His achieving success in the matter of chanting Hare Krsna. In contrast, a faithless disciple loses the thread of devotional service and eventually his lips cannot even form the shape of the holy names of the Lord.</p>
<p>My question had arisen in regard to Narada Muni’s previous life: Was it wrong to think of him as ordinary at the time? Prabhupada’s answer was clear: “In any condition of his life he should not be mistaken as ordinary human being.” Just as when we think of famous wealthy men of the world like Rockefeller or Ford, we may hear of their early struggles when they may even have been poor. But that does not cloud our vision of them as being fabulously wealthy. Rather, their early life is precursory as the fertile ground in which the seed of their good fortune was sown. Their present stature does not allow us to view them as ever having been ordinary poor men. How much more so in the case of great liberated souls, as evidenced by the wonderful activities of Narada Muni, who began as a maidservant’s son! His were not the activities of an ordinary low-class boy; otherwise why would the author of the Bhagavatam, Srila Vyasadeva, have bothered to include the incidents of his previous life? Such narrations are of the utmost interest because they ultimately resulted in his becoming the great transcendentalist Narada Muni. Therefore the spiritual master is always liberated, and none of his activities-present or previous-should ever be thought of as ordinary.</p>
<p>The Vedic literatures are full of examples of great personalities who took their birth in seemingly common circumstances. The great devotee Vidura, though born in the womb of a sudrani, enlightened the great king Maharaja Yudhisthira. Haridasa Thakura, a Muslim by birth, was elevated as the namacarya for the whole world. The prayers of Kunti devi, a woman, are revered by great liberated sages. And there are hundreds of other similar examples. If one’s birth in this lifetime is not a criterion for judgment, then what to speak of one’s previous life? I could answer Srila Prabhupada with certainty that one’s past in no way hampered one’s becoming a spiritual master. Srila Prabhupada, both in his lectures and his books, has made this very evident. In Teachings of Lord Caitanya he explains this point clearly:</p>
<p>Whatever position one may have, if he is fully conversant with the science of Krsna, Krsna consciousness, he can become a bona fide spiritual master, initiator, a teacher of this science. In other words one can become a bona fide spiritual master if he has sufficient knowledge of the science of Krsna, Krsna consciousness. The position does not depend on a particular position in society or on birth. This is the conclusion of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and it is in accordance with the Vedic injunctions….In ancient days there was even a hunter named Dharma, who became a spiritual master for many people.</p>
<p>My question had betrayed an even more basic misunderstanding about the identity of the soul in regard to the body. To demonstrate that the soul is unaffected by its material surroundings, Prabhupada cited the example that the moon appears to move in its reflection on water, despite its actual steady position in the firmament. That apparent movement is factually the rippling effect of the water, not the movement of the moon itself. The Bhagavad Gita and other Vedic literatures contain numerous statements confirming the soul’s transcendence over matter:</p>
<p>Those with the vision of eternity can see that the soul is transcendental, eternal, and beyond the modes of nature. Despite contact with the material body, O Arjuna, the soul neither does anything nor is entangled.</p>
<p>The sky, due to its subtle nature, does not mix with anything, though it is all-pervading. Similarly, the soul, situated in Brahman vision, does not mix with the body, though it is situated in that body. (Bg. 13.32-33)</p>
<p>My question was most inappropriate, because the spiritual master, as the direct manifestation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead’s mercy feature, is never considered within the category of ordinary conditioned souls. Lest any doubts linger after citing the conclusions of scripture, Srila Prabhupada put his personal life before me as evidence. Though, connected with a wealthy aristocratic family, he had had immense opportunity for sinful life, throughout his whole life he had never indulged in intoxication, meat-eating, nor engaged in gambling or illicit sex. Most strikingly, Srila Prabhupada stated that throughout his whole life he was never forgetful of Krsna. In fact, Krsna was personally protecting him and had saved him on numerous occasions. Srila Prabhupada said that the Radha-Krsna Deity in his family’s Calcutta home had personally called him back to Calcutta. These were unusual admissions for Srila Prabhupada to make. Due to his natural humility as Krsna’s pure devotee, he rarely spoke of his own purity and intimate relationship with Krsna. But his prodding disciple had now forced these statements out.</p>
<p>And the evidence was clear for all to see. As Narada Muni was krpa siddha, having been liberated by the mercy of Krsna and His devotees, Srila Prabhupada as much as admitted to his own exalted position as a nitya-siddha devotee of the Lord. By his own statements, he had never, ever forgotten Krsna, not even in his last life, as the calculations of one great astrologer revealed.</p>
<p>I felt ashamed that I had ever asked Srila Prabhupada such a question. What I did not know at the time was that Srila Prabhupada’s lengthy response was not prompted merely by my thoughtless query. In America some of his disciples had committed serious discrepancies in regard to this very same matter. Srila Prabhupada had reason to suspect that some of his Godbrothers in India, due to envy, were influencing his disciples to doubt in his bonafidity. I was completely unaware that such a thing was going on. I had thought Prabhupada’s letter to be an isolated issue, when in fact it had been written at a highly sensitive time when an actual attempt was being made to minimize his position as the founder-acarya of ISKCON.</p>
<p>Srila Prabhupada’s instructions, because they are based on Vedic conclusions, do not become irrelevant due to the passage of time. The transcendental stature of the spiritual master, irrespective of birth or other social considerations, will always be accepted by learned men. Srila Prabhupada’s life should be seen as the performance of a great transcendental personality who appeared on the stage of Kali-yuga. Though he himself is timeless and could have been equally well suited to any one of the ages, he never lost sight of the historical significance of his appearance. As sastra-caksus, he always rested his words and deeds upon the authority of the Vedas. Yet as the great preaching acarya for this age, he spoke and acted considering fully the needs of the generations yet to come. The legacy of his appearance in the form of his books, his disciples, and the worldwide institution of ISKCON will be able to nourish all spiritually minded men through the duration of this age.</p>
<p>Only the poor-hearted, the materialists, the envious, could fail to find sufficiency in ‘Srila Prabhupada’s magnanimous gifts. For such unfortunates, his books will remain a mystery, his disciples an enigma, his spiritual institution a material organization.</p>
<p>(Biographies and Glorifications of Srila Prabhupada-Servant of the Servant-The European Yatra-Le Sankirtana Parisien-Tamala Krsna Goswami)</p>
<p>So as his followers and grand children we must develop absolute faith in the mercy and potency of Srila Prabhupada, this alone is sustaining ISKCON and its ever increasing members. Srila Prabhupada is the primary shiksha Guru of all ISKCON devotees. Therefore, we must first carefully study all his books, not just merely read them, and we will find how he has given the essence of Mahaprabhu’s and previous acharayas teachings. Finally, we should daily beg and pray to receive association of those devotees whose pure heart have Srila Prabhupada’s lotus feet in them. Only then we can make our life successful in this very lifetime.</p>
<p>All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga.</p>
<p>All glories to Srila Prabhupada.</p>
<p><br /> <strong>Source:</strong> <a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=26212">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=26212</a></p>
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</div></div>Wear it like a jewel by Kadamba Kanana Swamihttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/wear-it-like-a-jewel-by-kadamba-kanana-swami2021-11-22T09:28:15.000Z2021-11-22T09:28:15.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9831427258,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="450" alt="9831427258?profile=RESIZE_584x" />There are many limbs of devotional service, 64 to be precise. By engaging in these 64 aspects, we can make so much spiritual advancement. The first is guru-padasraya – taking shelter of the lotus feet of the spiritual master. The second one is to accept initiation and receive spiritual instructions. The third is serving the spiritual master with love.</p>
<p>Before we reach love, we may serve out of fear. Why? Well, the sastras create a lot of fear in our hearts as it is very clear that we cannot disobey the orders of the spiritual master. If you do not follow the orders of the guru, your spiritual life will be ruined. If it is not too serious, then you just dry up and become slack in your practice. This causes some fear but there is another reason why we are afraid of the spiritual master. Never before has someone had such authority over us, not even our parents; not even the government or the national leaders have the same authority over us. Sometimes we may cut a few corners or cause civil disobedience, and others are just outright criminals. And as I am saying all of this, I realise that I am looking straight at a lawyer seated in front of me! (laughter) We experience our limitations. We practice these 64 limbs and try to serve our spiritual master not out of fear but by trusting him.</p>
<p>We must take the desire of the spiritual master and wear it like a jewel. Take it happily and not reluctantly. This relationship with the spiritual master must become our greatest treasure and we must have full faith in it. When Lord Nityananda goes into a liquor store, we do not question his motives. We have faith that He is going in there to give mercy. In the same way, we must have faith in our spiritual master. We must offer our whole existence in that relationship. We must become what he wants us to become, not what we want to.<br /> <br /> <strong>Source:</strong> <a href="https://www.kksblog.com/2021/11/wear-it-like-a-jewel/">https://www.kksblog.com/2021/11/wear-it-like-a-jewel/</a></p></div>Giving disciples a vision by Kadamba Kanana Swamihttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/giving-disciples-a-vision-by-kadamba-kanana-swami2021-04-09T12:24:57.000Z2021-04-09T12:24:57.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}8775442880,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="450" alt="8775442880?profile=RESIZE_584x" /></p>
<p>In my youth, I came to Krsna consciousness and I had lots of energy and I used it all with a lot of enthusiasm to do many things. The focus was on doing things for Krsna – doing service. I tried to do a lot of service. In the cause of doing service, I did step on a few toes here and there. I did elbow a few people out of the way or knock them over. What shall I say? But these things were secondary to me because the things that needed to be done in devotional service were the most important. But as time progressed, I was not only responsible for doing things in devotional service but I became responsible for people doing things in devotional service. And I looked after them and together with them, I tried to get things done. As time moved along the focus shifted more and more to people and it became my service to look after people. Not even so much about them having to do this service or that service and getting some service done through them. No, now my service was just to look after people in general and how I could help them to realise their full potential.</p>
<p>Tamal Krsna Maharaja in that regards once said, “It is a duty of a spiritual master to give his disciples a vision about their own life which is greater than what they would have come up with on their own. And then to help the disciples to realise that potential.” So that was something I remembered instantly. As soon as he said it, I memorised it. It was that potent and impertinent. It summed up what I was supposed to be doing. Anyhow from doing things for Krsna, to looking after people who were doing things for Krsna and to looking after people for Krsna. All these things come up in devotional service and yes that mercy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu offers us a golden opportunity. We can take advantage in the service we do for this mission and in our personal behaviour and in our dealings with the vaisnavas, then surely we can go back to Godhead!<br /> <br /> <strong>Source: </strong><a href="https://www.kksblog.com/2021/04/giving-disciples-a-vision/">https://www.kksblog.com/2021/04/giving-disciples-a-vision/</a></p></div>Letter of Gratitude by ISKCON Ujjainhttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/letter-of-gratitude-by-iskcon-ujjain2020-08-20T09:28:51.000Z2020-08-20T09:28:51.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><a href="https://i.imgur.com/MYEBk9Z.jpeg?profile=RESIZE_584x" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="https://i.imgur.com/MYEBk9Z.jpeg?profile=RESIZE_584x" width="520" alt="MYEBk9Z.jpeg?profile=RESIZE_584x" /></a></p>
<p>Dear Devotees, Friends and Well-wishers,</p>
<p>Please accept our most humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.</p>
<p>Earlier this year, on the 19th March, our beloved spiritual master, HH Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaj, came to Ujjain. He gave us his invaluable association for ten weeks, before he departed for America. The tragic sequence of events that unfolded after our Guru Maharaj arrived in Florida took us by surprise. Soon after he was admitted to hospital, the GBC Executive Committee issued a statement to that effect, and requested devotees to pray for his prompt and full recovery. The profuseness and intensity of prayers that were offered worldwide gave us hope that our Guru Maharaj would certainly recover. As such, we were completely unprepared when he departed from this world on the 4th July, the auspicious Guru Purnima day and also the disappearance day of Srila Sanātana Goswami.</p>
<p>Amidst this indescribable sense of loss, despair and emptiness, we have also experienced a unified and unconditional demonstration of support from devotees across the globe. Whilst bearing their own grief, senior devotees and Prabhupada disciples have embraced us with their hearts full of warmth, love, affection and spiritual nourishment. This overwhelming expression of concern for our spiritual and physical well-being has lasted from the time our Guru Maharaj was admitted to hospital until now. With our hearts filled with gratitude and indebtedness, we bow down to all the Vaishnavas for carrying us through this most difficult ordeal. Srila Prabhupada truly made a house in which the whole world can live.</p>
<p>Our Guru Maharaj always emphasized that we must never leave ISKCON; he had an implicit faith that if we remained under the shelter of Srila Prabhupada, our spiritual lives would be safe. He would often say, “ISKCON is Srila Prabhupada’s family. You have your uncles, aunts, brothers, sisters and cousins. Thus, you are never alone.” We are practically experiencing this now.</p>
<p>For the past month and a half, senior devotees have been giving classes on a daily basis and blessing us with their association. Their words of wisdom, based on their own previous experiences, have brought us closer to Srila Prabhupada and enabled us to understand that the spiritual master lives on through his Vani. Their encouragement and appreciation for our Guru Maharaj have helped to soothe our aching hearts and made it possible for us to look to the future with hope.</p>
<p>Our Guru Maharaj built this beautiful temple of Sri Sri Radha Madanmohan in Ujjain, as an offering to Srila Prabhupada, and he lovingly engaged us in Their service. We humbly bow down in the dust of the lotus feet of all the Vaishnavas, and seek your blessings and continued guidance so that we may humbly serve Srila Prabhupada and his loyal followers, and thus carry on the legacy of our dear Guru Maharaj.</p>
<p>Your humble servants,</p>
<p>ISKCON Ujjain Devotees<br /> <br /> <strong>Source:</strong> <a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=88528">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=88528</a></p></div>Dealing With the Loss of One’s Spiritual Masterhttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/dealing-with-the-loss-of-one-s-spiritual-master2020-07-29T12:30:49.000Z2020-07-29T12:30:49.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><center>
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<p><strong>By Sri Nandanandana dasa (Stephen Knapp)</strong></p>
<p>When the spiritual master leaves the body and moves on, it is naturally the worst day of the disciple’s life. Many times we have become accustomed to thinking of our guru in a particular way, serving him in certain ways, listening to his classes, waiting and longing for him to visit our town or local temple, engaging in special exchanges with him or her, and then suddenly all such prospects are gone. The depth of our despair can be unfathomable. So what do we do then?</p>
<p>[I originally wrote this article shortly after the disappearance of Bhakti Tirtha Swami years ago to help his disciples. But as we are all growing older, such situations will not only continue, but will increase. Therefore, I thought this may be more pertinent than before.]</p>
<p>There are so many ways in which a disciple deals with this situation. Some become so numb that they simply can not dwell on it. Some can hardly accept it. Or they naturally cry and cannot face the idea of continuing life without their gurudeva. Others may absorb themselves in service or in remembering him. Some may never have thought of the fact that one day their guru would be gone. So it can be shocking as well as extremely upsetting. The way that each disciple deals with the situation is as varied as there are disciples.</p>
<p>The next step is how to continue getting the spiritual master’s association. Naturally there are his books, tapes, CDs, video recordings, or other methods by which one can still remember his teachings, his mannerisms, or his own ways of spiritual practice. And, of course, the disciples can also share with each other their own stories and memories of various events that took place with their guru. Through these methods, one can fill the time and mind with the association of one’s guru. However, now you may have to work a little harder to invoke the presence of your guru.</p>
<p>HOW ARE YOU GOING TO CONTINUE?</p>
<p>In spite of so many ways we may deal with the situation, the bottom line is, what are you going to do now? The loss of your spiritual master may mean that it is time for you to grow up… to a new level of understanding your own purpose, your own potential, responsibility and even leadership ability. Maybe it is time for you to move forward to help fill the gap that has been left by the physical absence of the spiritual master. Your guru may have been called to serve someplace else by the Lord’s desire, which means you and your Godbrothers and Godsisters are here to carry on with the mission of your guru and some of you will need to step forward to take up more of that responsibility. It may also be time to depend more on your Godfamily as well as be better association for them. I personally remember this quite clearly from the time when Srila Prabhupada departed.</p>
<p>It may also be time to meditate more on what your guru would want you to do, or what your guru would expect from you in the situations you encounter. It may be time to allow more of your own potential to manifest. You may feel that you will never be what your guru was, or that you will never do anything equal to what he did, and that is all right. A disciple will never feel that he or she will be as great as their own guru and do all that he could do. However, that does not mean that you allow your humility to create a feeling of uselessness or stifle your own potential to carry on your guru’s legacy and mission. His determination and preaching is a sign of his dedication to his own guru, which is the example you must follow to your spiritual master.</p>
<p>We have to remember that the more spiritual we become, the more we can perceive that which is spiritual. And the more you will understand that everything is going according to plan, according to the schedule. It may not be your plan. It may not be what you want. And it may even be months or years before you begin to understand why things happened the way they did. But when you do, you will understand that things happened to bring about a certain event or situation to move things forward. Everything that is happening is a preparation for something else to manifest. Furthermore, a key element of what is meant to take place is the next step in the process of your own development.</p>
<p>In this line of thinking, Jiva Goswami uses some quotes from the Srimad-Bhagavatam in his Sri Krishna Sandarbha (Anuccheda 123, texts 2-3, Anuccheda 124, text 1, taken from Bhagavatam 11.30.49) to clarify how everything that happens in connection with Krishna is part of a bigger plan. In these verses, Lord Krishna explains to His chariot driver, Daruka, that all catastrophes related to His pastimes, such as the disappearance of His associates, are like illusory displays of His potencies. Therefore, even when the Lord’s associates, such as our present-day pure devotees and great sages disappear, we should consider it a part of the Lord’s pastimes, as He explains as follows:<br /> “My dear Daruka, do not be unhappy because of the destruction of the Yadu dynasty, or the disappearance of Lord Balarama. Become patient and fixed in actual knowledge. These calamities are simply an illusory show, fabricated by My internal potency. There is no need to become agitated because of these so-called catastrophes.”</p>
<p>Jiva Goswami explains further, “In this verse, the words tvam tu refer to Daruka, jnana-nisthah means “understanding the truth about My transcendental pastimes,” mad-dharmam means “My natural inclination to protect My devotees, such as yourself,” and asthaya means “having faith.” Krishna tells Daruka that the present calamities, such as the destruction of the Yadu dynasty, are like magical tricks performed by Him. Daruka should understand all this (vijnaya) and become free (upashamam vraja) from grief and agitation of the mind, which is produced by superficial understanding. By the word tu (but), Sri Krishna tells Daruka: Others may become bewildered by these pastimes of Mine, but you should not.</p>
<p>“Daruka, a perfectly liberated devotee, who had descended with the Lord from Vaikuntha, understood this statement of the Lord. This is the proper explanation of the Lord’s final pastimes and the destruction of the Yadu dynasty.”</p>
<p>“The transcendental nature of the appearance and disappearance of Lord Sri Krishna and His confidential associates is described in three verses from Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.31.11-13). In the first of these verses (11), Sukadeva Gosvami says to Maharaja Pariksit: O King, please try to understand that the appearance of Sri Krishna and His confidential associates (who have spiritual forms just like that of the Lord), their pastimes, and their disappearance from this earth, are like a dramatic play enacted by Lord Krishna’s internal potency. Sri Krishna is not an ordinary living entity, but in truth is the Supreme Person who has created this entire material world, who entered into every atom of that creation as the all-pervading Supersoul, and who will destroy the entire universe at the time of annihilation. He is the Supreme Lord, who sometimes comes to this material world to display His pastimes here, although He always remains free from the influence of the material energy, and situated in His own transcendental glory.”</p>
<p>There are many insights we can get from this, but one thing we can take is that when our great devotees, sages and gurus leave this world, it is under the arrangement of the Supreme Lord, and that their service to Lord Krishna continues on another level, a level that we may or may not be able to see, but which goes on in some other way nonetheless. That means our service to our guru and such devotees can also continue, but in what appears to be in their absence. In that regard, there is little that changes. We continue to serve our spiritual master or the great devotees, and in this way our connection with them remains or even becomes stronger. If we continue like this, then in time, when we also give up these bodies, we will follow them towards a higher destination.</p>
<p>In the meantime, you cannot think about fading away from your guru’s mission, in which he undertook so much austerity, sacrifice and determination to establish. This is also a continuation of his own spiritual master’s mission. You cannot legitimately feel that because your spiritual master is no longer physically present you are not so inspired to continue, or that you’ll fade away. If you feel you cannot go on because your guru is no longer present, then how would that please your guru? So that is not an option. Otherwise, the love you have shown for your guru is only conditional love, love as long as things are as you want them to be, or as long as your own spiritual master is in the form with which you are most familiar.</p>
<p>If you are attached to only one form of the guru, that is conditional love. If we are attached to his form such as being a young man who can dance wondrously while leading great kirtans, or as a great scholar with a photographic memory, etc., but can not imagine him as someone who could get old and sick, or even lose a limb from disease, or not being able to be his usual, dynamic personality, then that is conditional love. The spiritual master can manifest in so many ways for the mercy of the disciple if the disciple is open to it. The changing situation may even be a test for the disciple. Even appearing to be physically sick and dependent on the disciple is a way the guru provides extra mercy and a chance to advance for the disciple. So we must raise our love to the unconditional level and not have it based merely on particular forms. These bodies that we are in are bound to change. But our love must be unconditional.</p>
<p>Some disciples may say that they cannot imagine their guru being sick, or never being able to dance up a storm during kirtan, or not being able to preach in a robust manner. But in this ever-changing material world, we cannot be attached to temporary appearances. The guru will utilize whatever is necessary to inspire the disciples to take up the chanting of the holy names, even through dancing and ecstatic kirtans, or inspiring lectures, etc. We have to raise our love to an unconditional state and see that the essence of the spiritual master is his preaching, teaching, his writings, and the inspiration he provides that brings us to want to follow the process of hearing and chanting the glories of the Lord. This is what is permanent in the service of Lord Krishna. This is the legacy of the guru which is what we should be most attached and dedicated to preserving, continuing and expanding. My own spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, did not do a lot of dancing. He mostly gave class, wrote letters, translated Sanskrit texts, and lead kirtans while sitting on the Vyasasanna, and engaged in exchanges with his disciples. But he inspired everyone to chant the holy names.</p>
<p>We also must remember that it is through our attachment and dedication to our guru and his mission that we stay connected to him as well as to the whole parampara that appeared before him. The parampara is like the long arm of Krishna descending down through generations. When you are still connected with your guru, you are then connected to the whole parampara, or sampradaya. In our Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya sampradaya, this goes up through Srila Prabhupada, Bhaktisiddhanta, Gaura Kishora dasa Babaji, Bhaktivinoda Thakur, on up to Lord Chaitanya, Srila Vyasadeva and Brahma, and to Lord Krishna Himself. So it is like grabbing an electric line that is powered by the original power house. By grabbing onto your own guru through faith and service, who is connected with the parampara, you have the backing of all these great and powerful spiritual authorities. So think of how much potency is there to help you and which can come through you to help others. The disciple never need feel that he or she is alone, without the physical presence of the spiritual master. The guru is always there, depending on the faith and sincerity of the disciple. The spiritual platform is all around us, and the more focused we become to the spiritual dimension, the more we are in tune with all those spiritual authorities who also exist on that strata.</p>
<p>Furthermore, you should expect miracles on the spiritual path and in Krishna consciousness. So many miracles have already happened. But this does not mean that you act merely as a witness to the miracles around you. But you should also be ready to see and allow miracles to happen within you, or through you. This is the affect of the potency in your connection to the parampara through your spiritual master. Even if our actions are full of faults, if our intention is sincere, then the potency of the parampara can still come through and empower us with unexpected results, even miracles. In this way, miracles can manifest through us or in the projects we sincerely try to do. And we never know exactly how these will manifest. They may develop in quite unexpected ways, or doors of opportunity will open when we did not even know they were there. So we must be determined to continue our service and preaching work and never give up. This is how we will continue to get the blessings of our spiritual master, even if it appears that he is no longer physically present.</p>
<p>Thus, the guru can still make himself known to the sincere disciple in many ways. We simply have to keep dedicating ourselves to his teaching and instructions. We have to honor the spiritual master and his guidance, his books, and accept them as they are. We must not think that we know better, or that we accept certain things but not others. Such an offensive view will surely create a slow or even immediate disconnection between us and our guru and, thus, the whole parampara. So, we must make sure that does not happen.</p>
<p>In these ways, a disciple can continue to honor and respect the guru and his teachings, as well as remain connected and inspired to preserve and expand his mission. Then we also uphold all that the spiritual master worked for and the purpose of the whole parampara, the line of spiritual masters before him. In this way, our own lives become spiritually successful, and we go on to give the blessings and potency of our guru to others.</p>
<div><strong>Source: </strong><a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=87922">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=87922</a></div></div>Feeling separation from HH Bhakti Charu Swami by HH Bhakti Bibudha Bodhayan Swamihttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/feeling-separation-from-hh-bhakti-charu-swami-by-hh-bhakti-bibudh2020-07-11T10:47:13.000Z2020-07-11T10:47:13.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}6783238061,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="500" alt="6783238061?profile=RESIZE_584x" />HH Bhakti Bibudha Bodhayan Swami says a few words on HH Bhakti Charu Maharaja<br /> All Glories to Sri Brahma Madhva Gaudiya Saraswata Sampradaya (lineage).<br /> All Glories to my beloved Grand Spiritual Master His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur PRABHUPADA and my beloved Spiritual Master His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Pramode Puri Goswami Thakur.</p>
<p>Our sampradaya’s prominent heritage, His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaj, physically left all of us on the 4th of July 2020. I feel very much separation, remembering our association from the previous days. I saw how Srila Charu Maharaj used to come to my spiritual master, His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Pramode Puri Goswami Thakur, at Kolkata’s Sri Chaitanya Gaudiya Math and also at Sri Gopinath Gaudiya Math, Mayapur with many spiritual queries. Srila Charu Maharaja’s service attitude to serve my Gurudeva was very beautiful. I have also seen Srila Charu Maharaja’s faith on others spiritual uncles like His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Rakshak Sridhar Goswami Maharaj and His Divine Grace Bhakti Alok Paramahamsa Goswami Maharaj. As I remember, Srila Bhakti Charu Maharaj engaged his disciples, Sriman Chaitanya Das Prabhu and Malini Devi (Sriman Chaitanya Das Prabhu’s wife) to look after the education of my Gurudeva’s brother’s grandson, Vasudeva Prabhu. Srila Charu Maharaj also engaged Sriman Chaitanya Das and Malini Devi to give some monthly financial support for my Gurudeva’s Ananta-Vasudeva temple located at Kalna. In 1994 Srila Charu Maharaja’s disciple, doctor Subal Sakha Prabhu, from Anudul, Howrah (West Bengal) facilitated in the health care of my Gurudeva. Thus, Srila Charu Maharaj taught his disciples to generously serve senior Vaisnavas without discrimination. According to my own feeling, Srila Charu Maharaj and his disciples were always loyal to my Gurudeva.</p>
<p>When I was a brahmachari, I used to attend Srila Charu Maharaja’s classes in the Conch Building. At that time Srila Charu Maharaj use to give classes on Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur’s Jaiva Dharma on the rooftop. His classes were very attractive to me. I am very much remembering Maharaj today. Two months ago, I requested Srila Charu Maharaj to write a homage for my Gurudeva which would be included in my Gurudeva’s biography. Srila Charu Maharaj composed a very sweet and faithful offering which was very heart-touching for me. All of Srila Charu Maharaj’s sweet behavior really makes me feel separation from him. Right after Srila Charu Maharaj sent me his homage, he went to USA. I did not know that within such a short period of time we would get such heartache news of his departure.</p>
<p>I am praying to my worshipful Lord, Sri Sri Radha Gopinath Jiu, for engaging Srila Charu Maharaj in the service of his Gurudeva, His Divine Grace Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada eternally. From the bottom of my heart, I pray at Srila Maharaja’s lotus feet: please forgive me for all of my offenses and bestow upon me your blessings to carry on the loving mission of Lord Chaitanya for the rest of my life under the shelter of my Gurudeva, HDG Srila Bhakti Pramode Puri Goswami Thakur with purity.</p>
<p>Haribol.<br /> Yours in the Service of Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s Mission,<br /> Bhakti Bibudha Bodhayan.<br /> Sri Gopinath Gaudiya Math (President)<br /> <br /> <strong>Source:</strong> <a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=87255">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=87255</a></p></div>The Secret of Success in Spiritual Life by Damodar dashttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/the-secret-of-success-in-spiritual-life-by-damodar-das2020-05-30T11:50:01.000Z2020-05-30T11:50:01.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}5476175896,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="350" alt="5476175896?profile=RESIZE_400x" /></p>
<p><a href="http://girirajswami.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Caitanya_Rupa.jpg">“</a>While teaching Rupa Gosvami, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, guru-krsna-prasade paya bhakti-lata-bija: one can achieve the seed of devotional service by the mercy of the guru, the spiritual master, and then by the mercy of Krsna. This is the secret of success. First one should try to please the spiritual master, and then one should attempt to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura also says, yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasado. One should not attempt to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead by concoction. One must first be prepared to serve the spiritual master, and when one is qualified he is automatically offered the platform of direct service to the Lord.” —Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.9.28 purport</p>
<p><a href="http://girirajswami.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/05.25.20_SB7.9.28_Zoom_Boston_Carp.mp3">The Secret of Success in Spiritual Life</a> (Right click to download)</p>
<p><strong>Source:</strong> <a href="http://www.girirajswami.com/?p=15880">http://www.girirajswami.com/?p=15880</a></p></div>Baladeva, the Original Spiritual Master, Who Bestows Spiritual Strengthhttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/baladeva-the-original-spiritual-master-who-bestows-spiritual-stre2019-08-26T13:03:08.000Z2019-08-26T13:03:08.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://girirajswami.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Balaram.jpg"><img src="http://girirajswami.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Balaram-232x300.jpg" alt="" /></a></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><strong>By Giriraj Swami</strong></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">“Because He is as powerful as Lord Krsna and can bestow spiritual power to the devotees, He is therefore known as Baladeva. In the Vedas also it is enjoined that no one can know the Supreme Lord without being favored by Baladeva. Bala means spiritual strength, not physical. Some less intelligent persons interpret bala as the strength of the body. But no one can have spiritual realization by physical strength. Physical strength ends with the end of the physical body, but spiritual strength follows the spirit soul to the next transmigration, and therefore the strength obtained by Baladeva is never wasted. The strength is eternal, and thus Baladeva is the original spiritual master of all devotees.” —Srimad-Bhagavatam1.11.16–17 purport</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Jaya Baladeva!</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Source: <a href="http://www.girirajswami.com/?p=14604">http://www.girirajswami.com/?p=14604</a></p></div>