(Extract from the Harikatha by Śrī Śyām Dās Baba Mahārāj on 15/12/18 Mayapur Dham)
Guru and Vaiṣṇava s never try to speak dry philosophy. Their hari-kathā is coming from the heart. Usually, a Vaiṣṇava will feel disturbance if somehow, they feel that they are about to lose even a slight connection with the Eternal World. They always maintain a connection with the Eternal. Just like if a fish is kept out of water it will feel itself on the verge of death. Similarly, guru-Vaiṣṇava is always engaged in and absorbed in eternal sevā. Any type of disconnection with the Eternal World is intolerable and dangerous for them. A pure devotee can always see their Iṣṭa-deva everywhere. But a bounded soul can only see flesh and blood or material shape and design, etc. everywhere. For this reason,
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Prabhupāda used to say, “There is a gulf difference between this material world and that Transcendental World.”
Even the heaven and hell example are not applicable in this case. It is more accurate to say that the two are incomparable. The material conception is simply obsolete. Material life is full of misery. The restless material mind is always going to put us in the ocean of misery. Our situation in this material world is actually painful. When I start to feel that my material body is useless, then I will have developed a very good symptom. Maybe shortly thereafter I am going to lose my attachment to my body.
“amedhya purne krimikit sankule svabhava durgadhi vinindit antare
kalebare mutre purushe bhavire ramanti mudha viromanti paṇḍitaha”
(Alvandar-stotra) By Yamuna Ācārya)
“This useless material body is full of blood, flesh, stool, urine, etc. Still material people think it to be a place of enjoyment. The more we start to hate this body the more we are advancing. That is the verdict of the Paṇḍitas.”
Those who are real Paṇḍita realize the painful situation of this material body which is made up of blood and flesh. Insects are enjoying our insides at all times. Our material bodies are dirty and full of stool, urine, puss and blood. When we rise to the level of full consciousness and are in touch with the Supreme Lord all the time, then automatically we will lose our connection with this material body and mind and all related things.
Śrīman Mahāprabhu wanted to give this example to Sanātana Gosvāmīpad to clarify the point of full dedication unto the Lotus Feet of the Supreme Lord. A wicked lady will constantly try to exhibit her loving sevā to her husband while simultaneously anticipating the illegal association of her lover. Similarly, a pure devotee, though externally engaged in so many duties, will still feel a strong attraction to the Supreme Lord in his heart.
At present, we are in a bounded condition, but it is not that we should stay in this bound condition forever. We have to try our best, through sevā and by the mercy of pure guru-Vaiṣṇava, to cut this material bondage. Through powerful aprākṛta vāṇī sevā (hearing and chanting of harināma and hari-kathā), we become eligible to cut Maya and get eternal sevā.
We should understand the point that sādhana siddha is just as important as nitya siddha. We should not try to make any disparity. A sādhana-siddha–sādhu gets his siddha bhava through his perfect bhajana procedure; a nitya siddha comes to us to teach us perfect bhajana. Such personalities are usually deputed by the Supreme Lord for some special purpose.
From ‘Hari-bhakti-vilāsa’ we learn the important point that even a madhyama–adhikārī guru can never be disposed of. But if some big faults are found that cannot be ignored, such a fallen guru should be abandoned. Or the disciple can get permission from the madhyama-adhikārī Gurudev to get bhajana śikṣā with siddhānta–vichar of śāstra from an elevated śikṣā-guru. This is not considered offensive. The madhyama-adhikārī guru should not only give permission but should also join the disciple in going to hear from the more advanced Vaiṣṇava .
Why was Śrīla Prabhupāda Bhakti Siddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura bound to make a sweet adjustment between pāñcarātrika procedure and bhāgavat–guru–paramparā? Nobody can understand this vital point. From Śrī Caitanya–caritāmṛta we can also find that Śrīman Mahāprabhu indicated the same adjustment. Śrīman Mahāprabhu says that the purpose of pāñcarātrika vidhan (five special branches of knowledge) is non-different from bhāgavat–tattva-vijñāna (bhāgavata–paramparā).
In the guru–paramparā song composed by Śrīla Prabhupāda, we can see that the first half of the list of the guru–paramparā comes from the pāñcarātrika paramparā and the second half starts with the bhāgavata–paramparā. This very special harmony of the pāñcarātrika–paramparā and the bhāgavata–paramparā shown by Śrīla Prabhupāda has a great inner meaning. He wanted to prove that the flow of the power of the guru–paramparā can never be disturbed. We should try to approach the concept that way. Otherwise, our doubts and suspicions can throw us into the ocean of aparādha.
For example, Syamānanda Prabhu, the disciple of Gauri Das Paṇḍita, after taking his guru’s permission, went to Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmīpada to get tattva siddhānta–jñāna. By the blessings of Jīva Gosvāmīpada, Syamānanda Prabhu started feeling his eternal madhurya-rasa–bhava even though his Gurudev, Gauri Das Paṇḍita, was eternally in sakha-rasa-bhava.
Narottama Das Ṭhākura, the disciple of Lokanath Das Gosvāmī, plus Śrīnivasa Ācārya, the disciple of Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī, started getting tattva jñāna from Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmīpada. They, too, gradually started feeling their own eternal madhurya-rasa-bhava.
“Śrī guru agyaya tad sevān arivadhena ca anesam opi vaiṣṇava nam pujanam sreyaha”
(Bhakti Sandarbha 238 Anucceda)
By the permission of Sat Gurudeva other vaiṣṇava -sevā can be done to get good result in bhajana (because guru-tattva and vaiṣṇava – tattva is one and the same) but this should not cause any problem in the main guru-sevā process.
We cannot break the rules and regulations set by our dīkṣā guru. But at the same time, with the permission of our Gurudev, we can approach an elevated śikṣā- guru to get more power in our bhajana. But that should not disturb our main dīkṣā guru-sevā. Of course, all of those above procedures are applicable only for Sad-Gurudeva.
One special consideration is whether my śikṣā guru shows enough respect for my dīkṣā guru from whom I have received sambandha-jñāna. If he does not, surely, I cannot accept him as my śikṣā guru. The first duty of a śikṣā guru is to give me lessons that increase my faith in and respect for the Lotus feet of my dīkṣā guru.
If we develop some material conception toward guru-Vaiṣṇava, this will make us fall down. Some devotees left the Lotus Feet of Śrīla Bhakti Siddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda. Not only that, but later on they also started publishing some unusual books that ignored Śrīla Prabhupāda and did not mention his name. We can accept this remarkably negative example as a perfect indicator to guide us in our own devotional development.
Our pāñcarātrika dīkṣā guru gives us sambandha-jñāna, and bhāgavata-tattva śikṣā–guru gives us abhidheya-jñāna. Both gurus are on the same level, no doubt. But still our dīkṣā–guru must have some specialty because without sambhanda–jñāna, how can we start bhajana?
If both our dīkṣā and śikṣā gurus are present in the same place at the same time, in that case we are bound to bow down unto the Lotus Feet of our dīkṣā guru first. The material conception dictates that seniority should be given priority.
In the history of our guru–paramparā, sometimes we see a breakage of proper linkage in the chain. This break can only be reset by bhāgavata–paramparā. There is no other alternative. Śrīla Baladev Vidyābhūṣana, the great Gauḍīya Vedanta ācārya, wrote specifically about the flawless flow of the guru-paramparā in his book ‘Prameya Ratnavali’.
Śrīla Baladev Vidyābhūṣana Prabhu never wanted to make a false bridge between the Gauḍīya-paramparā and the Madhava-paramparā. Actually, Gauḍīyas are already in the line of Madhavācārya, because Śrīla Madhavendra Puri, Śrīla Isvara Puri, and Śrīman Mahāprabhu himself are already in the line of Madhavācārya. So do not accept any suggestion that the Śrī Madhava–Gauḍīya –paramparā is a concoction. It is a fact that Śrīla Baladev Vidyābhūṣana was already in the line of Madhavācārya. But by the mercy of our supreme Lord Śrīman Mahāprabhu, Śrīla Baladev Vidyābhūṣana got the chance to take dīkṣā in the line of the Shyamānanda Parivar in order to discover the unique taste of rasa-tattva.
Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has already written in his ‘Parikrama kanda’ book that the original ācāryas of the four authentic sampradāyas came in Gaura dhama to get the full kṛpā of Śrīman Mahāprabhu who is Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya. They all did receive the full Kripa of The Supreme Lord Śrīman Mahāprbhu. Noteworthy is the fact that Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu promised Śrīla Madhavācārya that He would accept the Madhavācārya-sampradāya in this Kali-Kal. So, we cannot attribute the link between the Madhava-sampradāya and the Gauḍīya-sampradāya to Śrīla Baladev Vidyābhūṣana; that connection was already eternally present.
The question might arise about where and how Śrīla Parīkṣit Mahārāj was initiated. Śrīla Prabhupāda would clarify, “What do you mean by dīkṣā?”
Dīkṣā means the procedure through which one can develop sambandha jñāna with the Supreme Lord. That had already occurred in the life of Śrīla Parīkṣit Mahārāj through his listening to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam kathā. Sambandha-, abhidheya– and prayojana–tattva are all present in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmīpada wrote in the ‘Sandharbas’ that there are two types of baktas (speakers). “bakta saraga niraga divido parikirtita” means there are two types of speakers of hari-kathā. One such devotee is “saraga.” He still has some kama, lust, or etc. in his heart but can still speak hari-kathā. The other kind is “niraga.” This personality has no material desires remaining in his heart. The vyāsāsana should only be occupied by a niraga bakta who has no demand for name, fame, position, money, honour and etc. We should not allow a saraga bakta to sit on the vyāsāsana to speak hari-kathā because he is contaminated. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī gave clear instructions that we should not allow a preacher with such mundane desires to sit on the vyāsāsana. Of course, those who want to be cheated will be cheated very easily by them. Common people like us have no capacity to detect who is a real preacher (a pure devotees). But still, we must endeavour to avoid a saraga bakta at all times because they are capable of misguiding the whole world. Since our own hearts are full of duplicity and disingenuousness, we cannot expect to find perfect guidance.
Śrīla Bhakti Siddhānta Sarasvatī Prabhupāda often said, “If I seek the path leading to the Absolute Truth then I must ignore the countless voices of popular wisdom and listen only to that of the realized soul.” We must remember this advice in order to save ourselves from a cheating preacher. Why are there some cheaters acting as preachers? The reason is that if they would speak the exact teachings, then the discrepancies in their own lifestyles would be discovered. Because of that, they are bound to be selective about what to speak and what not to speak. You will never be able to hear the Absolute Truth from them because they are foremost among those who aren’t following correctly.
In John 8:7 (New International Version), Jesus said, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone…”
For an acting ācārya, it is a great responsibility to demonstrate proper behaviour. If one’s adhikāra makes this impossible, it is better for him not to preach. For example, there was once a ship captain who chose to save himself instead of using his full effort to save the passengers in his vessel. Thinking to save just his own life, he jumped into the water. But it so happened that a strong whirlpool swallowed him. When he went to Yamaloka, Yamarāja told him that he had to pay and suffer for each and every living entity who died on the ferry which he was operating. The man replied that it was not his fault because he had tried to save them. But Yama replied, “No. You should not have jumped out of the boat to save only yourself. If you would have stayed aboard you would not now need to pay and suffer for all of them.”
What teaching can we get out of this incident? If an ācārya takes responsibility for guiding a soul to the final destination, but he himself falls down, then he will have to pay severely. If an ordinary devotee falls down then that can be excused. But if an ācārya falls down then this will create such a big disturbance.
A sādhu has no right to manufacture any new philosophy. A sādhu must repeat only what Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura a has told, only what Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Prabhupāda has told, and only what our guru-varga has told. Not even one dot or comma should be changed. The only things that can be added are the moods received from one’s Gurudeva.
Every ācārya has a specialty. Śrīla Bhakti Prajñāna Kesava Mahārāja, Śrīla Bhakti Rakshak Śrīdhar dev Gosvāmī Mahārāja and many others all have their own specialties.
Once someone asked my Gurudeva a nice question: “We see that every ācārya has his own specialty so how do we know whom to follow?”
My Gurudev, Bhakti Promode Puri Mahārāj, answered that first of all one has to follow his own guru. He added that the standard is, that guru must be on the platform of eternal existence and he must have realized his own svarūpa. Such a Guru will first give sambandha-jñāna. Once a disciple becomes more and more steady, with the permission of one’s Gurudeva, he can go to another Vaiṣṇava and ask him for help reconciling the specialties among them.
“Śrī guru agyaya tad sevān arivadhena ca anesam opi Vaiṣṇava nam pujanam sreyaha”
(Bhakti Sandarbha 238 Anucceda)
By the permission of Sat Gurudeva other vaiṣṇava- sevā can be done to get good result in bhajana (because guru-tattva and vaiṣṇava – tattva is one and the same) but this should not cause any problem in the main guru-sevā process.
A disciple might find that the ācāryas’ teachings are a little bit different from each other. But on the deepest level they are all the same.
Gaura Hari Haribol