Śrīla Bhaktī Rakshak Śridhar Goswāmī Mahārāj
QUESTION: Among these four āśramas – gṛhastha, brahmacārī, vānaprastha and sannyāsī – who can be an ācārya? Who has more qualification to become an ācārya?
ANSWER: Gṛhastha, brahmacārī, vānaprastha and sannyāsī – no one who belongs to any of these āśramas can become an ācārya. But in spite of accepting the outer dress of these āśramas, the eternally perfected, liberated personality who is beyond varnāśrama and who is expert in the science of Kṛṣṇa (kṛṣṇa-tattva-vit) can become an ācārya. Sannyāsa, vānaprastha, gṛhastha or brahmacārī etc. are not an evidence or an indication for being qualified to become an ācārya. Only one who is kṛṣṇa-tattva-vit and exclusively surrendered to Kṛṣṇa (kṛṣṇaika-śaraṇa) has the qualification to function as an ācārya. The words of Mahāprabhu are:
kiba vipra kiba nyāsī śūdra kene naya
yei kṛṣṇa-tattva vetta sei guru haya
“Whether one is a brāhmaṇa, a sannyāsī or a śūdra, whoever knows the science of Kṛṣṇa is a guru.” (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 8.128)
Can Anyone be Made Into an Ācārya?
QUESTION: Can anyone be made into an ācārya? Otherwise can an ācārya be elected based on the opinion of ordinary people or godbrothers?
ANSWER: Materialistic people cannot make an ācārya, nor can an ācārya be elected by the votes of materialistic people. Nevertheless, an ācārya or someone who is equal to an ācārya, can reveal news of the rise of an ācārya for the benefit of the world. The ācārya position of principle ācāryas like Śrīla Śrīnivāsācārya, Śrīla Ṭhākura Narottama and Śrīla Śyāmānanda Prabhu were revealed by Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī Prabhu. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura took the opportunity to reveal the position of the Gauḍīya Vedāntācārya, Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Prabhu, to the eyes of the world. None of them achieved the position of ācārya by dint of their expertise in performing mundane activities.
They achieved the very title of ācārya by dint of their mastery in pure devotional conclusions (bhakti–siddhānta) and preaching the sermons of the śāstras and personally following them. An ācārya can manifest within the guileless heart and words of non-envious godbrothers who are expert in devotional conclusions. But so-called fellow godbrothers who are cunning, envious and ignorant about spiritual topics, who are themselves greedy for mundane wealth, women and prestige, who are occupied in trying to become gurus themselves, who are proud and arrogant, who desire to lord over others – even if such persons engage in all sorts of malicious acts, reject a kṛṣṇa-tattva-vit, become envious of him and criticise the pure character of a Vaiṣṇava – it will not reduce the position of the kṛṣṇa-tattva-vit ācārya in any way.
Can There be Initiation from a Picture?
QUESTION: If there is hari–nāma initiation and dīkṣā in front of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s samādhi or photograph, will it be against śāstra to touch the mantra and beads to the samādhi or photograph?
ANSWER: If one pretends to give initiation by touching the mantra or beads to Śrīla Prabhupāda’s photo or samādhi, then it will simply amount to making a business out of arcana. In reality, if one wants initiation into kīrtana-yajña, the descent of the mahānta-guru is essential because he cuts asunder all doubts and is expert in the science of the Absolute (Para-brahma) and the scriptures (śabda-brahma). Even though the aforementioned system of worship can be seen in some apa–sampradāyas, such rituals are not practiced in the society of pure devotees. To say the least, it is an offence to guru and is in heretical opposition to the scriptures. In the words of Ṭhākura Bhaktivinoda:
“Those people who do not accept the Brahma sampradāya directed by references like para-vyomeśvarasyāsīc chiṣyo brahmā jagat-patiḥ (Brahmā, the lord of the universe, is the first student of Nārāyaṇa, Lord of Vaikuṇṭha”) etc. are preachers of heretical opinions according to the words of the Bhāgavata. Anyone who refuses to accept such statements is a promoter of atheism. Those who accept the authority of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya but secretly do not accept this disciplic succession of spiritual preceptors are actually agents of Kali.”
On Titles and Accolades
QUESTION: Is there a requirement that if someone becomes an ācārya he must be called paramahaṁsa, oṁ viṣṇupāda aṣṭottara-śata-śrī, cid-vilāsa, sampradāya-rakṣaka, śrī-rūpānuga-vara etc. If he is not addressed in such a way, is there any fault? Should his fellow godbrothers also use the same titles for their godbrother ācārya?
ANSWER: The words ācārya, paramahaṁsa etc. have the same meaning. Ācārya means guru. The sampradāya one follows, or those who attempt to follow, designate the ācārya by such titles as paramahaṁsa, oṁ viṣṇupāda aṣṭottara-śata-śrī etc. If one refuses to say that, then one creates an offence by disregarding the position of guru. Just as the emperor is addressed as ‘His Majesty’, ‘Defender of the Faith’ etc; the Viceroy or Governor, who is the King’s representative is addressed as ‘His Excellency’; the judge of the high court is addressed as ‘His Lordship’; Christian priests are addressed as ‘His Holiness’ or ‘His Grace’ etc. according to custom. Similarly, in Bhārata-varṣa also the spiritual ācārya is referred as paramahaṁsa, oṁ viṣṇupāda aṣṭottara-śata-śrī, cid-vilāsa, sampradāya-saṁrakṣaka, śrī-rūpānuga etc. according to the instructions of śāstra and proper etiquette. In the Sanskrit poem Kutarka-bhedika (‘The Destruction of Fallacious Arguments’) in The Gauḍīya, there is discussion on this topic.
“Although we accept him as a father, we will not call him father” – such an argument has its origins in modernity. If one does not show proper respect towards the ācārya befitting his position, one will fall down from devotional service and as a result, one’s arrogant mentality will increase. If materialistic people do not accept this, the ācārya will feel no harm – on the other hand, it only attests to the supreme misfortune, inauspiciousness and foolishness from their side.
As regards godbrothers:
sajātīyāśaye snigdhe sādhau sangaḥ svato vare
(Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, Pūrva-vibhāga 40)
The meaning is this – despite being endowed with a certain type of affection for the Lord, still, one who is serious aspires for the association of a sādhu, superior to his own self, and will consider that godbrother who is the best amongst all godbrothers, as a kṛṣṇa-tattva-vit and as being non-different from His Śrī Guru-pāda-padma. Otherwise it may happen that after the aprākṛta-līlā of Śrī Guru-pāda-padma, one may consider a godbrother as the best amongst those who are kṛṣṇa-tattva-vit as being like his guru (by doing this the eternal uniqueness of Śrī Guru-pāda-padma is not destroyed, instead true devotion to Śrī Guru-pāda-padma is established) in order to attain the service of Śrī Gurudeva under his guidance. One can refer to him as oṁ viṣṇupāda aṣṭottara-śata-śrī meaning that he considers him to be non-different from his Guru-pāda-padma.
Śrīpāda Bhakti Pradīpa Tīrtha Mahārāja, the initiated disciple of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, used to display devotion befitting an ācārya to Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Prabhupāda by honouring him with titles such as oṁ viṣṇupāda aṣṭottara-śata-śrī, Prabhupāda, paramahaṁsa, cid-vilāsa.
In the article entitled Madīśvara Śrīla Śrīla Prabhupāda in The Gauḍīya, Śrīla Tīrtha Mahārāja also referred to Om Visnupada Śrīla Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura as ‘Prabhupāda’ just as he referred to Oṁ Viṣṇupada Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura as Prabhupāda. If it is an offence or tattvāviruddha (going against spiritual truth) to honour the śikṣā-guru with the same titles as the pañcarātrika dīkṣā-guru, then how could Śrīla Prabhupāda, the monarch of all devotional conclusions (bhakti-siddhānta) and the best amongst the dedicated followers of Svarūpa-Rūpa, tolerate it?
If one becomes a justice of the High Court after working at the Bar, or if a certain civilian becomes the governor, then his previous colleagues instead of calling him “My friend” will call him “My lord” and the previous civilian colleagues who were like brothers, will address the governor as “His Excellency.” They do not think that he is simply special amongst civilians. They give this respect to the office that he holds. If this can happen in the mundane world, which is a perverted reflection of the transcendental world, then such ideas that oppose this are simply the enviousness of impersonalists. After this, if someone does not display proper faith in the ācārya due to being influenced by mundane knowledge, then what harm can it do to the ācārya? Those persons who resists showing proper faith, or show disrespect are the ones who fail to enter the realm of devotion.
Similarly, many materialistic people and those belonging to the prākṛta-sahajiyā class used to refer to Jagat-guru Śrīla Prabhupāda by his name from his previous āśrama. Even some disciples who had accepted the Holy Name from Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura were reluctant to address Śrīla Prabhupāda with titles befitting an ācārya. What to say of that, instead of referring to Oṁ Viṣṇupāda Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura as ‘Ṭhākura,’ a few people who were followers of Śrīla Jagannātha Dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja rarely used to refer to him as Bhaktivinoda Mahāśaya – most of the time they would refer to him by his name from his previous āśrama with the word ‘Bābu’ added to it. By doing this, no harm is inflicted upon the ācāryas, but others make offences by showing disrespect towards them.
How Can an Ordinary Man Become an Ācārya?
QUESTION: How can one who was chastised and instructed by Gurudeva, whom we have always seen as a man of flesh and blood like ourselves, be a nitya-siddha ācārya? Can a person become an ācārya at a young age?
ANSWER: One who is given unreserved mercy by Śrī Gurudeva, whom Gurudeva does not want to deceive, is considered to be a disciple who is worthy of chastising and instructing. He does not cheat his most beloved disciple by offering all sorts of eulogies like, “You are so good,” “I am a dog in your house” or by giving members of the seminal succession (śaukra-vaṁśa) plenty of wealth, clothes, jewellery and rasagūlas to enjoy. One who wholeheartedly accepts the auspicious chastisement of Śrī Gurudeva is a real disciple. And the disciple who thinks, “I will control Gurudeva! Śrī Gurudeva will go, stand up, sit down etc. when I tell him,” or “Gurudeva considers me to be dearest to him more than all others” – by nurturing the wicked mentality of making Gurudeva his disciple, such a person believes an illusion of guru to be the actual guru himself. Great praises are not a symptom of an intimate relationship. When the one who is served disciplines the servant, considering him as very close, then he is truly accepted as a servant.
jagadānande piyāo ātmīyatā-sudhā-rasa
more piyāo gaurava-stuti-nimba-niśindā-rasa
ājiha nahila more ātmīyatā-jñāna
mora abhāgya, tumi—svatantra bhagavān
“You force Jagadānanda to drink the nectar of intimate mellows, yet by offering me great praise you force me to drink the bitter juice of nīma and niśindā. Up till now, You have not felt that I am close to You. This is my misfortune. You are the independent Supreme Lord.” (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā 4.163-164)
We have also heard from the divine mouth of Śrīla Prabhupāda that sometimes Śrīmad Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura and Śrīmad Gaura Kiśora Dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja revealed a supremely intimate relationship with Śrīla Prabhupāda by considering him as a disciple engaged in viśrambha-bhajana (intimate worship). Śrī Gurudeva does not give his highest affection to one who is merely a good speaker. Whoever is the best, he establishes as the dearest.
“How can someone whom we have always seen as a human being of flesh and blood like ourselves be an eternally perfected ācārya?” – such a consideration is made by materialists. At one time, the atheistic Hindus also had such a mundane conception about Śrīman Mahāprabhu. This is described in detail in Śrī Caitanya-bhāgavata and Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta. A few days back, some well-known writers of the prākṛta–sahajiyā class wrote about Mahāprabhu, “How can someone who began learning how to write ka, kha, ga, gha, later become the eternally perfect avatāra of the Supreme Lord?” The conception of being eternally perfected (nitya-siddha) by the materialistic section is completely false. What more can be said when even the foremost pure devotee Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita taught the world intense attachment to hari-bhakti by pretending to think that, “Nimāi is not able to get devotion to Hari.” Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya was also very concerned how Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanyadeva would be able to maintain His sannyāsa at such a young age! In order to instruct the world, Śrīla Gadādhara Paṇḍita enacted the pastime of doubting the Vaiṣṇava qualities of Śrīla Puṇḍarīka Vidyānidhi and Pradyumna Miśra also enacted the pastime of doubting the moral character of Śrī Rāya Rāmānanda. Through these pastimes, the Supreme Lord Śrī Gaursundara and His associates have revealed the mentality of the materialists. Who is said to be a nitya–siddha? This topic has been discussed in detail in the 37th Issue, 15th Year of the weekly Gauḍīya. In a few words, Śrīla Prabhupāda has explained the symptoms of one who is eternally perfected:
“Those who are eternally inclined to serve Hari are nitya–siddhas. The symptom of a nitya siddha is the inclination of service at the liberated stage. The nitya–siddha may appear as a sādhana-siddha from the contaminated vision of the worldly eyes.”(Śrīla Prabhupādera Vāṇī, The Gauḍīya, 4th Year, 43rd Issue).
Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī Prabhu has given the following definition of a nitya-siddha:
ātma-koṭi guṇaṁ kṛṣṇe premānaṁ paramaṁ gatāḥ
nityānanda-guṇāḥ sarve nitya-siddhā mukundavat
“Those whose qualities are eternal and blissful like Mukunda and those who love Śrī Kṛṣṇa crores of times more than their own self are eternally perfected.”(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, Dakṣiṇa-vibhāga 1.150)
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya manifested himself as an ācārya as soon as he reached eight years of age. In order to reply to the philosophy of Śrī Śaṅkarācārya, our previous ācārya Śrīman Madhvācārya, or Ānanda Tīrthapāda, manifested himself as an ācārya when he approached twelve years of age, despite his father’s complete aversion to it. Śrīman Mahāprabhu Himself, who enacted the pastime of acting as the Guru-pāda-padma of all jagat-gurus, manifested Himself as an ācārya during His youth. Ten spiritual masters before Śrī Caitanyadeva, Śrī Jayatīrtha appeared and in his previous āśrama, he enacted the part of a general. As a soldier riding on a horse, he crossed a river and had the good fortune of meeting his guru Akṣobhya Tīrtha. He then became famous as Jayatīrtha and manifested himself as an ācārya. During his līlā as a brahmacārī, the most worshipable Śrīla Prabhupāda manifested himself as an ācārya, then many years later, he decided to enact his sannyāsa-līlā. Therefore, youth, adolescence, old, ancient, man, woman – all these parametres are not impediments to the self-manifested position of an ācārya. Expertise in kṛṣṇa–tattva is the qualification for the position of an ācārya.
Different Types of Ācāryas?
QUESTION: What is the differences between an ācārya belonging to a non-devotee society and a Gauḍīya Maṭha ācārya, or an ācārya sanctioned by the Śrīmad Bhāgavata and the Gosvāmīs?
ANSWER: The difference between the so-called ācāryas belonging to the impersonalist and voidist societies and the ācārya sanctioned by Śrī Gauḍīya Maṭha or the Gosvāmīs is like the difference between heaven and hell. The ācāryas of the impersonalist society are appointed priests or employees. The ācārya of the māyāvādī sampradāya is a temporary adviser who is ‘Brahman’ himself that has fallen into the clutches of the five material elements. The ācārya of a university is a professor of material subjects such as science etc. The ācārya of the prākṛta-sahajiyā sampradāya is one who carries a blood connection to a family lineage, and the ācārya of Śrī Gauḍīya Maṭha described by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda, Gaura Kiśora, Śrīla Prabhupāda, the Six Gosvāmīs, Śrīman Mahāprabhu or the Śrīmad Bhāgavata – they are mahā-puruṣas exclusively dedicated to ācāra (personal behaviour) and pracāra (preaching) and are kṛṣṇa-tattva-vit. Similarly, there is no requirement in considering birth, caste, age, material scholarship, material beauty, wealth etc. for being an ācārya.
“Only people with the name ‘Gosvāmī’ can become an ācārya.” “Only people who have accepted sannyāsa can become an ācārya!”– this was never the consideration of Śrīla Prabhupāda. If one simply has a thread, he is a ‘brāhmaṇa’; if one is rubber-stamped as belonging to a Gosvāmī family, he is an ‘ācārya’; if one simply wears saffron dress or holds a daṇḍa, he is a ‘sannyāsī’. The fact that this is not Prabhupāda’s opinion is known by even a preliminary student in the Gauḍīya Mission. Śrīla Prabhupāda has said:
“A man can be a highly designated paramahaṁsa Vaiṣṇava, despite appearing as a householder. Again, he can be a paramahaṁsa or a high level sannyāsī appearing as a vanacārī, brahmacārī or sannyāsī. ‘Sannyāsa’ is when one leaves lowly endeavours and with body, mind and words, tries to satisfy Kṛṣṇa with all-expansive endeavours. If someone is a Vaiṣṇava he is the best amongst all sannyāsīs. Another word for Vaiṣṇava is paramahaṁsa. (Śrīla Prabhupādera Vaktṛtāvali, 1st Section, Page 31).
Śrīla Prabhupāda has said in another place:
“Someone whom my mind can reject if he is not compatible with me or someone who will support my wicked activities cannot be termed as an ‘ācārya’ or ‘guru’.” (Śrīla Prabhupādera Vaktṛtāvali, 4th part, Page 85)
The ācārya, according to the opinion of the Śrīmad Bhāgavata, as well as ācāryas like Śrīman Madhvācārya and the Gosvāmīs, is the svayaṁ-bhāgavata prakāśa-vigraha (the manifested form of the Supreme Lord Himself), kṛṣṇa-tattva-vit, bhakti-siddhānta-vit (expert in devotional conclusions) and ācāra-pracāra-parayaṇa (dedicated to proper behaviour and preaching). He is non-different from the Supreme Lord Himself as sevaka-bhagavān (the Supreme Lord as a servitor). And the ācārya belonging to impersonalist school is a mortal jiva under the influence of the four material faults of bhrama, pramāda etc. He is simply an expert in mundane scriptures by the strength of his own intellect or he may have very little knowledge. But concerning the ācārya, the Śrīmad Bhāgavata says:
ācāryaṁ māṁ vijānīyān nāvamanyeta karhicit
na martya-buddhyāsūyeta sarva-devamayo guruḥ
“One should consider the spiritual master to be as good as Me. One should never be jealous of him or think of him as an ordinary person, for he is the sum total of all demigods.” (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.17.27)
On this topic there is a detailed discussion in the article, Ācārya Ke? in The Gauḍīya, 15th Year, 48th Issue and in the articles, Ācāryavān Puruṣo Veda, and Oṁ Viṣṇupāda Aṣṭottara-śata-śrī etc.
“Let me never meet the atheist who considers my Gurudeva as different from Śrī Nityānanda even in my dreams.”(Śrīla Prabhupāda’s lecture, Saptagrāma, 18th Māgha month, Bengali Year 1331)
“The Supreme Lord Himself manifests as the ācārya to the disciple. The exclusive worship of the ācārya indicates his bhāgavata-prakāśa (the manifestation of his connection with the Supreme). The Ācāryadeva is non-different from the Supreme Lord who is to be served.” (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 1.46 Anubhāṣya)
Godbrother Gurus?
QUESTION: If a godbrother performs the activities of an ācārya or mahānta–guru, then what should the other godbrothers feel regarding that aforementioned ācārya? Should he be considered on the same level as their own Gurudeva? If one thinks like this on the basis of imagination and considers the disciple to be the same as the guru, will this be a great offence? How can the disciple be equal to a nitya-siddha guru?
ANSWER: If a godbrother acts as an ācārya or mahānta–guru, the other godbrothers within the family will genuinely feel very happy internally. In every manner they will be ready to help one who is the most advanced amongst them as a service to glorify Śrī Guru-pāda-padma. Seeing him as a true manifestation of spiritual refuge due to the mercy of Śrī Guru, they will become dedicated to preach the desire of Guru-Gaurāṅga with the friendship and direction of their ablest brother, in a world where everyone desires to become the masters themselves. The opposite mindset of this is nothing but enviousness, which is atheistic and goes against bhāgavata–dharma.
The other godbrothers in the same family will consider the ācārya as non-different from their own Gurudeva. There is no question of imagination in such a case – it is the actual truth. Considering Śrīla Jīva Prabhu as non-different from Śrī Rūpa, Śrīla Ṭhākura Narottama as non-different from Śrīla Kṛṣṇa Dāsa Kavirāja or Śrīla Prabhupāda as non-different from Śrīla Bhaktivinoda and Śrīla Gaura-Kiśora does not lead to the annihilation of the eternal uniqueness of each of the ācāryas, but is the very conclusion of devotion.
Śrīla Prabhupāda has written:
“The śikṣā-guru is the āśraya–vigraha, or the abhidheya–vigraha. Therefore, the āśraya–vigraha is non-different from the dīkṣā–guru who gives us sambandha–jñāna. Both are Śrī Gurudeva. An offence is created when one considers them as different to each other. (Caitanya–caritāmṛta, Ādi–līlā 1.47, Anubhāśya)
Śrīla Prabhupāda has said:
“A nitya-siddha can apparently appear as a sādhana–siddha through mundane eyes and contaminated vision. Even if they display pastimes of impartiality, they should be considered as a nitya–siddha. Those that assist Śrī Gaurāṅga in His pastimes of divine separation (vipralambha-līlā) are the true friends of Gaurāṅga. Friend means associate. Those who enrich the mood of vipralambha are nitya–siddhas. (Śrīla Ṭhākurera Kīrtana, The Gauḍīya, 4th Year, 43rd Issue)