Merciful Chastisement

Srila Bhaktivedanta Vamana Gosvami Maharaja’s Harikatha:

1. Chastisement by guru and vaisnavas is highly beneficial for me.
2. I am willing to be humiliated and beaten by maya thousands of times, but I cannot accept the affectionate discipline of guru and vaisnavas. In this way I commit spiritual suicide.
3. The most important quality for anyone living in the temple is tolerance.
4. If I simply declare, ‘O Gurudeva, everything belongs to you alone!’ but I keep the keys to my safe with me, then it means that I do not trust him.
5. It is not possible to obtain guru and vaisnavas’ mercy simply by offering them material objects. I have to offer everything including myself.
6. At that time sri guru considers me to be his near and dear.
7. When the devotee fully dedicates himself at the time of receiving diksa, Krishna makes him as spiritual as Himself, permeating the devotee’s body with transcendence and bliss. With his spiritual body, the devotee then worships Krishna’s lotus feet. – Chaitanya-charitamrta 3.4.192-193
– Adapted from Sri Gaudiya Patrika Year 7, Issue 12