Once, for example, a new man came to a guru and asked for dikṣa initiation. Gurudeva agreed to give him initiation, but he asked him to wait for one year. The man said, “Gurudeva, your accepting me is my dikṣa. Any instruction you give me is my dikṣa.” Gurudeva told him to go to the cowshed and look after the cows, to cut grass for them to eat, to milk them and give all the milk to the temple, and to live in the cowshed in order to protect them.
After one year, Gurudeva called all his disciples, sannyāsīs, senior Vaiṣṇavas, and ācāryas. He announced that he would now be leaving this world. He also said he had one question and would depart after they had all answered it.
The devotees asked, “What is the question, Gurudeva?”
The guru replied, “How will your mind become clean? You should think about it and give me the answer by tomorrow.”
The next day, all the devotees and seniors assembled in front of their Gurudeva. The most senior devotee said, “Gurudeva, to clean the mind is very easy. By chanting harināma, God’s mercy will come, and then the mind will become clean.” Many others also answered, but the guru, not satisfied with any of the answers, said, “A person came here one year ago. Did you not call him to this assembly?”
The devotees said, “O Gurudeva, this fellow is foolish. He has not even accepted dikṣa or harināma. He is only in the cowshed, serving the cows. What answer will he give?”
Gurudeva insisted, “Call him.”
When the man arrived, Gurudeva asked him the same question, “How can one’s mind become clean?”
The man started crying, “O Gurudeva, I don’t know. I have given you my mind, body, and soul. They belong to you, Gurudeva. You can purify or contaminate them as you like. It is all in your hands. I myself cannot clean my mind and heart. It is not possible for me.”
All the so-called ācāryas became silent and lowered their heads in shame. Gurudeva said, “You gave me your mind, it is indeed my property. Now I am cleaning it and helping you. These others are all independent, and therefore they can neither understand anything nor will their hearts become clean. You will be the next ācārya, because you are not independent, and you offered everything to me.”
One day, Param Gurudeva asked Śrīla Gurudeva to take sannyāsa, to which Gurudeva replied, “O Gurujī, you can give me sannyāsa, black cloth, or white cloth. If you wish, you can cut me in half, or do whatever you like with me. I am your property.”
Then Param Gurudeva called his brahmacāris Rādhānātha and Sajjana Sevāka, telling them, “Gaura Nārāyaṇa is junior to you both, but he is ready to take sannyāsa. Will you bow down to him and respect him as your senior or will you two also take sannyāsa?” Then all three agreed to accept the sannyāsa order. But they said, “I don’t want to be equal to you, Gurudeva. People will worship me, call me Mahārāja, and follow me. This is not proper. You are our Gurudeva and this is your revered position. How can I possibly accept this position?”
Param Gurudeva replied, “I can make you into a prince or an emperor if I want. This is my prerogative.”
When one has surrendered one’s heart, mind, and soul to Śrī Guru-pāda-padma’s lotus feet, then within a short time, there will be ceto-darpaṇa-marjanaṁ. Śrīla Gurudeva knows the process to clean the disciple’s heart and it is his responsibility to do so for those who are surrendered to him, but unfortunately we have not offered ourselves in such a way.
sarva-dharmān parityajya
mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja
We speak this śloka, but we are afraid to follow it ourselves. Why? We are worried about our future if we offer ourselves. We are uncertain, and have doubts. Śrīla Gurudeva explained in his classes that surrendering to Śrī Guru does not mean that the guru now has to feed the disciple, wash his cloth, and massage his feet. Such a disciple is not surrendered. Who is surrendered? Yaśodā Mātā. She serves Kṛṣṇa 24 hours a day, and exclusively for His happiness.
sarvopādhi vinirmuktaṁ tat paratvena nirmalam
hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate
Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, Pūrva-vibhāga 1.10
Bhakti is service rendered by transcendental senses to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Lord of the senses. Such bhakti in which all endeavors are undertaken for the pleasure of Kṛṣṇa is free from obstructions arising from the nature of the body and mind. It is also pure; that is, it is not covered by the creepers of karma, reward-seeking activity, or jñāna, knowledge in pursuit of impersonal liberation.
Surrender means to offer one’s time, life, energy, senses, and everything else solely for the service of one’s master. If one endeavors in this way, one’s heart will be clean very soon.
The parents will arrange everything for their baby who does not know how to walk, talk, or feed itself. Once, there was mother with two sons. To one of them she fed lāḍḍus and to the other she gave neem juice. The son who was given neem juice said, “Mother! My brother is eating lāḍḍus, but you are only giving me neem juice.” The mother replied, “What can I do? Your brother is healthy, but you have many big worms in your stomach. By taking neem juice you’ll become healthy, but if brother doesn’t eat lāḍḍus, he will become weak.”
Śrīla Gurudeva helps and purifies us. We do not have to worry. Śrīla Gurudeva knows everything and he does everything for our eternal auspiciousness. Therefore we are very fortunate.