Srila Gurudeva: Don’t neglect and try to honor all the things that are related to Krsna. Otherwise, you cannot gain anything. You must not neglect tadiya, that which is connected with Krsna. Any Vaisnava, Tulasi, Ganges, Yamuna, Govardhana, hari-katha, all of these are tadiya. What are the reasons that so
many Gurus are now falling down? So many senior Vaisnavas are giving up chanting and remembering. Why? What is the reason?
Devotee: Because they are criticizing you for speaking about Krsna and the gopis and their association with one another. Srila Prabhupada says that if we don’t try to understand these topics through a maha-bhagavata, someone who understands them, someone who is rasika, and if we don’t approach a spiritual master and understand the pastimes of Krsna in this way, surely we will fall down.
Srila Gurudeva: Very carefully you should hear. There are two kinds of instructors or Guru. In the same way, there are also two kinds of Vaisnavas. Those who are speaking hari-katha, giving initiation, who are preaching everywhere, they are of two kinds. One is saraga and another is niraga. What is a saraga bhakta or a saraga Guru or saraga Vaisnava? Raga means attachment, worldly attachment. Like attachment to money, praise, lust, and so many other worldly things.
If anyone has remembered all the slokas, some siddhanta also, and is preaching everywhere, but yet he wants money and he has so much attraction for money, for self-praise, and he also has some attachment for other worldly desires, lust and all these things, but is preaching so much and he knows some siddhanta also, those who will hear from him, they may temporarily be engaged in hearing hari-katha or they may even take initiation and they may do so many devotional activities, but it will be temporary, not permanent. Understand? There will be no permanency in their practice.
But anyone who has no worldly desires at all, a Guru or preacher or instructor who has no desire for money, self-praise, is having no worldly desire to gain anything from his disciples, this is called a niraga bhakta or a niraga Guru. His heart is merciful and he only wants to please Krsna and Guru. Like this, he teaches everyone and he gives instructions and initiates. He is called a niraga bhakta.
Guru should know all sastra. He should be able to remove the doubts of his disciples. Secondly, he should be realized in Krsna consciousness, doing so much bhajana himself and having no material desires. This is a niraga bhakta. He has no worldly desire. This sloka only pertains to a niraga bhakta or a niraga Guru. This sloka is not for a saraga Guru. Understand? His instructions will be permanent. It may be that some of his disciples, due to their weakness, sometimes they may fall down. But this will be very rare, very rare. Like Caitanya Mahaprabhu was the instructor of Chota Haridasa and Kala Krsnadasa. They were with Caitanya Mahaprabhu, listening to Him, but yet Caitanya Mahaprabhu had to give them up.
[Spoken by Srila Gurudeva on February 2nd, 1998, Malaysia, published as part of the Bhakta Bandhav Anthology, Volume 25]