...This a continuation of the article "The Glory Of Sri Guru"
Why was it that Śrī Gadādhara Paṇḍita was in such a humble service mood to Śrī Caitanya? After all, He was Śrīmatī Rādhikā, chief of all the left-wing gopīs, who freely express their transcendental sulky mood (māna) towards Śrī Kṛṣṇa. The answer is that in the form of Śrī Caitanya, Kṛṣṇa covered Himself with Śrīmatī Rādhikā’s mood and complexion, and Śrī Gadādhara Paṇḍita was simply watching, taking the role of a teacher to see if Mahāprabhu was playing the part of Śrīmatī Rādhikā correctly. If Kṛṣṇa, as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, made a mistake, then Śrī Gadādhara Paṇḍita would immediately correct Him. For example, when Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu first met Nityānanda Prabhu in Nandanācārya’s house, Mahāprabhu recited this verse from the Tenth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam:
barahāpīḍaṁ naṭa-vara-vapuḥ karṇayoḥ karṇikāraṁ
bibhrad vāsaḥ kanaka-kapiśaṁ vaijayantiṁ ca mālām
randhrān veṇor adhara-sudhayāpūrayan gopa-vṛndair
vṛndāraṇyaṁ sva-pada-ramaṇaṁ prāviśad gīta-kīrtiḥ
(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.21.5)
The gopīs began to see Śrī Kṛṣṇa within their minds. Accompanied by His cowherd friends, Kṛṣṇa entered the charming forest of Vṛndāvana. His head was decorated with a peacock feather. He wore yellow karṇikāra flowers over His ears, a golden-yellow garment on His body, and a beautiful, fragrant vaijayantī garland about His neck. Śrī Kṛṣṇa exhibited His supremely captivating appearance, just like the best of dancers performing upon a stage. He filled up the holes of His flute with the nectar of His lips. The cowherd boys followed behind Him, singing His glories which purify the entire world. In this way, the forest of Vṛndāvana manifested even greater splendor than Vaikuṇṭha, due to being beautified by the marks of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet.
Weeping, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu described the beautiful form of Kṛṣṇa, yet He could not completely express it in the way Śrīmatī Rādhikā did when She had uttered the same words. There was something lacking. Then, from behind a curtain, Śrī Gadādhara Paṇḍita uttered the same verse, playing Śrīmatī Rādhikā’s part marvelously. He wept loudly with tears running down His cheeks, and he melted everyone’s heart. He did this in such a way that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who was also playing the role of Śrīmatī Rādhikā, understood that He had not played the part correctly.
After explaining Kṛṣṇa’s other manifestations, Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja describes Śrī Caitanya as Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself, Svayam Bhagavān, the original Supreme Personality of Godhead:
śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu svayaṁ-bhagavān
tāṅhāra padāravinde ananta praṇāma
sāvaraṇe prabhure kariyā namaskāraei
chaya teṅho yaiche – kariye vicāra
(Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 1.42-43)
Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the Personality of Godhead Himself, therefore I offer unlimited prostrations at His lotus feet. Having offered obeisances unto the Lord and all His associates, I shall now try to explain these six diversities in one.
Thus, Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja has described the six manifestations of Kṛṣṇa.
sākṣād-dharitvena samasta-śāstrair
uktas tathā bhāvyata eva sadbhiḥ
kintu prabhor yaḥ priya eva tasya
vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam
(Śrī Gurvaṣṭakam, Verse 7)
All the scriptures proclaim śrī gurudeva to be sākṣāt-hari-tva, endowed with the potency of Śrī Hari, and he is also considered by all the great saints to be His direct representative. Indeed, śrī gurudeva is very dear to the Lord, being His confidential servitor (acintya-bhedābheda prakāśa-vigraha, the inconceivable different and non-different worshipable manifestation of the Lord). I offer prayers unto his lotus feet.
In the verse of Śrī Gurvaṣṭakam beginning sākṣād-dharitvena samasta-śāstraih, there is a deep meaning in the word hari-tvena. It means that the spiritual master possesses the qualities of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, but he is not viṣaya-kṛṣṇa[4], he is kṛṣṇa-dāsa. Gurudeva is the embodiment of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s quality of mercy, but it is incorrect to consider gurudeva to be viṣaya-kṛṣṇa.
yadyapi āmāra guru – caitanyera dasa
tathāpi jāniye āmi tāṅhāra prakāśa
(Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta. Ādi-līlā 1.44)
Although I know that my spiritual master is a servitor of Śrī Caitanya, I know Him also as a direct manifestation of the Lord.
Even the fruitive workers (karmīs), those persuing knowledge of an impersonal God (jñānīs), and performers of severe austerities (yogīs) consider guru to be non-different from Śrī Kṛṣṇa, but they superimpose an incorrect conception upon guru, supposing him to be God. In the Sanskrit language, this superimposition is called āropa. For example, to consider a young mango tree as one that gives sweet fruit is not correct, but if we say that it will give fruit in time, this is correct. If we imagine that the unreal is real, we are incorrect, and this misunderstanding is called āropa.
In regard to developing our bhakti, we need to perform āropa, or rather āropa-siddha-bhakti. The beginner practices this in the following way: the Deity is non-different from Kṛṣṇa. He is Kṛṣṇa Himself. In our conditioned state we see the Deity as a stone statue, yet we super-impose the correct conception that He is Kṛṣṇa. We cannot serve Him as Kṛṣṇa Himself, but as our affection for Him increases, we will perceive the Deity in the same way that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu perceived Him – as the direct personal form of Vrajendra-nandana Kṛṣṇa. The Deity will reveal His actual nature to us.
kṛṣṇa, guru, bhakta, śakti, avatāra, prakāśa
kṛṣṇa ei chaya-rūpe karena vilāsa
(Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 1. 32)
Lord Kṛṣṇa enjoys by manifesting Himself as the spiritual masters, the devotees, the diverse energies, the incarnations, and the plenary portions. They are all six in one.
Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja has explained that Śrī Kṛṣṇa, although one, manifests in six features, and this established truth is called acintya-bhedābheda-tattva, inconceivably and simultaneously one and different.
He explained that his śikṣā-gurus are the Six Gosvāmīs: Śrīla Rūpa, Śrīla Sanātana, Śrīla Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa, Śrīla Jīva, Śrīla Gopāla Bhaṭṭa, and Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa. He also revealed that Śrī Advaita Ācārya, as an incarnation of Mahā-Viṣṇu, is therefore a partial incarnation of Kṛṣṇa. Nityānanda Prabhu is an eternal manifestation of both Kṛṣṇa and Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and it is by His mercy that Kṛṣṇa and Caitanya Mahāprabhu manifest in this world. In other words, without the mercy of Nityānanda Prabhu, no one can realize Kṛṣṇa or Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Nityānanda Prabhu is the complete embodiment of guru-tattva.
Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī has described his spiritual good fortune. He says, “I have received the mercy of the Six Gosvāmīs and other exalted Vaiṣṇavas. I have received the mercy of Govinda, Gopīnātha, and Madana-mohana, and I have taken darśana of Them. I have also seen and realized the glories of Vṛndāvana-dhāma. All this is the mercy of Nityānanda Prabhu; therefore, I am His servant and He is my guru.”
Next, Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī explains that Kṛṣṇa’s śakti (power or energy) manifests as Śrī Gadādhara. Kṛṣṇacandra is Kṛṣṇa Himself, and Caitanya Mahāprabhu is that self-same Kṛṣṇa, Vrajendra-nandana Śyāmasundara, replete with the golden beauty and mood of Śrīmatī Rādhikā. Thus, He is Kṛṣṇa and Rādhā combined.
guru kṛṣṇa-rūpa hana śāstrera pramāṇe
guru-rūpe kṛṣṇa kṛpā karena bhakta-gaṇe
(Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 1.45)
According to the deliberate opinion of all revealed scriptures, the spiritual master is non-different from Kṛṣṇa. Lord Kṛṣṇa in the form of the spiritual master delivers His devotees.
Dīkṣā-guru and śikṣā-guru are non-different; they are on the same level. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī represents the śikṣā-guru, and Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī represents the dīkṣā-guru, yet there is no difference between them. They can both act as śikṣā and dīkṣā-gurus.
My most revered Gurudeva, nitya-līlā-praviṣṭa oṁ viṣṇupāda Śrīla Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja, is both my dīkṣā and śikṣā-guru. Pūjyapāda Śrīdhāra Mahārāja and Pūjyapāda Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja are also my śikṣā-gurus. Śrīla Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja is the sannyāsa-guru of Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja. Śrīla Svāmī Mahārāja has so much respect for my Gurudeva, both as a guru and as a friend.
śikṣā-guruke ta’ jāni kṛṣṇera svarūpa
antaryāmī, bhakta-śreṣṭha – ei dui rūpa
(Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 1.47)
One should know the instructing spiritual master to be the Personality of Kṛṣṇa. Lord Kṛṣṇa manifests Himself as the Supersoul and as the greatest devotee of the Lord.
Dīkṣā-guru is the manifestation of the form (rūpa) of Kṛṣṇa, and śikṣā-guru is the manifestation of the personal nature (svarūpa) of Kṛṣṇa. Which is superior, rūpa or svarūpa? In essence, there is no difference between them. Sva means 'mine’ or ‘own,’ and therefore svarūpa may sometimes be dearer than rūpa, though essentially they are the same.
Our dīkṣā-guru is our worshipable superior for whom we have reverence. We pray to him and take the dust of his lotus feet. But the śikṣā-guru is like a brother, a friend. Sometimes we can embrace him and speak with him frankly. We can reveal our hearts to him and tell him that we desire to serve Kṛṣṇa as the gopīs do. This association is very secret and sacred. We may hesitate expressing this to our dīkṣā-guru, so we need the śikṣā-guru, who is like a bosom friend. With the śikṣā-guru there is a mood of fraternity; there is less of a mood of awe and reverence.
Similarly, in the most advanced stages of bhakti, one does not regard Śrī Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but as one’s dear friend, dear son, or most beloved. He sees Kṛṣṇa as his, and he sees himself as Kṛṣṇa’s.
Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī states that a disciple should also serve his dīkṣā-guru with a mood of intimacy (viśrambha-sevā), but due to constantly offering obeisances this cannot always manifest. To our śikṣā-guru, we can admit an attraction for a very beautiful girl and ask for his guidance, but it may be difficult to tell this to our dīkṣā-guru because he is worshipable like a father. Our dīkṣā-guru’s response may be very heavy, but our śikṣā-guru will embrace us and say, “O dear one, do not be attached to sense gratification. Try to love Kṛṣṇa. Try to offer your heart in the service of Śrīmatī Rādhikā’s lotus feet. Do not go to the girls of this world. A girl of this world is not really a girl; she is a burning fire or an ocean of poison. Do not continue in this direction.”
Due to the open-hearted nature of the relationship, a śikṣā-guru is needed. We can reveal everything to him. Within our heart, our śikṣā-gurus – Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, and all of the previous ācāryas – are aware of our thoughts and actions. They have not died; they are all omnipotent.
Śikṣā-guruke ta’jāni kṛṣṇera svarūpa. The śikṣā-guru is the manifestation of the svarūpa (inner nature) of Kṛṣṇa, and the dīkṣā-guru is the manifestation of His form. There is no difference between Kṛṣṇa’s inner nature and His outer body; both are the same. One who thinks that there is a difference is a māyāvādī, an impersonalist. We should not associate with such a person.
Antaryāmī, bhakta-śreṣṭha, ei dui rūpa. There are two types of śikṣā-guru. Antaryāmī is the Supersoul, the śikṣā-guru in the heart (the caitya-guru), who gives inspiration from within. If one prays, “O Kṛṣṇa, You are my caitya-guru, I have given You my entire heart. Please arrange for me to take shelter of a qualified guru,” Kṛṣṇa will certainly arrange it. By approaching Kṛṣṇa with a sincere desire to have a guru, we will not have to suffer the result of making an incorrect choice.
teṣaṁ satata-yuktānāṁ
bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam
dadāmi buddhi yogaṁ taṁ
yena mām upayānti te
(Bhagavad-gītā 10.10)
To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love and devotion, I give them the understanding by which they can come to Me.
To those who are always connected to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, serving Him with love and devotion, He gives the intelligence by which they can come to Him. What kind of intelligence does He give? He gives transcendental intelligence, which further connects us with Him. Moreover, Śrī Kṛṣṇa tells us in Bhagavad-gītā what happens after He gives such intelligence: “They come to Me, and I engage them in My service.” This demonstrates one of the ways in which Kṛṣṇa acts as caitya-guru.
Once, in South India, there lived a beautiful prostitute named Cintāmaṇi. When she was sixteen years old, she could dance and sing kīrtana so sweetly that everyone who saw her dance became attracted. Although Cintāmaṇi was a prostitute, she had an extraordinary quality; she was very attached to singing songs in glorification of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and many people were enchanted by her.
Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura was a pious and religious brāhmaṇa with a beautiful chaste wife, yet he was allured by Cintāmaṇi. He stopped all his business and service to his mother and father. He forgot his chaste wife and children and became fully controlled by Cintāmaṇi. He would go to her, especially at night, taking presents that he had procured by selling his land or his wife’s ornaments, or by stealing money and good cloth. His hope was that in return she would love him as he loved her.
In the course of time his father died, and a funeral ceremony was conducted. On the final day, the thirteenth day of the ceremony, thousands of brāhmaṇas sat in his courtyard, about to honor mahā-prasādam. He went to the kitchen, took many delicious foods and other objects, and wrapped them in a cloth. He then left his house, during the night, not caring whether or not his guests took prasādam or if his distressed mother and wife were comforted. He left them all and went to that prostitute.
On that night, rain fell heavily. In order to reach the prostitute’s house, Bilvamaṅgala had to cross a flooded river whose current ran swiftly. Feeling helpless and desperate to find a means of crossing, he noticed something resembling a log floating on the water in front of him. Not seeing that it was actually the half-rotten dead body of a girl, he sat on it and crossed the river. Then, struggling across slippery ground, he finally reached the prostitute’s home.
The door was closed. He knocked hard for a long time, but his sounds were not heard. At last, he walked to the back of the house and saw what looked like a rope hanging from the rafters. Grabbing hold of that rope, he attempted to climb it. It was not a rope, however, but a snake. Bilvamaṅgala slipped and fell unconscious, thus making a loud sound on the courtyard floor. Cintāmaṇi heard the noise and asked her maidservant to find out what had caused the sound. Finally she saw him and exclaimed, “Oh, Bilvamaṅgala has fallen down in the courtyard! But how did he come here?”
Cintāmaṇi and her maidservant then took the unconscious Bilvamaṅgala into her house and warmed his body. Now understanding what had happened, when he awoke she told him, “My body is full of blood, urine, stool, bile, and mucus; yet you are attached to it and have gone to so much trouble to get here in order to enjoy it. If you had a fraction of such love and affection for Kṛṣṇa, your life would have been successful. But you are so lusty. I can no longer have any affection for you. You should leave immediately.”
Due to his past impressions of bhakti, her words penetrated his heart like an arrow and he became sober. He understood that he must develop his love for Kṛṣṇa. Without these past impressions, her words could not have reformed him. He would have fallen at her feet, panting like a dog and imploring her to accept him.
He then decided that he should neither be with Cintāmaṇi nor stay at his home, but should go to Vṛndāvana. For the next five days he took no foodstuffs. Rather he lived solely on the chanting of the holy name. Then, desiring to drink some water, he went to a well, where he saw a young, beautiful, newly married lady hauling water. He asked her for a drink, and knelt as she poured the water from her pot into his mouth. As he drank the water, he also drank in her beauty with his eyes, taking it into his heart.
He followed her home. She went into her room and he met her husband, who was standing at the door. He asked her husband, “Please call the girl who just walked past you.”
Thinking Bilvamaṅgala to be a saintly person, the man called his wife, who came immediately. “How may I serve you?” she asked.
Bilvamaṅgala then told her that he wanted two of her hairpins. She could not understand why, but still she got them and gave them to him. As she and her husband looked on, Bilvamaṅgala said, “These eyes are my enemy, imprisoning me in lust. If there is no bamboo, there is no flute. Similarly, if my eyes are removed, my lust will also be removed. I will cut this lust at the root. If I am blind, then my eyes will no longer be attracted to beautiful women, and attraction for Śrī Kṛṣṇa will develop in my heart.” He thus pierced his eyes with those hairpins. Blood oozed from his eyes and he became blind.
He then proceeded to Vṛndāvana, chanting, “Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare,” and soon a boy approached him and asked, “Bābā, where are you going?” The voice of that boy was very sweet. He was that blackish cowherd boy who was not like any other.
Bilvamaṅgala answered, “I am going to Vṛndāvana. My dear boy, who are You?”
“I am a cowherd boy,” the boy said. “I am also going to Vṛndāvana. If you want to go there, you can hold onto My stick and come with Me. I will help you.”
Vṛndāvana was about a six-month journey by foot, but after a few days the boy announced that they had arrived. As they were walking there, Bilvamaṅgala had created very sweet poems glorifying the mercy of Kṛṣṇa. These songs were very pleasing to Kṛṣṇa’s ears, and later they became known as the book Śrī Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta, translated as “Nectar For Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s Ears.” Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu later found this book in South India and presented it to His devotees.
The first poem in the maṅgalācaraṇam of Śrī Kṛṣṇa-karnāmṛta is as follows:
cintāmaṇir jayati somagirir gurur
meśikṣā-guruś ca bhagavān śikhi-piñcha-mauliḥ
yat-pāda-kalpataru-pallava-śekhareṣu
līlā-svayamvara-rasaṁ labhate jayaśrīḥ
(Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 1.57)
All glories to Cintāmaṇi and my initiating spiritual master, Somagiri. All glories to my instructing spiritual master, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who wears peacock feathers in His crown. Under the shade of His lotus feet, which are like desire trees, Jayaśrī [Rādhārānī] enjoys the transcendental mellow of an eternal consort.
In this verse Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura is offering his obeisances to Cintāmaṇi, who had inspired him to take shelter of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. What type of guru was she? She was a vartma-pradarśaka-guru, the guru who says, “Come with me to a self-realized Vaiṣṇava.” The vartma-pradarśaka-guru shows the path. He may be kaniṣṭhā-adhikārī (a neophyte devotee), but the initiating guru should not be less than a madhyama-adhikārī (an intermediate devotee).
What are the symptoms of a madhyama-adhikārī? It is necessary to know these symptoms before considering whom to accept as a dīkṣā or śikṣā-guru. If we do not see these symptoms in someone, we need not accept that person as guru. As mentioned before, if we do accept him, there will be many difficulties in our devotional life. If that guru falls down, our life will be ruined and we will cry bitterly.
tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta
jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam
śābde pare ca niṣṇātaṁ
brahmaṇy upaśamāśrayam
(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.3.21)
Any person who seriously desires real happiness must seek a bona fide spiritual master and take shelter of him by initiation. The qualification of a bona fide guru is that he has realized the conclusion of the scriptures by deliberation and is able to convince others of these conclusions. Such great personalities, who have taken complete shelter of the Supreme Godhead, leaving aside all material considerations, should be understood to be bona fide spiritual masters.
In order for one to be a bona fide guru, all the above-mentioned symptoms must be present, in full. The guru has complete knowledge of the scriptures, he is detached from material desires, and he is happy only by serving Śrī Kṛṣṇa. If one is unhappy and feels that his life has many problems, he is not qualified to be guru.
Śrīla Haridāsa Ṭhākura was beaten in twenty-two marketplaces, almost to the point of death, but he did not consider this a problem. Rather, he continued chanting with joy, “Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa.” Prahlāda Mahārāja was tortured by his father, yet he never felt that he had a problem. Rather, he stood on the head of all problems.
A person in the role of guru, who chants and performs the nine processes of bhakti and has taken dīkṣā, but laments that he has so many problems – his wife has cheated him, his children are not with him, he cannot manage or make money, or that he has no computer or sufficient material facility – should be rejected at once.
The third symptom of guru is that he is realized in kṛṣṇa-bhakti. Without this realization, he is bound to fall down from spiritual life due to still having material desires.
Besides these three symptoms, a madhyama-adhikārī will have four additional qualities. The uttama-adhikārī is, of course, superior, and he offers a superior result in bhakti, but such a guru is rare in this world. In the absence of such an uttama-guru, the madhyama-adhikārī can be accepted as a śikṣā or dīkṣā-guru, but one should see whether or not he has the following four qualities:
(1) prema – He has love and affection for Kṛṣṇa.[5]
(2) maitrī – He shows friendship towards the Vaiṣṇavas and offers service to them. He has three kinds of relations with three kinds of Vaiṣṇavas: he honors and obeys with a mood of friendship one who is more advanced in bhakti than he is. He relates to equals as friends, and he is also friendly to those whose bhakti is less developed. So he has maitrī (friendship) with honor for superiors, maitrī with mitra (the friendship of equals) with those on an equal level, and maitrī with kṛpā (friendship with compassion) for subordinates.
(3) kṛpā – He shows mercy to those persons who honor and have faith in Vaiṣṇavas. Such persons’ faith may even be worldly; in other words, they may have some material sentiments in relation to the guru and the Deity. It may be that they have more affection for the Deities than for the devotees, and therefore they may not like to meet with devotees and hear their hari-kathā. Such persons may understand that they should obey the scriptures, but they cannot act in the four ways that a madhyama-adhikārī can act. Such persons may be ignorant, but they want to learn how to advance in devotional service.
(4) upekṣā – He avoids offenders, persons who are against the Vaiṣṇavas or who do not honor them. He is aware that relating or associating with such persons destroys all traces of bhakti.
We have thus discussed the three main qualities of the bona fide guru, as well as four additional qualities which are found in a madhyama-adhikārī (or an uttama-adhikārī acting in the role of a madhyama-adhikārī) who is qualified to be guru. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī warns us in his Bhakti-sandarbha that one who accepts a guru for worldly name, fame, and gain, and one who acts as guru by accepting disciples for the same reason, will both fall down. Their destination will be hell.
Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī writes:
avaiṣṇava-mukhodgīrṇaṁ
pūtaṁ hari-kathāmṛtam
śravaṇaṁ naiva kartavyaṁ
sarpocchiṣṭaṁ yathā payaḥ
(Padma-purāṇa)
One should not hear anything about Kṛṣṇa from a non-Vaiṣṇava. Milk touched by the lips of a serpent has poisonous effects. Similarly, talks about Kṛṣṇa given by a non-Vaiṣṇava are also poisonous.
Therefore, one who makes an external show of being a Vaiṣṇava but who fails to honor Vaiṣṇavas, giving preference to worldly fame and gain, should be given up without delay, even though the disciple may have taken both harināma and dīkṣā from that person. Such a so-called guru should be given up.
This has been explained in the Mahābhārata and other scriptures. If one does not reject such a guru, he will have to go to hell; he should be ready for that. No Vaiṣṇava should be dishonored – even a kaniṣṭhā-adhikārī Vaiṣṇava, and what to speak of a madhyama-adhikārī and uttama-adhikārī. The association of one who is dishonoring or criticizing any Vaiṣṇava should be given up. If one says that he is a bona fide Vaiṣṇava and that he is the only bona fide disciple of his guru, yet he commits this offense, then his own guru, if bona fide, will reject him.
Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī gives all of us a very important instruction: We should not criticize anyone. We should not think that because there are quarrels in the transcendental world, such as those between the followers of Śrīmatī Candrāvalī and the followers of Śrīmatī Rādhikā, we may also quarrel. We should not take sides and criticize.
As mentioned earlier, all bona fide gurus are manifestations of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Thus, there is no difference between Śrīla Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja and Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja. They are realized souls in the same disciplic line. Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja preached in the West and my Gurudeva preached in India, yet they spoke the same message. Their love for Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the same, their teachings are the same, and their service for Śrī Mahāprabhu is the same. One was in the International Society for Kṛṣṇa Consciousness and the other in the Gauḍīya Vedānta Samiti, but both are in the family of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. It is incumbent upon us to follow the instructions of our ācāryas and try to develop our Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
[On Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja’s request, devotees sing Nanda-nandanāṣṭakam and Rādhā-kṛpā-kaṭākṣa-stava-rāja.[6]]
We should daily sing these two songs in our sādhana-bhajana. If we know the meaning and are praying sincerely, it will be very beneficial. Even if we don’t know the meaning, Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Śrīmatī Rādhikā will hear us. By our singing Nanda-nandanāṣṭakam, which glorifies Kṛṣṇa, Śrīmatī Rādhikā will be so pleased that She will grant us all benedictions, whether we want them or not. And, when we are singing Rādhā-kṛpā-kaṭākṣa, Kṛṣṇa will be so pleased that He will grant us any benediction we desire. If we want Kṛṣṇa to write our name in the register of Śrīmatī Rādhikā’s maidservants (pālya-dāsīs), He will do so at once. He is ‘at the gate,’ writing the list of Śrīmatī Rādhikā’s dāsīs – those who want to serve Her. Therefore, if we add these two kīrtanas to our daily routine of bhajana, followed by the singing of śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya and the mahā-mantra, our bhakti will become strong.
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[1] “Sādhana-bhakti is of two kinds: vaidhī and rāgānuga. That bhakti which is accomplished through the function of the senses, and by which bhāva-bhakti is obtained is called sādhana-bhakti” (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu-bindu, Verse 8, Śrī Bindu-vikāśinī-vṛtti).
[2] Bhajana is a complete internal and external absorption in the spiritual practices of worshiping Kṛṣṇa – such as śravaṇaṁ, kīrtanaṁ, smaraṇaṁ, etc. – with a mood of intense affection and attachment.
[3] Tattva means ‘established philosophical truth,’ or ‘spiritual truth.’
[4] “The devotee is āśraya, always subordinate, the abode of love for Krsna, and the Supreme Personality of Godhead is viṣaya, the supreme object of love, the goal of life”
(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.10.6, purport).
[5] Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura writes in his Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam commentary that a madhyama-adhikārī cannot have real prema. However, by thinking of how the gopīs loved Kṛṣṇa, he may receive a shadow of their prema. Thus he has achieved the level of āsakti, natural attachment for Kṛṣṇa.
[6] See Addendums, pages 197 and 199.
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