The Spiritual Master
Posted: 05 Nov 2012 06:14 PM PST
This is a fascinating account by Sriman Locanananda Prabhu revealing
his insights into the 'guru issue' in our ISKCON society today, from his
own personal understanding, and his realizations of the instructions
given by Srila Prabhupada shortly before his untimely departure. Our
obeisances to him for sharing his personal recollections and
realizations. [Note: some of the other comments were edited out so as
not to distract from Locanananda Prabhu's train of thought. You can
follow the entire stream of comments by going to
Prabhupada News
As I stated, this is a fascinating account, however, this does not
necessarily reflect our views on the ‘guru issue’. But Locanananda
Prabhu makes a very well stated argument, and we are in complete
agreement with his assessment that “success in spiritual life, means
following the instructions of the spiritual master”.
… the
next step is to find a way to convince others of Srila Prabhupada's
actual intention in laying out a ritvik initiation system. It was not to
end the parampara with himself as the last guru in our line. It was not
to push aside what he himself referred to as the "law of disciplic
succession." It was to introduce a method by which millions of souls
throughout the world could be initiated into the society of vaisnavas
and attain the mercy of Krishna and the previous acaryas on their
journey back to Godhead.
…everyone is taking shelter
of Srila Prabhupada and receiving transcendental knowledge, but they
are receiving so much more. By his grace, we will be able to enter the
spiritual abode and interact with Krishna face to face. Without pleasing
Srila Prabhupada, one cannot even make one iota of spiritual
advancement.
…Srila Prabhupada had his reasons for
introducing the title "officiating acarya" instead of "diksa guru" or
"initiating spiritual master," to designate the giver of diksa when he
would no longer be present. Why devotees cannot accept Srila
Prabhupada's terminology is beyond my comprehension. As far as Srila
Prabhupada's present position, we can learn from a letter written to
Brahmananda on Nov. 15, 1969 where he said,
"So far as
I am concerned, in relationship with my disciples who are so kindly
cooperating with me in the matter of my rendering service to my
spiritual master, for them I am always ready to come back from Goloka
Vrindaban, if they are not delivered along with me."
The
point made here is that one should think that upon his disappearance
from our visual perception, the spiritual master has returned to Goloka
Vrindaban. What he has left behind is the legacy of the temples he
established, the Deities he installed and the body of instructions he
imparted. By his inconceivable mercy, Srila Prabhupada, while residing
in the abode of Krishna, continues to bestow his blessings upon us. As
disciples, we should make every attempt to end the cycle of birth and
death by preparing ourselves through the purificatory process of
devotional service to go back to Godhead so as not to oblige the
spiritual master to come back to this world to deliver us.
Locanananda dasa 26. October 2012
…Concerning
the issue of initiation, guru-tattva and the continuation of the
parampara, devotees have been exposed to all sorts of interpretations,
some inspired and some misleading.
I always give the benefit of
the doubt to any devotee who wants to understand and then explain Srila
Prabhupada's instructions. The initiation issue is one that has divided
our movement to the point of schism. Anyone who even appears to look
upon ritvik advocates as devotees and befriends them can be immediately
and without warning ostracized from ISKCON. These managers are not
functioning on the spiritual platform where one interacts with everyone
in a way by which they are encouraged to serve within the movement. To
the contrary, they reside on the mental plane where they see others as
either friend of enemy, and so whoever deals with them is subject to
their whimsical policies of acceptance and rejection.
What I find
most disingenuous on the part of ISKCON leaders is that they are
rejecting Srila Prabhupada's instructions on the matter of future
initiations as if they knew scripture better than he did. All of the
verses you quoted were known to all of Srila Prabhupada's senior
disciples, and they obviously felt the initiation protocols Srila
Prabhupada was recommending were not supported by scripture. Otherwise,
why would they not announce his declaration concerning officiating
acaryas in the summary report of their May 27-29 meetings in Vrndavana
in 1977? After thoroughly evaluating the role he intended them to play,
they decided they hated his idea of officiating and taking karma without
receiving worship. We all know that ISKCON still hates the idea of
ritvik initiations. If they were obedient servants, they would have
enacted resolutions in pursuance of Srila Prabhupada's May 28th
instructions. We find though that the GBC in its meetings and
resolutions has never even raised the possibility of discussing having
initiators act as officiating acaryas.
There is an important point
I wanted to make at this juncture. In ISKCON as well as in the ritvik
camp we encounter devotees who are focused on drawing a distinction
between siksa and diksa guru. I think perhaps the most important thing
to remember in this regard is that these are not titles. The tendency to
make these titles is deeply engrained in our intellect. Awarding these
names as titles has also been imbibed from association with the Gaudiya
Math. Diksa guru is not a title, but everyone wants to know "Who is your
diksa guru?" It's funny that no one wants to know who is your siksa
guru. It's is also interesting that ritvik advocates will never name
anyone as their siksa guru. For them, Prabhupada is everything — siksa,
diksa, the deliverer from birth and death, and the ocean of mercy. In
other words, he is the eternal spiritual master.
If we all think
of Srila Prabhupada as our eternal spiritual master, there is no need to
label him as our siksa or diksa guru. I was initiated in 1970, but I
have never said, "Srila Prabhupada is my diksa guru."
Prabhupada taught us to use the term
"spiritual master", just as in the Bhagavad-gita Arjuna surrenders to Krishna who agreed to act as Arjuna's spiritual master.
"Now I am a soul surrendered unto You",
had nothing to do with Arjuna receiving diksa on the battlefield.
Krishna transmitted transcendental knowledge to His disciple and the
relationship was technically a siksa relationship, but we don't say
"Krishna was Arjuna's siksa guru." Similarly, everyone is taking shelter
of Srila Prabhupada and receiving transcendental knowledge, but they
are receiving so much more. By his grace, we will be able to enter the
spiritual abode and interact with Krishna face to face. Without pleasing
Srila Prabhupada, one cannot even make one iota of spiritual
advancement. So the term siksa guru does not apply.
For
ISKCON-ites, Srila Prabhupada was proclaimed the pre-eminent siksa guru,
but in ISKCON, worship of the diksa guru is more essential, as if the
initiator is supposed to take the disciple back to Godhead. Srila
Prabhupada wrote that the spiritual master is a resident of the
spiritual world. A resident of the spiritual world comes here to deliver
the fallen conditioned souls. He does not become attracted to the
flirtations of maya. ISKCON gurus should cease and desist from all of
those practices that call upon others to see them as liberated souls. I
will not say that ISKCON gurus are not devotees, but I will say that
some of them who were supposed to be as good as Jesus became less than
cats and dogs. Srila Prabhupada used to say spiritual life was like a
razor's edge and the tragedy in ISKCON is that when so-called gurus
falter, slip, deviate and get a bloody cheek, all of their admirers are
thrown into a hellish condition of life. If only they had agreed to
officiate on Prabhupada's recommendation, so many innocent devotees
would have been spared the greatest anguish of their lives.
To
continue, we all know Srila Prabhupada was formally initiated by Srila
Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Maharaja, but personally I do not know of any
instance when Srila Prabhupada actually used those particular words
"diksa guru" to describe their relationship. And only on one occasion
did we hear him refer to his godbrother Sridhar Maharaja as "siksa
guru." In other words, it was very rare that these terms would be used
in conversation, in classes or in his letters. It was really only when
devotees were helping Prabhupada publish the Adi-lila that the topic of
siksa vs. diksa came up. As for myself, I was initiated by Srila
Prabhupada in 1970, but I never referred to him as my "diksa guru." The
Bhagavad-gita does not make those distinctions as to which type of guru
we are related to. And so Arjuna surrenders fully to Krishna without
considering whether it is a siksa or diksa relationship. So when we
consider the implementation of the ritvik initiation system, we don't
have to worry about designating who is siksa and who is diksa. Again, it
was not mentioned on May 28th, so it was not a consideration. My view
on this is that Srila Prabhupada's perspective was perfect. Only he
could conceive of how a worldwide spiritual movement could incorporate
the giving of diksa without disrupting an existing system of management
and still satisfy the demands of scripture and the standards set by
previous acaryas. His instructions were dictated by Krishna, just like
his books. And as with his books, the ISKCON leaders were prepared to
ignore those divine words of his, not thinking of them as sacrosanct.
Will continue when time permits.
Your servant,
Locanananda dasa
Locanananda dasa 26. October 2012 at 3:54 am
I wanted to add a few more things tonight to explore the topic from other angles of vision.
With
our tiny brains and flickering minds we may not be able to comprehend
how Srila Prabhupada's recommendation to have officiating acaryas give
diksa filfills all of the requirements and scriptural directives
concerning initiation. Srila Prabhupada told us that some of our
questions would be answered when we return back to Godhead. So some
things we cannot grasp in our conditioned state. A godbrother of mine
used to say, "Ours is not to reason why. Ours is but to do or die." In
other words, we should put our complete faith in the words of the
spiritual master and do exactly what he says. Whatever we see as
contradictory in his instructions will be reconciled in due course of
time by Krishna.
In the Caitanya caritamrita there is the story of
Raghunath dasa. When he was living at home, he received initiation from
Yadunandana Acarya. He later went to Jagannath Puri and there took
shelter of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Yadunandana Acarya is referred to as
"the official initiator spiritual master" of Raghunath dasa. This is
very similar to "officiating acarya." In the pastime, Raghunath received
diksa at home and then took shelter of Lord Caitanya. Similarly, in our
movement, we are supposed to receive diksa from an officiating acarya
who is transparent to the founder acarya. Actually, though, we are meant
to take shelter of Srila Prabhupada. So although Srila Prabhupada is
not officially the giver of diksa, he is the ultimate object of our
worship and meditation.
There is so much more to be said.
Locanananda dasa 26. October 2012
Let's take
another look at the July 9th letter. I think we can all agree that there
is no specific mention whatsoever of initiations that were to be
performed when Srila Prabhupada would no longer be present — only the
word "henceforward." This word could have many meanings, depending on
what the composer of the letter had in mind. When asked about his use
and meaning of the word henceforward, the author of the letter said it
meant "until there was a change in circumstance," or, "until further
notice." This makes perfect sense if we consider that the May 28th
meeting with Srila Prabhupada and the question of future initiations
dealt specifically with that time when he would no longer be with us. I
will again present the exchange between Srila Prabhupada and his
secretary from the transcript of the May 28, 1977 discussion. It is
crystal clear that Srila Prabhupada's ritvik order was to have ritvik
acaryas give diksa when he would no longer be present, and that those
initiated would be his grand disciples.
TKG: He is asking
that these ritvik acaryas — they are officiating, giving diksa. The
people who they give diksa to — whose disciples are they?
SP: They are his disciples.
TKG: They are his disciples?
SP: Who is initiating. He's grand disciple.
Srila
Prabhupada did not say, "They are MY disciples." He said "they are HIS
disciples," referring to the ritvik acarya. This completely defeats the
idea that Srila Prabhupada would continue to initiate after entering
samadhi. And he uses the term grand disciple to refer to those people
receiving diksa from the ritvik acarya, further defeating the
misconception of ritvik initiation. It doesn't get more clear than this.
Let
me give you one more instance of Srila Prabhupada defeating the
misconception that he would continue to give diksa. On the appearance
day of his spiritual master in February, 1977, Srila Prabhupada spoke in
Mayapur about the nitya-lila of the pure devoteee vaisnava acarya. He
likened the pastime to changes in time from one time zone to the next.
When it is five o'clock in one place, it is six o'clock in another
place. An hour later, it is six o'clock in one location and seven
o'clock in the second location. So, figuratively speaking, when it is
time for the pure devotee to begin his pastime in another place (at 6
o'clock), they end in the first place (at 7 o'clock). This very obvious
comparison helps us understand that in nitya-lila, when the pastime
begins in a new place, it does not continue in the previous place. By
definition, if Srila Prabhupada continued to initiate here after
entering samadhi and while physically residing somewhere else, if that
was the nature of his nitya-lila, it means he would have been initiating
somewhere else while he was physically present here. Would anyone like
to make such an absurd statement and be seen as the greatest fool?
Locanananda dasa 31. October 2012
Dear ____
Regarding
your comment of October 26, I mentioned your incessant use of the term
"diksa guru." I pointed out that Srila Prabhupada very rarely used this
term in his classes and in discussions with his disciples, including the
May 28, 1977 conversation and the July 9th letter where the term "diksa
guru" is not mentioned even once. Due to the influence of the Gaudiya
Math in particular, devotees nowadays are entirely focused on naming
their diksa guru. The distinction between siksa and diksa guru is
discussed briefly in the Caitanya caritamrita and, based on what was
written there by Srila Prabhupada, devotees like yourself have attempted
to undermined his proposal to have initiations performed by officiating
acaryas when he would no longer be present. This has gone on for thirty
five years and, as far as I can ascertain, there is no end in sight.
To
make this even more clear to you, in all of his many thousands of
letters to his disciples, Srila Prabhupada used the term "diksa guru" a
total of three times. In all of his thousands of lectures, he used the
term "diksa guru" a total of eight times, and in all of his room
conversations, a total of six times.
Counted together, in all of
his classes, letters and room conversations, he used the term "diksa
guru" a total of seventeen times. In your October 26 comment alone, the
term "diksa guru" appears sixteen times.
So in your one comment
you have used the term nearly as often as Srila Prabhupada did over a
period of eleven years in all of his classes, letters and room
conversations.
And then there are his books. In the Srimad
Bhagavatam, the term "diksa guru" appears seven times, all in relation
to Dhruva's mother Suniti and his initiation by Narada. And in the Sri
Catianya caritamrita, it appears four times, mainly to define what is
meant by "diksa guru." Throughout Srila Prabhupada's teachings, on the
other hand, the term "guru" has 6,668 references on the VedaBase and
"spiritual master" appears 5,316 times. So you can easily see that in
comparison to Srila Prabhupada's use of language, devotees have gone way
overboard with their constant use of the term "diksa guru."
Srila Prabhupada had his reasons for introducing the title
"officiating acarya" instead of "diksa guru" or "initiating spiritual
master," to designate the giver of diksa when he would no longer be
present. Why devotees cannot accept Srila Prabhupada's terminology is
beyond my comprehension. As far as Srila Prabhupada's present position,
we can learn from a letter written to Brahmananda on Nov. 15, 1969 where
he said,
"So far as I am concerned, in relationship with my
disciples who are so kindly cooperating with me in the matter of my
rendering service to my spiritual master, for them I am always ready to
come back from Goloka Vrindaban, if they are not delivered along with
me."
The point made here is that one should think that upon his
disappearance from our visual perception, the spiritual master has
returned to Goloka Vrindaban. What he has left behind is the legacy of
the temples he established, the Deities he installed and the body of
instructions he imparted. By his inconceivable mercy, Srila Prabhupada,
while residing in the abode of Krishna, continues to bestow his
blessings upon us. As disciples, we should make every attempt to end the
cycle of birth and death by preparing ourselves through the
purificatory process of devotional service to go back to Godhead so as
not to oblige the spiritual master to come back to this world to deliver
us.
A group of 21 MBA students from Mandalay University were on a business study tour to Bangalore with the aim to learn and take back with them some new ideas on doing business.
The
main focus of Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) is to provide
nutritious and balanced diet to underprivileged children.
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