Hare Krsna to
all
Obeisances
All glories to Srila Prabhupada
I was just reading the following few pages today in the Make Vrndavana
booklet comprised entirely of conversations with Srila Prabhupada.
The below four quotes are only within a few pages of this book. There is so
much information in Prabhupadas statements. These are about guru
tattva... Please read
Hare Krsna
Damaghosa das
--------------------------------
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Srila Prabhupada: Sarva-sastre kaya,
lava-matra sadhu-sange sarva-siddhi
haya. For me, personally, I had the
opportunity to talk with my
spiritual master not more than ten times
in my whole life, not more.
It may be less than that. But I
tried to follow his instruction,
that's all, although I was a
grhastha.
----------------------
So in the above statement by Srila Prabhupada we hear him saying he was
with or heard his guru maharaj not more than ten times, maybe less than ten
times..
So how was Srila Prabhupada getting instructions (DAILY) from his guru?
Over a span of many years (he met Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Maharaj around 1920, and
he passed away in 1935. So over the course of 15 years he was with him less than
10 times. So if you want to average it out, to less than once a year
assuming ten meetings of the two personalities. So in those few short
times, he got some instructions, the main one we know was "if you get money
print books", and the other one was "preach to the english speaking people of
the world, it will do good to you and them". And I am sure there were a few
more..
So my point here is this: How was Srila Prabhupada getting daily
instruction, guidance, inspiration, etc from a guru he only met less than once a
year?? Could you even run a mundane family/business/temple on one instruction
a year? No of course not. It takes thousands...
And the instructions Prabhupada told us he got were mainly only the
above two? Hardly much information for starting a world wide organization one
would think? Where did all the extreme details about Krsna
Consciousness come from that you will find in Srila Prabhupadas books
?? Did he just pull these out of the air? Concoct them?
And what about
getting guidance AFTER Bhaktisiddhanta maharaj left his body?This is when he
wrote his books.
Everyone knows, Prabhupada's books and purports are his "devotional
ecstasies" and they came from Lord Krsna thru the mercy of his guru maharaj
Bhaktisiddhanta Maharj-WHOM HE ONLY MET LESS THAN ONCE A
YEAR.
So this whole idea of needing a "LIVING GURU" is rubbish. What is "living" is not the physcial bodybut the spiritual/vani/instructions which comes thru that
body.
"Vibration, what we have heard from the
spiritual master-that is living"-lecture
1/13/69LA
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Devotee (1): We can understand all of your instructions simply
by
reading your books.
Srila Prabhupada: Yes. Anyway, follow the instruction.
That is required.
Follow the instruction.
Wherever you remain, it doesn't matter. You
are secure. Follow the
instruction. Then you are secure anywhere. It
doesn't matter. Just like I
told you that I saw my Guru Maharaja not
more than ten days in my life, but I
followed his instruction. I was a
grhastha, I never lived with the
Matha, in the temple. It
is
practical. So many Godbrothers recommended that "He should be
in
charge in this Bombay temple, this, that, that..." Guru Maharaja
said,
"Yes, better he lives outside. That is good, and he will do what
is
needed in due course of time."
Devotees: Jaya! Haribol!
Srila Prabhupada:
He said like that. I could not understand at that time
what does he expect.
Of course, I knew that he wanted me to preach.
Yasodanandana: I think you
have done this in grand style.
Devotees: Jaya, Prabhupada!
Haribol!
....................
So here in the above conversation, Srila Prabhupada tells us he was not
living with Bhaktisiddhanta Maharaj, nor in any Gaudiya matha temple. Rather he
lived in his own grhastha ashram far far away from the physcial presence of
his guru maharaj.
He said,. "wherever you remain, it doesn't matter. You are
secure." ..."It is practical"
Why doesnt it matter?
Because as long as you follow the instructions of your guru maharaj, you
are SECURE.
You could be living in a "temple", not following guru maharaj, and
then you would NOT be secure. So physicality has nothing to do with
spiritual life.
It is following the orders of the guru which are the life force
or active principle.
How to live with and hear the
spiritual master....
SB
4.28.47
However, the disciple and spiritual master are
never
separated because the spiritual master always keeps company with
the
disciple as long as the disciple follows strictly the instructions
of
the spiritual master. This is called the association of vani (words).
physical
presence is called vapuh. As long as the spiritual master is
physically
present, the disciple should serve the physical body of the
spiritual master,
and when the spiritual master is no longer
physically
existing, the disciple
should serve the instructions of the
spiritual
master.
how NOT to live with the spiritual master-even
in his temple...
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Devotee
(1): Srila Prabhupada, is it faster if one lives in the temple
and goes on
the sankirtana party. Is it faster?
Srila Prabhupada: That depends on him. Even in
the temple, if his mind is in
a different
subject matter, then how it will help him?
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3)....Jayatirtha: So the purpose of having the Society is to show
the
devotees how they can always be twenty-four hours engaged according
to
your instruction.
Srila Prabhupada: Yes, that is
helping one another. If I am
deficient, by
seeing your example I shall correct myself. This is the
idea, not that
a fool's paradise: all fools and join together.
Not like that. There
should be ideal life, at least the leaders,
the president, the GBC.
They will show the example, and they will follow. Then it
is
beneficial. And all of them are fools? Then it is fool's paradise.
At
least, in the blind association, at least if one man has got eyes,
then
he can lead all the blind men. But if all of them are blind, then
it is
fool's paradise.
-------------------------------
In this conversation with Srila Prabhupada he is saying that if one devotee
is deficient in some way,then the others, because they are following guru, then by their association
and example the deficient devotee can be rectified.
This is the basic ritvik system in a nutshell. The ritvik
system goes way beyond initiations. Srila Prabhupada expected his
disciples to hear what he said, practice it in their own lives, and then teach
it to all others. This is basically called a ritvik priest, or one who performs rituals, or
shows how the orders of the Acarya and Supreme Personality of Godhead are to be
implemented.
And this is how the movement went on while Prabhupada was physically here
with us. The TP or local GBC , meeting somewhere with Srila Prabhupada or
getting a letter from him, would pass down the orders of Srila Prabhupada
, and all the local rank and file devotees would follow those instructions. And
the movement grew in leaps and bounds because the orders were being carried
out.
Prabhupada was not physically present simultaneously in all of his
108 temples. But he was present simultaneously by his murti, his orders,
his instructions and his books.
Prabhupada appointed his leaders to preach in various places throughout the
world. They attracted followers who became devotees themselves, and these new
devotees preached to others and the system continued in this way until he left
the planet. 90% it is said of them, never physically met Srila Prabhupada,
and yet they all were and still are making spiritual advancement, they all
were following the orders of guru, therefore they all were situated in spiritual
life-without Prabhupada even stepping a foot into their temples.
These simple non corporal concepts of
spiritual life, it seems, are way beyond the minds of mundane men
and women, who are presently posing as leaders and
devotees, otherwise we wouldn't be having the problem we are having
today.
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Reporter (2): Are you training a
successor?
Srila Prabhupada: Yes, my Guru Maharaja is there. Where
is my photo of Guru
Maharaja? I think... Here is.
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Guest (2): ...to choose a successor.
Srila Prabhupada: It is
already successful. Genuine thing is always success.
Gold is gold. If
somebody is fortunate, he can purchase gold, but gold
remains gold. If
somebody purchases and somebody does not, it doesn't
matter. Gold is gold. So
future, gold future is always the same as it
is at present--if it is gold. If
it is something glittering, that is
another thing.
Guest (4): But there
must be somebody, you know, needed to handle the
thing.
Srila Prabhupada: Yes,
that we are creating. We are creating these devotees
who will
handle.
Hanuman: One thing he's saying, this gentleman, and I would like
to
know, is your successor named or your successor
will...
Srila Prabhupada: My success is always there. Yes. Just like the sun
is
there always. It may come before your vision or not. The sun is
there.
But if you are fortunate, you come before the sun. Otherwise
you
remain in darkness. Sun is open to everyone. Our Krsna
consciousness
movement--Krsna is open to everyone. But if you are fortunate,
you
come to the light. If you are unfortunate, do not. That is
your
choice.
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So these two conversations are very interesting. I have always wondered why
Prabhupada explained his "successor" as the "Sun" or in the first
conversation where he says for who is successor, his guru maharaj is
always there. In both cases, he never said he would name anyone as successor. He did say
that "we are creating these devotees who will
handle" ..
Handling an organization is totally different than being its "LEADER", whom
he said "we have no such thing as here is next
leader". So it is clear from these two conversations that Srila Prabhupada is
pointing the questioners to the eternal param para (the Sun) of eternally
liberated acaryas as the "successors to the Hare Krsna movement. These
Acaryas will keep the message of Bhagavad gita intact, because they, just
like the Sun is always visible-
"IF you are fortunate."
Hare Krsna
your humble servant