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| Siksa-guru is Liberated Devotee |
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Revised, October 2009 All emphases have been added for your edification and
realization. “The initiating and
instructing spiritual masters are equal and identical manifestations of
Krsna, although they have different dealings.” Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi 1.34, purport “Therefore, there is no
difference between siksa-guru and diksa-guru . . .” Room conversation in Bhubanesva on “According to sastric
injunctions, there is no difference between siksa-guru and
diksa-guru, and generally the siksa-guru later on becomes the
diksa-guru.” Srimad-bhagavatam,
4.12.32, purport tad vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet The siksa-guru is on the same
platform of realization as the diksa-guru, therefore they are equal and identical
manifestations of the Lord. As stated
above, the diksa-guru and the siksa-guru, in the true senses of the terms, are
both fixed in brahman realization (brahma-nistham);
they are both tattva-darshi, having seen the Truth (tattva-vidah, S.B., 1.2.11). An advanced devotee may see the Truth as brahman as he is making progress toward higher realizations,
viz., Paramatma and Bhagavan darshan. A millionaire is obviously a rich
man, but, beyond him, both the multi-millionaire and the billionaire can also
still be called millionaires. Diksa-guru and siksa-guru, in the true senses of
the terms, are situated on the same absolute platform of brahma-bhuta (brahma-nistham), although there are, of course, different
levels of realization developed on that platform. It is nevertheless one (jnana-advayam
as per S.B., 1.2.11). The cheap, so-called
diksa-guru--or the cheap, so-called siksa-guru--is not a manifestation of the
Supreme Lord, however. Only the
post-modern sahajiyas consider them as such and prematurely consider themselves
to be siksa-gurus but not diksa-gurus. “There is no
difference between the shelter-giving Supreme Lord and the
initiating and instructing spiritual masters. If one foolishly
discriminates between them, he commits an offense in the discharge of
devotional service.” Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi
1.47, purport “Sometimes a caste guru says
that yei krsna-tattva-vetta
sei guru haya means that
one who is not a brahmana may become a siksa-guru or a vartma-pradarsaka-guru
but not an initiator guru. According to such caste gurus, birth and family ties
are considered foremost. However, the hereditary consideration is not
acceptable to Vaisnavas. The word guru is equally
applicable to the vartma-pradarsaka-guru, siksa-guru
and diksa-guru.” Caitanya-caritamrita,
Madhya 8.128, purport Srila Prabhupada implies that
anyone who is differentiating between the diksa-guru and a siksa-guru, in terms
of level of realization, is in illusion.
The example of the Hindu caste guru is cited here. In applying this to the current situation, we
should not cooperate with any new, post-modern Western quasi-caste system,
although that’s exactly what is being elevated to religious dogma at this time.
vande ‘ham sri-guroh Transliteration:
vande—offer my respectful obeisances; aham—I; sri-guroh—of my
initiating spiritual master or instructing spiritual master “There are two
kinds of guru: the diksa-guru and the siksa-guru.” When the word guru is used,
it refers to either the diksa-guru or the siksa-guru, unless specified; the vartmapradarsaka-guru is also a siksa-guru, but he has a
different dealing with a person who has just come into contact with the
absolute teachings. On the assumption
that the above-quoted translation is accurate, Srila Saccidananda
Bhaktivinode Thakur
originally presented the correct understanding of siksa-guru over a century
ago. siksa-guruke ta’ jani
krsnera svarupa Transliteration: siksa-guruke—the
spiritual master who instructs; ta’—indeed; jani—I know; krsnera—of Krsna; sva-rupa—the direct representative; antaryami—the indwelling Supersoul;
bhakta-srestha—the best devotee; ei—these; dui—two; rupa—forms. “When by learning from the self-realized
spiritual master one actually engages himself in the service of Lord Visnu, functional devotional service begins. . .” Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi 1.47, purport Self-realization begins at
brahma-bhuta. Usually, that English term
(self-realization) is used in reference to Paramatma or even higher understanding. Nevertheless, the brahma-bhuta soul is a highly
advanced devotee: navyavad dhrdaye yaj
jno “The Supreme Knower in the
heart (Paramatma) makes everything ever-fresh.
This is brahman realization (brahma-bhuta) according
to the knowers of the Absolute Truth. When they attain this, the brahma-realized
are never bewildered, never lament, and are never elated.” S.B.,
4.30.20 In the purport, Srila
Prabhupada adds: “There is really nothing uninspiring for a highly
advanced devotee. . . The Supersoul gives
instructions to the sincere, unalloyed devotee on how he can progress more and
more in approaching the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Srila Jiva Gosvami in this connection says that the Supersoul, the plenary expansion of the Personality of
Godhead, exists in everyone's heart, but in the heart of the devotee He reveals
Himself as ever-increasingly new. Being inspired by Him, the devotee
experiences increased transcendental bliss in the execution of his devotional
service.” jive saksat nahi tate
guru caittya-rupe Transliteration: jive—by the
living entity; saksat—direct experience; nahi—there is not; tate—therefore; guru—the spiritual master; caittya-rupe—in
the form of the Supersoul; siksa-guru—the spiritual master
who instructs; haya—appears; krsna— “Since one
cannot visually experience the presence of the Supersoul,
He appears before us as a liberated devotee. Such
a spiritual master is none other than Krsna Himself.” Caitanya-caritamrita
Adi 1.58 Note here that “such a
spiritual master” is referred to in the verse and transliteration as a
siksa-guru, i.e., siksa-guru, in the true sense of the term, is an advanced,
liberated devotee of the Lord. “He
appears before us as a liberated devotee.”
Anyone who says otherwise disqualifies himself immediately relative to
any claim he has made to being siksa-guru. “A siksa-guru who instructs
against the instruction of spiritual, he is not a siksa guru. He is a demon.
Siksa-guru, diksa-guru means . . . Sometimes a diksa-guru is not present
always. Therefore, one can take learning, instruction, from an
advanced devotee. That is called the siksa-guru. Siksa-guru
does not mean he is speaking something against the teachings of the diksa-guru.
He is not a siksa-guru. He is a rascal.” Lecture in For every one of his
initiated disciples, Srila Prabhupada was diksa-guru, siksa-guru, and their vartma-pradarshaka-guru as well. In the Cc., Adi
Lila 1.58 transliteration cited above, it should be understood that mahanta and mahatma are synonymous. The siksa-guru, in the true sense of the
term, is a liberated, self-realized mahatma--an advanced devotee, a great
soul. “Sometimes a diksa-guru is not present always.”
Now, what did Srila Prabhupada mean when he said that? Did he mean that the diksa-guru (when not
present)—being allegedly (according to the post-modern definition) more
advanced than a siksa-guru—indirectly forces his disciple to accept instruction
from persons who are not on the realized platform? In other words, the newcomer must now accept
instruction and direction from, and service to, any devotee who happens to
present himself as a siksa-guru—who is considered as such according to the
unauthorized post-modern definition—even though that so-called siksa-guru says
that he is not qualified to be diksa-guru. No, of
course not. It simply means that a diksa-guru is not
always present with his initiated disciple, even when the diksa-guru is still
externally manifest. This was certainly
the case while Srila Prabhupada was here, as most of his disciples had very
limited direct access to him. That
is the meaning of “not present always.” It does not mean that one of his
rank-and-file initiated devotees was automatically obliged to accept some other
godbrother--perhaps initiated earlier and maybe a
temple president or a sannyasi or a commissioner—as a
siksa-guru. While Srila Prabhupada was
manifest, he did not for the record recognize any of his disciples as having
attained the platform of siksa-guru, despite his order to them to reach that
status. Later in the article, this fact will
be very specifically corroborated. “The diksa-guru and the siksa-guru
are both intimate servitors of Lord Krsna.” Harinama-cintamani
of Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur,
as translated by Bhanu Swami “ . . . the pure devotee who instructs and
guides the disciple in the confidential service of Sri-Sri Radha and “One should . . . worship both the initiating
and instructing spiritual masters with great attachment, never thinking that the guru is
merely a great sage—rather, that he is one's most intimate and
well-wishing friend.” Both of these quotes from Sri
Manah Siksa by Srila Raghunatha
das Gosvami, as translated by Sarvabhavana
das On the reasonable expectation
that these are accurate translations, they all further establish the exalted
status of a genuine siksa-guru. He is
intimately in touch with his spiritual master, even if his guru is no longer
physically manifest. The siksa-guru in the true sense of the term is a
liberated, pure devotee—above the stage of an impersonalist or even a
brahma-realized maharshi (who is not a Vaishnava). As long as such a siksa-guru first directly
receives the order from Srila Prabhupada, he is already fully qualified
to become a diksa-guru, as established earlier (“ . . . generally the
siksa-guru later on becomes the diksa-guru.” S.B., 4.12.32, purport). kiba vipra, kiba
nyasi, sudra kene naya “If one becomes a guru, he is
automatically
a brahmana.” Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 8.128, purport “Automatically a brahmana” directly
relates to the realized brahmin,
i.e., a Vaishnava who is brahma-realized. “Self-realized” often refers to the
uttama-adhikari—who knows his own spiritual self as well as the form, quality,
and pastimes of the Supreme Lord--but it also sometimes refers to the
brahma-realized devotee, as in Bhagavad-gita: “Thus when he is completely
free from false ego, he becomes non-attached to all material things, and that
is the stage of self-realization of brahman. That
stage is called the brahma-bhuta stage.”
18.51-53, purport: Being completely free from identification
with false ego, being firmly situated in sattva with
no influence of the lower modes piercing the mind or intelligence, is no minor
achievement. The advanced devotee who has attained such a status is sometimes
also called a topmost devotee. To continue our previous analogy, for a person
who is in debt and barely has one hundred dollars in his name, a millionaire is
considered to be the topmost rich man. Such a liberated person no
longer desires external material happiness. This state is called brahma-bhuta,
attaining which one is assured of going back to Godhead, back to home. Bhagavad-gita,
5.24 vaco vegam manasah
krodha-vegam Transliteration: vacah—of
speech; vegam—urge; manasah—of
the mind; krodha—of anger; vegam—urge;
jihva—of the tongue; vegam—urge;
udara-upastha—of the belly and genitals; vegam—urge; etan—these;
vegan—urges; yah—whoever; visaheta—can tolerate; dhirah—sober; sarvam—all;
api—certainly; imam—this; prthivim—world;
sah—that personality; sisyat—can
make disciples. “A sober
person who can tolerate the urge to speak, the mind's demands, the actions of
anger and the urges of the tongue, belly and genitals is qualified to make disciples all
over the world.” Upadeshamrita, Verse One He is qualified, no doubt,
but His Divine Grace has made it abundantly clear that the dhira must also
receive the directive from his guru. In the Second Chapter of the Bhagavad-gita,
the dhirah is established as a
self-realized, undisturbed devotee of the Lord.
He is guru and is qualified to initiate disciples, as evidenced here. As applied to Srila Prabhupada’s initiated disciples—if
any one of them has attained or will attain this level of dhira--he was or is
also automatically a siksa-guru. However, he or she is qualified to become a
diksa-guru only after having received the direct order from Srila Prabhupada
to initiate disciples. Obviously, it
would only be logical that His Divine Grace would extend just such an order to
any one of his disciples who has attained this level of realization. Srila Rupa Gosvami, in using sisyat in the
verse from the Nectar of Instruction quoted above, indicates initiated
disciples. Any other limited
interpretation of sisyat is a watered-down stretch,
generally motivated by a desire to differentiate siksa-guru from diksa-guru. Nevertheless, Srila Prabhupada added: “But by my order” in the “Amara ajnaya
guru hana.
Be actually guru, but by my order.” Prabhupada had just quoted
from Cc., Madhya 7.128--then he added “but”, along with the three other
words. That means that there is
something else to the order, a further clarification and qualification. Then he clarifies exactly what that something
else is: “my order.” It is said that, if you
repeat something three times, then the unbiased intelligence remembers it. We have repeated this essential point more
than three times, but those pretending to sleep will still not hear it. Srila Prabhupada (saksad-dhari) certainly was (and remains) the direct
representative of—and non-different from--the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. At the same time, Srila Prabhupada is a
glorious ever-liberated individual, the Supreme Personality of Servitor
Godhead. As such, when he says that the
order must come directly from him, the direct meaning, the mukhya-vritti, is not at all difficult to assimilate. After all, Lord Caitanya
would never give an order like this to a jiva (initiated into His line by Srila
Prabhupada) if His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada did not first also
order it directly for that disciple. In other words, if someone says that Lord Caitanya generically gives the order in Madhya 7.128,
Prabhupada has added the stricture that the order must also specifically come
from him to his disciple. Indeed, he may
give the order even previous to brahma-bhuta, but he will never give it to
anyone still entangled in anartha or aparadha. Prabhupada has clearly said, in Brahmananda: He's asking: When did you become the spiritual
leader of jive
saksat nahi tate guru caittya-rupe In the purport to Cc.,
Adi 1.58, Prabhupada explains: “It is not possible
for a conditioned soul to directly meet Saksat means direct experience. Jive saksat
means that the jiva gets the direct experience. This obviously refers to pratyaksa, as prati means near or
through the material senses. The conditioned soul is generally limited to pratyaksa, and he cannot (nahi tate) inwardly perceive the guru
in his heart. However, he can perceive and hear from the guru who appears
externally as a liberated devotee to impart spiritual instruction.
The conditioned soul must surrender his senses to the manifest siksa-guru, who
can also be called a living guru, as long as that term is understood properly
without offense. “So Of particular note here is
that the siksa-guru is also generally an external manifestation, so all these
claims by newcomers that Prabhupada is their siksa-guru may or may not be as
legitimate as they first may seem. We
can intuit just how sincere such claims are when we see the affiliations of
these new people and note just what they are preaching. When they are affiliating with and preaching
that which is not, then we can be certain that His Divine Grace is not their
siksa-guru. Prabhupada comments upon the
Book Bhagavat, which is also an external
manifestation; as such, he can be contacted in that way. However, the general understanding is that the
siksa-guru is an external manifestation for the conditioned soul, not solely a
previous spiritual master who has left physical manifestation. “The first manifestation
described is the spiritual master, who appears in two plenary parts called the
initiating spiritual master and instructing spiritual master. They
are identical because both of them are phenomenal manifestations
of the Supreme Truth.” Caitanya-caritamrita, Introduction to Adi Lila “He helps us from within as Caitya Guru, and He expands Himself externally as Siksa Guru
(as instructor) and Diksa Guru (initiator). So, the principle is that whatever
you are instructed by the Caitya Guru internally may
be confirmed by the instructor or initiator externally. Then your
progress will be complete.” Letter to Sivananda, “He expands Himself externally
as Siksa Guru . . . ” The external manifestation as
siksa-guru is necessary so that the conditioned soul does not convince himself
(delude himself by mental speculation) that some kind of self-motivated,
nonsensical order or conclusion is coming from caitya-guru. However, none of these references
specifically state that the siksa-guru must always only be an
external manifestation; we shall present a translation from Harinam-cintamani
which indicates that previous Acharyas can also be
considered siksa-gurus. “Srila Krsnadasa
Kaviraja Gosvami states
that the instructing spiritual master is a bona fide representative of Sri Krishna.
Sri Krishna Himself teaches us as the instructing spiritual master from within
and without. From within, He teaches as Paramatma, our constant companion, and from
without He teaches from the Bhagavad-gita as the instructing spiritual
master. There are two kinds of instructing spiritual masters. One is
the liberated person fully absorbed in meditation in devotional service, and
the other is he who invokes the disciple’s spiritual consciousness by means of
relevant instructions. Thus the instructions in the science of devotion are
differentiated in terms of the objective and subjective ways of understanding.”
Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi
1.47, purport A section of this purport has
been repeatedly distorted in post-modern times to justify the misconception
that any devotee (on virtually any platform of purity--or lack thereof) can
present some teaching from Srila Prabhupada to a newcomer and thus be
considered a siksa-guru. Such a
misunderstanding constitutes a gross violation of the intent of this passage. The misconception itself can be further explained
in this way: The liberated siksa-guru is ultra-special, while the non-liberated (?)
siksa-guru is a very general and basic thing, rather easy of access. From
this wrong
foundation, the so-called objective way of understanding the Vedic and
Vaishnava instructions is through the liberated acharya—obviously,
Srila Prabhupada is usually cited here. Following through on this misconception,
almost all of Prabhupada’s initiated devotees are then supposedly also
siksa-gurus, teaching people the subjective (?) way of understanding. What nonsense! The
misinterpretation hinges on an unnecessary application of gauna-vritti
or laksana-vritti to the text. Such is not the intent
of this purport, however, because this kind of misinterpretation and
misapplication defies all the other statements made in shastra
on the subject of siksa-guru, as well as commentaries on this topic made by
Srila Prabhupada elsewhere (some of which have been cited in this article). Thus, there is definite criterion for
rejection of laksana-vritti here. The mukhya-vritti
application to this above-mentioned purport is to be accepted, and it is as
follows: Consider the two kinds of liberated devotees, known as ghostyanandi and bhajananandi. The ghostyanandi
speaks and, as such, he gives relevant instructions subjectively to each of his
disciples. The bhajananandi
does not give such instruction nor does he (with rare exception) act as initiator
guru. Instead, he sets the example of a liberated soul (that kind of siksa-guru)
by his presence and spiritual vibration; this is the objective manifestation. Both advanced devotees are genuine
siksa-gurus, because both teach as external manifestations of the Supreme Lord
in human form, i.e., living gurus. This proper and logical interpretation
matches and harmonizes with all of the other references to siksa-guru given to
us by Srila Prabhupada and the Vedic and Vaishnava scriptures. Gauna-vritti has no application to the above-mentioned
purport (Adi 1.47).
“A devotee must understand
that the adi-guru, original
spiritual master of the sampradaya, is the siksa-guru, and only his
teachings are to be accepted and not those of any other scholar or teacher.” Harinama-cintamani of Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur, as translated by Bhanu
Swami On the assumption that this
is an accurate and authoritative translation, here we see that even the
non-manifest devotee can be accepted as a kind of siksa-guru. This concept of siksa-guru is applicable to
the previous Acaryas of the Sampradaya, particularly the founders of the lines,
referring to Madhvacharya, Ramanujacharya,
Vishnu Swami, and Nimbarkacharya. Logic indicates that this would also be
applicable to the Sampradaya Acharyas who follow that
Adi Guru. All
of their siksa is primarily “in the shape of scriptures” although, taking
advantage of modern technology, it also now can be had in both video and audio
formats. Let me paraphrase Srimad-bhagavatam, 1.7.5, as per Prabhupada’s
purport. It means that conditioned souls are being reclaimed by the Supreme
Controller in two ways, namely by the process of punishment by the external
energy and by God Himself as the spiritual master within and without. Within
the heart of every living being, the Lord as Paramatma becomes the spiritual
master, and from without He becomes the spiritual master in the shape
of scriptures, saints and the initiator spiritual master. Check out that purport for yourselves,
prabhus. What we do not find anywhere in
it is that the initiator spiritual master can be anything but an external
manifestation of the Lord. The
diksa-guru is specifically cited in 1.7.5 as being “from without.” The
purport does not specifically mention the siksa-guru or instructing spiritual
master in terms of him being only an external manifestation from without. Conversely, it does specifically
cite the diksa-guru (“initiator spiritual master”) in just such a context. That
constitutes proof that the diksa-guru must always be an external
manifestation for the conditioned souls. The example
of rare souls (like Dhruva Maharaj)
from ancient times, those who received initiation from Sri Devarshi
Narada Muni (or any other non-manifest guru), is not viable
at this time. That kind of initiation is especially vitiated
and inapplicable when it is turned into an organized or institutionalized
initiation process. In S.B., 1.7.5, Srila
Prabhupada also cites “the guru in the shape of scriptures” as per the
well-known verse Cc., Madhya 22.54. This is the Book Bhagavat. The devotee can receive siksa through this
transcendental facility, as it brings the association, instruction, and
guidance of Srila Prabhupada’s translations and commentaries. These benefits are effective as long as there
is eagerness to understand the transcendental message. The guru in the shape of
scriptures gives such devotees access to the benefit of his sadhu-sanga
in the shape of scriptures. Neither the
Book Bhagavat nor siksa-guru should ever be
considered some kind of post-modern leviathan, however; there is no such thing
as a group being the guru. Caitanya Mahaprabhu says: sadhu sanga sadhu
sanga sarva sastra kaya Prabhupada: "Even a
moment's association with a pure devotee—all success.” Not necessarily
that one has to acquire it previous, no. Generally it is so, but sadhu sanga has
got its effect. Caitanya Mahaprabhu
said: lava matra sadhu sanga sarva siddhi haya. You have not read in the Sanatana-siksa
in the Teachings of Lord Caitanya? “ . . . if he is conversant in the science of Krsna
he can become a spiritual master as vartma-pradarsaka-guru,
diksa-guru or siksa-guru. The spiritual master who first gives information
about spiritual life is called the vartma-pradarsaka-guru,
the spiritual master who initiates according to the regulations of the sastras
is called the diksa-guru, and the spiritual master who gives
instructions for elevation is called the siksa-guru. Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 8.128, purport The initiating and
instructing spiritual masters are equal and identical manifestations of
Krsna, although they have different dealings. Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi 1.34, purport The issue of difference
amongst and between gurus is not on the platform of their realizations; it is
in connection to their functions or dealings.
“Guror avajna. First offense is guror avajna: Defying the authority of guru. This is the first
offense. So one who is offensive, how he can make advance in chanting? He
cannot make. Then everything is finished in the beginning. Guror avajna.
Everything is there. If one is disobeying the spiritual master,
he cannot remain in the pure status of life. He cannot be siksa-guru
or anything else.” Lecture in
siksa-guru-brnda krpa koriya
apar “But I
consider the numerous instructing spiritual masters (siksa-gurus) to be more
important, for they show unlimitedly more mercy by training the neophyte devotees
in all the essential aspects of practical devotional service (sadhana-bhakti). Sri Sri
Kalyana Kalpa-taru: The
Desire Tree of Auspiciousness from A
Songbook of 62 Bengali Songs by Srila Saccidananda
Bhaktivinoda Thakura,
translation by Dasaratha-suta dasa Assuming that the translation
is accurate, both references confirm that a neophyte or kanistha-adhikari is not
really a siksa-guru, unless specifically ordered by his spiritual master to initiate
disciples. Certainly, in such a case,
that devotee would have to be, at bare minimum, anartha-nivritti; he or she could
not still be entangled in any kind of aparadha or anartha. “If Kirtanananda Maharaja
speaks what I speak, then he can be taken as siksa-guru.
Guru sastra sadhu. The
spiritual master is one; that is a fact. Kirtanananda Swami may be taken as sadhu not spiritual master or as instructor guru .
. . You have written that the devotees here (in New Vrindavan)
say that you cannot know me, but only Kirtanananda Maharaja can know me. But,
if Kirtanananda is a disciple and he can know me--and you are also a disciple--
why you cannot know me?” Letter to Paramananda and Satyabhama, Simply put, Srila Prabhupada
did not lend any credence to the idea, then rampant in “This is the function of the
GBC, to see that one may not be taken away by maya. The GBC should
all be the instructor gurus. I am in the initiator guru, and you should
be the instructor guru by teaching what I am teaching and doing what I
am doing. This is not a title, but you must actually come to this platform.
This I want.” Letter to Madhudvisa When you want something, that means that you don’t have it. No ringing
endorsement here, either. None of the commissioners had attained to the
platform of siksa-guru as of this date in 1975. Prabhupada: So many
complaints. In this very important conversation,
we see that His Divine Grace gave no ringing endorsement for siksa-guru anywhere
in his movement in 1977 as well. The obvious and logical conclusion is that none
of his disciples had attained the platform of guru—either siksa-guru or
diksa-guru—as of six months prior to his disappearance. One month later (after this Bombay
conversation), in Vrindavan, he again spoke of initiation,
as well as the principle of guru (generically)—really adding nothing new to
what he had given throughout all of his writings, letters, lectures, and
conversations over the past decade. An important excerpt from that May, 1977
conversation has been cited previously in this article. Still physically manifest, a
little over one month after that May conversation, he appointed eleven rittviks—only
rittviks--to initiate disciples into the line on his behalf; this also
was nothing new. Srila Prabhupada was
the diksa-guru for all of these newly-initiated disciples in the late summer
and fall of 1977—up to November 15th of that year. During his manifest presence,
His Divine Grace never recognized anyone as being on the platform of guru, and
certainly did not recognize any of his disciples being the Acharya. He also never recognized anyone as being
siksa-guru. In the Bombay room conversation (cited above), he agrees
(“Yes”)
with the conclusion that his leaders were all still conditioned souls, not
qualified to be guru at any level.
Considering and analyzing
this evidence without motivation or bias, it all points to a sad state of
affairs in effect during the last days he was with us. This became even worse as time went on,
especially in connection to the zonal acharya scam
after his disappearance. There has been
a lot of cheating since that time, and the cheating continues. As His Divine Grace predicted, this has
resulted in the current centrifugal state of chaos and disintegration. The various
concoctions have not been effective in the matter of bringing any of the new
people to pure Krsna conscious understanding. So, at this time, what is the
actual adhikara of his preachers today? If somebody preaches--if he or she is not a
brahma-realized, Paramatma-realized, or Bhagavan-realized siksa-guru--then what
is his or her status? Early on in his movement,
Srila Prabhupada gave us the answer: “Yes, whoever you tell the
chant to, it is effective. You have heard it from me and my disciples.
Similarly, I have heard it from my Guru Maharaja, and so on and on. Because you
have heard it from a pure devotee of the Lord, therefore it is transmitted from
you to another. Just as an aerial message is transmitted from one place to
another, similarly this Guru parampara system is
working. My disciples are my agents, my representatives.
So by hearing it from them, you are receiving it from me. And because you are a
sincere soul, those who are hearing the Mantra from you are receiving it in
disciplic succession from Lord Caitanya and from Lord
Krishna.” Letter from L. A. to Bhaktin Andrea Temple in the However, it must be noted
that Srila Prabhupada was physically manifest when this letter was written, and
there was a vast difference between those new people and the devotees who had
already been initiated by Srila Prabhupada.
This remains the case today, also. The new people back then received the
mantra from him—even through the agency of different non-initiated
devotees--but they had not as yet been actually initiated: “Yes, there is definitely a vast difference
between initiated and non-initiated. One who is initiated is authorized, and
one who is not initiated is not authorized. . . . One who becomes initiated is
channelized to the authorities in the disciplic succession. One who isn't initiated
may chant Hare Krishna (and should certainly be encouraged to do so) and serve
in his own way. And gradually, by doing so, he may want to be initiated.”
Letter
to Satsvarupa, There is also a vast difference between a
genuine siksa-guru and a sahajiya. The
cheap guru/cheap disciple syndrome is nowadays pushed by the sahajiya section,
as they stress that spiritual advancement is measured by the alleged importance
and display of superficial or material results.
His Divine Grace warned us about this: “They should be checked. Otherwise, one will
gradually become sahajiya or one who takes spiritual advancement as something
materially manifest.” Letter
to Makhanlal, A siksa-guru never interferes with the adhikara of any other devotee. If a devotee reaches the required
qualification, he is a siksa-guru; if he receives the order, he is diksa-guru. A genuine siksa-guru never tries to check him
in either case. A siksa-guru is never a
sahajiya. A siksa-guru never tries to
claim that gross results—number of “initiates,” number of temples, number of
properties, number of bank accounts, number of letters previously received,
etc.--prove anything. He never looks to
materially manifest results in order to establish his status, and he never waits
in queue for one or two years in order to be voted in as diksa-guru (or not
vetoed) by the governing body of such a confederation. The genuine diksa-guru understands that, upon
attaining necessary qualification, he is duty-bound to fulfill his adhikara; when he becomes liberated from all entanglement
in anartha, aparadha, and karma, he acts as guru. The actual order does not come from some kind
of commissary; it has no relation to any group or confederation. The order comes from the devotee’s spiritual
master. Those who devise elitist or
confederated schemes in order to create another oppression counter to the
eternal system are never siksa-gurus or diksa-gurus. The initiations such men perform are not
recognized by the guru-parampara. A genuine siksa-guru does not preach that
initiation is attained from a previous spiritual master in the sampradaya, one
who is no longer externally manifest to confirm that relationship. A siksa-guru neither respects nor condones
such cheap initiations performed by so-called rittvik-acharyas. A siksa-guru is liberated, and he does not
say or do anything that is not conducive to his disciple also becoming
liberated. The conclusion is that, unless we are
actually on the platform of guru—and that platform is fundamentally one—we
should serve Srila Prabhupada as his representative. We should repeat his message as he has given
it. We should not artificially or
prematurely declare ourselves to be siksa-guru and compound that offense by
improperly differentiating between diksa-guru and siksa-guru. We should promote for all devotees the
opportunity to take advantage of the externally manifest guru in the form of
the scriptures and their bona fide commentaries, and we should strive to reach
the platform of strictly following. We
should neither become entangled in any institutionalized delusion, nor mislead
thousands of innocent fools into the delusion that they have become initiated
by a non-manifest spiritual master, nor affiliate with the neo-Mutt, which is dishonoring
the previous Acharya by preaching a false doctrine concerning
our origination. 
Quotes from the books of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada are copyright by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust |