The following is an excerpt from a darśana with Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja in Vṛndāvana, India, on October 29, 2007, published in Walking with a Saint – Morning Walks and Conversations 2007

Śrīpāda Bhāgavata Mahārāja: We want to take all headaches from you. We don’t want you to have any headaches.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: But I think that I have no headache. I am very happy to preach all over the world, and all sincere persons are coming by love and affection. I want that you will all continue in this way after me. Do everything like me, with love and affection – not by controlling.
Śrīpāda Bhāgavata Mahārāja: ‘After me’ will be after a long time.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Very soon I will tell my preachers who are preaching in different areas that I will not go to those areas to initiate. They should give harināma and also dīkṣā, and thus continue the mission. After my departure, and also while I am still in this world, I will allow all to preach and make disciples in their areas.
But do not be like ISKCON leaders. They quarrel with Vaiṣṇavas and don’t honour them; especially they don’t honour senior Vaiṣṇavas. I want everyone to give respect to seniors, whether those seniors are gṛhasthas or sannyāsīs. I request the sannyāsīs not to think, “The gṛhasthas are controlling us. They should not come.”
Problems always come, and they will continue to come in the future. At the time of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda, there were so many problems, and my Gurudeva even had to go to jail. But pure Vaiṣṇavas always keep their feet on the head of problems, and I do that as well. Problems come, but I keep my feet on the head of problems.
In ISKCON, almost all sannyāsīs have gone down and left sannyāsa. Then, new ones are coming and making their pockets heavy as well. Still, to this day, I have no bank account nor do I keep even one paisa. Vrajanātha and Rādhā-kānta and Yaśodānanda have accounts, but I do not. I have something in my pocket, but not in my pocket. Everything is in the pockets of Mādhava Mahārāja and Vrajanātha, and Vrajanātha keeps all the accounts.
I have not done anything for myself; I have not kept even one paisa or shilling. Be selfless like me, following in the footsteps of what I have done for the mission – preaching, establishing preaching centres, and helping others.
I also want a ladies’ āśrama for ladies who are orphaned (who have left their homes and families), either here in Gopīnātha Bhavana or outside. Also, I want a school in Vṛndāvana for the children of devotees.

(Later)

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Why are you worried?
Kiśorī-mohana dāsa: I am worried because two days ago, after the meeting, you said very clearly, “I will stop travelling. My disciples, the preachers, will be travelling everywhere, and they will be giving harināma and dīkṣā.” And then you said, “They will make their own disciples.” My worry is that everything I have heard from you for the last eleven years about the qualities of guru, guru-tattva, who can give dīkṣā, and what the definition of dīkṣā – it seems like it was all smashed to pieces at that moment.
I want to understand from you how someone can give dīkṣā who does not have the realization of his own relationship with Kṛṣṇa and who cannot see the svarūpa (form) of the soul. I don’t understand.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: You should not be worried about that. (Indicating some Western sannyāsīs in the room) Those sannyāsīs who are preaching my mission everywhere are madhyama-adhikārī. I think they will not deviate; I have that faith. Only a few went, like Prema-prayojana, but I have no doubt about these sannyāsīs. The Indian sannyāsīs, like Vana Mahārāja, Tīrtha Mahārāja, and Mādhava Mahārāja, are qualified, and they are also madhyama-adhikārī.
For my gurudeva, I am giving initiation, dīkṣā, and even sannyāsa. So, I want those who are qualified to do the same in my lifetime. Thus our paramparā will continue. I would like that.
If they are madhyama-adhikārī, they can give initiation even if they have no realization. I have been giving initiation for the past forty years since our guru-mahārāja ordered me to do so. We should obey our holy master, our spiritual master. But I also want them to be qualified.
I have not told this for the gṛhastha-bhaktas. I have said this for these sannyāsīs – that after some time, in my lifetime, I am allowing them to initiate. After some time, I will stop travelling, and if I have the energy at that time, I will write books as I am doing now. And at some time, if my health is okay, I may go one time to America, or one time somewhere in the East.
You should all preach my mission.
Vrajanātha dāsa: Gurudeva, but you will also continue to accept disciples.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Oh, one thing more. The sannyāsīs are going to all the places, but if any devotee wants that,
“I will take dīkṣā and harināma from Mahārāja.…”
Śrīpāda Mādhava Mahārāja: From Gurudeva.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: They will come to me, and I will initiate them.
Śrīpāda Mādhava Mahārāja: Direct or by phone; in some way, he will give.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: But those who are satisfied by them should take initiation from them.
Kiśorī-mohana dāsa: But how do we continue to preach guru-tattva – pure guru-tattva?
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: They will preach as I preach guru-tattva.
Śrīpāda Mādhava Mahārāja: Gurudeva is saying, “If they want, they can take initiation from me.” Gurudeva is happy to give them initiation.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Yes. I will give. But if they are satisfied by the sannyāsīs, oh, no harm.
Śrīpāda Padmanābha Mahārāja: Śrīla Gurudeva, Kiśorī-mohana’s concern is that our siddhānta, and what we have heard from you, is that the bhakti-latā-bīja (the seed of devotion) and one’s relationship with Kṛṣṇa can only come from a Vaiṣṇava who is on the high-level uttama stage. What will the disciple be receiving if he receives dīkṣā from a lower Vaiṣṇava – a madhyama or.…?
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: By the order of Gurudeva, the disciple acts like a postman. The postman gives money, money orders, and everything else, but that money is not his. Similarly, that ‘money’ is Gurudeva’s, and thus he is distributing it to all.
They can take what I am saying in this sense. They should not think, “I am a guru.”
Śrīpāda Bhāgavata Mahārāja: Last year in Vaṁśī-vaṭa, you told me that only the vraja-rasika-uttama-adhikārī (the self-realized guru who is an associate of Kṛṣṇa in Goloka Vṛndāvana) can give the bhakti-latā-bīja.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: It is true. It is true.
Śrīpāda Bhāgavata Mahārāja: Then I asked you, “Can one who is coming up from kaniṣṭha to madhyama give that bīja?” You said, “No.” But are you saying now that if you give the order to that madhyama, then…
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: He should give initiation like a peon (postman).
Śrīpāda Bhāgavata Mahārāja: It will come by that order?
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: If he follows the order sincerely, then Kṛṣṇa realization may come.
Śrīpāda Padmanābha Mahārāja: Gurudeva, you are saying it is true – you just said it is true – that only the uttama-mahā-bhāgavata can give the bīja. Is that true, or not true?
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: It is true.
Śrīpāda Padmanābha Mahārāja: So the madhyama cannot give it.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: If the madhyama is sincere, he can inspire them for that. He will tell all these things to him, and inspire them for that kṛṣṇa-sevā-vāsanā to come. [Kṛṣṇa-sevā-vāsanā is the desire to serve Kṛṣṇa purely, the seed of which is the symptom of the bhakti-latā-bīja.]
Śrīpāda Padmanābha Mahārāja: But in some lifetime that disciple will have to receive initiation directly from the uttama-bhakta? Otherwise, it is not possible to actually receive it.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Don’t have any doubt or worry.
They should follow what I’m telling them. They should not think,
“I am a guru.”
(To Śyāmarāṇī dāsī) What do you want to say?
Śyāmarāṇī dāsī: When we go to preach, we tell people, “Surrender to śrī guru.” Suppose the disciple thinks, “Yes, my guru, Padmanābha Mahārāja, is śrī guru, that very guru who is talked about in śāstra.”
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: When I am not alive, what will happen?
Śyāmarāṇī dāsī: Won’t there be another one coming like you?
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: If I leave this planet, what will happen? Will everyone stop giving and taking initiation? What will they do?
Śyāmarāṇī dāsī: I am just speaking by siddhānta.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: No, no. I want to ask you: When I leave this planet, what will they do? Will they initiate, or not?
Śyāmarāṇī dāsī: Whatever you desire, of course. But isn’t there another uttama-adhikārī always present on the planet who one should search for?
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: I think that whether I will tell them to do so or not, they must initiate.
Śyāmarāṇī dāsī: “They will anyway,” you are saying?
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: I know. So, why not begin from my lifetime?
In his last days, Śrīla Srīdhara Mahārāja stopped giving initiation, and when anyone came to him, he told them, “Go to Govinda Mahārāja.” But during my lifetime, if someone really only wants to take initiation from me, I will initiate him.
Śyāmarāṇī dāsī: It was just a question about our preaching.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: They may tell the candidates for initiation, “Your main guru is Mahārāja (Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja).” They may say this during my lifetime. They are free to initiate, or to send the candidates to me; no harm.
[Stretching out the word ‘worried’] Don’t be w o r r r i e e e e d.

Excerpt from the book Svarūpa of the Jīva, Our Original Spiritual Identity, A Treasury of Wisdom from Prominent Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Ācāryas, First edition

 

Chapter 9

Does Guru Give the Seed?

This chapter’s intention is to give a further understanding of the jīva’s divine svarūpa. Its aim is to share in what way the guru gives the seed of bhakti, and how this relates to the potential that is already present in the jīva’s heart.

“Seed” is a metaphorical homonym used by our disciplic gurus and śāstra to describe (1) the intrinsic taste for a specific rasa that is in the individual soul’s constitution, and (2) the kṛṣṇa-sevā-vāsanā – awakening of the desire to serve Śrī Kṛṣṇa – which is given by guru and sādhu-saṅga and which is the cause of rati.

The following verse elucidates the concept of receiving the seed of bhakti.

brahmāṇḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva
guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā-bīja

(Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 19.151)

According to their karma, all living entities are wandering throughout the entire universe. Some of them are being elevated to the upper planetary systems, and some are going down into the lower planetary systems. Out of many millions of wandering living entities, one who is very fortunate gets an opportunity to associate with a bona fide spiritual master by the grace of Kṛṣṇa. By the mercy of both Kṛṣṇa and the spiritual master, such a person receives the seed of the creeper of devotional service.

I – “Seed” as the intrinsic taste that is realized at the time of perfection

vicitra-tat-tad-ruci-dāna-līlāvibhūtim
uttarkayituṁ prabhuḥ kaḥ

(Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta 2.4.190)

By logic, no one can understand the purpose for which He has placed different tastes in the hearts of His devotees [the individual living entities] and expanded the opulence of His pastimes accordingly.

The seed (taste) is there

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja explains the deep meaning of the above-mentioned verse beginning with brahmāṇḍa bhramite.

Devotee: Regarding the siddha-deha (the spiritual body), it seems more like the seed is there in the heart; and then, when hlādinī and saṁvit come…

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: The seed is there. Only water is needed. Water is that mercy [of hlādinī and saṁvit]. If the seed is not there, why are there different siddha-dehas for different persons? Mercy is one, but why are there five kinds of siddha-deha? Moreover, there are not only five. Siddha-deha has been divided into five, but actually, there are not five. There are millions of kinds of gopī-bhāva. Sakhā is also of millions of kinds, and vātsalya is also of millions of kinds. There is something special in everyone. Regarding the gopīs, there are millions of gopīs, but no two gopīs are alike. No two gopīs have the same qualities as each other.

Devotee: The individuality of the living entity is eternal?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Rasa is in him. Siddha-deha is there, but without mercy, it cannot manifest. Everything is there. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura explains this in all his books – in the first śloka of Śikṣāṣṭakam, and in so many other places. There is no other ācārya like him. No one has written about this as vividly as he has.

(Vṛndāvana, India: Early 1990’s)

Guru makes an environment

Devotee: Śrīla Gurudeva, you say that only a pure Vaiṣṇava guru can give the seed of bhakti to the conditioned soul. At the same time, it is said that the seed of bhakti is already within each soul. How can we reconcile this?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: The seed of bhakti is present in each soul, but there is something more to be given. A seed alone will not suffice. If some water, air, soil, and sun rays are given to the seed, then it will sprout. Do you understand?

Devotee: I remember you saying that bhakti, or pure devotion, is the sentiment for Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa – the special feeling of love and affection for Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. Does this mean that the guru gives this sentiment? Is that correct?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: First he gives a seed – the desire to serve Śrī Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. Though the seed is already in the heart of the soul, the guru makes an environment for that seed to sprout. So he gives something.

(Hong Kong, China: April 16, 2008)

Guru reminds us of the seed

Śrīla Bhakti Vijñāna Bhāratī Gosvāmī Mahārāja speaks similarly in the following excerpts:

Devotee: Although we have heard that śrī guru gives the seed of bhakti at the time of dīkṣā (Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 19.151-152), we have also heard that the jīva is nitya–kṛṣṇa–dāsa, an eternal servant of the Lord. Is the seed actually given by the guru, or is it already present within the jīva?

Śrīla Bhakti Vijñāna Bhāratī Mahārāja: While it is correct to say that śrī gurudeva gives the seed of bhakti, the true purport of this statement is that the seed is already present, but it has been kept in a place where it can never grow. For example, if we keep a bag of seeds in a cupboard, can we expect the seeds to grow? Certainly not. But if someone reminds us about the seeds, we can take them out of the cupboard, place them in soil, and provide them with sunlight and water, and they will eventually turn into enormous trees and bear fruit.

Similarly, śrī guru reminds us that we have the wonderful seed of kṛṣṇa–bhakti in our hearts, and he teaches us how to nourish it by engaging our entire body in sevā. He instructs us to hear hari-kathā with our ears, to clean the Lord’s temple with our hands, to speak the Lord’s glories with our tongue, and so on. By properly and sincerely following the process given by śrī guru, the seed of bhakti will sprout, grow, strengthen, and eventually bear the most wonderful, sweet fruit of kṛṣṇa–prema.

Because of our karma, we are stuck in this material world. Therefore, we need to do sādhana under guidance to be released from here. By doing sādhana, we can move towards our goal. We can only achieve our goal through the association of devotees.

If we associate with devotees in dāsya–rasa, we will acquire their mood; if in sakhya–rasa, we will acquire their mood. If we associate with devotees in vātsalya–rasa, we acquire their mood. So, whatever rasa we are attracted to by our constitutional nature, we should associate with that type of devotee. We should associate with a sajātīya devotee (a devotee who is an ocean of the mood which is in our own constitution).

(Jagannātha Purī, India: July 24, 2015)

Guru helps to manifest the relationship

Devotee: We have an original relationship with Kṛṣṇa, meaning an original svarūpa. Is it already there, or given by guru?

Śrīla Bhakti Vijñāna Bhāratī Mahārāja: No, no. It is there from the beginning of your life [your creation]; guru only clears [helps to manifest] the sambandha. Without that grace of Kṛṣṇa [having an original svarūpa] we cannot live; we become dead. Your svarūpa was in a dormant state, and it was opened by guru, opened by Vaiṣṇava.*

* All bracketed additions were added after consulting with Śrīla Bhakti Vijñāna Bhāratī Mahārāja’s close sevakas, who had heard him discuss this topic on several occasions in Hindi and Bengali.

Sometimes, if you earnestly serve, then it is automatically opened, as in the case of the maidservant of Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita. She never took any mantra from anybody; she only served the devotees.

Another example is given of the dog of Śivānanda Sena who was also able to go to Vaikuṇṭha. The dog chanted. The dog prayed for grace from guru and Vaiṣṇava. When you are sincere, your every step is progressive towards the Lord.

Devotee: So Mahārāja, the svarūpa is already made up, but Kṛṣṇa or guru opens it?

Śrīla Bhakti Vijñāna Bhāratī Mahārāja: Before, it was in a dormant state; then it opens.

Devotee: So many people say…they are devotees of the Lord…

Śrīla Bhakti Vijñāna Bhāratī Mahārāja: (interrupts) No, no. Do not listen to so many people; then you are puzzled.

(Chandigarh, India: December 2012)

Dormant love for Kṛṣṇa is awakened

Śrīla Prabhupāda Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja shares his realization based on śāstra: Dormant devotional service to Kṛṣṇa is within everyone. Simply by associating with devotees, hearing their good instructions and chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, dormant love for Kṛṣṇa is awakened. In this way one acquires the seed of devotional service. Guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā-bīja.

(Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 19.15, Purport)

Guru knows the eternal constitutional mood of our soul

For the remainder of this section, we will be hearing from Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja as he references śāstra and our previous ācāryas:

Just like the omniscient Supersoul present in the core of everyone’s heart, the guru has the special characteristic of perfectly knowing our heart. He knows the eternal constitutional mood of our soul – our eternal relationship with Bhagavān – and accordingly, he connects us with Him.

Then, by supplying the water of hearing, chanting and remembering, he nourishes that relationship and cuts down anything that obstructs that nourishment with the sharp axe of his words. He does this so expertly that the sādhaka barely notices, but all the while the needful is accomplished. This is what the bona fide guru and genuine Vaiṣṇavas do.

(Dāmodarāṣṭakam, Verse 4, Dig-darśinī-vṛtti)

Śrī guru can see the soul’s real form

In Bhakti–sandarbha (Anuccheda 283) Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has explained the meaning of divya–jñāna (transcendental, or divine, knowledge), in the following words: “Divyaṁ jñānaṁ hy atra mantre bhagavat-svarūpa-jñānam, tena bhagavatā sambandha-viśeṣa-jñānaṁ ca.” Divya–jñāna is transcendental knowledge contained within a mantra that reveals the form and identity of the Supreme Lord (bhagavat–svarūpa) as well as the knowledge of the sādhaka-jīva’s particular relationship with the Lord.” …

Śrī Gurudeva, knowing the svarūpagata–bhāva, or in other words the natural, inherent disposition of the sādhaka, gives nourishment to that particular mood within his heart in order to bring it clearly into view.

(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu-bindu, Verse 4, Śrī Bindhu-vikāśinī vṛtti)

Śrī guru can see one’s special relationship

All jīvas have a special relationship with Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Some are related to Him in the mood of friendship. Others have a relationship mood that “Kṛṣṇa is my son,” and that is called parental mood (vātsalya). Moreover, some have the mood that “Kṛṣṇa is my beloved.” All jīvas have their own original, eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa. In this material world, that eternal relationship is covered. Śrī guru can see the soul’s real form and nature. He knows the speciality of that person’s relationship with Kṛṣṇa, and he bestows this special relationship by mantra.

(Perth, Australia: 1998)

In a latent, or dormant, position

We all have a relationship with Kṛṣṇa within these five categories in our transcendental, constitutional form. Without this relationship, no one can even exist. We must be among these five relationships, but now we are covered by māyā. We have all the qualities required for this relationship in a latent or dormant position, and therefore, when we begin sādhana under the guidance of a very qualified guru, it will manifest. Whatever relationship you have will certainly manifest.

nitya-siddhasya bhāvasya
prākaṭyaṁ hṛdi sādhyatā

(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.2)

(Salt Spring Island, Canada: April 23, 2001)

Kṛṣṇa will arrange everything

If someone associates with Kṛṣṇa’s devotees in a general way, but his actual svarūpa is that of a Rāma bhakta, then, when he reaches a certain point of progression in his service mood toward Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa will arrange that he will go to Ayodhyā and get rāma–nāma. The gopāla-mantra is one, and by that, gopāla-mantra, dāsya, sakhya, vātsalya, or mādhurya will develop in accordance with one’s svarūpa.

Worship of Rāma is in the category of dāsya–rasa. It isn’t that by chanting the gopāla–mantra the Rāma bhakta will automatically get realization of Rāma. Rather, by chanting the gopāla–mantra, at the appropriate time in the development of that sādhaka’s chanting, Kṛṣṇa will arrange everything for him, such as sending him to Ayodhyā and so on.

(Mathurā, India: November 1991)

II – “Seed” as the bhakti-latā-bīja

Bhakti-latā-bīja means “the seed (bīja) of the creeper (latā) of devotion (bhakti). As explained above, the seed as potential is already present in the jīva’s heart, so what is the bhakti-latā-bīja that is given by śrī guru? Bhakti-latā-bīja is the seed of kṛṣṇa-sevā-vāsana, the desire to serve Kṛṣṇa.

The conditioned soul is in abject ignorance of his svarūpa, his spiritual identity. He is fully oblivious to this. By contact with śrī guru, the realization of his svarūpa begins to awaken and unfold.

The seed metaphor at the beginning of this chapter refers to the space and time relationship between the jīva’s conditioned state and his self-realization.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja explains this in the following statements:

Kṛṣṇa as guru awakens this desire

What is the meaning of guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde? It generally means that one can attain the bhakti-latā-bīja – the seed of parā-bhakti – by the combined mercy of guru and Kṛṣṇa. In this connection, however, there is another meaning. Here the meaning is that the bona fide guru is a manifestation of Kṛṣṇa Himself.

Kṛṣṇa does not come to us, but the guru may come, as Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja came and travelled everywhere.

The mercy of Kṛṣṇa first manifests as the mercy of guru. From the bona fide guru, who is Kṛṣṇa Himself as His manifestation (āśrayā-vigraha), we can have the seed of bhakti. What is the seed of bhakti? It is kṛṣṇa-sevā-vāsanā, the desire to serve Kṛṣṇa.

This desire will come only from gurudeva, the bona fide Vaiṣṇava, and it does not matter whether he is acting as a śikṣā-guru or a dīkṣā-guru. He may act as a śikṣā-guru in the case of a disciple who is initiated by a bona fide guru but cannot avail of his śikṣā. The seed of the bhakti creeper comes from this high class of guru.

(Guru-devatātmā, Śrī Guru – Heaver Than God)

Awakening the desire to serve

Devotee: Can you say something about kṛṣṇa-sevā-vāsanā, the desire to serve Śrī Kṛṣṇa?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: It may come even before initiation. One attains the seed of the desire to serve Kṛṣṇa by associating with an elevated devotee; that pure devotee, śrī guru, gives the seed of this desire. It is for this reason that a person comes to śrī guru and guru accepts him. The disciple first receives laukika-śraddhā, meaning that he will offer his obeisances in a general way. Then, when he gets more association, he becomes fixed in actual transcendental śraddhā. The seed is already present in the heart, but it is latent. Guru gives the water, heat, and light, after which a sprout develops and gradually grows.

(Walking with a Saint 2008, Alachua, Florida, May 4)

The seed of the creeper of devotion

brahmāṇḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva
guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā-bīja

(Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 19.151)

In the course of wandering throughout this universe, that rare, most fortunate living entity obtains the seed of the creeper of bhakti by the mercy of the bona fide spiritual master.

Śrī gurudeva infuses the desire to serve Śrī Kṛṣṇa into the heart of the living entities. This desire is known as kṛṣṇa-sevā-vāsanā, and by it, one attains transcendental faith (pāramārthika-śraddhā), which is the root cause of bhakti.

(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā 9.3, Prakāśikā-vṛtti)

Discriminative intelligence

Śrīla Bhakti Pramoda Purī Gosvāmī Mahārāja explains this in a similar way:

The Lord, externally in the form of initiating and instructing spiritual master or ācārya, guides the aspiring soul by giving him initiation into the holy mantra and practical instructions on the practice of devotion.

Internally, as the Supersoul in the heart (caitya-guru), He gives them the intelligence – “dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ” (Bhagavad-gītā 10.10) – by which they can attain Him. In this way, by giving the aspirant proper discriminative intelligence, He inspires the devotee to strive in his devotion to the point whereby he eventually achieves the transcendental association of the Lord in his original body.

(Bhaktisiddhānta-sāra – Essence of Pure Devotion, Guru-tattva)

Sprouting the creeper

Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī discusses this as well:

At the end of his Laghu-toṣaṇī commentary on the above-mentioned verse, Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has written, “sat-saṅgamena raty-aṅkura-rūpaiva matir jāyata iti – in saintly company, an intellect awakens that is likened to the sprout of rati.” By the causeless mercy of exalted devotees, an intelligence is awakened in the heart of the sādhaka that gives rise to kṛṣṇa-sevā-vāsanā, the desire to perform bhagavad-bhajana, service to Śrī Kṛṣṇa. This desire is called the seed of the wish-fulfilling vine of devotion. In other words, the inclination to serve Śrī Bhagavān is the seed of this vine.

When this seed has been watered in the field of the sādhaka’s senses through the process of śravaṇa and kīrtana, the devotional creeper sprouts.

(Mādhurya-kādambinī, Second Shower of Nectar, Text 2a, Pīyūṣa-varṣiṇī-vṛtti)

Gradual blossoming

Prior to Svayam Bhagavān Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, different Vaiṣṇava ācāryas had established, preached, and propagated bhakti-tattva. However, only Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī, being empowered by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, further developed that bhakti-tattva into bhakti-rasa. He described this subject elaborately in his Bhaktirasāmṛta-sindhu and Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi.

He explained that the bhakti-lātā-bīja in the form of kṛṣṇa-sevā-vāsanā, the inclination to serve Kṛṣṇa, develops sequentially from śraddhā to niṣṭhā, ruci, and āsakti. When it is transformed into rati, it is called sthāyī-bhāva When the four bhāvas, namely, vibhāva, anubhāva, sāttvika, and vyābhicārī, join in a combined form in this sthāyī-bhāva, then rati in the form of sthāyī-bhāva is transformed into a relishable and supremely astonishing condition called bhakti-rasa.

(Ācārya Kesarī – His Life and Teachings, Part Five)

The following is a discussion with Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja in Leicester, U.K. on May 30, 1996, Published in Bhakta Bandhav Anthology Volume 3, Transcribed and edited by the Bhakta Bandhav Team (Bhakta.org)

 

Devotee: Yesterday, I was wondering if I should come here or not today. My wife Rādhā-priyā said, “What is your heart saying?”

I said, “My heart is saying to go.” So, I had to come.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Is your wife with you here?

Devotee: Not here.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: In London?

Devotee: On the south coast of England.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: She should also come to see me. Why not? If she wants, she can see me.

Devotee: I would like her very much if she wants to.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: I want to meet all the devotees.

Devotee: That would be nice.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Yes. That would be very nice.

Devotee: I will tell her. When I first began to appreciate something of what you were giving, maybe one and a half or two years ago, I thought of her. For so long, I have been like this. And she has been more filled with love. I feel embarrassed by her feelings. I could understand that she had something that she could give me.

So, I will tell her Mahārāja, that she should see you.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Certainly.

Devotee: But I can see that the way you are offering has something to do with my heart.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Yes.

Devotee: I would like to become greedier to appreciate what you are giving. I want to become less fearful; I have so much fear.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Don’t be fearful. Devotees should not have any kind of fear. Kṛṣṇa is always protecting them. If you are a surrendered soul like Prahlāda Mahārāja, then why be fearful? The Pāṇḍavas have no fear. A devotee should not fear.

Devotee: I am afraid that I am unacceptable.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Why?

Devotee: Because I am not…

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: But I accepted you the first time I glanced at you. I am so nearer to those who feel that they are wretched and worthless. I like to help them like Nityānanda Prabhu, especially those who have been neglected. I want to be nearer to them. In Mathurā, I don’t go to very rich people; I usually go to those places where people are very poor. The people there think, “I have nothing; I am helpless.”

When anyone is in danger, I immediately go and adjust the situation. I don’t know why my heart is like that.

The following is an excerpt of a discourse delivered by Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja in Moscow, Russia, on July 30, 2000

 

The third kind of uttama-bhāgavata is still more elevated. An example is Śrī Nārada Gosvāmī in his second stage when he attained the body of an associate of Kṛṣṇa. At this stage, he has no mortal body. He has a body to serve Kṛṣṇa – a siddha-śarīra (transcendental body). If these kinds of gurus place their hands on anyone’s head, or somehow glance at anyone and bless him, then prema-bhakti will come at once, and the disciple will go to Goloka Vṛndāvana. They are so powerful.

The following is an excerpt from a lecture delivered by Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja in Houston, Texas, on June 17, 1996

 

Vrajanātha dāsa: He is asking this because he says, “Every bona fide guru can give you entry into Goloka Vṛndāvana,” this is what he has heard. And he also heard, “Only very special ones.”

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Not every bona fide guru. Those who are in Rāmānujācārya’s sampradaya, who are devotees of Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa are bona fide. But, they cannot give the way to Vṛndāvana; they cannot give. But they are sad-gurus. Hanumān is a sad-guru, but he cannot help us go to Vṛndāvana. So, we should follow the sad-guru in the line of Kṛṣṇa, Śrīmatī Rādhikā, and especially in the line of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. And, especially the sad-guru, who is in the line of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī. Then, we can go to Vṛndāvana; otherwise not.

Madhvācārya, Rāmānujācārya, Viṣṇusvāmī, Vallabhācārya, and all are bona fide Gurus. But I think they will not give you this thing.

Vrajanātha dāsa: He is asking, “Those devotees who can distribute prema-nāma and who are speaking.”

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Also, it doesn’t depend on the disciple’s decision; when the disciple thinks, “Whether my guru is bona fide or not.” Because they all consider that “Our guru is bona fide.” If the guru has lust, anger, and every bad quality; but even then, the disciples think, “Our Gurudeva is bona fide.” So, it doesn’t depend on the disciples’ realization. It should be according to śāstra and Vaiṣṇavas—both. If what the Vaiṣṇavas say is in line with the śāstras and the Vaiṣṇavas are actually following what they say, and we will see the symptoms, then this should be considered; otherwise not.

Vrajanātha dāsa: He is asking, “When does the relationship begin with his Gurudeva—on dīkṣā, or when he meets his…”

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: It begins when he first meets his Gurudeva. Whether he is hearing or not, when Gurudeva’s glance falls on that person, the activities begin until he goes to Vṛndāvana.

Vrajanātha dāsa: He has heard that one should accept a guru according to one’s moods.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: No, no. This is wrong. Here, mood in rāganuga-bhakti and not in vaidhī-bhakti. There are no moods there. How will he think and realize whether a person is a bona fide guru or not? How will he determine? He should be in the company of Vaiṣṇavas, śuddha-vaiṣṇavas, and hear continuously from them. And he should also read books. Then, he will choose any good guru. And after that, a śikṣā-guru may tell him all these things. Did any disciple of Svāmījī know his mood? Did they know his mood of service to Kṛṣṇa? This is called a mood. That mood is sakhya, vātsalya, and mādhurya—three moods. The mood of dāsya cannot lead us to Vṛndāvana; never. Dāsya-bhāva is there, but there should be some mood of sakhya. Otherwise, the mood cannot take us to Vṛndāvana. In Vraja, there is no śuddha-dāsya. Śuddha-dāsya is to Rāmacandra and to Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa.

So, how will they decide what the mood is? In mādhura-rasa, there are many kinds of moods. If they know all these moods from śraddhā, niṣṭhā, ruci, āsakti, bhāva, prema, sneha, māna, praṇaya, rāga, anurāga, bhāva, mahābhāva, and after that; then, they can have some greed towards these moods. Otherwise, how can they know?

The following is an excerpt from a darśana with Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja in Ojai, California, on June 18, 2010, published in Walking with a Saint – Morning Walks and Conversations 2010

Devotee: Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī has said in Caitanya-caritāmṛta that when Mahāprabhu was present in this world, all the jīvas were liberated.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Those whom Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu saw, and whom His devotees saw – only they were liberated. The words ‘whole world’ does not include those places where Caitanya Mahāprabhu and His associates have not gone. But now, Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja has come and I have come. By our contact, so many will be liberated.

Source: Purebhakti.com

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Unless indicated differently, all verse translations and quotes are from the books by Śrīla Prabhupāda (Vedabase.com)