The following is a transcription of a discourse delivered by Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja in Alachua, Florida, on February 1, 2003 (Bhakta Bandhav Anthology Volume 92)

 

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: My millions of daṇḍavat praṇāmas unto the lotus feet of my spiritual master, paramārādhya nitya-līlā praviṣṭa oṁ viṣṇupāda Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja. And the same unto the lotus feet of my śikṣā-guru, oṁ viṣṇupāda Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja.

As I said this morning, we want to discuss guru-tattva, so there is no doubt about it. Guru-tattva is the root of all bhakti or anything. This is the root. If you will serve or take shelter of a kula-guru (family guru), an unqualified guru who is not so much qualified in śabda-brahma (transcendental sound) — if he is not expert in all scriptures such as the Veda, Vedānta, Upaniṣad, and all other scriptures, and especially if he has no realisation of para-tattva Kṛṣṇa, Mahāprabhu, or Śrīmatī Rādhikā — and he is not detached from worldly desires, then that guru cannot help you by giving you transcendental knowledge. If he does not have these things, then how can he give it?

śabda-brahmaṇi niṣṇāto
na niṣṇāyāt pare yadi
śramas tasya śrama-phalo
hy adhenum iva rakṣataḥ

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.11.18)

[“If through meticulous study one becomes expert in reading Vedic literature but makes no endeavour to fix one’s mind on the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then one’s endeavour is certainly like that of a man who works very hard to take care of a cow that gives no milk. In other words, the fruit of one’s laborious study of Vedic knowledge will simply be the labour itself. There will be no other tangible result.”]

Even if someone is so much of an expert in scriptures such as the Veda, Vedānta, Upaniṣad, Brahma-sūtra, Bhāgavatam, and everything, and he has remembered all the ślokas, and he can speak so well, but he has not realised something of para-tattva kṛṣṇa-prema, especially of the mood of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he cannot help you — never and never. But it is possible that, for some reason, you could not meet a qualified guru and took initiation from someone who is a kula-guru. Such a person is not very qualified, and he cannot give all these things.

He may be offensive towards real Vaiṣṇavas. He may be a non-Vaiṣṇava. Or perhaps, at first, he was really a guru, but later committed offences and became attached to worldly sense gratification. If this is the case, then you should be careful. You should immediately reject that guru; no harm. Then try to take shelter of a qualified guru. It is stated in all śāstras, especially Jīva Gosvāmī has said:

avaiṣṇava-mukhodgīrṇaṁ
pūtaṁ hari-kathāmṛtam
śravaṇaṁ naiva kartavyaṁ
sarpocchiṣṭaṁ yathā payaḥ

Padma Purāṇa

[“One should not hear anything about Kṛṣṇa from a non-Vaiṣṇava. Milk touched by the lips of a serpent has poisonous effects; similarly, talks about Kṛṣṇa given by a non-Vaiṣṇava are also poisonous.”]

If a guru turns against his own guru, has left the service of his guru, and himself desires to be a guru, that bogus guru cannot help you, because currently he is an avaiṣṇava (a non-Vaiṣṇava). At once, one should reject that guru.

guror apy avaliptasya
kāryākāryam ajānataḥ
utpatha-pratipannasya
parityāgo vidhīyate

Mahābhārata (Udyoga Parva 179.25)

[“It is one’s duty to give up a guru who is attached to sense gratification rather than the practices of bhakti, who does not know what he should or should not do, and who deviates from the path of pure bhakti, either because of bad association or because he is opposed to Vaiṣṇavas.”]

The śāstra states that one should reject him at once. But if your gurudeva is not very experienced, but sincerely serves and follows his gurudeva, then take some order or permission from him. Go to his lotus feet and ask him very humbly, “Can I go to a higher Vaiṣṇava to hear?” Then he will happily tell you, “You must go. I will also come.” If that guru does like this, then don’t reject that guru. Pay respect to him and then go to Svarūpa Dāmodara, Rāya Rāmānanda, Rūpa, Raghunātha, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, Śrīla Prabhupāda, and all other higher Vaiṣṇavas.

Without sādhu-saṅga, pure sādhu-saṅga, realised sādhu-saṅga, you will gradually become weak. And even whatever śraddhā you have at the beginning will disappear. Even a madhyama-adhikārī, even an uttama-adhikārī, he always seeks high-class Vaiṣṇava association.

‘sādhu-saṅga’, ‘sādhu-saṅga’ — sarva-śāstre kaya
lava-mātra sādhu-saṅge sarva-siddhi haya

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya-līlā 22.54)

[“The verdict of all revealed scriptures is that by even a moment’s association with a pure devotee, one can attain all success.”]

You should believe strongly in all the words of all epics, always. Don’t do anything that is unfavourable for bhakti. Give up all these unfavourable things very strongly. This is the first step. By chanting and remembering, by being in the association of any good Vaiṣṇava or gurudeva, detachment from this world is bound to come. But still, although we are serving, although you are hearing and doing so much, you still have so much desire for sense gratification. You are not satisfied with your own wife. You want new, new, new, very beautiful wives. Then again, you want to give up your current wife and again marry any new wife, like dogs and hogs.

This is not the symptom of bhajana. I don’t like this; I don’t like this. I know that this will ruin the whole career of any devotee. Try to remember Sītā, Sāvitrī, Draupadī, Arundatī, and all others. Remember Rāma and try to be like Rūpa-Raghunātha. If you really want to advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, try to follow this. Then you can realise the mercy of the guru; otherwise, not.

I humbly request that you all follow all these things. I want to discuss all these things and give so much inspiration that by the barometer of the śloka anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ you should really understand who a guru is, who is not a guru, who is a Vaiṣṇava, so that one can knowingly accept high-class Vaiṣṇava association. Otherwise, you cannot do so.

For example, every evening, it is crucial for a businessman to check whether he has made a profit or incurred a loss. In our lives, we should also always consider, “How did I do yesterday? In what stage was I yesterday? And what stage am I in today? Have I gone lower down, or am I gradually going up?” We should check this; otherwise, you cannot develop. Daily, in the evening, a businessman checks, “If a loss was incurred, then why did it happen? And if I made a profit, then very good.” So, we should try to be like that.

I think that in seven days of being here, you can know all these things by which your life will be successful. That is why my śikṣā-guru ordered me to give some life, some inspiration, to the devotees who are now dying for water. He told me, “Go and water them.” Don’t be hopeless. There should be no ‘hopeless’ word in your dictionary. But try to be a sincere guru-bhakta, a sincere guru-sevaka. What I am giving, what Svāmījī has given, what our guru-paramparā has given, it is like a cintāmaṇi jewel (touchstone). You should not discard it.

Don’t neglect it. I have come to remind you of all these things, that you should remember all these things, and you should come on the real path of bhakti. If you have so much faith in gurudeva, in hearing and chanting the names and glories of Kṛṣṇa and Mahāprabhu, then your life is successful. Whether you are poor or anything, no harm. Even if you have so much opulence and more wealth than Hiraṇyakaśipu, Rāvaṇa, and others, your life is not successful. Don’t go towards that path. This is a dark path.

Come into the light. “Tamaso mā jyotir gamaya — Don’t remain in this darkness of ignorance. Go to the light.” Try to come into this light that Caitanya Mahāprabhu gave, that Nityānanda Prabhu gave. Try to come into the light. Don’t be bewildered in the darkness of illusory māyā. It will cheat you forever. You should have very strong faith in these words coming from Kṛṣṇa, through the guru-paramparā, and try to make your life successful.

(Various devotees speak about guru-tattva)

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: If the guru is qualified, but the disciple is not qualified, then what will be the result? There may be two results. If the guru is very powerful, his mystic power and opulence may help you advance. But we see that even Caitanya Mahāprabhu could not help Kālā Kṛṣṇadāsa and so many others. Like this, it is very important that we also try to be very sincere disciples. What does the word disciple mean?

Have you heard of Ekalavya? He had a strong faith in his gurudeva. He went to his gurudeva, Droṇācārya, and said, “I want to learn archery from you.” But Droṇācārya rejected him. Why? Not because he was of a low caste, but because he was not qualified. That is why Droṇācārya wanted to avoid him. But Ekalavya still went to the forest, made a statue of Droṇācārya, and began practising archery. Thus, he became a very skilled archer very soon.

Once, Droṇācārya was in that forest with all his disciples, including Arjuna, Bhīma, Nakula, Sahadeva, Yudhiṣṭhira, Duryodhana, and others. A dog was there, barking so much. They saw at once that the mouth of the dog was full of arrows, but there was no scratch anywhere. They became so bewildered, “How skilled at archery that man is, that from very far away, only by sound, he can aim at the target. He is very skilled at archery. Where is he?” They went forward and saw a very tall, black figure. They saw Ekalavya there, practising archery. Droṇācārya came nearby and asked him, “Now you are very skilled at archery. Who is your gurudeva?”

“Oh, my gurudeva is that statue. You are my gurudeva.”

“I am very happy that you are now very skilled. Now I want some guru-dakṣiṇā (donation) for what you have learned.”

“What do you want?”

Droṇācārya said, “Give me your right thumb.” At once, Ekalavya took his sword, cut off his right thumb, and gave it to Droṇācārya. For this reason, many devotees appreciate Ekalavya and even name their disciples Ekalavya. But they don’t know anything. They are like fools, ignorant and foolish. Droṇācārya knew this. Later, this Ekalavya became opposed to Arjuna, the devotees, and even to Kṛṣṇa. At last, Kṛṣṇa took His cakra and killed Ekalavya. So Droṇācārya knew this.

Ekalavya was not a qualified disciple. But yet, it is very wonderful how he practised with his deity. Who gave Ekalavya the result? Who gave him the ability to be so skilled in archery? Kṛṣṇa gives this result. He had strong faith in that deity and practised. Then Kṛṣṇa gave him that result. Similarly, the gopīs were performing kātyāyanī-pūjā at Cīra-ghāṭa, but in the end, Kātyāyanī was not there to give the result. Kṛṣṇa finally came and gave them the benediction, “You can be with Me in Śāradīya-rāsa.”

In this way, Kṛṣṇa gives the result of anything. He is the only person who can give the results, not the demigods or anyone else. So, Kṛṣṇa gave Ekalavya that result. But this result was mortal, and he only became more proud. He was very proud.

Next, we can see the example of Paraśurāma and Karṇa. Do you know Karṇa? He was very expert. He wanted to defeat Arjuna. He knew so many things. For this reason, he came to Paraśurāma, disguising himself as a brāhmaṇa brahmacārī.

He went to Paraśurāma and requested Him to teach him archery, brahma-vidyā, and everything else. Karṇa thought, “He is a mortal person. He cannot know my desire or anything.” So he took the disguise of a brāhmaṇa brahmacārī and went and did praṇāma, “O Gurudeva, I want to learn archery, brahma-vidyā and everything else from you. I want to learn about brahmāstra and everything else.”

Paraśurāma asked, “Who are you?”

“I am the son of a brāhmaṇa.” Karṇa lied.

“Okay, you should be here.” When Karṇa became perfect after one year, two years, three years, then Paraśurāma wanted to test him. Paraśurāma was lying down, sleeping, with his head resting on Karṇa’s lap. At that time, a reddish insect bored into the leg of Karṇa. It went through his thigh from one side to the other, making a hole through it. So much blood was coming, but Karṇa was thinking, “Oh, my gurudeva is sleeping. I should not disturb him.” Because of this, Karṇa tolerated all the pain caused by that insect.

But when so much blood came, his gurudeva woke up and asked, “What is this? There is so much blood everywhere.” He saw that the whole ground had become red from his blood. He asked Karṇa, “Who are you? Did you lie to me? Really, I know who you are, but I was testing you. You are a kṣatriya.” Who was Karṇa? He was, in fact, the son of Mother Kuntī and the sun god. Thus, he was not a brāhmaṇa, but he acted as one. Paraśurāma told him, “I have taught you all kinds of knowledge, like brahmāstra and everything else. You are now so learned. You will forget everything you have learned when you really need this knowledge (because you lied to me).” What is this? Karṇa wanted to cheat his gurudeva, showing that “I am sincere, I am faithful to you.” But he could not hide anything. He could not cheat his gurudeva. During a battle between Arjuna and Karṇa, Karṇa forgot everything, and he was killed very easily by Arjuna. These are examples of worldly, unqualified disciples. We should not follow them.

Now you should come to Aruṇi. Once, so much rain was coming. It was very cold, a more severe cold than in Vancouver, Canada. There was snow everywhere, and torrential rain was falling. His gurudeva told him in the middle of the night, “Go and fix the broken dike in the field so that all the water does not flow away (and cause damage). Tomorrow we will plough the field and sow some paddy seeds there. Go at once.”

Aruṇi went there, but the current was so strong that, although he tried hard to fix the dike to stop the water, he could not. At last, he himself lay across the breach to stop the water from flowing away. Some water still flowed away, but much less. Like this, the whole night he lay there, frozen. He was practically lifeless. He had so much tolerance for gurudeva, because gurudeva had ordered him to do so. At four in the morning, gurudeva was calling out, “Aruṇi, where are you? Where are you? Where are you?”

Aruṇi, in a dying state, weakly uttered, “O Gurudeva, I am here.”

Gurudeva came there and asked, “Why are you lying here?”

“I have done so to obey your order. Please be merciful to me. To stop the water, I lay down.”

Gurudeva said, “Stand up. All brahma-vidyā and the essence of all the epics should be inspired in you.” Thus, everything came to him. But that knowledge was nirviśeṣa-brahma-tattva (knowledge of the impersonal feature of the Absolute Truth) because his guru was like that.

Then you know Upamanyu and his guru Dhaumya. There was a son of a brāhmaṇa named Upamanyu who went to his gurudeva (Dhaumya Ṛṣi). Gurudeva said, “Why have you come to me?”

“To learn brahma-vidyā.”

“You should carry out my order. You should graze my cows for twenty-five years and then come to me.” Upamanyu went there and began grazing cows. His gurudeva asked him, “How do you maintain your life?”

“When the calves take the milk from their mothers, sometimes I take the rest of the milk from the cows.”

“Don’t do that. It is not allowed. Go!” But his guru did not tell him what to do instead. Again, Upamanyu went to graze cows, and after some days, his gurudeva asked him, “You are still fat. How are you maintaining your life?”

“Oh, I am eating the foam from the mouths of the calves after they take milk. Also, when the cows chew, there is some foam that forms on their mouths, so sometimes I eat that.”

“Don’t do this; don’t do this.” Again, Upamanyu left, and after some days, his gurudeva saw that Upamanyu had not returned. “Where is he?” Dhaumya Ṛṣi went to search for him. “Upamanyu, where are you? Where are you?”

Then, from inside a well, Upamanyu replied, “Gurudeva, I am here.”

“Why are you here?”

“I am blind.”

“How have you become blind?”

“You ordered me not to take even the foam from the calves and cows, so, because of hunger, I took the sap from the leaf of a plant, which was very poisonous. The sap coming from that leaf resembled milk, but it was very poisonous. I took it, and at once I became blind (and fell into a well). Now I am here, Gurudeva.”

Gurudeva anyhow pulled him up and told him, “You have followed my orders. All brahma-vidyā should come into your heart.” At once, he became an expert in all brahma-vidyā, and after some time, he realised nirviśeṣa-brahma. His vision also came back. The guru was very expert, and the disciple was also expert.

You know Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī very well. He was initiated by Yadunandana Ācārya, who was a very near and dear disciple of Advaita Ācārya. Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī took shelter at his lotus feet. Then, by his mercy, he received the association of Haridāsa Ṭhākura. He never sought the association of Haridāsa Ṭhākura, but Kṛṣṇa and Mahāprabhu arranged for Haridāsa Ṭhākura to go there. Thus, he used to go there and give Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī his association, though he was not qualified to be in any association.

Similarly, Kṛṣṇa arranged for Svāmījī to go door to door throughout the Western, Eastern, Southern, and Northern countries worldwide. He went everywhere. So how merciful is Kṛṣṇa! Gurudeva is the embodiment of the mercy of Kṛṣṇa. His mercy was sent by Kṛṣṇa, and thus he gave so many things. If you are honest and sincere, then Kṛṣṇa will arrange that a guru will also search for you, wherever you are. You cannot know who is gurudeva, and who is not gurudeva. But if you are sincere, Kṛṣṇa will arrange everything.

What happened after Haridāsa Ṭhākura went there and imparted his teachings? Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī left his beautiful Miss Universe wife, his unlimited wealth, the love and affection of his father and mother, all his positions, and everything else. He did praṇāma forever to all these things, and running, without taking anything, without resting, he travelled a path which normally would have taken two or three months in only twelve days. Then, crying bitterly, “O Śacīnandana Gaurahari, Śacīnandana Gaurahari, Nityānanda Prabhu!” he came to Purī and took shelter at the lotus feet of Śacīnandana Gaurahari.

Then Śacīnandana Gaurahari received him and placed him under the care of Svarūpa Dāmodara. Kṛṣṇa is merciful; Mahāprabhu is merciful, but He could not do anything. He entrusted him to the hands of Svarūpa Dāmodara. Then Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī followed. What happened? He became very near and dear to Svarūpa Dāmodara. He was Rati Mañjarī. Through the mercy of Svarūpa Dāmodara, Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī attained everything. He attained not only kṛṣṇa-prema, but the love and affection and the special service of being a maidservant of Śrīmatī Rādhikā.

śrī-rūpa-mañjarī-karārcita-pāda-padma
goṣṭhendra-nandana-bhujārpita-mastakāyāḥ
hā modataḥ kanaka-gauri-padāravinda
samvāhanāni śanakais tava kiṁ kariṣye

Vilāpa-kusumāñjali (72)

[“O Devī as fair as gold, Your lotus feet are worshipped by Śrī Rūpa Mañjarī’s hands as You rest Your head against Kṛṣṇa’s arm. When will I receive the remnants of Rūpa Mañjarī’s service and happily and gently massage Your lotus feet?”]

He has written so many ślokas (verses) and prayers. If you know all these things, then you can realise the mercy Caitanya Mahāprabhu had upon him. You know Rūpa Gosvāmī; you know all the Gosvāmīs, Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja, Jīva Gosvāmī, Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, Narottama Ṭhākura, from top to bottom. You are very lucky and fortunate to be in this line (guru-paramparā). Don’t miss this; don’t miss it. 

Be very careful and sincere. Don’t try to hide yourself from gurudeva. Don’t try to cheat him. You will only cheat yourself. No one can cheat Mahāprabhu or gurudeva. Always remember this. Try to develop your Kṛṣṇa consciousness, your full faith in gurudeva. There should be no doubt, “He is mortal like me. He passes stool and urine, and he takes rice and dāl, so he must be on our level.” Don’t think like this.

dīkṣā-kāle bhakta kare ātma-samarpaṇa
sei-kāle kṛṣṇa tāre kare ātma-sama

sei deha kare tāra cid-ānanda-maya
aprākṛta-dehe tāṅra caraṇa bhajaya

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Antya-līlā 4.192-193)

[“At the time of initiation, when a devotee fully surrenders unto the service of the Lord, Kṛṣṇa accepts him to be as good as Himself. When the devotee’s body is thus transformed into spiritual existence, the devotee, in that transcendental body, renders service to the lotus feet of the Lord”]

Be like this. My blessings to you all. Today we are finishing, and from tomorrow we will discuss all these things. I think they have made a schedule. So many are here, so they will give classes. I cannot come in every morning because the doctor has advised me to rest. Though we know I am not taking rest, I should also take rest. It may be that I may come any day in the morning, but I will surely come in the evening.

We have completed Sanātana-śikṣā here and Rāya Rāmānanda Saṁvāda as well. We have also finished the third and fourth chapters of Adi-līlā here. What is the aim and object of life? We find this topic in Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. First, the goal, then the process. Without a goal, what will you practise? We should know the goal of life, and that is conjugal love for Kṛṣṇa under the guidance of the gopīs, under the guidance of Rūpa and Rati Mañjarī.

As a guru, Caitanya Mahāprabhu has explained all these things. Mahāprabhu is a guru. We should not think, “We will perform rāsa with Caitanya Mahāprabhu.” Don’t think like this. He is guru-tattva. He has come as a devotee, so we should follow His orders completely and sincerely. If you are like that, you can very soon develop your Kṛṣṇa consciousness. I thought we would discuss this same point, this same thing:

ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-
saṅgo ’tha bhajana-kriyā
tato ’nartha-nivṛttiḥ syāt
tato niṣṭhā rucis tataḥ

athāsaktis tato bhāvas
tataḥ premābhyudañcati
sādhakānām ayaṁ premṇaḥ
prādurbhāve bhavet kramaḥ

Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.4.15-16)

[“In the beginning, one must have a preliminary desire for self-realisation. This will bring one to the stage of trying to associate with persons who are spiritually elevated. In the next stage, one becomes initiated by an elevated spiritual master, and under his instruction, the neophyte devotee begins the process of devotional service. By execution of devotional service under the guidance of the spiritual master, one becomes free from all material attachment, attains steadiness in self-realisation, and acquires a taste for hearing about the Absolute Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. This taste leads one further forward to attachment for Kṛṣṇa consciousness, which is matured in bhāva, or the preliminary stage of transcendental love of God. Real love for God is called prema, the highest perfectional stage of life.”]

We will categorise bhaktas according to their stages of bhakti, such as Dhruva, Prahlāda, Ambarīṣa Mahārāja, Hanumān, the Pāṇḍavas, and Uddhava. Then there are the gopīs. There is sādhana up to Uddhava. After that, there is no practice at all. You should always remember that only by the causeless mercy of Kṛṣṇa and His associates can you have love. Even if āsakti and rati will come, it cannot come by your practice, never and never. Don’t be under illusion. It will come only through the mercy of Kṛṣṇa and through the mercy of devotees. Especially, the mercy of Kṛṣṇa depends on the devotees’ mercy.

So, try to achieve the mercy of the pure devotee, the mercy of the guru. Then it will be very easy for you. But also remember: don’t be hopeless in any case. Especially, if you lose some worldly thing of this world, if you lose sense gratification, if your wife cheats on you, if your husband cheats on you, if your wealth is gone — don’t be hopeless. They cannot ruin your transcendental mood. They cannot take this away. They cannot touch this thing. So always be:

utsāhān niścayād dhairyāt
tat-tat-karma-pravartanāt
saṅga-tyāgāt sato vṛtteḥ
ṣaḍbhir bhaktiḥ prasidhyati

Śrī Upadeśāmṛta (3)

[“There are six principles favourable to the execution of pure devotional service: (1) being enthusiastic, (2) endeavouring with confidence, (3) being patient, (4) acting according to regulative principles (such as śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇam – hearing, chanting and remembering Kṛṣṇa), (5) abandoning the association of nondevotees, and (6) following in the footsteps of the previous ācāryas. These six principles undoubtedly assure the complete success of pure devotional service.”]

Always be in association. We will discuss all these things. I think that you should be prepared, as we did in Murwillumbah, in Hilo, and more than that. Try to explain these things in a very easy, very sweet way so that all can follow. Though it has come online, when we discuss these things more face to face, you will benefit greatly. Gaura-premānande!

Source(s): Purebhakti.com, Serve Love – Bhakta Bandhav (Bhakta Bandhav Anthology transcribed and edited by the Bhakta Bandhav Team)

Image(s) made possible by Pixabay.com, Krishnapath.org.in, Keystone Press / Alamy Stock Photo and / or Bhaktiart.net

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