Jul 15, 2013 — USA (SUN) — Many
devotees are deeply embittered by the many deviations which have plagued ISKCON both prior to and after Srila Prabhupada's
disappearance. They place the blame for the mess on various personalities who usurped ISKCON for their own purposes, not
without some validity. They also say that some of these men are still in power, still causing havoc. They desire that others
should also reject these false leaders, just 'surrender to Prabhupada.' They selectively utilise sastra to make their pitch.
They apparently have some faith in Srila Prabhupada, but not in these false leaders. They want oth
Real surrender to Srila Prabhupada means we should follow Srila Prabhupada's instructions on
accepting a physically manifest guru, exactly as Srila Prabhupada, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, Srila
Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Lord Rama, Lord Caitanya and Lord Krsna did in their personal example. We should follow their personal
example. Two wrongs never make a right. Just because there is a boatload (or many boatloads) of imitation gold doesn't mean
that there is no real gold. We need a guru, a genuine guru. Sastra never states otherwise. It is our 'first business':
"When the living entity is lost in the forest of the material world, in the struggle for
existence, his first business is to find a bona fide guru who is always engaged at the lotus feet of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, Visnu." (SB 5.14.1)
Some may say that within ISKCON, the pipeline stopped with Srila Prabhupada and that the
same mercy, the same result we can achieve (Krsna prema) is not available anymore through any physically manifest pure via
medium. Really? Are we that sure? Are we that confident? Do we have such Absolute divine vision? Isn't it quite possible that
Krsna has not revealed such a personality to us due to our disqualification, our lack of sincerity and seriousness? He
certainly doesn't have to if we are envious of Him. We should be introspective. We should not think that we are very
advanced. Pride will hamper our ability to receive the mercy of the Lord if such a personality is present right now.
Additionally, you can't limit Krsna just because of some conditioned soul's nefarious
activities within the institution of ISKCON, or elsewhere in the material world. Krsna is not under the control of the
conditioned souls at all. He is under the control of His premi bhaktas. If it is a pure devotee's desire that the Lord
present Himself, the Lord can never refuse. If it is Krsna's desire to continue supplying physically manifest pure devotees
to guide us within ISKCON itself, who can stop Him? Why couldn't Srila Prabhupada empower specific personalities and desire
that this pipeline continue right to this day to keep the mercy of Lord Nityananda flowing? That makes a lot of sense. Have
we been orphaned? Is it that Srila Prabhupada came and left and he and Krsna left no one else there to guide us, WITHIN
ISKCON? Not one premi bhakta? Have we got to speculate ad infinitum and flounder around with uncontrolled mind and
senses with no genuine spiritual master here to guide us? It doesn't sound like the Srila Prabhupada I know. It seems
completely out of character for such a magnanimous personality to just 'pull the plug.' Maybe it is just that we can't see
and appreciate these pure devotees due to our ignorance, not due to lack of presence.
Just because certain unqualified people may be in positions of power, positions of guru,
doesn't mean that there are no bona fide spiritual masters within ISKCON. One doesn't guarantee the other. These
personalities may indeed be hidden to those without the necessary adhikara. Genuine spiritual personalities are not always
visible to those whom do not have the eyes to see. We know that Krsna keeps himself hidden from those whom He does not want
to reveal Himself:
"I am never manifest to the foolish and unintelligent. For them I am
covered by My internal potency, and therefore they do not know that I am unborn and infallible." (Bg 7.25)
"The Supreme Personality of Godhead reserves the right of not being exposed
to nondevotees. He can only be understood by bona fide devotees." (Cc Madhya Lila 6.81)
Why would Krsna send a bona fide spiritual master to one who does not really want Him? What
would be the point? Conversely, why would He NOT send His bona fide representative to the sincere and serious? Why should we
limit Krsna's ability to do this? Isn't He God? Can't He do anything? Surely He could work this out if He wanted to. Who can
dare claim that if Krsna wants to assume a form and present Himself before someone as the bona fide spiritual master WITHIN
ISKCON, that He cannot do this anymore, that this process stopped with Srila Prabhupada's physical presence? It is the height
of arrogance. These people are trying to limit God. It is an insane proposition. Do they even understand that Krsna is the
supreme controller, the origin of everything, the source of all the material and spiritual worlds? Such an approach is beyond
ludicrous. Krsna is fully independent. Therefore, He can certainly do anything He likes. If He wants to manifest Himself as
guru before a sincere and serious conditioned soul WITHIN ISKCON, He will certainly do it, no matter what any other
conditioned soul says, within the institution or outside. This from Srila Prabhupada:
"Why and how can we limit the Lord? He can manifest Himself anywhere and everywhere, and
whenever He desires to appear. In each and every incarnation, He speaks as much about religion as can be understood by the
particular people under their particular circumstances. But the mission is the same—to lead people to God consciousness and
obedience to the principles of religion. Sometimes He descends personally, and sometimes He sends His bona fide
representative in the form of His son, or servant, or Himself in some disguised form." (Bg 4.7)
Many people saw Krsna but did not accept Him as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Many
people saw Srila Prabhupada and the previous acaryas but also did not recognise them or properly and fully surrender to them.
Has this dynamic stopped just because it is 2013? If history is any guide then it is definitely that there will be people who
cannot recognise a pure devotee who may be currently in our midst. We should ask ourselves if we are one of those people. Are
we really looking for Krsna, or for maya? Are we simply pretending to be a devotee, but internally not hearing Krsna at all,
nor when he appears before us as Sri Guru?
We never see the genuine guru through our eyes, but our ears. We must learn to give
submissive aural reception to Krsna within the heart and to Krsna without in the form of the bona fide spiritual master, who
is none other than the external manifestation of the Supersoul. We must HEAR from Krsna via His pure via medium of the bona
fide spiritual master (Bg7.1):
"Concentration of the mind upon Krishna the Supreme is made possible by prescribed
devotional service in nine different forms, of which sravanam is the first and most important. The Lord therefore says
to Arjuna, tac chrinu, or "Hear from Me. " No one can be a greater authority than Krishna, and therefore by
hearing from Him one receives the greatest opportunity to become a perfectly Krishna conscious person. One has therefore
to learn from Krishna directly or from a pure devotee of Krishna—and not from a nondevotee upstart, puffed up with
academic education."
We must learn to surrender to the Supersoul. Prabhupada stresses that such advice is the
best (Bhagavad-gita 18.63):
"The best advice imparted to Arjuna is to surrender unto the
Supersoul seated within his heart. By right discrimination, one should agree to act according to the order of the
Supersoul. That will help one become situated constantly in Krishna consciousness, the highest perfectional stage of human
life. Arjuna is being directly ordered by the Personality of Godhead to fight. Surrender to the Supreme Personality of
Godhead is in the best interest of the living entities. It is not for the interest of the Supreme. Before surrendering, one
is free to deliberate on this subject as far as the intelligence goes; that is the best way to accept the instruction of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such instruction comes also through the spiritual master, the bona fide representative
of Krishna."
This is Krsna's philosophy and the system that He set up. It is straightforward and clear.
If one follows it, all will be revealed;
"Unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual
master, all the imports of Vedic knowledge are automatically revealed." The Vedas enjoin, tad-vijnanartham sa gurum
evabhigacchet: [MU 1.2.12] one must approach a spiritual master who has full knowledge of the Vedas and be faithfully
directed by him in order to become a devotee of the Lord. Then the knowledge of the Vedas will be revealed. When the
Vedic knowledge is revealed, one need no longer remain in the darkness of material nature." (SB 6.1.49)
The question is, 'How to find bona fide guru?' Srila Prabhupada states that 'when one is
serious and sincere' to find Him out, He assumes a body and manifests before us as Sri Guru. No need to speculate or twist
Krsna's words. Krsna never says that this system is no longer active or available to the sincere seeker of the Absolute
Truth. We just have to become serious and sincere:
"Both Krishna and the spiritual master help the sincere soul. The spiritual master is the
external manifestation of God, who is situated in everyone's heart as Supersoul. For one who is very serious about
understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Supersoul IMMEDIATELY renders assistance by directing him to a bona fide
spiritual master. In this way the spiritual candidate is helped from within and without." (Easy Journey to Other
Planets)
"The first thing is sravana. Sravana means hearing. One has to hear from authorities. That
is the beginning of spiritual life or Krsna consciousness. Just like Arjuna. He achieved his spiritual
consciousness, or Krsna consciousness, by hearing from Krsna. Similarly, one has to hear from Krsna or from the
representative of Krsna. One who presents Krsna's words as it is -- from him one has to hear because at the present
moment we have no opportunity to hear directly. TO HEAR DIRECTLY FROM KRSNA IS THERE. THE ARRANGEMENT IS THERE.
Krsna is situated in everyone's heart, and one can hear from Him very easily, anywhere and everywhere, but he must have the
training how to hear. For that purpose one requires the help of the representative of Krsna. …So in the
Caitanya-caritamrta it is also said that spiritual master is the direct manifestation of Krsna. Krsna comes
before the devotee as spiritual master just like sun enters your room by the sunshine. Although the sun does not enter your
room or your city or your country -- he is so many millions and millions of miles away -- still, he can enter everywhere by
his potency, the sunshine. Similarly, Krsna enters everywhere by His different potencies." (Purport to Bhaja Hu Re
Mana)
"There is, however, a REGULAR CURRENT from the Lord Himself, from within and
without, by which to rectify the fallen condition of the living being. From within He corrects the desiring living beings as
localized Paramatma, and from without He corrects by His manifestations, the spiritual master and the revealed
scriptures." (SB 1.13.48)
"It is here recommended to Dhruva Maharaja that he meditate on the supreme guru, or supreme
spiritual master. The supreme spiritual master is Krishna, who is therefore known as caitya-guru. This refers to the Supersoul,
who is sitting in everyone's heart. He helps from within as stated in Bhagavad-gita, and He sends the spiritual master,
who helps from without. The spiritual master is the external manifestation of the caitya-guru, or the spiritual
master sitting in everyone's heart." (SB 4.8.44)
"In the Srimad Bhagavatam also (S.B. 11.29.6) Shri Uddhava Ji, after hearing from Shri
Krishna all necessary instruction about Yoga, said, "Oh my Lord! transcendental poets or experts in the spiritual science
cannot express their indebtedness unto You even though they are endowed with a prolonged life of a Brahma. They are so unable
because nobody can estimate the volume of Your mercy which You manifest in the shape of a spiritual master from
without and as the super soul from within; all for dissipating the unfavourable conditions of a living being and for
revealing Yourself in his pure heart." (BTG March 20 1960)
Thus, Krsna has made a perfect arrangement for the conditioned soul. There is a 'REGULAR
CURRENT' and 'THE ARRANGEMENT IS THERE.' Nowhere is it stated that this current has ceased. This arrangement continues to
this day, and will continue into the future. It is a great arrangement, it is His Acarya lila, Krsna's amazing and brilliant
mercy pastime.
Again on the point of 'manifest or unmanifest' we should not misunderstand the meaning of
the term 'external manifestation.' It means exactly what it says, no need to interpret or speculate. Synonyms include 'clear'
and 'obvious.' Krsna assumes a form and appears directly before us as Sri Guru. This is what sastra always says. This is what
the acaryas did, Krsna did. They accepted manifest gurus. We are conditioned souls and therefore Krsna makes it obvious and
clear for us, by sending a 'manifest' guru, as we cannot perceive 4th dimension, the spiritual realm in our current state. We
should follow their lead. It is only via submission, service and full surrender to the manifest guru that we can make
advancement. Neither can we directly access an unmanifest previous acarya, including Srila Prabhupada, unless we are on the
liberated platform. Srila Prabhupada always condemned this:
"You cannot jump over to the superior guru, neglecting the next acarya, immediate next
acarya." (1973 Lecture)
We must understand who Srila Prabhupada, or any bona fide spiritual master is:
"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."
PURPORT
"It is not possible for a conditioned soul to directly meet Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but if one becomes a
sincere devotee and seriously engages in devotional service, Lord Krsna sends an instructing spiritual master to show
him favor and invoke his dormant propensity for serving the Supreme. The preceptor appears before the external
senses of the fortunate conditioned soul, and at the same time the devotee is guided from within by the caitya-guru,
Krsna, who is seated as the spiritual master within the heart of the living entity." (Cc Adi Lila 1.58)
If someone is under the modes of nature, one should be very skeptical if they are claiming,
either implicitly or explicitly, that they are personally, always and directly accessing Srila Prabhupada and that he is
personally guiding their lives at every step. That is the liberated stage and this is what pure devotee means. They are
uncontaminated, always directly in touch with the Supersoul, hearing Him at every moment.
For the rest of us who may not be on that platform, we can follow Prabhupada's formula. By
becoming sincere and serious, Krsna will send us a bona fide spiritual master. By surrendering to that bona fide guru, we are
surrendering to the Supersoul, Krsna within. This is what Prabhupada is teaching us. This is a necessity for conditioned
souls:
"Regarding your question, this surrender to Supersoul is in the advance stage of Krsna
consciousness. So long one is not advance, he has to take information and direction from the representative of
Supersoul or the spiritual master. The spiritual master is the external manifestation of the Supersoul. Thus the Lord
helps the living entity, helps both from inside and outside." (SPL to Rupanuga, February 22nd, 1972)
However, if we are not sincere and serious, then what happens? Then maya sends a guru and we
are cheated. This creates havoc in our own lives and that of a spiritual institution. We must depend completely on Krsna to
really come into contact with a genuine guru. We must give up our duplicity, our deceitfulness. We must become simple and
honest. This is confirmed by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura (Amrta Vani):
Q: Where can we find a spiritual master?
"Only the person Lord Krishna send us as spiritual master will manifest before us as
our guru. By the Lord's mercy we attain a spiritual master, and by the spiritual master's mercy we attain Krishna.
We are given a spiritual master according to our fortune. Different people have different mentalities, and the
omniscient Lord sends each an appropriate spiritual master. There are those who desire the Lord's nonduplicitous mercy
and who completely depend on Him for their success. These souls please the Lord with their simple sincerity. To bestow His
mercy upon them, He appears before them personally. To those who want something else from the Lord, who are not
actually aspiring for His complete mercy, the Lord sends through His illusory energy a spiritual master appropriate to
their mentality. A sincere person never faces difficulty but quickly finds a bona fide guru."
We cannot see Krsna except via the genuine spiritual master. We cannot jump over to Srila
Prabhupada, or any other previous acarya:
"The guru and Vaishnavas are the transcendental home of the Supreme Lord. The Lord does
not manifest just anywhere. He appears and remains in the hearts of guru and the Vaishnavas. Many people want to see the
Lord, but they do not know that the Lord's darsana can be had only through the spiritual master's darsana. It is not
possible to begin devotional service without a spiritual master. The spiritual master is the via media between us and Krishna's
lotus feet. This is Krishna's mercy: He sends His topmost servant or Vaishnava into this world to deliver
everyone. Thus the spiritual master is the personification of that causeless mercy." (Amrta Vani)
Some say, 'Can't I just use my material mind, intelligence and senses to find Sri Guru?'
Guru, sadhu and sastra state that is also not the process to receive a bona fide guru. We cannot pick and choose according to
our mental whims. It is a completely spiritual process:
"The spiritual master we choose, or a person who, according to our consideration is
qualified to be guru, may not be bona fide. Only a person sent to us personally by Krishna will manifest before us as the
spiritual master." (Amtra Vani)
Finally, many state that Srila Prabhupada as 'jagat guru' is sufficient for us. There is an
elucidating answer regarding this from Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura on this exact point. I think that many readers
will find this refreshing;
Q: If Jesus Christ was a jagad-guru and his instructions capable of bringing us
deliverance, why do we need a spiritual master?
"We accept both the universal spiritual master and the initiating spiritual master.
By accepting only the jagad-guru, we may face many anarthas. If at present we want to follow Christ's orders by
accepting him as jagad-guru, and we think that we do not require an initiating spiritual master, we will certainly face
the doubt about how well we can follow Christ's orders. The Supreme Lord or universal jagad-guru delivers His
instructions about the Absolute Truth only through the disciplic succession. As I sit on the bank of the Ganges in Navadvipa,
far from the Himalayas where the Ganges originates, and am able to touch her water here, the initiating spiritual master
similarly brings the Ganges of pure devotional service, which emanates from the Lord's lotus feet, and places it in my hand
and on my head. If the flow of the Ganges did not come to me, then because I am an ordinary, powerless, poor person, I would
not have been able to climb the Himalayas to touch her water. Or if the flow of the Ganges from the Himalayas was interrupted
on the way, I would have had to face the danger of accepting a polluted flow instead of the pure Ganga. If the
instructions Jesus Christ gave two thousand years ago do not come to us through disciplic succession, or if we have to sort
them out from books, then perhaps we may create a blunder and accept a perversion of the truth taught in the name of
Christianity. We may even come to accept something opposite from what he taught, thinking it his actual philosophy.
The initiating spiritual master is also jagad-guru because he is a
manifestation of the original jagad-guru. Out of his causeless mercy he delivers the message of the original
jagad-guru through the disciplic succession. He does not cheat nor flatter the disciple, nor does he yearn for any material
gain from me. He is simply a messenger of the Absolute Truth."
Your servant,
Vraja Vilasa dasa
