Guest guest Posted October 23, 2001 Report Share Posted October 23, 2001 Haribol Please endure my humble inquiry. Please elaborate to what extend practicing Gaudiya's can observe Durga Puja. _____________ When you think about it, these verses also negate the possiblity of a post-samadhi ritvik guru. The implicit assumption behind such a system is that the living guru does not have the qualifications mentioned above. Hence, he performs the initiations on behalf of a more qualified guru who is no longer physically present on the mortal plane. But this verse explicitly states that only one who can control these demands can make disciples. Haribol If one can not find (in ones opinion) a bonafide guru as already mentioned does one live through life with out a GURU ?. Is it OK for ONE to test a GURU to see if the GURU meets these criteria ? What if there are no GURU's left...is the post-samadhi ritvik guru bonafide ? All Glories to his Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada. rakesh manohar Engen Petroleum Limited disclaim all liability for any loss, damage or expense however caused, arising from the sending, receipt, or use of this e-mail communication and on any reliance placed upon the information provided through this service and does not guarantee the completeness or accuracy of the information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 23, 2001 Report Share Posted October 23, 2001 achintya, rakesh.manohar@e... wrote: > If one can not find (in ones opinion) a bonafide guru as already mentioned > does one live through life with out a GURU ?. > > Is it OK for ONE to test a GURU to see if the GURU meets these criteria ? > > What if there are no GURU's left...is the post-samadhi ritvik guru bonafide > ? Whether one finds a guru to be qualified or not must ultimately be up to the individual. The scriptures give us some help in figuring it out -- specifically NoI verse 1 gives some specific minimum criteria. It is extremely uncultured for individuals to publicly denounce this guru or that guru as being unqualified; it is similarly excessive for someone to insist that his guru is very qualified and that others should just accept this and take initiation from him. Such talks are not appropriate for Achintya, just as they would not be appropriate in brahminical culture. Ultimately, one has to be satisfied that a prospective guru practices what he preaches and knows the material he teaches. Krishna already says how to do this in BG 4.34: service and submissive inquiries. If one cannot find such a guru, he cannot use this as a justification for finding a "ritvik-guru" who is unqualified. There is no scriptural basis that I am aware for accepting initiation from an unqualified "ritvik-guru" who represents a guru who has passed on. There are those who argue that Srila Prabhupada intended for such a system to exist even against the injunctions of scripture. Such comments are offensive and reveal ignorance on the part of those who speak them. Srila Prabhupada never claimed to be above the authority of the Vedas. If any acharya were to defy scriptures in this way, he would not be considered bona fide. Therefore, the burden of proof lies on those who present the view that seems to contradict scripture. Either they have scriptural evidence or they do not. There is no excuse for accepting something without scriptural basis. yours, K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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