from Sadashiva Pandit das

[Guest guest]

> I have one question. There is caitya-guru in our heart. That is Paramatma,

> the manifestation of Lord Balaram. Diksa- and siksa-gurus are His external

> manifestations. Some devotees say that it is right now we have to

> establish our relationship with caitya-guru in order to properly

> understand instructions of diksa- and siksa-gurus. Can you comment on this

> please?

 

Dear Bhakti Vikasa Maharaja,

 

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

 

In his purports on Srimad Bhagavatam, 4.28.51-52 Srila Prabhupada seems to

be answering this question directly, exhaustively and brilliantly.

 

As theses two purports are quite significant to the matter in question,

please forgive me for reproducing them here in toto. Emphasis is mine:

 

TRANSLATION

 

My dear King, one br€hmaŠa, who was an old friend of King Purañjana, came to

that place and began to pacify the Queen with sweet words.

 

PURPORT

 

The appearance of an old friend in the form of a br€hmaŠa is very

significant. In His Param€tm€ feature, KŠa is the old friend of everyone.

According to Vedic injunction, KŠa is sitting with the living entity side

by side. According to the ruti-mantra (dv€ suparŠ€ sayuj€ sakh€y€ƒ), the

Lord is sitting within the heart of every living entity as suht, the best

friend. The Lord is always eager to have the living entity come home, back

to Godhead. Sitting with the living entity as witness, the Lord gives him

all chances to enjoy himself materially, but whenever there is an

opportunity, the Lord gives good counsel and advises the living entity to

abandon trying to become happy through material adjustment and instead turn

his face toward the Supreme Personality of Godhead and surrender unto Him.

 

****When one becomes serious to follow the mission of the spiritual master,

his resolution is tantamount to seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

As explained before, this means meeting the Supreme Personality of Godhead

in the instruction of the spiritual master. This is technically called

v€Š…-sev€.****

 

®r…la Vivan€tha Cakravart… µh€kura states in his Bhagavad-g…t€ commentary

on the verse vyavas€y€tmik€ buddhir ekeha kuru-nandana (Bg. 2.41) that one

should serve the words of the spiritual master.

 

****The disciple must stick to whatever the spiritual master orders. Simply

by following on that line, one sees the Supreme Personality of Godhead.****

 

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Param€tm€, appeared before the Queen as

a br€hmaŠa, but why didn't He appear in His original form as ®r… KŠa?

 

****®r…la Vivan€tha Cakravart… µh€kura remarks that unless one is very

highly elevated in loving the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one cannot see

Him as He is. Nonetheless, if one sticks to the principles enunciated by the

spiritual master, somehow or other he is in association with the Supreme

Personality of Godhead. Since the Lord is in the heart, He can advise a

sincere disciple from within.****

 

This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-g…t€ (10.10):

 

te€ˆ satata-yukt€n€ˆ

bhajat€ˆ pr…ti-p™rvakam

dad€mi buddhi-yogaˆ taˆ

yena m€m upay€nti te

 

"To those who are constantly devoted and worship Me with love, I give the

understanding by which they can come to Me."

 

****In conclusion, if a disciple is very serious to execute the mission of

the spiritual master, he immediately associates with the Supreme Personality

of Godhead by v€Š… or vapuƒ. This is the only secret of success in seeing

the Supreme Personality of Godhead.****

 

Instead of being eager to see the Lord in some bush of Vnd€vana while at

the same time engaging in sense gratification, if one instead sticks to the

principle of following the words of the spiritual master, he will see the

Supreme Lord without difficulty.

®r…la Bilvama‰gala µh€kura has therefore said:

 

bhaktis tvayi sthiratar€ bhagavan yadi sy€d

daivena naƒ phalati divya-kiora-m™rtiƒ

muktiƒ svayaˆ mukulit€ñjali sevate 'sm€n

dharm€rtha-k€ma-gatayaƒ samaya-prat…k€ƒ

 

"If I am engaged in devotional service unto You, my dear Lord, then very

easily can I perceive Your presence everywhere. And as far as liberation is

concerned, I think that liberation stands at my door with folded hands,

waiting to serve me—and all material conveniences of dharma [religiosity],

artha [economic development] and k€ma [sense gratification] stand with her."

(KŠa-karŠ€mta 107) If one is very highly advanced in devotional service,

he will have no difficulty in seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If

one engages in the service of the spiritual master, he not only sees the

Supreme Personality of Godhead but attains liberation. As far as material

conveniences are concerned, they automatically come, just as the

maidservants of a queen follow the queen wherever she goes. Liberation is no

problem for the pure devotee, and all material conveniences are simply

awaiting him at all stages of life.

 

 

Also, the following purport gives even further elucidation on the matter:

 

SB 4.28.52 purp.:

 

TRANSLATION

The br€hmaŠa inquired as follows: Who are you? Whose wife or daughter are

you? Who is the man lying here? It appears you are lamenting for this dead

body. Don't you recognize Me? I am your eternal friend. You may remember

that many times in the past you have consulted Me.

 

 

PURPORT

 

When a person's relative dies, renunciation is automatically visible.

 

****Consultation with the Supersoul seated within everyone's heart is

possible only when one is completely free from the contamination of material

attachment. One who is sincere and pure gets an opportunity to consult with

the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His Param€tm€ feature sitting within

everyone's heart.****

 

The Param€tm€ is always the caitya-guru, the spiritual master within, and He

comes before one externally as the instructor and initiator spiritual

master. The Lord can reside within the heart, and He can also come out

before a person and give him instructions. Thus the spiritual master is not

different from the Supersoul sitting within the heart. An uncontaminated

soul or living entity can get a chance to meet the Param€tm€ face to face.

Just as one gets a chance to consult with the Param€tm€ within his heart,

one also gets a chance to see Him actually situated before him. Then one can

take instructions from the Supersoul directly. This is the duty of the pure

devotee: to see the bona fide spiritual master and consult with the

Supersoul within the heart.

 

*************When the br€hmaŠa asked the woman who the man lying on the

floor was, she answered that he was her spiritual master and that she was

perplexed about what to do in his absence. At such a time the Supersoul

immediately appears, PROVIDED the devotee is purified in heart by following

the directions of the spiritual master.***************

 

A sincere devotee who follows the instructions of the spiritual master

certainly gets direct instructions from his heart from the Supersoul. Thus a

sincere devotee is always helped directly or indirectly by the spiritual

master and the Supersoul. This is confirmed in Caitanya-carit€mta:

guru-kŠa-pras€de p€ya bhakti-lat€-b…ja [Cc. Madhya 19.151]. If the devotee

serves his spiritual master sincerely, KŠa automatically becomes pleased.

Yasya pras€d€d bhagavad-pras€daƒ. By satisfying the spiritual master, one

automatically satisfies KŠa. Thus the devotee becomes enriched by both the

spiritual master and KŠa. The Supersoul is eternally the friend of the

living entity and always remains with him. The Supersoul has always been

ready to help the living entity, even before the creation of this material

world. It is therefore stated here: yen€gre vicacartha. The word agre means

"before the creation." Thus the Supersoul has been accompanying the living

entity since before the creation.

 

 

Begging to remain

 

your servant,

Madana-mohana das