Guru-puja

[Guest guest]

Please accept my humble obeisances.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

 

 

>From the arcana conference:

 

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Q. If one should not offer obeisances to other devotees in front of the

temple Deities, why is it all right to do guru puja in front of the

Deities?

 

A. Generally it is not appropriate to worship anyone in front of the

temple Deity. According to Srila Prabhupada, this includes the worship of

the guru. He writes in his commentary on Caitanya-caritamrita, "According

to the rules and regulations, no one should accept obeisances in the

temple of the Lord before the Deity. Nor is it proper for a devotee to

offer obeisances and touch the feet of the spiritual master before the

Deity. This is considered an offense."

 

While Srila Prabhupada wrote this, at the same time he accepted honor in

front of the Deity. I once asked him about this and he replied with a

chuckle, "Dilemma." He gave no further explanation. My explanation does

not go much beyond this. The standard Srila Prabhupada set with regard to

his disciples honoring him in front of the Deity was somehow appropriate

for him, but it is best if others adopt a standard that is more in line

with Srila Prabhupada's written words on this subject.

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Comments would be appreciated.

 

Hare Krishna. Your humble servant,

Rogier.