quote needed

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> here is the quote where Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati says that the initiation

> ceremony is not of this material world?

 

The Harmonist, December 1931, vol. XXIX No.6

 

The ceremony of diksha, or initiation, is that by which the Spiritual

Preceptor admits one to the status of a neophyte on the path of spiritual

endeavor. The ceremony tends to confer spiritual enlightenment by abrogating

sinfulness. Its actual effect depends on the degree of willing cooperation

on the part of the disciple. It is, therefore, not the same in all cases. It

does not preclude the possibility of the novice reverting to the

non-spiritual state--if he slackens in his effort or misbehaves.

 

Initiation puts a person on the true track and also imparts an initial

impulse to go ahead. It cannot, however, keep one going for Good unless one

chooses to put forth his own voluntary effort.

 

The nature of the initial impulse also varies in accordance with the

condition of the recipient. Although the mercy of the Good Preceptor enables

us to have a glimpse of the Absolute and of the path to His attainment, the

seed thus sown requires very careful tending under the direction of the

Preceptor. Only then will it germinate and grow into the

fruit-and-shade-giving tree. After obtaining a working idea of his real

nature, unless our soul, of his own accord, chooses to serve Krishna, he

cannot long retain the Spiritual Vision. The soul is never compelled by

Krishna to serve Him.

 

Still, initiation is never altogether futile. It changes the disciple's

outlook on life. If he sins after initiation, he may fall into greater

depths of degradation than the uninitiated. Although, even after initiation,

temporary setbacks may occur, they do not ordinarily prevent the final

deliverance. The faintest glimmering of the real knowledge of the Absolute

has sufficient power to radically change for Good our whole mental and

physical constitution. This glimmering is incapable of being totally

extinguished--except in extraordinarily unfortunate cases.

 

It is undoubtedly practical for the initiated--if only he is willing--to

follow the directions of the Preceptor, leading, by slow degrees to the

Absolute.

 

The Good Preceptor is verily the savior of fallen souls.

 

It is, however, very rarely that a person, affected with modern culture,

feels inclined to submit to the guidance of another. This is especially so

in spiritual matters. But that very person will submit readily enough to the

direction of a physician for being cured of bodily ailments. These ailments

cannot be ignored without consequences which are self-evident to everybody.

The evil that results from our neglect of the soul's ailments is of a nature

that paralyzes and deludes our understanding, preventing recognitions of

itself. Its gravity is not recognized, because it does not apparently stand

in the way of our worldly activities, as do bodily ailments. The man of

average culture is, therefore, at liberty to ask questions, despite the fact

that he has not even realized his pressing necessity to have his spiritual

maladies treated by the Really Competent Physician.

 

These are the questions which are frequently asked: "Why should it be at all

necessary to submit to any particular person or to to any

particular ceremony for the purpose of realizing the Absolute, since His

nature is unconditioned? Why should Krishna require our formal declaration

of submission to Himself? Would it not be more generous and logical to

permit us to live a life of freedom in accordance with the principles of our

perverted nature? Admitting that it is our duty to serve Krishna, why should

we have to be introduced to Him by a third party? Why is it impossible for

one to serve Sri Krishna directly?"

 

It would no doubt be highly convenient and helpful to be instructed by a

Good Preceptor, well-versed in the Scriptures, in order to understand those

Scriptures. But one should ever submit to another in a way that may furnish

a rascal with an opportunity of really doing harm. The bad preceptor is a

familiar character. It is impossible to explain how such "gurus," who live

openly in sin, can nevertheless contrive to retain the unquestioning

allegiance of the cultured portion of their disciples.

 

This being the case, can we blame any person who hesitates to submit

unconditionally to a preceptor, whether he is Good or bad? It is necessary,

of course, to be quite sure of the bonafides of a person before we accept

him--even tentatively--as our spiritual guide. A Preceptor should be a

person who appears likely to possess those qualities which will enable him

to improve our spiritual condition.

 

These, along with similar questions and thoughts, are likely to occur to

most persons with an English education when they are asked to accept the

help of any particular person as their Spiritual Preceptor. The literature,

science, and art of the West pushes the principle of individual liberty and

denounces the mentality which leads one to surrender the right of choosing

his own course to some other superior person. Western culture inculcates the

necessity and high value of having faith in oneself.

 

But the Good Preceptor claims our sincere and complete allegiance. The good

disciple makes a complete surrender of himself at the feet of the Preceptor.

The submission of the disciple is neither irrational nor blind.

 

It is complete, as long as the Preceptor himself continues to be altogether

Good. The disciple retains the right of renouncing his allegiance to the

Preceptor the moment the disciple is satisfied that the Preceptor has become

a fallible creature like himself. Nor does a Good Preceptor accept anyone as

his disciple unless the later is prepared to submit to him freely.

 

A Good Preceptor is duty-bound to renounce a disciple who is not sincerely

willing to follow the Preceptor's instructions fully. If a preceptor accepts

as his disciple one who refuses to be completely guided by him, or if a

disciple submits to a preceptor who is not wholly Good, such preceptor and

such disciple are both doomed to fall from their spiritual state.

 

No one is a Good Preceptor who has not realized the Absolute. One who has

realized the Absolute is saved from the necessity of walking on the worldly

path. The Good Preceptor lives the Spiritual Life and is, therefore, bound

to be wholly Good. He should be wholly free from any desire for anything of

this world, whether good or bad. The categories of good and bad do not exist

in the Absolute. In the Absolute, everything is Good. In our present state,

we can have no idea of this Absolute Goodness. Submission to the Absolute is

not real unless it is also Absolute.

 

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It is on the plane of the Absolute that the disciple is required to submit

completely to the Good Preceptor. On the material plane, there can be no

such thing as complete submission. The pretense of complete submission to

the bad preceptor is responsible for the corruptions that are found in the

relationship of the ordinary worldly guru and his equally worldly-minded

disciples.

 

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All honest thinkers will realize the logical acceptability of the position

just set forth. But most persons will be disposed to believe that a Good

Preceptor cannot be found in this world. This is really so. Both the Good

Preceptor and his disciple belong to the Spiritual Realm. But spiritual

discipleship is nevertheless capable of being realized by persons who belong

to this world. Otherwise, there would be no religion at all in the world.

Still, just because spiritual life happens to be within realization in this

world, it does not mean worldly existence is capable of being improved into

spiritual. As a matter of fact, the one is perfectly incompatible with the

other. They are categorically different from one another. The Good

Preceptor, although he appears to belong to this world, is not really of

this world. No one who belongs to this world can deliver us from

worldliness. The Good Preceptor is a denizen of the Spiritual World. He has

been enabled, by the will of God, to appear in this world, in order to

enable us to realize the spiritual existence.