Initiation (?)

[Guest guest]

On 11 May 1999, Samba das wrote:

 

> The principle is that it is the

> personal seva, and the pleasing of the sadhu, which if the sadhu desires,

> may result in the sisya getting mercy, that mercy is the spiritual

> advancement.

 

 

You keep coming back to this same concept, Prabhu. But, as I have asked many

times previously and have yet to receive an answer, if "personal seva" to the

sadhu/spiritual master is the only means of true advancement what about all of

Srila Prabhupada's disciples, most of whom never had the opportunity to

"personally/bodily/physically/directly" serve him? Do we now have to seek out

another guru?

 

 

> Reading alone can not have the same result, unless the result

> of the reading ends in such action.

 

I feel that if one is reading Srila Prabhupada's books and chanting the Holy

Names of the Lord everything will resolve satisfactorily, in time.

Trying to expedite an individuals spiritual development according to some

contrived time schedule ("You should be MORE advanced, Prabhu") is the cause

of zonal-acarya-ism, bogus sannyasis, caste systems and downright

unfriendliness.

 

 

> > "...If they will simply take to reading this transcendental literature

> > we are presenting, the same reading

> > capacity will elevate them to the highest perfection of spiritual life."

> > (SPL to Harer Nama)

>

> But it will only elevate them to the highest perfection of spiritual life if

> they ACT upon the instructions found therein.

 

 

No offense, Samba Prabhu, but Srila Prabhupada did not see the need to append

this, your above statement, to the end of his sentence quoted above. By

reading Srila Prabhupada's books and chanting the Holy Names of the Lord that

IS ACTING upon the instructions and the concomitant advancement will be

realized, again, in time. It's when pretentious, false ego, show-bottle

spiritualism gets in the way that things fall apart. That requires basic human

honesty and friendliness to avoid such pitfalls.

 

 

> Srila Prabhupada says everywhere, that you have to surrender to a pure

> devotee to make advancement in spirtual life. Its the basic truth, found in

> all revealed scriptures. It is not his message, it is the message of all

> gurus, of the parampara, they all say the same thing.

 

 

Srila Prabhupada is NOT GONE. We CAN surrender to him now just as we did when

he was here "physically". Everyone surrendered to Srila Prabhupada and made

advancement, when he was "here" yet hardly anyone had his "personal"

association. How did that occur??????????? And are they not making advancement

currently without his "personal/bodily" service/association?

 

Gee, I'm beginning to sound like a "ritvik"! Never realized it till now.

Actually, I know that Srila Prabhupada WILL not (NOT cannot) come and perform

a formal diksa initiation ceremony for someone. But then I do not agree that

one cannot receive all the knowledge necessary to go back home back to Godhead

through their spiritual master simply because he is no longer "physically"

present. I never received "personal" instructions from Srila Prabhupada.

Because he is on another planet somewhere preaching is no different to me than

him being in India when I was serving him in New York.

 

 

> What we should do (I feel) is pray for the Lord to manifest a pure devotee

> to help. Prabhupada instructs us in his books, everywhere, to approach a

> spiritual master, and render service unto him.

 

 

And if he came and was as busy as Srila Prabhupada was when he was "here" and

thousands of disciples would not be able to "personally/bodily/directly" serve

this pure devotee, how do they make advancement. Or is this all really a

physical thing? That a pure devotee just has to be walking on the Earth and

everyone is automatically personally serving him whether they ever speak to

him or not?

 

 

> So we have to look for a real

> and genuine spiritual master who can take us home.

 

 

Look in the books of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami.

 

 

> then there is only one thing to do, and that is pray with all their heart,

> and if they are really sincere, Lord Krsna will manifest a guru for them. He

> says he will do it, and he will. They might already be existing here in

> ISKCON, we are just not looking.

 

 

He is, his name is A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami.