Q: What is our common vision? A: KC population

[Guest guest]

> Did Srila Prabhupada not answer them in his books ??? Hm. I also tried to

> answer them, have not You seen that ??? Hm.

 

Did you ever consider that your INTERPRETATION of what Srila Prabhupda said

is not subject to the same infallibility ascribed to Srila Prabhupda? You

cannot say you are simply repeating Srila Prabhupda's words, you are

offering an interpretation of those words, even if all you are adding is

just one or two of your own words to a thousand quotes. You or I may say

"Srila Prabhupda said. . .", but how do we know we aren't misinterpreting

what he said? After all, we (probabably) aren't pure.

 

That is why you have to ascertain everything by guru, sadhu, and shastra,

not simply just guru, guru, and guru. Sadhu-shastra-guru-vakya cittete

kariya aikya. "One must understand transcendental subject matters through

shastra, previous acharyas, and guru." (Narottama das Thakura)

 

On certain issues where Srila Prabhupada has said little (but the subject

matter is vital) or where he has given opposite instructions at different

times to different devotees, refering to the works of previous acharyas and

directly to shastra will be imperative in order to clearly understand Srila

Prabhupada's intentions.

 

For example, when Srila Prabhupada was physically manifest, he was the only

guru, what to speak of gurus falling down. Needless to say, Srila

Prabhupada has not commented extensively on what to do in such a situation

(otherwise, we wouldn't have a ritvik controversy, and yes, they also

liberally quote Srila Prabhupada to support their points.) And those who

are for maintaining a traditional guru-parampara system also liberally quote

from Srila Prabhupada. William Blake once said, "Both read the Bible day

and night, but I readest black while thou readest white." The Christians

don't have such a tripartite check-and-balance system for maintaining the

purity of their spiritual knowledge; their understanding is therefore doomed

to endless and selfish speculation. That will happen to us also if we

apotheosize Srila Prabhupada's words outside of the bounds prescribed by

Vedic regulations. Guru, guru, guru (in other words, proving things ONLY on

the basis of Srila Prabhupada said) is a deviation that will break our

parampara.

 

At the same time, whatever explanations are proposed must not contradict any

evidence offered by Guru (Srila Prabhupada), Sadhu or Shastra.

 

ys KKdas