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Pure bhakti is the function of the svarupa-sakti (internal

potency) of Krsna, and therefore it never manifests in the material senses,

words, or mind. There is a process for it to manifest, however. Krsna is an

ocean of mercy and His devotee is also an ocean of mercy. Our only hope is

to receive their mercy. This is the only ray of hope. Only by the causeless

mercy of Krsna and His devotees will the vrtti (characteristic function) of

svarupa-sakti enter and become one with the senses of the material body.

Srila Rupa Gosvami has given a process for this transcendental vrtti of

bhakti to come upon the conditioned soul's tongue and other senses, and that

is:

 

adau sraddha tatah sadhu sanga'tha bhajana-kriya,

tato 'nartha nivritti syat tato nistha rucis tatah,

athasaktis tato bhavas tatah premabhyudancati

sadhakam ayam pemnah pradurbhave bhavet kramah

 

"In the beginning there must be faith. Then one becomes interested in

associating with pure devotees. Thereafter one is initiated by the spiritual

master and executes the regulative principles under his orders. Thus one is

freed from all unwanted habits and becomes firmly fixed in devotional

service. Thereafter, one develops taste and attachment. This is the way of

sadhana-bhakti, the execution of devotional service according to the

regulative principles. Gradually emotions intensify, and finally there is an

awakening of love. This is the gradual development of love of Godhead for

the devotee interested in Krsna consciousness." (Madhya 23.16)

 

Without accepting diksa from a bona fide guru, can one develop bhakti or

not? Some think that chanting, remembering, reading books, and performing

arcana, sravanam and kirtanam is sufficient and there is no need for a

mediator. They think that accepting a 'rtvik' person is sufficient for

attaining pure bhakti, and there is no need of accepting diksa from any

living self-realized guru.

 

Those who think, "There is no need to accept a guru as a mediator because we

can chant the holy name, we can read books, and we can do arcana and sadhana

simply by the rtvik system," are not within the guru-parampara. They deceive

others. They are actually cheaters; not bhaktas. Nowhere in the sastra is it

written that a rtvik can ever give bhakti. [There are nineteen places in

Prabhupada's books where the word 'rtvik' is used, and in all cases the word

only refers to a priest officiating or performing a fire sacrifice. Even

when the word used is 'rtvik acarya,' it is still defined as a priest

performing a fire sacrifice for a secular gain.] This can never be the case.

Those who

advocate the rtvik system are misleaders, and their followers are misled. Do

not go towards the rtvik system.

 

Nowadays, among others, those who fell down from their pure life and those

who left the renounced order due to being very lusty want to be rtvik. They

want to gain the same position they had before, and that is why he they are

crying, "Rtvik, rtvik, rtvik!" Actually, however, they are all fallen souls

and they have nothing to do with bhakti. In none of the sastras has it been

said that this rtvik system will give bhakti.

 

Be careful regarding the bogus rtvik system. These rtviks have no faith in

Krsna, no faith in bhakti, and no faith in scriptures like the Vedas,

Upanisads, Srimad Bhagavatam, and Caitanya-caritamrta. They also have no

faith in the guru-parampara, and that is why they cannot give bhakti. You

should give up the idea that the rtviks can help. They can never help you.

They have never even helped themselves, so how can they help others? This

word 'rt' has come from the word 'Rg-Veda.' Those who know all Vedas,

including the Rg, Sama, Yajur, and Atharva Veda, all the Upanishads, and all

the Puranas, are actually rtvik. I think, however, that these modern rtviks

don't even know the ABC's of the Vedas. They say that in this world there

are no pure devotees, and therefore there are no pure devotees to initiate

anyone. This idea is very, very wrong and it against the principles of

bhakti. The rtvik proponents saw that the devotees in their society were

quarreling amongst themselves, and that there was no suddha-bhakta there.

Then, mistaking that those who quarreled were in the guru-parampara, the

rtviks became opposed to the actual guru-parampara.

 

Beware of this rtvik system. Without a self-realized guru you cannot achieve

bhakti in thousands of births. This is an established truth. This is

siddhanta. You should therefore accept a sad-guru, serve him, and try to

follow his instructions. Then you can develop your Krsna consciousness and

all of your anarthas will disappear. Otherwise, it will never be possible

for pure bhakti to come and touch your heart and senses.

 

I would like to clarify one thing. I am not saying that all rtviks mislead

others. Only those who say that there is no need of a guru do so. Whatever

has been told in the Vedas and Upanisads about rtviks is only in relation to

their sole function in a fire sacrifice, and those fire sacrifices are

performed only to fulfill a worldly desire. They have nothing to do with

transcendental love and affection for Krsna. [in The True Conception of Sri

Guru-tattva it is stated: "After deliberation upon the Mahabharata,

Ramayana, and Puranas, it becomes obvious that rtviks have nothing to do

with the supreme transcendental goal...'Rtau yajtiti rtviki.' One who

conducts sacrifices according to Vedic mantras is called a rtvik. There is

an arrangement of 16 types of rtviks to perform the sacrifices…The yajman

employs priests to perform

sacrifices for him and he pays them…All these rtviks are virtuous, of high

character, learned in the Vedas, and expert in the execution and supervision

of sacrifices…After the completion of the yajnas, the yajman (employer) pays

the appropriate remuneration to the rtviks and sends them away. The yajman

and the rtvik have no mutual eternal relationships."]

 

Real rtviks know all sastras, and all of them have gurus. A rtvik cannot be

a rtvik without accepting a real guru. All rtviks, like Vasistha Rsi, are

very high-class devotees. Visvamitra, Gautama, and even Vyasadeva are

rtviks, but they have all accepted the guru-parampara. They all believe that

there are always self-realized gurus in the world. Nowadays, therefore,

those who call themselves rtviks are all cheaters, and we should beware of

them.

 

When we accept a guru, it may be that we have so many anarthas, unwanted

thoughts and habits, within us. We may be very ignorant about krsna-tattva,

maya-tattva, radha-tattva, bhakti-tattva, and all other tattvas. So many

anarthas and aparadhas may be there within us, but there is a process to be

free from them.

 

There are so many gurus: caitya-guru, diksa-guru, siksa-guru, bhajana-guru,

and others. Why go to a bogus-rtvik guru? If our siksa-gurus are Caitanya

Mahaprabhu, Nityananda prabhu, and Radhika, why do we need to go to these

rtviks?

 

 

 

_______________

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