the guru's order

[Guest guest]

> > Sunitha was his first spiritual guide, but it was not formal

> > initiation. Can a person advance within devotional service without

> an initiating guru, but with instructions from a siksha guru?

>

> If it were not true that one could advance in devotional service

> without formal initiation, then there would be no use of preaching or

> engaging people in ajnata-sukriti (pious activities on the spiritual

platform

> which are unknown to the performer), since no one could advance from

> the stage of sraddha (initial faith) to later stages such as sadhu

sanga

> (saintly association), and bhajana-kriya (initiation), without being

> initiated (which is the third stage of advancement). However, one

> should have diksa in order to pass through anarta-nivriti (removal of

the

 

Dear Bhavasindhu prabhu,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

 

Thank you for pointing out the obvious, in case any of us missed it.~*~*~

Truly it is rare that a person takes formal initiation, that someone will

even want to begin the ardous process of anarta-nivriti. I've seen a lot

of devotees, guests, who live for prasadam, and thats all they want. Or

they just enjoy chatting with devotees, forget the philosophy. I

remember hearing a lecture Srila Prabhupada gave in Mayapur in 1977,

speaking of the 3 kinds of perfection. Sadhana siddhi, Nitya siddhi &

Kripa siddhi. Those who practice sadhana carefully, under proper

direction, can look forward to perfecting their lives, the Nitya siddhas

are already perfect and the krpa siddhis--well I do not know the details

of this, only that one achieves perfection, not by their qualification,

but only by the special mercy of a pure devotee. It seems krpa siddhi is

a little mysterious as externally one cannot see how a pure devotee

blesses each soul. And many of the souls they meet may not take

initiation.

 

Actually, what I've always been curious about is those devotees who have

Lord Krsna Himself as their spiritual master. Are they always Nitya

siddhi devotees? Or have these devotees passed the tests of their

initiating spiritual master, and their spiritual master has subsquently

delivered them to Krsna's lotus feet? Does a person born in Vrndavan

naturally have Krsna as their spiritual master? I'm completely satisfied

to serve my spiritual master eternally, but I was just curious.

 

ys

SD