the guru's order

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MOther Sucarya wrote:

 

>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.

 

Dear Mother Sucarya,

 

Please accept my humlbe obeisances at your lotus feet. All gloreis to Srila

Prabhupada. All glories to Your Grace.

 

Thank you very much for engaging all of us in this wonderful discussion.

 

Here is my understanding. Dear devotees please correct me if I am wrong.

 

*The* Guru is one. If God is one, how can there be many Gurus? Guru is

also one. This is what Srila Prabhupada says in more than one place.

(exact quote someone who is on Veda base may take out.). Krishna is the one

Spiritual Master for all. At the same time simultaneously this one guru

manifests in many forms. --Caitya guru, Vartmapradarsaka guru, Siksha Guru

and Diksha Guru. Acintyabhedabheda. Simultaneously one and different.

 

Bhag 4.29.51 ...One who is an actually bonafide spiritual master,

representative of Krishna is non different from Krishna.

 

CC Adi 1.45 According to the deliberate opinion of all revealed scriptures,

the spiritual master is non different from Krishna. Lord Krishna in the

form of spiritual master delivers His devotees.

 

Bhag 7.15.27 The spiritual master is called sevaka bhagavan, the servitor

personality of Godhead, and Krishna is called sevya bhagavan, the Supreme

Personality of Godhead who is to be worshipped.

 

Krishna enlightens all living entities from within as supersoul Caitya guru

and with out as the other 3 spiritual masters. vartma pradarsaka, siksa and

diksa.

 

CC Madhya 8.128 One who first gives information about spiritual life is

called the vartmapradarsaka guru. The spiritual master who initiates

according to the regulations of the shastras is called diksa guru, and the

spiritual master who gives instructions for elevation is called siksa guru.

 

Many times a disciple may have siksa guru who may later act as diksa guru.

One can have only one diksa guru, but more than one siksa gurus.

 

A conditioned soul may come in touch with Krishna Consciousness in unlimited

number of ways, which you rightly called ajnata sukruti. Prasadam, books,

glance of a pure devotee etc,. The result of this ajnata sukriti is he

engages in devotional service, without his own knowledge. Honouring

Prasadam and reading Krishna Books are seva, devotional service. The

sincere devotee, advances further and further. What is the result of all

his devotional activities? The result is Lord Krishna sends a spiritual

master to him.

 

CC Adi 1.58 If one becomes a sincere devotee and seriously engages in

devotional service, Lord Krishna sends him an instructing spiritual master..

 

Sadhana Siddhas, and Kripasiddhas can be explained technically and defined

from third person point of view. (First person 'I', Second person 'you' and

third person 'he'). Actually a sadhana siddha even though he puts great

endeavour on his sadhana he never thinks that he is advancing because of his

sadhana. He always thinks he is advancing only because of the mercy of

Vaishnavas, Guru and Krishna. Speaking in third person a devotee actually

advances due to a combination of personal endeavour + Causeless mercy. In

one of the south Indian sampradayas there was a split on this philosophical

point. One group said a devotee is delivered at the lotus feet of Krishna

only by one's personal endeavour or sadhana. The other group said no it is

only by causeless mercy of Krishna. Each gave one analogy. The baby monkey

holding the mother on it's own and the mother jumps or travels from tree to

tree. The baby totally depends on his own endeavour to hold on to the

mother. The second group gave the analogy of a cat carrying a kitten. The

kitten totally depends on the mercy of the mother holding it in the jaws,

from place to place, and does not depend on it's own endeavour. The problem

in both these analogies is in one case the person may become independant,

that he can achieve Krishna by his own personal endeavour and does not

formally surrender to any Guru, and take Diksa. In the second case he

becomes totally lazy, and take diksa from some bonafide guru and think his

business is over and thinks that by causeless mercy of guru he can be

delivered. He will not do any personal endeavour. This philosophical split

was resolved only recently by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. He

gave the wonderful analogy of a person drowning in a deep well. Some one

throws a rope from top and he holds on to the rope and climbs up and

simultaneously pulled from the top. Here the person is delivered out of the

well by his personal endeavour of holding on to the rope + the mercy of the

person who holds/pulls the rope from above.

 

So all conditional souls are delivered by a combination of personal

endeavour(sadhana) and causeless mercy(kripa). They are simultaneously

sadhan siddhas and kripa siddhas. Depending on the degree of endeavour they

may be classified as sadhana siddhas or kripa siddhas. Bhakti Rasamrita

Sindhu/the vaishnava song book I think gives the exact definition of sadhana

siddhas and kripa siddhas and Nityasiddhas.

 

Nityasiddhas are not conditioned souls (like our Srila Prabhupada) but they

are sent by Lord Krishna to deliver all the conditioned souls.

 

Seeking your blessings.

 

Your humble servant,

Bhadra Govinda Das.