Pancaratra and Bhagavata margas

[Guest guest]

Thank you very much for all of the nice quotes regarding

Pancharatrika-vidhi.

 

Interesting that none of them mention diksa initiation.

 

 

While Narada Muni is certainly a great devotee of the Lord and mahajana, I

have a hard time interpreting anything enunciated by great sages and

mahajanas if it is not first interpreted and "spoon fed" to me by Srila

Prabhupada. I'm sure you probably feel the same? It seems to me, from my

overall review of Srila Prabhupada's teachings, and believe me I am no

scholar!, that the following of Pancharatrika-vidhi was adjusted by Srila

Prabhupada for time and circumstance as the current acarya of the parampara

which is his sole prerogative. He seemed to stress Pancharatrika as it

relates to Deity worship far more than the other numerous aspects included

in Pancharatrika-vidhi, don't you think?

 

Diksa initiation, while a bonafide and important consideration in

Pancharatrika-vidhi was not formally stressed by Srila Prabhupada regularly

and certainly not in his books. I couldn't find one mention of it in the

Bhagavad-gita, for example, and I consider Bhagavad-gita the most important

book of all. That is my opinion, of course.

 

Also, the main reason I brought it up was the following quote:

 

"In the Srimad-Bhagavatam there is no recommendation of pancharatriki

worship because in this Kali-yuga, even without Deity worship, everything

can be perfectly performed simply through hearing, chanting, remembering and

worship of the lotus feet of the Lord." S.B. 7.5.24.

 

This seems to be a very important consideration for us. While we should

include Deity worship with our sankirtan practices in order to help keep us

clean and regulated, doesn't that mean that one day as the result of our

sankirtan and Deity worship we will be able to rely solely upon Bhagavat -

the superior path? And if we cannot take up even sankirtan, which has no

hard and fast rules, because we continue to be unclean and unregulated

what does that say about our qualifications to be acting in the position of

guru?

 

Will there ever be a time when we can simply have faith in the sankirtan of

Lord Caitanya for our gradual purification or will we, the fallen souls of

this Kali yuga, have to try to rely upon rituals? I thought that was why Sri

Caitanya started the sankirtan movement - to save the fallen souls who

cannot follow Vedic practices? "Oh. Lord, Your Holy Name alone can render

all benediction to living entities..."

 

If people have doubts or faults or misgivings or just plain bad feelings

about following Pancharatrika diksa initiation can't they take up chanting

Hare Krsna and be fully encouraged to do so and welcomed into the temples of

the Lord established by Srila Prabhupada for all fallen souls, and expect to

become pure devotees of the Lord through the Bhagavat process?