are words of guru sastra?

[Guest guest]

> Actually Srila Prabhupada changed from 64 to 16 rounds - is this changing

> of system or not? question same as above.

 

In Gaudiya Math also, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta presribed 16 rounds for

preachers and 64 rounds for those who don't preach. (I think this is in the

book Bhakti Vikasa Swami is preparing on BSST). So Prabhupada actually

did'nt change anything. He applied the preaching standards of Gaudiya Math

into ISKCON. And if one still considers it a change then one has to note

Prabhupada explicitly explained this change in his books as a concession

because the Western devotees cannot concentrate for longer periods on their

beads.

 

> But what if God ask his pure devotee to do it and you don't know it?

 

But the pure devotee is saying that the sastra cannot be changed. What about

that?

 

[...]

Nothing changed. But in every sloka he has given evidence from the Vedas,

from the Upanisads. Acarya will NEVER change.

[...]

 

SP during interview with Professors

O'Connell, Motilal and Shivaram

June 18, 1976, Toronto

 

(Please take note of the word 'NEVER'. Never means never.)

 

Srila Prabhupada: Nothing can be changed. But according to the time, you

have to apply the principles properly. For instance, in Kali-yuga the smrti

order is kirtanad eva krsnasya mukta-sangah param vrajet: to obtain

spiritual liberation, one must chant the holy name of the Lord, Hare Krsna.

So you have to do this. For instance, a doctor may order, "In the morning,

take this medicine; in the evening, take that medicine." It is not a change

of the doctor's orders. It is simply that according to the time, the

doctor's orders call for a particular medicine. But the particular medicine

is recommended by the doctor, not by your whims. Sruti and smrti cannot be

changed, but they may recommend a particular process at a particular time.

So there must be adherence to both sruti and smrti-to scriptural authority.

You cannot modify.

 

Civilization & Transcendance

 

The chanting of atleast 16 rounds prescribed by Srila Prabhupada can be

understood from the above paragraph that it is not a change but the acarya

just teaches us how to apply the already exsisting sastric principles

properly according to time, place & circumstances. For example the change

would have been if Prabhupada would have changed the mantra or something

like that.

 

> and you don't know it?

 

There is no question of not knowing. Incase a bonafide acarya in a very very

rare case does something different from the sastra either he explicitly

explains why he did it or the sastra explains that. Like for eg.

Sankaracarya brought out the wrong conclusion of the sastras 'asat sastram'

but that is explained in the Padma Purana (Uttara Khanda 25.7 & 62.31) that

he did it on the instructions of Visnu and we know the reason why did Visnu

tell him to do it.

 

Your servant,

Nayana-ranjana Dasa