PAMHO AGTSP Do you still think Srila Prabhupada's words are shastra?

[Guest guest]

Dear Maharajas and Prabhus

Hare Krsna!

 

Some of you may have been following the exchange between Krsna Kirti Prabhu

and myself on this important subject which is tearing at the very fabric of

our Iskcon society. Please do read what follows, I am sure you will find it

valuable.

 

In the Dec. 1931 Harmonist Srila Bhaktisiddanta Maharaj wrote an article

entitled "Thakur Bhaktivinode". What follows are some excerpts from that

article:

 

"Those who repeat the teachings of Thakur Bhaktivinode from memory do not

necessarily understand the meaning of the words they mechanically repeat".

 

"Those who read the Scriptures for gathering empiric wisdom will be pursuing

the wild-goose chase."

 

"What are the Scriptures? They are nothing but the record by the pure

devotees of the Divine Message appearing on the lips of the pure devotee.

The Message conveyed by the devotees is the same in all ages.The words of

the devotees are ever identical with the Scriptures.

 

"The pure devotee is the speaker of the Transcendental language. The

Transcendental Sound makes His Appearance on the lips of His pure devotee.

This is the direct, unambiguous appearance of the Divinity."

 

"Thakur Bhaktivinode is acknowledged by all his sincere followers as

possessing the above powers of the pure devotee of Godhead. His words have

to be received from the lips of a pure devotee."

 

"If his works are studied in the light of ones own wordly experience their

meaning will refuse to disclose itself to such readers. His works belong to

the class of the eternal revealed literature of the world and must be

approached for their right understanding through their exposition by the

pure devotee. If no help from the pure devotee is sought the works of Thakur

Bhaktivinode will be grossly misunderstood by their readers. The attentive

reader of those works will find that he is always directed to throw himself

upon the mercy of the pure devotee if he is not to remain unwarrantably

self-satisfied by the deluding results of his wrong method of study."

 

"The writings of Thakur Bhaktivinode are valuable because they demolish all

empiric objections against accepting the only method of approaching the

Absolute in the right way. They cannot and were never intended to give

access to the Absolute without help from the pure devotee of Krishna. They

direct the sincere enquirer of the Truth, as all the revealed Scriptures do,

to the pure devotee of Krishna to learn about Him by submitting to listen

with an open mind to the Transcendental Sound appearing on his lips. Before

we open any of the books penned by Thakur Bhaktivinode we should do well to

reflect a little on the attitude with which is the indispensible

pre-requisite to approach the study. It is by neglecting to remember this

fudamental principle that the empiric pedants find themselves so helplessly

puzzled in their vain endeavor to reconcile the statements of the different

texts of the Scriptures. The same difficulty is already in process of

overtaking many of the so-called followers of Thakur Bhaktivinode and for

the same reason."

 

"In order to be put on the track of the Absolute, listening to the words of

the pure devotee is absolutely necessary. The spoken word of the devotee is

the Absolute. It is only the Absolute Who can give Himself away to the

constituents of His power. The Absolute appears to the listening ear of the

conditioned soul in the form of the Name on the lips of the Sadhu. This is

the key to the whole position."

 

"The arguments, indeed, are these. But they can only corroborate, but can

never be a substitute for, the word from the living source of the Truth who

is no other than the pure devotee of Krishna, the concrete Personal

Absolute."

 

"The person to whom the Acharya is pleased to transmit his power is alone in

a position to convey the Divine Message. This constitutes the underlying

principle of the line of succession of the spiritual teachers"

 

End of excerpts.

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Those who are prepared to hear the proper siddhanta on this subject under

discussion, from the lips of the living source, the devotee of the Lord,

please communicate with me personally so that arrangements can be made to

facilitate that opportunity.

 

Your servant

Trivikram Swami