Diksa Guru - Siksa Guru

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Home Base: Sri Mayapur Candrodaya Mandir, Navadwip Dhama, Nadia, WB, INDIA

Camp: Thiruvanantapuram, Kerala---South India Preaching+Pilgrimage Safari

 

My Dear Spiritual Daughter,

 

Please accept my blessings. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Thankyou for your letter cited below with my comments. I have noted the

contents carefully.

 

> Dear Jayapataka Swami Maharaja.

>

> all the glories to Srila Prabhupada. Please accept my humble obeisances

> unto your divine lotus feet.

>

> I read a lot about what you had answer in regard to Diksa and Siksa Guru,

> but I would like to know something else:

>

> If for some circumstances a devotee feel to have no personal relation with

> his Disksa Guru, then he ask Him for get shelter in other (Siksa) Guru, to

> whom must he offer his/her foodstuff? Is it bonafide to offer it through

> the Diksa, through the Siksa?

 

Obviously there must have been a relationship with the diksa guru at one

time. Why has that relationship become distant is a question. Depending on

why that relationship has diminished scripture gives different advice. If

there is no glaring fault or philosophical deficiency on the part of the

Diksa guru then why should the disciple feel there is no personal

relationship and why should the disciple want to take full shelter of a

siksa guru as a replacement of the diksa guru. These things are highly

personal and need to be discussed between the disciple and Spiritual Master.

It is possible that a siksa guru can be the shelter and a disciple can

perform devotional service through the siksa guru. This is an exceptional

case and usually when the Spiritual Master diksa guru is in good standing it

doesn't occur. Still it might occur in some special cases.

 

It is recommended that for advancement in Krishna consciousness one should

have a healthy respectful relationship with the diksa guru. One may have

additional siksa gurus and even it may happen that ones relationship with

the siksa guru becomes more prominent in some cases, but even then the

normal protocol is to offer formal worship through the diksa guru. The diksa

guru is responsible for the disciples activities according to the revealed

scripture.

 

In the modern world of Kali-raja relationships are so thin that one can feel

the diksa guru's relationship has vanished if he fails to reply a letter or

if he doesn't give one a cookie after darshan. If one hears some criticism

or speculates something then suddenly one's faith in diksa guru diminishes

to practically nil. These situations really don't indicate anything at all.

They are not the substance of real spiritual relationship. Rather a

disciple should make some effort to reestablish the relationship with the

diksa guru. If after some sincere attempts are made in that direction and

after open heart discussions with the Spiritual Master some conclusions are

reached about what is best for the disciples advancement---that will be most

auspicious and approved.

 

> another question: about Pranams, have this devotee to go on with the

> Pranam to the diska Guru, or change it to the Siksa Guru, or can he chant

> the Pranam of both Gurus?

 

One can offer obeisances to any vaisnava, guru or previous acarya. Only

chanting the diksa gurus and Srila Prabhupada's pranam is obligatory.

Otherwise I don't find in sastra any limit to how many pranams you may chant

to bona fide Spiritual Masters except time and circumstancces.

>

If you read Sivaram Swami's new book Siksa Guru then this question is

answered there. Also the recent GBC resolution about Siksa Guru gives a

short declaration about this point. There are some circumstances in which

the siksa guru may take the diksa guru type of role and his pranam mantra is

to be chanted. This is not the normal circumstance and some steps are needed

to be taken before that is acceptable behavior. If anyone is feeling like

that then they should discuss with their Spiritual Master for details.

 

> Thank you for clarifying all our doubts.

 

> yhs, Sridhari devi dasi

>

>

>

> HARIBOL!

>

> \0/

>

> /_\

>

 

Hari bol! Gauranga!

 

I hope that this finds you in good health.

 

Your ever well wisher,

 

Jayapataka Swami