Diksa or Siksa Sampradaya.

[Guest guest]

> > The term 'siksa sampradaya' can be misleading, as it can mean that one

> > can be a member of sampradaya only based on siksa, and parampara can go

> > on through him/her or even it can mean that, the whole parampara is

> > standing only on siksa and no diksa at all, right from Lord Sri Krishna.

> > That is no diksa link at all, any where.

>

> Good points, it can be misleading. Even yesterday I was talking to one

> devotee who has been in ISKCON for 9 years, and they were saying "I've

> decided not to take initiation, because siksa is most important and I have

> Srila Prabhupada". It's a rather grade-school understanding of what siksa

> and diksa mean. I have never seen or heard any mention of Prabhupada

> telling someone they didn't need diksa because we are a 'siksa

> sampradaya'.

 

Yes, very good points. This happened to me too, where I was corresponding

with someone I knew. He said he was anxious to take initiation, and we

discussed it, with me urging him to look for the reflection of the

caitya-guru in the heart in whoever he was considering. But then he turned

round and said:

"I would like to be part of Prabhupada's disciplic succession. I

don't think it really matters to me which of Prabhupada's Devotees does the

initiation."

That flabbergasted me, but even more so when he later said:

"I used to think that I would never get initiated because I could

only accept Srila Prabhupada as my Spritual Master, but I think He is

already my Spritual Master, the initiation is a nice formality, that is

important, not essential, but it pleases Lord Caitanya."

 

Yes, sweet sentiments but it's not the right understanding is it?

 

-Rama