http://www.purebhakti.com/calendar/global_rtf520.pdf

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> > > Therefore on major principles the intstruction of one guru cannot

> > > differ from that of another guru.

> >

> > If one has a bona fide guru and the instructions received therefrom are

> > different from the instructions received by another devotee from the

> > other devotee's bona fide guru, then that difference must be considered

> > a detail, whether it appears to our mundane senses to be a major

> > principle or not. Only with this consideration can we properly serve the

> > order of our own guru and simultaneously respect all vaisnavas.

> >

> > And in any case, even among ISKCON devotees, I only know of two major

> > principles:

> >

> > 1. smartavyah satatam visnor

> > 2. vismartavyah na jatucit

> >

> > Everything else is a detail. Even fasting on ekadasi.

> >

> > Your servant, Bhaktarupa Das

>

> You state you only know of two major principles - to always remember

> Krishna, and to never forget Him. But what about all the other supporting

> unchangeable major principles of devotional service? For example, the four

> regulative principles, chanting 16 rounds, taking diksha from a bona-fide

> guru, reading Srimad-Bhagavatam, and so on. These are not details but

> rather unchangeable devotional principles that cannot be dismissed as a

> detail by any bona-fide guru.

>

> The implication of your understanding is that one guru could allow his

> disciple to drink liquor while another would forbid as per the standard,

> the former reducing a major principle to a mere detail. That can only be

> ruinous since it is inconsistent with Srila Prabhupada's teachings.

>

> Fasting on Ekadashi can be an exception but only if one is too young or

> too old, too sick, or in an emergency preaching situation. Outside of that

> criteria, a guru cannot instruct anyone to regualarly not fast on

> Ekadashi. Hari Bhakti Vilasa give great importance to fasting on Ekadashi

> so as to quickly attain love of Krishna.

>

> In fact, in Brahma Vaivarta Purana it is stated that the gopis once asked

> Radharani what is the best vrata they could possibly do to get Krishna.

> Radharani replied they should observe the Ekadashi vrata since it is so

> powerful in pleasing Krishna. So, unless one is seriously inconvenienced

> in any of the above mentioned ways, this is a principle that cannot be

> minimised as a mere detail.

>

> ys

>

> ad

 

There are different ways to look at the subject. Obviously Padma Purana's

vision in the section where it is talking about how all other principles are

secondary to always thinking of Krishna and never forgetting him is a

valuable perspective that cannot be dismissed. In the modern day it has

become quite fashionable to second-guess one's guru and lose faith based

upon some detail that appears inconsistent with other teachings. This Padma

Purana section is instructive because it is telling us that if the purpose

of the guru's instruction is to help us to always remember Krishna and never

forget him then we should not be so concerned if it does not appeal to our

conditioned understanding of what a guru's instructions should be like.

 

Your servant, Bhaktarupa Das