Guru

[Guest guest]

Om Namoh Narayanaya. My humble pranaams to all devotees. I am very happy to read Srila Prabhupada Ji's views about who is a genuine Guru and how a Genuine Guru must behave. According to Srila Ji:The guru never says, "I am God." Just a two weeks ago, I took some children on a little outing. We went to 3 temples--2 Hanuman Ji Mandirs and the ISKON mandir. At the two Hanuman Ji mandir, the children were so happy to get His Darshana and even touch His Feet. We arrived at the ISKON Mandir in time for the Sunday evening satsangha. As soon as you enter the Mandir, there is a huge Murti of Srila Prabhupada Ji but the Murtis of Bhagwaan were all hidden behind curtains.The devotees of the Mandir all prostarted before Srila Ji's Murti but no one went to prostrate to the Altar--maybe because it was closed. As they started the Satsangha, they did Arti on the

Tulsi plant and on Srila Prabhupada Ji but nothing happened where the Altar was. Then the keertana started and still Bhagwaan remained hidden from us. The children that were with me were all very puzzled--where is Lord Krishna they asked? I pointed to where the curtains were. Why do they hide Him they asked? I shrugged my shoulders. What can I tell them? They have been to these other mandirs and Bhagwaan was there so that they can have darshan at all times. Same at our Mandir.Unfortunately, we had to leave the satsangha before getting Darshana of Sri Krsna as they still did not open the curtains and it was getting dark and we had to return the children home.They were really disappointed and even I too was so disappointed as I couldn't feast my eyes on Him one more time. Point is this--aren't mandirs the place where people go to get Bhagwaan's Darshan? Srila Prabhupada Ji says that a Genuine Guru "never says I am God" yet his devotees worship

him as God. If a stranger goes to that Mandir, they will get the impression that Srila Prabhupapda Ji is the God in that Mandir. My children got that impression too and I had to explain that he is only the Guru and is not God. In his mandirs more than any other mandir--devotees should be afforded the blessings to have Darshana of The Lord at any time. We go to Mandirs for this purpose mainly--have Darshana. It is really very strange to be sitting in the Mandir singing keertana to a closed curtain. I know I am going to hear all sorts of reasons and excuses as to what they are doing behind those curtains but there is no reason why one should not have Darshana of Bhagwaan while the Satsangha is going on. This is really a very strange practise. I can also hear all the arguments about Guru being God/next to God etc etc. Our Parents too are God and so are Patis. We worship and adore our parents and the

devout wives worship their husbands--do arti and touch their feet--they occupy a special place in our daily worship but Bhagwaan is Bhagwaan.Same goes for our Guru Jis--we adore them, rever/honor them but as Srila Prabhupada Ji succintly puts it---"A guru's business is to canvass everyone to become a devotee of God. That is the sum and substance of a real guru's business. Indeed, he has no other business. He tells whomever he sees, "Please become God conscious." If he canvasses somehow or other on behalf of God and tries to get everyone to become a devotee of God, he is a genuine guru." TAD VISHNOH PARAMAM PADAM Om Tat Sat Sri Krsnapranamastu. In His Service, Nandrani "Non-cooperation with evil is a sacred duty." M.K. Gandhi Ji HARI BOL

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