Vyasa Puja Day of Srila Narayana Maharaja (Lecture)

[Guest guest]

 

[The following is a lecture given on Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja's Appearance Day]

 

(Murwillumbah, Australia, January 24, 2001)

 

I have previously explained about the duties of disciples, and I discussed that guru-nistha is the backbone of bhakti. Without guru-nistha, no one can have any kind of devotion. One may have taken initiation, but if there is no nistha, he is inferior to a person who has not taken formal initiation and has not had a fire sacrifice, but is actually following his bona fide guru.

 

I have seen and realized this. There was a disciple of Parama-pujyapada Srauti Maharaja named Narayana prabhu, who was totally surrendered to our Guru Maharaja. He was serving by his mind, intelligence, and by all the limbs of his body. He was always living with our Gurudeva, hearing hari-katha, and fully accepting all his instructions; and we all greatly honored him. I especially have so much love and honor for him, as do Parama-pujyapada Vamana Maharaja, Parama-pujyapada Trivikrama Maharaja, and others. Although he is not initiated, he is more than initiated. He is a real siksa disciple, because sincerity and obedience are the main principles of discipleship.

 

On the contrary, I see so many who are covering what is there in their hearts.* [see endnote] Such persons think, "My Gurudeva doesn't know anything; he is foolish. I can cheat him." They don't say this directly, but they think in this way. They think they can bluff a pure devotee, but a pure devotee cannot be bluffed. How can you bluff he who can control Krsna? If one is really guru, he can never be cheated or bluffed.

 

You should know the identity of guru. Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami has written in his Mana Siksa prayers, "Nadharmam nadharmam srutigana. O mind, you should always consider that Sri Sacinandana, Caitanya Mahaprabhu, is actually Vrajendranandana Syamasundara, and He is actually guru." Raya Ramananda told Mahaprabhu, "I am only your instrument. What I am speaking is only by Your inspiration. You are speaking. The mouth appears to be mine, but actually everything is being said by You."

 

One may say, "I want to serve Mahaprabhu like the gopis: He is my beloved Mahaprabhu, and I am His beloved." Can we do this or not? This is sahajiya. This is called gauranga-nagari-bhava, and it is apa-siddhanta, against conclusive philosophical truth. We should not think in this way.

 

Caitanya Mahaprabhu is guru, and we should do whatever He orders.

 

One day, Vallabha Bhatta said to Advaita Acarya, "Why do you loudly chant Hare Krsna Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare? Every living entity is female and considers Krsna her husband. It is the duty of a chaste wife, devoted to her husband, not to utter her husband's name, but all of you chant the name of Krsna. How can this be called a religious principle?"

 

Advaita Acarya responded, "In front of you is Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the personification of religious principles. You should ask Him, for He will give you the proper answer." Hearing this, Mahaprabhu said, "My dear Vallabha Bhatta, you do not know religious principles. Actually, the first duty of a chaste woman is to carry out the order of her husband. The order of Krsna is to chant His name incessantly. Therefore, a person who is chaste and adherent to the husband, Krsna, must chant the Lord's name, for she cannot deny the husband's order. Following this religious principle, a pure devotee of Krsna always chants the holy name; and as a result he gets the fruit of ecstatic love for Krsna. My husband has ordered me to chant His names. He has said, 'You should do this, and that will make Me happy.' I must make Him happy. I should serve Him."

 

Hearing this, Vallabha Bhatta could not say a word. Previous to this, he had told Mahaprabhu, "I have tried to elaborately describe the meaning of Krsna's holy name. Kindly hear the explanation."

 

Caitanya Mahaprabhu replied, "I do not accept any different meanings for the holy name of Krsna. I know only that Krsna is Syamasundara and Yasodanandana. That's all I know. The only purport of the holy name of Krsna is that He is dark blue like a tamala tree and is the son of mother Yasoda. This is the conclusion of all the revealed scriptures. I conclusively know these two names, Syamasundara and Yasodanandana. I do not understand any other meanings, nor have I the capacity to understand them."

 

Whatever Vallabha Bhatta said, Mahaprabhu simply replied in a way that he became speechless. He wanted to defeat Mahaprabhu and show his own glory. He wanted to show, "How qualified I am. How learned I am." But Caitanya Mahaprabhu is jagad-guru. Therefore, we should try to follow totally whatever He has ordered and whatever He has taught.

 

Mahaprabhu has told us, "You should chant Krsna's name - Hare Krsna." Actually, Krsna has ordered this in the shape of Mahaprabhu, and therefore we must follow. Understand that Caitanya Mahaprabhu is guru. He is Krsna Himself, with the mood of Radhika. It is very important to know this. Does anyone know anything in this world that can cover the knowledge of Mahaprabhu? Can anything be hidden from Him? Those who have this guru, Mahaprabhu, in their hearts, can never be cheated or bluffed.

 

Those who try to bluff them will be bluffed. We should not try to cheat guru or Vaisnavas. All Vaisnavas are guru, and to do what they want is bhakti. We should try to know the desire of gurudeva. One who understands the guru's desires, both internally and externally, is called a sevaka. Someone else may receive an order and have difficulty in obeying. He will say, "Oh Gurudeva, how can I do this?Go and bring a glass of water.Gurudeva, if there is no water, what should I do? Should I wash the glass or not? Should I bring hot water or cold?" This person is not a sevaka.

 

Moreover, if one directly refuses to obey the order, he is not a sevaka, but a baka, crane. We should try to be sevakas in the real sense - like Govinda, like Srila Jiva Gosvami, like Sri Syamananda prabhu, Srila Narottama dasa Thakura, and Srinivasa Acarya. We should become a sevaka like Prabhupada Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, who was the sevaka of Srila Gaurakisora dasa Babaji Maharaja. We should be a disciple like my gurudeva. He took his life and soul in his hands to fulfill the desire of his gurudeva.

 

If you want to attain bhakti, you should have guru-nistha, and then Krsna's mercy will come to you. All the sastras have given immense glorification of sri gurudeva. Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura has written Sri Guruvastakam, and in this he has truly glorified gurudeva, from the first verse to the last. I explained something about these verses in Germany, especially samsara davanala lidha loka tranaya karunya ghanaghanatvam. Krsna's condensed mercy is gurudeva. And what is he doing? Sri vigraharadana nitya nana. He is always serving Sri Vigraha, Krsna Himself and Radha Herself. He always directly serves the Deity by making preparations and performing arcana, and he is always engaged in sravanam, kirtana, smaranam, and so on. He offers four kinds of naivedya, bhoga, to Krsna, and he honors that prasadam along with all the devotees. He does not take prasadam alone.

 

Sri Radhika madhavayor apara. He is always very lolu, greedy, to taste the entirety of the guna, rupa, nama - the qualities, form and names of Radha and Krsna. Moreover, nikunjajurno rati-keli-siddhai. This sloka reveals the very confidential character of gurudeva, and this is why it is said further, saksadharitvena. He is not Hari, but he is haritvena. All the qualities of Hari are embodied in him. He is not Krsna and he is not Mahaprabhu, but all the qualities of Krsna and Mahaprabhu are directly in him. He is the eternal, very high class of confidential servant of Radha and Krsna.

 

Many devotees have asked, "If a guru is initiating a disciple, will that same guru be there in the next birth of the disciple, or will it be some other guru?" If the guru is not bona fide, if he has not realized his constitutional form, and if he is not an uttama-adhikari, then he may change. Krsna will arrange for that. If he is a kanistha adhikari, like a vartma-pradarsaka-guru, and is not realized, he will be changed. A bona fide guru will not be changed. He will help his sincere disciples anywhere and in any way.

 

He has so many 'sets of clothing.' He may sometimes change his garments, but his personality stays the same. Caitanya Mahaprabhu came, but He was Lord Krsna. Sri Gadadhara Pandita was in that form, but he was the same Radhika. Similarly, guru is the same. Guru is one. He may change - sometimes shaving, sometimes in a white garment, sometimes in a sannyasa garment - but the personality is the same.

 

Try to understand what I am telling you. One cannot serve Radhika in a male form. Therefore, when gurudeva is serving conjugal Radha-Krsna, he will be in a gopi form. That is why it is stated in the guru-mantra, krsnanandaya dhimahi, and pracodayat. The disciple is praying, "Be merciful and manifest the way in which you are serving Krsna and Srimati Radhika." He may then reveal himself. Otherwise, it is very hard to know all these deep truths about him.

 

Narada sometimes comes as Madhumangala, but his soul is the same. He comes in so many forms, as Srivasa Pandita, as Narada-gopi, and as so many others. If anyone has realized who is gurudeva, or in other words, if gurudeva has manifested himself to that disciple, he will not change. That same guru will help you. Don't be disturbed by the garment.

 

If one is really guru, even if he is a madyama-uttama, then the power of Krsna or Mahaprabhu will act in him because he is a representative. Krsna has sent him. He has managed.

 

If an ordinary person, like a kula-guru (family guru) is not qualified, but his disciple has the idea that, "My guru is Krsna", and that disciple has worldly desires, his worldly desire will be fulfilled. This is because he is thinking that his gurudeva is a representative of Krsna. If his desires are not fulfilled, the blame will come to Krsna. Krsna must therefore fulfill those desires. The disciple should be sincere, even if he has a kula-guru. If there is no sincerity, he will achieve nothing. Srila Sanatana Gosvami has written that even if one worships a dry straw, thinking that it is Krsna, he will get some benefit.

 

Somehow you should try to obey guru and Vaisnavas. Honor all Vaisnavas, otherwise you cannot serve Gurudeva. He will not be happy.

 

[Question:] If Srila Prabhupada Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura has so many disciples, and some may not have completed their progress to become self-realized, who will they be with in their next life?

 

Srila Narayana Maharaja: Srila Prabhupada will come. Somehow, in any form, he will come. This is explained in Sri Brihad Bhagavatamrta. Gopa-kumara's guru kept coming back to him, here and there, in different lives. At last he said, "My heartly blessings to you. You should at once go to Goloka Vrndavana." Gopa-kumara then saw this and thought, "I'm going. I'm going."

 

[*During Vraja Mandala parikrama, Srila Narayana Maharaja told the visiting devotees: "I know which of you are writing 'prema' letters to each other. If you come to me and tell me about your problem of lust, then I will help you and save you from it. If you do not come and tell me, you will become more and more entangled in it, and you will go to hell. I know everything that is going on in your mind. If a Vaisnava does not know everything in your mind, he is not a Vaisnava."

 

Another instance took place in France, in the next year. During a class on guru-tattva, Srila Maharaja said, "Srila Rupa Gosvami has written, "Visrambhena gurau-seva." This means 'service to gurudeva with intimacy.' What is the meaning of intimacy? We can open our hearts to gurudeva. In the West, if one goes to the bathroom, he may become naked at the time of taking bath. In Indian culture we don't do this, but now Indians are following the Westerners. Be that as it may, if you are seeing yourself in a mirror at that time, there is no harm if you are naked because there is no other person to see you. The mirror is not a person. Gurudeva should be seen in this way. He is like a mirror - a bosom friend. We can open our heart fully and give it to gurudeva so that he may read it. There is nothing to conceal from him. If you are concealing anything from him, it is duplicity: 'How are you?' 'Okay.' 'Any problem?' 'Nothing'. The disciple is not revealing that he is making love with a girlfriend or anyone else. The effect of this will be an atom bomb, although in the beginning it seems like nothing. One may think, "Oh, gurudeva should not know all these things. Otherwise he will chastise me and make some problem for me." This neglect of gurudeva will be like a hole in a needle that becomes large enough for an elephant to pass through. Don't do this."]

 

Editorial advisors: Pujyapada Madhava Maharaja and Sripad Brajanatha dasa

Typist: Kanaka Manjari dasi

Editor: Syamarani dasi

 

[Guest guest]

all glories to the pure devotee of krishna narayana maharaj

[Guest guest]

The ability to read another persons mind, or to know what they are doing does not serve as any evidence of a persons spiritual elevation, at all, let alone to a position of uttama-adhikari. These abilities are the abilities of mystic yogis which may, or may not appear in the individual personality who has attained to self perfection but which may also appear in a wide variety of very materialistic persons who have developed them separatly from any agenda to develop their love for Krsna.

It's like a bunch of primitive savages being wowed by some great white hunter with a flashlight and a thunder stick and thinking him thus to be a god through his possession of the products of material technology.

The mind is also MATERIAL (although subtly so), and the only reason why most people cannot read other peoples minds isn't because they are not spiritually advanced, but is instead because they simply cannot read even their own.

Speaking from personal experience (the only thing that we actually know), the ability to understand another persons mentality, to read their minds, appears as an adjunct to spiritual development very early on, within even the first six months of beginning to practice Krsna consciousness, before even one can even finish ones daily rounds, follow the regulative principles perfectly, etc.

Such abilities as these Krsna awards as if they were as inexpensive as the cheapest door prize given to the least significant guest at a party, they are in NOWISE any evidence of anyones spiritual situation. And can a pure devotee be fooled or placed into a position of delusion? Ask Lord Brahma, ask Arjuna.

 

*During Vraja Mandala parikrama, Srila Narayana Maharaja told the visiting devotees: "I know which of you are writing 'prema' letters to each other. If you come to me and tell me about your problem of lust, then I will help you and save you from it. If you do not come and tell me, you will become more and more entangled in it, and you will go to hell. I know everything that is going on in your mind. If a Vaisnava does not know everything in your mind, he is not a Vaisnava."