The GBC,Gurus,Sanyasis,Temple Presidents,etc....They should be perfect leaders, pure vaisnavas, free

[Guest guest]

They should be perfect leaders, pure vaisnavas, free from anarthas, no self interest, they should be selfless.

 

-Srila Gour Govinda Swami

[theist]

But couldn't the same be said for followers?

[Guest guest]

Crooked Disciples

By Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami

 

 

Once a guru went to the house of one of his disciples. The disciple prepared nice food, and after the guru had eaten, the disciple wanted to show his guru-bhakti. In Ayurveda the haritaki fruit is recommended for good digestion, so the disciple came with haritaki for his guru. The guru said, "All right. Remove the unnecessary things and give me the necessary part."

 

That disciple was a speculator, a crooked person. He thought, "Oh, the outer portion of the haritaki is unnecessary and the inner portion is necessary." So he threw away the outer skin and gave the inner portion, the hard seed, to the guru. But with haritaki the outer skin is necessary and the inner portion is thrown away. That disciple did the opposite because he was a speculator— bharavahi, saragrahi nahin— he always accepted the unnecessary things that are not the essence.

 

His guru could not enjoy the haritaki. "You are such a unintelligent fellow," he said. "Don't you know? The inner portion, the hard nut of haritaki, is unnecessary. The outer portion, the skin, is necessary."

 

Incurable

 

The next day, after the guru had eaten, that so-called disciple brought some cardamom. Remembering the previous day's event, he thought, "Oh, the guru has taught that this inner portion is unnecessary and this outer portion is necessary." So he threw away the inner portion of the cardamom and offered the outer skin to the guru. But with cardamom, the seed is necessary and the skin is useless. That means that those who are kapati, crooked persons, only speculate. They will not accept anything as it is.

 

Therefore the mahajanas have said that one who is very serious and eager to achieve perfection in his human birth, that is krsna-bhakti, should cultivate simplicity. Simplicity is Vaishnavism. Those who are real vaisnavas are simple by nature. Kapatya, crookedness, is a great hindrance on this path of perfection. It is a sort of disease. And because a crooked person becomes envious towards the doctor who has come to cure him, his disease is incurable.

 

In Bhakti-Sandarbha, Jiva Goswami has said that there are many such persons who pretend to be devoted, but inside their heart there is great crookedness. Outwardly they pay dandavats, falling down like a rod from a great distance, as if they are very humble. Yet they criticize sadhu, acarya, and gurus. They may even offer worship, but actually they have no respect at all. They are very keen to find out the faults of the sadhu.

 

Such persons take to karma, jnana, yoga, tapasya, tyaga, and niti— fruitive activities, speculative knowledge, penance, renunciation, and morality. Externally they practice these things and pose as if they are of very high moral character, but actually their hearts are very hard.

 

Unreal Shelter

 

Those persons who leave the bona fide guru and go elsewhere due to crookedness cannot be delivered. In Skanda Purana it is said, bhumau skhalita-padanam, bhumir evavalambanam — "If your feet slip up from the ground, only that same ground can give you shelter." Similarly, if you have slipped up from the lotus feet of a bona fide guru, only that guru can give you shelter. A crooked person who pretends to be a humble follower of the guru will leave that guru and go somewhere else to take shelter. But he should understand that no one can give him shelter. It may seem that someone may give him shelter, but that is not real shelter at all because he cannot make any advancement there.

 

Rather, for his offense he will definitely fall down and go to hell. If he does not come back to his guru and beg to be excused, his offense cannot be destroyed or counteracted. If he is really an intelligent, simple-hearted person, he will understand this and come back. Unless he comes back, he must be entrapped by this crookedness. In this way, Jiva Goswami has discussed kapatya in his Bhakti-Sandarbha, and how it is a great stumbling block on the path of devotional service.

 

Stool of a Hog

 

Sastra, sadhus, and mahajanas have all warned us about kapatya. But still you will find this crookedness going on in the Vaisnava community. Why is it that people do not become simple? It is because they are running after name, fame, and prestige. Our Vaisnava acaryas have said, vaisnava pratistha, sukarera vistha, such fame is the stool of a hog. A real Vaisnava will never run after it. But all are running after this by cultivating crookedness. "How can I get labha, puja and pratistha? How can I get worship from others and occupy a superior position?" Those who think in this way cannot understand that an incurable disease has infected them. They have given up kanaka and kamini, wealth and women, but they have not given up this pratistha, the desire for worldly reputation

[Guest guest]

Who Is A Real Vaisnava?

 

 

— Vaisnava ke? - by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura

 

1) dusta mana! tumi kiser vaisnava?

pratisthar tare, nirjaner ghare,

tava 'hari nama' kevala 'kaitava'

 

O, wicked mind! What kind of Vaisnava do you think you are? Your pretentious show of chanting Lord Hari's Holy name in a solitary place is only for the sake of attaining the false prestige of a worldly reputation - it is nothing but pure hypocrisy.

 

2)

jader pratistha, sukarer vistha,

jano na ki taha 'mayar vaibhava'

kanaka kamini, divasa-yamini,

bhaviya ki kaja, anitya se saba

 

Such materialistic prestige is as disgusting as the stool of a hog.

 

Do you not know that it is only a mere illusion cast by the potency of Maya? What is the value of contemplating day and night your plans for enjoying wealth and women? All these things are only temporary.

 

3)

tomar kanaka, bhoger janaka,

kanaker dvare sevaho 'madhava'

kaminir kama, nahe tava dhama,

tahar - malika kevala 'yadava

 

When you claim wealth as your own, it creates in you ever - increasing desires for material enjoyment. Your riches should be used for serving Madhava, the Lord of all wealth. Neither is it your proper place to indulge in lust for women, whose only true proprietor is Lord Yadava.

 

4)

pratisthasa-taru, jada-maya-maru,

na pela 'ravana' yujhiya 'raghava'

vaisnavi pratistha, tate koro nistha,

taha na bhajile labhibe raurava

 

The demon Ravana (lust-incarnate) fought with Lord Ramachandra (love- incarnate) in order to gain the tree of wordly reputation - but that oasis turned out to be but a mirage cast in the desert wasteland of the Lord's illusory material potency.

 

Please cultivate fixed determination to attain only the steady and solid platform whereupon a Vaisnava ever stands. If you neglect worshiping the Lord from this position, then you will ultimately attain a hellish existence.

 

5)

harijana-dvesa, pratisthasa-klesa,

koro keno tabe tahar gaurava

vaisnaver pache, pratisthasa ache,

ta'te kabhu nahe 'anitya-vaibhava'

 

Why do you needlessly suffer the torment of blaspheming the devotees of Lord Hari, attempting to achieve their eminence, thereby only proving your own fruitless foolishness? The desire for spiritual eminence is easilly fulfilled when one becomes a devotee of the Lord, for eternal fame automatically follows the heels of a Vaisnava. And that fame is never to be considered a temporary worldly opulence.

 

6)

se hari-sambandha, sunya-maya-gandha,

taha kabhu noy 'jader kaitava'

pratistha -candali, nrjanata -jali,

ubhaye janiho mayika raurava

 

The relationship between a devotee and Lord Hari is devoid of even a trace of worldly illusion; it has nothing to do with the materialistic cheating propensity.

 

The prestige of so called popularity in the material realm is compared to a treacherous dog-eating witch, and the attempt to live in solitude to supposedly engage in unalloyed bhajan is compared to an entangling network of distraction. Please know that anyone striving in either of these ways verily lives in the hell of Mayas illusion.

 

7)

kirtana chadibo, pratistha makhibo,

ki kaja dhudiya tadrsa gaurava

madhavendra puri, bhava -ghare curi,

na korilo kabhu sadai janabo

 

I shall give up chanting the Lord's name publicly in kirtan and retire to solitude, thus smearing myself with worldly honor." Dear mind, what is the good of seeking such so-called glory? I will always remind you that the great soul Madhavendra Puri never deceived himself in that regard by committing theft in his own storehous of perception the way you do.

 

8)

tomar pratistha - 'sukarer vistha',

tar -saha sama kabhu na manava

matsarata-vase, tumi jada-rase,

majecho chadiya kirtanan saustava

 

Your cheap reputation is equal to the stool of a hog. An ordinary ambitious man like you can never be equated with a devotee of Madhavendra Puri's eminence. Under the sway of envy, you have drowned yourself in the filthy waters of material enjoyment after having abandoned the excellent perfection of congregational kirtan

 

9)

tai dusta mana, 'nirjana bhajan',

pracaricho chale kuyogi -vaibhava'

prabhu sanatane, parama jatane,

siksa dilo yaha, cinto sei saba

 

Truly, O wicked mind, the glories of so-called solitary worship are propagated only by false yogis using unscrupulous means to deceive others.

 

To save yourself from these pitfalls, please contemplate the instructions that the Supreme Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahprabhu kindly gave us while addressing Srila Sanatana Goswami with the utmost care.

 

10) sei du'ti kathe, bhulo' na sarvatha,

uccaih-svare koro 'hari nama rava'

'phalgu' ar 'yukta,' 'baddha' ar 'mukta,'

kabhu na bhaviho, ekakar saba

 

Do not forget for a moment the two most valuable concepts that He taught: 1) the principle of dry, apparent renunciation as opposed to real, appropriate renunciation, and 2) the principle of a soul being trapped in the bondage of matter as opposed to a soul who is liberated. Don't ever make the mistake of thinking that these conflicting concepts are on the same level.

 

Please remember this while engaging yourself in chanting the Lord's holy names as loud as you possibly can.

 

11)

'kanaka-kamini,' 'prathistha-baghini,'

chadiyache jare, sei to' vainsava

sei 'anasakta,' sei 'suddha-bhakta,'

samsar tatha pay parabhava

 

One is truly a Vaisnava who has given up the habit of falling victim to the ferocious tigress of wealth, beauty and fame. Such a soul is factually detached from material life, and is known as a pure devotee. Someone with this consciousness of detachment has thereby become victorious over the mundane world of birth and death.

 

12)

yatha-yogya bhoga, nahi tatha roga,

'anasakta' sei, ki ar kahabo

'asakti-rohita,' 'sambandha-sahita,'

visaya-samuha sakali 'madhava'

 

One is indeed detached who moderately partakes of worldly things that are deemed necessary for living in devotional service; a devotee acting in that manner does not fall prey to the disease of material infatuation. Thus devoid of selfish attachement, and endowed with the ability to see things in relation to the Lord, all sense objects are then directly peceived as belonging to Lord Madhava Himself.

 

13)

se 'yukta -vairagya taha to' saubhagya

taha-i jadete harir vaibhava

kirtane jahar, 'pratistha-sambhar,'

tahar sampatti kevala 'kaitava'

 

This is the standard of befitting renunciation, and one who realizes this is most fortunate indeed. Everything involved in such a devotee's life represents Lord Hari's personal spiritual opulence as manifest in the world of matter. On the other hand, one who engages in chanting the Lord's name with hopes of enhancing his own material reputation finds that all his activities and paraphernalia represent only the riches of hypocrisy.

 

14)

'visaya-mumuksu,' 'bhoger bubhuksu,'

du'ye tyajo mana, dui 'avaisnava'

'krsner sambandha,' aprakrta-skandha,

kabhu nahe taha jader sambhava

 

O, mind, please reject the company of two types of persons - those desiring impersonal liberation from the material world and those who desire to enjoy the pleasure of material sense objects. Both of these are equally non devotees. The things that are used in relation to Lord Krishna are objects belonging directly to the transcendental realm, and thus having nothing to do with matter they cannot be either owned or forsaken by persons interested in mundane enjoyment of renunciation.

 

15)

'mayavai jana,' krsnetara mana,

mukta abhimane se ninde vaisnava

vaisnaver das, tava bhati as,

keno va dakicho nirjana-ahava

 

An impersonal philosopher is opposed to thinking of Krishna as an object of devotion, and thus being puffed up with the false pride of imaginary liberation he dares to criticize the true devotees of the Lord. O mind, you are the servant of the Vaisnavas, and you should always hope for attaining devotion. Why then do you make such a loud commotion by calling to me and trying to prove the supposed supremacy of your practice of solitary worship?

 

16)

je 'phalgu-vairagi,' kohe nije 'tyagi,'

se na pare kabhu hoite 'vaisnava'

hari-. chadi', 'nirjanata badi,'

labhiya ki phala, 'phalgu' se vaibhava

 

One wo falsely gives up things that could actually be used in the Lord's service proudly calls himself a 'renunciate', but unfortunately he can never become a Vaisnava by such an attitude. Abandoning his servitorship to the lotus feet fo Lord Hari, resigning himself to his solitary home - whatever is gained by that exercise can only be the worthless trasue of deception.

 

17)

radha-dasye rohi', chadi 'bhoga-agi,'

'pratisthasa nahe 'kirtana-gaurava'

'radha-nitya-jana,' taha chadi' mana,

keno va nirjana-bhajana-kaitava

 

Ever engage yourself in the service of Sri Radha, and keep aloof from the vicious snake of materialistic sense gratification. The glory of participating in the Lord's kirtan is not meant to bolster anyone's ambitions for personal recognition. O mind, why then have you abandoned the identity of being Radha's eternal servant in favor of retiring to a solitary place to practice the cheating process of so called bhajan?

 

18)

vraja-vasi-gana, pracaraka-dhana,

pratistha-bhiksuka ta 'ra nahe 'sava'

prana ache ta'r, se -hetu pracar,

pratisthasa-hina-krsna-gatha' saba

 

The most valuable treasures amongst the Lord's preachers are the eternal personalities residing in Vraja-dham. They never occupy themselves with begging for worthless material reputation, which is cherished only by the living dead. The Vraja-vasis are truly infused with life, and therefore they preach in order to give life to the walking corpses of the mundane world. All the songs that the Vraja-vasis sing about the glories of Lord Krishna are devoid of any tinge of desire for fame.

 

19)

sri-dayita-das, kirtanete as,

koro uccaih-svare 'hari-nama-rava

kirtana-prabhave, smarana svabhave,

se kale bhajana-nirjana sambhava

 

This humble servant of Radha and Her beloved Krishna always hopes for kirtan, and he begs all to loudly sing the names of Lord Hari. The transcendental power of congregational chanting automatically awakens remembrance of the Lord and His divine pastimes in relation to one's own eternal spiritual form. Only at that time does it become possible to go off to a solitary place and engage in the confidential worship of their Lordships.

 

(from Dushta Mana Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati translated by Dasaratha-suta dasa, nectar books

[Guest guest]

A lecture given in Bhubaneswar, India on September 28, 1995.

 

 

 

If you are very greedy, very eager to have sadhu-sanga, .-sanga, the association of grantha-bhagavata and bhakta-bhagavata, first of all you have to give up duhsanga or asat-sanga. What is association? One may say that to come in close proximity to a person is association. But that is not the fact. Association takes place in the mind, in the heart. As long as there are desires for material enjoyment, desires for liberation, desires for mystic perfections, and other desires in your heart, then you are doing asat-sanga. Even though you may come and sit here, and even though you may be staying in the temple, if all these thoughts and desires are in your mind, you are doing asat-sanga, duhsanga. You are not doing real sadhu-sanga.

 

If your heart is not crying how to have the real association of grantha-bhagavata and bhakta-bhagavata, then you cannot get their association. Even if you don't go anywhere, if you just sit in one place, still you will have duhsanga. The example is Saubhari Muni. He entered into the water of the Yamuna and stayed there for thousands of years, but still he had duhsanga. In our minds there are hundreds and thousands of desires giving duhsanga to us. Is your stupid mind thinking about Krishna? Is your stupid mind thinking about the instructions of sadhu-guru-vaisnava? Is your stupid mind thinking about the instructions of Mahaprabhu and His dear devotees? If the stupid mind is not thinking these things, then you are doing duhsanga, asat-sanga. You are not doing sadhu-sanga at all. Externally or apparently you are staying in the temple but you are really doing asat-sanga.

 

We should think about it: Are these thoughts pleasing to Krishna? Are these thoughts pleasing to guru and Gauranga? Krishna gave His most confidential instruction, man-mana bhava - "Only think of Me" [bg. 18.65]. Sriman Mahaprabhu gave the same instruction:

 

ki sayane ki bhojane, kiba jagarane aharnisa cinta krsna, balaha vadane

 

Whether asleep, awake, or eating your meals, think only of Lord Krishna day and night. With your mouths speak only of Him. [Cb. madhya 28.28]

 

Day and night, twenty-four hours, cinta-krsna, balaha vadane - think of Krishna and utter His name - in all conditions, whether sleeping, waking, or even when taking food. This is Mahaprabhu's instruction. So we should analyze what we are thinking about. Srila Kaviraj Goswami describes what is duhsanga:

 

'duhsanga' kahiye--'kaitava', 'atma-vancana' krsna, krsna-bhakti vinu anya kamana

 

Cheating oneself and cheating others is called kaitava. Associating with those who cheat in this way is called duhsanga, bad association. Those who desire things other than Krishna's service are also called duhsanga, bad association. [Cc. madhya 24.99]

 

Duhsanga means desiring things other than Krishna and krsna-bhakti. That is atma-vancana, cheating yourself, not cheating anyone else. If we don't think of the happiness and pleasure of Krishna, if we don't think of krsna-bhakti, if we think of something else and try to fulfill that desire, then even though we may be staying in the temple it is duhsanga. With this frame of mind or heart one cannot have the association of bhakta-bhagavata or grantha-bhagavata and one cannot render service unto guru, bhakta-bhagavata, or grantha-bhagavata.

 

Guru-.-padma is very heavy, not light. Guru means heavy. He is gambhira-vastu - very grave. We cannot approach him. We cannot go to him. If we are fortunate and we can go, then it is to be understood that there will be no more material attachment, no more material world. Thereby we will enter into Vaikuntha. There will be no more dense darkness in our hearts, no more of these other thoughts in our minds, no more contamination. There will be no more duplicity, crookedness, and desire for name, fame, and prestige.

 

We should think deeply about it. We should make a self-inquiry: "Have we reached guru-.-padma? Have we entered into his heart? Is he really merciful towards us? Is he really giving his darsana to us?" If he gives his darsana then there will be no more duhsanga! We are only pretending that we have done atma-nivedana, that we have surrendered. But we have not really surrendered. We have only been pretending, pretending, pretending for so many years, and also for so many years to come in the future. As long as we continue to act artificially we cannot approach guru, sadhu or vaisnava. We cannot get their mercy at all and therefore we cannot see their real form.

 

We will be cheated. We will get all external things.

 

[Guest guest]

We should not forget our goal.

To have a goal in spiritual life means to be one pointed,

to know who is your ishta dev, and your sambhanda (relation) with him, as hinted by the . guru at the time of diksa, (if you are so far to hear it).

Otherwise your diksa mantras are fruitless, because of chanting without sambhnda jnana.

 

Can one become a pure vaisnava in the rupanuga line,

without taking confidential association with that pure vaisnava, which have the same mood as oneself, and thereby being instructed in the confidential procedure of bhajan?

 

Can one become a pure vaisnava in the rupanuga line,

without taking bhajan and siddha pranali,

as he is prepared for it,

as the realized shiksa guru will ascertain the time for it?

 

Who is the grantha bhagavat you are taking association with?

I think you are not like Siva, a kind of ritvik who worships the murti of the diksa guru (if he has one).

 

Krsna prema janme tenho punah mukhya anga