why do many devotees say that Prbhupada is the only way to Krishna

[Guest guest]

Is Prabhupada the way ,the truth and the life for those who choose to Deify Him like those born again Christian fundamentalists who Deify Christ?

[theist]

Yes Prabhupada is The way The truth and The life. And no one comes to the Father but by him/them.

 

Bhakti is the way, bhakti is the truth, bhakti is the life.

 

Bhakti is personal.

 

The way is personal, the truth is personal, the life is personal.

 

We can see that guru is one. We can also see guru as plural.

 

Guru means the one whose life is the way, one whose life is and teaching is the truth.

 

We accept that oneness. We also accept distinction within that oneness.

 

Most of us don't understand oneness and distinction. I find it rather difficult.

 

We also are told to become the way the truth and the life. Not to just memorize their words and spit them back out. Not just to gather around the form or other paraphenalia of the devotee and pledge allegiance to them and their mission, but rather to internalize their instructions to allow their influence to cause a change of heart within us. A total transformation of our being from our very core.

 

If we don't like that idea then we can break off into various groups and factions and shout slogans at each other."My guru is the way. Your guru is a cheater" etc.

 

And yes Prabhupada like Christ should be seen as transparent medium to God. If Prabhupada accepts a flower that is offered to him we can know for certain that Krsna has at the same time accepted it. It is best to approach Krsna under the tuteledge of His devotee.

 

Say three are in the room. Krsna, guru and one of us. If guru tells Krsna "Krsna here is your devotee", refering to one of us, then Krsna will surely accept us even though we are fools number one. Same with Lord Jesus Christ. If Jesus accepts someone as his servant then that person is accepted by Krsna.

 

This is a common thing. Even the mafia works like that.

 

It's not so much what we know but who we know that guaruntees our acceptance by God the Father.

 

Troubles often arise when someone feels the living touch of Jesus Christ in their life but sees the shortcomings of Christian theology especially in the light of Gaudiya Vaisnava philosohy. That is not the entire problem however. The problem is some devotees don't understand how someone can have a living connection with Christ just as some Christians don't understand how truth can come from apparently another source. If someone allows themself to become influenced by either, doubts will surely manifest. We must always be careful who we hear from.

 

 

[AncientMariner]

 

 

What is a person who feels the light of Christ but sees the shortcomings of Christian theology supposed to do?

[theist]

Chant Hare Krsna, pray and offer respects to Lord Jesus Christ, and read Bhagavad-gita as it is and Srimad Bhagavatam, taking your theology from there.

 

No conflict. Same with someone worshipping Lord Siva. Continue worshipping Lord Siva but add Krsna and worship Lord Siva as having the relationship of servant of Krsna. And instead of petitioning Siva with desires for mystic perfections now petition him for bhakti.

[mahak]

Most people think "fanatic" when presented with "the only way" idealogies. And, the way these philosophies are presented will never erase such feelings either. But to get around this, which must be done because such terms are indeed in the context of the science of bhakti, we must understand that there is no one else referred to in such a statement. And, there can be many "the only ways" in the sense that absolute truth clears up all apparent contradiction.

 

I accept that Lord Jesus Christ is my via medium to His Father, and I accept that Srila Prabhupada is my via medium to Krsna. In other words, Im on the chariot faced with all these opponants, and Krsna (in the form of Sri Guru and Gauranga) hold the key to my victory.

 

The problem is hypocracy. King Yudhisthira defines hypocracy as "establishment of religious principle for others to follow". So we see a bunch of neophytes telling Srila Prabhupada's godbrothers that he is the only way? Or a bunch af born again babies refusing to mature and grow up saying someone they have no faith in is the only way to another's salvation?

 

If one has a guru, be it Christ, Prabhupada, etc, the connection to god is there, and the way is clearly inhabited by the one who made such love of god possible. Nothing contrived nor artificial. Lord Brahma himself had a lesson in a sense about such things. He is the only way, he is the only way for our entire sampradaya, but once he was bewildered by the fact that there are unlimited "only way" Lord Brahmas, some tiny, some that made him feel like an insignificant ant.

 

So, "ONLY" is a relative term, not absolute. Besides, who is to say that Srila Prabhupada and Lord Jesus Christ are not the same being?

 

Haribol, ys, mahaksadasa

 

ps I personally do not entertain those whose approach is to immediately declare exclusivity by saying their pet hero is the only way. This is for me to decide, tell me the facts and Ill pass it through my system (G-S-S).

 

 

[Subala]

Did Prabhupada said - the only way to Krishna is through me? I do not recall. But i do remember and can find a quote is the only way to GoD is through the Guru.

 

Then subject raises who is a right Guru.... in this age 4 sampradayas are the 4 highways to the God.

 

Reg. Dialoge with other religions:

 

You choose religion according your desire.

 

- God is great. and religion ends on it - 1st step

- I give something to God and he MUST reward me - 2nd step more advanced.

- Complete surrender, prapatti-bhakti-saranagati - next step

- Understanding Gods nature and soul. more advance.

- Love of God - ultimate stage.

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

what prabhupada taught

has been taught in india by many others in the past.

 

he has never claimed he is teaching made up by him.

 

jai sri krishna!

 

 

[Guest guest]

 

Is Prabhupada the way ,the truth and the life for those who choose to Deify Him like those born again Christian fundamentalists who Deify Christ?

 

 

It might be like this, the ritvik system as well as some

continous propaganda coming from the institution Prabhupada established in the west, against other gaudya vaisnava communities is enforcing this ideea.

 

Lokanatha dasa gosvami had only one devotee, and that was a pure devotee, Srila Narotama dasa Thakura.

Lokanatha dasa gosvami requested Krsna Dasa Kaviraj Gosvami that his name would not be mentioned in Sri Caitanya Caritamrita.

 

Vaisanvas are very humble, and don't want any personality cult be installed, execept the cult of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna and His consort Srimati Radharani, the embodiment of melting transcendental love.

 

But I think this present Personality Cult has mostly two reasons: material interests and the covering of knowledge regarding bhagavat guru parampara, the line of the realized pure devotees, which will continue to exist.

Bhakti without the association wtih sadhus (the pure devotees of the Lord) is like balancing on the edge of a rasor blade. In this condition one cannot even come to the door of bhakti,

that means one will not pass over the six steps of unconditional surrender sad anga sharanagati, but he will accumulate credits of transcendental pious deeds.

 

But what is the use in accumulating such credits if by offences against the vaisnavas they will be distroyed.

 

Srila Narotama dasa Thakura says:

 

hari sthane aparadhe ta re harinama

toma sthane aparadhe nahiko erhana

 

Offenses comitted at the lotus feet of Sri Hari are absolved by Harinama. But for offeses against you there is abyolutely no means of deliverance!

 

[Guest guest]

Ofcourse prabhupada is not "the" only way.

 

Satyameva jayate

[Guest guest]

 

Ofcourse prabhupada is not "the" only way.

 

 

The statement that a person is the way to God comes from religions that have no understanding about the difference between material and transcendental.

They have no understanding of pure Suddha sattva transmission of the transcendental realization.

 

The statements that the way is Jesus or Mohamed or Prabhupada has nothing to do with the vaisnava conception of attaining the transcendental love of God.

 

The Holy Name give you entrance to the Kingdom of God. But what Nama?

The pure Nama.

 

The paramapara is the disciplic succession of the realized pure devotees who immpart the transcendental mercy through the Sabdha brahma (transcendental sound) coming directly from Krishna through the (bhagavat parampara)

 

The carrier of the transcendental sound is the pure devotee.

When the pure devotee is missing in the link of parampara, there will be no more transcendental sound transmited through the disciplic succession.

And no realization will come.

To fabricate a system where the conditioned soul takes the role of guru as emisar of the pure devotee (as a ritvik), is like stopping the flow of mercy coming through the transcendental sound of nama, because the conditioned soul cannot utter the pure Nama, and such he has no transcendental realization to impart to his disciples.

He can give only words (the material portion of the sound – vaikarik)

 

Madya lila 17.48-49

quote:

keha yadi tanra mukhe sune krsna-nama

tanra mukhe ana sune tanra mukhe ana

 

sabe 'krsna' 'hari' bali' nace, kande, hase

paramparaya 'vaisnava' ha-ila sarva dese

 

When someone heard the chanting of the holy name from the mouth of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and

someone else heard this chanting from that second person, and

someone again heard this chanting from the third person,

everyone in all countries became a Vaisnava through such disciplic succession.

Thus everyone chanted the holy name of Krsna and Hari, and they danced, cried and smiled.

 

Purport (by SACB Svami Prabhupada)

The transcendental power or potency of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra is herein explained. First, the holy name is vibrated by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu . When someone hears from Him directly, he is purified. When another person hears from that person, he also is purified. In this way the purification process is advanced among pure devotees . Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and no one can claim His potency. Nonetheless, if one is a pure devotee , hundreds and thousands of men can be purified by his vibration .

...............

This potency is within every living being,

provided he chants the Hare Krsna maha-mantra

offenselessly and without material motives .

Pure Nama received from the pure devotee is the way.

 

[theist]

 

The statements that the way is Jesus or Mohamed or Prabhupada has nothing to do with the vaisnava conception of attaining the transcendental love of God.

 

 

This statement seems inconsistent with the rest of your post. How do you separate the vaisnava conception from the vaisnava?

 

[Guest guest]

 

In reply to:

--

The statements that the way is Jesus or Mohamed or Prabhupada has nothing to do with the vaisnava conception of attaining the transcendental love of God.

--

 

This statement seems inconsistent with the rest of your post. How do you separate the vaisnava conception from the vaisnava?

 

 

Take the essence: The way is not one pure devotee, but the uninterupted line of pure devotees, the bhagavat parampara, through which the mercy of Suddha Nama flows.

 

All glories to your diksa and confidential siksa guru.

 

I personally like you, I mean the way you sometimes present yourself.

[theist]

Haribol guest,

 

Now I see what you mean. I can't keep up with the different angles of vision that this can be seen from. To see the devotee as disconnected from the rest of the spiritual world or the predecessors that have manifested on this Earth would certainly be a mistake. I agree. The line goes all the way back to Krsna. It is interesting also in that it also extends all the way from Krsna forward to the present devotee. So it is complete in that way also. I mean to say that the current realized soul is himself the embodiment of the spiritual world.

 

Like say, if Narada Muni was to drop down on some globe in space where heretofore there had been no parampara presence, he would bring the whole parampara with him, and AS him.

 

Unfortunately I have no formal diksa guru, and as far as siksa goes I only seem to pick up the crumbs that are most convienient for me. My mind seems intent on avoiding actually surrender. My prayer is that Krsna just pick me up and place me on the santa platform and from there I can chant and work the rest out.

 

Thank you for the kind words but don't be fooled by my so occasional polite presentation. In truth I am only here to exploit in various ways.

 

But the idea of changing from demon to devotee, from exploiter to servant is becoming more appealing, in terms of my own self interest that is.

 

Hare Krsna

 

ps please consider distinguishing yourself as a guest. Like guest 108 or something so that we can more easily have continuity of conversation.