We should not accept a guru suddenly out of fanaticism.

June 23, 2003

THE SCIENCE OF SELF REALIZATION pg. 65:

The self realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth. The first process is that of surrender. We have to find an exalted person and willingly surrender before him. The sastras enjoin that before we take a guru we study him carefully to find out whether we can surrender to him. We should not accept a guru suddenly out of fanaticism. That is very dangerous.

Srila Prabhupada Lecture Tape on BHAGAVAD-GITA 3.13-16, Summer of 1966, New York:

Srila Prabhupada: Don't accept blindly. God has given you power of reasoning, power of argument. . . . . Don't argue falsely. . . . . You have to surrender... Where? Where you will find a person, that here is clearly the person where I can surrender. Then that means you have to make a little test, where to surrender. That much knowledge you must have. Don't surrender to any nonsense. You have to know how that intellectual nonsense can be found out. That is also mentioned in sastra.

The Nectar of Instruction Vs. 5

PURPORT

In this verse Srila Rupa Goswami advises the devotee to be intelligent enough to distinguish between the kanistha-adhikari, madhyama-adhikari and uttama-adhikari. The devotee should also know his own position and should not try to imitate a devotee situated on a higher platform. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura has given some practical hints to the effect that an uttama-adhikari Vaisnava can be recognized by his ability to convert many fallen souls to Vaisnavism. One should not become a spiritual master unless he has attained the platform of uttama-adhikari. A neophyte Vaishnava or a Vaishnava situated on the intermediate platform can also accept disciples, but such disciples must be on the same platform, and it should be understood that they cannot advance very well toward the ultimate goal of life under his insufficient guidance.

Teachings of Lord Kapila Vs. 36

PURPORT

The spiritual master is supposed to be in the most advanced stage, but for preaching purposes, he descends to the intermediate stage. The uttama-adhikari, the most advanced devotee, does not discriminate between devotees and nondevotees. He sees everyone but himself as a devotee. The truly advanced devotee sees that he is not a devotee but that everyone else is a devotee. . . . . The madhyama-adhikari is a devotee who worships the Supreme Personality of Godhead as the highest object of love, makes friends with the Lord's devotees, is merciful to the ignorant, and avoids those who are envious by nature.

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta [Madhya-lila, Ch. 24 TEXT 330]

PURPORT

The guru must be situated on the topmost platform of devotional service. There are three classes of devotees, and the guru must be accepted from the topmost class. . . . . Only such a person is eligible to occupy the post of a guru.

Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 4, Ch. 23 TEXT 18]

PURPORT

The spiritual master is addressed as "Prabhupada" because he is a completely self-realized soul.

Back To Godhead, October 10, 1968, Seattle Washington:

Srila Prabhupada Speaks Out

Disciple: Srila Prabhupada, is there any way for a Christian in this age - without the help of a spiritual master - to reach the spiritual sky through reading the words of Jesus Christ in the Bible and trying to follow his teachings.

Srila Prabhupada: When you read the Bible you are following the spiritual master. How can you say, "Without a spiritual master?" As soon as you reads the Bible that means you are following the instruction of Lord Jesus Christ. That means you are following the spiritual master. So where is the opportunity of being without the spiritual master?

Disciple: I was referring to a living spiritual master.

Srila Prabhupada: There is no question of whether the spiritual master is living. The spiritual master is eternal. Now your question was what to do without the spiritual master. Without the spiritual master you cannot be at any stage of your life. You may accept this spiritual master or that spiritual master. That's a different thing. But you have to accept. When you say, "reading the Bible," that means you are following the spiritual master, represented by some priest or some clergyman in the line of Lord Jesus Christ. So in any case you have to follow the spiritual master. There cannot be any question of without the spiritual master. Is that clear?

Disciple: I mean, for instance, we couldn't understand the teachings of Bhagavad-gita without your help Srila Prabhupada, without your presentation.

Srila Prabhupada: Similarly, you have to understand the Bible with the help of Christ and the priest in the church.

Disciple: Yes, but is the priest receiving a good interpretation from his disciplic succession or his bishop? Because there seems to be some kind of discrepancy in the interpretation of the Bible. There are many different sects of Christianity that interpret the Bible in different ways.

Srila Prabhupada: Of course there cannot be any interpretation of the Bible. . . . . So when someone makes some misrepresentation he's not a bona fide spiritual master. Reject such a spiritual master immediately. That intelligence you must have: Who is a pseudo spiritual master and who is a real spiritual master? Otherwise you'll be cheated. And that is being done. Everyone is interpreting in his own way. . . . . There is no question of interpretation. Then the authority is gone. As soon as you interpret, there is no authority. . . . . Unnecessary interpretation is not required, and that is not bona fide. And those who are interpreting unnecessarily - they should be rejected immediately. Immediately without any consideration.

BHAGAVAD-GITA 2.5

PURPORT

According to scriptural codes a teacher who engages in an abominable action and has lost his sense of discrimination is fit to be abandoned.

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta [Madhya-lila, Ch. 8 TEXT 129]

PURPORT

If a person has all the qualities of a spiritual master, he should be accepted.

WHERE THE RITVIK PEOPLE ARE RIGHT by Jayadvaita Swami:

Fact: ISKCON gurus in good standing have fallen.

Fact: The ISKCON GBC has supported even fallen gurus and tried to paper over their falldowns.

Fact: ISKCON gurus have opposed, oppressed and driven out many sincere godbrothers and godsisters.

Fact: ISKCON have usurped and misused money, and diverted other ISKCON resources for their own personal prestige and sense gratification.

Fact: ISKCON gurus have had illicit sexual intercourse with both women and men, and possibly children as well.

Fact: Some ISKCON gurus still in good standing have had such serious personal difficulties that the GBC has been obliged to suspend them from initiating.

Fact: Other ISKCON gurus have snapped back into line only after "narrow misses."

Fact: Some ISKCON devotees have felt obliged to accept a new guru twice or even three times over. . . . . And when it comes to the subject of gurus, who trusts the spiritual guidance of the GBC? First the GBC gave us the "eleven pure devotees appointed by Srila Prabhupada," each deserving the fealty of his godbrothers and destined to be your guru if you joined the Hare Krsna movement in his zone. Then the GBC told us the gurus were never appointed. Or rather, members gave us at least two different stories, some GBC men declaring emphatically that Srila Prabhupada never appointed anything more than ritviks, others sure, to this day, of having been appointed "regular gurus."

Atma Magazine:

Srila Prabhupada appointed eleven gurus.

WHERE THE RITVIK PEOPLE ARE RIGHT by Jayadvaita Swami (contd.)

The GBC itself then appointed new gurus--or did it? The word "appointed" is never used. But there are "candidates for initiating guru," votes are taken and those who make it through the procedures become "ISKCON approved" or "ISKCON authorized" gurus. . . . . One might perhaps be forgiven for thinking that for all the laws and resolutions the role of guru is still a perplexity even for the GBC. . . . . We must honestly face the underlying issue. . . . . Who is a bona fide spiritual master? What qualifications must he have? Are the gurus in ISKCON factually qualified--all of them, some of them, or any of them? If all or any of them are less than fully fit, what implications does this have for their disciples and for ISKCON? In ISKCON today, how can one be sure that the spiritual master to whom one is surrendering is genuine and infallible? . . . . The spiritual leaders of ISKCON ought to recognize the importance of these questions and deal with them honestly, openly, sincerely and deeply.

Srila Prabhupada Letter to Rupanuga Maharaja, April 23, 1974:

I do not wish to discuss the activities of my godbrothers, but it is a fact they have no life for preaching work. All are satisfied with a place for residence in the name of a temple, they engage disciples to get foodstuff by transcendental devices and eat and sleep. They have no idea or brain how to broadcast the cult of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. . . . . In the latter days my guru-maharaja was very disgusted. Actually he left this world earlier, otherwise he would have continued to live for more years. Still he requested his disciples to form a strong governing body for preaching the cult of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He never recommended anyone to be acarya of the Gaudiya-Math. . . . . If guru-maharaja could have seen someone who was qualified . . . he would have mentioned. . . . . His idea was acarya was not to be nominated amongst the governing body. . . . . His idea was that amongst the members of the GBC who would come out successful and self effulgent acarya would be automatically selected. . . . . Now everyone is claiming to be acarya even though they may be kanistha-adhikary with no ability to preach. In some of the camps the acarya is being changed three times in a year. Therefore we may not commit the same mistake in our ISKCON camp.

BHAGAVAD-GITA (A Note About the Second Edition)

Although in most respects the two editions are the same, the editors of the BBT have gone back to the oldest manuscripts in their archives to make this second edition even more faithful to Srila Prabhupada's original work. The new American disciples who helped Srila Prabhupada ready the manuscript for publication struggled with several difficulties. Those who transcribed his taped dictation sometimes found his heavily accented english hard to follow and his sanskrit quotation strange to their ears. The sanskrit editors were hardly more than beginners in the language. So the english editors had to do their best with a manuscript spotted with gaps and phonetic approximations. For this second edition however, Srila Prabhupada's disciples had the benefit of having worked with his books for the last fifteen years. The english editors were familiar with his philosophy and language.In places the translations although already correct have been revised to come closer to the original sanskrit and to Srila Prabhupada's original dictation. In the Bhaktivedanta purports many passages lost to the original edition have been restored to their places.

Sri Isopanisad Mantra 1, Sri Isopanisad Mantra 1,

San-Diego Temple gift

shop, March 16, 1997

PURPORT PURPORT

The Vedic knowledge is Vedic knowledge is

infallible because it comes infallible because it comes

down through the perfect down through the perfect

disciplic succession of disciplic succession of

spiritual masters beginning spiritual masters beginning

with the Lord Himself. The with the Lord Himself. Since He

Vedic knowledge is received spoke the first word of Vedic

from the transcendental sources knowledge, the source of this

and the first word was spoken knowledge is transcendental.

by the Lord Himself. The words The words spoken by the Lord

spoken by the Lord are called are called apauruseya, which

apauruseya, not delivered by indicates that they are not

any person of the mundane delivered by any mundane

world. A living being of the person. A living being who

mundane world has four defects, lives in the mundane world has

which are 1. that he must four defects 1. he is certain

commit mistakes. 2. he must to commit mistakes. 2. he is

sometimes be illusioned. 3. he subject to illusion. 3. he has

must try to cheat others and 4. a propensity to cheat others

he is endowed with imperfect and 4. his senses are

senses. With these four imperfect. No one with these

principals of imperfection one four imperfections can deliver

cannot deliver perfect perfect knowledge. The Vedas

information in the matter of are not produced by such an

all-pervading knowledge. The imperfect creature. Vedic

Vedas are not known like that. knowledge was originally

The Vedic knowledge was imparted by the Lord into the

originally imparted into the heart of Brahma, the first

heart of Brahma, the first created living being and Brahma

created living being, and in his turn disseminated this

Brahma in his turn disseminated knowledge to his sons and

the knowledge to his sons and disciples who have handed it

disciples, who have continued down throughout history.

the process down through

history.

Question: Do the following quotes apply?

THE SCIENCE OF SELF REALIZATION pg. 61 & 62:

Whatever Vyasadeva wrote was originally spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Srila Vyasadeva did not give his own opinion. Consequently Srila Vyasadeva is a guru. He does not misinterpret the words of Krsna, but transmits them exactly as they were spoken. If we send a telegram, the person who delivers the telegram does not have to correct it, edit it, or add to it. He simply presents it. That is the guru's business.

Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 2, Ch. 9 TEXT 7]

PURPORT

As already stated, Brahma is the original spiritual master for the universe, and since he was initiated by the Lord Himself, the message of Srimad-Bhagavatam is coming down by disciplic succession, and in order to receive the real message of Srimad-Bhagavatam one should approach the current link, or spiritual master, in the chain of disciplic succession. After being initiated by the proper spiritual master in that chain of succession, one should engage himself in the discharge of tapasya in the execution of devotional service.

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta

PURPORT

It is our duty to seek out bogus propagandists, challenge them and defeat them.

June 23, 2003

god,

Those 108 Gurukula quotes will appear if you post them in two separate pieces. When a post is too big, the forums software blows up ... BOOM. So just split it in two and post the first part, then as a reply post the second part.

I was looking to forward to the quotes. Hopefully you were able to save them on your computer?

gHari