After the Disappearance of the Guru Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

[Guest guest]

After the Disappearance of the Guru

Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

 

 

(This article is adapted from a lecture given by Swami

B. G. Narasingha Maharaja on the tirubhava anniversary

of Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, October

31,2000 at Radha Damodara Temple, Sri Vrndavana Dham.

 

 

Question: What are the types of disciples who become

manifest after the disappearance of the guru?

 

Answer: There are gradations and sub-gradations of all

things, but basically the disciples of the guru

manifest in three main categories: kanistha, madhyama,

and uttama. The gradation in the development of

sraddha (faith) may be taken as the basic

differentiating factor in these three types of

disciples.

 

The kanistha-adhikari disciple has very little

sraddha–his faith in the instruction and spiritual

teachings of the guru is very meager and he has no

faith in the Vaishnavas.

 

maha-prasade govinde nama-brahmani vaisnave

svalpa-punya-vatam rajan visvaso naiva jayate

 

"For those who have amassed very few pious activities,

their faith in maha-prasad, in Sri Govinda, in the

Holy Name and in the Vaishnavas is never born."

 

The kanistha-adhikari disciple worships the physical

form of his gurudeva and may shout "Jaya Prabhupada!"

at the top of his lungs, but such glorification of the

guru is lip deep only, because the kanistha-adhikari

disciple has no proper service attitude, faith, or

surrender.

 

The kanistha-adhikari disciple proclaims his gurudeva

to be the only bona fide guru. Having rejected the

ontological position of Srila Rupa Goswami as the

Acharya of the followers of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu

the kanistha-adhikari disciple thinks, "Because my

gurudeva is the "Founder-acharya," the efficacy of the

guru-parampara is no longer applicable. All other

branches and sub-branches of the guru-parampara are

all rendered useless."

 

The kanistha-adhikari disciple thinks that his

gurudeva is Absolute in all circumstances–he is unable

to understand and properly harmonize the relative and

Absolute statements of the guru.

 

The kanistha-adhikari disciple has no subjective

realization of his gurudeva and he does not know

anything of the ontological position of his gurudeva

in terms of guru-varga and aprakrta-lila. He is

materially attached to the formal institution of his

gurudeva but he is lacking in siddhanta or

philosophical understanding of the truths (tattvas)

concerning the Absolute Truth. For all his endeavors

the kanistha-adhikari disciple simply becomes absorbed

in society consciousness but not God consciousness.

 

The kanistha-adhikari disciple lacks proper

discrimination and he is thus offensive to pure

Vaishnavas. He considers his gurudeva as non-different

from the formal institution, non-different from his

murti, and non-different from his books but he cannot

recognize his guru on an internal plane. The

kanistha-adhikari disciple knows that, "Everything is

in Prabhupada’s books" but he does not know what that

"thing" really is.

 

On certain holy days the kanistha-adhikari disciple

expresses his mundane sentiments of how his gurudeva

saved him from material life but the kanistha-adhikari

disciple cannot follow even the four regulative

principles. Sometimes however the kanistha-adhikari

disciple does rigidly follow the four regulative

principles but he does not follow the internal

principles of pure devotional service, nor does he

have any capacity to recognize the flow of divinity.

 

The kanistha-adhikari disciple measures everything

from the external or relative point of view. The

kanistha-adhikari disciple prides himself in external

achievements of acquiring land, constructing

buildings, amassing money and gathering many

followers, but he has no concern for or understanding

of inner spiritual life. The kanistha-adhikari devotee

is a bahiranga-bhakta, an external devotee.

 

The kanistha-adhikari disciple sometimes thinks that

he has become a rasika-bhakta and tries to relish the

mellow of the higher lilas of the Supreme Lord. But

due to his lack of genuine qualifications, the

kanistha-adhikari disciple displeases his spiritual

master and creates a disturbance in the eternal lilas

of the Lord.

 

Due to management propensities, expertise in business,

or often by default (time spent in the mission) the

kanistha-adhikari disciple rises to a position of

prominence and authority within the institution of his

gurudeva. He then creates havoc and great disruption

by turning the spiritual mission of his gurudeva into

a mundane institution for profit, adoration, and

distinction.

 

The kanistha-adhikari disciple sometimes occupies the

living quarters of his gurudeva as his own. He strives

for more and more control over the institution. He

despises the spiritual advancement of his Godbrothers

and he uses the money collected for devotional service

to log court cases against his Godbrothers simply to

further his own selfish ends.

 

The kanistha-adhikari disciple who is attached to

women and attached to the association of women

sometimes becomes guru in the institution of the

spiritual master–-he then cheats his disciples by

collecting donations from them simply for maintaining

his material attachments.

 

The kanistha-adhikari disciple also sometimes takes

sannyasa and becomes a guru in the institution of his

gurudeva but he later gives it up and marries one of

his disciples or engages in numerous other

non-devotional activities. The spiritual intelligence

of the kanistha-adhikari disciple is always bewildered

by maya but he is nonetheless very expert in making

excuses why he has failed to live up to or why he has

abandoned his duty to the spiritual master.

 

The kanistha-adhikari disciple thinks that time and

physical proximity with the guru enables one to

understand the purpose of the guru. Such

kanistha-adhikari disciples do not know that only

faith and surrender to the guru will enable one to

know the real purpose of the spiritual master.

Physical proximity alone never gains one the adhikara

(qualification) to understand the Absolute Truth.

 

yasya deve para bhaktir, yatha-deve tatha gurau

tasyaite kathita hy arthah, prakasante mahatmanah

 

"Only unto those great souls who have implicit faith

in both the Lord and the spiritual master are all the

imports of Vedic knowledge automatically revealed."

(Svetasvatara Upanisad 6.38)

 

Not understanding the true purpose of the spiritual

master the kanistha-adhikari disciple sometimes

returns to the university to obtain a degree. He says

that if he has a Ph.D. certificate then people will

take him more seriously when he speaks about the

teachings of his gurudeva. The kanistha-adhikari

disciple does not know that if he simply becomes a

pure devotee of Krishna, then the whole world will be

attentive to what he has to say.

 

Thus the kanistha-adhikari disciple is of no spiritual

credit to the greatness of his gurudeva. Unfortunately

the kanistha-adhikari disciple is an embarrassment to

his gurudeva and thus he misses the opportunity of

attaining love of God, prema-bhakti.

 

The kanistha-adhikari disciple believes that despite

his not pleasing the spiritual master, the spiritual

master will take him back to Godhead anyway. However,

due to his many offenses the kanistha-adhikari

disciple does not have the mercy of the spiritual

master and thus the eligibility of his going back to

home, back to Godhead is highly unlikely.

 

We should sincerely pray at the lotus feet of gurudeva

and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu so that they may be

pleased to save us from the mentality of becoming a

kanistha-adhikari.

 

The madhyama-adhikari disciple is greatly superior to

the kanistha-adhikari as he shows us proper

discrimination and places great emphasis on the vani

or instruction and spiritual teachings of the

spiritual master. The madhyama-adhikari disciple has

guru-nistha or firm faith in the guru and this is

confirmed by his engaging in a strong practicing life

of Krishna consciousness.

 

The madhyama-adhikari disciple gives preference to

substance over form and thus he becomes more and more

absorbed in God consciousness and free from the

shackles of society consciousness and institutional

considerations. Whenever it is necessary, the

madhyama-adhikari disciple may sacrifice the relative

consideration for the sake of the Absolute

consideration.

 

In the beginning, the madhyama-adhikari disciple is

interested to carry out the vani of his gurudeva "to

the letter of the law" but he often fails to

understand the "spirit of the law." An advanced

madhyama-adhikari disciple, however, understands the

underlying spirit of the law and thus he does not

follow the law simply for law’s sake. An advanced

madhyama-adhikari disciple can discriminate between

relative and absolute instructions given by the

spiritual master and he understands how such

instructions are to be applied according to time,

place and circumstances.

 

The madhyama-adhikari disciple realizes the

non-difference of the plurality of gurus in the

guru-tattva principle and seeks the association of

those higher thinking (uttama) devotees of the Supreme

Lord. Thus the madhyama-adhikari disciple makes

spiritual advancement and he begins to manifest the

personal character of one absorbed in pure devotional

service.

 

Superior to the madhyama-adhikari disciple is the

uttama-adhikari disciple, who due to his advanced

faith, has fully surrendered to his gurudeva. The

uttama-adhikari disciple realizes the subjective

nature of the guru principle and the ontological

position of his beloved gurudeva. Seeking the dust of

the lotus feet of the followers of Sri Rupa Goswami as

life’s ultimate goal the uttama-adhikari disciple

fully pleases his spiritual master.

 

sri-rupanuga janera .-padma dhara

ekanta bhavete tandera anugatya kara

 

Take hold of the feet of the followers of Sri Rupa

Goswami and follow them with exclusive commitment."

(Sri Siddhanta Saraswati Thakura)

 

The uttama-adhikari disciple knows that his gurudeva

is present by his side at all times. The

uttama-adhikari disciple experiences union is

separation from his gurudeva–-he so much perceives the

continuous presence of his gurudeva that he sometime

feels that his gurudeva has taken possession of every

atom of his existence.

 

The uttama-adhikari disciple tactfully avoids the

association of the kanistha-adhikari disciples because

it pains his heart to see their systematic destruction

of the mission that their gurudeva labored so

diligently to establish.

 

The uttama-adhikari disciple can do great benefit to

the whole world because he is the abode of all good

qualities and the reservoir of love of God.

 

Answer: There are gradations and sub-gradations of all

things, but basically the disciples of the guru

manifest in three main categories: kanistha, madhyama,

and uttama. The gradation in the development of

sraddha (faith) may be taken as the basic

differentiating factor in these three types of

disciples.

 

The kanistha-adhikari disciple has very little

sraddha–his faith in the instruction and spiritual

teachings of the guru is very meager and he has no

faith in the Vaishnavas.

 

maha-prasade govinde nama-brahmani vaisnave

svalpa-punya-vatam rajan visvaso naiva jayate

 

"For those who have amassed very few pious activities,

their faith in maha-prasad, in Sri Govinda, in the

Holy Name and in the Vaishnavas is never born."

 

The kanistha-adhikari disciple worships the physical

form of his gurudeva and may shout "Jaya Prabhupada!"

at the top of his lungs, but such glorification of the

guru is lip deep only, because the kanistha-adhikari

disciple has no proper service attitude, faith, or

surrender.

 

The kanistha-adhikari disciple proclaims his gurudeva

to be the only bona fide guru. Having rejected the

ontological position of Srila Rupa Goswami as the

Acharya of the followers of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu

the kanistha-adhikari disciple thinks, "Because my

gurudeva is the "Founder-acharya," the efficacy of the

guru-parampara is no longer applicable. All other

branches and sub-branches of the guru-parampara are

all rendered useless."

 

The kanistha-adhikari disciple thinks that his

gurudeva is Absolute in all circumstances–he is unable

to understand and properly harmonize the relative and

Absolute statements of the guru.

 

The kanistha-adhikari disciple has no subjective

realization of his gurudeva and he does not know

anything of the ontological position of his gurudeva

in terms of guru-varga and aprakrta-lila. He is

materially attached to the formal institution of his

gurudeva but he is lacking in siddhanta or

philosophical understanding of the truths (tattvas)

concerning the Absolute Truth. For all his endeavors

the kanistha-adhikari disciple simply becomes absorbed

in society consciousness but not God consciousness.

 

The kanistha-adhikari disciple lacks proper

discrimination and he is thus offensive to pure

Vaishnavas. He considers his gurudeva as non-different

from the formal institution, non-different from his

murti, and non-different from his books but he cannot

recognize his guru on an internal plane. The

kanistha-adhikari disciple knows that, "Everything is

in Prabhupada’s books" but he does not know what that

"thing" really is.

 

On certain holy days the kanistha-adhikari disciple

expresses his mundane sentiments of how his gurudeva

saved him from material life but the kanistha-adhikari

disciple cannot follow even the four regulative

principles. Sometimes however the kanistha-adhikari

disciple does rigidly follow the four regulative

principles but he does not follow the internal

principles of pure devotional service, nor does he

have any capacity to recognize the flow of divinity.

 

The kanistha-adhikari disciple measures everything

from the external or relative point of view. The

kanistha-adhikari disciple prides himself in external

achievements of acquiring land, constructing

buildings, amassing money and gathering many

followers, but he has no concern for or understanding

of inner spiritual life. The kanistha-adhikari devotee

is a bahiranga-bhakta, an external devotee.

 

The kanistha-adhikari disciple sometimes thinks that

he has become a rasika-bhakta and tries to relish the

mellow of the higher lilas of the Supreme Lord. But

due to his lack of genuine qualifications, the

kanistha-adhikari disciple displeases his spiritual

master and creates a disturbance in the eternal lilas

of the Lord.

 

Due to management propensities, expertise in business,

or often by default (time spent in the mission) the

kanistha-adhikari disciple rises to a position of

prominence and authority within the institution of his

gurudeva. He then creates havoc and great disruption

by turning the spiritual mission of his gurudeva into

a mundane institution for profit, adoration, and

distinction.

 

The kanistha-adhikari disciple sometimes occupies the

living quarters of his gurudeva as his own. He strives

for more and more control over the institution. He

despises the spiritual advancement of his Godbrothers

and he uses the money collected for devotional service

to log court cases against his Godbrothers simply to

further his own selfish ends.

 

The kanistha-adhikari disciple who is attached to

women and attached to the association of women

sometimes becomes guru in the institution of the

spiritual master–-he then cheats his disciples by

collecting donations from them simply for maintaining

his material attachments.

 

The kanistha-adhikari disciple also sometimes takes

sannyasa and becomes a guru in the institution of his

gurudeva but he later gives it up and marries one of

his disciples or engages in numerous other

non-devotional activities. The spiritual intelligence

of the kanistha-adhikari disciple is always bewildered

by maya but he is nonetheless very expert in making

excuses why he has failed to live up to or why he has

abandoned his duty to the spiritual master.

 

The kanistha-adhikari disciple thinks that time and

physical proximity with the guru enables one to

understand the purpose of the guru. Such

kanistha-adhikari disciples do not know that only

faith and surrender to the guru will enable one to

know the real purpose of the spiritual master.

Physical proximity alone never gains one the adhikara

(qualification) to understand the Absolute Truth.

 

yasya deve para bhaktir, yatha-deve tatha gurau

tasyaite kathita hy arthah, prakasante mahatmanah

 

"Only unto those great souls who have implicit faith

in both the Lord and the spiritual master are all the

imports of Vedic knowledge automatically revealed."

(Svetasvatara Upanisad 6.38)

 

Not understanding the true purpose of the spiritual

master the kanistha-adhikari disciple sometimes

returns to the university to obtain a degree. He says

that if he has a Ph.D. certificate then people will

take him more seriously when he speaks about the

teachings of his gurudeva. The kanistha-adhikari

disciple does not know that if he simply becomes a

pure devotee of Krishna, then the whole world will be

attentive to what he has to say.

 

Thus the kanistha-adhikari disciple is of no spiritual

credit to the greatness of his gurudeva. Unfortunately

the kanistha-adhikari disciple is an embarrassment to

his gurudeva and thus he misses the opportunity of

attaining love of God, prema-bhakti.

 

The kanistha-adhikari disciple believes that despite

his not pleasing the spiritual master, the spiritual

master will take him back to Godhead anyway. However,

due to his many offenses the kanistha-adhikari

disciple does not have the mercy of the spiritual

master and thus the eligibility of his going back to

home, back to Godhead is highly unlikely.

 

We should sincerely pray at the lotus feet of gurudeva

and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu so that they may be

pleased to save us from the mentality of becoming a

kanistha-adhikari.

 

The madhyama-adhikari disciple is greatly superior to

the kanistha-adhikari as he shows us proper

discrimination and places great emphasis on the vani

or instruction and spiritual teachings of the

spiritual master. The madhyama-adhikari disciple has

guru-nistha or firm faith in the guru and this is

confirmed by his engaging in a strong practicing life

of Krishna consciousness.

 

The madhyama-adhikari disciple gives preference to

substance over form and thus he becomes more and more

absorbed in God consciousness and free from the

shackles of society consciousness and institutional

considerations. Whenever it is necessary, the

madhyama-adhikari disciple may sacrifice the relative

consideration for the sake of the Absolute

consideration.

 

In the beginning, the madhyama-adhikari disciple is

interested to carry out the vani of his gurudeva "to

the letter of the law" but he often fails to

understand the "spirit of the law." An advanced

madhyama-adhikari disciple, however, understands the

underlying spirit of the law and thus he does not

follow the law simply for law’s sake. An advanced

madhyama-adhikari disciple can discriminate between

relative and absolute instructions given by the

spiritual master and he understands how such

instructions are to be applied according to time,

place and circumstances.

 

The madhyama-adhikari disciple realizes the

non-difference of the plurality of gurus in the

guru-tattva principle and seeks the association of

those higher thinking (uttama) devotees of the Supreme

Lord. Thus the madhyama-adhikari disciple makes

spiritual advancement and he begins to manifest the

personal character of one absorbed in pure devotional

service.

 

Superior to the madhyama-adhikari disciple is the

uttama-adhikari disciple, who due to his advanced

faith, has fully surrendered to his gurudeva. The

uttama-adhikari disciple realizes the subjective

nature of the guru principle and the ontological

position of his beloved gurudeva. Seeking the dust of

the lotus feet of the followers of Sri Rupa Goswami as

life’s ultimate goal the uttama-adhikari disciple

fully pleases his spiritual master.

 

sri-rupanuga janera .-padma dhara

ekanta bhavete tandera anugatya kara

 

Take hold of the feet of the followers of Sri Rupa

Goswami and follow them with exclusive commitment."

(Sri Siddhanta Saraswati Thakura)

 

The uttama-adhikari disciple knows that his gurudeva

is present by his side at all times. The

uttama-adhikari disciple experiences union is

separation from his gurudeva–-he so much perceives the

continuous presence of his gurudeva that he sometime

feels that his gurudeva has taken possession of every

atom of his existence.

 

The uttama-adhikari disciple tactfully avoids the

association of the kanistha-adhikari disciples because

it pains his heart to see their systematic destruction

of the mission that their gurudeva labored so

diligently to establish.

 

The uttama-adhikari disciple can do great benefit to

the whole world because he is the abode of all good

qualities and the reservoir of love of God.

[Guest guest]

uttama vision

[Subala]

/clap

 

very nice post

[Guest guest]

kanistha adhikari see kanistha?