Guru means one who can give you Krishna .That is guru.

August 12, 2003

Who requires a guru? Guru's not a fashion. "Oh, I have got a guru. I shall make a guru." Guru means one who's serious. Tasmad gurum prapadyeta. One has to seek out a guru. Why? Jijnasu sreya uttamam. One who is inquisitive of the Supreme. Not guru to make a fashion.

Just like we keep a dog, fashion. Similarly, we keep a guru. That is not guru karma. "Guru will act according to my decision." Not like that. Guru means one who can give you Krishna. That is guru.

-Srila Prabhupada

Bhagavad-gita

Ch 2 : Verse 7

[London, August 7, 1973]

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So the question should arise

" Can my Guru give me Krishna ? "

If he can and i am not getting Krishna

then that must mean

that i am not much of a disciple. Yes ?

August 12, 2003

Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura

Every one who is cognizant of the true nature of Krsna is alone fit to instruct another in the knowledge of Krsna. The Divine paraphernalia are the gurus of all individual souls. In this sense all the six divine categories are identical with the guru. It can be so by reason of the fact that on the plane of the Absolute there is no separative difference. On that perfectly wholesome plane there is distinction without difference.

But there is also the distinctive function of the guru, which must be considered as also simultaneously distinct from that of any of the other categories. One who neglects to see the special favor of the guru and to enter into the relation of discipleship with the spiritual guide will miss entry to the spiritual plane.

Nityananda is the Primary Manifestive Constituent of the Divinity. Nityananda alone possesses the distinctive function of the guru. In Nityananda the function is embodied. Nityananda is the servant-God. He serves Sri Gaurasundar by the distinctive method of reverential servitude. He is identical with Sri Balarama of Krsna-lila.

Sri Balarama is not the chum of Krsna, but His respected elder brother. It is intimate relationship characterized by becoming reserved on one side and of respectful deference on the other.

Individual souls are under the direction of Nityananda. They receive their service of Sri Gaurasundar, i.e. of Krsna, at his hands. Nityananda is not a jiva. He is Divinity. He is the ultimate source of the jiva. The jiva is a potency of Nityananda. No jiva can be the medium of the service of the Absolute to another jiva . The Absolute alone may communicate His service to the separable constituents of Himself. This is the real nature of the function of the guru.

August 12, 2003

that needs to be explained or it is easily misunderstood

to mean that serving a vaisnava is not service to Sri Radha

Krsna.

in that statement:

"No jiva can be the medium of the service of the Absolute to another jiva . The Absolute alone may communicate His service to the separable constituents of Himself. This is the real nature of the function of the guru"

What Bhaktisiddhanta is explaining is service in rasa with

Krsna, the eternal service of the liberated soul,

that is the goal of Bhakti to become qualified to engage in direct ,face to face service/rasa with Godhead,

another jiva cannot fullfill that role, only with god is

the jiva able to act in the role of the eternal rasa.

Also there is another meaning, the guru is not the jiva performing the function of guru,

so he also says:

"But there is also the distinctive function of the guru, which must be considered as also simultaneously distinct from that of any of the other categories. One who neglects to see the special favor of the guru and to enter into the relation of discipleship with the spiritual guide will miss entry to the spiritual plane."

so the jiva functioning as guru to another jiva should be understood in reality to be (as you quote) a potency of Nityananda, the jiva acting as guru is not giving service to himself,he is giving service to Nityananda.

August 13, 2003

Individual souls are under the direction of Nityananda. They receive their service of Sri Gaurasundar, i.e. of Krsna, at his hands. Nityananda is not a jiva. He is Divinity. He is the ultimate source of the jiva. The jiva is a potency of Nityananda. No jiva can be the medium of the service of the Absolute to another jiva . The Absolute alone may communicate His service to the separable constituents of Himself. This is the real nature of the function of the guru.

Question:

If the path is transcendental

why do you limit it by physical association?

Answer:

any transcendetal thing oh, comes from transcendental source;

like harinama, diksa mantras are transcendental hari katha is transcendental

srimad bhagavatam is transcendental,

so transcendental things come from transcendental source.

But, everything in THIS world is material! So, where it will come from?

Only when any realized person descended in this world

and is carrying bhakti-shakti with them,

than you can receive what is transcendental.

In this connection one can understand the meaning of bhagavat parampara

Srila Jiva Gosvami says in Bhakti sandarbha (anuccheda 237)

Yo mantra sa guruh sakshat

Yo guru sa harih svayam

Gurur yasya bhavet tushtas

Tasya tushto harir svayam

The guru’s internal, spiritual mood of service to Sri RadhikA and KRSNa is conveyed to the disciple through the medium of a mantra. Everything is given in seed form within the mantra.

Thank you God

the copy man

August 13, 2003

by ----Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami

Sri Guru is a nitya-parikara, an eternal associate of Sri Sri Radha and Krishna. The last limit of guru-tattva is nityananda-tattva. Nityananda Prabhu is gaura-parikara, an eternal associate of Gaura. Similarly, Sri Guru is the eternal associate of both Gaura and Krishna, because in tattva, Gaura and Krishna are one. There is no difference between gaura-tattva and krsna-tattva.

Therefore we say saksad-dharitvena, Sri Guru is as good as Lord Hari. That means that Sri Guru is asraya-tattva, the abode of love. Lord Hari is the only visaya-tattva, the object of love, whereas Sri Guru is asraya-tattva. The guru is called sevaka-bhagavan, the servitor Personality of Godhead, whereas Krishna, Lord Hari, is sevya-bhagavan, the Supreme Personality of Godhead who is to be worshiped. Both are called bhagavan. That is visaya and asraya, the object of worship and the abode of worship. Otherwise, in tattva they are one.

guru krsna-rupa hana sastrera pramane

guru-rupe krsna krpa karena bhakta-gane

According to the deliberate opinion of all revealed scriptures, the spiritual master is nondifferent from Krishna. Lord Krishna in the form of the spiritual master delivers His devotees. [Caitanya Caritamrta Adi 1.45.]

Krishna showers His mercy in the form of guru. Without that mercy, one cannot understand or approach Krishna or go back to Godhead. Krishna appears before us in the form of guru to help us and act as our friend. Showering His causeless mercy through the guru, Krishna delivers us from unlimited suffering in the material world. Krishna is also in the heart in the form of Paramatma, the caitya-guru. From within, Krishna will give us the intelligence to act in the correct way and not make any mistakes or errors. This is the glory of the lotus feet of Sri Guru. It is incomparable and indescribable.