A Living Sadhu

[Guest guest]

EDITORIAL, Aug 31 (VNN) — Chapter 6 - A Living Sadhu

 

Devotee: Srila Prabhupada always emphasized that he was eternally present in his books, instructions, tapes, and letters. So when you say we should take association of a sadhu can we do that through Srila Prabhupada's books?

 

Present in His Books

 

Gour Govinda Swami: If Prabhupada says he is there, then you try to see him, associate with him and listen from him. Do you see Prabhupada? Is he speaking to you?

 

Devotee: Through his books.

 

Gour Govinda Swami: Through his books, yes. All sadhus speak through their books. Jiva Goswami, Rupa Goswami, Sanatana Goswami, Bhaktivinoda Thakur, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati and Srila Prabhupada all say that they speak through books.

 

This is not a new thing. This is our vaisnava procedure. But you should see him.Can you see Bhaktivinode Thakur? Can you see Jiva Goswami ? You may say, "Oh I have read their books, I have their association." That won't help you. You cannot understand what they have said merely by reading their books.Your consciousness is very low, so you cannot understand their words. They are very, very merciful, but you should follow the proper path. If you are intelligent you will understand how they are still here, not only in the form of their books but also they are here. You should see them. Why are you thinking so foolishly? So many books were already there, so why has Srila Prabhupada said this? You are thinking, " We need only to read books. There is no need of association with a sadhu who is physically present. Is there any sadhu No, there is no sadhu at all."

 

Seeing is Believing

 

Your motto is, "Seeing is believing." You cannot see, so you cannot believe. Because you are a conditioned soul your vision is defective. You cannot see a sadhu.

 

Krsna is there, can you see him? No, you cannot, because you are not endowed with proper vision. First develop the proper vision and then you can see Krsna. Then you can see how a sadhu is there. It is not a fact that sadhus are not present. How is everything going on? How does the sun rise, the wind blow, and Indra give rain ? All these things are going on. No sadhu? No Krsna? It's nonsense, foolishness. We are so proud and puffed up. We are indentifying our self as the body, mind and false ego. We think we are very great. So we say "Oh there is no sadhu." We are in the category of identification with the body and mind. We have not come to the beginning of the stage of purity. No!

 

Devotee: So we have to associate with a living sadhu?

 

Gour Govinda Swami: Definitely. There is always one there. But he is not a cheap person. Such a person is very rare. If you can get his mercy then you can see him. Otherwise, by your own effort and perception you cannot see him. No, no, no.

 

You always think that you are drasta, the seer, and that the sadhu is drsta, the one to be seen. Everyone is like this. They think they are the seers. But it is just the reverse. You are to be seen and they are the seer! Think this over very deeply. I think you cannot completely understand what I say. We always think that we are the seer and that they are to be seen, but this is not a fact. It is just the reverse. They are the seers and we are to be seen.

 

Merciful Glance

 

Devotee: How are we seen by the sadhu by our service?

 

Gour Govinda Swami: Yes. The sadhu is the seer. If he showers his mercy upon you, he sees you. If you receive that merciful glance then you are very fortunate. However, you are in the category of bodily consciousness. How can you have it? Guru is the manifestation of the Supersoul, caitya-guru in the heart. He manifests a body and appears. He knows your heart

 

Devotee: I don't quite understand.

 

Gour Govinda Swami: Yes, try to understand. As I told you, just hear patiently. A new bhakta cannot understand it because it is a topic of the highest class. You are in pre-primary class, how can you understand? You are not even in the primary class. How can you understand this topic of the highest class? Just accept the bona fide authorities. That will help you. The teacher says, "Two plus two is four." The primary school student accepts it. If the teacher asks the child, "What is two plus two?" The child will reply, "Two plus two is four.Why is two plus two four? My teacher says." He will answer like this. That means he has accepted authority. This is the only principle in the beginning. How is two plus two four? Why not three or five? That will be explained in a higher mathematics class, not in the beginning. You have to have patience and get a promotion. My guru maharaj says in his purport that the beginning is purity of consciousness. First come to this beginning stage, then gradually other things will come up. You are not in the beginning stage so how will the higher topics come up? This is a very, very subtle and very deep philosophy.

 

Putting full faith in the sadhu you need only submissively hear- sravanam, sravanam, sravanam. In that way you can get the mercy of that sadhu. That will help you. Only one thing is required, nothing else- sravanam, sravanam, sravanam. Just hear. Serve that sadhu, please him, hear submissively, surrender yourself at his lotus feet and submissively ask questions. Out of mercy the sadhu will impart tattva-jnana to you.

 

This is the only process.

 

Unless you get association with a living sadhu, what can you do? Will you put some question to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Prabhupada will answer you? This process is a living thing, it is always there, it is always current. It is not that inquiry was done a certain way in the past and now things are done differently. No! it is an eternal process, pranipatena pariprasnena sevaya.

 

 

[kailasa]

For living need take diksa. But if "living guru" teach not for line founder-acarya, then needs search nice siksa guru in this line. Go for diksa guru and speak - "May dear guru maharaja, I want to obtain lectures in this place. if you please give your blessings to me." If your to guru true, it not is against.

 

Diksa guru are introduced us into the spiritual life and into the spiritual relations. But shiksha guru face up(?) to these relations.

 

[Guest guest]

in most cases diksa also teachs.. otherwise what is the use to surrender to a master...

[kailasa]

***in most cases diksa also teachs.. otherwise what is the use to surrender to a master...

 

Diksa guru it is siksa guru too? Thus? Yes.

 

But if "living guru" teach not for line founder-acarya...

 

I am write about this moment. OK?

[yasodanandana]

"But if "living guru" teach not for line founder-acarya...

(maybe "if living guru does not teach in line with the acharya(s))............... he is not a bona fide guru and we need real diksa and siksa

[Guest guest]

Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja

 

If you are very greedy, very eager to have

sadhu-sa.ga, sat-sa.ga, the association of

grantha-bhagavata and bhakta-bhagavata, first

of all you have to give up du-sanga 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, du-sanga. 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 du-sanga. The

example is Saubhari Muni. He entered into the

water.of the Yamuna and stayed there for

thousands of years, but still he had du-sanga.

 

In our minds there are hundreds and thousands

of desires giving du-sanga 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 du-sanga, asat sanga.

You are not doing sadhu-sa.ga 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:

 

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 du-sanga:

‘du-sanga’ kahiye--‘kaitava’, ‘atma-vancana’

krsna, krsna-bhakti vinu anya kamana

 

Those who desire things other than Krishna or

Krishna’s service are du-sanga, bad association.

They are cheaters of others (kaitava), and cheaters of

their own selves (atma-vancana). [Cc. madhya 24.99]

 

Du-sanga 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 du-sanga. 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, bhaktabhagavata,

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 gurupada-

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 du-sanga!

We are

only pretending that we have done atmanivedana,

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.

 

 

- Lecture in Bhubaneswar 28 September 1995.

[Guest guest]

In this Age of Kali, the Supreme Personality of

Godhead is worshiped simply by the chanting

of His holy names.” Srila Bhaktisiddhanta

Saraswati Thakur then comments, “Without

being empowered by the direct potency of

Lord Krishna to fulfill His desire and without

being specifically favored by the Lord, no

human being can become the spiritual master

of the whole world. He certainly cannot

succeed by mental concoction, which is not

meant for devotees or religious people. Only

an empowered personality can distribute the

holy name of the Lord and enjoin all fallen

souls to worship Krishna.

 

By distributing the

holy name of the Lord, he cleanses the hearts

of the most fallen people; therefore he

extinguishes the blazing fire of the material

world. Not only that, he broadcasts the shining

brightness of Krishna’s effulgence throughout

the world. Such an acarya, or spiritual master,

should be considered non-different from

Krishna — that is, he should be considered the

incarnation of Lord Krishna’s potency. Such a

personality is krsna;lingita-vigraha — that is, he

is always embraced by the Supreme Personality

of Godhead, Krishna.

 

Such a person is above

the considerations of the varna-asrama institution.

He is the guru, spiritual master, for the entire

world, a devotee on the topmost platform, the

maha bhagavata stage, and a paramahansa-

thakura, a spiritual form only fit to be addressed

as paramahansa or thakura.”

 

Nonetheless, there are many people who are

just like owls and never open their eyes to see

the sunshine. These owlish personalities, who

are inferior even to the mayavadi sannyasis, cannot

see the brilliance of Krishna’s favor upon

the maha-bhagavata devotee. They are prepared

to criticize the person engaged in distributing

the holy name all over the world and following

in the footsteps of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu,

who wanted Krishna consciousness preached

in every town and city.

 

— Purport to Cc. madhya 25.9.