loss of Guru"s Vapu

July 13, 2005

I feel angry that Krsna listened to his prayers, I feel angry that he made those prayers...how can I understand all of this and move on?

July 13, 2005

ask to krsna to send you back the guru in the form of siksa guru..

in this way your previous effort will continue and your guru maharaja who's now with krsna will be pleased and he will continue to serve you working to make you go back to godhead

a vaishnava does not stay alone without a personal guide to listen to and serve

this is our tradition

stonehearted · July 14, 2005

Your guru maharaja suggested that his disciples find shelter in siksa gurus. It would be well for you take that to heart and find one of his Godbrothers (or sisters) in whom you have enough confidence that he or she may actually be able to help you.

The larger question, though, is the matter of understanding your spiritual master's mood. Read his books, listen to his lectures and see if you can understand what he is about. If you still have trouble, consult with senior Godbrothers or -sisters. You-all should be meeting together and sharing your realizations, questions, confusion, anger, grief.

And feel free to grieve. It's proper, and it's healthy. I did; I wailed aloud and cried like a baby. I feel closer to him now than I did a lot of the time back then.

In the meantime, although I'm a small man with no power and a heart of stone, feel free to write me at babhru {at} gmail {dot} com to vent your grief and anger, or whatever.

July 18, 2005

From Makhanlal das Gauravanachari (ACBSP)

Posted July 17, 2005

All glories to

Srila Prabhupada!

[The following letter has been sent to Damodar Swami, one of H.H. Bhakti Tirtha Swami’s leading disciples. It is presented here as an offering, to be shared by the prabhus upon Maharaja’s departure from this world]:

Dear Damodar Maharaja,

Dandavat pranams. All glories to Srila Prabhupada, without whose mercy we would all remain forever blind.

At this time, I feel particularly compelled to write to you on account of the physical departure of your Guru Maharaja.

First let me express my heartfelt empathy for your painful loss. He was, without doubt, a great soul. Yet, as we discussed at Chowpati, his legacy lives on in your sincere desire to serve his mission and the mission of Srila Prabhupada. You were favored by him, and you shared that he now felt that he could leave peacefully, after your taking sannyasa. You have the opportunity to truly follow in his footsteps with preaching to heads of states, academicians, VIPs, etc. This passing of the torch (like the Olympics) is called receiving the mantle of the spiritual master.

What is "mantle" in this context? Mantle means a sacred empowerment, passed down through guru parampara. It is compared to a gorgeously decorated silk shawl, as is often placed on the shoulders of VIPs at stage ceremonies in India or as worn by ministers, bishops, and popes in Christianity. They may be somewhat ordinary, but when they put on the mantle for purposes of preaching or for divine ceremonies, they are supposed to fully enter Divinity, leaving aside any mundane identity. So much more so must the Vaishnava.

Naturally you feel unfit and unable to follow in you guru maharaj’s shoes, but your duty is to carry on anyway. In a war, sometimes important sergeants are cut down by enemy fire, yet the subordinates push forward. Similarly, this is a war against Maya. Srila Prabhupada made that abundantly clear, and he based his entire mission around this fact.

Sometimes neophytes wonder, "Why did Srila Prabhupada select unfit men"? The answer is that he worked with and empowered what Krishna sent him. Krishna did not send him fully self-realized saints; yet his disciples became saintly under his tutelage and empowerment. This is the glory of a saktyavesha avatar empowered by Nityananda Prabhu. So we will always remain unfit, yet the show must go on. Further, we must remember Krishna’s infallible advice in the Bhagavad-gita and statements in the Srimad-Bhagavatam:

ananyas cintayanto mam

ye janah paryupasate

tesam nityabhiyuktanam

yoga-ksemam vahamy aham

ananyah—having no other object; cintayantah—concentrating; mam—on Me; ye—those who; janah—persons; paryupasate—properly worship; tesam—of them; nitya—always; abhiyuktanam—fixed in devotion; yoga—requirements; ksemam—protection; vahami—carry; aham—I.

But those who always worship Me with exclusive devotion, meditating on My transcendental form—to them I carry what they lack, and I preserve what they have.

PURPORT

One who is unable to live for a moment without Krsna consciousness cannot but think of Krsna twenty-four hours a day, being engaged in devotional service by hearing, chanting, remembering, offering prayers, worshiping, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, rendering other services, cultivating friendship and surrendering fully to the Lord. Such activities are all auspicious and full of spiritual potencies, which make the devotee perfect in self-realization, so that his only desire is to achieve the association of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such a devotee undoubtedly approaches the Lord without difficulty. This is called yoga. By the mercy of the Lord, such a devotee never comes back to this material condition of life. Ksema refers to the merciful protection of the Lord. The Lord helps the devotee to achieve Krsna consciousness by yoga, and when he becomes fully Krsna conscious the Lord protects him from falling down to a miserable conditioned life. [bg 9.22]

This is one of my favorite verses from the Gita, for we are, indeed, without qualification. Nevertheless, the mercy of Srila Prabhupada and his assistants acts as an advocate for our behalf so that Krishna will step in to take over our fledgling efforts in devotional service. Please copy and put this verse on the wall. If you always remember this verse, you will never feel orphaned, for indeed, we are recipients of Krishna’s love and affection, arranged by guru parampara.

Other verses that are essential to remember, regardless of external circumstance, speak of how Krishna is our friend, eternally:

bhoktaram yajna-tapasam

sarva-loka-mahesvaram

suhrdam sarva-bhutanam

jnatva mam santim rcchati

bhoktaram—the beneficiary; yajna—of sacrifices; tapasam—and penances and austerities; sarva-loka—of all planets and the demigods thereof; maha-isvaram—the Supreme Lord; su-hrdam—the benefactor; sarva—of all; bhutanam—the living entities; jnatva—thus knowing; mam—Me (Lord Krsna); santim—relief from material pangs; rcchati—one achieves.

A person in full consciousness of Me, knowing Me to be the ultimate beneficiary of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods, and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attains peace from the pangs of material miseries. [bg 5.29]

Remember, Srila Prabhupada signed every letter, "Your ever well wisher," and in his heart of hearts, he meant on behalf of the entire guru parampara and Krishna.

samo 'ham sarva-bhutesu

na me dvesyo 'sti na priyah

ye bhajanti tu mam bhaktya

mayi te tesu capy aham

samah—equally disposed; aham—I; sarva-bhutesu—to all living entities; na—no one; me—to Me; dvesyah—hateful; asti—is; na—nor; priyah—dear; ye—those who; bhajanti—render transcendental service; tu—but; mam—unto Me; bhaktya—in devotion; mayi—are in Me; te—such persons; tesu—in them; ca—also; api—certainly; aham—I.

I envy no one, nor am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all. But whoever renders service unto Me in devotion is a friend, is in Me, and I am also a friend to him.

PURPORT

One may question here that if Krsna is equal to everyone and no one is His special friend, then why does He take a special interest in the devotees who are always engaged in His transcendental service? But this is not discrimination; it is natural. Any man in this material world may be very charitably disposed, yet he has a special interest in his own children. The Lord claims that every living entity—in whatever form—is His son, and so He provides everyone with a generous supply of the necessities of life. He is just like a cloud which pours rain all over, regardless of whether it falls on rock or land or water. But for His devotees, He gives specific attention. Such devotees are mentioned here: they are always in Krsna consciousness, and therefore they are always transcendentally situated in Krsna. The very phrase "Krsna consciousness" suggests that those who are in such consciousness are living transcendentalists, situated in Him. The Lord says here distinctly, mayi te: "They are in Me." Naturally, as a result, the Lord is also in them. This is reciprocal. This also explains the words ye yatha mam prapadyante tams tathaiva bhajamy aham: "Whoever surrenders unto Me, proportionately I take care of him." This transcendental reciprocation exists because both the Lord and the devotee are conscious. When a diamond is set in a golden ring, it looks very nice. The gold is glorified, and at the same time the diamond is glorified. The Lord and the living entity eternally glitter, and when a living entity becomes inclined to the service of the Supreme Lord he looks like gold. The Lord is a diamond, and so this combination is very nice. Living entities in a pure state are called devotees. The Supreme Lord becomes the devotee of His devotees. If a reciprocal relationship is not present between the devotee and the Lord, then there is no personalist philosophy. In the impersonal philosophy there is no reciprocation between the Supreme and the living entity, but in the personalist philosophy there is.

The example is often given that the Lord is like a desire tree, and whatever one wants from this desire tree, the Lord supplies. But here the explanation is more complete. The Lord is here stated to be partial to the devotees. This is the manifestation of the Lord's special mercy to the devotees. The Lord's reciprocation should not be considered to be under the law of karma. It belongs to the transcendental situation in which the Lord and His devotees function. Devotional service to the Lord is not an activity of this material world; it is part of the spiritual world, where eternity, bliss and knowledge predominate. [bg 9.29]

***

My dear King, one brahmana, who was an old friend of King ., came to that place and began to pacify the Queen with sweet words.

PURPORT

The appearance of an old friend in the form of a brahmana is very significant. In His Paramatma feature, Krsna is the old friend of everyone. According to Vedic injunction, Krsna is sitting with the living entity side by side. According to the sruti-mantra (dva suparna sayuja sakhayah), the Lord is sitting within the heart of every living entity as suhrt, the best friend. The Lord is always eager to have the living entity come home, back to Godhead. Sitting with the living entity as witness, the Lord gives him all chances to enjoy himself materially, but whenever there is an opportunity, the Lord gives good counsel and advises the living entity to abandon trying to become happy through material adjustment and instead turn his face toward the Supreme Personality of Godhead and surrender unto Him. When one becomes serious to follow the mission of the spiritual master, his resolution is tantamount to seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As explained before, this means meeting the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the instruction of the spiritual master. This is technically called vani-seva. Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura states in his Bhagavad-gita commentary on the verse vyavasayatmika buddhir ekeha kuru-nandana (Bg. 2.41) that one should serve the words of the spiritual master. The disciple must stick to whatever the spiritual master orders. Simply by following on that line, one sees the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

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The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Paramatma, appeared before the Queen as a brahmana, but why didn't He appear in His original form as Sri Krsna? Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura remarks that unless one is very highly elevated in loving the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one cannot see Him as He is. Nonetheless, if one sticks to the principles enunciated by the spiritual master, somehow or other he is in association with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Since the Lord is in the heart, He can advise a sincere disciple from within. This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gita (10.10):

tesam satata-yuktanam

bhajatam priti-purvakam

dadami buddhi-yogam tam

yena mam upayanti te

"To those who are constantly devoted and worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me." [sB 4.28.5, purport1

*****

"…Krsna says that "I will speak to you." Why? Bhakto 'si priyo 'si me: "You are My dear friend. Therefore I shall tell you." So this is the process of understanding: you have to become dear friend of Krsna. Then you will understand Bhagavad-gita. Otherwise, for thousands of years you may go on reading Bhagavad-gita; you will not learn even a word of it. That is the secret…"

[srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.6—Delhi, November 12, 1973]

The Supersoul fulfills the desire of the atomic soul as one friend fulfills the desire of another. The Vedas, like the Mundaka Upanisad, as well as the Svetasvatara Upanisad, compare the soul and the Supersoul to two friendly birds sitting on the same tree. One of the birds (the individual atomic soul) is eating the fruit of the tree, and the other bird (Krsna) is simply watching His friend. Of these two birds—although they are the same in quality—one is captivated by the fruits of the material tree, while the other is simply witnessing the activities of His friend. Krsna is the witnessing bird, and Arjuna is the eating bird. Although they are friends, one is still the master and the other is the servant. Forgetfulness of this relationship by the atomic soul is the cause of one's changing his position from one tree to another, or from one body to another. [bg 2.22]

Unless one is in Krsna consciousness, there is no possibility of peace. So it is confirmed in the Fifth Chapter (5.29) that when one understands that Krsna is the only enjoyer of all the good results of sacrifice and penance, that He is the proprietor of all universal manifestations, and that He is the real friend of all living entities, then only can one have real peace. Therefore, if one is not in Krsna consciousness, there cannot be a final goal for the mind. Disturbance is due to want of an ultimate goal, and when one is certain that Krsna is the enjoyer, proprietor and friend of everyone and everything, then one can, with a steady mind, bring about peace. [bg 2.66]

As far as the bodies are concerned in different castes or different species of life, the Lord is equally kind to everyone because He treats every living being as a friend yet maintains Himself as Paramatma regardless of the circumstances of the living entities.

[bg 5.18]

The sufferings of humanity are due to forgetfulness of Krsna as the supreme enjoyer, the supreme proprietor, and the supreme friend. Therefore, to act to revive this consciousness within the entire human society is the highest welfare work. One cannot be engaged in such first-class welfare work without being liberated in the Supreme. A Krsna conscious person has no doubt about the supremacy of Krsna. He has no doubt because he is completely freed from all sins. This is the state of divine love.

[bg 5.25]

…The cause of happiness is knowing Krsna to be the supreme enjoyer of all the activities of the human being, the proprietor of all lands and planets, and the sincerest friend of all living entities. [bg 6.32]

And for one who hears about Krsna, Lord Krsna, who is dwelling in everyone's heart, acts as a best-wishing friend and purifies the devotee who constantly engages in hearing of Him. [bg 7.1]

"I am the goal, the sustainer, the master, the witness, the abode, the refuge, and the most dear friend. I am the creation and the annihilation, the basis of everything, the resting place and the eternal seed" Purport:…since Krsna is the source of our generation, or the supreme father, no one can be a better friend than Krsna, nor can anyone be a better well-wisher… [bg 9.18]

…Since all living entities are Krsna's sons, He is everyone's friend. Unfortunately, we are not taking advantage of His friendship, and that is our disease. Once we recognize Krsna as our eternal father and friend, we can understand that He is always protecting us, and in this way we can be happy.

[The Path of Perfection— 5: Determination and Steadiness in Yoga]

Given the situation, you may have some doubt—how can Krishna be truly my friend if He has just taken away my guru maharaj? For this, you must turn to the teachings of Lord Chaitanya: "You are my worshipable Lord, unconditionally, even if you handle my roughly by your embrace". Krishna is so mysterious that sometimes even fully self realized souls cannot understand the plan of the lord, what to speak of us little players. Yet one thing is clear—the plan of the Lord is all good, absolute, and is not subject to our speculations, doubts, fears, or any other consideration. We must see the glass as half full, not half empty. What is done by the Lord must be all good, otherwise I have not understood anything. He is supremely independent, and His plan is based on sreyas (long term benefit), whereas our plans, no matter how well intended, maybe inadvertently be based on preyas (short term benefit, way of being, activities, or sense gratification).

***

One thing to come out of this seeming setback is that you must become more deeply attached to Srila Prabhupada than ever before. This is the best inoculation against feeling orphaned. Please keep in mind that millions of Christians never physically met Christ, yet their faith in him is powerful. Can we actually be less fixed than the meat-eating Christians? That would mean we remain on the low end of kanistha adhikary (materialistic or neophyte devotee), for the kanistha maintains the bodily concept, "even after receiving so much instruction on the matter"; that is to say, the kanistha will chant under the affliction of the tenth offense, which is the primo killer of bhakti. We are all doing it in some degree; otherwise we would all be drowning in prema (most perfect love of Godhead). However, we must hold up the mirror, becoming aware of what the obstacles are that hold us back. This introspection is called satyam—truthfulness. Let us review what Krishna and Srila Prabhupada say about introspection:

ya nisa sarva-bhutanam

tasyam jagarti samyami

yasyam jagrati bhutani

sa nisa pasyato muneh

ya—what; nisa—is night; sarva—all; bhutanam—of living entities; tasyam—in that; jagarti—is wakeful; samyami—the self-controlled; yasyam—in which; jagrati—are awake; bhutani—all beings; sa—that is; nisa—night; pasyatah—for the introspective; muneh—sage.

What is night for all beings is the time of awakening for the self-controlled; and the time of awakening for all beings is night for the introspective sage.

PURPORT

There are two classes of intelligent men. One is intelligent in material activities for sense gratification, and the other is introspective and awake to the cultivation of self-realization. Activities of the introspective sage, or thoughtful man, are night for persons materially absorbed. Materialistic persons remain asleep in such a night due to their ignorance of self-realization. The introspective sage remains alert in the "night" of the materialistic men. The sage feels transcendental pleasure in the gradual advancement of spiritual culture, whereas the man in materialistic activities, being asleep to self-realization, dreams of varieties of sense pleasure, feeling sometimes happy and sometimes distressed in his sleeping condition. The introspective man is always indifferent to materialistic happiness and distress. He goes on with his self-realization activities undisturbed by material reactions. [bg 2.69]

This last statement by Srila Prabhupada is most challenging in the face of what most people view as tragedy: "The introspective man is always indifferent to materialistic happiness and distress. He goes on with his self-realization activities undisturbed by material reactions." From this statement, we must see that our homework is certainly laid out for us, lest we slide into the deep pit of bodily consciousness, disturbed by the material reactions, or reverses in this world. Even though the situation may not be material, such as the passing away of a great soul, nevertheless our mental and emotional reaction may be. For this reason we must be very vigilant to dive deeper into surrender in the face of reverses, just as Prahlad Maharaja, Draupadi and the Pandavas, as well as countless other saintly Vaishnavas like Hari das Thakur, have done in far more stringent situations.

In closing, here is a very enlightening revelation by Srila Prabhupada regarding your guru maharaja’s destination:

…Those who are Krsna conscious, immediately they are transferred where Krsna is there. This is the process. Immediately, by spiritual force.... Tyaktva deham punar janma naiti mam eti kaunteya [bg. 4.9]. Mam eti. "Immediately he comes to Me." Krsna is there.

Within this material world He's also there. In some of the universes. There are innumerable universes, I have already explained. Somewhere He is there. So a devotee just after giving this body, giving up this body, immediately he is transferred to that universe where Krsna is there. And when he's trained up, then he is, again, he's transferred to the Goloka Vrndavana, the spiritual sky. These are the description of Sanatana Gosvami in Brhad-bhagavatamrta…"

[bhagavad-gita lecture, 4.4 —Bombay, March 24, 1974]

Your eternal servant, friend, and well wisher on behalf of Srila Prabhupada,

Makhanlal das Gauravanachari (ACBSP)