The Duty of the Spiritual Master—with Prtha Prabhu

Giriraj Swami: First, I would like to thank His Grace Prthu Prabhu for his illuminating explanation of disciplic succession especially with reference to Srila Prabhupada as the most obedient servant of His Divine Grace, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja. And how Srila Prabhupada is engaging his disciples in the service of his spiritual master? And how we in turn will work together with our disciples to serve our spiritual master His Divine Grace, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

Once in Calcutta Srila Prabhupada asked some disciples, what is the duty of the spiritual master? Ultimately, Srila Prabhupada himself gave the answer: “The duty of the spiritual master is to serve Krishna.” And of course, we know that the spiritual master serves Krishna through his own spiritual master. But Srila Prabhupada gave the answer that the duty of the spiritual master is to serve Krishna. And what is the duty of the disciple? The duty of the disciple is to assist the spiritual master. Srila Prabhupada said that, “All of the services in the temple, are the spiritual master’s service to Krishna.” It is the spiritual master’s duty to clean the floor for Krishna and the disciples assist the spiritual master. So, when the disciple is cleaning the floor, he should be thinking that, I am assisting my spiritual master by cleaning the floor. And what to speak of other services like directly preaching the message of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Bhagavad-gītā? But as we discussed in the morning, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu especially gave the holy names of Krishna as the main process for Krishna consciousness. By chanting Hare Krishna, we become Krishna conscious, and by inducing others to chant Hare Krishna, we spread Krishna consciousness.

So, our main activity is to chant Hare Krishna and get others to do the same. But while the holy name of Krishna is identical to Krishna and has the same potencies as Krishna. If we chant the holy names with offenses, we will not get the full benefit of chanting. And therefore, at the time of initiation, Srila Prabhupada would generally enumerate the ten offenses against the holy name so that the disciples, who are being initiated into the chanting of the holy name, can guard against the ten offenses and quickly achieve the result of pure chanting. So, we shall read from Srila Prabhupada’s translation of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta about the chanting of the holy names. The author of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta advises that before chanting the holy names of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, one should first chant the names of the Pancha-tattva maha-mantra. Because in the chanting of the holy names of śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda, there are no offenses to be considered. And therefore, by chanting the holy names śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda, one can feel ecstatic very easily. And, when one feels ecstatic by chanting the holy names of the Pancha-tattva, then one can chant the holy names of Krishna without offense. And then, one will feel transcendental ecstasy in chanting the holy names of Krishna.

So, we will read from Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā Chapter Eight.

CC Ādi 1.18

jaya jaya śrī-caitanya jaya nityānanda

jayādvaita-candra jaya gaura-bhakta-vṛnda

TEXT 24:

‘kṛṣṇa-nāma’ kare aparādhera vicāra

kṛṣṇa balile aparādhīra nā haya vikāra

TRANSLATION

There are offenses to be considered while chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. Therefore simply by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa one does not become ecstatic.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

It is very beneficial to chant the names śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda before chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra because by chanting these two holy names — śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda — one immediately becomes ecstatic, and if he then chants the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra he becomes free of offenses.

There are ten offenses to avoid in chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. The first offense is to blaspheme great personalities who are engaged in distributing the holy name of the Lord. It is said in the śāstra (Cc. Antya 7.11), kṛṣṇa-śakti vinā nahe tāra pravartana: one cannot distribute the holy names of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra unless he is empowered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore one should not criticize or blaspheme a devotee who is thus engaged.

Śrī Padma Purāṇa states:

satāṁ nindā nāmnaḥ paramam aparādhaṁ vitanute
 yataḥ khyātiṁ yātaṁ katham u sahate tad-vigarhām

To blaspheme the great saintly persons who are engaged in preaching the glories of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra is the worst offense at the lotus feet of the holy name. One should not criticize a preacher of the glories of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. If one does so, he is an offender. The Nāma-prabhu, who is identical with Kṛṣṇa, will never tolerate such blasphemous activities, even from one who passes as a great devotee.

COMMENT

So, no one in the history of the world was empowered like Srila Prabhupada to spread the holy name of Krishna throughout the whole world. kṛṣṇa-śakti vinā nahe tāra pravartana: without being empowered by the potency of Krishna, no one can spread the holy names all over the world. So, to blaspheme a preacher of the glories of the holy name, especially of the caliber of Srila Prabhupada, is a great offense. And the holy name will not tolerate such offenses even from someone who passes as a great devotee. Unfortunately, when Srila Prabhupada was personally present, some persons who passed as great devotees, Gaudiya Vaishnavas, criticized him. And, the result was that the holy name was not pleased with them as the holy name was pleased with Srila Prabhupada. And therefore, they were not empowered to serve the holy name like Srila Prabhupada was. And unfortunately, even now the same tendency continues to criticize Srila Prabhupada directly or indirectly and to minimize Srila Prabhupada. In the earlier days of ISKCON in America, some of Srila Prabhupada’s disciples under the influence of some of Srila Prabhupada’s godbrothers, began to minimize Srila Prabhupada right within ISKCON.

We happened to have the printing press in Boston and one of the first books we printed was The Nectar of Devotion. So, at the bottom of the cover was the name of the author, “A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami.” And when Srila Prabhupada saw his name, he became very angry. He actually said, “I am offended.” His name was written “A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami.” Srila Prabhupada said as if he was some mundane author. Srila Prabhupada said, “Don’t you know, I am the Founder-Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness? Everywhere my name should be presented: “His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder-Acharya of The International Society for Krishna Consciousness.” Another time in Bombay, Srila Prabhupada had instructed one disciple to register the society. And, after some time when Srila Prabhupada returned to Bombay, he asked to see the document. So, the document included a list of founding members, and at the top of the list was Srila Prabhupada. So, there is a place for the name and occupation. So, the name maybe A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and the occupation sannyasi. Srila Prabhupada became so outraged. He said, “Sannyasi? I am just a sannyasi, like a beggar in the street? You don’t know that I am the founder acharya of The International Society for Krishna Consciousness?”

So, the devotee was completely flustered. He said “Srila Prabhupada, I forgot.” Srila Prabhupada became even more furious. “You forgot? Can a son forget who his father is? You forgot?” And finally, Srila Prabhupada said that the disciple had done these things because he wanted to take over the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. And then, Srila Prabhupada added a clause to the society’s registration which we call the ‘Founder Acharya Clause’. Even though it is completely against the rules of societies in India but he added the Founder Acharya Clause that the Founder Acharya is the absolute authority in all matters of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness and his decision cannot be questioned or challenged. So, this is Srila Prabhupada’s position and any attempt to minimize Srila Prabhupada’s position is vaiṣṇava-aparādha, as described here, ‘the worst offense against the holy name.’

PURPORT (continued)

The second nāmāparādha is described as follows:

śivasya śrī-viṣṇor ya iha guṇa-nāmādi-sakalaṁ
 dhiyā bhinnaṁ paśyet sa khalu hari-nāmāhita-karaḥ

In this material world, the holy name of Viṣṇu is all-auspicious. Viṣṇu’s name, form, qualities and pastimes are all transcendental, absolute knowledge. Therefore, if one tries to separate the Absolute Personality of Godhead from His holy name or His transcendental form, qualities and pastimes, thinking them to be material, that is offensive.

COMMENT

We have often heard that when we chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, we are actually praying to the Lord to engage us in His service. So, one devotee once gave the example that if you want some service, you have to appear for an interview. And when you appear for the interview, you want to present yourself at your best. So, when we chant Hare Krishna, we are actually appearing for an interview before Lord Krishna for service. Now, if we fell asleep during our interview for our job, what would our employer think? It wouldn’t create a very good impression. So, when we chant the holy names, we should know that we are presenting ourselves before Lord Krishna in the mood of service. And, we should be very alert and attentive.

PURPORT (continued)

Similarly, to think that the names of demigods such as Lord Śiva to be as good as the name of Lord Viṣṇu — or, in other words, to think that Lord Śiva and the other demigods can be other forms of God and are therefore equal to Viṣṇu — is also blasphemous. This is the second offense at the lotus feet of the Lord.

The third offense at the lotus feet of the holy name, which is called guror avajñā, is to consider the spiritual master to be material and therefore envy his exalted position.

COMMENT

So, guror avajñā literally means, ‘To disobey the order of the spiritual master.’ But why would one disobey the order of the spiritual master? Well, one reason would be that we consider the spiritual master to be ordinary, that just as we make mistakes, he may also make a mistake. And therefore, we think, Well, Should I follow his instruction or not? Is his instruction correct or not? I won’t tell the whole story here. It would probably take volumes to tell but Srila Prabhupada entered an agreement to purchase Hare Krishna land at Juhu. And, one of his prominent disciples thought he made a mistake. He actually thought he made a mistake and therefore, he wanted to cancel the sales agreement which he did.

PURPORT (continued)

The third offense at the lotus feet of the holy name, which is called guror avajñā, or to disobey the order of the spiritual master, is to consider the spiritual master to be material and therefore envy his exalted position. The fourth offense (śruti-śāstra-nindanam) is to blaspheme Vedic literatures such as the four Vedas and the Purāṇas.

COMMENT

Of course, we should never directly blaspheme the Vedic literature. But if we do not take interest in reading the Vedic literatures, in reading Srila Prabhupada’s books, indirectly we are being offensive. Because if we really valued the Vedic literatures, we would read them. So, we should read Srila Prabhupada’s books. We should attend Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam class every day.

PURPORT (continued)

The fifth offense (artha-vādaḥ) is to consider the glories of the holy name to be exaggerations. Similarly, the sixth offense (hari-nāmni kalpanam) is to consider the holy name of the Lord to be imaginary.

The seventh offense is described as follows:

nāmno balād yasya hi pāpa-buddhir
 na vidyate tasya yamair hi śuddhiḥ

To think that since the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra can counteract all sinful reactions one may therefore go on with his sinful activities and at the same time chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra to neutralize them is the greatest offense at the lotus feet of hari-nāma.

The eighth offense is stated thus:

dharma-vrata-tyāga-hutādi-sarva-
 śubha-kriyā-sāmyam api pramādaḥ

It is offensive to consider the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra to be a religious ritualistic ceremony. Performing religious ceremonies, following vows and practicing renunciation and sacrifice are all materialistic auspicious activities. The chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra must not be compared to such materialistic religiosity. This is an offense at the lotus feet of the Lord.

COMMENT

Once Srila Prabhupada was invited to speak at a program with another man, who used to gather people together to chant the holy name. So, the other man used to tell the audience that if you chant the holy name, you will be cured of all of your physical ailments and diseases. Sometimes, Christians also have meetings, in which they tell the audience that, “If you accept Jesus Christ as your savior, you will be freed from your diseases.” And sometimes, people who are dependent on crutches, they very dramatically… We have heard that it is staged, but they very dramatically, not always—they accept Jesus in their lives and then the preacher will say, “Okay, throw away your crutches, you can walk now.” And the man will throw away his crutches and walk.

So, even among Hindus, there may be some similar ideas. So, this one preacher, he told Srila Prabhupada that, “I am gathering people together and you are gathering people together. I am asking them to chant the holy name and you are asking them to chant the holy name. So we should cooperate.” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “No. The holy name is Krishna Himself. We cannot use the holy name.” We cannot engage the holy name in our service. But rather, we are meant to engage in the service of the holy name and to try to engage the holy name in our service is offensive.

PURPORT (continued)

The ninth offense is described as follows:

aśraddadhāne vimukhe ‘py aśṛṇvati
 yaś copadeśaḥ śiva-nāmāparādhaḥ

It is an offense to preach the glories of the holy name among persons who have no intelligence or no faith in the subject matter. Such people should be given the chance to hear the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, but in the beginning, they should not be instructed about the glories or the spiritual significance of the holy name. By constant hearing of the holy name, their hearts will be purified, and then they will be able to understand the transcendental position of the holy name.

The tenth offense is as follows:

śrute ‘pi nāma-māhātmye yaḥ prīti-rahito naraḥ
ahaṁ-mamādi-paramo nāmni so ‘py aparādha-kṛt

If one has heard the glories of the transcendental holy name of the Lord but nevertheless continues in a materialistic concept of life, thinking “I am this body and everything belonging to this body is mine [ahaṁ mameti],” and does not show respect and love for the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, that is an offense.

Giriraj Swami: To identify oneself with the body is demonic—to think, I am the doer, I am the controller, I am the enjoyer, is demonic. So, in spite of hearing so many instructions that I am not the body and still to identify with the body; to hear so many instructions that we are not the enjoyers, Krishna is the enjoyer. We are meant to serve Krishna. But still want to be the enjoyer in place of Krishna. These are all very demonic thoughts and they interfere with our chanting. So, if we continue in the bodily concept of life always absorbed in thoughts of this is my husband, this is my wife, these are my children, this is my house, or so many things, basically eating, sleeping, mating, and defending, it is an offense. So, we should try to chant attentively. As Srila Prabhupada says, “With respect and love.” We have to make an effort. Otherwise, if we just allow our mind to wander freely on any subject, our minds may very well end up in thoughts of relationships and sense gratification.

So, we have to try to control the mind and fix the mind on the transcendental sound vibration of the holy name of Krishna. Today, also some disciples will be receiving Gayatri mantra and initiated as brahmanas. After one has chanted the holy names of Krishna for some time and become purified by chanting the holy name, he can be awarded Gayatri mantra and recognized as a brahmana. The idea is that to enter fire, one must become fire. To serve the Supreme Brahman or Krishna, one must be on the brahman platform. So, when one is able to strictly follow the regulative principles and consistently chant the holy names of Krishna, He can be given Gayatri mantra and accept it as a brahmana. But he must maintain his position, by regularly chanting the holy names and following the regulative principles. If he deviates from the regulative principles, he is no longer a brahman. He may claim that he is a brahman but actually, he is no longer a brahman. Just as in India, there are caste brahmans. They don’t chant the holy names of Krishna. They don’t follow the regulative principles, but they claim to be brahmans just because they have a sacred thread.

So, Srila Prabhupada warned us, we should not become like the caste brahmans in India. After brahminical Initiation, we must maintain the brahminical standard, then we can be considered brahmans. And The Nectar of Devotion also confirms the same fact that only one who is strictly following the regulative principles is allowed to touch the deity. Otherwise, one is not. So, we should very carefully continue to chant the holy names, at least sixteen rounds daily, follow the regulative principles, beginning from rising early in the morning, bathing, and so on. And of course, no eating meat, fish, or eggs, no gambling, no illicit sex, and no intoxication. Then one can maintain one’s standing as a brahman and be allowed to serve the Supreme Brahman Sri Sri Radha-Shyamasundara, Sri Sri Krishna-Balarama, Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai, and their servants.

So, we pray to the deities, to Srila Prabhupada, to the Vaishnavas, to please, bless all the devotees who have assembled here today. That they may very nicely chant the holy names of Krishna, strictly follow the regulative principles, and follow the instructions of Srila Prabhupada, as they are coming through disciplic succession and serve the mission of Srila Prabhupada, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura and Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai.