JPS Vyasa-puja—Mayavada, Rtvikvada, and Guru

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna. Today is certainly a most sacred and auspicious day, Vyasa-puja. Having heard some of the devotees on His Holiness Jayapataka Swami Maharaja, from mother Malati Prabhu, I thought of many incidents related to Maharaja’s various services while we were reading and speaking and I thought I might comment but he has done so much service in so many different areas that just commenting a little on each one would lead to a lengthy discourse. So I thought to speak about the importance of Vyasa-puja, the meaning of Vyasa-puja. Kalindi Sundari’s offering was really very beautiful, very sweet. In very simple language she covered so many important points for a disciple or any devotee—especially a disciple—in relation to one’s spiritual master.

The occasion is called Vyasa-puja because the spiritual master repeats the message of Vyasa. Vyasa is Krishna, the literary incarnation of Krishna. In the Bhagavad-gītā Krishna says, vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyo vedānta-kṛd veda-vid eva cāham. Krishna says that He is the [?] Vedas [?] and He is the compiler of Vedanta. That means He is the knower of the Vedas—vedānta-kṛd veda-vid—and He is the proprietor of Vedanta. He does that as Vyasadeva. So the knowledge comes down from Krishna through disciplic succession through the spiritual master to us and the service that we offer to Krishna is offered first to the spiritual master and he offers it through disciplic succession. Therefore the spiritual master is a transparent via medium. He presents the message as it is. He doesn’t add or subtract anything. He doesn’t distort anything or make compromises. And whatever service is offered to him he also doesn’t keep for himself, but he offers it to his spiritual master and to his spiritual master through the disciplic succession to Krishna.

The basis or the beginning of devotional service is to accept a spiritual master, to take initiation from him, to follow his instructions, to ask questions of him. These are the first four items of devotional service enumerated by Srila Rupa Gosvami. Therefore to attack the relationship of a disciple with the spiritual master is really to attack the very basis of one’s devotional service. Therefore Sripada Jayapataka Swami Maharaja was so vehement in his opposition to the Rtvik philosophy. We heard that he compiled a hundred arguments against Rtvikvada. Srila Prabhupada was similarly vehement about Mayavada and there really is a connection between Rtvikvada and Mayavada.

The idea in Mayavada is that Krishna, His name, His form, His qualities, His pastimes, His paraphernalia, His entourage, His service are all maya. The ultimate truth is impersonal Brahman and the impersonal Brahman comes in the form of Krishna, accepts a form of maya as Krishna. In the Bhagavad-gītā Krishna says, “Surrender to Me.” He doesn’t really mean that we should surrender to Him, the person Krishna, but the impersonal Brahman that is speaking through Krishna. Srila Prabhupada and all of our acharyas have very vehemently protested against the Mayavada interpretation. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, māyāvādi-bhāṣya śunile haya sarva-nāśa: “By hearing the impersonal commentaries one’s spiritual life is destroyed.” Māyāvādī kṛṣṇe aparādhī. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said that the Mayavadis are the greatest offenders to Krishna.

At one stage in ISKCON there actually was a deviation in which some disciples claimed that Srila Prabhupada was actually Krishna, that we were underestimating him and that actually He was Krishna. Srila Prabhupada said that that was Mayavada philosophy and that Mayavada philosophy really cuts at the relationship between the spiritual master and the disciple. Srila Prabhupada said that if the spiritual master can become Krishna then it means the disciple can also become Krishna. If the spiritual master can become God then the disciple can also become God and then there is no relationship between the disciple and the spiritual master. They both merge and become one. So Mayavada philosophy really cuts at the very root of the relationship between the disciple and the spiritual master.

Rtvikvada is similar. According to the Rtviks Srila Prabhupada never could have intended that the eleven people that he named to initiate, he never intended that they could actually be gurus because subsequently some of them had difficulty. The idea is that Srila Prabhupada is omniscient, he can tell the future. He knew that in the future they would have difficulty and therefore he never could have intended them to become gurus. What he really intended was that he would be the guru that his disciples would initiate on his behalf that he would be the guru.

Now there are many mistaken premises in this whole theory. In fact I asked Srila Prabhupada more or less about that very point. Soon after I joined, probably less than a year after I joined, Srila Prabhupada formed the GBC, Governing Body Commission, and he appointed or named twelve disciples to be members of the GBC. I thought that these twelve were in a different category from the other devotees that there was something special about them that put them in a different category. After some time one of them had difficulty but I didn’t think too much about it. I thought it was a fluke. I didn’t think about it too much. But then some time later another one of them had difficulty and was unable to continue the strict practice of Krishna consciousness. So I approached Srila Prabhupada. I said, “You know everything about us. You know us better than we know ourselves. But still sometimes we see that you put someone in an exalted position and then he falls down. How is that possible?” Srila Prabhupada replied, “The living entity is always marginal. So whatever position he is in he can always use it either for sense gratification or for Krishna’s service.”

The minute independence of the living entity is always there. Even if someone were omniscient like Krishna and knew everything about a person—his past lives, everything about a person’s history, his psychology, economics, his sociology, every factor that could possibly influence him—if one knew every factor that could influence him, still there is the added element of freewill. Therefore one can never calculate with absolute certainty what an individual will do because he always has freewill. And as Prabhupada said, he can always use his position either for sense gratification or for Krishna’s service. His spiritual master will put him in the best position for Krishna’s service but still he has freewill and that is always there. Even Krishna while speaking the Bhagavad-gītā to Arjuna said, “Now you have heard what I have said. Now you deliberate on it and yathecchasi tathā kuru, you do whatever you like.” “You do whatever you like” means “you decide.” Krishna never interferes with the minute independence of the living entity.

So the idea that Prabhupada must have known that they would fall down and therefore he could not have recommended them to initiate disciples, the very premise is wrong. Srila Prabhupada himself said that acharya does not mean omniscient like Krishna. Acharya means how well he is preaching the bhakti cult. It is said of Advaita Acharya that He was known as Advaita because He is nondifferent from Krishna (Vishnu) and He was known as Acharya because He was preaching the bhakti cult—ācāryam bhakti-śāsanāt. So Srila Prabhupada quoted that acharya means one who is preaching the bhakti cult, not omniscient like Krishna.

This idea that Prabhupada knew that they would fall down therefore how could he have recommended them to initiate, he must not have meant that they should initiate. He must have meant that he would actually be the guru and they would initiate on his behalf that really they would be Prabhupada’s disciple. Now if we accept the theory that one does not need a direct link to Srila Prabhupada, that one can without personally being accepted by Srila Prabhupada one can imagine that one has been accepted by Srila Prabhupada, then one could imagine that one has been accepted by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, or by Srila Rupa Gosvami, or by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, or by Krishna Himself. If one does not need a personal link to the disciplic succession, if one can bypass the immediate link, then one could bypass the next link and the next link and the next link and the next link and one approaches Krishna directly. But the actual . . . and this is clearly stated by Srila Rupa Gosvami with reference to shastra, tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta: one must surrender to the guru. Tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā. Praṇipāt: one must surrender to the guru. Paripraśnena: one asks questions. And sevayā: one renders service. It is a living relationship with a living person where he is there to give you instructions coming from Vyasa, the disciplic succession, and you are there to render service to him which he in turn offers to the disciplic succession to Vyasa. There is no room for imagination.

The Rtviks may have a picture of Srila Prabhupada and they may imagine that he has accepted them but how do they know? So it really cuts this Mayavada theory or really cuts at the relationship of the guru and disciple which in turn is the very basis of our devotional service and that means that it cuts at the very basis of our devotional service just like Mayavada. It is very important that we gather on such occasions to reaffirm the validity of the disciplic succession and the process of surrender and inquiry and service rendered to the spiritual master.

I noticed in Kalindi Sundari’s offerings some references, indirect references to statements that Srila Prabhupada had made, in particular a letter that Srila Prabhupada had written to His Holiness Jayapataka Swami Maharaja in which Jayapataka Maharaja had asked Srila Prabhupada, “Is it true that the spiritual master will remain in the material world until all of his disciples are delivered?” Srila Prabhupada replied, “Yes, it is true that the spiritual master will remain in the universe until all of his disciples are delivered and therefore the disciple should be very careful not to commit any offense that will create an obstruction in their spiritual progress and thus oblige the spiritual master to have to come back again.” He said, “To disobey the orders of the spiritual master is the number one offense and one should avoid committing any offense that will create an obstruction in one’s spiritual advancement.” So in her very sweet and simple way she prayed that he save her from nāma-aparādhas and of course that guror avajñā, to disobey the spiritual master’s instruction—one of the nāma-aparādhas; it is also vaiṣṇava-aparādha—so that she and her husband can go back to Godhead in this very lifetime which will be wonderful for them and it will also be wonderful for her Guru Maharaja to have her with him and Srila Prabhupada and their Lords and masters.

In her offering she also mentioned the thunderbird. This is a reference to a morning walk that Srila Prabhupada took in Chicago in which he saw a car parked on the side of the road that was called a Thunderbird. Have you heard of the car Thunderbird? Srila Prabhupada asked, “What is the thunderbird?” One disciple answered that, “Thunderbird is the name of an Indian chief. So they probably named the car after the Indian chief, Thunderbird.” So Srila Prabhupada asked, “But is there really any such bird as a thunderbird?” And they couldn’t really answer. Srila Prabhupada replied, “We have got thunderbird. It is called cātaka. The cātaka bird will not take water from anywhere except the cloud. So the cātaka bird will always remain poised under the cloud waiting for rain. But sometimes the cloud doesn’t give rain. It gives thunderbolts but still the cātaka bird will not go anywhere else for water.” So one of the devotees asked Srila Prabhupada, “In what connection?” Prabhupada said, “Rupa Gosvami had written this verse.” So the disciple asked, “In what connection does Rupa Gosvami give this example?” Srila Prabhupada replied that, “Krishna is like the cloud . . .” It is also a very beautiful image because Krishna is Shyamasundara, His complexion is that of a dark monsoon cloud. “. . . So the devotee will take mercy only from Krishna. He will not take mercy from the material world. And even if Krishna doesn’t give mercy, if He doesn’t give rain, but rather He gives thunder and lightning, still the devotee will not go anywhere else. He will not take mercy from the material world but He will wait for Krishna’s mercy.” In a higher sense the thunderbolts are also Krishna’s mercy in a different form. So the disciple has that mood. The disciple doesn’t want only to be praised by the spiritual master. In fact he takes the chastisement of the spiritual master as mercy. He won’t leave the spiritual master if the spiritual master chastises him.

Once in Juhu my esteemed elder godsister, Malati dasi, wrote Srila Prabhupada that the Deities were being neglected. This is very early even before we had the hut for the Deities. We just had a tent, a temporary pandal. Srila Prabhupada in response wrote me a letter saying, “I have received report that the Deities are being neglected and this is a very abominable affair and you must immediately do something to rectify the situation.” I was a very new devotee and as it is India was difficult, Juhu was difficult, and I thought . . . my neophyte mind was reeling when I got that letter. It was reeling. So I wrote Srila Prabhupada back saying that, “Yes, I will do as you say and we will take proper care of the Deities.” And I said something to the effect that, “Your letter was very strong . . .” I was just revealing my mind to Srila Prabhupada. I wasn’t trying to get a response from him. I was just revealing my mind to him and I said something like, “I am really struggling to maintain my enthusiasm.” Srila Prabhupada wrote back that, “It is the duty of the spiritual master to criticize the disciples.” Sometimes Prabhupada would quote the Canakya sloka that a father or teacher should discipline his son or disciple. That will make him strong. And if he is too lenient with the son or disciple then he’ll become spoiled. So Prabhupada wrote that, “My only desire is that you along with all of my other disciples make advancement in Krishna consciousness. So please take my criticism in that spirit.”

That’s an important instruction. That is what surrender means that you don’t leave. The cātaka bird never leaves the cloud. Even if the cloud doesn’t give rain but it sends thunderbolts still the cātaka bird doesn’t leave the cloud. So in the same way the disciple will never leave the spiritual master. Even if the spiritual master criticizes the disciple or corrects the disciple but the disciple will never leave the spiritual master. He will accept the chastisement of the spiritual master as the spiritual master’s mercy.

Once in Srila Prabhupada’s last weeks in Juhu when he was quite ill in 1977 His Holiness Navayogendra Swami was serving for some of the time and Prabhupada became very angry and Navayogendra Swami said, “Prabhupada when you get angry like that and chastise us we don’t know what to think; we don’t know how to feel. We just get so bewildered. How should we feel? Srila Prabhupada replied, “You should feel jubilant. There are so many people loitering in the streets. No one cares for them. If they do something wrong no one will correct them. They are just left on their own. So you should feel jubilant that you have someone who cares for you and who will correct you if you do something wrong.” Praharṣayiṣyāmi sanātha-jīvitam. Once Prabhupada quoted a verse by Yamunacharya which was spoken by Rupa Gosvami and Sanatana Gosvami when they first met Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and they asked to have Him as their living master. They said that, “When we have You as our living master, we will feel completely pacified and we will be free from mental speculation.” There’s more to it but that’s an important part of it.

So Sripad Jayapataka Swami Maharaja has very fiercely upheld the principle of guru within ISKCON against all attacks prominent among which is the attacks of the Rtvikvadis and of course the Mayavadis. So it is a great privilege for us to assemble on such an occasion and appreciate his mercy, glorify his service, and offer ourselves in his service, servant of the servant, servant of the servant of the servant, or servant of the servant of the servant of the servant, as much as possible.

We have learned now that in addition to our dīkṣā-guru we may also have śikṣā-guru. They are also representing Srila Prabhupada. They are also representing the disciplic succession. They are also representing Srila Vyasadeva or Krishna. By hearing from them, learning from them, learning from their instructions, learning from their examples, and by rendering service to them, following their instructions, we can make better progress. Therefore it is very purifying for all of us. It is very enlivening for all of us. Whether we are initiated by Sripad Jayapataka Swami or not, he is certainly a tremendous servant of Srila Prabhupada and we can learn from his example and from his instructions. We can’t imitate him but we can try to follow in his footsteps.

It is necessary that senior devotees all help the junior devotees. It is good that the relatively junior devotees all learn from and render service to senior devotees. In the old days before the computer, before the airplane, gurus would have a small ashram and their disciples would live with them in their ashram and there would be regular daily instruction by the spiritual master and regular daily service to the spiritual master personally and directly. It began with Nityananda Prabhu, the nāma-haṭṭa, but it was expanded by Bhaktivinoda Thakura, where different preachers are assisting the fallen souls, and as Malati Prabhu said and as it is so true under Srila Prabhupada’s direction, Srila Jayapataka Swami Maharaja really elaborated the nāma-haṭṭa program.

There are so many teachers of Krishna consciousness and there are so many students. The students become teachers and in this way the knowledge is passed on and service is rendered. We have to care for each other. He cares so much for devotees whether they are initiated by him or not. He encourages them; he teaches them; he instructs them; he engages them. So we should also be like that—very broadminded and liberal. Everyone here is a student of someone. Everyone is a teacher of someone. So following His Holiness Jayapataka Swami Maharaja’s example as teachers we should be very liberal and openhearted. We should be very loving and caring as he is and give off ourselves to others, share knowledge, and experience with them, and encourage them to render service, and perhaps directly engage them in service. And we should also be liberal and open in receiving instruction even sometimes receiving chastisement and in offering respect and worship and homage and service and that will please His Holiness Jayapataka Swami Maharaja and our disciplic succession—Srila Prabhupada and his predecessors. And that will help us individually, each and every one of us to grow, flourish in Krishna consciousness, and it will help us collectively as a movement to be very strong—not in any material sense but in a spiritual sense—very strong because of our purity. Purity is the force. Strong because of our unity.

Srila Prabhupada always told that story of the father who gave sticks to his sons. He gave a thin stick to each son and each son was able to break the stick very easily but then when he bundled a lot of thin sticks together and asked them to break the bundle, they couldn’t do it. So individually, on our own, alone, we can be broken very easily, but if we stay together nothing can break us. We will be very strong. And staying together really means developing relationships that are loving and caring. Srila Prabhupada used the phrase “love and trust” not just a designation or an affiliation: “We are ISKCON devotees. We have to stick together,” or “We are disciples of a certain guru. We have to stick together.” That’s true in a way but it should be true in a spiritual way that we love and care for each other and that will manifest itself in the higher devotees, giving instruction and caring for the younger devotees, and then the younger devotees appreciating and honoring and serving the more senior devotees, and then of course we have our peers, our friends. We also should have loving friendships with each other and that will make us strong. That will make us united. And that will make us not only advanced individually but it will make us powerful collectively as His Holiness Jayapataka Swami and Srila Prabhupada and our disciplic succession would want.

So I am very honored and grateful that I could be here on this occasion at his lotus feet and with all of you to observe this very sacred and important occasion. Hare Krishna.