The Shelter of the Spiritual Master’s Lotus Feet

Giriraj Swami: Today is a very special day for a number of reasons. First, we are in the special month of Kartik, which is especially beneficial for spiritual advancement. It is said that whatever devotional practices one executes in the month of Kartik, the benefit is multiplied by one thousand times. So, the fact that you have come in Kartik is already special. Today, we are entering into the last few days of Kartik called Bhīṣma-pañcaka. And there are some extra performances that can be done in Bhīṣma-pañcaka, but it is said that whatever you do in these last days of Kartik, it is as if you did them for the entire month of Kartik. So, it is another very special opportunity. Today is also Ekādaśī, which as one of our predecessors says, it is the mother of devotion, such days. And it is also the Disappearance Day of our spiritual master Srila Prabhupada’s grand spiritual master Srila Gaurakishora dasa Babaji Maharaja. And therefore, we have a special seat for him today with his picture, so that we can remember him and worship him and serve him and get his special mercy.

One of the fundamental principles of devotional service is to accept a spiritual master. One of Lord Chaitanya’s main disciples, Srila Rupa Gosvami, out of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s instruction, compiled a book called The Nectar of Devotion, or the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, in which he details the complete science of bhakti-yoga. And there are ten preliminary items that one should perform, and there are ten preliminary items that one should avoid, and then, there are another sixty-four items that constitute the complete practice of bhakti-yoga. So as I mentioned, the first ten preliminary items are do’s, and the second ten preliminary items are don’ts. And the first several items relate to accepting the spiritual master. First guru-pāda-āśraya, one should take shelter of the lotus feet of a bona fide spiritual master; dīkṣeti, one should take initiation from him; śikṣeti one should take instructions from him; and sad-dharma-pṛcchā, one should inquire into one’s eternal, constitutional activities. Dharma is sometimes translated as duty, or occupational duty, or constitutional activity. And sat means eternal.

We may have many duties in the material world. We have our duties to our parents, to our spouses, to our children, to our community, to our nation, even to humanity if one’s consciousness is expanded to that extent. We have so many duties and so many debts to pay. But the duties in the material world are asat, which means temporary. And one could even say unreal. So, one approaches the spiritual master, sad-dharma-pṛcchā, to inquire about eternal spiritual duties. In this life I may be very concerned about serving my community, but in my next life I may be born in another community and have another set of duties. Srila Prabhupada, our spiritual preceptor gave the example that in this life, I may be Indian, and I may think that I have to protect India from Pakistan, but in my next life I may take birth in Pakistan and think I have to protect Pakistan from India, just the opposite. And we very much identify with the body and things related to the body, and we perform duties in relation to the body, which is temporary. Another example that Srila Prabhupada gave way back in the 1970s was that people are very worried about the supply of petroleum, “Where will the energy come from to run the cars for my grandchildren?” He is so worried about his grandchildren but he is not thinking that he may take birth as an insect in that car. He has no idea who he is or what future awaits him, and so, he wastes his time on all these temporary duties in relation to the body. So, this is asat, and one should not approach a spiritual master to inquire about asat, temporary, illusory duties, but Sad-dharma-pṛcchā, one should inquire about one’s eternal, constitutional duties.

There is another verse in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, śreya uttamam, that one should approach a spiritual master when one is inquisitive about śreya uttamam, the ultimate benefit of life. There are two words in Sanskrit; śreyas, which means ultimate benefit, and preyas, which means immediate gratification. Generally, children are interested in preyas, they just want to play and enjoy. If they had a choice, most children would not choose to go to school, but their parents tell them, “You must go to school. If you don’t go to school and learn now, you will suffer later, you will not be equipped to face life.” So, even though you want to play, but it is not in your ultimate interest to just play, you should go to school, and that will give you benefit in the future. So, spiritually, most people are like children, they just want to play. Play at finding a girlfriend, finding a boyfriend, getting married, having a house, earning money, having a car, having children, educating the children, getting the children married, then children have grandchildren, and it is like you start all over again, as if you were having children again, and on and on and on. And there is nothing wrong with those activities, but they are temporary, they are not sad-dharma, they are not śreyas, they are not our ultimate interest. Our ultimate interest is to serve Krishna, to revive our eternal relationship with Krishna, na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇuṁ.

It is natural to be concerned about your self-interest, but you should know what your real self is, and then you can ascertain what your self-interest is. So, your real self is not the body, but you are part and parcel of Krishna. And therefore, your real self-interest is to serve the Supreme Self, Krishna. So, when one awakens to that understanding, one should approach a spiritual master. Not for any material gain, gross or subtle. So one other point, many of you know, but still, just to make it clear, the spiritual master must be coming in paramparā. Paramparā means literally one after the other, disciplic succession. Because Sri guru-pāda-āśraya, in the beginning is to accept the shelter of the lotus feet of the spiritual master. So, one accepts the shelter of the lotus feet of a spiritual master who has accepted the shelter of the lotus feet of a spiritual master, whose spiritual master in turn accepted the shelter of the lotus feet of his spiritual master. And that process goes all the way back to Krishna, to the original spiritual master.

So, our Srila Prabhupada had his spiritual master named Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s father was a great devotee and acharya, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura. But it is the etiquette that the father does not give initiation to the son. There is a similar etiquette in the medical profession, that a doctor will not perform surgery on his wife or child. So, although Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura had many disciples and was a fully self-realized soul and empowered representative of Krishna and Krishna Chaitanya, but he would not give initiation to his son. But he directed his son to take shelter of Srila Gaurakishora dasa Babaji Maharaja who was also a fully self-realized soul, completely detached from the material world, and fully absorbed in feelings of separation from Radha and Krishna.

So, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura was extraordinarily brilliant and learned. He had a photographic memory; whatever he read once, he would remember. And in his school days, he read all the books in the school library, and he knew the contents of every book. And in the end, the school had to buy more books, just for him. Srila Gaurakishora dasa Babaji Maharaja was hardly literate, he could hardly even sign his own name. And Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura instructed his son to take shelter of Srila Gaurakishora dasa Babaji. Now, the qualification of the spiritual master is that he should know the scripture, and teach it, and practice it. Those are the simple functions, the primary functions of the spiritual master. And although Srila Gaurakishora dasa Babaji Maharaja could hardly read, but he would have people read to him, and he had very deep realizations about the scripture, and even learned scholars would approach him with their questions about the sacred texts. So, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura advised his son that he should approach Srila Gaurakishora dasa Babaji Maharaja for initiation.

Now, Srila Gaurakishora dasa Babaji Maharaja, he was absorbed in the mellows of loving service to Radha and Krishna, and he did not really accept disciples. But on his father’s order, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta, he wasn’t called that then, but he approached Srila Gaurakishora dasa Babaji Maharaja. And Babaji Maharaja avoided him. He said, “I will have to ask Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.” So then, when Srila Bhaktisiddhanta returned home, his father asked him, “What happened? Did he accept you?” And he said, “No,” and he told him what happened. He said, “Oh, this is very bad, this is very bad, he did not accept you. You have to go back and beg him to accept you.” So, he went back, and with great eagerness, he inquired, “So, what did Chaitanya Mahaprabhu say?” Of course, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was present on earth about five hundred years ago, and the incident we are discussing took place about a hundred years ago, a little more. So, when he said that he would consult or ask Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, he was referring in a spiritual sense, out of his personal realization and contact with Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, not in a physical sense. So, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta went back and asked, “Did you ask him? What did he say?” And Gaurakishora dasa Babaji Maharaja avoided him again, and he said, “I am sorry, I forgot to ask.” In other words, “It wasn’t very important so it slipped my mind.” And it is said that one must be able to pass the test of the spiritual master. So, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta was being tested. So again, he went back, and his father asked him what happened, and he told him that Srila Gaurakishora dasa Babaji Maharaja had indirectly refused, he had avoided him. So, Bhaktivinoda Thakura said, “Somehow or other, you have to get his mercy.”

So, it is said that Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura was in a very distraught state. And he was walking by the Ganges, and he was singing a song by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura to the Vaishnava, spiritual master, kāṇḍīya kāṇḍīya, that, “If you are not merciful to me, I will simply weep, and I will not be able to maintain my life any longer.” So, he came to that state. And at that time, Srila Gaurakishora dasa Babaji Maharaja appeared, and he understood the heart of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, that he had come to that stage, “If you are not merciful to me, I will simply weep, and I will not be able to maintain my life any longer.” And then he accepted him. Now, speaking about this incident, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. . . Now, Srila Prabhupada does not accept that what Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura said was actually true, but that Srila Bhaktisiddhanta was saying it to instruct us, which is certainly true, it was very instructive. But what he said later was that, “I was very puffed up by my academic knowledge.” And not just academic knowledge, by his strict moral principles. And neither of those are qualifications for receiving the mercy of the Lord or the devotee. The only qualification is the sincere desire to serve and to receive their mercy. And he said that by the way Srila Gaurakishora dasa Babaji dealt with him, he very mercifully caused him to give up his false pride in his learning, his knowledge, his moral character, and principles. And he was actually able to accept him in the proper mood of a disciple, which is as a beggar of mercy, nothing more.

So, Srila Gaurakishora dasa Babaji Maharaja was, as I mentioned, fully absorbed in the mellows of serving Radha and Krishna within himself. Even among transcendentalist devotees there are two categories, bhajanānandī and goṣṭhyānandī. Bhajanānandī takes pleasure in his own personal spiritual advancement and practices. And sometimes, he may go to preach, but mainly, he is absorbed in relishing the bliss of bhajana, devotional service to Krishna. And goṣṭhyānandī is someone who relishes bliss in distributing Krishna consciousness to others. So, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura was a goṣṭhyānandī. He preached very extensively in East India, especially Bengal and Orissa, but he had a vision to preach throughout the world. And he wrote a book called The Life and Precepts of Lord Caitanya in English, and he sent copies to libraries throughout the world. That was in the year 1886, which happened to be the year of Srila Prabhupada’s birth, and there is some significance to that.

So, Gaurakishora dasa Babaji was a bhajanānandī, and he advised Srila Bhaktisiddhanta, his disciple, not to go to Calcutta, because Calcutta was a place of material allurements, or maya. So he advised him not to go to Calcutta. So, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta remained in Mayapur, which is maybe ninety miles north of Calcutta, seventy or ninety miles, and he was doing intense chanting of the holy names, but also writing literature on bhakti, translating literature related to bhakti. And some young men came to him recognizing his scholarship and spiritual position, and they suggested, “You should come to Calcutta. In Calcutta, you will be able to meet many people. You will have more people to hear your message in Calcutta.” And so, he went, and later, commenting on this, Srila Prabhupada said that, Srila Gaurakishora dasa Babaji told my guru Maharaja not to go to Calcutta, but he went. So does that mean that my guru Maharaja disobeyed his spiritual master?” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “No, because he was never in Calcutta. He was always in Vaikuntha, in the spiritual world.” So, fortunately, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta did go to Calcutta, and our Srila Prabhupada met him in Calcutta, and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta instructed him that he should go to the West and preach Krishna consciousness in the English language. And that was also the desire of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura.

So, although one could say that Srila Gaurakishora dasa Babaji Maharaja didn’t preach, but he did through Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. He had an immense wealth of spiritual realization, and he gave that to Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, and he distributed it. It is as if I have a million dollars but I don’t distribute it myself, I give it to someone and I say, “You distribute it.” So, indirectly, I am distributing it. And so, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, he distributed that wealth of Krishna consciousness that he received from his guru Maharaja. And although he would meet his guru Maharaja on occasion, but he was very busy, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta, with his bhajana and with his preaching and teaching. And so, once someone questioned him, “You don’t meet your guru Maharaja so much.” And, the spiritual master is the critical point in one’s devotional service. And I think that man who asked the question was a naval person, maybe they happened to be on a boat. But Srila Bhaktisiddhanta replied, “What you say may be true, but my guru Maharaja is like the motor that powers the boat. Although you don’t see it, but all the power that propels the boat comes from the motor. So, similarly, all the preaching that I am doing, the power is coming from my guru Maharaja.” And sometimes, Srila Gaurakishora dasa Babaji would quietly enter into an assembly where Srila Bhaktisiddhanta was speaking. And at one such gathering, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta began to glorify his spiritual master, and then, he noticed at the very back, Srila Gaurakishora dasa Babaji Maharaja had been standing there and listening. And only when he began to glorify him did he notice him. And at that stage, Srila Gaurakishora dasa Babaji Maharaja turned around and walked out, he didn’t want to hear himself praised.

So, we are very indebted to Srila Gaurakishora dasa Babaji Maharaja, and all of our acharyas, but especially our recent acharyas. Of course, Srila Prabhupada and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura and Srila Gaurakishora dasa Babaji Maharaja, and then Srila Bhaktisiddhanta’s father, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, because they really had the vision to spread Krishna consciousness all over the world. And it is because of their efforts and their mercy that we are here now. So, we are very obliged to them. And on this occasion, we should rededicate ourselves to their service, and redouble our efforts to follow their instructions to go deep in our own Krishna consciousness, and to share Krishna consciousness with others. As Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura said, the best goṣṭhyānandī is bhajanānandī who preaches. In other words, the best preacher is one who relishes internally Krishna consciousness, like a bhajanānandī, but he preaches. So, on this occasion, we offer our prostrated obeisances to them and beg for their mercy that we can be proper instruments in their hands.

Hare Krishna.

So, we have a few minutes. Are there any questions or comments? Yes,Corel?

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:39:45]

Giriraj Swami: Yes, that is a good question. Well, first, sad-dharma. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya — kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa’, that our constitutional position is we are eternal servants of Krishna. So, she is asking, “How do we know what our personal service is?”

Well, there are certain principles that apply to every devotee, and five in particular are especially potent; nāma-sankīrtana—chanting the holy name, bhāgavata-śravaṇa—hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, sādhu-saṅga—associating with advanced devotees, mathurā-vāsa—residing in a holy place like Mathura, Vrindavan, or Mayapur, and mūrtira śraddhāya sevana—worshipping the deity with faith and veneration. So, these are duties for all of us. And then, as far as our particular service, it would depend on our capacity and the need. You may have an inclination to cook, so you can cook for Krishna. You might have an inclination to paint, so you can paint for Krishna. An inclination to manage, so you can manage for Krishna. Inclination to clean, so you can clean for Krishna. But then there is also need. You may feel that your inclination is to stay back and cook, but we may have enough cooks and we might need people to go out and distribute prasāda.

So, ultimately, whatever instruction you receive from the spiritual master or higher authority, (spiritual master means not only one’s initiating spiritual mastery but any senior devotee who represents the paramparā), and you take that as your life and soul. But ultimately, the principle is to always remember Krishna and never forget Him. So, whatever the particulars of the service are, you should always remember Krishna and never forget Him, that will fulfill everything.

Hare Krishna.

So, I am not sure how much time we have, but at any moment the curtains could open. So, I think we will just fulfill our yuga-dharma, especially recommended for this age of chanting the holy names. Every acharya has recommended that, every teacher will tell you that, every good friend will tell you that, even a good child will tell you that you should chant Hare Krishna. So, please repeat.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

So, now, we can rise for Dāmodarāṣṭakam and offer your lamp to Lord Damodara.

Hare Krishna!