Guru-purnima Evening Program

Giriraj Swami:

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (sa guṇān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate). If one is a pure devotee acting under the directions of the guru, one easily gets the mercy of the Supreme Lord and thus becomes immediately situated on the transcendental platform. This is explained in the next verse.

COMMENT

The goal is to become free from the questions of maya, the three modes of material nature. Daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti. This material nature, which consists of the three modes, is very difficult to overcome, but one who surrenders to Krishna can easily cross over it. But we don’t surrender to Krishna directly, we can’t surrender to Krishna directly, but we surrender through the spiritual master. Then we can become free from the modes of material nature. 

Prabhupada ended this purport by saying, “This is explained in the next verse,” so we will read the next verse.

ŚB 7.15.26

yasya sākṣād bhagavati

jñāna-dīpa-prade gurau

martyāsad-dhīḥ śrutaṁ tasya

sarvaṁ kuñjara-śaucavat

TRANSLATION

The spiritual master should be considered to be directly the Supreme Lord because he gives transcendental knowledge for enlightenment. Consequently, for one who maintains the material conception that the spiritual master is an ordinary human being, everything is frustrated. His enlightenment and his Vedic studies and knowledge are like the bathing of an elephant.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

It is recommended that one honor the spiritual master as being on an equal status with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Sākṣād dharitvena samasta-śāstraiḥ. This is enjoined in every scripture. Ācāryaṁ māṁ vijānīyāt. One should consider the ācārya to be as good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In spite of all these instructions, if one considers the spiritual master an ordinary human being, one is doomed. His study of the Vedas and his austerities and penances for enlightenment are all useless, like the bathing of an elephant. An elephant bathes in a lake quite thoroughly, but as soon as it comes on the shore it takes some dust from the ground and strews it over its body. Thus there is no meaning to the elephant’s bath.

One may argue by saying that since the spiritual master’s relatives and the men of his neighborhood consider him an ordinary human being, what is the fault on the part of the disciple who considers the spiritual master an ordinary human being? This will be answered in the next verse, but the injunction is that the spiritual master should never be considered an ordinary man. One should strictly adhere to the instructions of the spiritual master, for if he is pleased, certainly the Supreme Personality of Godhead is pleased. Yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādo yasyāprasādān na gatiḥ kuto ‘pi.

COMMENT

The consequence of considering the spiritual master to be an ordinary human being is that one will think that one’s own ideas are as good as the spiritual master’s, or that one can take knowledge, information, or ideas from different places and decide for oneself on what package he wants to have for himself. Consequently, one will commit the offense of guror avajñā, which means to disobey the orders of the spiritual master, which is an offense, not only to the spiritual master but to the holy name. 

One disciple asked Srila Prabhupada that our whole philosophy is in Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s Śikṣāṣṭakam, and the spiritual master is such an important part of our philosophy but we don’t see the spiritual master mentioned in the Śikṣāṣṭakam. Srila Prabhupada said that it is there, it is implied in the third verse about humility (tṛṇād api sunīcena)—to feel more humble than the straw in the street. Because if one is humble, then he or she will want guidance and therefore approach a spiritual master. But if one is not humble, if one is proud, “Oh, I know so much, I am so intelligent, I know Sanskrit, I know shastras, I am so educated,” then one will think one doesn’t need a spiritual master, or one doesn’t need to surrender to a spiritual master.

Recently we were working on a description of the first Bombay pandal, and in that pandal program, Radhanath Swami came as a seeker who was traveling in India and associating with different types of sadhus, and Srila Prabhupada asked him to be brought onto the stage. He sent Guru dasa to bring him from the audience. So Radhanath Swami came on stage, and while Srila Prabhupada was speaking, Radhanath Swami’s heart was telling him, “This is your guru, you should surrender.” But his mind was rejecting that idea and saying, “You shouldn’t just learn from one person. You should learn from many people,” but his heart was saying “No, he is your guru, you have to surrender to him.” While he was going through this intense internal conflict, Prabhupada stopped speaking for a moment or two, looked at him through his eyes, as Radhanath Swami explains it. Through his eyes Srila Prabhupada was telling him “give up your nonsense, just surrender.” 

As Bhurijana Prabhu often points out, the mind is the agent of the false ego, and the false ego doesn’t want to surrender to Krishna, the false ego wants to be God or the controller, enjoyer, proprietor, the center of everything. The mind, as Bhurijana Prabhu says, will always give us so many reasons why not to chant Hare Krishna, or in other words, the mind will always give us so many reasons why not to surrender. We should not be misled by the mind, and with our intelligence or with our hearts, we should surrender. 

In each of these three verses, Srila Prabhupada makes reference to the next one. In this purport he did the same, so now we will go on to the next verse.

ŚB 7.15.27

eṣa vai bhagavān sākṣāt

pradhāna-puruṣeśvaraḥ

yogeśvarair vimṛgyāṅghrir

loko yaṁ manyate naram

TRANSLATION

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Kṛṣṇa, is the master of all other living entities and of the material nature. His lotus feet are sought and worshiped by great saintly persons like Vyāsa. Nonetheless, there are fools who consider Lord Kṛṣṇa an ordinary human being.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

The example of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s being the Supreme Personality of Godhead is appropriate in regard to understanding the spiritual master. The spiritual master is called sevaka-bhagavān, the servitor Personality of Godhead, and Kṛṣṇa is called sevya-bhagavān, the Supreme Personality of Godhead who is to be worshiped. The spiritual master is the worshiper God, whereas the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, is the worshipable God. This is the difference between the spiritual master and the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

COMMENT

It is sort of what Srila Prabhupada said, you can become godly, but you can’t become God.

PURPORT (continued) 

Another point: Bhagavad-gītā, which constitutes the instructions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is presented by the spiritual master as it is, without deviation. Therefore the Absolute Truth is present in the spiritual master. As clearly stated in text 26, jñāna-dīpa-prade. The Supreme Personality of Godhead gives real knowledge to the entire world, and the spiritual master, as the representative of the Supreme Godhead, carries the message throughout the world. Therefore, on the absolute platform, there is no difference between the spiritual master and the Supreme Personality of Godhead. 

If someone considers the Supreme Personality — Kṛṣṇa or Lord Rāmacandra — to be an ordinary human being, this does not mean that the Lord becomes an ordinary human being. Similarly, if the family members of the spiritual master, who is the bona fide representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, consider the spiritual master an ordinary human being, this does not mean that he becomes an ordinary human being. The spiritual master is as good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and therefore one who is very serious about spiritual advancement must regard the spiritual master in this way. Even a slight deviation from this understanding can create disaster in the disciple’s Vedic studies and austerities.

COMMENT

Hare Krishna. Any questions or comments? Yes Revati?

Devotee 1: Well, sometimes the spiritual master gives specific instructions, and that specialized skill, sometimes a spiritual master wants us to apply our intelligence to understand his desire, how to serve them. So can you speak about that a little more? How to understand if there are general instructions that apply to everyone, but sometimes there are specific instructions in terms of service for particular disciples. Other disciples may only get the general instructions but not get specific instructions. In that case, my understanding is that Prabhupada felt that you were ready to make that decision and he wanted you to do it, but how do we know if we don’t have specific instructions? Should we just follow the general instructions? 

Giriraj Swami: Well, many times devotees ask Srila Prabhupada what they should do if they have questions that are too detailed or too complicated to find a direct answer in the scripture and if Srila Prabhupada is not available. Some asked it in relation to the time when Srila Prabhupada would not be physically present. And in one after the other instance, Srila Prabhupada indicated that they could get the answers or would get the answers through offenseless chanting. Satsvarupa, he was the first one I heard this from, he said he asked Srila Prabhupada how we would get answers when he is no longer present, and Srila Prabhupada said, “The holy name of Krishna and Krishna Himself are the same. Do you realize this fact?” That is one way we get answers, and then by consulting other devotees, by reading we can get answers. 

I remember, I think it was one of the first times I met Rameshwar at the Ratha-yatra after he had been away from the association of devotees for some time, at least in the L.A area. He said to me, “You and I are very fortunate because Srila Prabhupada gave us direct instructions, so we know exactly what our mission is.” Not every disciple got that. In his case, the instruction was to distribute books, and in my case, the instruction is to write. Do you have a question?

I will tell a little story that I just read, an anecdote. I thought of it as the devotees were strewing the path that I was walking with flower petals. I think just yesterday, maybe today, but not later than yesterday, I read the story that Srila Prabhupada had come to the airport and some of the ladies had a big basket of flower petals, and it was quite a distance from where Prabhupada began his walk to where he sat down. They were throwing flower petals in his path, so when he sat down, one of the employees of the airport told the ladies, “You have made a big mess, you have to pick up these flowers.” And Srila Prabhupada said, “What is the matter? You don’t like flowers?” Then he said, “You don’t mind picking up cigarette butts, but if it is flowers, you don’t want to have to clean them up,” and they didn’t of course.

Hare Krishna.