The Genuine Spiritual Master

Giriraj Swami: Thank you for joining for this auspicious occasion of glorifying Srila Prabhupada during the 125th anniversary year of his divine appearance. Again, for those of you who are on Zoom as far as possible please put on your cameras, so we can see your moonlike faces and it will be more personal.

I myself first met Srila Prabhupada in Boston and accepted him as my spiritual master and joined the Boston temple. So at that time Satsvarupa dasa Adhikari then, was the temple president and he was the editor of Back to Godhead Magazine and he always wanted articles for the magazine and so he encouraged me to write an article, and so I did. And the title of the article was “The Genuine Spiritual Master” but naturally there was a delay between when the article was submitted to the magazine and the magazine was actually published. And in the meantime, Srila Prabhupada announced that he wanted to return to India and he wanted the number two devotee from each temple to join him. I was the number two devotee in Boston, Satsvarupa was the temple president and I was the temple commander, treasurer, and saṅkīrtana leader. So everyone wanted to go and I was given the opportunity to go from Boston.

So for a year and a half we traveled with Srila Prabhupada in India. We didn’t have any permanent centers then, and while we were in Gorakhpur which is the seat of the Gītā Press, a magazine with my article called The Genuine Spiritual Master arrived. So before I read and comment on the article I will describe what happened when Srila Prabhupada saw the article. 

We left Boston for Bombay in October of 1970 and the following February in Gorakhpur, India Srila Prabhupada received the issue of Back to Godhead and asked to see me. Where we were staying was called Sri Krishna Niketan and it had been the personal residence of Sri Hanuman Prasad Poddar, who was the head of the Gītā Press, and within that big estate, Srila Prabhupada established a temple room.

When I went to see Srila Prabhupada after he called for me, the long temple room was only dimly lit by narrow shafts of sunlight filtering through the wooden shutters on his right. Sitting on his asana, a simple raised cushion at the far end, Prabhupada was the very image of the eternal spiritual master. Alone with my guru Maharaja, I sat at his feet, my eyes and ears wide open. “I saw your article in Back to Godhead,” he said, “it was very nice, you should write.”

My attention was focused on his every word. “This is your first business. Go on writing, we require many many articles about Krishna consciousness, so you should devote yourself to writing. So you travel with me and I will guide you. You come and stay with me.” I felt thrilled and honored and a little intimidated. Prabhupada had never given me an instruction directly, in person. In fact, we hardly ever spoke personally or privately and now he was inviting me to stay with him. 

So now I will read the article and comment on it, The Genuine Spiritual Master.

READING from The Genuine Spiritual Master

“Instant Problem Solving—Guru Inside.” We pass this sign every day as we Boston devotees chant the holy names in Harvard Square. The sign hangs on a local shop window, and it is sold in quantity inside. This week at the neighboring movie theatre a new movie is showing—The Guru. So, who is the guru?

The true guru is the person who says that Krishna, God, is our true friend. He does not pose himself as God or tell us that we can become God. The bona fide guru has various qualifications, and someone who is looking for a spiritual master must know the standards that the true guru must meet.

Today everyone is posing as a spiritual master, or guru, and so we have that facetious sign. One group of foolish persons thinks that they can become gurus by their own concoction, simply by proclaiming themselves as spiritual masters. And a corresponding group of foolish persons accepts such phonies because the formula is so easy, offers so much sense gratification, and supposedly permits the practitioner to become God.

COMMENT

Actually before I met Srila Prabhupada I was trying to become God, but he relieved me of that illusion.

READING (continued)

They like to think that their problems will vanish in an instant, and thus they are cheated.

Despite such foolishness, there is such a thing as a bona fide guru, or spiritual master, and the sincere student of spiritual science should know how to recognize him. One should understand who the spiritual master is, what his position is, how he can be identified, and how we relate to him. And one should know the ultimate goal in accepting a spiritual master.

Simply stated, the ultimate goal of spiritual life is to develop love of God, and the duty of the spiritual master is to awaken this dormant love of God in the hearts of his students. 

COMMENT

So as I am reading I think of so many verses, there is an important verse in Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, nitya-siddha kṛṣṇa-prema ‘sādhya’ kabhu naya. But at this time in late 1969 when I wrote the article and even in early 1971 when Srila Prabhupada received the article, we had very few books. We had only the abridged Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, the teachings of Lord Chaitanya, the first three volumes of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and maybe a little more, and Easy Journey to Other Planets. So we didn’t have many books then, but still by Srila Prabhupada’s mercy I grasped the idea. So,

READING (continued)

Simply stated, the ultimate goal of spiritual life is to develop love of God, and the duty of the spiritual master is to awaken this dormant love of God in the hearts of his students. The spiritual master is a servant of the Supreme Lord. Thus, the student becomes the indirect servant of God, and if a student serves God sincerely, God will ultimately reveal Himself to the student in a pure loving exchange. This process is described in the Bhagavad-gītā and is recommended as the highest yoga by the Supreme Lord Himself, Sri Krishna, the original spiritual master.

So, in real spiritual life the spiritual master acts as the medium between us, so minute, and Krishna, so great. We are so limited that we cannot approach the unlimited God, but the spiritual master, out of his causeless mercy, makes himself available to help us approach the Supreme Lord.

COMMENT

As I am reading this now, I am imagining what Srila Prabhupada must have been thinking and feeling as he read it. And I imagine that he felt that I understood him. I understood him as a genuine spiritual master. 

READING (continued)

We are so limited that we cannot approach the unlimited Godhead, but the spiritual master, out of his causeless mercy, makes himself available to help us approach the Supreme Lord.

 The spiritual master has completely surrendered to God, and God has revealed Himself fully to such a pure devotee. The spiritual master acts as a medium between ourselves, who are contaminated by our association with matter, and Krishna, God. In this sense the spiritual master is even more merciful than God, since he comes and reveals himself to the conditioned soul, who is still contaminated by material association. But since the spiritual master is pure in his surrender to God and the will of God, he is, in a sense, one with God. Thus, the student who comes to hear and love the spiritual master also comes to develop knowledge and love of God.

Of course, it is the mercy of God to send the spiritual master, and then it is the grace of the spiritual master to deliver God.

COMMENT

As it is said, by the grace of God one gets a spiritual master and by the mercy of the spiritual master one gets God.

READING (continued)

As stated in the Bhagavad-gita, the process for going back to Godhead is simply to engage in devotional service to God. But how can we, who are so minute and actually helpless, do anything for God, who controls and owns everything? The answer is to serve the spiritual master. It is like this: Suppose one knows a very rich man. What can one do to please him? Nothing. He has everything, and, in comparison, we have nothing. But suppose the man has a son. Then simply by giving a small piece of fruit to the son, one can please the son, and when the son is pleased, then automatically the father becomes pleased. So, in this way one can please a very rich man.

The spiritual master is very dear to Krishna, just as a son is dear to the loving father, and by pleasing the spiritual master, one can please God Himself. In the Bhagavad-gītā, the Supreme Lord states, “There is no servant in this world more dear to Me than he, nor will there ever be one more dear.” (Gita 18.69) So, Krishna has feelings, and He dearly loves the spiritual master. In fact, as stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Third Canto, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is thinking, “There is no way I can ever repay My pure devotees.” When a man walks barefoot in the blazing sun, his feet are scorched but his head feels no pain. Similarly, although He may tolerate offenses to Himself, Krishna tolerates no abuse to His pure devotee. As He states in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Third Canto, “They captivate My heart who are gladdened in heart; they look upon the brahmanas [holy men] as My own Self and pacify them by praising them in loving words, even as a son would appease an angry father or as I am pacifying you.” So, by serving the spiritual master, we can please the Supreme Lord and thus go back to Him, by His Divine Grace.

 Another example may help. Suppose you know of a very rich, famous, or distinguished person and want to gain entrance into his house. You cannot go to his home and say, “I make $200 a week, so let me in.” No. $200 a week or $500 a week or $1000 a week is nothing to him. You have no qualification of your own. But if you have the favor of one of his associates or servants, then by that person’s desire you may enter the rich man’s home. Similarly, the intimate associate of the Lord is the spiritual master, and the Lord is anxious to please His pure devotees. The relationship between the Lord and His devotee is transcendentally beautiful. As a devotee is elevated in all good qualities due to his being a devotee of the Lord, so the transcendental glories of the Lord are increased due to His being devoted to His servitor. In other words, as the devotee is always anxious to render service to the Lord, similarly the Lord is very anxious to render service to the devotee, the bona fide spiritual master.

With confidence in this relationship, the student, out of love, agrees to serve the spiritual master. There is no question of force. Where there is force, there is no love. Our spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, once said, “If a father calls his son, ‘Come here!’ and there is no love, the son will either refuse to come, or he will come reluctantly, thinking secretly, ‘How can I get back at my father?’ But if I say,

COMMENT

This is Srila Prabhupada speaking.

READING (continued)

But if I say, ‘Satsvarupa come here!’ you will come immediately, out of excess of love. Is that not right?” Satsvarupa immediately nodded his head: “Yes!” Thus the service rendered by the student to the bona fide spiritual master is performed out of love. Anyone who sees His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada with his disciples is seeing the perfection of family life.

The mother, the Vedas, directs the child to the father, the bona fide spiritual master, as illustrated so personally in the Gītā. Arjuna, who had very great spiritual as well as material qualifications, still confessed to Krishna, the supreme spiritual master, “Now I am confused about my duty and have lost all composure because of weakness. In this condition I am asking You to tell me clearly what is best for me. Now I am Your disciple, a soul surrendered unto You. Please instruct me.” (Gītā 2.7) By nature’s own way, the complete system of material activities is a source of perplexity for everyone. Vedic wisdom therefore advises us that in order to solve the perplexities of life and to understand the science of the solution, one must approach a spiritual master, for a bona fide spiritual master is supposed to know everything.

Furthermore, the Vedas set forth the qualifications of the bona fide spiritual master. The first requirement for the bona fide spiritual master is that he be in the line of disciplic succession from the Supreme Lord Himself. Not just anyone can qualify as a spiritual master, nor should the student accept anyone to be a spiritual master simply on sentiment. Sri Krishna is the original spiritual master, as stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: dharmam tu saksad bhagavat-pranitam: “The path of religion is directly enunciated by the Lord.” The bona fide spiritual master teaches the transcendental science, as first enunciated by the Lord, as it is, without concoction or alteration. 

The knowledge mercifully given by the Lord is like a perfect fruit passed down from the top of a tree. The fruit must be passed down delicately. If someone drops the fruit, or lets it fall, or in any way mishandles it, then the whole fruit is spoiled. If the bona fide spiritual master is in the line of disciplic succession from the Supreme Lord, he is careful to pass the fruit of Vedic wisdom to us without personally motivated interpretation. The conclusion of all Vedic knowledge is that Sri Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the goal of all yoga, knowledge, and sacrifice. All the great saints and sages in our line of disciplic succession—the Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya Sampradaya, beginning with Sri Krishna and including Brahma, Narada, Vyasa, Lord Chaitanya, Srila Narottama Dasa Thakura, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja Prabhupada, and finally His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada—have personally realized and taught Krishna consciousness. If the result of a process is good, then the process itself must be good. These great saints and acharyas are unmatched in spiritual realization, so the process of God realization first spoken by Krishna and passed on through the disciplic succession is also matchless.

The second requirement for the bona fide spiritual master is that he speak only on the authority of the Vedas or his spiritual master, so that the disciplic succession may be kept rigidly in line with the original teachings.

Even the Supreme Lord Himself does this. In the Bhagavad-gītā, Chapter Thirteen, Verse 4, Krishna states, “That knowledge of the field of activities and of the knower of activities is described by various sages in various Vedic writings, especially in the Vedanta-sutra.” Of course, Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the ultimate source of all the Vedas, but still He cites the accepted spiritual literature. Lord Krishna teaches by example how the bona fide spiritual master always gives evidence from previous authorities. That is the process. Similarly, Lord Chaitanya, who was also the Supreme Personality of Godhead, accepted a bona fide spiritual master in the line of disciplic succession, and He always quoted His spiritual master.

The third requirement of a bona fide spiritual master is that his knowledge must be realized. He must be a pure devotee of God, teaching by example, practicing what he is preaching—not that he teaches dry theory or philosophy.

A spiritual master, being completely attached to the Supreme Person, is not attracted to material or bodily affairs. He understands that he is not this body but is a pure spirit soul, part and parcel of the Supreme Person Krishna, and that his position is of loving service to Krishna. Therefore he is always joyful and free of anxieties, neither hankering nor lamenting about material affairs.

A student of Srila Prabhupada once said to him, “Prabhupada, you look so sad in this picture.” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “No, that was a moment of ecstasy.” Who can imagine the ecstasy of one who is in direct contact with Sri Krishna? 

The fourth requirement of a bona fide spiritual master is that, realizing Krishna to be everything, he never poses himself as God, nor does he ever promise his students that they can become God. God is God, and we are His servants eternally. God is infinite, and we are infinitesimal parts of God, inconceivably, simultaneously one and different from God, but we are never God Himself. 

Once Srila Prabhupada was in his room in Los Angeles with a few devotees surrounding him, and at one point in the discussions he began to cry, saying, “All I ask of you is to be humble. All we can do is be humble toward everyone and in everything that we do. That is all I ask.” Another time Srila Prabhupada went to the temple, and, seeing the throne that the devotees had made for him, said, “Oh, I cannot accept this. I am the most fallen, and you have made this for me.” He was crying. A devotee replied, “Oh, please, Srila Prabhupada, please accept this as our offering to you.” And His Divine Grace said, “I have no qualification of my own, but I shall accept it for Krishna.”

Another time, a boy made some prasadam (spiritual food) for Srila Prabhupada and was waiting at Srila Prabhupada’s door to give it to him. When His Divine Grace appeared, he looked at the prasadam and opened his eyes wide and said, “For me?” After that, the boy smiled so hard that he got a headache, and he danced down the street all the way home. Later he said, “Up until that moment I had only theoretically known what humility meant. Now I have practical experience; now I understand humility.”

He who teaches surrender to Krishna is a bona fide spiritual master, and such a spiritual master is the only refuge for one who wishes to end his material bondage and live in spiritual ecstasy. Lord Sri Krishna Himself states this in the Bhagavad-gītā: “Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth.” (Gītā 4.34)

COMMENT

I have been skipping parts for the sake of time, and now there is a discussion about the qualification of a disciple to hear from the spiritual master and then I conclude.

READING (continued)

Everyone now has all facility to become happy by the mercy of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, our spiritual master. He wants everyone to be happy in Krishna consciousness, and he is offering all transcendental opportunities. He gives us Back to Godhead magazine, Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, Teachings of Lord Chaitanya, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the many temples of Krishna consciousness, and himself wherever he appears. Greatest of all, he is offering Krishna Himself directly, in His holy name: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. These names form the maha-mantra, the great chanting for deliverance and the greatest benediction for the conditioned living entities. Finally, His Divine Grace is giving everyone the opportunity to become a spiritual master. The greatest spiritual master, Lord Chaitanya, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself, said, “Whoever tells people, ‘Chant Hare Krishna,’ he is My spiritual master.”

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya.

COMMENT

So thank you for joining me on this auspicious occasion. Until I started reading the article out loud I didn’t realize how long it was but anyway, I read most of it and yes, I am amazed that as such a young devotee I could write such an article; definitely Srila Prabhupada’s mercy.

So now my dear devotees if you have any questions or comments you can ask. You can raise your hand, your physical hand or your virtual hand.

Devotee: Hare Krishna. Maharaja, as I am in sixth grade and there is a lot of pressure in studies, so how do kids like me balance school and Krishna?

Giriraj Swami: Yes, balance is a very important factor and what constitutes the proper balance at one time, may not be the proper balance at another time so we may have to adjust. But one approach is to connect your studies with Krishna. If people at the school know you to be a devotee, then if you do well in your studies it will reflect well on Krishna consciousness. People will think oh she is a devotee and she is such a good student, so Krishna consciousness must be good. And then I would suppose on the weekend you have some relief from the pressures of school so you can take advantage of the weekend for more chanting, reading, going to the temple, associating with devotees, and nourishing your spiritual life. The other students they have recreation, I am sure they don’t just study, and your recreation is spiritual, so you can do both.

Devotee: Thank you.

Devotee: Unmute yourself please.

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja. Please accept my humble obeisances. Thank you for your very wonderful class. Maharaja, as you said that a spiritual master is more merciful than Krishna and we also hear from devotees that Krishna is all merciful, so who is more merciful: is it the spiritual master or Krishna?

Giriraj Swami: Well, Srila Rupa Gosvami has written a book called Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, which Srila Prabhupada has rendered as a summary study, as The Nectar of Devotion. And the definition of pure devotional service is given by Srila Rupa Gosvami,

anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ
jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam
ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānu-
śīlanaṁ bhaktir uttamā

So in that definition of pure devotional service you find the word Krishna, and Srila Prabhupada explains and in The Nectar of Devotion Srila Prabhupada draws a lot from the commentary on The Nectar of Devotion, the commentaries by Srila Jiva Gosvami and Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, although he doesn’t mention them by name necessarily. So in discussing the word Krishna, Srila Prabhupada explains that Krishna includes His name, His forms, His qualities, His pastimes, and His pure devotees. So yes, the spiritual master is more merciful than Krishna but at the same time he is not different from Krishna, and therefore we can’t separate his mercy from Krishna’s mercy because he is included in Krishna. But Krishna also likes to give credit to His devotees, so He wants His devotees to get the credit for being more merciful and He is pleased by that. 

When we first came to Bombay, we were staying at Kailash Seksaria’s home on Marine Drive and Srila Prabhupada’s disciple Gurudas, began to praise one of the other devotees to Srila Prabhupada in front of Srila Prabhupada’s little Radha-Krishna deities that he was traveling with. And then Gurudas stopped himself and he said. “Oh, it says in The Nectar of Devotion that one should not praise anyone in front of the deity.” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “Krishna is already glorified, but He takes more pleasure when His devotees are glorified.” So Krishna is all merciful and His devotees are also all merciful, by Krishna’s grace. 

Devotee: Thank you Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Devotee: Atulya devi dasi from Boston, please go ahead. I think she has some issues with the video Maharaja, going to join with the audio. Go ahead please.

Devotee: Maharaja, thank you so very much for giving us your association, very grateful. Maharaja you have served Srila Prabhupada personally for so many years. I seek your instruction on how to remain humble and not become proud when I am serving my spiritual master or other Srila Prabhupada’s disciples very closely, how to protect myself from that? Thank you.

Giriraj Swami: So Srila Prabhupada, as I read, was begging his students to be humble and if you find that you are proud of your service or proud of your association with your spiritual master or other senior devotees, that should make you humble because you are proud which is not a good quality. So you should feel humble that I am proud; I have a bad quality, I have to work on it.

Once I was with His Holiness Radhanath Swami and a devotee asked him how he became so humble and Maharaja replied, “By practice.” And as Srila Prabhupada says, habit become second nature, so it may not be our habit to be humble, but we have to practice. And in one beautiful purport which I recommend for every devotee, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.5.12, in the purport Srila Prabhupada writes: “Everyone should be friendly for the service of the Lord. Everyone should appreciate the service of others and not be proud of his own service. That is the way of Vaishnava thinking, Vaikuntha thinking.” So I wish you all the best.

Devotee: Thank you Maharaja. I will feel your empowerment in your instructions. Thank you so much.

Giriraj Swami: Thank you. Hare Krishna.

Devotee: Hare Krishna. Vanamali Prabhu, Karthik Prabhu, is there any questions from devotees at the temple in Boston? I don’t have video, so I cannot see them.

Devotee: No Mataji, thank you. It was a wonderful lecture.

Devotee: Thank you. There was a boy who actually raised his hand. 

Giriraj Swami: There are two more hands up.

Devotee: Anjali go ahead.

Devotee: She was already there, so you can go after her.

Devotee: Thank you so much Giriraj Maharaja for your lecture. I already posted on the ISKCON of Phoenix Facebook page, the article that you wrote, and I agree right along with you. Not only is it very in-depth, which with your youth it is even more astounding, but I also realized a lot of parts that you kept skipping due to time. The one that really caught my attention was a small portion here where, “Still another yoga instructor after giving a lecture met with one of Srila Prabhupada’s students. The so-called yogi was sitting on a chair smoking a cigarette and he said, ‘I have been having a terrible problem I just can’t give up smoking do you have any suggestions?’ He was teaching yoga but he could not give up smoking. Yoga means to control the senses, to renounce sense gratification, but although this rascal could not even control his tongue he claimed to teach yoga. Is yoga such nonsense? Surrender to Krishna, that is yoga, that is all,” says His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada. 

You have been in the movement for decades. You literally have been thrown out, beaten, trying to figure out one brick to the next with your book, and at the same time you have, I understand that there are small kids in in this thing so I am trying to stay as high level as I can. You have also seen a lot of spiritual masters in this movement that have fallen because of not being able to control their senses. What have you been able to see that was the major thread beyond the lack of humility that caused them to fall and also that you still grab on to all of these decades to still hold on to Srila Prabhupada’s feet. 

Giriraj Swami: That is a good question, and you yourself said it in the phrase “apart from pride” because yes, it was pride. Pride goes before a fall. The original eleven gurus tried to put themselves on a higher platform than their god brothers which was offensive. They more or less wanted their god brothers to deal with them like disciples and so they were committing offenses, and one result of committing offenses is that one develops material desires or becomes overwhelmed by material desires. 

It is very interesting, Srila Prabhupada instructed that if you want to remain brahmacharya you should have good relations with everyone. And I thought about it, what is the connection between the two? And I thought of two things; one is that to have good relations with everyone one more or less has to be in the mode of goodness, not too much passion or ignorance. So I thought that was a challenge to come to the mode of goodness. And the other thing I thought is that if you don’t have good relations with everyone that means you are offending devotees, and again the result of offending devotees is you become filled with material desires. So prayer, constantly praying.

In fact, I think of one incident with Srila Prabhupada in London. From the vyāsāsana Srila Prabhupada said, the difference between you and me, he is addressing the devotees in the audience, the difference between you and me is that you can fall down and I can’t fall down. After the lecture Srila Prabhupada came before the deities and he was praying to the deities and one disciple asked Srila Prabhupada what were you praying? And Srila Prabhupada said, I was praying that I may never fall down. The disciples said, but you just said you can never fall down. And Srila Prabhupada replied, “Yes because I am always praying that I may never fall down, therefore I can never fall down.” 

So I am not on Srila Prabhupada’s level, but I am always praying to be an instrument in Srila Prabhupada’s hands, a puppet as he wrote in his wonderful poem, Mārkine Bhāgavata when he arrived in America, in Boston. He prayed to be a puppet in the hands of his spiritual master and Krishna. 

Devotee: Thank you Maharaja. We have two more questions; is that okay?

Giriraj Swami: Yes.

Devotee: Thank you, Anand Vrindavan dasa, please go ahead.

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja. Please accept my humble obeisances. Thank you for the wonderful class and yes, I have read your article before also and I was very very impressed and also I admired how you wrote it within such a few years; you wrote such a deep article. Please forgive me but I was thinking of myself, I am trying to practice Krishna consciousness for eight to nine years and I can’t write even today. So this speaks the greatness and your devotion to your guru Maharaja and all the mercy you had, so amazing Maharaja. 

My question is two part Maharaja. One is, everybody says that after taking initiation you receive your guru’s mercy which helps you advance in Krishna consciousness, special blessing. So what kind of mercy is that? Is it like your guru prays to Krishna to forgive you or your guru blesses you so that you can continue in this path? And the second question is, what is the best way to serve your spiritual master among various things that we do?

Giriraj Swami: Well regarding initiation Srila Jiva Gosvami says that initiation abrogates, which means destroys, initiation abrogates our sinful actions and reactions and it bestows a transcendental knowledge. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura says that initiation gives impetus, he didn’t use the word jump start, but is it like it jump starts you in your spiritual progress. But he says after that, the disciple has to make consistent efforts to maintain that momentum. In other words, the initiation gives you a push but then you have to sustain the momentum by your own efforts. But as far as the spiritual master praying for you, certainly he prays for you but that would apply both before initiation and after.

Devotee: Thanks Maharaja. And now my second part was, what is the best way to serve your spiritual master? Of course we have our sadhana and we have so many services but is there a special way that we can serve our spiritual master, is there a special thing that you would recommend?

Giriraj Swami: Is your spiritual master alive?

Devotee: Yes.

Giriraj Swami: Why don’t you ask him?

Devotee: Yes, guru Maharaja. I will do that thank you. 

Giriraj Swami: As a rule, taste Krishna consciousness and spread Krishna consciousness. But for more a more specific answer you should just ask him. But I can tell you one incident, a disciple asked Srila Prabhupada, “How can I please you?” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “Just by your desire to please me you are pleasing me.” Beyond that, I am sure there are details, distribute books.

Devotee: Thank you Maharaja.

Devotee: Thank you. Hare Krishna. We have Sakshi and then we are going to have final question with Krishnan. So Sakshi, please go ahead. Unmute yourself.

Devotee: Hare Krishna guru Maharaja. Please accept my most humble obeisances to your lotus feet. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. All glories to you. I have a question. You always instruct us to chant good rounds and to read Srila Prabhupada’s books and you say that’s our service to you, and ultimately we are the benefactors. In any service that we can do to you that I can possibly imagine actually doing for you, even other than doing my sadhana, I am actually benefiting more than I can ever give to you. What is it that I can do that’s really for you and not for me, because if I chant that’s cleaning up my conditioned nature and if I read books it is helping me to grow in Krishna consciousness by getting knowledge. What can I do that’s really for you and only for you?

Giriraj Swami: I would say whatever you do for me is going to be for your spiritual benefit. How could you do something for me that would be bad for you? So to try to find something that’s good for me and not good for you is not likely to bring any success. But in a way it is also true that we can undergo austerities for the sake of the spiritual master. So in that sense, materially it is not good for you but spiritually it is good for you. But anyway, just following the four principles, chanting your rounds, that involves some austerity but if you can distribute books that’s good.

Devotee: Thank you so much gurudev, that was an amazing answer. Thank you so much. 

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna

Devotee: Hare Krishna. I have to say you are an amazing devotee, how sweet. We have Krishnan Prabhu, please unmute yourself.

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja. My humble obeisances to you. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. Maharaja, I am reading your book right now “I’ll Build you a Temple” and I have to tell you it is so honest and so clear, there are a lot of parts that just surprised me. Your honesty just surprises me. You have not hidden anything from us. There is one part Maharaja, the question about falling down. There was one part that really stuck with me and I wanted you to elaborate a little bit if you can, which is Srila Prabhupada’s instructions to you and Tamal Krishna Maharaja, where he says that you were raising money it looks like, but you were living in the city and maybe Srila Prabhupada thought that you were not able to follow all the temple programs and all that, attend class and kirtan them and he is telling you that is very dangerous, then you will all fall down if you make a joint mess, if you go and collect something then eat and sleep then everything will be… I don’t know if you remember this. Maybe you can elaborate a little bit Maharaja on this. It was so instructive that I had to read it four or five times and I am still not satisfied. So I wanted to hear it from you Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, I remember one statement, part of the exchange between Tamal Krishna Goswami and Srila Prabhupada, and Tamal Krishna Goswami said that “I thought that if we just chant 16 rounds and follow the four principles and do service it is enough.” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “Yes it is enough, but not for you.” 

We need more support. Srila Prabhupada has explained that just like a railroad train goes on two tracks. So in terms of Bhakti, one track is bhagavat-marga which is chanting and hearing about Krishna, and the other is pāñcarātriki viddhi which means of deity worship. And although chanting and hearing is more important than deity worship, there is a chance that if we neglect deity worship the train might get derailed, because it needs to go forward on two tracks. 

So the defect in our living arrangement when we had that apartment in Bombay, is there was no deity worship. We would offer our food but there was no deity worship. There was no proper morning program and Srila Prabhupada detected that, and he could see that it was affecting us. And very soon after that he closed up that operation and had us all moved back to Juhu to be with the deities. So yes, that’s important that we go forward on both tracks.

Devotee: Thank you Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Devotee: Thank you so much Maharaja. Any more questions before we let him go? And that is the most difficult part of these programs when it comes to Maharaja, letting him go.

Giriraj Swami: Well I want to since, you don’t want to let me go and I don’t want to let you go, I will… oh what is the but? 

Devotee: Vana Mali Prabhu, our temple presidents Vana Mali Prabhu and mother Pramadatri Devadasi they will want to address you if it is okay, quickly.

Giriraj Swami: Okay, but do I have time to tell…

Devotee: You have all the time in the world Maharaja. 

Giriraj Swami: I just want to tell a nice little story from Boston.

Devotee: Please.

Giriraj Swami: So every Sunday in Boston the devotees would go to Cambridge Commons to do kirtan. Different rock bands performed and thousands of young people came to listen, dance, picnic, wander around and mingle, or just sit. Satsvarupa would lead us to an area in the commons where we would chant and dance in a circle, joined by other young people, and some of us would wander through the crowd to distribute books and get donations. 

At that time 1969, 1970 there was a lot of interest in spiritual life, and one boy I approached was especially friendly. He said that he was interested and had an Indian guru who was God. I asked, “How do you know he is God?“ “He says he is God.” “Just because he says he is God; you believe him?” “Yes!” “So, if I tell you I am the President of the United States, you will also believe me? Being president is not as great as being God.” “Yes, I will believe you.” “Very good, so if I am President you have to do what I say.” “Yes,” he agreed. So I said, “Take all your money from your pocket.” He took out all his money, there was a lot. In those days young people didn’t have much money but he pulled out $97. “You accept that I am the authority? “Yes!” He was stubborn he didn’t want to admit his philosophy was wrong. He persisted just to maintain his false prestige.

So I said, “Okay, give me all your money.” He gave me his money and in return I gave him a book invited him to the temple and quickly disappeared into the crowd. About two hours later the boy found me still distributing. “You know I just gave you my whole pay,” he said, “and tomorrow I have to pay the rent. Could you give me $20?”

Srila Prabhupada heard about the incident and was pleased. He even mentioned it in one conversation in Los Angeles. Our Giriraj took some money. Yes, somebody said everyone is God So Giriraj said, “I am God?” “Yes, you are God.” “Then I can take your money.” “Yes.” And he gave him some money, all the money. Out of sentiment, whatever money he had in his pocket he gave him. When one devotee commented that the boy had been caught in his own philosophy Srila Prabhupada agreed. “Yes.”

So Srila Prabhupada preached vehemently against the impersonal philosophy, following his own spiritual master Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura about whom in appreciation he wrote. “Absolute is sentient thou has proved, impersonal calamity thou hast moved.”

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura in turn appreciated how Srila Prabhupada had understood his mission. And we can similarly be recognized by our spiritual master Srila Prabhupada, if we understand his mission and execute it to the best of our ability. So since we were in the mood of the old days in Boston, I thought I would relate that incident.

Devotee: So wonderful Maharaja. Thank you so much. And by the way, I have to thank you; we thank you for allowing us to publish your article in this year’s Janmashtami souvenir. It was wonderful for everyone. You can see it at iskconphoenix.com under newsletters. Thank you so much Maharaja. Probably we will be wanting to use more of your articles if that’s okay with you. I will give the mike to. . .

Giriraj Swami: Sure.

Devotee: It is available there. And what I personally take from this article, the key words, is: surrender, service, sincerity, confidence, example, love, not force, and of course humility. And in your book you write when Srila Prabhupada said to all of you, you are very merciful. I definitely agree with that statement of Srila Prabhupada’s, you are so merciful. Thank you so much. I will give the mic to Vana Mali Prabhu and mother Pramadatri. Vana Mali Prabhu, please unmute yourself.

Devotee: Thank you, Maharaja. I don’t think I have anything. I think every time we hear you online and when we have your association, we are always grateful to you for giving your association and sharing the association you had with Srila Prabhupada. That is very nourishing, and we always hanker for that. You never fail to satisfy us by sharing your experiences which you had with Srila Prabhupada. Thank you, and I am very grateful for that; your answers are so wonderful that whenever I hear them, it doesn’t matter what questions I have—whether I ask the same question multiple times—but your answers are so wonderful, I feel as if they are straight directed to me, and I always learn a lot from your answers, especially from your class as well. Thank you, dear Maharaja. I personally am so grateful, and so are all the devotees from Boston. We were very happy to collaborate with ISKCON Phoenix when they told you would be there online. We didn’t have any reason to say no; in fact, we were looking forward to this occasion. Thank you again for making us part of this wonderful and very auspicious occasion, and we are grateful for you, Maharaja. Once again, on behalf of ISKCON Boston, I would like to express my deepest gratitude and offer our obeisances at your lotus feet.

Giriraj Swami: Thank you, that was very touching and humbling.

Devotee: Mother Pramadatri. Unmute yourself.

Devotee: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. Thank you so much. So good to see you and thank you for the beautiful class. My gratitude to the Boston temple for joining us today and allowing us to collaborate with them. Many thanks to Shyama Mohini mataji for arranging all this. We also had this article on our website for Janmashtami with your permission, and I wanted to let people know they can read the whole article on our website and Facebook page. Can’t imagine such a young devotee writing such a perfect article about a Genuine Spiritual Master. It touched my heart when I first read it. When we were communicating with you about and putting it in our souvenir, it was so nicely done. Thank you so much. Hare Krishna. Thank you for your time and your association. Hope to see you in person soon. Please, we are waiting for you, just give us a green light and we would love to have you here.

Giriraj Swami: Okay.

Devotee: Thank you so much. Hare Krishna Maharaja. Thank you all for joining.

Devotee: Hare Krishna. Thank you. Now it comes to the difficult part, letting Maharaja go. 

Giriraj Maharaja: Well, if we are going to end, and I think we are moving in that direction, I suggest we conclude with Vaishnava praṇāma. I’ll say the English and then we can all say the Sanskrit.

Let us offer our respectful obeisances unto all the Vaishnava devotees of the Lord who are just like desire trees. Who can fulfill the desires of everyone and are full of compassion for the fallen conditioned souls. 

vāñchā-kalpatarubhyaś ca kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca
patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ

Devotee: Thank you Guru Maharaja. Hare Krishna. And now everyone can unmute, say Hare Krishna, offer your respect so Maharaja can see your faces. Thank you so much, and thank you for joining us.