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EDITORIAL March 20, 2000 VNN5723 Comment on this story Sri Gita 4.2, 'Parampara And Noncomformity' BY SWAMI B.V. TRIPURARI  EDITORIAL, Mar 20 (VNN) — "The mystery of guru parampara is that while it suggests conformity its spirit is that of nonconformity. In order to be in the guru parampara, often one must leave what appears to be the lineage in many respects.An excerpt from 'Bhagavad-gita: Its Feeling and Philosophy' by Swami B.V. Tripurari
"O conqueror of the enemy, saintly kings thus obtained this knowledge through disciplic succession. At present, under the influence of extended time here on earth, this teaching of yoga has been obscured." (Bg. 4.2) As Krsna prepares to explain the principle of the avatar, or divine descent, he introduces another important principle, that of guru-parampara, or disciplic succession. The two are intertwined, as are Krsna and his devotees. Krsna says that he inaugurates the divine lineage through which knowledge of himself is then revealed by his devotees appearing in the lineage. He also says that under the influence of time this lineage can become covered, thus requiring that it be resurrected. Krsna himself becomes involved revitalizing the lineage during his descent, as described in text three. Later in the Gita Krsna identifies time with himself, described here as the influence under which the essential message of the lineage is obscured. Thus the hand of God is as much involved in establishing the lineage as it is in obscuring it. As circumstances and social considerations change over time, with this the need to re-explain the sprit of the lineage relevant to time and circumstances arises. That which is essential in the message must be separated from that which is relative. In delivering the principle the details must be altered. This is the task of great souls. The mystery of guru parampara is that while it suggests conformity to a lineage dating into antiquity, at the same time its spirit is that of nonconformity. Becoming a member, one conforms with the Absolute, the supreme nonconformist, who is absolutely independent. In order to be in the guru parampara, often one must leave what appears to be the lineage in many respects. One must distinguish between the form and substance of the tradition. Thus we find the most prominent members of the lineage are involved in renovation of the tradition, revealing its truth with relevance to time and circumstance such that those who are members in form only often cannot recognize them as the current link. In order to do so they themselves must become essence seekers anew on a deeper level, and thus remain vital in their practice. Failure to do so involves a break from the tradition. In pursuit of the spirit of the lineage the practitioner must take note of this verse, both with regard to recognizing the work of great souls when it outwardly appears to be different in detail from previous teachers, and with regard to their own practicing life. The spirit of the teaching is not obscured as much at a particular time as it is continuously for the practitioner, who glimpses its true meaning only to loose sight of it again, being distracted by material conditioning under the influence of the mind and senses. We tend to gravitate towards the outer body of the message more than to its heartbeat due to our external, sensual orientation in life. The message is more than the cultural trappings it is presented in. It answers to a sense of urgency in the soul striving for self perfection. The spirit with which one initially embraces the lineage may over time become suppressed, as the practitioner settles for answers to the problems of life, rather than the difficult task of applying those answers in progressive spiritual life. Thus there is an ongoing need to resurrect the spirit of the teaching, both in our every day life of spiritual practice, and in terms of revitalizing its message generation after generation. When one representative passes the torch to another, this is the formality of guru parampara - "from one to another." However, its essence is that in bearing the torch the current link sheds new light. However, renovators of the tradition must be distinguished from renegades of the tradition. The scriptural canon comes to help us in this task. While renovators justify their innovations with scriptural references, renegades cannot marshal scriptural support for their deviation. The illustrious members of the guru-parampara are kings of the world having conquered their own minds and senses, as these two - mind and senses - rule every day life on earth. In this verse Krsna uses the word rajarsi to describe the prominent members of the guru-parampara. Although he is literally referring to the kings mentioned in the previous verse, (1) anyone representing the guru-parampara is both a king and a seer (rajarsi). Footnotes: (1) Vivasvan (the Sun god), Manu (the father of humanity), and Iksvaku (Manu's son, a powerful earthly king). 'Bhagavad Gita: Its Feeling and Philosophy' by Swami B.V. Tripurari is scheduled to be available in bookstores by Spring, 2001. "I would like to thank my godbrothers, godsisters, friends and followers for their contributions towards the publishing of this work. "If any of you can help me to raise the considerable balance still required to publish and publicize this commentary on Bhagavad Gita, however small, I will be eternally indebted. "Please contact the Sanga moderator at In service, Swami" VRINDAVAN SANGA, India, March 2000 Join our international Sanga community in Vrindavana, India where Tripurari Swami will be holding discourses morning and evening during the month of March, 2000. All friends and members of our internet Sanga are cordially invited to attend. The Vrindavan Sanga program is as follows: Morning, 7:00 a.m. Bhagavad-gita discourses, from Swami's recently completed manuscript, 'Bhagavad-gita: It's Feeling and Philosophy' followed by breakfast prasad. Afternoon, 12:00 p.m. Arotika and lunch prasad. Evening, 5:00 p.m. Caitanya-caritamrta discourses, from Adi-lila, followed by Arotika and dinner prasad. For more information email: sadhusanga@swami.org [Reprinted with permission from Sanga 3/19/00 http://swami.org] About the Author  Other Stories by this AuthorComment on this story Contact VNN about this storySend this story to a friend
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