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EDITORIAL May 14, 1999 VNN3861 The Solution To The Guru Problem BY MADHUDVISA DASA EDITORIAL, May 14 (VNN) — The entire "guru problem" in ISKCON stems from one simple philosophical misunderstanding: "The disciple's spiritual advancement is solely dependent on his relationship with ONE initiating guru." This understanding completely removes any possibility of a real siksa [instructing guru] relationship with any other devotee. Of course, according to sastra, one can only have one diksa guru but he can have many siksa gurus and the initiating and instructing gurus are NOT DIFFERENT. "The spiritual master may be more than one. The spiritual master who instructs the disciples about spiritual matters is called siksa-guru, and the spiritual master who initiates the disciple is called diksa-guru. Both of them are My representatives. There may be many spiritual masters who instruct, but the initiator spiritual master is one. " (Krsna Book--Meeting of Krsna with Sudama Brahmana--80) The simple solution to all the guru problems facing ISKCON is to accept this sastric injunction that the disciple can have many siksa gurus [instructing spiritual masters] and the siksa gurus are NOT DIFFERENT from the diksa guru [initiating spiritual master]. It may be that the disciple's primary guru is not his diksa guru, his main guru may be one of his siksa gurus. It may even happen that the initiating guru falls down, however, that will not check the spiritual advancement of his disciples as they have many other siksa gurus who they can take shelter of. "It is the duty of the siksa-guru or diksa-guru to instruct the disciple in the right way, and it depends on the disciple to execute the process. According to sastric injunctions, there is no difference between siksa-guru and diksa-guru, and generally the siksa-guru later on becomes the diksa-guru." (Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.12.32 Purport) "The word guru is equally applicable to the vartma-pradarsaka-guru, siksa-guru and diksa-guru. Unless we accept the principle enunciated by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, this Krsna consciousness movement cannot spread all over the world." (Cc. Madhya 8.128 Purport) This is a sastric injunction and there are ample examples of such siksa gurus going on to become the primary guru of a devotee. "Thakura Bhaktivinode was not official Spiritual Master of Gaura Kisora dasa Babaji Maharaja. Gaura Kisora dasa Babaji Maharaja was already renounced order, Paramahamsa, but Thakura Bhaktivinode, while He was even playing the part of a householder, was treated by Gaura Kisora dasa Babaji Maharaja as Preceptor, on account of His highly elevated spiritual understanding, and thus He was always treating Him as His Spiritual Master. The Spiritual Master is divided into two parts; namely, siksa guru and diksa guru. So officially Bhaktivinode Thakura was like siksa guru of Gaura Kisora das Babaji Maharaja." (69-05-01 Letter to Dayananda) Of course Srila Prabhupada is also a siksa guru for everyone in ISKCON. It's up to the disciple to see who it was that made him Krishna conscious and who is giving him his principle guidance in spiritual life. It may be his diksa guru or one of his instructing gurus or it may well be Srila Prabhupada. It should be admitted by ISKCON that over emphasis of the disciple's spiritual life depending entirely on one diksa guru to the exclusion of all other ISKCON devotees and even Srila Prabhupada was a great mistake. In reality initiation into ISKCON is NOT initiation by one particular guru. It is the formal acceptance of the disciple into Srila Prabhupada's movement. It does not mean he now no longer has any direct access to Srila Prabhupada or any siksa guru other than his diksa guru! Initiation into ISKCON means the devotee is now a fully committed member of the organization who has vowed before Srila Prabhupada, the Deities, the initiating spiritual master, the Vaisnavas and the fire to follow the four regulative principles [no illicit sex life, no meat eating, no gambling and no intoxication] as well as to chant at least sixteen rounds of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra daily. He now has full access to Srila Prabhupada and to all the devotees in ISKCON who can act as his siksa gurus in addition to the relationship with his initiating spiritual master. The devotees have to work under the authority of their Temple President and the Temple President has to work with the GBC. And there are many senior devotees in ISKCON [including the Temple Presidents, the GBC's and the sannyasis] who are quite capable of giving siksa [instruction]. The over-emphasis on one initiating guru as being the only guru in an ISKCON devotees life has stoped devotees from developing real siksa relationships with other devotees ["gurus"] in ISKCON who could have helped them considerably and could have supported the devotees in the difficult times when their instructing gurus fell down. The over-emphasis on the diksa guru has practically eliminated Srila Prabhupada as a siksa guru in the lives of most ISKCON devotees. Many ISKCON devotees go as far as saying it's offensive for new ISKCON devotees to directly approach Srila Prabhupada or to even try to understand his books. The recent ISKCON paper "Prabhupada's Order" prints this policy in black and white in an official ISKCON document: "The disciple must understand everything through his own spiritual master [current acharya?], and not attempt to independently understand the previous acharyas [Srila Prabhupada!]." So according to "Prabhupada's Order" the ISKCON devotees can not directly try to understand Srila Prabhupada or his books at all! Trying to do that is an attempt to jump over the "current acharyas" and thus a great offense... It is a great philosophical mistake indeed! The whole mistake is in over-emphasizing the position of the diksa guru and virtually eliminating the siksa gurus and Srila Prabhupada. It can be corrected by simply accepting the sastric injunction that the initiating guru and the instructing gurus are not different AT ALL. Also the principal guru for a disciple may be one of his instructing gurus and not necessarily his initiating guru... It's a simple point and I humbly request you to consider it and to consider the disastrous effect ignoring this simple point [which is a sastric injunction] has had on ISKCON... "Therefore there is no difference between siksa-guru and diksa-guru because if he's actually guru, he'll not say anything which Krsna has not spoken. Yare dekha tare kaha 'krsna'-upadesa. So guru is that. Caitanya Mahaprabhu says, amara ajnaya guru hana tara' ei desa: 'You become a guru.' And what is the function of the guru? Yare dekha tare kaha 'krsna'-upadesa. That is there. You haven't got to manufacture any instruction. Whatever is said in the Bhagavad-gita, you say. You try to convince him with logic, with philosophy, with your knowledge, same thing... That is intelligence... "So one who has not surrendered to Krsna, how he can become guru? He's a cheater. Yei krsna-tattva-vetta sei guru haya. Bahunam janmanam ante jnanavan mam prapadyate. One who has surrendered to Krsna, he's actually jnanavan. And this jnanavan is possible after many, many births; not so easily, to surrender to Krsna. But if he's there, such a person--vasudevah sarvam iti sa mahatma sudurlabhah--he is mahatma. That is mahatma, not by stamping, anyone, a person, can become mahatma. This is the symptom of mahatma, one who has surrendered to Krsna fully. Sa mahatma sudurlabhah. So that is guru, mahatma, who knows vasudevah sarvam iti. Such mahatma is guru. Mahatmanas tu mam partha daivim prakrtim asritah, bhajanty ananya-manasah. "The guru has no other business than krsna-bhajana. So that you have to see. You have to learn. You have to appreciate with persons who are actually engaged in krsna-bhajana. Then you'll understand. Adau sraddha tatah sadhu-sangah. Sadhu means bhajate mam ananya-bhak sadhur eva sa mantavyah. He's sadhu. Who? Who has no other business than Krsna. "Mix with such sadhu who are actually executing krsna-bhajana. Adau sraddha tatah sadhu-sangah. This is the description of the sadhu. Bhajate mam ananya-bhak sadhur eva sa mantavyah. These things are there. "There is no question of being misled. But if you purposefully mislead yourself, who can check? In the beginning you may commit some mistake, but when you study Bhagavad-gita--who is sadhu, who is mahatma, who is guru--then why shall we make, commit mistake again? If you have done mistake--you have gone to a rascal who is not Krsna conscious--then when you read Bhagavad-gita, you can understand. Why you are misled? Why you should be misled? If it is written on the road, 'Keep to the left,' why should you be misled and go to the right? Go to the left. Then you are not misled. "So here it is said, mahatmanas tu mam partha daivim prakrtim asritah. A mahatma means who is always engaged in Krsna consciousness. Why do you accept somebody as mahatma who does not speak about Krsna? Then you are misleading yourself. Sa mahatma sudurlabhah. Vasudevah sarvam iti. Everything, direction, is there. Why you create your own mahatma? If you want to be cheated, who can check you? That is your fault. In Bhagavad-gita, it is clearly said, bahunam janmanam ante jnanavan mam prapadyate vasudevah sarvam iti sa mahatma... "That is mahatma. Mahatmanas tu mam partha daivim prakrtim asritah, bhajanty ananya-manasah. Sadhur... Api cet suduracaro bhajate mam ananya-bhak. He's mahatma. He's sadhu. We shall go to him. Why shall we go to a rascal? Simple directions. So if you are misled, if you are cheated, whose fault it is? But if you want to be cheated, who can check? "Even though somebody by mistake has gone to a rascal, the book is there. As soon as you find out, 'Here is a rascal who does not know anything about Krsna, and I have come to him,' reject him. That is stated in the sastra. Gurur apy avaliptasya karyakaryam ajanantah parityago vidhiyate.(?) Even by mistake you have come to a rascal who does not know how to become guru, you can reject him. Why should you stick to him? Reject him. And by mistake I have come to rascal. Why shall I continue to accept him as guru? Canakya Pandita said, tyaja durjana-samsargam bhaja sadhu-samagamam: 'Give up all rascals. Associate with sadhus.' If you do not do that, that is your fault. Tyaja durjana-samsargam bhaja sadhu-samagamam. "We have to mix with sadhu. Sadhu means who are twenty-four-hours engaged in Krsna's service. Things are there. Why should you mix with asadhu? Then how can you understand? Adau sraddha tatah sadhu-sangah. If you have got little faith, then next business is to associate with sadhus." (770131rc.bhu) [Room Conversation] About the Author | Other Stories by this Author Comment on this story | Contact VNN about this story | Send this story to a friend
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