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EDITORIAL August 4, 1999 VNN4429 Comment on this story Meeting A Very Sweet Vaisnava BY MAHAVEGAVATI DASI EDITORIAL, Aug 4 (VNN) — For the pleasure of the assembled Vaisnavas, I would like to submit the following: Srimad Bhagavatam, 1. 2. 22 says, "We think that we have met Your Goodness by the will of providence, just so that we may accept you as the captain of the ship for those who desire to cross the difficult ocean of Kali, which deteriorates all the good qualities of a human being. " It is explained in the scriptures that there is only one guru, but he appears in so many varieties of forms for the deliverance and benefit of the conditioned souls. nr deham adyam sulabham sudurlabham plavam sukalpam guru karna dharam... The (bonafide) guru is the captain of the boat, (the human form of body, which is meant for crossing over the ocean of material nescience), and the Vedas are favorable breezes, meant for pushing the boat in the proper direction. The captain steers the boat, giving it proper direction so that it should reach its ultimate destination. "This age of Kali is very dangerous for the human being. Human life is simply meant for self-realization, but due to this dangerous age, men have completely forgotten the aim of life. " (SB 1. 1. 22 pur) Since time immemorial, the guru parampara has always been in place. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krsna Himself, instructed Lord Brahma, who in turn instructed Narada Muni, and so on, down the line. Especially in this age of Kali which is so nasty, (SB 1. 1. 10), it is especially necessary that one place oneself under the Lotus Feet of the BONAFIDE spiritual master to accept his instruction and guidance for ones' intended path back to Godhead. As explained in the Adi lila of Caitanya Caritamrta, there are innumerable branches of the Caitanya tree. For us to have such LIMITED vision as to recognize ONLY our Guruvarga, this is simply sectarianism which is due to our poor fund of knowledge, lack of maturity, and improper understanding of the scriptures, sadhus, and the teachings of our own ISKCON Founder-acarya, Srila Prabhupada himself. In the line of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur, there are different extensions of the Caitanya tree in which various pure devotees have appeared. The names of the acaryas which appear within each Guruvarga will be different. Within our line, Srila Prabhupada's name appears after that of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur. In other Guruvargas, (all of them bonafide), we will see a different list of names of acaryas coming in line from Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur. Tad viddhi prani pratena pariprasnena sevaya... Krsna Himself speaks this. One must accept the spiritual master. Srila Prabhupada emphasizes that one should accept a spiritual master who is an uttama adhikari. The sisya can only go as far as what is the level of realization of his guru, so one MUST take instruction from either diksa or siksa guru on the highest platform if one wants to attain the highest level of pure love for Krsna. (See NOI #5 purport) Tasmad gurun prapadyeta jinyasu sreyah uttamam... To meet such a great personality, (a nitya siddha), is so purifying, that the benefits, practically speaking, can not be described; even ONE moments association - lava matra. (SB 1. 1. 15 says, "Those great sages who have completely taken shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord can AT ONCE sacntify those who come in touch with them, whereas the waters of the Ganges can sanctify only after prolonged use.") I have very recently had the most wonderful fortune to meet Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Goswami Maharaj while in NYC. "Humility personified" and "pure devotee" is the only way I can describe this wonderful personality. Although so many devotees within ISKCON criticize Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayan Maharaj for his seemingly speaking on subject matter, "different from that of Srila Prabhupada" I doubt that ANYONE could say anything of this with relation to Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Goswami Maharaj, who, also, like Srila Narayan Maharaj, accepts our Srila Prabhupada as his siksa guru. Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Maharaj tells the story that he "committed an offense" at Srila Prabhupada's Lotus Feet. When Srila Prabhupada was planning to come to USA, he asked Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Maharaj to accompany him. At that time Maharaj explained to Srila Prabhupada that he was not able to do this, and gave the reasons why. Maharaj then explained that due to his offense, he has had to come to US, and rectify it. Going to Srila Pujyapada Bhaktipramode Puri Maharaj to ask if he should go, Bhaktipramode Puri Maharaj told him, "You must. " I would like to submit the following, which are Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Maharaja's own words, and I feel the devotees will see that Maharaj is preaching the same message as is our Srila Prabhupada. Hearing from such a pure devotee, possessive of such humility, I simply cry thinking of my own Spiritual Master and eternal loving Father, His Divine Grace Abhaya Caranaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada. For me, to hear from the lips of such personalities as these pure Vaisnavas, simply increases my - as what can be had for a conditioned soul, TRYING to take up the process of Krsna consciousness - devotion and love for my eternal Spiritual Master, and my desire to accept HIS instructions as my life and soul. Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Goswami Maharaj: "Any serious endeavor for eternal devotional benefit will be successful if it is done by invoking the grace of the Divine Master, Revered Vaisnavas and Supreme Lord for the purpose of propitiating Them only and not for any other purpose. Any desire for mundane name and fame or for any other ulterior motive will frustrate our devotional, spiritual life. We should remember the teachings of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, 'trinad api sunicena tarorapi sahisnuna aminina manadana kirtaniya sada hari. ' "We should chant the Holy Name of Sri Krsna or glories of Sri Krsna, His Name, Form, Attributes and Pastimes with the fourfold divine qualities - being humbler than the blade of grass, more forbearing than the tree, having no disire for name and fame, but according due respect to all. " And Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Maharaj LIVES this. (He REALLY does, so much so, that it just does RIGHT into one's heart. ) As Maharaj himself says, "Practice is better than precept. " One other saying he often quotes is, "Quality is better than quantity. " From the magazine, "Affectionately Yours" here is the following: "The very fact that we are in bondage and are suffering threefold afflictions, proves that we are averse to God, (Sri Krsna). The root cause of our affliction is forgetfulness of our eternal relation with Sri Krsna. Those Jivas who have done eternal good deeds, who are fortunate, come in contact with real Sadhus, (suddha bhaktas), and come to know about their real self, that they are eternal servants of Sri Krsna and as they have forgotten their eternal relation with Sri Krsna, they are entangled in the snare of Maya. Now if they take absolute shelter at the Lotus Feet of Sri Krsna, they will be rescued. Jivas are atomic spiritual sparks - they have got thinking, feeling and willing. Misuse of theri relative independence (volition) is the cause of their averseness to Sri Krsna. "Sri Krsna does not want to destroy the relative independence of jivas, because by that, that very purpose and existence of the jivas will be destroyed. So Sri Krsna and His devotees always try to advise the jivas and make them understand so that they will submit to Him willingly... " Following, is Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Maharaja's schedule. I highly urge devotees to go to hear this sadhu. (Incidentally, Maharaj gives the definition of sadhu as being, "one who possesses 'one-pointed' devotion to Sri Krsna. ) 1) Miami, Florida Aug 5th till Aug 11th Contact: Saranagati prabhu at Sharadasi@aol.com 2) Phoenix, Arizona Aug 12 till Aug 19th Contact: Gokul at bhakti@gokul.org 3) San Francisco, California Aug 19th till Aug 26th Contact: Vaikunthanath prabhu 415 928-7123 Jagadish prabhu 415 621-2336 mandala@mandala.org I remain your fallen servant, Mahavegavati dasi Hare Krsna Comment on this story  Contact VNN about this storySend this story to a friend
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