Chapter Three: Recognising Divinity

Devotee: When my Diksa-gurudeva was present he gave me spiritual instructions, therefore he was also my Sisksa-guru. After his departure I received guidance from his books and tapes as well as his general instructions. Is he still considered to be my Siksa-guru? Are his books and recordings now my Siksa-guru?

Srila Guru Maharaj: Of course, but in a passive way. Generally the Caittya-guru’s function is better there. If you fail to understand a particular passage, then you cannot have progress. Passively it is represented to you, but you have to exact the real purpose; and another Vaisnava may see something more there. Therefore it has been said, ‘Jaho bhagavata pada vaisnavera sthane.’ If you want to read Bhagavatam you must go to a Vaisnava Acaryya, a Vaisnava teacher, and read it under his guidance, otherwise you may fail to understand the real standpoint. You must read Vaisnava Scripture with the help of the Vaisnava Acaryya. The passive Siksa-guru may help to remind you, but if you fail to understand, the book will not come to remove your misconception. But the living Siksa-guru, the sadhu, will point out and explain the misunderstandings. Sadhu and sastra are both necessary, but the sadhu is principal. In the absence of the living Scripture – the sadhu – the passive Scripture – the sastra – is there to give us help.

Devotee: Is the Caittya-guru passive?

Srila Guru Maharaj: It is not passive but it is somewhat vague within us and we may not always be able to detect its advice. It is difficult to understand its advice.

Devotee: Can the Caittya-guru be a manifestation of our Gurudeva and of Krsna also?

Srila Guru Maharaj: Yes. When we internally ask something while standing before our Gurudeva, “Please advice me in this particular position. What am I to do?” Then we may feel something: “My Gurudeva is giving this suggestion.” If we are pure then we shall be able to catch the real solution from him.

While reading Bhagavad-gita we may also ask Krsna, “What is the real meaning of Your speech? Please allow me to understand.” According to our position we will be able to understand if Krsna suggests, “This is the purpose of My speech:…” But it is vague and depends upon one’s capacity of realisation.

Devotee: Many of us did not get to see or speak with our Gurudeva much, so how is the Spiritual Master aware of the activities of his disciples? Also the Spiritual Master is sometimes far away from his disciples, so how does he keep connection with them?

Srila Guru Maharaj: He can gain a general conception from the letters of the disciple, by his words and also from others. From one, two, or more sources he may conjecture as to the way the disciple is engaging as well as his current stage of progress. By the activities, expression, and aspiration of a disciple it is not too difficult to understand his general situation and plane. So many tests exist.

Generally it is said that a man cannot be judged by his dress, but he can be judged by his words. But in devotional life a person may even be judged, by nature of his dress as well as of course by his words, practices, attachment, etc.

If some dirt will accumulate and cause an interruption in the running of a fine machine such as a computer, the expert will be able to understand the nature of the defect. Similarly, the plane of a person can be known from the words he speaks and the actions he performs. His earnestness and attraction for various particular sages of duty are among the many symptoms by which a person’s position can be understood.

In general, some may tend towards renunciation, others towards exploitation, and some towards devotion. Amongst the devotional section some may tend towards devotion to the Deity, some to devotion to the Vaisnavas, some to devotion to the Guru. A devotee’s situation may be assessed according to where his intensity and eagerness lies. There are many signs to indicate the different stages of devotees.

A position of a devotee can also be assessed according to the nature of his enquiry. What does he want to know? In the sastra are listed different stages of enquiry and instruction.

Devotee: After the disappearance of the Spiritual Master, is the connection still maintained? Is the Spiritual Master still aware of the disciple’s activities?

Srila Guru Maharaj: Our attitude should be to consider that he is seeing everything from above.

We cannot have full knowledge of our Gurudeva. A devotee after fifteen years of continuous service as a sannyasi was told by our Guru Maharaj, Prabhupad Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur, “You have not seen me. You could not see or meet me.” By this example we can understand that it is very difficult for the disciples to know in what plane the Gurudeva is staying.

He was one of the most popular sannyasis amongst Srila Prabhupad’s disciples, but during Srila Prabhupad’s last days that sannyasi took some independent action which caused this remark to come from our Guru Maharaj, “You could not meet me; you could not see who I am.”

In other words we understood that Guru Maharaj indicated, “You are trying to be a canvasser of the grhasthas – not my servant. Some men and money are at your disposal and you think I want men and money and some you are supplying me with such things. You think that your property is your men and money, and sometimes you give something to me by way of a bribe, and then you return to keeping your estate. But I require that you be my man and that you will always work cent- percent on my behalf, and never be influenced by the popular opinion of any charm of the material world. You are to be cent-percent my servant. Whatever you do must be independent of any connection with the outside world. No outside connection is to influence you in any way. You are to be always clear. You are to handle the world, but not establish any connection or affection in the world. Cent-percent, you are to be mine. That should be the attitude. You are to be my man and you are not to incur any obligation to the external world. It is not that in the name of Devotion you will come and plead on their behalf to me. You are to be always cent-percent mine, and in this way engage yourself with the outside world – whether with men, money, fame, or anything else. This connection must not be slack.”

On the other hand Vasudeva Datta said to Mahaprabhu on behalf of the people at large, “Please accept them. I stand as their guarantor. If you wish, you may send me to eternal hell, but please accept them.” But that mood is of another type. There is no lacking of faith in the centre; rather the most intense degree of faith in the centre is displayed by his words, although apparently he pleaded for the public at his own risk.

Devotee: It is also said, caksu-dana dila yei, janme janme prabhu sei – that he who gives me transcendental vision is my lord, birth after birth. So, is the connection with the Spiritual Master actually eternal, birth after birth?

Srila Guru Maharaj: Of course. But we must not identify him with the appearance we experience by our physical senses. The inner identification is necessary, and that vision will increase according to our inner growth. Our vision will increase and transform from prakrta to aprakrta, from material to transcendental. As our vision changes, the way we see Gurudeva will change accordingly. A man is generally known first by his external uniform, then by his body, then by his mind, then by his intelligence. As much as our eye will develop to see thins rightly, what we see will change its appearance.

Acaryyam mam vijaniyat – the Lord says, “It is ultimately I who am the Acaryya. It is My function in different stages and forms.” At the same time different Acaryyas may simultaneously work together. They have their common ground in their Srila Gurudeva, but, like so many branches of a tree, they differ in many ways. Still, the ideal is acaryyam mam vijaniyat. The ideal is going from gross to subtle. According to the depth of vision of the eye of the viewer some factors are in common, some different.

Different depths of vision will disclose different realities of the Acaryya, and it will go in different Rasas (Divine Relationships) to the highest position by a gradual process of realisation. Otherwise it will be marttya-buddhi, a material conception of the Divinity, and that is a crime; that is ignorance. It is erroneous.

We are to withdraw ourselves from the snare of identifying reality with the physical form presented to our senses. The eye is a deceiver; it cannot see the proper form. The ear also deceives. The form of the Acaryya is not indriya-grahya, perceivable by the senses; it is indriyatita, beyond the experience of the senses. Because we are in such a low position we must gradually proceed to the inner world with the help of the figure we see before us. But so much importance is given to seeing deeper. The Acaryya sometimes wears winter clothing and sometimes he wears summer clothing, but we are not to identify him with the dress even though it is also indispensably connected with his body. Similarly the Acaryya may show himself to have a young body but later in life he shows an old body. Similarly in one birth he may come in a particular body and another time he may come in another body. The same Acharyya may come differently at different times. From the external we shall have to go to the internal. This applies to ourselves also. If I lose this body of flesh and blood and have instead only a subtle body, then I shall see the Guru in the form of his subtle body, not in the form of this physical type of body. The Devatas, Gandharvvas, and Siddhas also have their Gurus, but neither they nor their Acaryyas have a material body. So we are to eliminate the external conception and enter within the internal conception, and that will be all-important to a progressive disciple. It does not mean that he will disregard the physical form of Gurudeva, but he will look to the real importance and real presence within.

We should worship the remnants of the Acaryya – his coat, his shoes, his sandals, etc. – but that does not mean that such things will be superior to his own body. Similarly, if we are eager to do some physical service to him but he does not want that, then we should not do it. If I go to massage his feet but he says, “No, no. I do not want that,” then we should refrain. His internal wish will be higher. In this way we are to make progress from the subtle to the gross, but that does not mean we should abhor all external things. We should respect them, but more importance should be given towards the internal as the higher, deeper representation. Eho bahya, age kaha ara. “This is superficial, go deeper.” As much as we have deeper vision we shall go forward.

Devotee: In the case of Bilvamangal Thakura, his Gurudeva spoke to him through the prostitute Cintamani, and Bilvamangal recognised his Guru there.

Srila Guru Maharaj: But that does not mean he went back to Cintamani. He accepted Cintamani as his first Guru. Through her advice he went to Somagiri and from there he went ot Vrndavana, eliminating his earlier guide. He recognised that Cintamani was his starting point but he did not give so much respect that he stayed there and served her. Eho bahya, age kaha ara. Progress means elimination. Progress presupposes some sort of elimination, some change in conception, otherwise it is stagnant and static.

Devotee: Does that mean that in a devotee’s progress he discards lower Rasas as he progresses from Santa to Dasya to Sakhya and so on?

Srila Guru Maharaj: When his internal representation finds its full nature it will stay there. He will not make further progress to a higher Rasa because his final goal has been reached.

Gradation is everywhere. Similarly, there is classification in the energies: Goloka-sakti, Vaikuntha-sakti, then Sivaloka, Brahma-loka, Viraja; and then, here in the material world, there is classification –but according to grossness. In the mundane plane the classification is from gross to subtle. There is also classification and gradation within the nature of the jivas. Some finish their progress in the Dasya relationship in Vaikuntha. Some cross Vaikuntha-dasya and enter within the Dasya of Krsnaloka where there is Madhura-rasa-dasya, Vatsalya-rasa-dasya, general Dasya etc. There are infinite classifications. The soul is infinite and everything is infinite. We are indicating such things from afar (dig-darsana) but everything is analysed in the infinite. Every part of infinity is infinite, therefore we are repeatedly told, “Begin work. Begin service. There is no end of knowledge, and there is no end of enquiry, so begin service – Devotion.” Jnane prayasam udapasya – enquiry is never to be finished. It is never satisfied. Pranipata, pariprasna, sevaya. Pranipata is full confidence; pariprasna is honest enquiry; and seva, service, is all-in-all. Without seva you cannot claim to come in touch with the Infinite. You are to submit and serve, then the necessary direction will be revealed within you. Begin your service. Wherever you are, it is a great blessing if you get the chance to begin your service. Through some agents that chance may come even in the tree and beast species.

Service is all-in-all. It is the concrete whole; anything else is just a partial representation. Without submission, no enquiry is possible. But enquiry is not the fulfilment. Fulfilment is to serve. That is the reality and that will fetch something in return for you.

Bhaktya sanjataya bhaktya. Bhakti, not jnana or other things, will promote Bhakti. Jnana cannot produce Bhakti, but Bhakti is independent in herself. Only Bhakti can produce Bhakti, so jnana is in the negative side. Bhakti is independent. Bhakti is absolute. It does not depend in any way upon jnana or karma. Bhakti is born of Bhakti alone. Bhakti can produce Bhakti. Nothing else. Ahaituky apratihata. It is causeless. It cannot be produced by any other thing. Bhakti can extend herself. And apratihata – no other wave can oppose the growth of Bhakti except for Vaisnava-aparadha, offence to the devotees of Visnu, Krsna. Vaisnava-aparadha is the misconception of Bhakti, the misapplication of Bhakti. Jnana and Karmma cannot produce any effect on Bhakti because Bhakti is apratihata, but anti-Bhakti is aparadha and we must be careful there. Yadi vaisnava-aparadha uthe hati-mata. In particular we shall be careful to try to save ourselves from Vaisnava-aparadha.

There is also gradation in Vaisnava-aparadha. If a Vaisnava of a lower type is dissatisfied it will not have much effect, but when there are differences between Vaisnavas it is necessary to see who will have the backing from the higher quarter. The central thought is to be considered. With that consideration we are to approach. Ambarisa Maharaj was a devotee, also Durvasa Muni had some devotion, but we are to compare and see who will receive the higher backing. Duryodhana was a devotee and Arjjuna was also a devotee, but there was a clash between them. Sometimes we see such things.

Bhisma is a devotee – he is one of the twelve devotional mahajans – Arjjuna is also a devotee, but we are informed that there was a clash between them. Sometimes the clash is ostentatious and sometimes according to their circumstances. But who shall we side with? When such a case is there and cannot be avoided along the way, who we side with should be calculated in consultation with higher opinion. We must look for support from the higher office. It is living, not a dead jumble of law.

It is not such an easy thing to commit Vaisnava-aparadha. It is aparadha if some offence is made to a Vaisnava, but if a clash comes with an anartha in a middle-class Vaisnava causing him to become angry, that will not produce any offence. A cent-percent Vaisnava may have some anartha, and if some opposition come to the anartha, he may be enraged. In such a case it is not strictly the Vaisnava but his mind – the mental system of the Vaisnava and not his spiritual element. It will not be so much of an aparadha if the cause of his anger was only that his material interest disturbed.

We can make so many calculations and assessments, but we also see in the Scripture: “Na hi kalyana-krt kascid, durgatim tata gacchati – any person engaged in virtuous actions does not go down to hell or become ill-fated.” If one is sincere and does not want to deceive himself, none can deceive him. We must be true to our clear spiritual conscience. We must be truthful to that in our quest, then the Lord within will come to help us. He will always help the sincere souls. He is everywhere and He is the helper.

na hi kalyāṇa-kṛt kaśchid durgatiṁ tāta gachchhati

I want the highest good, and the Highest Good will also correspondingly come to my relief.