2 Responses to The Complete Guru-Tattva Paper (Part I – VII)

1. 

   Frank hallenstein February 24, 2011 at 8:59 AM #

   I found myself slowly disagreeing with this devotees humble efforts to lead us forward .There is a mood of bhakti which appears from a ”gaudiya matha mode which seems foreign to me.But Since i am a follower of AC Bhaktivedanta swami Prabhupada,and a humble servant of his iskcon society .Obviously our gurus legacy is different ,his is based on the basis that you accept a diksa guru,but we are not limited by just his advancement or personal qualification.In iskcon we are part of a the Chaitanya saraswati siksa-bhagavata parampara.Hence we are always following our many siksa gurus,whom daily manifest through the bhaktivedanta purports of the Sri mad bhagavatam.Hence we are not limited to just our own diksa guru as this sadhu suggests in his heart felt offering of guru tattva!Gaura govinda maharaja would not have accepted this offering in my opinion also,because it is not duely representitive of Srila Prabhupadas mood!. whose mood was very different to this devotional offering i humbly agree to disagree!

   “Now, they’re competent. They can, not only the swamis, even the grihasthas, they are called dasa adhikari, and brahmacaris, everyone can, whoever is initiated, he is competent to make disciples.

   “But as a matter of etiquette they do not do… so in the presence of their spiritual master. This is the etiquette. Otherwise, they are competent. They can make disciples and spread. They can recruit more members in this. They do, but they are being trained up. Just like here in this meeting, one of my disciples, he is acting as priest. It is not myself; he is acting. So some of my students, they are acting as priests, some of them are swamis, so they are competent to make disciples.”

   –Srila Prabhupada, July 18, 1971…..
   Sorry, it was a room conversation in Detroit, July 18, 1971. It is on the Vedabase. The voice recording is available.

   Srila Prabhupada is talking to one graduate student named Mohsin Hassan, who is writing a thesis about the Hare Krishna… movement.See More

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     adham bhakta February 24, 2011 at 9:43 AM #

     Respected Prabhu, welcome to this vaishnava site. I humbly submit this quote, which may be relevant to the subject matter:

     Shrila Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada: http://vedabase.net/noi/5/en “In this verse Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī advises the devotee to be intelligent enough to distinguish between the kaniṣṭha-adhikārī, madhyama-adhikārī and uttama-adhikārī. The devotee should also know his own position and should not try to imitate a devotee situated on a higher platform. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has given some practical hints to the effect that an uttama-adhikārī Vaiṣṇava can be recognized by his ability to convert many fallen souls to Vaiṣṇavism. One should not become a spiritual master unless he has attained the platform of uttama-adhikārī. A neophyte Vaiṣṇava or a Vaiṣṇava situated on the intermediate platform can also accept disciples, but such disciples must be on the same platform, and it should be understood that they cannot advance very well toward the ultimate goal of life under his insufficient guidance. Therefore a disciple should be careful to accept an uttama-adhikārī as a spiritual master.”

     It seems, that even advanced madhyama devotees for further advancement take help of shiksha gurus, who are present on the planet. So, it seems, in a matter of accepting shiksha gurus, the same instructions apply. Mercy of all guru parampara, of all previous acharyas, who are shiksha gurus, is available to all, but how far one can advance without direct help of guru, who is present on the planet, I do not know. Maybe vaishnavas will graciously enlighten on this subject.

     Hare Krishna

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