Sri Guru – Heavier Than God

Śrī Guru – Heavier Than God

BY ŚRĪLA BHAKTIVEDĀNTA NĀRĀYAṆA GOSVĀMĪ MAHĀRĀJA

HAWAII, Jan 19 (VNN) — Hilo, Hawaii: January 11, 2003

I offer millions of obeisances unto the lotus feet of my spiritual master, nitya-līlā-praviṣṭa oṁ viṣṇupāda Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja, and same to my śikṣā-guru, nitya-līlā-praviṣṭa oṁ viṣṇupāda Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja.

Very quickly, in a couple of years, Śrīla Prabhupāda Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja preached throughout the world – in the mountains, on ocean Islands, in the North, East, South and West. I see his glories everywhere. Although Śrīla Svāmī Mahārāja actually came to this world as a representative of our guru-paramparā, some people want him to be the only guru. They want that there be only one guru – for the past, present and future. They want to deny our guru-paramparā. This is very bad; we should not try to do this. Rather, we should know what is guru-tattva.

Guru means “heavy,” more so than anyone else in this world – even more so than Kṛṣṇa Himself. Sometimes Kṛṣṇa may come to that guru and take his foot dust; it may be so. It is written in Śrī Gīta-Govinda by Śrīla Jayadeva Gosvāmī that Kṛṣṇa said to Śrīmatī Rādhikā, “Dehi pada-pallavam udāram – Please be merciful and place Your lotus feet on My head. Be pleased with Me.” Kṛṣṇa sometimes also says this to the gopīs who serve Śrīmatī Rādhikā more so than they serve Him. He may pray to them, “Please place your footdust on My head.”

This is guru-tattva. In other words, all the pure gurus in the disciplic line of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, in their spiritually perfected forms, are gopī maidservants of Śrīmatī Rādhikā. The subject of guru-tattva is the essence of all of our bhakti literature. This subject is very heavy, and therefore you should hear it with the core of your hearts. We can only worship Kṛṣṇa after we have worshipped guru.

All of us in this world have turned away from Kṛṣṇa. Whether you accept it or not, it is true. Although we are greatly suffering, we do not realize it. Why not? We have drunk such a large quantity of the alcohol of māyā that we have become completely mad; and in this madness we think ourselves very happy. You should know that one day you will have to give up your bodies and all that you have collected in this world.

One day you will surely have to be old. Old age is very eagerly waiting to embrace you, and none of you will be able to escape it. A devotee of the caliber of Śrī Nārada Muni can escape this māyā and its presentation of old age, but you are not like Nārada Muni. You will have to suffer if you are not careful. It is stated in the Vedas:

yasya deve parā bhaktir yathā deve tathā gurau
tasyaite kathitā hy arthāḥ prakāśante mahātmanaḥ

[“Only unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master are all the imports of Vedic knowledge automatically revealed.”] (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.23)

The instruction has been given since ancient times: “Be careful.” Yasya deve parā bhaktiḥ. Those who are suffering and who want to be happy in this world and in the next, especially those living in the present age of quarrel and hypocrisy called Kali-yuga, should serve Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Lord. And, not less than Him, such persons must serve the bona fide gurudeva. Here in this verse the word parā-bhakti has been used, and we should therefore know the meaning of bhakti:

anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam
ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānu-śīlanaṁ bhaktir uttamā

[“The cultivation of activities which are meant exclusively for the pleasure of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, or in other words the uninterrupted flow of service to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, performed through all endeavors of the body, mind and speech, and through the expression of various spiritual sentiments (bhāvas), which is not covered by jñāna and karma, and which is devoid of all desires other than the aspiration to bring happiness to Śrī Kṛṣṇa is called uttamā-bhakti, pure devotional service.”] (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.1.11)

Parā-bhakti is the continuous, uninterrupted flow of the activities performed by our body, mind, words and moods (bhāvas), which are executed only for the benefit of Kṛṣṇa. Such activities are not disturbed or covered by jñāna (mental speculation or knowledge leading to impersonal liberation) and karma (the desire to enjoy the fruits of one’s activities), and it is performed under the guidance of guru-tattva.

If there is a lack of the above symptoms in a devotee’s activities but bhakti is there to a small degree, we can still call it bhakti – but not parā-bhakti. The Vedas tell us that parā-bhakti is certainly to be applied to Kṛṣṇa, but first it must be applied to guru. If one has no guru, all his devotional activities will be like zero; only worldly fruits will come.

If one thinks, “I am already chanting, remembering, and performing arcana (regulative worship of the deity)”, but he is not truly initiated by a bona fide guru, the fruit of his activities will only be worldly. Intoxicated by sense enjoyment such a person may think himself happy, but he will not actually be happy. It is therefore stated in śāstra:

brahmāṇḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva
guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā-bīja

[“According to their karma, all living entities are wandering throughout the entire universe. Some of them are being elevated to the upper planetary systems, and some are going down into the lower planetary systems. Out of many millions of wandering living entities, one who is very fortunate gets an opportunity to associate with a bona fide spiritual master by the grace of Kṛṣṇa. By the mercy of both Kṛṣṇa and the spiritual master, such a person receives the seed of the creeper of devotional service.”] (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya 19.151)

What is the meaning of guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde? It generally means that one can attain the bhakti-latā-bīja – the seed of parā-bhakti – by the combined mercy of guru and Kṛṣṇa. In this connection, however, there is another meaning. Here the meaning is that the bona fide guru is a manifestation of Kṛṣṇa Himself. Kṛṣṇa does not come to us, but the guru may come, as Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja came and traveled everywhere. You should realize that the mercy of Kṛṣṇa first manifests as the mercy of guru. 

From the bona fide guru, who is Kṛṣṇa Himself as His manifestation (āśraya-vigraha), we can have the seed of bhakti, the bhakti-latā. What is the bhakti-latā? It is kṛṣṇa-sevā-vāsanā, the desire to serve Kṛṣṇa. This desire will come only from gurudeva, the bona fide Vaiṣṇava, and it does not matter whether a guru is acting as a śikṣā-guru or a dīkṣā-guru.

He may act as a śikṣā-guru in the case where a disciple is initiated by a bona fide guru but he cannot avail his śikṣā. The seed of the bhakti creeper comes from this high class of gurudeva, and that is why śāstra states: yasya deve parā bhaktir yathā deve tathā gurau tasyaite kathitā hy arthāḥ prakāśante mahātmanaḥ.

One can know who is Kṛṣṇa only from gurudeva, and if a guru is not bona fide, Kṛṣṇa cannot be known. Among the sixty-four limbs of bhakti described in Śrī Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, the first four are in relation to śrī gurudeva. The first is guru-pādāśraya. Pādāśraya means taking shelter of gurudeva’s lotus feet, and that shelter is taken through hearing. That is harināma initiation in the real sense.

Those who take shelter of such a guru can progress quickly in bhakti. After guru-pādāśraya, there is dīkṣā and śikṣā. Dīkṣā means initiation and śikṣā means instruction. The disciple will begin to understand his gurudeva’s instructions, and then he will try to follow them. So we should take initiation from that guru. But be very careful. If a guru is bona fide and you have some doubt in his character or teachings, Kṛṣṇa will never accept you.

yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādo
yasyāprasādān na gatiḥ kuto ‘pi
dhyāyan stuvaṁs tasya yaśas tri-sandhyaṁ
vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam

[“Only by the mercy of śrī gurudeva can one receive the mercy of Kṛṣṇa; without his grace the living entities cannot make any advancement nor be delivered. I meditate three times a day on the glories of śrī gurudeva and recite stava-stuti (prayers) unto his lotus feet.”] (Śrī Gurvāṣṭakam, verse 8)

ajñaś cāśraddadhānaś ca saṁśayātmā vinaśyati
nāyaṁ loko ‘sti na paro na sukhaṁ saṁśayātmanaḥ

[“Ignorant and faithless persons who doubt the revealed scriptures do not attain God consciousness; they fall down. For the doubting soul there is happiness neither in this world nor in the next.”] (Bhagavad-gītā 4.40)

Suppose a guru is bona fide and he is preaching and serving his gurudeva. If anyone doubts him and thinks, “My gurudeva is an ordinary man and he does not know this and that” or “I know better than him”, even in ordinary matters, that person falls down from Kṛṣṇa consciousness and no one will be able to save him. We should be very careful not to associate with such persons.

Also, do not associate with anyone who associates with that type of wretched person. Try to behave as you would behave regarding the passing of stool. If we can pass stool easily, we are very happy. We feel great relief if there is a motion. If the stool remains inside the body, we will be restless. We will not be able to do bhakti or anything else. Similarly, you will surely have to give up bad association for your entire life.

If you want bhakti, if you want to become Kṛṣṇa conscious, then do not mix with those persons who doubt a bona fide guru who is serving his gurudeva and preaching throughout the world. Śrīla A.C. Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja had many thousands of disciples, but so many of them have completely given up their Kṛṣṇa consciousness due to their doubts.

You may have heard the names of Droṇācārya and Ekalavya. They were both present in this world 5,000 years ago, at the time of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes here. Ekalavya went to Droṇācārya and told him, “I accept you as my guru.” Droṇācārya replied, “I knew you would be coming to me even before you came. I know your heart and pulse; you are very much against pure bhaktas and therefore I will not teach you the art of archery.”

Ekalavya then said, “I have accepted you as my guru, so I must learn something about archery from you.” Droṇācārya again refused and said, “I cannot give lessons to you because if you learn archery you will become a burden to the entire world.” Still determined, Ekalavya went to the forest and made a clay statue of Droṇācārya. He offered praṇāma to that statue and, repeatedly taking the foot dust of that statue he began to practice archery with great faith.

Practicing archery while regularly performing arcana and offering flowers to Droṇācārya, Ekalavya became a master of archery. Then, one day, Droṇācārya went to the forest and saw Ekalavya, and he became astonished to see how he had learned such a high class of archery. When Ekalavya saw Droṇācārya he fell at his lotus feet and told him, “What I have learned, I have learned from you.” Droṇācārya then told Ekalavya, “If you have really learned archery from me, then I want some guru-dakṣiṇā.”

Ekalavya said, “Whatever you wish, I am prepared to give. I am also prepared to give my life if you want that.” Droṇācārya replied, “I want your right hand thumb.” You would not be able to do this if you were asked to do so by your gurudeva, but Ekalavya did it immediately. Ekalavya was still able to shoot with his remaining four fingers, but what was the result? During the Mahābhārata battle he wanted to fight with Kṛṣṇa and kill Him. Therefore, Kṛṣṇa took His Sudarśana-cakra and very easily cut off his head.

In this connection, the śraddhā of Ekalavya is compared to a clay pot. If one places a clay pot in fire, it will crack. The śraddhā of Ekalavya was like that clay. He was selfish and wanted to ruin the devotees, and because of this ulterior motive, his śraddhā in making and worshipping a statue of Droṇācārya was really not śraddhā at all.

Our śraddhā should not be like that of Ekalavya; it should be like that of Arjuna. Always remember this and do not associate with Ekalavya. Some ignorant devotees, who are not actually devotees, have named their sons or disciples “Ekalavya.” We should always be careful not to have the misconception that he was a good disciple.

Someone may ask, “If a guru is not an uttama-adhikārī, how can he help his disciples? He may speak and behave incorrectly.” The reply to such a doubt is that if a guru is in the final stage of madhyama-adhikārī, if he is madhyama-uttama, if he is very sincere and continually serving his uttama-adhikārī gurudeva, and if he has no worldly desires, he will very soon become an uttama-adhikārī. Mahāprabhu confirmed this truth at the Ratha-yātrā festival while speaking to the inhabitants of Kulīna-grāma. Do not doubt this.

Kṛṣṇa has said in the Bhagavad-gītā (9.23):

ye ‘py anya-devatā-bhaktā yajante śraddhayānvitāḥ
te ‘pi mām eva kaunteya yajanty avidhi-pūrvakam

[“Those who are devotees of other gods and who worship them with faith actually worship only Me, O son of Kuntī, but they do so in a wrong way.”]

Kṛṣṇa told Arjuna that if a person worships a demigod with strong faith in order to fulfill his worldly desires, thinking, “Surely he will fulfill my desire,” That person is actually worshiping Kṛṣṇa Himself, but in the wrong way. Someone may directly touch his nose and someone else may touch it by making his hand and finger go all the way around his head before it reaches his nose.

Similarly, that person’s desires can be fulfilled by Kṛṣṇa alone, whether they are fulfilled by directly asking Him or by getting them fulfilled in a roundabout way by going to the demigods. The devatās are not powerful; they are unable to give any benediction. It is actually Kṛṣṇa who gives their benedictions.

In a similar way, a guru may be a madhyama-adhikārī in the final stage; he may not yet be siddha (a perfect, self-realized soul) like Śrī Nārada Muni, Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī, and others. In that case, if he is a sincere devotee, and if a disciple follows him with deep faith, who will give the fruit of the disciple’s worship? A madhyama-adhikārī cannot give it.

If one is an uttama-adhikārī like Nārada Ṛṣi or Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī or Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, he can give it at once, but a madhyama-adhikārī cannot. The madhyama-adhikārī guru will tell hari-kathā and engage his disciples in such a way that they will advance in bhakti. What will be the result? If one has very deep faith in that guru, Kṛṣṇa Himself will surely give the fruit, and that fruit will be transcendental. Kṛṣṇa will give that disciple the fruit of the association and shelter of an uttama-adhikārī guru.

To a devotee initiated by a madhyama-adhikārī guru and who really desires to attain the highest goal, Kṛṣṇa gives the association and mercy of an uttama guru who can bless the disciple with that goal. Try to understand this. It is not very easy to understand, but try. Do not have any doubt about this.

Uttama-adhikārī gurus are not easily available. They are very rare in this world. Moreover, even if they are available, most people will not be able to recognize them. For example, Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī was naked, and Śrī Vaṁśīdāsa bābājī put fish bones and other abominable things outside his bhajana-sthalī. You would not be able to know that Śrīla Gaura Kiśora dāsa bābājī Mahārāja is an uttama-mahā-bhāgavata.

If a madhyama-uttama guru who is under the guidance of an uttama-adhikārī guru will tell you, or an uttama-adhikārī playing the role of a devotee in the stage of madhyama-adhikārī will tell you, then you will be able to know. We should be very, very careful about this. Do not have any doubt to that kind of guru. If one is madhyama-uttama, he can help so much by his direction.

The advanced madhyama-adhikārī will very soon come to the stage of rati (bhāva), like Bharata Mahārāja and Ambarīṣa Mahārāja. If a person has doubts in him, do not associate with that person. His association should be given up as one gives up stool after passing it.