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Rays of The Harmonist Monthly On-line Edition - Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami Maharaja













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sri sri guru gauranga jayatah!
Rays of The Harmonist On-Line Edition
Year-4, Issue 6
Posted: 20 July 2011
Dedicated to

nitya-lila pravista om visnupada

Sri Srimad Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Gosvami Maharaja


Inspired by and under the guidance of
nitya-lila pravista om visnupada
Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami Maharaja

Do Not Be Deprived of Sri Guru’s Mercy
by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada

(Portrait of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada)


Question 1: Is Srila Gurudeva completely unbiased?

Answer: Certainly. Sri gurudeva is completely unbiased. He does not seek any type of favour from anyone in this world. His sole desire, which is fully auspicious, is for everyone to engage in sincere hari-bhajana. He believes that the topmost form of compassion is to instruct everyone to act for the pleasure of Sri Krsna’s senses. He knows that encouraging someone to engage in sense gratification or encouraging their attachment to material sense objects is not an act of compassion, but in fact one of sheer violence.


Question 2: Is the mercy of Bhagavan the sole cause of meeting sad-guru?

Answer: Yes. If we are fortunate enough to attain the association of a pure devotee of the Lord, we should understand that such opportunities are masterfully arranged solely by Sri Krsnacandra. By bringing us in connection with sri guru, the Lord bestows His most assuring blessings upon us. Only those who are exceptionally fortunate will receive this benediction. A befitting guru appears before the seeker according to that seeker’s qualification (adhikara).


Question 3: Is it acceptable to maintain a mood of enjoyment in relation to paraphernalia meant for serving Srila Gurudeva?

Answer: Never. Such a mood is offensive. If we do not engage our ears in listening to hari-kirtana; if our tendency to measure everything according to our worldly vision is solely predominant; if we engage our eyes in judging all visible objects; if we engage our nose in enjoying sweet fragrances; if we engage our tongue in savouring all kinds of delicious food; and if we engage our skin in expanding our mastery over the sense of touch, then our mood of enjoyment in relation to paraphernalia meant for serving Srila Gurudeva has definitely been awakened.

It is comparable to considering that which is worshipful for us (sevya-vastu) – that entity who is heavy with significance (guru-vastu) – to be insignificant, or light (laghu-vastu). Such mentality can never lead to auspiciousness for us.


Question 4: Does sri guru ever deprive us?

Answer: Definitely. Srila Gurudeva is fully aware of our foolishness, of our deficiencies and limitations, our improper conceptions, our wavering principles and everything else. In fact, he makes arrangements to cure us according to the degree and nature of our ailments.

Only he who, having been approached, nullifies the need to listen to anyone else or to approach any other person can be called sad-guru. Bhagavan – who is the embodiment of the origin of auspiciousness, from which all auspiciousness is born – has completely entrusted my welfare into the hands of sri gurudeva. If I surrender myself to that sri gurudeva one hundred percent, he will bestow all spiritual welfare upon me. And the symptom of a surrendered soul is to bow down and dutifully accept whatever arrangements sri gurudeva makes for him without reservation.

However if I indulge in dishonesty, double-dealing, a false show of devotion or hypocrisy, then he will deceive us. He will say, “You have not become a disciple yet. You will not accept chastisement but your heart is full of sins. And because you are taking advice from hypocrites, you have not yet prepared your ears to hear my words. You therefore remain deprived.”


Question 5: Where did my troubles begin?

Answer: I am seeking auspiciousness for myself but in reality I have determined that which is inauspicious to be auspicious. We often call upon a doctor to cure our ailments and are prescribed medicine and a particular diet by him. But if I tell him, “You should arrange medicine and a diet in accordance with my desires and tastes,” then I am myself taking the role of doctor. Can our diseases really be cured this way?

Similarly, if I approach sad-guru but do not thereafter listen to his instructions, if I continue to behave according to my own will, how will I attain any welfare? It is clear, therefore, that if we only accept that doctor who approves of our wishes, we will find ourselves in great difficulty. If our doctor does not prescribe the medicine and diet that is truly beneficial for us, but instead prescribes things according to our own desires just to please us and collect a fee, then, although we may achieve some momentary happiness, our disease will not be cured.


Question 6: How can bhakti be attained?

Answer: First of all, bhakti can only be achieved by associating with a bhakta (one who posseses bhakti), and by no other means. There is nothing more auspicious for the jiva than attaining Sri Krsna. Such an auspicious attainment only comes as the result of extremely good fortune, and the jiva becomes truly fortunate only after his desire to wander throughout this material universe is finally and completely extinguished.

When the jiva’s original nature (atma-dharma) thus begins to manifest by the influence of sri guru’s mercy, he attains the seed of bhakti. The mercy of sri guru and the mercy of Sri Krsna are non-different, and true mercy is prasada – that which they compassionately bestow in a state of profound bliss.

Srila Gaurangadeva has said:

brahmanda bhramite kona bhagyavan jiva
guru krsna prasade paya bhakti-lata bija

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta (Madhya-lila 19.151)

All living beings wander throughout the universe, but some extremely fortunate souls receive the seed of the creeper of bhakti by the mercy (prasada) of Sri Krsna in His form as sri guru.

Serving the Master by becoming His servant is indeed bhakti. Bhakti means to strive exclusively for the happiness of the Master. On the other hand, rendering service to the Master in order to secure one’s own pleasure cannot be called bhakti.

The seed of such bhakti can only be attained from sri gurudeva. We are the gardeners of our heart. We must carefully plant this seed and nourish it with the water of sravana and kirtana (hearing and chanting). 

“I am a servant. To render service is my dharma, my eternal occupation.” To establish oneself in this truth is the sole meaning of becoming the gardener of the heart. Sri Krsna, out of His causeless mercy, personally appears before us in the form of sri gurudeva in order to confer upon us the seed of the creeper of bhakti. After receiving that seed from sri gurudeva, I shall exclusively engage in serving Sri Krsna. If I become indifferent towards rendering service, then I will invariably find myself in great difficulty. By the power of sri gurudeva’s mercy, all impediments on the path of bhajana will certainly be removed. Thereafter, everything will become favourable.

To listen to the words emanating from the lips of sri guru or a sadhu is called sravana. Reading or reciting scripture in pursuance of the instructions of sri guru or a sadhu also constitutes sravana. It is a certainty that we will face numerous difficulties if we deviate from the lotus feet of sri guru even for a moment. Sravana and kirtana are the water that nourishes the seed, and the soul who has taken shelter of the lotus feet of sri gurudeva is the gardener who waters it. Our only duty is to always engage in the intimate service of Srila Gurudeva.

To associate with sadhu-guru is our one and only duty. It is important to nurture the bhakti creeper with due care. One should engage in the service of the Lord with great expertise. Deviating from this principle leads to the rise of unlimited forms of difficulty.


Question 7: Are we living or dead?

Answer: The jiva is the servant of Bhagavan. Rendering service to Bhagavan is his sole occupation (dharma). Service is the only truly awakened state of any conscious being, and it is the only state in which he is truly alive. Only he who is engaged in serving Bhagavan can be considered alive; one who is indifferent to such service is virtually dead.

Apart from serving Sri Krsna and His associates, there is nothing else worth doing. The jiva is the servant of that Sri Krsna who takes the form of sri guru. By acting according to our own whims and fancies, we shall never attain the ultimate goal of life. Rather, we will simply remain in a state of being dead even while we are still alive. He who is predominantly inclined to engage in material activities (karma-kanda) is considered virtually dead. And solely because of this condition of his, he never takes interest in true action. Rather he remains solely interested in action on the plane of impermanence (asat-karya).

Remaining bereft of service to the “Real Being” (vastava vastu), is like being dead. Those who live under the control of maya instead of Sri Krsna are as good as dead despite apparently being alive. It is not the occupation of the soul to endeavour for prosperity in the form of physical and mental opulence. Such endeavour is for those who are bereft of life – in other words, such behaviour is only suitable for unconscious beings.

Bhakti is the only happiness. Everything else is the absence of happiness. Bhogis (sense enjoyers) and tyagis (false renunciants) are both lifeless, distressed and restless. Only the selfless devotee is truly alive, happy and peaceful.


Translated by the Rays of The Harmonist team
from Srila Prabhupadera Upadesamrta
Questions re-numbered for this on-line presentation
_____________________
Srila Prabhupadera Upadesamrta is a compilation of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada’s instructions in question-and-answer form.



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Rays of The Harmonist On-line; Year 4, Issue 6, "Do Not Be Deprived of Sri Guru's Mercy", by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License to ensure that it is always freely available.
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