Question 4: “Is Srila Gurudeva a mortal human being?”
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Maharaja: “Srila Gurudeva is never a mortal human being. He is not merely a lump of flesh and blood that may perish in a moment. In Srimad-Bhagavatam it is said that Srila Gurudeva is Bhagavan Himself. He is an incarnation.
By his own sweet will, Srila Gurudeva mercifully descends from the world of divinity to this one. He is eternally present in both manifest and non-manifest pastimes. He always resides as our lord and arouses our faculty of intelligence (buddhi-vrtti).
Sri guru – the embodiment of sat, cit and ananda – is a supra-mundane, exalted personality. One who considers him to be an ordinary human being will offend the holy name and find himself in hell. Sri guru is the knower of the reality of the soul, he is the knower of the reality of Sri Krishna and He is the most beloved fellow of Sri Caitanyadeva. He has descended just to deliver fallen souls like us. He is neither a karmi, nor jnani nor yogi; He is the topmost devotee of Bhagavan – a companion in the pastimes of the Ocean of Pastimes Himself.
Just as deva is eternal, sri guru is also eternal. Here the word deva refers to aprakrta kamadeva Sri Krishna, the God of transcendental love. Srila Gurudeva is the very svarupa of that same Krishna – that is, he is the non-different, intrinsic from of Krishna; he is the direct manifestation of Sri Krishna (prakasa-vigraha).
When we contemplate non-difference from the Lord, Srila Gurudeva holds the topmost position on the continuum of worshipful entities. Although he is Bhagavan Himself, he is very dear to the Lord. Srila Gurudeva manifests his pastimes as the embodiment (vigraha) of Visnu’s asraya-jatiya aspect – that is, as the Supreme abode of love of God. Sri guru and Sri Krishna are simultaneously and inconceivably one and different (acintya-bedhabheda-tattva). Srila Gurudeva is the supreme shelter of love of God (asraya-jatiya-tattva) and Sri Krishna is the Supreme Godhead (visaya-tattva). Srila Gurudeva is sevaka-bhagavan, the Lord as the abode of loving service, and Sri Krishna is sevya-bhagavan, the Lord in the mode of the object of loving service, or Svayam Bhagavan. In the vision of a disciple who has realized his own svarupa while pursuing raga-marga, Srila Gurudeva, who is so dear to Sri Mukunda, is perceived as non-different from Sri Krishna’s sakti – that is, he is a manifestation of Sri Varsabhanavi, Radhika.
Srila Gurudeva, who is exremely dear to Sri Krishna, is the internal potency (svarupa-sakti) while Sri Krishna is the fountainhead of all potencies (saktiman). Sri Krishna is the enjoyer (purusa), and our gurudeva is Sri Krishna’s nature (prakrti) and His beloved (kanta).”
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Maharaja: “Srila Gurudeva is never a mortal human being. He is not merely a lump of flesh and blood that may perish in a moment. In Srimad-Bhagavatam it is said that Srila Gurudeva is Bhagavan Himself. He is an incarnation.
By his own sweet will, Srila Gurudeva mercifully descends from the world of divinity to this one. He is eternally present in both manifest and non-manifest pastimes. He always resides as our lord and arouses our faculty of intelligence (buddhi-vrtti).
Sri guru – the embodiment of sat, cit and ananda – is a supra-mundane, exalted personality. One who considers him to be an ordinary human being will offend the holy name and find himself in hell. Sri guru is the knower of the reality of the soul, he is the knower of the reality of Sri Krishna and He is the most beloved fellow of Sri Caitanyadeva. He has descended just to deliver fallen souls like us. He is neither a karmi, nor jnani nor yogi; He is the topmost devotee of Bhagavan – a companion in the pastimes of the Ocean of Pastimes Himself.
Just as deva is eternal, sri guru is also eternal. Here the word deva refers to aprakrta kamadeva Sri Krishna, the God of transcendental love. Srila Gurudeva is the very svarupa of that same Krishna – that is, he is the non-different, intrinsic from of Krishna; he is the direct manifestation of Sri Krishna (prakasa-vigraha).
When we contemplate non-difference from the Lord, Srila Gurudeva holds the topmost position on the continuum of worshipful entities. Although he is Bhagavan Himself, he is very dear to the Lord. Srila Gurudeva manifests his pastimes as the embodiment (vigraha) of Visnu’s asraya-jatiya aspect – that is, as the Supreme abode of love of God. Sri guru and Sri Krishna are simultaneously and inconceivably one and different (acintya-bedhabheda-tattva). Srila Gurudeva is the supreme shelter of love of God (asraya-jatiya-tattva) and Sri Krishna is the Supreme Godhead (visaya-tattva). Srila Gurudeva is sevaka-bhagavan, the Lord as the abode of loving service, and Sri Krishna is sevya-bhagavan, the Lord in the mode of the object of loving service, or Svayam Bhagavan. In the vision of a disciple who has realized his own svarupa while pursuing raga-marga, Srila Gurudeva, who is so dear to Sri Mukunda, is perceived as non-different from Sri Krishna’s sakti – that is, he is a manifestation of Sri Varsabhanavi, Radhika.
Srila Gurudeva, who is exremely dear to Sri Krishna, is the internal potency (svarupa-sakti) while Sri Krishna is the fountainhead of all potencies (saktiman). Sri Krishna is the enjoyer (purusa), and our gurudeva is Sri Krishna’s nature (prakrti) and His beloved (kanta).”
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