Timeless words from Srila Prabhupada-1936 Vyasa puja offering

Below you will find   that In February 1936, in Bombay, (parts of a) Vyasa Puja talk give by AC Bhaktivedanta Swami on behalf of his guru maharaj, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Maharaj.

His words then, are still relevent today . 

 

Hare Krsna

Damaghosa das

----------------------------

 

SSR 2                 Choosing a Spiritual Master      
   Gentlemen, the offering of such an homage as has been arranged this
evening to the Acaryadeva is not a sectarian concern, for when we
speak of the fundamental principle of gurudeva, or acaryadeva, we
speak of something that is of universal application. There does not
arise any question of discriminating my guru from yours or anyone
else's. There is only one guru, who appears in an infinity of forms to
teach you, me, and all others.

 

 

   Thus it has been enjoined herewith that in order to receive that
transcendental knowledge, one must approach the guru. Therefore, if
the Absolute Truth is one, about which we think there is no difference
of opinion, the guru also cannot be two. The Acaryadeva for whom we
have assembled tonight to offer our humble homage is not the guru of a
sectarian institution or one out of many differing exponents of the
truth. On the contrary, he is the Jagad-guru, or the guru of all of
us; the only difference is that some obey him wholeheartedly, while
others do not obey him directly.

 

                        acaryam mam vijaniyan
                         navamanyeta karhicit
                       na martya-buddhyasuyeta
                         sarva-devamayo guruh

 

   "One should understand the spiritual master to be as good as I am,"
said the Blessed Lord. "Nobody should be jealous of the spiritual
master or think of him as an ordinary man, because the spiritual
master is the sum total of all demigods." That is, the acarya has been
identified with God Himself. He has nothing to do with the affairs of
this mundane world. He does not descend here to meddle with the
affairs of temporary necessities, but to deliver the fallen,
conditioned souls--the souls, or entities, who have come here to the
material world with a motive of enjoyment by the mind and the five
organs of sense perception. He appears before us to reveal the light
of the Vedas and to bestow upon us the blessings of full-fledged
freedom, after which we should hanker at every step of our life's
journey.

 

...   One who interprets the divine sound, or sabda-brahma, by his
imperfect sense perception cannot be a real spiritual guru, because,
in the absence of proper disciplinary training under the bona fide
acarya, the interpreter is sure to differ from Vyasadeva (as the
Mayavadis do). Srila Vyasadeva is the prime authority of Vedic
revelation, and therefore such an irrelevant interpreter cannot be
accepted as the guru, or acarya, howsoever equipped he may be with all
the acquirements of material knowledge.

...   Gentlemen, our knowledge is so poor, our senses are so imperfect,
and our sources are so limited that it is not possible for us to have
even the slightest knowledge of the absolute region without
surrendering ourselves at the lotus feet of Sri Vyasadeva or his bona
fide representative. Every moment we are being deceived by the
knowledge of our direct perception. It is all the creation or
concoction of the mind, which is always deceiving, changing, and
flickering. We cannot know anything of the transcendental region by
our limited, perverted method of observation and experiment. But all
of us can lend our eager ears for the aural reception of the
transcendental sound transmitted from that region to this through the
unadulterated medium of Sri Gurudeva or Sri Vyasadeva. Therefore,
gentlemen, we should surrender ourselves today at the feet of the
representative of Sri Vyasadeva for the elimination of all our
differences bred by our unsubmissive attitude.

 

   To receive the transcendental knowledge we must completely
surrender ourselves to the real acarya in a spirit of ardent inquiry
and service. Actual performance of service to the Absolute under the
guidance of the acarya is the only vehicle by which we can assimilate
the transcendental knowledge.

 

                    Katha Upanisad (1.3.14)

                          uttisthata jagrata
                        prapya varan nibodhata
                   ksurasya dhara nisita duratyaya
                   durgam pathas tat kavayo vadanti

 

   "Please wake up and try to understand the boon that you now have in
this human form of life. The path of spiritual realization is very
difficult; it is sharp like a razor's edge. That is the opinion of
learned transcendental scholars."

   Gentlemen, although it is imperfectly that we have been enabled by
his grace to understand the sublime messages of our Acaryadeva, Om
Visnupada Paramahamsa Parivrajakacarya Sri Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta
Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja, we must admit that we have realized
definitely that the divine message from his holy lips is the congenial
thing for suffering humanity. All of us should hear him patiently. If
we listen to the transcendental sound without unnecessary opposition,
he will surely have mercy upon us. The Acarya's Message is to take us
back to our original home, back to God. Let me repeat, therefore, that
we should hear him patiently, follow him in the measure of our
conviction, and bow down at his lotus feet for releasing us from our
present causeless unwillingness for serving the Absolute and all
souls.

 

   Gentlemen, do not for a moment think that my Gurudeva wants to put
a complete brake on the modern civilization--an impossible feat. But
let us learn from him the art of making the best use of a bad bargain,and let us understand the importance of this human life, which is fit
for the highest development of true consciousness. The best use of
this rare human life should not be neglected.

 

...   "One is said to be situated in the fully renounced order of life if
he lives in accordance with Krsna consciousness. He should be without
attachment for sense gratification and should accept only what is
necessary for the upkeep of the body. On the other hand, one who
renounces things that could be used in the service of Krsna, under the
pretext that such things are material, does not practice complete
renunciation.
   The purport of these slokas can only be realized by fully
developing the rational portion of our life, not the animal portion.Sitting at the feet of the Acaryadeva, let us try to understand from
this transcendental source of knowledge what we are, what is this
universe, what is God, and what is our relationship with Him. The
message of Lord Caitanya is the message for the living entities and
the message of the living world. Lord Caitanya did not bother Himself
for the upliftment of this dead world, which is suitably named
Martyaloka, the world where everything is destined to die. He appeared
before us four hundred fifty years ago to tell us something of the
transcendental universe, where everything is permanent and everything

is for the service of the Absolute.

 

 

   Personally, I have no hope for any direct service for the coming
crores of births of the sojourn of my life, but I am confident that
some day or other I shall be delivered from this mire of delusion in
which I am at present so deeply sunk. Therefore let me with all my
earnestness pray at the lotus feet of my divine master to allow me to
suffer the lot for which I am destined due to my past misdoings, but
to let me have this power of recollection: that I am nothing but a
tiny servant of the Almighty Absolute Godhead, realized through the
unflinching mercy of my divine master. Let me therefore bow down at
his lotus feet with all the humility at my command.