Sri Vyasa Puja to Srila Prabhupada 2013 Part 2

"Now people are seeing how genuine our movement is, they are coming forward to offer us so many places. We simply have to maintain our strict principles, keeping ourselves pure. Otherwise, there are so many bogus institutions doing business in the name of God and simply cheating the people. We have to be careful not to degenerate like these others. Our strength depends upon regular chanting the required 16 rounds and rigidly adhering to the regulative principles. (SOL to Jashomatinandan, 1/9/76)

"I am glad that you have admitted about the GBC members not very appropriately discharging their duty. I do not mind this discrepancy but you should be alert; you and all GBC members. We are now growing in volume all over the world dealing with public money. People have respect for our movement. Now it is time for GBC members to be very,very careful so that people may not point out any black spot in the behavior of our society. I have issued a letter to all the GBC members only for this purpose that each one of you should always think how to improve the cause and advance our society and as soon as there is some good point you can communicate with your colleagues and give some decision and put it before me so that I can give my final approval." (SPL, 9/1/71)

"There are two verses in the Chanakya sloka how a family or an institution can be glorified or burned into ashes by one person. The Chanakya Pandit says that if there is one tree in the forest producing nice aromatic flower, that one tree can glorify the whole forest by the flavor of its flower. Similarly if there is one tree in whose cavity there is a little fire, that one tree can burn into ashes the whole forest. So this simile is applicable anywhere. In a family if there is one good boy, he can glorify the whole family and similarly if there is bad boy he can burn the whole family into ashes. Similarly in this institution if there is a bad disciple he can burn the whole institution into ashes. The GBC's duty is therefore to see that every member is following the rules and regulations and chanting sixteen rounds regularly on the beads. I hope the GBC in cooperation with the sannyasis in their touring program will be able to keep vigilance systematically in order to keep the society as pure as possible." (SPL to Bali-Mardan, 8/25/70)

Srila Prabhupada, you have kindly warned about the result sof manufacturing and whimsical ways: "We have got practical experience how a great institution was lost by whimsical ways. Without carrying out the order of the spiritual master, they manufactured something and the whole thing was lost.Therefore Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura stresses very much on the words of the spiritual master. Vyavasayatmika buddhir ekeha kuru-nandana [Bg. 2.41]. If you stick to the order of spiritual master, then, without caring for your own convenience or inconvenience, then you become perfect."   (SB Lecture 1972)

Srila Prabhupada, you have explained how the parampa is lost.  But some way or other, the parampara being lost... Just like I have spoken something to my disciple. He says the same thing to his disciple. He says the same thing to his disciple. But some way or other, if it is distorted at a certain point, then the knowledge is lost. As soon as any of the disciples in the succession distort the knowledge, then it is lost. That is being explained.Sa kalena mahata. The time is very powerful. It changes.That is the... Time means it changes, kills the original position. You have got experience. You purchase one anything. It is very fresh, new. But time will kill it. It will become shabby. It will be useless at a time, in due course of time. So time is fighting. This material time, it is called kala. Kala means death. Or kala means the black snake. So black snake destroys. As soon as touches anything, it is destroyed. Similarly, kala... This kala is also another form of Krsna. So kalena mahata. Therefore it is called mahata. It is very powerful. It is not ordinary thing. Mahata. Its business is to destroy. Sa kalena iha nasta. So by due course of time... Because how the kala can destroy? As soon as kala sees that you are distorting, then it will be lost. So don't try to understand Bhagavad-gita from persons who are under the influence of kala—past, present, future. Don't try to understand Bhagavad-gita from so-called rascal philosophers, commentators, and... They will write Bhagavad-gita in a distorted way ." (Lecture BG 1974

How did the parampara knowledge get lost? "Ganesa: Srila Prabhupada, if the knowledge was handed down by the saintly kings, evam parampara-praptam [Bg. 4.2], how is it that the knowledge was lost?

Srila Prabhupada: When it was not handed down. Simply understood by speculation. Or if it is not handed down as it is. They might have made some changes. Or they did not hand it down . Suppose I handed it down to you, but if you do not do that, then it is lost. Now the Krsna consciousness movement is going on in my presence. Now after my deparature, if you do not do this, then it is lost. If you go on as you are doing now,  then it will go on. But if you stop... (end)"    (Room Conversation, Perth, 1975)

40. The one who renounces the guru's order (guru tyagi) and the one who tries to enjoy the assests of his spiritual master(guru bhogi) are two kinds of useless persons. First become a servant of your spiritual master (guru-sevi) and then you will understand things clearly ."   (Vyasa-Puja offering 1961)

I want you to know that nothing new should be added. Whatever I have introduced should remain. Nothing new should be added. New things means their brain is not clear. Carefully manage things what I have established.  Letter to: Rupanuga: — Vrindaban 4 September, 1974

Srila Prabhupada, you have described the philosophy that the guru is dead and gone [as in post samadhi] as mayavada, materialistic philosophy..

 

Srila Prabhupada:  So now, by the grace of Kṛṣṇa and Caitanya Mahāprabhu and in the presence of my Guru Mahārāja, you are so nice boys and girls. So in front of Caitanya Mahāprabhu you are chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, and you are taking part in it very seriously. So my Guru Mahārāja will be very, very much pleased upon you and bless you with all benefits.

So he wanted this, and he is not... It is not that he is dead and gone. That is not spiritual understanding. Even ordinary living being, he does not die. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre [Bg. 2.20]. And what to speak of such exalted, authorized personality like Bhaktisiddhānta. He is seeing. I never feel that I am alone. Of course, when I came to your country without any friend, without any means... Practically, just like a vagabond I came. But I had full faith that "My Guru Mahārāja is with me." I never lost this faith, and that is fact. There are two words, vāṇī and vapuḥ. Vānī means words, and vapuḥ means this physical body. So vāṇī is more important than the vapuḥ. Vapuḥ will be finished. This is material body. It will be finished. That is the nature. But if we keep to the vāṇī, to the words of spiritual master, then we remain very fixed up. It doesn't matter. Just like Bhagavad-gītā. It was spoken five thousand years ago. But if you keep to the words of Kṛṣṇa, then it is always fresh and guiding. Not that because Arjuna personally listened to Kṛṣṇa about the instruction of Bhagavad-gītā, therefore he knew it. That is not the fact. If you accept Bhagavad-gītā as it is, then you should know that Kṛṣṇa is present before you in His words in theBhagavad-gītā. This is called spiritual realization. It is not mundane historical incidences. If we keep...

evaṁ paramparā-prāptam
imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ
sa kāleneha (mahatā)
yogo naṣṭaḥ parantapa

 

If you don't keep in touch with the original link, then it will be lost. And if you keep touch with the original link, then you are directly hearing Kṛṣṇa. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa's representative, spiritual master, if you keep always intact, in link with the words and instruction of the superior authorities, then you are always fresh. This is spiritual understanding. Na jāyate na mrīyate vā kadācit nityaḥ śāśvato 'yaṁ purāṇo [Bg. 2.20]. Purāṇaḥ means very old. Just like Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Being. He must be very old because He is the original person. But the Brahma-saṁhitā says, advaita acyuta anādi ananta-rūpam ādyaṁ purāṇa-puruṣa nava-yauvanaṁ ca [Bs.5.33]. Purāṇa-puruṣa, the oldest person, but you will find Him nava-yauvanaṁ ca, always a fresh youth. That is God. God is not a material, that it gets old. The body gets old.  Lectures : Festival Lectures : His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Prabhupada's Appearance Day, Lecture -- Atlanta, March 2, 1975 : 750302BA.ATL

 

"Your appreciation of my Spiritual Master is very commendable. One who understands and appreciates the disciplic succession is certainly advanced, and we should always be very careful to give full respect to those who have so carefully handled this Divine Fruit of transcendental knowledge before us. Even a slight change will spoil it. That is why I have always been so careful to give you only those things which I have heard from my Guru Maharaja." August 1, 1967    

   Just like one of our Godbrothers, he's thinking that "This institution was started by me and Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati as partners. Now the senior partner is dead. Therefore I am the sole proprietor. Who are these Godbrothers? Let them go away." So this is maya, the same maya Dhrtarastra was thinking. And his brother-in-law, Sakuni, was very expert in conspiracy. So he was advising him, "Yes, you are the proprietor. At least your sons should be..." This is natural. Every... Everyone has got some affection for the family. So this is the beginning of the conspiracy. Otherwise, he was taking care of the children very nicely. But maya was dictating that "You are taking care of the children of your brother. What about your own children?" "Yes, why not my children?" 741004SB.MAY                 Lectures

And here Srila Prabhupada, you  elaborate on the guru-mara-vidya disease:

 

Yaśomatīnandana: Even the liberated soul, nitya-siddha.

Srila Prabhupāda: Liberated soul never says that "I am liberated." As soon as he says "liberated," he's a rascal. A liberated soul will never say that "I am liberated." That is liberated. Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He is God—guru more mūrkha dekhi' karila śāsan [Cc. Ādi7.71]. "My Guru Mahārāja saw Me a fool number one, and he has chastised Me." He's God. This is the example. If one remains always a servant ever-lastingly of guru, then he is liberated. And as soon as he thinks that he is liberated, he's a rascal. That is the teaching of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Guru more mūrkha dekhi'. Caitanya Mahāprabhu is mūrkha? Why He's posing Himself that mūrkha? "I am fool number one." That means that is liberation. You must be ready always to be chastised by guru. Then he's liberated. And as soon as he thinks that "I am beyond this chastisement, I am liberated," he's a rascal. Why Caitanya Mahāprabhu says guru more mūrkha dekhi' karila śāsan? This is sahajiyā-vāda. He is thinking, "Oh I have become liberated. I don't require any direction of my guru. I'm liberated." Then he's rascal. Why this Gaudīya Matha failed? Because they tried to become more than guru. He, before passing away, he gave all direction and never said that "This man should be the nextācārya." But these people, just after his passing away they began to fight, who shall be ācārya. That is the failure. They never thought, "Why Guru Mahārāja gave us instruction so many things, why he did not say that this man should be ācārya?" They wanted to create artificially somebody ācārya and everything failed. They did not consider even with common sense that if Guru Mahārāja wanted to appoint somebody as ācārya, why did he not say? He said so many things, and this point he missed? The real point? And they insist upon it. They declared some unfit person to become ācārya. Then another man came, then another, ācārya, another ācārya. So better remain a foolish person perpetually to be directed by Guru Mahārāja. That is perfection. And as soon as he learns the Guru Mahārāja is dead, "Now I am so advanced that I can kill my guru and I becomeguru." Then he's finished.

Yaśomatīnandana: They kept fighting, and when the real ācāryaemerged they all became wonderstruck. They all became baffled. Now they all know in their hearts. They all know it. I can see. They all know that who is real ācārya.

Devotee: The real ācārya emerges by his own preaching?

Devotee: Yes. (devotees offer obeisances)

Srila Prabhupāda: Hare Krsna. (end)  Conversations : 1976 Conversations : August, 16 1976 : Room Conversation --  Bombay, India 

 

Books : Srimad-Bhagavatam : Canto 5: "The Creative Impetus" : SB 5.12: Conversation Between Maharaja Rahugana and Jada Bharata : SB 5.12.11 : PURPORT :When Kṛṣṇa says, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru, so-called scholars advise the reader that it is not the person Kṛṣṇa to whom we must surrender but the Kṛṣṇa within. So-called scholars, Māyāvādīs, cannot understand Kṛṣṇa with their poor fund of knowledge. One should therefore approach an authorizedperson to understand Krsna. The spiritual master has actually seen Krsna; therefore he can explain Him properly.

tad viddhi praṇipātena
paripraśnena sevayā
upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ
jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ

(Bg. 4.34)

Without approaching an authorized person, one cannot understand Kṛṣṇa.

 

Srila Prabhupada, you have also given another ominous warning.

 

So he is comparing all the books written by Vyāsadeva, including the Vedānta philosophy. He says that this is vāyasaṁ tīrtham. Vāyasaṁtīrtham. Vāyasam means crows. And the crows, and their place of pleasure. Have you seen crows? In India we have got many crows. In your country crows are not very... But in India the crows, they take pleasure in all nasty things. The crows. You'll find they will take pleasure in a place where all nasty things are thrown, garbage. They'll pick out the garbage, find out where there is mucus, where there is pus. Just like flies. They'll sit down on the stool.Mākṣikaṁ bhramarā icchanti. And the bees, they will try to take honey. Even in the animals you'll see. The honey... The bees will never come to the stool. And the ordinary flies, they never go to collect honey. Similarly, there are divisions in the birds, divisions in the beasts, divisions in human society. So you cannot expect that ordinary person will come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. You see? Because they have been trained to become flies, they will taste stool. You see? The modern education is to teach people to become flies, only stool. Not here, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. But you make it a honeycomb. Those who are after, seeking after honey, they will find, "Here is something." You see? Don't make it a stool society. You see? Make it a honey society. At least, give chance, those who are seeking after honey. Don't cheat people. So they'll come…

 

Lectures : Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures : Canto 1: Lectures : SB 1.5: Lectures : Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.5.9-11 -- New Vrindaban, June 6, 1969

 

Srila Prabhupāda: What kind of ringing was going on? If it is going on whimsically, then that is not very good. I don't think I have seen Akṣayānanda from the morning.

Brahmānanda: He was here. When you arrived into your room he came. He was sitting in the room.

Hari-śauri: He was driving your car from Mathurā.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: And he was also here when Bhagatji came.

Srila Prabhupāda: He came?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Hari-śauri: Yes.

Srila Prabhupāda: That is my concern, that such huge, huge establishment, if properly, regularly not managed, then again everything will be finished.

Sp Conversation Vrindavana, October 2, 1977

 

The power of the pure devotee, bona fide acarya.

 

But as far as the great devotees of the Lord are concerned,they can purify a degraded soul even by being seen by the lowborn, and what to speak of association. SB 1.18.18

 

The offenseless chanter of the holy name of the Lord is as auspicious as the Lord Himself, and the movement of pure devotees of the Lord all over the world can at once change the troublesome face of the world. SB 1.16.33

 

Lord Krishna and His devotees are both on the transcendental plane; therefore the topics of Lord Krishna and of His pure devotees are equally good. SB 1.16.6

 

A pure devotee of the Lord does not live on any planet of the material sky, nor does he feel any contact with material elements. His so called material body does not exist, being surcharged with the spiritual current of the Lord's identical interest, and thus he is permanently freed from all contaminations of the sum total of mahat-tattva.  SB 1.13.55

 

Thus a pure devotee of the Lord gives everyone a chance to become free from all sinful reactions and to become a devotee of the Lord. BG 18.71

 

A pure devotee of the Lord constantly sees the presence of the Lord within himself because of being transcendentally related by loving service. Such a pure devotee cannot forget the Lord for a moment.  SB 1.9.39

 

A factual, or mahatma, does not give anything material to anyone because he has already left all material assets. He can, however, deliver the supreme asset, namely the Personality of Godhead, because He is the only property of a factual devotee. SB 1.8.27

 

The Lord declares very emphatically that worship of His devotee is more valuable than the worship of the Lord Himself.  SB 1.9.25

 

I guarantee that if you simply come here and hear about Krishna, you will be liberated.  Lecture April 12, 1974, Mumbai

 

One should hear with rapt attention from the real person, and then he can at once realize the presence of Lord Krishna in every page. SB1.3.44

 

Similarly, a liberated soul engaged in devotional service to the Lord may be seen by others to be engaged in the household duties of the material world, but since his consciousness is fixed in Krishna, he does not  live within this world. 

Krishna book, Prayers of the Personified Vedas

 

One who is always busy serving Krishna in whatever condition he may live, is understood to be liberated even in this life. Such a person, who is a pure devotee, does not need to change his body; indeed he does not possess a material body, for his body has already been spiritualized. SB 10.1.69

 

The Lord is equal to everyone, but a devotee of the Lord is more glorified because he is always in touch with the all-great. SB 1.8.6

 

An iron rod kept constantly within a fire will ultimately become fire, and whatever it touches will burn. Similarly, the pure devotee is in the fire of spiritual existence, and therefore his body is cin-maya; that is, it is spiritual not material, because the pure devotee has no desire but transcendental desire to serve the Lord.  SB 10.1.69

 

A truly Krishna conscious person, always absorbed in Transcendence, in constant undisturbed meditation on his worshipable Lord, is as steady as a lamp in a windless place.BG 6.19 Purport

 

Either in waking or in sleep, a devotee of the Lord can never be free from thinking of Krishna's name, form, quality and pastimes.BG 1.24

 

Yes the spiritual master is also present in his picture, though more importantly he is present in his teachings. I think this is explained in one letter that has already
been distributed. SPL December 16, 1967 

 

76-01-29,  Los Angeles

My dear Karandhara, Please accept my blessings. I beg to thank you for your letter dated January 21st, 1976.

The photos of my murti are very nice. The murti of the Spiritual Master should be treated as good as the Deity. Saksad-dharitvena samasta-sastrair, uktas tatha bhavyata eva sadbhih/kintu prabhor yah priya eva tasya **, The guru should be treated as good as God. This is stated in all the sastras. The difference is that God is master-God and guru is servant-God. So the installation ceremony for such amurti should be similar to that done for other Deities. All Temples can have this Deity if they like. But Temples which have only Panca-tattva painting worship should not be given this Deity.

You should make a murti of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati and then they may be worshiped together as is now being done in our Krishna Balarama Temple. They should be placed with Gaura Nitai—Guru Gauranga.

I hope this meets you well.

Your ever well-wisher,
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

"The answer to your Istagosthi questions are as follows: Unless one is a resident of Krishna Loka, one cannot be a Spiritual Master. That is the first proposition. A layman cannot be a Spiritual Master, and if he becomes so then he will simply create disturbance."  Letter to Mukunda -- New Vrindaban 10 June, 1969

So far I am concerned, I cannot say what I was in my previous life, but one great astrologer calculated that I was previously a physician and my life was sinless. Besides that, to corroborate the statement of Bhagavad-gita "sucinam srimatam gehe yogabhrasta samyayate" which means an unfinished yogi takes birth in rich family or born of a suci or pious father. By the grace of Krsna I got these two opportunities in the present life to be born of a pious father and brought up in one of the richest, aristocratic families of Calcutta (Kasinath Mullick). The Radha Krsna Deity in this family called me to meet Him, and therefore last time when I was in Calcutta, I stayed in
that temple along with my American disciples. Although I had immense opportunities to indulge in the four principles of sinful life because I was connected with a very aristocratic family, Krsna always saved me,and throughout my whole life I do not know what is illicit sex,intoxication, meat-eating or gambling. So far my present life is concerned, I do not remember any part of my life when I was forgetful of Krsna. Let me always take shelter of your lotus feet and divine instructions. SPL 70-06-21

Superficially we engage from four o'clock in the morning till ten o'clock at night, and that is resting time. But when one is advanced in devotional service, while sleeping he also serves Krsna. That means twenty-four hours, satatam. Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.5.24 -- Vrndavan, November 11, 1976

 

The pure devotee ignites Krishna consciousness in the hearts of the conditioned suls, and thus the blazing fire of the spiritual world becomes manifest even within this material world.  Krishna bk, Prayers of the Personified Vedas

Next you ask if I am present in my picture and form? Yes. In form as well as in teachings. To carry out the teachings of guru is more important than to worship the form, but none of them should be neglected. Form is called vapu and teachings is called vāṇī. Both should be worshiped. Vāṇī is more important than vapu. [Letter to Tuṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Ahmedabad 14 Dec 1972]

In the Brahma samhita it is stated that only a person whose eyes are smeared with the ointment of love can see the beautiful form of Sri Krishna.  BG 11.50

 

Bhakti-devi dasi: Have you ever seen Krsna?
Srila Prabhupada: Yes.Bhakti-devi dasi: You have?
Srila Prabhupada: Daily. Every moment.  [Room Conversation - July 4, 1972, New York]

It is said, therefore, by Vaishnava authorities that even the most intelligent person cannot understand the plans and activities of a pure devotee. BG9.28

 

The special qualification of the pure devotee is that he is always thinking of Krishna without considering the time or place.  SB 8.14

 

If one is able to do nothing more, he can simply bow down before the Lord and His representative and drink the caranamrita, the water which has washed the lotus feet of the Lord and His devotee. Krishna book, Ch 80

 

The power of devotional service is so great that a pure devotee can electrify another person by his transcendental instructions on crossing the ocean of nescience...Krishna book, Prayers of the Personified Vedas

 

"The mercy of the Spiritual Master is always there, but we have to take it. Like the sun, it is there for everyone, but at least we have to stand in a receptive place to get the benefit." Letter Dec. 8 1975

 

"Affection for the spiritual master and following the instructions of the Spiritual Master is the same." Letter -- Vrindaban 20 August, 19

 

Bg 4.42 P             

A BONA FIDE SPIRITUAL MASTER IS IN THE DISCIPLIC SUCCESSION FROM TIME ETERNAL, AND HE DOES NOT DEVIATE AT ALL FROM THE INSTRUCTIONS OF THE SUPREME LORD as they were imparted millions of years ago to the sun-god, from whom the instructions of Bhagavad-gita have come down to the earthly kingdom. One should, therefore, follow the path of Bhagavad-gita as it is expressed in the Gita itself and BEWARE OF SELF-INTERESTED PEOPLE AFTER PERSONAL AGGRANDIZEMENT WHO DEVIATE OTHERS FROM THE ACTUAL PATH. The Lord is definitely the supreme person, and His activities are transcendental. One who understands this is a liberated person from the very beginning of his study of the Gita.

 

Regarding the first question in your letter about how do we know of the spiritual abodes since once going there no one returns, you should know that the great liberated souls and incarnations who appear from time to time in this material world are not actually coming back, because they are never subject to material contamination or the laws of material nature. For the purpose of delivering the fallen living entities they come here temporarily and then go back when their business is finished, and this is all under the direct order of the Lord. So the appearance of the Lord or the great liberated souls in the material is different from the appearance of the contaminated living entity who is forced to take birth in the material world due to his desire to lord it over the world. In your second question you asked if we will remember the earth, when in Vrindaban, and the answer is certainly. When Narada Muni was talking to Vyasadeva, as you may have read in first volume of our Srimad-Bhagavatam, he was in a spiritual body, but he remembered his previous life and explained it to Vyasadeva. In material life there is forgetfulness, but in spiritual life there is no forgetfulness. I hope this will sufficiently answer these questions for you Letters : 1969 Correspondence : June : Letter to: Vrndavanesvari -- New Vrindaban 6 June, 1969 :

 

 

The theory of chance can best be explained in the Vedic literature by the words ajñāta-sukṛti, which refer to pious activities performed without the actor’s knowledge. But these are also planned.For example, Kṛṣṇa comes like an ordinary human being, He comes as a devotee like Lord Caitanya, or He sends His representative, the spiritual master, or pure devotee. This is also the planned activity of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They come to canvass and educate, and thus a person in the illusory energy of the Supreme Lord gets a chance to mix with them, talk with them and take lessons from them, and somehow or other if a conditioned soul surrenders to such personalities and by intimate association with them chances to become Kṛṣṇa conscious, he is saved from the material conditions of life. Kṛṣṇa therefore instructs Books : Srimad-Bhagavatam : Canto 4: "The Creation of the Fourth Order" : SB 4.21: Instructions by Maharaja Prthu : SB 4.21.27 : PURPORT 

 

"Pure devotees of the Lord are more powerful than the waters of the sacred river Ganges. One can derive spiritual benefit out of prolonged use of the Ganges waters. But one can be sanctified at once by the mercy of a pure devotee of the Lord. In Bhagavad-gītā it is said that any person, regardless of birth as śūdra, woman, or merchant, can take shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord and by so doing can return to Godhead. To take shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord means to take shelter of the pure devotees. The pure devotees whose only business is serving are honored by the names Prabhupāda and Viṣṇupāda, which indicate such devotees to be representatives of the lotus feet of the Lord. Anyone, therefore, who takes shelter of the lotus feet of a pure devotee by accepting the pure devotee as his spiritual master can be at once purified. Such devotees of the Lord are honored equally with the Lord because they are engaged in the most confidential service of the Lord, for they deliver out of the material world the fallen souls whom the Lord wants to return home, back to Godhead. Such pure devotees are better known as vicelords according to revealed scriptures. The sincere disciple of the pure devotee considers the spiritual master equal to the Lord, but always considers himself to be a humble servant of the servant of the Lord [Cc. Madhya 13.80]. This is the pure devotional path." SB 1.1.15: Questions by the Sages

 

A nitya-siddha devotee comes from Vaikuntha upon the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and shows by his example how to become a pure devotee

 

Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu has given considerable discussion about nitya-siddha and sadhana-siddha devotees. Nitya-siddha devotees come from Vaikuntha to this material world to teach, by their personal example, how to become a devotee. The living entities in this material world can take lessons from such nitya-siddha devotees and thus become inclined to return home, back to Godhead. A nitya-siddha devotee comes from Vaikuntha upon the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and shows by his example how to become a pure devotee (anyabhilasita-sunyam). In spite of coming to this material world, the nitya-siddha devotee is never attracted by the allurements of material enjoyment. A perfect example is Prahlada Maharaja, who was a nitya-siddha, a maha-bhagavata devotee. Although Prahlada was born in the family of Hiranyakasipu, an atheist, he was never attached to any kind of materialistic enjoyment. Desiring to exhibit the symptoms of a pure devotee, the Lord tried to induce Prahlada Maharaja to take material benedictions, but Prahlada Maharaja did not accept them. On the contrary, by his personal example he showed the symptoms of a pure devotee. In other words, the Lord Himself has no desire to send His pure devotee to this material world, nor does a devotee have any material purpose in coming. When the Lord Himself appears as an incarnation within this material world, He is not allured by the material atmosphere, and He has nothing to do with material activity, yet by His example He teaches the common man how to become a devotee. Similarly, a devotee who comes here in accordance with the order of the Supreme Lord shows by his personal behavior how to become a pure devotee. A pure devotee, therefore, is a practical example for all living entities, including Lord Brahma. [Srimad Bhagavatam 7.10.3]

 

A pure devotee always engages in the service of the Lord, taking shelter of His lotus feet, and therefore he has a direct connection with the saffron mercy-particles that are strewn over the lotus feet of the Lord. Although when a pure devotee speaks the articulation of his voice may resemble the sound of this material sky, the voice is spiritually very powerful because it touches the particles ofsaffron dust on the lotus feet of the Lord. As soon as a sleeping living entity hears the powerful voice emanating from the mouth of a pure devotee, he immediately remembers his eternal relationship with the Lord, although up until that moment he had forgotten everything.

For a conditioned soul, therefore, it is very important to hear from the mouth of a pure devotee, who is fully surrendered to the lotus feet of the Lord without any material desire, speculative knowledge or contamination of the modes of material nature. Every one of us iskuyogī because we have engaged in the service of this material world, forgetting our eternal relationship with the Lord as His eternal loving servants. It is our duty to rise from the kuyogaplatform to become suyogīs, perfect mystics. The process of hearing from a pure devotee is recommended in all Vedic scriptures, especially by Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. One may stay in his position of life—it does not matter what it is—but if one hears from the mouth of a pure devotee, he gradually comes to the understanding of his relationship with the Lord and thus engages in His loving service, and his life becomes completely perfect. Therefore, this process of hearing from the mouth of a pure devotee is very important for making progress in the line of spiritual understanding.

Books : Srimad-Bhagavatam : Canto 4: "The Creation of the Fourth Order" : SB 4.20: Lord Visnu's Appearance in the Sacrificial Arena of Maharaja Prthu : SB 4.20.25 : TRANSLATION :

Your eternal servant

Yasoda nandana dasa

Subject: Sri Vyasa Puja to Srila Prabhupada 2013 Part 2

Sri Vyasa Puja 2013

By Yasoda nandana dasa

 

Nama Om Vishnu Padaya Krsna Presthaya bhutale

Srimate bhaktivedanta Swamin iti namine

 

Namaste Sarasvate deve Gauravanui Pracarine  

Nirvisesas sunyvadi  pascatya desatarine