sign in sign up
<<
Home , Brahma Sampradaya, Sakshi (Witness), Vallabha

Perfect

By H. H. Chaitanya Swami

1 Table of contents

Introduction

Chapter 1 Who can be called a guru?

Chapter 2 Qualities and activities of guru.

Chapter 3 lost heaven by offending his spiritual master. Dedicated to

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada and Swami Srila Sripada Introducion

Introduction

A guru is one who disseminates transcendental knowledge among his disciples with reference to distinction of matter, spirit and Supreme Spirit, Godhead. Many teachers have tried to be , but not all of them could become a guru for want of necessary qualification. To be a guru, one must be able to protect his disciples from falling down into the repeated cycle of birth, death, old age, and disease by associating the disciple with in . Guru teaches mainstream yoga practices, given in the scriptures, which unites the disciple with the Supreme Lord. A Guru does not manifest magic, gold, siddhis. He neither watch TV serials nor digital movies, and certainly does none of the prohibited acts viz. eat betel nuts, smoke ganja, and travel for amusement, eat meat, drink alcohol, has close association with females, nor gamble. He cannot be identified from a long beard and curly long hair with golden turban, a clever disguise to attract the followers. The goal of a guru is not to render dry social services in the form of hospitals and schools unless it is strongly connected to the Supreme Lord Krishna. He does not wear gold and diamond ornaments on his body, does not dance with his female disciples. He must know perfectly about the science of the Absolute Truth, , Paramatma and . Bhagavan is the final aspect of the Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead. Consequently, he must know how to link his disciple with Bhagavan. The Guru must know who that Bhagavan is by following the statement of scriptures. Those who have an impeccable chastity and spiritual character, who will not fall into vice, and know the scientific truth of Krishna, can be recognized and respected as Gurus, a true servant of Krishna. The Guru does not teach yoga with the objective to transform people into God, nor does yoga necessarily mean that a person can become “one with God”. A Perfect guru broadcasts the Introducion

message of Godhead in every town and village as Lord Sri says in CC Madhya 7-128

yāre dekha, tāre kaha ‘krishna’-upadeśa āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāra’ ei deśa

“Instruct everyone to follow the orders of Lord Śrī Krishna as they are given in the Bhagavad-Gītā and Śrīmad- Bhāgavatam. In this way, become a spiritual master (guru) by My order and try to liberate everyone in this land.” Guru is a pure devotee of Krishna. A guru would use Vedic literature for establishing confidence in his teachings and authorize his doctrine. He is immersed in previously mentioned devotional services of Lord Krishna. By performing this great devotional service, a guru completely liberated from the clutches of material energy (). Such spiritual masters, who are not under the influence of illusion, lust, infatuation, competition, anger, or greed, can deliver the disciple from the material bondage. If he cannot deliver his dependent disciple, he should not be a guru. It has mentioned in the Srimad-Bhāgavatam.

gurur na sa syāt sva-jano na sa syāt pitā na sa syāj jananī na sā syāt daivaṁ na tat syān na patiś ca sa syān na mocayed yahḥ samupeta-mr ḥtyum

“One who cannot deliver his dependents from the path of repeated birth and death should never become a spiritual master (guru), a father, a husband, a mother, or a worshipable demigod.” The Srimad-Bhāgavatam 5-5-18.

B.P. Krishna Chaitanya Swami For Krishna World International Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

Chapter 1

WHO CAN BE A GURU?

1.1 Guest: Who can be a Bonafide Guru? Swami: He has to receive knowledge from the proper source in disciplic succession beginning with the supreme spiritual master, the Lord Krishna Himself, and handed down to a succession of spiritual masters. He who is a pure devotee of the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead, one who is sober, whose private life and public life are not distinct. One who corrects his disciples, and one who chastises his disciple’s material activities for the sake of their spiritual development. A guru is a spiritual father, who focuses on teaching his disciples the truth of life, which is pious, sinful and transcendental activities and how to avoid sinful activities; one who saves them from falling down repeatedly into the path of birth and death; and one who has control over his mind, anger, tongue, stomach, and sexual urges. Perfect guru is also a spiritual lawyer, who works for the supreme government and doctors. Guru must come in the disciplic succession. A real guru shall never change or modify the philosophy taught by the Supreme Truth Krishna or His representatives.

Krishna addresses Arjuna in the Bhagavad-Gita 4-34:

tad viddhi praṇipāteṇaṇ paripraśṇeṇa sevayā upadeksyaṇtiṇ te jñāṇaṁ jñāṇiṇas -darśiṇah ṇ

“Do learn the truth from a true spiritual master, submissively inquire and offer your services unto him. Being self-realized, the knowledgeable can impart you wisdom because

1 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

he has seen the truth and is endowed with transcendental knowledge”. Therefore, to learn the truths of life, one requires a spiritual master - just as a science student needs a professor to learn Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics, etc. If someone thinks ‘I am intelligent, I can learn these subjects on my own, it may be possible, however, the authorities will not recognize that knowledge, then, his personal endeavours to study would be wasted’. Sometimes, parents are the teachers for their children and they raise them with the knowledge they learnt from their parents and grand-parents. However, to learn the spiritual subject matter methodically, one requires an authorized spiritual master who comes from the disciplic succession from Lord Krishna. Lord Krishna instructed Lord , Lord Brahma instructed Muni, who again taught Srila Veda vyas and so on. A disciple must always be willing to learn from a guru in respect to all the departments of knowledge. Material goods and wealth shall not attract the guru; therefore, a disciple should not try to influence his spiritual master with such temporary opulences. Praṇipateṇa means that there is full surrender to the spiritual master. Without praṇipateṇa aṇd pariprasṇeṇa, surrender, and questions, the spiritual master will not reveal the conclusive truth to their disciple.

1.2 Guest: Why can’t jṇaṇi and social worker be a guru? Swami: Not only jṇaṇi and followers of path, but also , social reformers who build social institutions like school, hospital, orphanage, old age home, etc. none of these can be guru without being solely devoted in their mind, and through their words and actions to Lord Krishna’s services, who is the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead. Take for example:

2 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

Madhava , acharya, Sridhar swami, Nibharka swami, recently Bhaktisiddhanta and Bhaktivedanta swami Prabhupadas, all of them are pure devotees of Krishna. These Gurus have preached on subject matter of devotional service to the Supreme Person and on other sciences of body, mind, and soul, this is in fact the real knowledge. Even Shankara preached about God, although he always communicated that God has no form, yet God does exist. It is said in Chaitanya Charitamrta

krishṇa bhakta ṇishkama ateva saṇtha bhukti mukti siddhi kami sakali asaṇtha

Only devotees of Krishna are desire less, all others such as followers of karma path, seekers of liberation, who desire ashta siddhis, eight mystic opulences, materialist who are lusty for material acquirement are all asaṇtha, unhappy. All these members have desires and hence they cannot become a guru. Guru desires only Krishna’s services and activities leading to promoting Krishna’s glory. He is the only real guru.

1.3 Guest: Who is brahmaṇa? Does guru has to be a brahmaṇa by birth? Swami: Brahmaṇa is he, who does not eat meat, fish, eggs, drink alcohol, has illicit relationship with opposite sex and gamble. Whoever observes these in a person he is a brahmaṇa. To be a guru one must be a brahmaṇa, but to be born in a brahmaṇa family is not necessary. By qualification earned through disciplic practices and by associating with Krishna and His devotees, he must be a vaishṇava. On other hand, if a brahmaṇa by birth becomes an expert in maṇtra and taṇtra but he is not a devotee of Krishna, he cannot be a guru. Such a brahmaṇa can be a teacher but not a spiritual Guru. Contrarily, a ṇoṇ-brahmaṇa can become a guru if he is a devotee of Krishna and if he is an expert

3 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

in knowledge of Krishna and devotional services. It is said in sastra,

sat karma ṇipuṇo vipra maṇtra taṇtra visaradah avaisṇavo gurur ṇa syad vaishṇavah sva-paco guruh

A scholarly brahmaṇa who is expert in all subjects of Vedic knowledge is unfit to become a guru without being a vaishṇava, whereas a person born in a family of a lower caste can become a spiritual master if he is a vaishṇava.

kiba vipra, kiba ṇyasi, sudra keṇe ṇaya yai krishṇa tattva vetta, sei guru haya

A person may be a brahmaṇa, a sudra, or a saṇṇyasi, whatever...but if his knowledge is well comprehensive on the science of Krishna, then he is certainly fit to become a guru. The qualification, then, of a guru is not to be a qualified brahmaṇa, but to knowledge of Krishna and Krishna .

1.4 Guest: What about gurus who do not preach Krishna or Bhakti? Swami: They are also gurus, but they are not the enlightened for propagating the mission of the Lord. We are talking about a guru, who promotes the will of the Lord. A true guru is well established in the science of Vishnu and Krishna. All others are imitating the real guru for personal pursuits. In other words, they are working for their material passions in the garb of guru and bluffing the sophisticated wealthy materialists who have wealth and power. Therefore, such misleading gurus should be rejected forthwith. In this connection, Srila Prabhupada quotes udyoga 179. 25

4 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

guror apy avaliptasya karyakaryam ajaṇatah utpatha-pratipaṇṇasya parityogo vidhiyate

A person who is wallowing in carnal pleasures and material comforts, who is confused about the human goal of life and is devoid of bhakti, and yet who claims to be a guru, such a depraved charlatan must be rejected.

Though they act like , they are confused about Krishna philosophy and they lack full in science of Krishna. Therefore, they speak statements that are contradictory to the sastra. In Haribhakti vilasa, it is said 1.62

yo vyakti ṇyaya rahitam aṇyayeṇa srṇoti yah tav ubhau ṇarakam ghoram vrajatah kalam aksyam

A person posing as an acharya, but speaking unauthorized philosophy which is contrary to the teachings of the sastra, and so also anyone who claims to be his disciple and hears such misleading teachings, thereby lending credibility to nonsense philosophy, all these are destined for Hell.

It is said in verse 9.25

yaṇti - devaṇ pitrṇ yaṇti pitrvratah bhutaṇi yaṇti bhuteijya yaṇti mad-yajiṇo pi mam

Those who demigods go to demigods, worshipers of the ancestors reach their ancestors, worshipers of the ghosts and spirits end up with ghosts and spirits and whereas my worshipers certainly come to Me. Therefore, those who choose an unqualified guru who someone other than

5 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

Lord Krishna will pursue a path that shall not lead to Lord Krishna. A vaishṇava guru is hence extremely essential.

1.5 Guest: What does it mean for a guru to practice self-control? Swami: This is told by Srila and thereafter Srila Prabhupada enunciated this in his book “Nectar of Instructions”:

vaco vegam maṇasah krodha-vegam jihva-vegam udaropastha-vegam etaṇ vegaṇ yo visaheta dhirah sarvam apimam prthivim sa sistyat

A guru is a sober person who can tolerate the urge to speak what they are thinking as also control the mind’s demands, not easily captivated by anger, and can fight the urges of the tongue, belly, and sensual desires. Gurus are qualified to make disciples all over the world. In fact, only previously mentioned gurus can make disciples, all over the universe.

In Bhakti vilasa, 4.144 it is said:

vaishṇava padisteṇa maṇtreṇa ṇirayam vrajet puṇas ca vidhiṇa samyag grahayed viashvad guruh

If one receives maṇtra-diksa from a non-vaishṇava who is bereft of devotion to Sri Krishna, said disciple is certainly destined to Hell. Therefore, one must immediately act according to the scriptural injunctions and take re-initiation from a true, properly qualified, vaishṇava guru.

1.6 Guest: Can a guru become angry at the actions of disciples? Swami: Why not? A guru is like a father, a spiritual father; when a son makes mistakes, does not a father have authority to 6 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

discipline his son? Yes. Similarly, disciples have to be chastised when they make mistakes repeatedly. Guru instructs his disciples about the ways of living a sanctified life. Yet, some disciples indulge in sinful activities. It is important that those disciples who truly want to progress in spiritual life; they must stop acting whimsically and follow their guru’s teachings. Chastisement from gurus is not a bad thing. In fact, one should consider it as a blessing. After all, the word disciple comes from the word discipline. Pandita said that one should not eulogize his disciple or son. If they do, the disciple or son will not advance on the path of perfection. Therefore, guru finds fault with their disciples’ actions instead of flattering the disciples for their wealth and help. Guru is a faultfinder, because the disciple is going to represent Guru’s teachings and later be guru’s successor. Therefore, after guru departs from this world, the perfect guru does not want his legacy to fall apart because there are not qualified disciples to continue the mission of their guru. The obedient disciples should continue the teachings of guru without changing the instruction of his guru and instruction of Bhagavad-Gita and Srimad-Bhāgavatam. Therefore, when they study and follow the strict guidance and teaching of the guru, the disciples can gradually transform into potential gurus. There are millions of people searching for good guru. Guru should not cheat disciples or public for money or for any kind of material facilities. The guru should not pursue any mundane business. The guru who practices digressing and misleading activities cannot be a true guru. Consequently, disciples should study science of Krishna under a guru devoted to Krishna and serve his vaishṇava guru without ego.

1.7 Guest: What if the disciple is older than the guru? Swami: There are two types of old age. One is according to physical age of human body. The second age relates to spiritual knowledge. Among these two, one who has more spiritual

7 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

knowledge is older than one who is more advanced in physical age of human body. Age of human body is not considered important in spiritual practices. For example, Sukhadeva Goswami was only 16 years old and Emperor Parikshit was around 62 years old. Sukhadeva Goswami was the spiritual master of Emperor Parikshit and accordingly Parikshit surrendered himself completely unto Sukhadeva Goswami. On other hand, when Sukhadeva Goswami was engaged in discourse on Srimad-Bhāgavatam, his father, Vyāsa deva was more than hundred years older to Sukhadeva, and deva’s guru Narada muni who lived since creation, all these aged gurus were carefully listening to the boy Sukhadeva. Therefore, the age of the physical body does not have any importance in comparison with the spiritual knowledge.

1.8 Guest: Nowadays, disciples have good material qualification and therefore they have become very egoistic. Swami: Such a person cannot become a good disciple and therefore cannot generally rise spiritually. Material life is like dogs’ race. So called “education or qualification” does not promote the knowledge of the soul and God. Material education make one craves for survival, getting a job, having good food, large home, beautiful wife, children, etc. However, what is the purpose of this life and survival? In fact, material education acquires for earning more and more wealth with the objective of acquiring material objects and enjoying them. Human life has obtained for finding the truth of life, not for implicating in the cycle of life of eating, sleeping, sex, and defending, which is applicable for animals too. Therefore, material education distances a person from spiritual path. It is an inversely related to spiritual knowledge. Human form has the sacred purpose of knowing Krishna and on this path, attaining self-realization as a soul. brahmasmi, I am not this body, but a spirit soul. Therefore, one must find out what are the duties of spirit soul.

8 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

This knowledge cannot acquire while being trapped in the body of dogs or cats or animals. Ego does not help in gaining transcendental knowledge of the soul, and thus material education is an obstacle because it espouses human ego. Do you demonstrate your ego to your teacher in school or college?

1.9 Guest: No. Swami: If you show ego, then the teacher may not take you seriously. He will think you are unqualified for his special care and mercy. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said ‘guru more murkha dekhi karila shasaṇ ’My spiritual master found Me a fool and he would chastise Me that I am useless. Therefore, just chant maha-maṇtra. Lord Chaitanya is God Himself. Materially educated people must not act agnostic and challenge vaishṇava gurus. If they do so, then, the transcendental knowledge will not be transmitted.

1.10 Guest: Why? Swami: Guru finds that materially educated persons are already wise, agnostic, unwarrantedly challenging, adamant, filled, submerged in pursuits of wealth and material pleasures, and thereby not interested nor fit for tasting spiritual platter. Materially educated persons pursue a path, which is different and inversely related to advancement on spiritual course.

1.11 Guest: Is anyone and everyone who preaches about Krishna a guru? Swami: Not necessarily, the guru must be coming down in the disciplic succession. There are four vaishṇava . They are Sri sampradhaya, Kumara , sampradaya and . We are coming from Brahma sampradaya, of which Lord Brahma is the founder. Lord Krishna enlightened him directly. In fact, founders of all

9 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

sampradayas were educated in the science of God by Lord Krishna Himself. Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu followed the Brahma sampradaya, who told us:

yare dekha, tare kaha krishṇa upadesa amara ajṇaya guru haṇa tara ei desa

“Instruct everyone to follow the orders of Lord Sri Krishna as they are given in the Bhagavad-Gita and Srimad-Bhāgavatam. In this way, one becomes a guru and tries to liberate everyone in this land” The Lord instructed a house holder devotee, who followed the Sri Laksmi sampradaya that he must speak about Krishna to everyone he sees, that way he can be a guru. Everyone must accept a guru through disciplic succession; otherwise devotion will not be fruitful. Sri Chaitanya Mahāprabhu is a part of Brahma, Nārada, Vyasa deva, Mādhavācharya succession, although He is an incarnation of Krishna, beyond guru concepts, for teaching the human society He followed the vedic rules. His acceptance of guru is to teach others that one must have a bonafide spiritual teacher in his life. Without a true spiritual master, spiritual journey will be a failure. Lord did not send living beings in human form for picnic in the material world, but for reviving their lost consciousness … that is the consciousness of Krishna. Sampradaye vihiṇaye matrāsthe ṇishbhala matah, therefore, those who do not get the through disciplic succession will have no effect. Diksha Maṇtra must to be accepted from a bonafide spiritual master belonging to the parampara system. By the mercy of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada, we got initiated to His institution by His disciple, His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisvarupa Dāmodara Swami. Therefore, we are proud for being an

10 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

authorized member of the Brahma gaudiya vaishṇava mādhava sampradaya system. This is real ego. Therefore, we can accept many-many disciples, if they are serious about spiritual life. To learn the authenticity of a parampara system, one can consider this example: it is like buying a car from a dealer and buying the car from a private person. Dealers can give you all the warranties and guarantees that are needed for your car, but, a private person cannot give any such warranty and guarantee. Similarly, a person can accept the mantra and perform devotional services through the disciplic (parampara) succession, which is like a dealer’s agency and success is guaranteed in this sacred process. Other gurus behave like great devotees of Lord Krishna but they are not connected with the parampara system and still declare themselves self made gurus, thus they cannot guarantee you the association with Lord Krishna. Only through disciplic succession, the disciple will be promoted to the spiritual world.

1.12 Guest: Why are those who preach Krishna’s philosophy outside the parampara- disciplic succession, system not authorized to be a guru? Swami: Their goal is different. Such people preach different things and along with those teachings, they may talk about Krishna and presenting Krishna as a philosopher or a historical person. Such an individual may have followers. Once he has some followers, he will claim that he is God Himself. Sometimes they claim that they are Lord , , etc. Accordingly, his followers worship him as God and this does not make any sense. No one can become God at any stage of human existence. Whether one is conditioned by the laws of nature or liberated from the material nature, every living entity’s constitutional position is that he is the servant of Lord Krishna. Human being is guided on right course in his conduct because of the deeds and acts of his ancestors. E.g. King Parikshit was 11 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

driven into good deeds and became a great king because his ancestors i.e. the Pandavas were great human being. King Parikshit would never ever pursue anything which would blemish his Pandava ancestors. Similarly, a guru attached to a parampara succession will never be led astray by maya and he will never ever tread on a path that will blemish his spiritual parampara succession. Whereas, a Krishna preacher who is not attached to parampara succession does not have any precedent to observe and hence there are chances that he may fall from the Krishna consciousness and thereby lead his disciples into oblivion.

1.13 Guest: Why do we need a guru in the first place? Swami: We require guru for learning about the goal of life, spiritual subjects, and the path to attain the ultimate goal of human life. People are suffering in this world from the three fold miseries i.e. they are diseased, suffering from old age, and are fast advancing towards death. A guru imparts spiritual knowledge to his disciples with the objective of liberating them from material sufferings and thereby reinstating them into their eternal position. Human beings have lost their eternal constitutional position due to their desire to enjoy the material senses. It is a vast subject with unlimited departments and the path of cleansing from maya is full of challenges and obstacles. This path and the relevant knowledge are lucidly described in scriptures. Yet, the bondage of maya is extremely difficult to break apart and therefore human beings have to constantly strive to winover the battle between material bondage and spiritual consciousness. A bonafide spiritual master is empowered by Lord Krishna to disclose Krishna’s identity. Hence, a guru is a direct representative of Krishna. A guru is similar to an ambassador of the country.

It is said in the Bhakti rasamrta Siṇdhu:

12 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

adau gurv-asrayam sad- prchha -maraṇugamaṇam

“In the beginning, one should accept the shelter of a bonafide spiritual master and inquire submissively about spiritual principles. He should then desire to follow in the footsteps of the great devotees of the Lord.”

1.14 Guest: How a newcomer should approach a guru? Why? Swami: Firstly, a beginner must know what he is seeking in his life. An amateur who desires to learn devotion and devotional service, must follow under the careful guidance and observation of his spiritual master. A beginner does not know anything about the spiritual life, e.g. when a child goes to school, a child does not know anything of the education. The school teacher, and not the child’s parents, takes care of the child. The teacher along with the education also gives toys, games, food, etc. The teacher is the guardian of the child. Similarly, a newcomer to the spiritual teacher must have a blank slate, whether he is a teenager, a grown up adult, or an old man. He must be submissive, theoretically, should have service attitude towards the spiritual master. He should be well intending that his purpose of visit to the ashram is to learn the science of Krishna. Without submissive attitude, spiritual knowledge cannot be revealed. One must try to please the spiritual master by various means, like menial service, articles for his use, and other required facilities. Srila Prabhupada said “A spiritual master is not an enjoyer of facilities offered by his disciples. He is like a parent. Without the attentive service of his parents, a child cannot grow to manhood; similarly without the care of the spiritual master, one cannot rise to the plane of devotional service to Krishna”. But many fools think the spiritual master is an ordinary person like them and they debate on petty materialistic nonsense. If one obtains the mercy of the spiritual master, he will attain the purpose of his 13 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

human life. Spiritual master is Krishna’s external form for instructing the science of Krishna. He is like an iron rod that is always kept in a fire and therefore it behaves like a live fire. Uddhva tells Lord Krishna: 11-29-6:

ṇaivopayaṇty apacitim kavayas tavesa brahmayusapi krtam rddha-mudah smaraṇtah yo aṇtar bahis taṇu-bhrtam asubham vidhuṇvaṇṇ acharya caittya-vapusa svagatim vyaṇakti

“O my Lord! Transcendental poets and experts in spiritual science could not fully express their indebtedness to You, even if they were endowed with the prolonged lifetime of brahma, for You appear in two features- externally as the acharya and internally as the Supersoul to deliver the embodied living being by directing him on how to reach You”.

The purpose of becoming a spiritualist is to know, realise, and understand Krishna.

1.15 Guest: What are the ornaments a bonafide spiritual master or pure devotees of Krishna exhibit? Swami: He has several ornaments. People, in general, think that ornaments means wearing different forms of jewellery and decorating their body with gold. Gold is addressed in the scriptures as yellow stool, and those who are not situated in true knowledge run after gold. There are a lot of advertisements for purchasing gold and diamonds. News media often covers stories of several kilograms of gold being caught at different airports. These are just external ornaments. Problems are snowballing due to the buying and selling of these ornaments. But the ornament of the devotee is different from all these gold ornaments and other precious stones. It is mentioned in the Srimad-Bhāgavatam:

14 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

titiksavah karuṇikah suhrtah serva-dehiṇam ajata satravah saṇtah sadhavah sadhu bhusaṇah.

“The medallions of a sadhu are his tolerance, mercy, and caring behavior with all living entities. He has no enemies, he is ever peaceful, he abides by the scriptures, and all his characteristics are sublime”.

To be a sādhu one must be a staunch devotee of Krishna. Devotees are constantly disturbed by non-devotees, but devotees can tolerate such harassments. Devotees are always merciful and tolerant friends of all living entities. They do not take sides in difficult situations and do not fight with people. He has no satrus- enemies. to him means obey the orders of Krishna. A sādhu lives according to the order of Krishna. Sādhu is merciful, he is compassionate, he is truthful, he is never puffed up with his wealth given by the public for the service of the Lord, nor does he enjoy such wealth. A true sādhu always discusses the pastimes and qualities of Krishna. These are his ornaments, which beautifies his position as a devotee of Krishna.

1.16 Guest: What should an inquisitive student do when he meets with such a guru? Swami: Emperor Parikshit Maharaja had seven days of life. It was predicted. He was a saintly king, so he had many questions concerning his final days. Like him, we are also in a dangerous situation. He had seven days to live, but we have no such definite days. The human form is very valuable, though it also extinguishes like any other body. Right culture is to prepare nicely before we die. Human body and life can have an aim; aimless human life is synonymous to animal life. We have passed through all animal forms of life, and again we are preparing to go back to those animal forms by wasting the 15 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

valuable human form of life. We must contemplate what is going to be my next life. We must be careful not to fall into lower species of life again like a tree or a plant, cat or a dog, or worm or a germ. Therefore, when a newcomer approaches a guru, he must be submissive to the spiritual master. He should listen whatever spiritual subject matter his master speaks about. It does not matter what the material position of a disciple is. Materially he may be a well to do man, having high material position, minister, doctor, scientist, or president etc. One should not be puffed up with any of these positions when they are face-to-face with spiritual master, knowing well the spiritual master is the direct representative of Krishna. Representatives of Krishna are at highest position of this universe. Krishna is God of all moving and non-moving beings,

1.17 Guest: Does the spiritual master accept a person as a permanent disciple? Swami: In every organization, there is an apprentice position. No one makes any newcomer immediately permanent in His position or initiates him into the spiritual society. Senior authorities closely watch a beginner devotee. How obedient the newcomer is with the guru. Then also watch his enthusiasm in devotional services. At least six month training period is required before they get initiated. Without spiritual master and Krishna’s mercy, no one can receive perfect God realization. It is said in the Svetasvatara Upaṇishad:

yasya deve para bhaktir yatha-deve tatha gurau tasaite kathita hy arthah prakasaṇte mahatmaṇaha

“Only unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master is all the import of Vedic knowledge automatically revealed”. One, who has full faith, in the words of guru and in the words of the Supreme Personality of 16 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

Godhead, Krishna, is blessed with revelation of confidential part of the Vedic literature. Not for people who have no faith in the Supreme Lord and guru. They will remain in the material platform for years and years.

1.18 Guest: What are the other qualifications we should see in the bonafide guru? Swami: A Vaisnava regards everything–from the form of Lord Brahma down to the form of a blade of grass–as very illusory. Even if the four kinds of liberation are offered to him, namely, Salokya, Sarsti, Sayujya and Samipya (to live on the same planet as Lord Visnu, to have the same opulences as Lord Visnu, to merge with Lord Visnu and to have have equal association with Lord Visnu, respectively), he does not care at all for them; for he is only interested in serving Lord Krishna or Vishnu. Nor does he care to have the position of Indra, Kuvera or Brahma, for he thinks them all insignificant. He only cares to worship and serve Lord Krishna. He respects all demigods because they are associates of Krishna for administration of universe. He also sees all living entities as a part and parcel of Krishna and tries to deliver them from this material tabernacle. He also teaches them how to become a desireless devotee of Krishna. He sees only soul in all bodies. Whoever chants Krishna's name he favors them, whoever do not chant chant he directs them to chant Krishna's name and become a devotee of Krishna. He directs and disciplines his disciples based on scriptures like Srimad- Bhāgavatam and Bhagavad-Gita. He only gives discourses on Krishna, and His incarnation’s science related for the wellbeing of the audience. He must have his senses and mind under his control. He does not unnecessarily speak village talks such as politics, movies, nor will he be interested in hearing such subjects. At the same time, He concentrates his words, his mind and his actions fully in the service of Krishna, maṇasa vachah

17 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

karmaṇah. He is like the authorized spiritual father and a friend of all humanity.

1.19 Guest: What is the benefit of being attached to the feet of the bonafide guru? Swami: The benefit is realized only by the learned devotees of Krishna. Becoming attached to the bonafide guru, one will be free from material entanglement, which is the greatest conditional existence in the material world. It is said in Srimad- Bhāgavatam by Lord , an incarnation of Krishna:

prasaṇgam ajaram pasam atmaṇah kavayo viduh sa eva sadhusu krto moksa-dvaram apavrtam

Every learned man knows very well that attachment for the materials is the greatest entanglement of the spirit-soul. But that same attachment, when placed to a self-realized devotee it opens the door of liberation. Material attachment is condemned because it is painful and bondage. For example, one is in love and when it breaks-up; there is a severe and painful trauma. Human being is in love with his mother, father, relatives, and friends. When any of them die, it brings acute misery to the attached. Further, when one is attached to the objects of the world such as gold, money, opulences, position, etc. when any of these is lost, there is madness, anger, and misery. Therefore, it is strongly advised by scriptures to be attached only to the Supreme Lord, Krishna and His enlightened devotees. Krishna promises that He maintains what you have, and supplies what you lack. He protects your dear and near ones, if you sincerely pray to Him in devotion.

It is said in Bhagavad-Gita 10.11

18 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

tesam evaṇukampartham aham ajṇaṇ jam tamah ṇashayamya atma bhava stho jṇaṇa dipeṇa bhasvata

Out of for them, I situated within them, certainly destroy the darkness born out of ignorance through the transcendental knowledge.

1.20 Guest: Is it compulsory that disciples should listen every word of the guru? What about if guru is not so familiar with material laws, and should we try to give him solutions? Swami: Yes, otherwise why do you need a guru? He is like a father, who can show the objects of the world as they are. At present we make many mistakes in this world. All living entities have imperfect senses, cheating tendency, commit mistakes and fall into illusion. How can one stop these imperfections of the body? By taking shelter of a guru! ajṇaṇa timiraṇthasya jṇaṇaṇjaṇa salakaya, spiritual master opens disciples’ spiritually blinded eyes through spiritual knowledge. He teaches all devotional laws. Everything he speaks about devotional service must be carried out. As far as material laws are concerned, on this planet every day the laws governing human beings change. But, gurus are not required to know these material changes because these do not have any spiritual significance. Yet, disciples can propose such changes are made by the authorities to keep the material laws intact. For material problems spiritual solutions are always the best.

1.21 Guest: What if the disciples disobey their guru? Swami: Why would they disobey guru except for material enjoyment? By disobeying the guru, disciples get attracted to the material life again especially for money, opposite sex, movies, meat and with other material objects. Most of the time disciples go down both materially and spiritually. 19 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

1.22 Guest: What is the preliminary requirement to become a swami? Swami: He must be a twice born, dvija, and should have accepted a qualified spiritual master as his guru. All spiritual masters or swamis must be disciples of bonafide guru. He must renounce sex. Thinking, feeling, talking, seeing, doing, planning about sex should be purged. Secondly, he must be fearless from confidence that Krishna is the protector and a liberator from this maya. Generally, people are very scared of losing their material pleasure such as eating, sleeping, mating, and defending. Sex is the central attraction of all activities of a materialistic person. A swami, who has taken shelter of the Supreme Lord, is shall never indulge in any of these pleasure bits and pieces. When anything is attained naturally, he may accept them as Krishna’s blessing, but sexual pursuits are totally prohibited in this conduct except in the marriage.

1.23 Guest: What is twice born- dvija? Swami: All human beings are born as ordinary beings. After being given education and training, slowly they enhance to a particular material standard. As far as spiritual and social (varṇa- ) order is concerned, after a disciple gets committed to pursuit of brahmaṇ i.e. the Supreme Lord Krishna through devotional process, he gets birth for the second time. There are always two births for spiritually advanced persons. First i.e. material birth is given by the parents and the second i.e. spiritual birth is given by the spiritual master. Spiritual master giving a new birth to a disciple is also very important. When his soul is inquisitive he approaches a spiritual master for instructions of the Vedic scriptures to progress in spiritual life. Material life is superficial; the actual life is spiritual life. So the spiritual master accepts such sincere and inquisitive students as his disciple and

20 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

ordains them with the sacred thread. In this manner, a disciple becomes twice-born or called dvija.

The Bhakti-saṇdarbha (298) gives the following quotation from the Tattva-sāgara:

yathā kāñcaṇatāṁ yāti kāsyaṁ rasa-vidhāṇatah ṇ tathā dīksā-vidhāṇeṇaṇ dvijatvaṁ jāyate ṇr ṇṇāmṇ

"By chemical manipulation, bell metal is turned into gold when touched by mercury; similarly, when a person is properly initiated, he can acquire the qualities of a brāhmaṇaṇ ."

After qualifying as a dvija, one may study the , and after becoming well versed in the Vedas, one becomes a vipra. A vipra, who is a qualified brahmaṇa in Vedic knowledge realizes the Absolute Truth and makes further development in spiritual life until he reaches the devotee of Lord Krishna (vaishṇava). The vaishṇava stage is the advanced status of a brahmaṇa. An enlightened brahmaṇa must necessarily become a vaishṇava, for a vaishṇava is a self-realized learned brahmaṇa. Therefore the position of a vaishṇava is far greater than a brahmaṇa. Vaishṇava means one who is a devotee of Lord Krishna, Lord Vishnu or Lord . A qualified vaishṇava is the highest personality in the human world by the Divine Grace of Sri Krishna.

1.24 Guest: What is diksha? Swami: The sacred spiritual ceremonial process through which disciple is connected to the parampara, succession. And through disciplic succession, he gets connected to Krishna. It is like joining a party and abiding by their rules to fulfil the party’s mission. For obtaining diksha, the disciple must identify and chose a guru who shall bless the disciple with diksha. After

21 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

gaining diksha, a disciple commits himself to the spiritual path of spiritual knowledge and Krishna’s devotional service. He promises not to violate the terms of diksha and he strictly observes the instructions of his spiritual master.

Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī explains dīksāṇ in his Bhakti-saṇdarbha (283):

divyaṁ jñāṇa ṁ yato dadyāt kuryāt pāpasya saṅ ksayamṇ tasmād dīksetiṇ sā proktā deśikais tattva-kovidaih ṇ

"Dīksāṇ is the process by which one can awaken his transcendental knowledge and vanquish all reactions caused by sinful activity. A person expert in the study of the revealed scriptures knows this process as dīksā."ṇ

1.25 Guest: Is diksha customary? Swami: Diksha is a spiritual scientific process to reinvigorate disciples’ pure consciousness, which is Krishna consciousness. Maṇtra has immense potency unlike yaṇtras. A fire is conducted as a part of diksha ceremony and in that the disciples’ karmic reactions will all is burnt-up, if he follows the instructions of His guru. And thereafter too without deviation disciple must execute his duties in accordance with directions of spiritual master. In this path, disciple will be successful both spiritually and materially. Therefore, diksha cannot be looked upon as mere customary; rather it is an important scienific transformation in the life of a disciple whereby the disciple and spiritual master get firmly connected.

The Hari-bhakti-vilāsa (2.6) quotes the following injunction from the Visṇṇ uṇ -yāmala:

adīksitasyaṇ vāmoru kr ṇtaṁ sarva ṁ ṇirarthakam paśu-yoṇim avāpṇoti dīksā-virahitoṇ jaṇah ṇ 22 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

"Unless one is initiated by a bona fide spiritual master, all his devotional activities are useless. A person who is not properly initiated can descend again into the animal species."

1.26 Guest: Why is diksha so necessary? Swami: It is already answered. Diksha is aimed at stop disciple’s repeated birth and death. We are all originally children of Krishna. Krishna is Supreme father of all living beings regardless of cast, creed, religion, and species. Therefore, our permanent residence is within the spiritual world, not in this material world. Diksha helps to intensify and advance our original relationship with our Supreme Father, Lord Krishna and helps to promote and migrate us to His abode. However one must be familiared with several process before diksha. It is said in -saṁ hitā: pūjā traikālikī ṇityaṁ tarpaṇamṇ eva ca homo brāhmaṇa-bhuktiśṇ ca puraścaraṇamṇ ucyate guror labdhasya maṇtrasya prasādeṇa yathā-vidhi pañcāṅ gopāsaṇā-siddhyai puraś caitad vidhīyate

"In the morning, afternoon and evening, one should worship the Deity, chant the Hare Kr ṛsnṛ ṛa maṇtra, offer oblations, perform a fire sacrifice, and feed the brāhmaṇas.ṇ These five activities constitute puraścharyā. To attain full success when taking initiation from the spiritual master, one should first perform these puraścaryā processes."

1.27 Guest: Is there any alternate process? Swami: God is one, so the process to obtain Him is also one, which is bhakti-yoga. Take diksha from a bonafide spiritual master into bhakti-yoga and learn more on this underground subject matter.

1.28 Guest: Does any other yoga connect us with Krishna? 23 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

Swami: Yes. There are karma, jṇaṇa, dhyaṇa, ashtaṇga-, which are long processes. Bhakti is the shortest and easiest to perform. Bhakti is like taking an elevator, and the others are staircase. Who likes to take staircase to go to the 100th floor? Bhakti is like taking the elevator to reach the ultimate planet, , which is situated beyond covering of the universe, beyond Causal Ocean, beyond brahma jyoti, beyond all material and spiritual universes.

1.29 Guest: What about women? Can they also be twice initiated? Swami: Yes, they are too are human beings, children of Krishna. They also have higher intelligence. They too can be twice initiated, can chant sixteen rounds or more, can enter inside the altar, can dress up the Lordships, can perform artis, manage departments, cook for the Lord, preach the science of Krishna, etc. All activities that men can perform, woman also can perform. There is no discrimination in terms of devotional service to Krishna because women are also originally pure souls. Everyone is covered by their material body and material desires. More you desire material objects, the more you will be distanced from Krishna. The vaishnavi Mira is a finest example of woman devotee of Lord Krishna. Not only woman, even the lowest beings like dog eaters can be revived if they begin to chant Krishna’s holy name.

1.30 Guest: What about during unclean stage (menstrual) of women? Swami: For their satisfaction, they shall stay away during those days. However, for Krishna, there is no such discrepancy because He sees everyone as soul, not the body. So follow Krishna, not the system invented by your traditional predecessors.

1.31 Guest: Should they be given independence? 24 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

Swami: Yes, they should be given independence in their devotional service options and varieties. Does not mean they should roam around lonely at night. Don’t be careless, if so, there can be shameless men will be tempted to exploit them.

1.32 Guest: Can woman be given saṇṇyas? Swami: Good question! Yes, why not? In their brahmiṇical initiation, they do not have to wear a sacred thread like men, likewise they can be offered saṇṇyas to preach Krishna’s message given in Srimad-Bhāgavatam and Srimad-Bhagavat- Gita. But they do not have to carry a daṇda. However, all the diksha or initiation, whether it is hariṇam, brahmiṇical or saṇṇyasa must be accepted from the same vaishṇava guru, whom they follow with humility and service attitude.

1.33 Guest: Can they become a guru? Swami: When their guru empowers them. Before that women must get well versed in the science of Krishna, sastra. Mother Devahuti, mother Yasoda, mother Sachi, they all were well versed in the science of Krishna. Janavi , the wife of Lord Nityananda prabhu was initiating, she was on the perfect guru’s platform. It is not mentioned that only a man can become a guru. Lord Chaitanya said (CC Madhya 7.128):

yare dekha tāre kaha 'kr ṇsṇṇ a'-upadeśaṇ āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāra' ei deśa

Instruct everyone to follow the orders of Lord Krishna as they are given in Bhagavad-gītā aṇd Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. In this way become a spiritual master and try to liberate everyone in this land.

25 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

1.34 Guest: What if woman is living with her material husband who does not want to be Krishna conscious, should she leave her husband? Swami: May not. But if he is a threat for her life, then yes. Krishna is the Supreme Father of everyone and consequently He listens and understands everyone’s and petitions and acts accordingly. After all, material life is temporary; everyone will be forced to separate at the time of death. But if she has patience, she should act in such a way that she bestows mercy upon her husband by supplying him regularly Krishna Prasadam. She should offer sincerely to Krishna every dish she prepares and thereafter serve it to her husband. She shall refrain from sex with him. She should not leave her husband unless he throws Krishna’s deity or abuse Krishna and her guru due to his limited understanding of the spiritual reality. This can create heavy reactions to the entire family, consequently only unhappiness prevails at home. The abuser and the listener both will have reactions. When Lord Chaitanya hears insane things about Krishna or His devotees from immature fools due to their less intelligence, He used to close His ears and jump into the River for purification.

1.35 Guest: What about the husband if he is a meat eater and alcoholic? Swami: Let him eat outside and do not kiss or have sex with him. Otherwise the same saliva and semen you share will be the product of the meat and alcohol he consumed. If you want to compromise, your devotion and spiritual advancement will be shunned. Again, after all everyone will have forced divorce by death. So living together anyway is not permanent.

1.36 Guest: What about the children? Swami: What about them?

26 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

1.37 Guest: Their initiation age? Swami: Initiation is not a fashion that can be socially shown as a rare achievement by becoming disciple of a great famous guru. It is a samskara, reviving our lost consciousness, which is Krishna consciousness. Both girls and boys should be initiated after 13 years of their age. They must be trained systematically in Krishna consciousness, which means they should be taught how to chant Krishna’s name, offer , singing, playing musical instruments, they can assist in cooking, painting, drawing, Krishna conscious philosophy, stories, rules and regulations, self- control, respecting and honouring elders, worshipping Krishna and chanting according to paṇcharatrika viddhi. They should be considered as friends after 10 years of their age. No chastising or abusing to show your superiority over them. They are the future of the society whether they are boys or girls. They must be informed about the rules and regulations of Krishna bhakti such as no meat eating, no smoking, no tea or coffee, and no onions, etc.

1.38 Guest: What about the cleanliness practice according to Krishna’s standard? Swami: Everyone must take shower twice a day. If they have to go additionally to the rest room, they must have a bath after using the restroom. However, after releasing wastewater of the body (urinating), everyone must wash their private part, hand, feet and mouth. If they are at home, they must remove their cloth, put a towel, and do all these. They should not contaminate their cloth by using the rest room and thereafter enter the kitchen or diety room to cook or worship. These are the brahmiṇical culture and it applies for both male and female.

1.39 Guest: What about elderly members what should they do? Swami: Services and rules are equal to everyone. If they are healthy, they can perform various services for Krishna in our 27 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

temple. They must chant and serve, pay obeisance, worship and take charanamrta of the Lord. Charanamrta and prasadam meals can be taken by people of all age group. It is not restricted to anyone. Practically all activities are equal to all ages of people. According to their age, there can be many things introduced and paused based on their ability to execute.

1.40 Guest: What are the services which disciples can offer to a guru? Swami: According to the disciple’s skill, he or she can render services to the spiritual master. If they don’t render service, they can give some donation, whenever they can, in the form of guru dakshina. Disciple must report regularly about his devotional activities including book distribution of guru’s divine literatures. We may speak about Krishna for several hours, but books stay with buyers once they buy it whereby they can refer it again and again. So disciple must aggressively promote book distribution. Spiritual knowledge as a tool can change a person’s heart; material knowledge can keep them in darkness of the self. Disciples should never think that they are more advanced than guru at any stage of their spiritual path or life. They have to continually accept spiritual instructions from their guru. There is no end to learning at any stage of one’s life. According to Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, anyone who is conversant in the transcendental knowledge or the science of Krishna, is eligible to become a spiritual master. He does not differentiate according to gender. According to Chanakya Pandit there is no harm in taking lessons from such persons. However, man and woman disciples must maintain safe distance. As Srimad Bhāgavatam 7-12-9 says: man and woman are like butter and fire. It is natural for a man to melt like butter in the presence of a woman like fire. Therefore, they shall not be put together in solitude.

28 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

ṇaṇv agṇih ṇpramadā ṇāma ghr ṇta-kumbha-samah ṇpumāṇ sutām api raho jahyād aṇyadā yāvad--kr ṇt

"Woman is compared to fire, and man is compared to a butter pot. Therefore a man should avoid associating even with his own daughter in a secluded place. Similarly, he should also avoid association with other women. One should associate with women only for important business and not otherwise. Similarly Srimad- Bhagavatam 9-19-17:

mātrā svasrā duhitrā vā ṇāviviktāsaṇo bhavet balavāṇ iṇdriya-grāmo vidvāṁ sam api karsatiṇ

One should not allow oneself to sit on the same seat even with one’s own mother, sister or daughter, for the senses are so strong that even though one is very advanced in knowledge, he may be attracted by sex.

1.41 Guest: What is Guru dakshiṇa? Swami: An honorarium to the spiritual master for teaching and taking care of disciple’s spiritual needs. The day of initiation a disciple should beg and till the end of the day whatever they collect should be given to Guru. And this is only for brahmacharis. For married people, because they are earning from work or receiving some money from the temple in which they serve, they can give the dakshiṇa to their guru according to their financial earning ability.

1.42 Guest: Can women wear saffron cloth, as an indication of renounced life? Swami: Yes, they can wear saffron sari or white sari. The indication of orange or saffron color is that they are renounced

29 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

from objects of the world that includes sex desires. Not to mingle with men and women closely except for Krishna’s business.

1.43 Guest: Can woman disciples massage guru’s spiritual body? Swami: No, absolutely not. Our parampara system honours all women, in fact all species of life, and at the same time strictly maintains the rule of the material world. Being transcendental does not permit to go out of the way and do something non- spiritual. Woman disciples can serve their guru by cooking, washing and pressing his cloths, vessels, making garlands for him, secretarial works, arranging preaching activities in different location, etc. When he is not present in the room, woman disciples should go to rearrange his room, beds or when he is in the room, in the presence of another member they can redo his rooms and other articles. They can also assist him in his books and electronic Medias to broadcast the message of Krishna. Thus, physical association or service to the body of guru is prohibited for woman unless it is on purely medial ground.

1.44 Guest: Who should be honoured first, Krishna or guru? And can disciples eat with guru? Swami: The answer to the first question is Guru. Answer to the second question is that when they are in the preaching tour, they may eat. But when they are in guru’s residence, the disciples must serve him and his guests first or listen to him as he says.

1.45 Guest: Why not honor Krishna first? Swami: Guru knows Krishna’s position very well. You need to learn from him, you cannot learn about Krishna independently. Therefore, He deserves first honour. He is the guide for disciples. Even if you ask Krishna, Krishna will answer the same as it is mentioned in the adi purāṇa:

30 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

ye me bhakta-jaṇah partha ṇa me bhaktas ca te jaṇah mad-bhaktaṇam ca ye bhaktas te me bhakta-tama matah

Lord Krishna told Arjuna, Those who are My devotees are actually not My devotees, but those who are the devotees of My devotees are factually My devotees.

1.46 Guest: While worshipping Krishna when guru enters, what should be the response of the disciple? Should he stop worshipping the Lord and attend the guru? Swami: If he is worshipping the temple deities, he shall continue his worship of the Lord. But when the guru visits disciple’s home and if the disciple is in the middle of his deity worship, he should stop his worship at once and attend his/her spiritual master. If disciple is engaged in other activities, then he should stop those activities and immediately welcome and honour the visiting guru.

1.47 Guest: When there is an option of garlanding Krishna and guru and there is a shortage of garlands, who should be garlanded first? Swami: The etiquette is to garland guru. However, guru is not above Krishna. But Krishna will be more pleased when guru is properly honoured. Guru too will be pleased when Krishna is garlanded. Therefore, the disciple’s duty is to first serve guru. Disciple should not jump over the guru and directly serve Krishna while ignoring guru.

1.48 Guest: Can politicians and corporate members be initiated and become twice born? Swami: Why not? They are not animals. Let them follow no meat eating, stop drinking alcohol, let them remain with one woman whom they married to, and should not gamble. They can be initiated to Krishna maṇtra and all their bad karma of millions of births will be burned by such diksha. Better to be late than 31 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

never. They will be pious after diksha, because all their past sinful activities will be nullified whether done consciously or unconsciously. Only Krishna can reverse everyone’s sinful activities. It is Krishna who can take human being out of the struggle of material existence. Further, disciple is engaged in service to Krishna and that is like pursuing karma without hankering for rewards. Thus, disciple will not attract and accrue further reactions because he performs it as service to Krishna.

1.49 Guest: United Nation is struggling to bring unity amongst nations and people. What do you suggest them in respect to their pursuits to form a unified world and people? Swami: United Nations, League of Nations! They are dreaming of unity. Tell them to wake up from that dream to see the reality.

1.50 Guest: What does that mean? Swami: They are dreaming and considering unreality as reality. First of all, let them know that they are not these material bodies or mind as they think. They are egoistic with their advancement in materialistic scientific knowledge and technology. They believe that a foresaid scientific and technological advancement shall aid them to be peaceful and happy, whereas it in fact these are increasing discord and tensions among them because it is used for dominating and exploitation. Advanced countries manufactured thousands of different automatic weapons of destructions beginning from guns to missiles to bombs and then they sell them to all countries. Why should they sell all these manufactured weapons to different countries in the name of business? What is the utility of these weapons for those buying countries? Buying countries use these weapons for destroying either their own countrymen or the enemy! There is global financial currency war for controlling and commanding the economies of other countries. United Nations as an institution has not mitigated these wrongs. It has lead the world into 32 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

opposing and destroying others. They cannot reach to the depth of purpose of everyone’s existence. Immersed in their material pursuit of accumulating more and more wealth and power for their nation and countrymen, comfort to the body, they do not want to go any further to discover the subtle reality of the spirit soul. They think that they are these temporary material bodies, born out of sexual intercourse of their mother and father. They do not see anything beyond that. They are trying to bring unity in diversity based on that gross material platform and as a lip service with hidden agenda of leading nations. But it is not going to happen. According to Bhagavad-Gita, Sri Krishna has created all these bodily colors and different faces and races for the distinction of one person from another. But it is the individual imperishable soul inside the body that activates the body. This individual imperishable soul is hankering for eternity, knowledge, and blissful life. Read chapter 15th of Bhagavad- Gita, you will get the answer to how Lord created all these senses around the mind according to the desire of living beings. None of the human beings wants to die, none wants to be unhappy, and they all want to have knowledge. Actually, that is the position of all living entities that they are not for dying, remaining ignorant, or be unhappy. The soul is eternal, it does not die; it is full of knowledge, never to be ignorant; and it is blissful, not to be unhappy with sufferings. Naturally every human is seeking all these positive things. But all these temporary things such as ignorance and unhappiness are forced upon them by their own karma. Also, they are stuck in this bodily identification of “I am Indian, I am American, I am Russian, I am a capitalist and I am communist, I am a terrorist or a counter terrorist, then comes I am a Hindu, I am a Christian, I am a Muslim, I am a woman, I am a man, etc.” Then they claim their territory by putting some borders, till this border is my country, till that ocean brink is my nation and the air space above my land is also ours. How do you expect unity if human world is

33 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

living on these subjects of unnatural, and unreality and divisions? We are sooner or later going to die, but we are stuck in this mental and bodily plane! In physical bodies of all human beings across the globe whether Iroquoian, Iranian, Syrian, Pakistani, Arabs, Jews, Christians, Muslims, , Jains, Buddhists etc., they are all spirit souls, a tiny beam that resides in the region of the heart of all living bodies, who are eternally part and parcels of Krishna. When human body is dead, it means that the tiny spirit soul has departed that body. Everyone is eternal son of Krishna. Without accepting the sincere servitorship unto God, all are trying to be servants of so many material institutions and seniors. Even if you are acting like a boss, actually you are a servant of your anger, lust, dishonesty, mercilessness, greed, illusion, infatuation, competition, and so many things. As long as you are all haunted by these bad qualities, how can you even dream of unity in this world? You will not have even a temporary unity, or happiness, or peace. As long the world is divided into countries, races, , how can there be unity and peace. The saviour path is to identify everyone as same identical and independent individual soul and with all having same purpose of life that is service to Krishna.

1.51 Guest: Can you give practical example of how we are not these bodies? Swami: Just like there are so many vehicles, horse carts, bullock carts, two wheelers, three wheelers, cars, buses, trucks, trains, planes, rockets and all these vehicles are in millions. Practically, as many are the number of drivers, there are equal number of vehicles. These vehicles cannot run on their own and each of them requires a driver for its functioning. These drivers are persons with two legs, two hands, eyes, and chest, all of them have the same bodily constitution, but outside as the different vehicles they are all different, and this is the example. Similarly, inside all varieties of living bodies is the spirit soul that enables

34 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

the functioning. External bodies have difference in shapes, colors, intellectual composition, etc. but the spirit soul is all identical. They are all conscious beings. That’s the differentiation between a dead body from a living body? In a dead body, there is no spirit soul and in the living body, there is spirit soul and therefore living body is moving. Consequently, making an attempt to bring unity among people based on the bodily platform and various religious thoughts is irrational. UNO or League of Nations have been trying that, it is just an extra expense for the international fund. They do not take any saintly people seriously who have immense knowledge of the scriptures as a member of their cabinet. They do not discuss the problems they are facing with a devotee of Lord Krishna. They all are feathers of the same bird. United Nations means members of many countries and they are all in the same ignorance that they are these bodies. Does UNO have a single qualified spiritualist in their cabinet? Will they agree to hear the scriptural notifications? Even if they take some so called religious leader, he may be ignorant about the actual truth. He may give some moral instructions, what is the use? They are partial, prejudiced and corrupt in their own nature. Simply by taking a bath and wearing a pressed suit and coat, one cannot become a gentleman. It is the merciful and benevolent character towards their subordinate in Krishna consciousness makes one a gentleman. And these characters will not manifest in you until you know who actually you are! How are they going to bring unity, when they do not have any knowledge of the soul? Coming together in a meeting organized at USA or some other place, talking about many different material issues and finding their material solutions will not work. You may bark at your enemy and he will bark at you and it will go on until you start realizing that you’re an eternal soul otherwise there is no solution for your problem. Diagnose your disease and thereafter work on 35 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

how to come up with the proper medicine. Soon the disease will disappear with regular treatment and care. If you have cancer, and try to improve your functioning of heart, you will certainly die. If you are a cardiac patient and you attempt to treat your ENT, you will obviously die from cardiac attack. Similarly, first find out who they are before going to solve the problems. Otherwise you are insensitive at them and they will be irresponsible to you. At the end, all of them behave as disunited dogs, and just bark at each other. If you become a soul conscious leader, knowing there are driver souls in all vehicles although the vehicles’ bodies are differently shaped. Similarly, understand that we are all children of the same Supreme Person. The all-powerful God will have only one son- of Nazareth is not true. Jesus is special, because he was preaching God to a certain class of people. But he did not give the analytical explanation of the soul because he must have found that it was not necessary at that time. Detailed knowledge of soul and Supersoul and kingdom of God is only known to God and it is mentioned in Bhagavad-Gita. Those who read Bhagavad-Gita preach about these subjects. Those who have not read Bhagavad-Gita, they preach morality and ethics. Morality, ethics, philosophy, philanthropy, etc, are not , because all of them are without God. When God and soul are realised, that is spirituality. Every living being is the son of God and therefore we all have equal right over our father and father will also have a right over us. Forgetting this, we are suffering without solution in the nuclear world. What will be the result, when you are sitting with the nuclear weapon and someone is yelling repeatedly at you, being impatient you will throw at him with what you have? You made that endeavour so many times and you had some self-control. But the self-control cannot be always there because you are not God or soul 36 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

conscious always. One day it will break out and destroy all humanity.

1.52 Guest: How do we select God? Swami: Moses said he was the one whom God has chosen to release the Hebrews from the bondage of the Egyptians, Jesus said that he is the son of God. He did not say he is the only son of God either. He must have said ‘he is the only way to reach the father’. Muhammad said that he is the representative of God. Everyone preached philosophy of God to different section of people as much as they could, without touching the actual dialogue of God. In Bhagavad-Gita, Krishna says He is God. Bhagavad-Gita is spoken by God for everyone. In the bygone days, Albert Einstein, Mahatma Gandhi, Arabindo and many western scholars accepted that Bhagavad-Gita is the most authentic literature and part of the Vedic wisdom on God spoken by God. Why then are you so confused, why then are you saying that you are this and that? In this way you will go on for billions of years in search of God and find no God. You do not have any idea about who is God, and how He looks like and we have the answer to that question. Krishna has said that ‘I am God’, I came to liberate My devotees from the influence of evil though He can do that job from where He resides. In the history of universe there is no one so far who claimed that He is God, but Krishna. For giving more mercy to the devotees, He Himself descended from the spiritual world. Krishna says in Bhagavad-Gita 15-19:

yo mam evam asammudho jāṇati purusottmam sa sarva-vid bhajati mam sarva bhaveṇa

“Whoever knows Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, without doubting, is the knower of everything. He therefore engages himself in full devotional service unto Me, O son of Bharata. 37 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

Only through bhakti-yoga, devotional service to Him, bhaktyamam api jāṇati one can go back to the spiritual world. It is not that you can worship anybody, and everybody and you can enter into Krishna Loka. If you need the mercy of Krishna, then you also should scientifically know about Him and serve Him. The name of God is Krishna and that name ‘KRISHNA’ He has chosen. Nothing can be done about it. God is one and He is for everyone in the universe. The planet where we dwell is being shattered due to various notions and imaginations of His name, qualities and attributes of Him. Take the information from Vedas and the Vedas are compiled by Him. And you must take lessons from a Bonafide guru about all these subjects. One cannot be fooled just because God has a name “Krishna” that does not match your imagination of God, therefore He is not God. Or you have imagined a form of God and Krishna’s form is excluded in it, therefore I won’t accept Him as God. Read the original Bhagavad-Gita, it is not a manufactured or altered, where as other scriptures are altered for promoting those their respective religions and .

1.53 Guest: There are many businessmen and politicians who accumulate wealth because their destiny is supportive. What about their future? Swami: If astronomy is favourable today, then it can be bad tomorrow. Are they prepared to face the bad stars? They may make thousands, and millions and billions of dollars or rupees. What is the use? Are they going to live for similar number of years? What is the usage of that wealth in every day’s life? Two hundred rupees for food? No, they may be thinking it is for my son, grandson and great grandson, but they are going to die very soon and they do not know where they are going to be born thereafter? Then what is the point? These actions are the 38 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

influence of the lower mode of passion and ignorance. From which greed and lust arises and they are unable to cease that because of their passionate desires. The result is dwelling in hell. Whatever do they desire are happening due to their past karma. Practically, the oldest wealthy family known to mankind is Tata, Birla lineage, every country may have similar people. There were many kings, emperors and big businessman in earlier centuries, but today no one knows their present generation. Such families rise up, only to come down after couple of centuries. But the law of material nature is eternal. You can check the billionaires of 19th and 20th century and today their generations would be pauper because of the sins and crimes committed by their ancestors in accumulating those billions. A businessman of 21st century knows how to bend the law and system to his favour and earn millions and billions. Because of these illegal and unethical means of making money, they begin thinking that there is no God and I am god, because whatever I want, I am able to achieve and there is no one to punish me. Krishna says 16-8:

asatyam apratishtham te jagad ahur aṇiswaram aparaspara-sambhutam kim aṇyat -haitukam

“They say that this world is unreal, without any foundation, and it is not controlled by any God. They say it is produced from sexual desires and has no cause other than lust”. So this is their concept of life. So long as they are alive they want to do all kinds of illegal things. They employ their lust, anger, circumvent the system, and greed as tools and means to achieve either position or money.

trividham ṇarakasyedam dvaram ṇashaṇam atmaṇah kamah krodhas tatha lobhas tasmad etat trayam tyajet

39 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

“There are three gates leading to this hell – lust, anger, and greed. Every sane man should give these up, for they lead to the degradation of the soul”. If a person accepts these instructions of the Lord as joke, he will know after death. Death is certain! And it is also certain that one must undergo the result of his deeds.

1.54 Guest: Is that the reason we are not happy? Swami: To become happy, you have to come out of your so called religious dharma based on personal interpretation. You do not know who God is and how he looks like and here we are associating directly with the Supreme Lord. Why can’t you accept Supreme Lord? There isn’t hundreds of God out there. God is one. You may have some different procedures and , which does not make God different from who He is! At present you are identifying with the so called man made religion. Hindu dharma, Christian dharma, Muslim dharma, Jain or Buddhists and Sikh , etc. Gold is Gold, whether it is in the hand of Hindu, Christian or Muslims. Just as sun is the creation of God, so dharma or occupational duty is also creation of God. There is no change in the rising and setting of the sun, and there cannot be any change in the dharma, dharmatu sakshad bhagavad praṇitam. The purpose of dharma is to please the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead. There is only one God. So everyone must come out of superficial sentiments and accept the God of eternal religion and He is the real God. All others are imaginary. You ask them how God looks like, they will say He may be energy, some say He is divinity and others say He is cosmic potency, etc. Instead of accepting foolish imaginations of different people, they must accept the scriptural statements on Supreme Personality of Lord Krishna. If they do not accept, it is their misfortune. Don’t try to bind Krishna within your tiny imaginations. God is far away and near as well. So becoming happy means going ‘beyond religion’, in the realm of transcendental living. When you search on to the 40 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

philosophy you can attain the full information about that eternal essence beyond religion. Ishopaṇishad says:

tad ejati taṇ ṇaijati tad dure tad vaṇtike tad aṇtar asya sarvasya tau sarvasyasya bahyatah

“The Supreme Lord walks and does not walk. He is far away, but He is very near as well. He is within everything, and yet He is outside of everything”.

It is said in Bhagavad-Gita 13.16

bahir aṇtashcha bhutaṇam acharam charam eva cha sukshmatvat tad avijṇeyam durastham chaṇtike cha tat

Within and outside all living entities, the Supreme Lord is stationary as well as mobile; because of being extremely subtle (without form), he is incomprehensible and thus very far yet very near.

1.55 Guest: Though you are talking beyond religion you follow Krishna. Swami: There must be a perfect person, who is the head of the eternal religion or beyond religion. One who is not a representative or son of God, but God Himself. All these sons of God and representatives of God are persons, so God also must be a person, Supreme Person and He must have His own name. God means one who does not commit mistakes, never fall into illusion, nor has a cheating tendency, and who has perfect senses. We would all follow that person who never intends to cheat you. Krishna means all attractive, and all pleasure. He has nothing to do with any kind of religious . All these religions, which have been formed in past millenniums are based on some worships, some faith, according to place, circumstances and 41 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

people. Eternal religion is not made for people based on place, space, and circumstances. In eternal religion too there is a head and he is the Supreme Head, beyond Him there is no one. mattah parataram ṇaṇyat, no one beyond Me. We follow that Supreme Head, the person - Krishna. Like in a huge company throughout its existence, who will be present?

1.56 Guest: Owner. Swami: Exactly. Beyond Him means there is no beginning and end for that person. Beyond religion does not mean everything is void and impersonal. That person is not a conceptualization of a man in ecstasy. It is the authoritative statement of the Vedas that there is a Supreme Head for all living entities. No one dares to criticize Vedic knowledge. Darwin referred it, Socrates referred it, and Pythagoras referred it. They must have referred partially because they have not come to the proper conclusion or they did not understand. It is like the laws of government is final and needs to be followed by every citizen of that country. But beyond these mortal laws and society, there is a law maker, an ultimate authority, and he is not impersonal. The laws may be impersonal, but law maker is not impersonal. If some people challenge impersonal law, he will be arrested by the personal law maker. But if you are very close to the law maker of the country, he will take care of you from all kinds of dilemmas and that person must be beyond law, as there is a saying ‘king can do no wrong’. In this connection Lord Brahma says in Brahma 5-33 about Krishna:

advaitam achyutam aṇadim aṇaṇda rupam adhyam purāṇa purusham ṇava yauṇams ca vedesu durlabham madurlabam atma bhakto goviṇdam adi purusham tamaham bhajami

42 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

“I worship the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead, Govinda (Krishna), who is the original person, absolute, infallible, without beginning, although expanded into unlimited forms, He is still the same original, the oldest, and the Person always appearing as a fresh youth. Such eternal, blissful, all knowing forms of the Lord are usually not understood by even the best Vedic scholars, but they always manifest to pure, unalloyed devotees”. Best Vedic scholars cannot know the position of God, then how the mundane scholars who have university degree know Him. He is the person who must be beyond religion. This ultimate person is always there in front of the human society, demigod society, and demon society. Humble and meek recognize Him, arrogant and envious like Duryodhan, challenge His authority. Krishna says in Bhagavad- Gita:

etad-yoṇīṇi bhūtāṇi sarvāṇītyṇ upadhāraya ahaṁ kr ṇtsṇasya jagatah ṇ prabhavah ṇpralayas tathā

“All created beings have their source in these two natures. Of all that is material and all that is spiritual in this world, know for certain that I am both the origin and the dissolution”. BG 7-6

mattah ṇparataraṁ ṇāṇyat kiñchid asti dhaṇañjaya mayi sarvam idaṁ prota ṁ sūtre maṇigaṇṇ āṇ iva

“O conqueror of wealth, there is nothing more superior to Me. I am omnipresent in this world and sustaining it, as pearls are strung on a thread”. BG 7-7

1.57 Guest: Why does the God, Krishna, descend Himself for some simple reasons? Swami: God does not descend due to simple reasons, which I have already answered. Why shouldn’t He descend? The 43 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

universe belongs to Him. He is the owner and ultimate authority of both material and spiritual universes. He is not imperfect and under illusion like we are. He can move around anytime and in anyplace as He wants. He is all powerful. When there is an emergency, doesn’t your president visit that place personally? Is he going to tell that I am the president of the nation; therefore, I will stay and do my work behind my closed office? No, he does visit that place because the president is a person. Similarly Krishna says that He is the owner, creator, maintainer and terminator of all universes sarvaloka maheswaram, suhrtam sarva bhutaṇam- friend of all living beings. He is a person, a Supreme Person, and he has great spiritual feelings, care, and emotions for His devotees. When devotees are disturbed He easily advent to protect them.

paritraṇaya sadhuṇam viṇasaya ca duskrtam dharma-samsthapaṇarthaya sambhavami yuge yuge

To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I Myself appear millennium after millennium.

The miscreants do not follow the laws of God. They may be aristrocrates, kings or intellectual . They misinterpret the principles of social and spiritual orders. They punish the general mass who acts based on their quality and work. They claim that everything has to be followed based on one's birth. These unreasonable whimisical law makers may appear even in the palace of the kingdom in the form of king, prime minister, etc. Lord Krishna has a fully blossomed pure spiritual mind, intelligence, ego, senses, and body. It can never be covered at any time by any material objects. When we have problems with sleeping, eating or working, our mind and intellect goes out of

44 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

track and such things are not at all applicable to Krishna. Krishna is the master, He is not a servant. If He is the servant, then He cannot be God. Krishna has an excellent bluish sat-cid-aṇaṇda body without a tinge of material quality. He is not null or void, or senseless as some foolish theory is going on like a virus. Krishna appears in this world for 125 years of the human calculation, but that is just ‘a second’ for Him because Time is eternal. He is beyond all fallible and infallible persons of this world and the spiritual world. Krishna says in Bhagavad-Gita 15-18:

yasmat ksharam atito ham aksharad api chottamah ato smi loke vede cha prathitah purushottamah

“Because I am transcendental, beyond both the destructible and the indestructible, and because I am the Supreme, (hence) I am celebrated both in the world and in the Vedas as the Supreme Person”.

1.58 Guest: What is His ego? Swami: His ego is the real ego, as He knows that He is the only God. 1.59 Guest: Why is it so hard for us to understand this simple concept? Swami: Due to sinful activities and being engrossed in too many materialistic activities, and for few involved in serious debate on God’s name, form, and qualities, it is difficult to comprehend the Supreme Personality of Krishna. Every day and every second you are killing, killing, killing innocent animals and billions of animals, and it is continuing, in this way your brain becomes so sterilized that you cannot understand any superhuman activities of God. yesham tvam aṇta gatam papam, jṇaṇam puṇya karmaṇam, unless you are free from sinful activities and perform some good pious activities such as self-less activities in this life and in the previous life, it is not possible to understand God. Due 45 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

to this injustice towards lower beings, wars break out without your knowledge, and people become victims in the war. If one of you shoots a person, you will be arrested and punished, but in case of war, who are you going to blame? Millions will be killed. That is the action of the nature. These leaders are medium for these killings and responsible too. E.g. Arjuna was used by Krishna, although Krishna had already killed all the people who came there with a desire to fight. But, using Arjuna as the immediate cause. Krishna said 11-33

tasmāt tvam uttistṇhaṇ yaśho labhasva jitvā śhatrūṇ bhuṅ kshvaṇ rājya ṁ samr ṇddham mayaivaite ṇihatāh ṇpūrvam eva ṇimitta-mātraṁ bhava savya-sāchiṇ

“Therefore, O Savysacin, Arjuna, arise for battle and become famous. By conquering the enemies you will enjoy a flourishing kingdom. I have already killed all of them by My previous arrangement; you are only an instrument in this fight”.

1.60 Guest: So how do we become peaceful, unite with each other and live happily? Swami: The whole material civilization is built on sexual desire. The attachment for material life means to continue your sex life or maintain products of sex life. The material life and hankering for material happiness is there, whether it is gross or subtle. Anyway, to please you, I would advise you to be equal to everybody including animals, they are all part of God as much as we are. Take care of them as your brothers and sisters. Of course we are not advocating you to go and hug lion and tigers or try to kiss snakes. You should have proper discriminatory intellect. At the same time, stop torturing lower life forms. If you do not, then the higher forms will torture you. See all living beings as souls and they are not bodies, as I gave earlier the analogy of the 46 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

vehicles. According to the money, people travel in different forms of vehicles, but they are all living under the mercy of the same government, similarly according to the good and bad karma of souls, they live in a certain body, may be a chicken, goat, hog, and cow, but they are living under the mercy of God. You do not have the authority to kill any living being, especially for eating. E.g. you are an American and your country is powerful. Misusing this power you go on torturing several smaller nations. Wait and see, what is going to happen to you in few centuries! You will be condemned and also punished. Although the animals do not speak, nor have high intelligence, but their soul is protected and controlled by the Lord. He is the Father of all living beings, even the father of cats and dogs, germs and worms and He is maintaining them. The word praja means citizens that include all animals, trees, worms, all animate beings of that country. Krishna says in Bhagavad-Gita 7.10: bijam mam sarva bhutaṇam viddhi partha saṇataṇam “O son of Pritha, know that I am the original seed of all existences.” mama yoṇir mahad brhma tasmiṇ garbham dadhamy aham sambhavah sarva-bhutaṇam tato bhavati bharata

“The vast material world, called Brahman, is the source of birth because of Me, and I impregnate that Brahman, making possible the births of all living beings, O son of Bharata”. Fortunately, there was only one person in the western history, that Greek philosopher Socrates who believed in the existence of the soul and the judge of the greek killed him by giving him hemlock poison. His fault was that he believed in the soul. Like Jesus Christ, what was his fault? He was preaching God consciousness and they crucified him. Such ignorant people used to live in the western horizon. 47 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

Human beings should not disturb the other species of life and also the vast material world because these are both created by Krishna and maintained too.

1.62 Guest: How can we learn this transcendental knowledge? Swami: Everyone should read scriptures, Bhagavad-Gita, Srimad-Bhāgavatam every day. Instead of running all over for knowledge and life. People are not reading actual books. They just hear from here and there all these worldly news, these novels, magazines and newspapers. They have no knowledge of the real . They have time for reading these mundane news that is enjoyed by the crows, not the swans. Newspapers are so popular in all countries. Though the TV became so popular with hot news, newspaper still has the same popularity like it was in the 20th century. To buy newspapers is considered as enlightened. If a newspaper does not come to your house, you feel that you are not a rich man. People like to read newspapers but not sacred Bhagavad-Gita or any spiritual literatures. That is the unfortunate situation in the present society. There is a story of a Christian priest who went to preach in a coalmine, Sheffield in England. The father stated that Jesus is the savior who came to deliver all of you. The workers asked who Jesus is, what is his number? It is customary in mine work for all workers to have a unique worker number for identification. They thought Jesus is one of the workers and hence they demanded his worker number. The priest said, Jesus is the son of God, not a worker. If you do not accept his message you will go to hell. They asked him ‘what is hell’? The priest said hell is dark, damn, filthy and dangerous. They were silent because they were living in a coal mine which is also dark, filthy, damn, and dangerous, so it did not make any difference to them.

48 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

The priest noticed that some workers were reading the newspaper, so he exclaimed that “there is no newspaper available in Hell.” Then they together said “Oh! There is no newspaper, then hell is definitely horrible!” So this is the situation, people are attached to newspapers, and magazines and fantasy stories. The real incidents and pastimes of the Lord are unreal to them. They think fantasy as real, and real things they take it as fantasy. This is the unfortunate situation of the people.

1.63 Guest: What are the sufferings in this world from which a Guru can save us? Swami: All miseries we experience in the material existence arise from body, mind, other living entities, and material nature. Material body is a combination of several material elements. Generally, the elements in human body continually increase and/or decrease. These happen due to irregularity in food, drinks and weather. Consequently, there are problems in body, immediately. There are two bodies, one is a gross body and another is a just like coat and shirt. First we wear shirt and then we wear a coat. Similarly, all living entities have a gross body made of material elements namely earth, water, fire, air and ether or sky, which is compared to a coat. Second is a subtle body, made of mind, intelligence and false ego, which corresponds to shirt. These two bodies frequently give pain and sufferings. One may see all these millions of hospitals and private medical homes always remain full with millions of different patients. If one gets relief from the bodily organs then he is under mental torture, torture from abusing one’s intelligence, and torture from egocentric actions. Thus, psychiatric and psychological departments of hospitals are also full. Mental tortures for not having certain things, intellectual deficiency, and

49 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

falsely identifying with the body. Insults, devaluations of your personality by someone. This klesha or suffering is called adyatmika kelsa. In this way there are so many miseries based on the body and mind. Then, second are miseries from other living entities. It may be caused by your own family members, friends, children, your officers, directors, neighbors, animals, reptiles, insects, bacteria’s, mosquitoes, flies, snakes, etc. Death of your relatives or death of your child, both are intense reason. Then, enemies, thieves, rogues, rapists. Borrowed money could not be paid back on time, stock market crashed, real estate took away all your money, bank is after you, police, IT, judges are all after you. There are thousands of miseries from your fellow man and enemies, this klesha is called adhibautika klesha. Third is called adhi-daivika klesha. Miseries caused by material nature in the form of excessive heat, cold, earthquake, rain or no rain, hurricane, pestilence, tsunami, fire, volcano, accidents, etc. Then the nine planetary systems also give you trouble. You are always seeking guidance from your astrologers looking for your good time. First 12 years Kaṇdaka saṇi, then 7.5 Sani, then Rahu, then Ketu; when you have freedom from all these obstacles then Yamaraja will come and take you away, done! Hence, one of these miseries will always be impacting as long as the living being lives in the material world. The true spiritual master helps his disciple in identifying these miseries and migrates the disciple into his transcendental position through Bhakti-yoga. No more problems. You will be well trained in dealing with all these miseries. Krishna gives His lotus feet to you for worshipping and makes you a perfect person through your spiritual master. It is said in Srimad-Bhāgavatam 11-3 21:

tasmad gurum prapadyeta jijṇasuh sreya uttamam 50 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

sabde pare ca ṇisṇatam brahmaṇy upsamasrayam

“Therefore any person who seriously desires real happiness must seek a bonafide spiritual master and take shelter by initiation. The qualification of the bonafide guru is that he has realized the conclusions of the scriptures by deliberation and is able to convince others of these conclusions. Such competency is foremost required for being a bonafide spiritual masters.” According to Srila Sridhar swami, the word sabde refers to the Vedic literature, and pare refers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The bonafide spiritual master must be ṇishṇatam, means deeply experienced in authorized Vedic literatures and in practical understanding of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Without Scriptural knowledge and practical realization of the Personality of Godhead, a so called guru will be unable to dissipate the doubts of his disciples and therefore, unable to execute the function of bringing the sincere student back home, back to Godhead. The bonafide spiritual master is one who has retired from the glittering illusions of materialistic society, friendship and love.

1.64 Guest: Are there any other miseries? Swami: Birth is a misery, death is a misery, old age and disease is also miseries. Do not have any alternative on these. During pregnancy, we have to stay in the little uterus of the mother for nine months and suffer bites from many kinds of germs and worms. Many times, the child gets aborted by the mother for whatever reason. Either she is inclined to have more sexual activities, or the child is considered a trouble, or she does not want to take responsibility of the child. Sometimes or most of the time, she gives preference to her sexual desires than the beautiful child. Children have a future, they may get attached to Krishna during their lifetime. But that opportunity is taken away from the

51 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

child by the lusty couples who decide for abortion. Human beings want reward for every action they perform, but they do not want the result for their sex life, that is their baby. Especially in modern days, many mothers are ruthless. They just kill the healthy and beautiful baby in the womb itself. Killing after delivery or during pregnancy, both are same. The foolish government authorities approve abortion.They do not consider child alive until the child breathes with his separate human body totally detached from his mother. They are great fools because they voluntarily agree to fall into same situation and get aborted in the same way as they cause suffering to their unborn child. In this life, you may be an American president or Indian Prime Minister, if you are not careful about your deeds, next life will be darkness for them. They are greedy for power. If they do not take responsibility of all these killings of the babies and cows, the leaders will be put into the same situation and they will never see life again. It is not my personal opinion, but that is what scripture says about karma. All children when grown up will be like these ministers and scientists, but they prefer them to kill in their womb. This is the unfortunate situation of this world. But every action is witnessed by the Supersoul, a partial incarnation of Lord Krishna. Many speakers of great religious organizations even forget this greatest personality living within the same heart of all living entities.

1.65 Guest: Is there no other way to come out of these miseries? Swami: If Krishna is not conscious of your actions then yes. Is there any problem in taking shelter of the Lotus feet of Krishna and His bonafide representative? According to Vedic civilization, there are two births. One birth is given by the father and mother, second birth is given by the spiritual master or spiritual father. Human body is given and raised by the father and mother. Soul is raised and protected by the spiritual master in Krishna’s consciousness. All living beings in the material world are the

52 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

combination of two things, soul and body that is matter and spirit. The second birth is accepted through diksha. Thereafter, a person is called dvija shreshta means qualified twice born. Everyone born in this world is ignorant about the soul.Therefore; spiritual master helps you to know who you are? Who is God? What is your relationship with Krishna? All these things are taught by the spiritual master. Actually everyone’s eternal position is servant, whether we remain servant of our state, country man, or to family members or to God. If you want to be free from these miseries or slavery of your family members and countryman, the best possible path is to cooperate with the Supreme Personality of Godhead through a bonafide spiritual master. You cannot see God directly because your eyes are made of jada, dead matter. Through the jada eyes, the soul’s vision is limited to seeing material objects. Spiritual master does not have direct contact with Krishna, but spiritual master knows by the mercy of Krishna, the rules and regulations of meeting with Krishna. Krishna is Omniscient, Omnipresent, and Omnipotent. He does not appear, but He can reciprocate to anyone’s devotion and prayers. He can appear if He chooses to do so. God works that way and the spiritual master is receiving His mercy. Guru has his spiritually and materially purified experiences. Our spiritual master has said that “our standard of morality and immorality is to examine whether Krishna is satisfied with it. If Krishna is satisfied, then it is morality. If Krishna is dissatisfied, then it is immorality”. How do you know that? Satisfy Krishna’s representatives who have taken a vow to bring all forgotten spirit souls to Krishna’s lotus feet. Srila Vishwanatha Chakravarti Thakura Maharaja, one of the vaishṇava acharyas says in His prayers yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasado yasya aprasadaṇ ṇa gatih kuto pi. A disciple, who satisfies his spiritual master, certainly satisfies Krishna.

53 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

Whereas, by dissatisfying the spiritual master, the disciple will be lost in the ignorance. Thus, our morality is either to satisfy Krishna or his representative. If the representative is not happy with you, you will never get the association with Lord Krishna. You may try independently as long as you like and waste your time.

1.66 Guest: Krishna is Omniscient, Omnipotent and Omnipresent Swami: Then why do we need a Guru? Is that your question?

1.67 Guest: Exactly! Guest: I have already mentioned. Still, you can receive more elaboration. You will not be able to recognize Krishna’s mercy and actions without being purified from the material contamination. Everyone is buried under volumes of sinful activities committed through the mind, words, and activities; and to come out of these, we require directions. Krishna is the supreme spiritual master from within and Guru is the supreme spiritual master from outside. Therefore, to obtain seed of bhakti- devotion, one has to achieve the mercy of Lord Krishna and guru together. guru krishṇa prasade pai bhakti lata bija. Bija means seed, and bhaktilata means devotional creeper. The seed of devotional service is obtained only through guru and Krishna, not by any personal endeavour.

1.68 Guest: Have you seen God? Swami: We are seeing Him every second. Krishna has given us quite a lot of things to see Him through, practically in every object, in the tenth chapter of Bhagavad-Gita Lord Krishna describes his manifold forms through which he is present in this world.

1.69 Guest: I don’t think anybody has seen God directly? 54 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

Swami: The scripture says atmavat maṇyate jagat. Everyone thinks that everyone is like them. Because they have not seen God, they think no one can see God. There are acharyas who have seen God; hence it is not that no one has seen God. Did the doubting persons scrutinize everyone in this world? They must have asked some ordinary people, maybe he is an atheist and a sinful person who has not seen God. They may not even know what the name of God is. The right path is to inquire with the saintly persons, if Krishna did not appear to them in some way, how are they continuing their devotional services to Krishna. Perhaps appearance may be in different modes, but they are satisfied with Krishna, in whatever way He manifested before them. Definitely it is not possible to see God directly for polluted mind. But if a person becomes a sincere devotee and seriously engages in devotional service, then Lord Krishna sends an instructing spiritual master as a favour on the aspiring person and invokes his dormant propensity for serving the Supreme. The preceptor appears before the external senses of the fortunate conditioned soul, and at the same time the devotee is guided from within by the chaitya-guru, Krishna, who is seated as the spiritual master within the heart of the living entity.

1.70 Guest: What about a devotee who serves Krishna and tries to enjoy material life as well? Swami: They are better than animals. Have you heard of polished animals?

1.71 Guest: Yes. Swami: They are compared like that. Actually they are better than these atheists. But that is not enough to stop the repeated birth and death. They can get closer and associated to Krishna, more so quickly than the others. There is no end to go towards Krishna, Krishna personally says in shastra, 55 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

Krishna kahe: ama bhaje, mage visaya sukha amrta chadi visa mage, - ei bada murkha”

“ami- vijṇa, ei murkhe visaya keṇe diba? sva-caraṇamrta diya visaya bhulaiba

“Krishna says, if one engages in My transcendental loving service and at same time wants the opulence of material enjoyment, he is very very foolish. Indeed, he is like a person who gives up ambrosia to drink poison. Since I am very intelligent and caring, why should I give this material prosperity to this fool? Instead, I shall induce him to take the nectar of the shelter of My lotus feet and make him forget illusory material enjoyment”. Spiritual creation is three fourth of the total creation of Krishna. You know how many varieties are there to enjoy? From this verse, it is clear that the pure enjoyment has to be done with Krishna. There are many devotees of Krishna who desire material enjoyment while they perform serious devotional service to Krishna. They undergo austere penances and control the mind and senses before leaving their material body. They get promoted to the heavenly planet by the Lord and enjoy the unlimited material opulences. For prolonged number of years, sometimes as much as Lord Indra’s life span, they reside in the heavenly planet and keep enjoying. When intermediate devastation of the three worlds takes place such as upper planetary system, middle planetary system and lower planetary system, and when Indra’s life comes to an end, the devotees residing in heaven will be transferred to the spiritual world, i.e. planet by the causeless mercy of the Supreme Lord. This particular mercy of the Lord is to make His devotee aware that they are not losers of any kind of happiness whether it is 56 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

material or spiritual. Therefore it is said in Srimad-Bhāgavatam 2-3-10, it is mentioned:

akamah sarva-kamo va moksa-kama udara-dhih tivreṇa bhakti-yogeṇa yajeta purusam param

“A person who has broader intelligence, whether he be full of all material desires, or without any material desire, or desiring liberation, he must by all means worship the supreme whole, the Majestic Personality of Godhead”.

1.72 Guest: What is a materialistic person compared to in the scriptures? Swami: He is compared to a camel, asses, cows and hogs. They are entangled in the materialistic life and they cannot get out of it, if they so desire. In fact, they do not desire at all. They are stuck in a materialistic tabernacle desiring more and more material progress. They are compared by Srimad-Bhāgavatam as camel who relishes the thorny twigs because he likes the taste of the twigs mixed with blood. He does not realize that it is his own blood and that his tongue is being cut by the thorns. Similarly, to the materialist his own blood is as sweet as honey, and although he is always harassed by his own material creations. He does not wish to escape and in fact wants to pursue more and more. Such materialists are called karmis. Whole day they work using their own blood energy to earn money, during night they use their own blood energy to perform in sex life. Thus, everything they are using is their own blood. Out of such hundreds and thousands of karmis, one may feel disgusted by the bondage of material life and want to get out of it. And such a wise person is called jṇaṇi, and such jṇaṇis take shelter of the Vedanta . But, jṇaṇis misinterpret transcendental literature because they are captivated by their intelligence and do not have a submissive behaviour. 57 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

Therefore, Srila Vyasa deva, an incarnation of the Supreme Lord, seeing the future where such jṇaṇis misinterpret, compiled Srimad-Bhagāvatam purāṇa. It is clearly disclosed by Srila Vyasa deva that the Srimad-Bhāgavatam is the original unrivalled commentary on vedaṇda sūtra. By reading the nectar called Srimad-Bhāgavatam, human perfects his diseased life and eradicates all kinds of diseases by complete surrender unto Lord Krishna. Srimad-Bhāgavatam is the actual tonic for all spiritually confused and diseased jṇaṇi; karmi and yogi because it removes them from futile chase of impersonal and attaches their devotion firmly onto Lord Krishna. Nowadays 99.9 % of the population do not know who God is? They are only lecturing and philosophizing on God. But they are unable to spot who the Absolute Lord is although the Lord is right in front of them. Like the blind, although the sun is right in front of him and he can feel heat of light, yet he will not conclude whether it is the sun or something else. Sripad Shankaracharya intentionally did not touch Srimad- Bhāgavatam because he knew that it would be difficult for him to surpass the natural commentary of Bhāgavatam for his misguiding purpose. He was asked to descend and preach. He wrote sariraka bhāsya and his so called followers denounced the Bhāgavatam as some ‘new’ presentation. One should not be misled by such propaganda directed against Srimad-Bhāgavatam by the Mayavada School. All new students must adhere to Srimad-Bhāgavatam, which is the spotless literature of Science of Absolute Truth, Krishna. It is mentioned in Srimad- Bhāgavatam that 1-1-3:

ṇigama--taror galitaṁ phala ṁ śuka-mukhād amr ṇta-drava-saṁ yutam pibata bhāgavataṁ rasam ālayam muhur aho rasikā bhuvi bhāvukāh ṇ

58 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

“O expert and thoughtful men, relish Srimad-Bhāgavatam, the mature fruit of the desire tree of Vedic literatures. It emanated from the lips of Sri Śukadeva Gosvāmī. Therefore this fruit has become even more tasteful and potent, although its nectarian juice was already relishable for all, including liberated souls.”

1.73 Guest: What is their real philosophy? Swami: They think God has no form. He is an all pervading unlimited light. Since we cannot concentrate on the all-pervading light, we have to assume an imaginary form like Lord Siva, Goddess Durga, Ganesh, Demigod Surya or Lord Vishnu. They think these forms are conceived for the purpose of concentration. But when we get perfection then we just do not need these forms. They give the example of a ladder, to climb to an upper case you need a ladder once you reach there you do not need the ladder. Actually, these demigods’ forms are not imaginary. All the demigods have form. When you see the calendar of Lord Siva, you know He is there and how his form is like, all of their forms are not imaginary, they are actual but these mayavadi philosophers imagine the form. These paṇchopasaṇa worship imaginary forms though the forms they conceive are real, they still say these forms are also not required ultimately. They are followers of no body, but of their own ignorance.

It is said in Bhagavad-Gita 12.5

kleso adhikataras tesam avyaktasakta chetasam hi gatir duhkham dehavadbhir avaptyate

Those whose minds are attached to the formless, unmanifest feature of Mine, have much greater tribulation. Consequently, for those who have accepted this material body, it is very difficult to make any advancement on the spiritual path. 59 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

1.74 Guest: What are the reasons people are unable to take shelter of the Lord? Swami: This is happening due to insufficient knowledge of the original position of the Supreme Lord and their self. A man may be very rich, but that richness cannot make him beyond the Supreme Person. This mistake can devastate even their material existence. Why the entire monarchy was abolished and dethroned, because they were disobedient to the injunctions and supremacy of the Supreme Person. Even five hundred years ago the whole planet was ruled by kings. Even now there are a few remnants of the kingdom here and there; some are in , Arab nations or in England. But they do not have power on administrative side. And these kingdoms will be buried by the influence of the age of -yuga. Now the test has come to the democratic nations, if they also follow the Godless civilization like the old monarchs, they will also fall down from their position and someone else will reign. The bottom line of these changes is that people are not happy with the existing administration. They are all internally suffering in all parts of the world. They cannot address these issues to anyone, because all administrators are on the same page. They are paying their dues for forgetting Krishna, and concocting their imaginary God, and that is why they suffer. The real understanding is that regardless of your social and political position, you must bow down to the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead and chant His glorious name always. If you are a rich man or a poor man, whether you are a member of the parliament, the Prime Minister, or President of the Nation or you are a queen having all opulences and a diamond crown on your head, wearing hundreds of bangles and golden ankle bells or a golden turban on your head. None of these material fame and dignitary necessarily helps you to be greater than God. Krishna is Supreme and unparallel. One must think that all their 60 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

opulences are achieved due to good merit and mercy of the Supreme Lord and all of them will go away either by misusing or by death.

1.75 Guest: Ultimately one should engage all senses in the service of the Lord despite the opulent lifestyle one may have? Swami: Precisely, under the direction of the spiritual master. It is mentioned in the second canto of Srimad-Bhāgavatam about such life. We are mad after material facilities. Birds go out of their nest for bringing food and other requirements for the family. The bird does not see the net that is spread to trap him by the hunter. In the end, hunter takes the bird away. What about the family of the bird? What relation the family has now with the bird that lost its life? We are trying to enjoy material life with members of society, family and, relatives, all are just superficial and physical. When the hunter, the Lord of death comes and takes one of the family members, what is the relationship now left of the demised person with the rest of the family… NONE. Therefore, it is important to listen to the message and glorification of the Supreme Lord from the realized souls even if you are busy in your so called profession. Nowadays people wake up, prepare their tea, and eat breakfast and check their emails, Face book, YouTube, twitter, everybody busy praising one another. They glorify each other for their frivolous activities. Such praises are like croaking of a frog in the paddy fields to invite snake, the death. No use!!! It is said in Srimad- Bhagavatam that:

śva-viḍ-varāhoṣḍ ṭḍra-kharaihḍḍ ṣaṁ ṣṭuṭahḍ puruṣahḍḍ paśuhḍ na yaṭ-karnḍa-paṭhopeṭo jāṭu nāma gaḍāgrajahḍ

61 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

Men who are like dogs, hogs, camels, and asses praise those men who never listen to the transcendental pastimes of Lord Śrī Krishna, the deliverer from evils. The movie industry is the greatest illusion for men created by the technology. Especially, the digital animations. Both men and woman are trapped in this industry. It is very clear that men are living like cats and dogs, camels and asses according to this verse. Their fame in the society is that they have some money by exhibition of their arts and crafts. They feel that they are pure after taking a shower with costliest soap and applying cosmetics. High living and no thinking!!Their personal life is all messed up, whether it is administrator, celebrity or scientists. Dog barks when his fellow dogs emerge better, hogs eat anything and everything. Camel eats thorn smeared with its own blood, which means enjoying life of their own blood by hard work. Asses works for their master for pinch of grass although it is available everywhere. Thus, they all become sudras, serving their masters. They cannot think of anything other than slavery. These girls most of them want to be so famous and make money by any means. They surrender to these movie makers by accepting them into their private life and lose everything. In the end, they lose their chastity, elegance, fame, peace, and also money. There is a Hollywood and a Bollywood; both have no purity and austerity. Above them, are villains in actual life, they kidnap these good looking girls, who are reaching puberty. And threaten them that if they don’t succumb to their lust they will kill them. The girls are left without choice. They all love their own life, and her family is waiting to see her rise with huge wealth. All these things are also happening in the corporate world. Many companies hire only young girls, not married ones. So that they can use them as they want. It is all useless talk, simply waste of time and energy. 62 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

The actual independence lies in taking shelter of the Supreme Lord, and actual purity lies when they connect with God, their Supreme father who is Krishna. God is one; therefore, we all should be united in our Godly consciousness. Thereafter, there will be love and unity in life. They are so unfortunate that they are unable to develop that strong faith in Lord Krishna. These men sometime lecture on super consciousness, but have no idea about what they are saying. The knowledge can be gained easily from Bhagavad-Gita, which they do not read. If they read, then they have to quote Krishna’s name, which they do not want to do. They want the knowledge, but they do not want to give credit to the giver of knowledge. They want to be the master of that knowledge. Also the listeners listen to all kinds of mundane praises, but they cannot listen to Krishna’s statement. They have an ear hole, but it is filled up with all kinds of trash. The frogs especially during rainy season make noise at night pacrom pacrom….croaking all the time. Actually, they are inviting their death because the snake crawls, into their direction, guided by the croaking of frogs and gulps them. Like that, until death arrives these guys keep on praising each other. Nowadays, these movie stars are famous all over their country. But they are unable to realize their actual fame that they are children of the Powerful Supreme Lord Krishna. In the name of entertaining people in general, they create all kinds of shows and they gather together and speak of their success. It makes no sense and people are ignorant of actual life. Everyone is engrossed in the external manifestation of Vishnu Māya created by the Lord. Srimad- Bhāgavatam further explains;

bile baṭorukrama-vikramān ye na śr ḍnḍvaṭahḍ karnḍa-puṭeḍ naraṣya jihvāṣaṭī ḍārḍurikeva ṣūṭa 63 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

na copagāyaṭy urugāya-gāṭhāhḍ

“One who has not listened to the messages about the prowess and marvellous acts of the Personality of Godhead and has not sung or chanted loudly the worthy songs about the Lord is to be considered to possess ear holes like the holes of snakes and a tongue like that of a frog.” Therefore, even though you are rich, famous, powerful, extremely knowledgeable, beautiful, etc. your life will have value only if you engage all these things in the service of the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead Lord Krishna. Otherwise, all these so called opulences are only going to give you trouble. But Srimad-Bhāgavadam says that if you have a gold crown, that is good, bow down to the Supreme person, but if you do not bow down it will be just a heavy burden. Women may wear hundreds of gold bangles, but as long as the hands are not worshipping the Supreme Lord, the hands will be compared to the dead man. Who gave you these opulences? Having these hired opulence you cannot become God and acting wrongly cannot make you godly either. This verse supports one’s foolish illusions.

bhārahḍ paraṁ paṭṭa-kirīṭḍ ḍ a-juṣḍ ṭḍamḍ apy uṭṭamāṅ ga ṁ na namen mukunḍam śāvau karau no kuruṭe ṣaparyāṁ harer laṣaṭ-kāñcana-kaṅ kanḍau vā

“The upper portion of the body, though crowned with a silk turban, is only a heavy burden if not bowed down before the Personality of Godhead who can award mukṭi (freedom). And the hands, though decorated with glittering

64 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

bangles, are like those of a dead man if not engaged in the service of the Personality of Godhead Hari”.

1.76 Guest: Does Krishna understand each and every move of ours? Swami: Yes, because He lives within us. There are two souls in each and every body. One is the individual soul and other is God. He is there to just witness all actions of the individual soul. He, then, rewards and punishes and guides the individual soul if the individual is in difficulty. Also from Him comes knowledge, forgetfulness and knowledge. It is said in Muṇdaka upaṇisad 3- 1-1:

dva suparṇa sayuja sakhayah samaṇam vrksam parisasvajate tayor aṇyah pipplam svadv attya aṇasṇaṇṇ aṇyo aphicakasiti

The Lord and living entities are compared to two birds sitting in a tree. While the illusioned living entity eats the fruits of the material world, the Lord as Supersoul and best friend witnesses these activities.

1.77 Guest: But without satisfying our senses and providing happiness while associating with people, how do we live in this society? We will be shunned by the people considering us as incompatible. Swami: We are not saying do not enjoy your life, just practice the art of no meat eating, no alcohol, no gambling and no illegal associations with a woman or a man and chant Hare Krishna maha-maṇtra every day on beads. This is what Krishna and the scriptures say as sinless activities. Is it not impossible to give up these bad things? These are developed due to bad association and you can quit through good association. It is a question of desire

65 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

to come to pure spiritual life. Associate with swan like men; do not associate with crow like men. People are attached to men – women and things, right? Krishna does not discourage that either. He instructs every woman to marry a very handsome and healthy intelligent man, and vice versa, if you are a man, find a beautiful and qualified girl according to the modes you are situated in and marry her. Thereafter, do whatever you like to do with your partner, but not outside your partner, in short, be chaste in married life. Use sexual power only to bring forth nice children and make them Krishna conscious devotees. However, this comfortable life is not the goal of life. You must execute your supreme duty that is becoming.

sa vai pumsam paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokhaje ahaituky apratihata yayatma suprasidati

The supreme occupation (paro-dharma) for all humanity is that by which men can attain to loving devotional service unto the transcendent Lord. Such devotional service must be unmotivated and uninterrupted to completely satisfy the self.

1.78 Guest: How do you define ‘Hare’ in the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra? Swami: ‘Hare’ represents the worship of Srimati-Radharani because she is inseparable from Lord Krishna, ekoham dvitiyo ṇasti. She is Krishna's female outward appearance, the pleasure potency of Krishna, expanded by Krishna Himself. Originally God is one, when He wants to enjoy He expands, both female and male portions begining from Srimati Radharani and Lord . When one offers Absolute loving devotion to Sri Krishna by chanting His holy names either by prayers, or by worship or by singing and praising His glories, etc., then it should be understood that these activities are originating from within by the help of Srimati Radharani for the satisfaction of

66 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

Lord Krishna. The word 'Hare' signifies, “Oh Srimati Radharani' please engage me in the service of Lord Krishna.”

When one worships other and demigods and then worships the Supreme Lord, it should be understood that there is an acute lack of bhakti. Pleasing other gods on the temporary platform is not acceptable by Srimati Radharani, because it is not performed for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord. This is incompatible even if whorshipper offers the complete rewards received from worshipping the demigods to the Supreme Lord. The activity may be big or small, but the Supreme Lord only accepts it if the intention is 100% for His exclusive satisfaction. All other such as Durga, , Laxmi or any other female goddess is plenary or partial expansion of Srimati-Radharani. However, one should not think that worshipping Chamuṇda and Bhadra-kali is equal to the worship of Srimati-Radharani. On the other hand, worshipping Srimati-Radharani is equal to the worship of all other . Like watering the root of a tree, will satisfy all the branches, twigs and leaves. Similarly, worshiping and Krishna together, you are worshipping all male and female deities. But worshiping other deities is not equal to the worship of this transcendental couple for they are the original God and Goddess.

1.79 Guest: How should a spiritual master be treated? Should we respect and honour him. Is that correct? . Swami: The parampara system says that he should be treated as good as God. But the Guru should think that he is not God but a servant of God, but that thinking is his job. But as disciples you should respect and honour him as God. And listen carefully to what exactly he wants you to do for Krishna. He engages you in the service of Lord Sri Sri Radha and Krishna continuously and at all times.

67 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

1.80 Guest: What are the activities of bonafide spiritual master? Swami: He is always engaged in the service of the Lord Krishna. He builds Krishna and Vishnu temples, facilitates people into hearing the pastimes of the Lord and worshiping the Lord. He engages in chanting, worshipping, and serving the Lord.

sri-vigraharaṇdhaṇa-ṇitya ṇaṇa shriṇgara-taṇ-maṇdira-marjaṇadau yuktasya bhaktams cha ṇiyuṇjato pi vaṇde guroh shri-charaṇaraviṇdam

The spiritual master always engages in the temple worship of Sri Sri Radha and Krishna. He also engages his disciples in such worship. They dress the deities with beautiful outfits and ornaments, clean the temple, and perform other similar worship unto the Lord. They offer their respectful obeisance unto the lotus feet of such a spiritual master. He does not enjoy the honour of his disciples but he accepts these as their surrender to Krishna consciousness.

1.81 Guest: What is the method of deity worship? How can householders perform it and what is the difference between household deities and temple deities? Swami: In the beginning, start worshiping Radha-Krishna photos. It can be any Vishnu forms like Lakshmi Narayana, - Ram-Lakshman-, , Boar incarnation, any form of Vishnu. If you begin deity worship, then you need to maintain the standard of the deity worship. You cannot do away with whimsical activities after you invite Them to your house. House holders must have the process of deity worship at their home, because their consciousness is more polluted through indulgence in sense enjoyment such as eating, sex, entertainment, etc. They must rise up early in the morning, take bath, and thereafter take care of the deities. Give the deities bath, ornament 68 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

them, and offer them flower garlands, and feed them fresh foods, fruits, and flowers. There are 64 types of offenses in worshiping the deities. In chanting the holy name, there are 10 offenses. So one has to take care of the Lord as one’s own life and serve the Supreme Lord very seriously as one’s self. The Supreme Lord is the Supersoul and knows your mentality. One should install His deity at home. When you remain unclean, eat meat and fish, it is not advisable to pursue deity worship. Worshiping Vishnu’s form is a very serious subject. You should not attempt it insincerely, nor should one offer any filthy preparation to the Supreme Lord. One should not offer him even onion and garlic or coffee or tea. If you seek higher values and path, you must give up the lower valued things and habits. The standard to worship the Supreme Person must be maintained very high and it is for one’s own elevation.

It is said in Bhagavad-Gita 9.26

patram pushpam phalam toyam yo me bhaktya prayacchati tad aham bhakti upahrtam ashṇami prayatatmaṇah

Whoever with loving devotion offers unto Me a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or water, I affectionately accept it from that pure hearted being.

This does not mean that you offer only leaf, flower, fruit, or water. The Supreme Lord must be offered the best of things. If you are in poverty line then you may offer the Lord leaf, flower, etc.

As far as household deity and temple deities go, the temple deities should be given always preference because They are praṇapratishta deities, means They are invited to reside in the deity form according to the rules of the vedas. They are non-

69 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

different from the Personality of Godhead. All festivals must celebrate in the temple with other devotees. The home deity is only when you are busy doing different things in the office or business and you canot go to the temple, etc. In order to not to forget the Lordships you keep them at home. Spiritual advancement can make in the association of other devotees, not alone or with only your family members. It is all good when there are no festivals and ceremonies in the temple. You may agree or not, this is what Krishna says in the third canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam 4-25-25

satam prasaìgaṇ mama virya-samvido bhavaṇti hrt-karṇa-rasayaṇah kathah taj-josaṇad asv apavarga-vartmaṇi sraddha ratir bhaktir aṇukramisyati

In the association of pure devotees, discussion of the pastimes and activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is very pleasing and satisfying to the ear and the heart. By cultivating such knowledge one gradually becomes advanced on the path of liberation, thereafter he is freed, and his attraction becomes fixed. Then real devotion and devotional service begin.

Therefore, just follow the Lordships. You do not want to have some mental satisfaction by acting whimsically against the scriptures.

1.82 Guest: What is the difference between Krishna and His deity? Swami: There is no difference between Krishna and His Deity form. The science is that both the Deity of the Lord and Krishna, being the Absolute truth, are the same. If you look for differences in Them, then you do not know the shastric conclusions, archaye vishṇu siladhir, it is an offense to consider deity form of Vishnu

70 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

as the stone, siladhir. We can see bricks and metals, but we are not trained to see pure spiritual form, therefore, Krishna descends in the form of deity made of various materials viz. either stone, marble, metal or painting, Krishna is there ominpresent. In relation with this, there was an incident that there were many people who visited and saw Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. The Lord made Jagganath puri as His capital. One of the Brahmiṇs wrote a poem about Mahaprabhu, stating that Lord Jagganath is the immovable Krishna and Lord Chaitanya is the moving Krishna. Svarupa Damodar Goswami who was the secretary of Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu immediately rejected this so called conclusion of the brahmaṇa. The brahmiṇs comment is not the conclusion of the Vedas or Srimad- Bhāgavatam. All energies in this world or in the spiritual world are manifestations of the Supreme Lord Krishna. And therefore, Krishna can manifest to us in any form that He chooses. The distinction between matter and spirit is for the conditioned beings.

1.83 Guest: Who is the father of the parampara system? Swami: Krishna Himself is the father of the parampara system. Krishna instructed Lord Brahma, Brahma gave the same knowledge to Narada Muni; Narada Muni gave to Vyasa dev, in that way the parampara system comes down. Krishna explains these things in the 4th chapter of Bhagavad-Gita. Recently, in the same parampara Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appears, who is Krishna Himself. He gave to Rupa goswami and , the recent last member of the disciplic succession is His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada. Now we are leading Krishna World International with the same purpose. All these incarnations and acharyas have taught everyone, four social orders and four spiritual orders as the real religious principles and worship the Supreme Lord. It is mentioned in Srimad-Bhāgavatam 11-5-3:

71 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

ya esa purusham shakshad atma prabhava ishvaram ṇa bhajaṇty avajaṇaṇti sthaṇad bhrashtah pataṇty adhah

“If any of the members of the four varṇas and four ashramas fail to worship or intentionally disrespect the Personality of Godhead, who is the source of their own creation, they will fall down from their position into a hellish state of life”.

1.84 Guest: So there is no other founder of the System? Only Krishna is the Original founder? Swami: The founder of the saṇataṇa dharma system is Krishna Himself. Saṇataṇa dharma means dharma of the soul. Other religions may have other founders, but those are based on the moral and bodily concept of life.

1.85 Guest: Do those who specifically worship the parampara system achieve the ultimate goal of human life? Swami: You need to have spiritual authorities over you to educate you to understand Krishna and go to the spiritual world. Otherwise, a small mistake, a small physical desire can put you back to the repeated birth and death. The powerful authorities are they who come down in the parampara system.

Only they know the absolute position of Krishna. Those who are not devotees of Krishna, for them it is difficult to understand the system of parampara (disciplic succession). Generally the material scholars, politicians, philosophers, and swamis, without having the perfect knowledge of Lord Krishna, try to shun the Lord when writing annotations on Bhagavad-Gita or performing charity and austerity. Mostly they equate Krishna and them to be in the equal level. Such unauthorized commentaries are called mayavada bhashya. And Lord Chaitanya has warned us not to listen or follow these men. Lord Chaitanya clearly says that 72 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

anyone who tries to understand Bhagavad-Gita from the impersonalist’s point of view will commit a great blunder. The result of such a blunder will be that the misguided student of Bhagavad-Gita will certainly be bewildered on the path of spiritual guidance and will not be able to go back to home, back to Godhead.

1.86 Guest: How do we worship the Supreme Lord? What are the regulations one should adhere to? Swami: In the beginning chanting Hare Krishna Maha Mantra constantly is strongly recommended in the scriptures. We are contaminated by different material actions, so we need to purify our millions of actions from past life, especially the actions rendered by our mind, word and work. Many sins are in the seed form, some are sprouted, and some reactions have appeared in the form of suffering and enjoying now. It is mentioned in the Padma purāṇa:

aprarabdha bhalam papam kutam, bijam bhaloṇmukham krameṇaiva praliyeta vishṇu-bhakti-ratatmaṇam

“There are different stages of dormant reactions to sinful activities to be observed in a sinful life. Sinful reactions may be just waiting to take effect (phaloṇmukha), reactions may still be further dormant (kuta), or the reactions may be in a seed like state (bija). In any case, all types of sinful reactions are vanquished one after another if a person engages in the devotional service of Lord Vishnu”.

There are nine types of devotional services; it is mentioned in the Srimad-Bhāgavatam by Shri Prahalda maharaja, the son of king :

sravaṇam kirtaṇam vishoh smaraṇam pada-sevaṇam 73 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

archaṇam vaṇdaṇam dasyam sakhyam atma-ṇivedaṇam iti pumsarpita vishau bhaktis ceṇ ṇava-lakshaṇa kriyeta bhagavaty addha taṇ maṇye adhita uttmam

“Hearing and chanting the transcendental holy name of Vishnu, worshiping His form, qualities, paraphernalia and pastimes of Lord Vishnu, remembering them, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, becoming His servant, considering the Lord one’s best friend, and surrendering everything unto Him (in other words, serving Him with the body, mind and words” These nine processes are accepted as pure devotional service. One who has dedicated his life to the service of Krishna through these nine methods should be understood to be the most learned person, for he has acquired complete knowledge. Om Narayaṇayah ṇamah, Om ṇamo bhagavate Vāsudevaya ṇamah, Oh Goviṇda, Oh Gopala and so on. All these are different names of Krishna, therefore are effective. But the Vedic literature explains for the present age of Kali, everyone should worship the Lord by chanting Hare Krishna Maha mantra. It is not manufactured by our society. It is there in the scripture given by an incarnation of Lord Krishna, and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu introduced this again to the people of this age. So thinking this form of chanting is speculated by Krishna’s people is wrong. We do not have time to invent something that is not in the scriptures. We have already millions of things to follow given by the authorities of the Vedas, who is Krishna and His incarnations. Simply chanting the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra constantly can fulfill all one’s desires. But these people in the age of Kali-yuga do not listen. That is their unfortunate situation. What can we do? People perform austerities by travelling to different holy places like Krishna, Vishnu, Narayana temples. Seeing the deity form of the Lord is not that easy. There are millions of pilgrims, 74 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

who stand in the line for hours, sometimes days. They climb up steps to the main temple. For example, if you go to Tirumala in Andhra pradhesh, the volume of pilgrims are innumerable there. There are 2500 steep steps to be ascended by foot. It is severe austerity. They have all these cells where they lock up the pilgrims for hours, sometimes days. In the end, they get chance to see the Lord. These are great austerities; you are qualified to even access in Vaikuntha after this birth if you maintained that standard throughout your life. They have faith, therefore they go there. Similarly, travelling to Guruvaryur temple in Trichur, Sri Padmanabha swami kshetra of Trivandrum, Ranganath and Adhi Kesava temple in Tamilnadu, Udupi Sri Krishna temple, Badrinath, Kedarnath, Dwaraka, Jagganath puri, Ayodhya. There are thousands of Krishna temples all over India. People from all over India travel to these holy transcendental homes of the Supreme Lord. They bathe in the rivers of Krishna, Kaveri, Ganga, Godavari, Narmatha, Sindu, , and Saraswathi too. They all Chant the holy name of Krishna’s different names, spend thousands, and millions of rupees for the worship and glorification of the Lord. If they are rich, they contribute money, food, water, and accommodation for all these pilgrims.All these actions are undoubtedly pious and transcendental. It can offer them eternal residence in the Kingdom of God. Similarly, Muslims have Macca and Madina. Christians have Jerusalem, Jorden. These are non-Vedic pilgrimage sites. They also have pious lakes and rivers. All these activities of people whether Hindu, Christians, or Muslims, are for reaching and meeting God. God is one. You are already aware that the perfection can be attained by worshiping and glorifying the supreme person Lord Krishna. Then, one must adhere to His order, but many people are inimical considering it as betrayal to their religion. You want to please your father, but you want to 75 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

kill animals and birds who are your brothers and sisters. How a father will tolerate such sinful actions of one kin upon another. The point is that after they perform all these wonderful spiritual activities and return to their house. Thereafter, they again start their sinful activities such as meat eating, fish eating, eggs, and womanizing, drinking alcohol, and in the form of fun engage in gambling, illicit sex, etc. Such sinful activities make your spiritual activities an official performance. It means you are not serious in the human perfection. You are gambling with your human form. There is one thing for sure that you are going to die. Other things are not sure. These sinful activities cannot be neutralized by your visiting temples and taking baths in different holy rivers. The pious result you render will obtain separate merit and for your sinful activities you will obtain separate demerit by higher authorities and servants of the Supreme Lord. So if you think you want to follow the path of perfect life, you show them by following these pillars of religion and exhibit your good character to the Supreme Being. In the devotional service to Krishna, the execution of your profession is not forbidden. You may be most powerful in this world, but Krishna is supremely powerful. You may feel proud of your birth in the powerful nations like United States or Soviet Russia. Your power will remain as long as the powerful people allow you to remain powerful. So there is no need for any citizen of any nation to be unnecessarily dominant because you have everything to enjoy. God is Supreme. He is Omnipotent and is the source of power for all others who appear powerful. Therefore, we need to assess our life a bit deeply while pursuing education, life style, eating, entertainment etc. Even George Bernard Shah said that ‘you are what you eat’, by eating these low grade foods, you want to enter into the Kingdom of God, which is impossible. You visit temples only once in a 76 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

while, and most of the day you stay at home, and work places and commit whimsical activities or rather sinful activities. Therefore, there aren’t any positive results in your life. Your economic situation is the same, your job situation is the same, your relationship problem is the same, etc. because by committing sinful activities you are out of the radar of the Supreme Lord, and you do not directly deserve the protection of the Lord. Most heinous among all these sinful activities is to kill innocent beings and eat them.

1.87 Guest: What are the two paths of life given to the human beings by the Lord? Swami: Pravrtti marga and ṇivrtti marga. Pravrtti marga is the path of sense enjoyment. You do anything to make you and your family happy. This temporary and relative happiness is very transient by nature. For example, you perform a for a few days, like worshipping Durga, Ganapathi, Gauri and Lord Siva. Thereafter, you immediately run to the slaughter house to buy meat, choose your own fatty chicken by pointing at it and ask the butcher to kill the bird in front of you and later, put some spices and onion, cook and eat them. What will happen to your so called worship you did in the name of or Ganesh Chaturdasi, Shivaratri, etc. What kind of tongue do you own? It is demanding so called food and you are supplying it and later in the day, you just pass stool and flush it away. Similarly, Christians and Muslims too do the same thing again and again. They keep the religious activities separate from private life, which is great error. Actually, the religious compliance cannot be separated from the soul. Then, how there can be private life and religious life in one person. You need to have a sense of pleasure by killing other beings and eat them. You may do so, but do not expect anything good for you, or for your family, for your village or for your country. And in your next birth, you will be born as a chicken, goat, or cow and will be killed brutally and similarly. 77 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

pravrtti marga is called the path of relative sensual happiness because your happiness depends on obtaining some household articles including some filthy items to eat and enjoy with your family and friends. For example: if I get a big flat screen TV, I am happy; if I get 100 gram gold for my daughter to be married then my family and her in laws’ family will be happy. If I get a car, I will be happy; if my enemies are killed I will be happy, etc. In this way, there are many things or events through which you are trying to be happy. Therefore, the pravrti margs is temporary and it gives only some sense, work, and mental pleasure. It does not give happiness in the long run and in the end it gives you miseries and brings you back into the material life in different forms through rebirth. On other hand, ṇivrtti marga is the path of devotion to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As we mentioned earlier, you must maintain a pure standard of life all the time. Even if you have to attend a great ceremony, you maintain the pure existence in the midst of life.

1.88 Guest: Do these three forms of deities have specifications? Swami: Sri Radha Madana-Mohanji is worshipped to re- establish our lost relationship with Krishna; Sri Radha Govinda deva is worshipped, when one develops attachment with the Lord; when devotees reach the perfection of devotional service, they worship Sri Radha Gopinathji.

1.89 Guest: You said Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is Krishna Himself, but not so many people know about Him. What is the evidence? Swami: Srimad-Bhāgavatam and Mahabhārata explains about Lord Krishna’s appearance in the form of Lord Chaitanya.

krishṇa varṇam tvisakrsṇam saṇgopaṇgastra parsadam yajṇaih saṇkirtaṇa prayair yajaṇti hi sumedhasah 78 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

“In the age of Kali, intelligent persons perform congregational chanting to worship the incarnation of Godhead who constantly sings the names of Krishna. Although His complexion is not blackish, he is Krishna Himself. He is accompanied by His associate, servant, weapons and confidential companions”.

suvarṇa-varṇo hemaṇgo varaṇgas chaṇdaṇaṇgadi saṇṇyasa-krc chamah saṇto ṇistha-saṇti parayaṇah

The Lord has a golden complexion. Indeed, His entire body, which is very nicely constituted, is like molten gold. Sandalwood pulp is smeared all over His body. He will take the fourth order of spiritual life and will be very self-controlled. He will be distinguished from Mayavadi saṇṇyasis in that he will be fixed in devotional service and will spread the saṇkirtaṇa movement. Although He is in the krishṇavarṇam in the category of Krishna, He did not have the color of Krishna. His color is the color of molten gold. Instead of killing enemies of Lord Indra, He was engaged in singing the glory of Lord Krishna. He preaches Krishna Bhakti by taking saṇṇyas and He is Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

1.90 Guest: How do we develop devotion for the Supreme Lord? Swami: First, one must develop faith in the sadhu saṇga- association of devotees, and then engage in talking about Krishna and His activities. It is so purifying. Everyone’s hearts are craving to hear Krishna’s pastimes. Yet they are engaged in hearing many different things because they have forgotten the actual substance, Krishna.

1.91 Guest: Can you describe in detail what does association with devotees consists of? 79 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

Swami: First thing is chanting and hearing of the name of the Lord, and then it consists of sharing the scriptural knowledge with one another, which is full of glorification of the Supreme Brahman Lord Krishna. Next, disciple should stop committing sinful activities. He should eat food that is offered to Krishna. Thereafter, take diksha from a chosen guru, who taught you the science of Krishna. By doing these three things, one can increase the attachment for the Supreme Lord and devotional services will be firmly established in heart. Those who are reluctant to take diksha or accept a guru, they will surely fail in their attempt to go back to the spiritual world. There are many devotees of Krishna, who pose as great devotees and they think that there is no need for taking diksha or initiation. In fact, they are bound to come across many troubles on the path of understanding God and the soul. Acharyas say that “such a person is compared to a ship without rudder. Such a ship can never reach its destination. Therefore, it is very significant to accept a spiritual master if the disciple wants the favour of God”. Therefore, association and service of the Guru is very significant because most of the time, the guru travels a lot to deliver the message of Godhead. During such times, disciple must follow his gurus’ instructions and perform accordingly. Guru gives dikhsha in front of the deities. He asks you to promise that you will not commit sinful activities. Just like a high court judge asks you to vow in front of everyone assembled in the court that you will not lie, and speak only the truth. Likewise, you vow in front of the fire, guru, and Gaura- and Krishna that hereafter you will not commit any sinful activities such as illicit sexual activities, no meat eating, no alcohol and no gambling. Disciple must be determined. The goal is that we are eternally servants of Krishna, but we have forgotten that relationship and now we are engaged in serving our own senses and body. If we go back to the original position, we will be completely happy. We are looking for happiness! And as short 80 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

cut we keep manipulating material matters to become happy. But, that will not make us happy. We have forgotten to follow the rules of Krishna’s traditions, which is our original position. At Diksha we accept to be Krishna’s representatives and follow outside the instructions of the Lord because Lord Krishna situated within us directs as the Supersoul. Lord Brahma was instructed from within and he received all directions for creating this world. Lord Vishnu was His guru directly. So with the help of Guru and Krishna, one can be perfect. All that we have to do is follow Guru’s instructions. There are two paths and we can choose one of them being servant of our senses, and the other, is servant of the master of senses that Lord Krishna.

1.92 Guest: What if a disciple thinks that he is matured enough and does not want the help of his Guru? Swami: He is an unfortunate monk (ey), can also be called a rascal. He is an offender to the Lotus feet of the Supreme Lord. None of his desires will be fulfilled and he will lose everything he has. In a work place, the director assigns different tasks to managers. If staff thinks that they do not need instructions of their manager, they will be offending the director’s position and thereby, sooner or later, be removed from the job. Similarly, if a devotee thinks that he is beyond discussing with anyone including a guru, he will never be promoted to the spiritual world. Just for not hearing the authorized instructions of the spiritual master and for choosing to gamble your life, he remains within the repeated birth and death cycle. Our gurudev quotes “one should not accept a guru in terms of hereditary or customary social and ecclesiastical conventions. Disciple should simply try to find a genuinely qualified spiritual master for actual advancement in spiritual understanding”.

81 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

A guru demonstrates, through his conduct, what devotional service of Krishna is and how to remain aloof from the material pleasures. This demonstration is imbibed by the disciple through association and he quickly migrates to the path of sanctified devotional service of Lord Krishna.

1.93 Guest: A spiritual master is compulsory to perfect one’s human form of life. Swami: People already live in this world following many gurus. Materially speaking; you cannot study a subject without a material teacher’s direction. When a student pursues Ph.D. that is doctorate in philosophy, he has to work under a guide. Accordingly, how can you learn the most confidential spiritual subject without a spiritual master? Complicated issues of an unknown subject cannot be understood without the help of a teacher who knows the path well. Father does send the children to different teachers for learning various subjects. Consequently, father must send his children to spiritual master for knowledge of vedas, sastras to under the science of God. After all, spiritual master is the second father. Parents may take care of your material body because it is their responsibility. Spiritual master recognises you as a disillusioned soul requiring guidance and he helps you to identify and preserve your soul realization by refraining from material illusions and sufferings. It is said in Mahabharata:

achiṇtayah khalu ye bhava ṇa tams tarkeṇa yojayet prakritbhyah param yac ca tad aciṇtayasya lakshaṇam

Anything transcendental to material nature is called inconceivable, whereas arguments are all mundane. Since mundane arguments cannot touch transcendental subject matters, one should try not to understand transcendental subjects through mundane arguments. 82 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

Originally all souls are emanated from the body of Lord Krishna. Due to the material embodiment, people are unable to recognize their spiritual potency. It is said in Bhagavad-Gita 2.28

ashcharyavat pashyati kaschit eṇam ashcharya vad vadati tathaiva chaṇyah ashcharyavach chaiṇam aṇyah shruṇoti shrutvapy eṇam veda ṇa chaiva kashchit

Some see the soul as amazing and others describe the soul as amazing; likewise others also hear about the soul with amaze and most of them even after hearing still do not gain its knowledge.

A guru is required to establish the disciple in perfect identification as a soul and for being firmly situtated in this spiritual identity while living in material world.

1.94 Guest: Is guru eternal? Swami: All living entities are eternal. Then why can’t a Guru be eternal? As long as Guru is alive, he provides personal association and also imparts transcendental knowledge. In this world, personal relationship cannot be eternal. Thus, when he departs this world, thereafter guru is remembered and he lives in the form of his instructions. Everyone is individual and alone. Our spiritual master used to say that when you fly an airplane as a pilot, you cannot take care of other planes. Everyone has to take care of his own plane, and if there is any danger, no other plane can help another in that condition. Similarly, at the end of our life’s journey, one has to find the path to go back home that is situated in spiritual world. Everyone has to take care of himself without any help rendered by another. The help is, however, offered on the ground by guru before the journey at end of life begins. The spiritual master can render help during disciple’s

83 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

lifetime in material world, and at departure from material world, the disciple has to take care of himself and utilize the instructions of guru for reaching Lord Krishna.

1.95 Guest: Can anyone accept more than one Guru? Swami: There can be only one diksha guru or initiating spiritual master to the Holy Name of Krishna. Others can be instructing spiritual masters and these can be many. Anybody giving true spiritual knowledge is called a spiritual master. Do you know the story of Bilvamangala Thakura?

1.96 Guest: No. Swami: He was a first class vaishṇava acharya in our disciplic succession. He accepted a prostitute as his spiritual master before he became an acharya. When he was asked ‘who is his spiritual master?’ he replied ‘lady Chintamani’. She was one of his instructing spiritual masters because she inspired and guided him to opt for spiritual path.

1.97 Guest: How? Swami: She was a beautiful prostitute. Bilvamangala was intimate with her in his early days. Though he had a beautiful wife, he was attracted to her. Once he had promised to meet her, but at that time His father passed away. He somehow or the other finished his father’s rituals by the afternoon. But all of a sudden, rain and thunder storm began. He did not care about any of those natural disturbances, because he was infatuated by her physical beauty he determined to meet her. Without caring about the torrents of rain, he left home. He saw on the way the river was over flowing and found difficulty in crossing. A dead body was floating on turbulent river water and with the help of the dead body; he crossed the river by swimming. Meanwhile Chintamani thought ‘it is raining and thunderstorm is rumbling, I don’t think Bilvamangala would come today’ so she closed the door and 84 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

locked it up. But Bilvamangala came to her house and found all the doors were locked. He was so very infatuated with her, and he couldn’t differentiate between a snake and a rope. There was a snake hanging, thinking it as a rope, he caught the hanging snake and climbed to the terrace and signalled her. She opened the door and saw the wet Bilvamangala. She asked him how he came to the terrace. He showed the snake and told her, ‘there was a rope’, and climbed here. She was amazed to see the so called rope. She said ‘Bilvamangala, you know the rope that you are talking about is actually a snake? Do you have any sense at all? You came in this bad weather, leaving up everything behind. I cannot believe this, you should have this same eagerness for Krishna, Govinda, and you would have been delivered from this world. You were attracted to my body, made of stool and urine, blood and pus. Shame upon you! When he heard she was chastising him with these harsh words, Bilvamangala came to his senses, realizing what he had done was wrong. He just reflected on all those actions, ‘his father was dead, relatives were waiting at home, his wife stopped him from leaving the house, rain, thunder storm, crossing river with a dead body, gate was closed, he jumped over the gate, and reached the terrace believing the snake to be a rope. He wanted to meet her by any means….now he was embarrassed with the whole situation. Thus, he decided to follow the path that she had inspired and guided him onto, and strive for Lord Govinda. He went to Vrindavan.

1.98 Guest: Then what happened? Swami: Habit is second nature for living beings. He again got attracted to another beautiful woman and went behind her. She told her husband the man was following her, but he is a sādhu. The husband told her to satisfy him. She told him to come in the evening. And when he went in the evening and saw her, she was ready and fully dressed up with cosmetics, perfumes, and kuṇkum. He realized that he was making the same mistake again.

85 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

He went near her and said to her, “My dear mother, can you give me your hair pin.” She did not know why he was asking for the hair pin, but she gave it to him. As soon as he got the hair pin, he plucked both of his eyes out and told her, ‘these eyes were the problem’. I am so sorry for having disturbed you. Thereafter, he was known as Bilvamangala Thakura. Thus, he calls Chintamani as his instructing spiritual master. In the later stage of his devotional feelings, Lord Krishna would come to him with many many cows, talk to him and supply him personally with cow’s milk for his substance. He wrote a book called Krishna Karnamrta. The nectarian and most confidential pastimes of Lord Krishna. All elevated vaishṇavas liked and understood the book a lot.

1.99 Guest: When did this happen? Swami: About seven or eight hundred years ago.

1.100 Guest: Why cannot we have such experiences with Krishna? Swami: The reason is same for everyone. When Bilvamangala Thakura was materially motivated and contaminated, Krishna did not give him any taste for chasing his devotional service. But when he got purified, Lord appeared to him and talked with him. The same procedure is to be maintained by aspiring devotees. Lord is supremely pure Personality of Godhead. In the beginning, because we are unable to see him, He appears before us as a liberated devotee. A spiritual master is none other than Krishna Himself.

1.101 Guest: What is the prime pollution of human beings? Swami: Lust, anger, gross and subtle sexual desires are the main problems. Without removing these from our mind, it is not possible to advance spiritually. By not controlling the insatiable lust, you are spoiling your fortune too. A materialistic person 86 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

thinks if he is sexually not pleasing then he has no value in the family, for his wife. There are some mischievous who want to eat meat to increase their sexual power, and some buy medicines for erection. Such mudhas get authority from their own lust. Therefore, their life is an assortment of suffering.

It is said in Bhagavad Gita 16.21

trividham ṇarakasyedam dvaram ṇashaṇam atmaṇah kamah krodhas tatha lobhas tasmad etat trayam tyajet

There are three door ways to hell and they are lust, anger, and greed; therefore, these three are destructive of embodied self and they must be abandoned

1.102 Guest: What is maya swamiji? Swami: Maya is illusion and it comprises of three modes of material nature. This material manifestation works in three modes: goodness, passion, and ignorance. In this world all objects are situated in the three qualities. These 3 qualities mix and create many varieties in this world 3 x 3 = 9, 9 x 9 = 81, 81 x 3 = 243, like that it goes on, and there are billions of varieties. One has to identify what is maya and what is Krishna. What is situated in Maya and what is situated in Krishna? You are infected by one of these modes and the result is only suffering, and it manifests in different varieties. You are trying to fix your problem while being in these modes. Therefore, the problem is not getting solved, it keeps on increasing. Devotional service to Krishna is not situated within these modes. Thus, those who are Krishna conscious they are happy people. Food such as flesh is in the mode of ignorance. When you are infected with this lower quality of nature, you suffer that mode. Animal quality began developing subtly. In the end of life, because you associated with the lowest mode, you end up 87 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

becoming an animal. Similarly, attraction for sex, day and night, and at end of life one ends up becoming a pigeon. They can do more than humans since the human imitated the bird, hence, became a bird. A constant sleeper will develop a body of a bear, etc. Laws of nature are very stringent. If you infect a disease, Virus or Bactria begins acting on you constantly and get that disease very soon. It is said in Bhagavad-Gita 14.5

sattvam tama iti guṇah prakrti sambhavah ṇibaṇdhṇaṇti mahabaho dehe dehiṇam avyayam

O mighty armed Arjuna ! The qualities of goodness, passion, and ignorance are produced by the material energy (maya) and it enslaves the immutable, consiciousness of the self within this body

It is said in Bhagavad-Gita 18.40

ṇa tad asti prthivyam va divi deveshu va puṇah sattvam prakrti jair muktam yad ebhih syat tribhir guṇaih

There is no being existing on this earth, in the divine spheres or in any universal planetary system which is free from the influence of these three modes born from material energy (including demigods)

1.103 Guest: How can one come out of this problem without much pain? Swami: Human beings should develop divine qualities explained in the Bhagavad-Gita by the Lord. They become free from lust and desires. If you think you are young and want to exploit yourself, you remain in the same position as fallen. Krishna lives 88 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

in the heart of pure devotees and spiritual masters, so association with them philosophically can purify your mind and its pursuits. Hence, everyone must follow the instructions of spiritual masters and serve them. Lust is like a disease, the actual medicine can be prescribed only by the spiritual master and other spiritual authorities. It is similar to visiting a doctor for your disease. If you do not follow the prescription, you will continue to be infected, there is no way out.

The Lord says 7-14

daivi hy esa guṇamayi mam maya duratyaya mam eva ye prapadyaṇte mayam etam terṇate te

This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it.

1.104 Guest: What if a spiritual master falls down from his spiritual position and becomes victim to some woman and no longer wants to continue his instructions to his disciples, unlike this goswami! Swami: If the spiritual master is a brahmachari guru, he can always marry a suitable wife. If he is saṇṇyasi (renounced) guru who wants to be married, which is not allowed, but to keep the social and spiritual atmosphere intact, he may marry and withdraw completely from the society, one may associate him as a senior devotee and take knowledge from him about the entanglement he is suffering in the household life. He will not continue his guru’s position any longer, nor should anybody worship him as he was worshipped when he was a guru. The disciples can choose another matured devotee of Krishna as their guru. It is better to choose a self-realized guru. A self-realized guru is in the highest platform, also in the position is

89 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

called uttama adhikari, a spiritual master beyond darkness. If a spiritual master is entangled in a woman’s affair outside marriage, then he can be rejected. That time a disciple can be reinitiated by another vaishṇava Guru or take direct shelter of the founder or Krishna Himself. Kali-yuga has many vicious things to contribute to saintly people and also non saintly people. Therefore, a fall down is possible by the influence of the demigod in charge of the age of Kali or committing offense to other vaishṇavas, may be some other demigods who think this saintly person is after their heavenly position in the upper planetary system. So they spread net to trap sincere devotees. Like Viswamitra muni was trapped by Menaka. Viswamitra muni was king, but He wanted to be a brahma rsi by . Indra knowing this sent a heavenly girl to distract Viswamitra muni from his penance and Viswamitra muni was a king previously, so his passion was not subsided, so he got attracted and united with Menaka and had a child Sakunthala. Later he realized and continued his penance and achieved the title of brahma rsi.

1.105 Guest: You talked about uttama adhikari guru, are there any more graded gurus? Swami: Srimad-Bhagavatam says that uttamadhikari is called uttma-. There are three types of devotees: Kaṇishta adhikari, Madhyama adhikari, aṇd Uttama adhikari. Kaṇistha– adhikari devotee is a beginner devotee and he is very much familiar with the conclusion of the Vedic literature. He is engaged in the deity worship. He does not like to hear the blasphemy of vaishṇavas and Krishna. Madhyama adhikari is a preacher, a little more elevated in spiritual consciousness than the previous one. He is fully aware of the sastric injunctions and sastric conclusions. He preaches vigorously to the masses and distributes knowledge. Uttama adhikari is called paramahamsa, and he is beyond social and spiritual orders. He does not see

90 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

anyone breaking vaishṇava principles, and therefore, he sees everyone as vaishṇavas. He himself thinks that he is not a vaishṇava. He also engages in Krishna’s service twenty four hours. Writing Krishna related books, reading, serving, etc. In this age of Kali-yuga, even if one cultivated the qualities of paramahamsa, he should accept the Madhyama adhikari platform to preach the essence of Bhagavad-Gita and Srimad- Bhāgavatam to the fallen souls. Everyday millions of living beings are born in the human society and they’re all unattended due to various reasons. It is a spiritual obligation to paramahamsa devotees to ignore their higher position as the greatest devotee and come down to the preaching category and liberate souls from material pursuits and passion. Like Srila Prabhupada has spread Krishna Consciousness for the benefit of mankind. He was fully happy in Vrindavan Damodara temple, yet he was merciful to other living beings and wanted to liberate them too. If he had not taken the efforts, there would be several million more people in the category of cats, dogs and hogs. Honestly speaking without our guru, we all would have been in the same position eating, sleeping, mating and defending and live like hogs and dogs.

1.106 Guest: What are the other symptoms? Swami: If he cannot speak about Krishna, he will be restless. He is beyond the qualities of modes of material nature such as goodness, passion and ignorance. This means that he is not attached to sleeping and eating. He may do it as Krishna supplies him but he is not at all anxious for these. He is ṇirguṇa means he is beyond all material rules and regulations. He is always engaged in the service of the Lord and therefore he is beyond everything of the material world. He highly exhibits Lord Krishna’s confidential pastimes. He always talks about Krishna. He does not identify anyone as only a body. He respects all living beings and sees in them the presence of his worshipable

91 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

Lord Krishna. As for external symptoms, he may not wear kaṇdi mala, he may not keep tuft or shikha. He does not need to carry his daṇda or staff, etc. Krishna should be worshipped with his devotees, which includes all the three categories of devotees. The worshipers will be free from all sinful activities by the mercy of these vaishṇavas.

ṇa cha tasmaṇ maṇushyeshu kashchiṇ me priya krttamah bhavita ṇa cha me tasmad aṇyah priyataro bhuvi

None among this humanity is dearer to Me than the preacher of Bhagavad-Gita and there will never ever be another more dearer to Me, than such a person in this world

1.107 Guest: I heard some bonafide spiritual master chastise the disciples. It does not seem that they are in accordance with the mode of goodness. It is merely an action of anger. Swami: The disciples are like children in the spiritual subject matter. If they commit any mistakes, they should be taken care of. Chastisement is not for spiritual master’s gratification, but it is for the benefit of the disciple. Disciple should take that as guru’s mercy. It cannot be compared to mundane anger because mundane anger is released based on failure of fulfilling some material lust, in the mode of ignorance and passion. There are different types of anger in the mode of goodness, passion, and ignorance. Sometimes, the Supreme Lord manifests anger to chastise the demons, but both Krishna and Guru is not subjugated by the mode of passion and ignorance. They both are transcendental to the material modes of nature.

1.108 Guest: Is there anyone in the past who has taken the chastisement of the guru as mercy? Swami: Numerous times, as it is good for the disciples. Like parents chastise children, it is good for the children. It is also a 92 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

test of the sincerity of a disciple to guru and Krishna. Srila Prabhupada used to chastise many of his disciples, but they did not go away from his association. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu too used to chastise his followers including Advaitacharya, the most elderly member among the group. When Lord Chaitanya used to chastise Him, He used to dance and smile and take the chastisement as a special mercy. A child needs to be taken care of, sometimes need to be chastised. It is a part of spiritual upbringing. Mother and father often chastise children. Similarly, spiritual master is the spiritual father, and thus why can’t the guru chastise his disciples for their good? The disciple must be matured and have some knowledge of himself and his master. Immature disciple who is in the egoistic concept of life will leave the association of his spiritual master. Chanakya-pandit says in this regard:

talaṇe bahavo doshas tadaṇe bahavo guṇah tasmat putram cha shishyam cha tadayeṇ ṇa tu lalayet

Leniency encourages bad qualities in a student, and strictness helps development of good qualities. Therefore, a teacher or a parent should not pamper a child but administer punishment for bad behavior.

1.109 Guest: Some disciples reason with spiritual master, is that right? Swami: It depends. It is not that they cannot reason, they can, but not in an inimical way. Reasoning with spiritual master is acceptable as long as the disciple is submissive and he does not offend or challenge the knowledge and position of spiritual master. Like if disciple wants to know the spiritual things better, then there is no need for argument. Spiritual master will not bluff or flatter his disciple to get something. Disciple must simply follow his instructions, and he will surely get ultimate mercy 93 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

from Krishna. Also, guru may not be an expert in the wordly matters but he can answer the futility of all such material actions with expertise. It is said in Bhagavad-Gita 3.34

tad viddhi praṇipateṇa pariprashṇeṇa sevaya upadekshyaṇti te jṇaṇam jṇaṇiṇas tattva darshiṇah

Spiritual knowledge should be learned by accepting a spiritual master and by submissive inquiries and rendering service unto him. The self-realised spiritual master endowed with spiritual knowledge (by Krishna) will instruct you into wisdom.

1.110 Guest: Does spiritual master solve disciple’s social problems and offenses? Swami: He will give suggestions to solve problems, but the disciple has to have faith in his instructions. This is like someone entangled in civil disobedient matters and is waiting to be executed. The son of the judge comes and tells his father, ‘father he is my friend and my follower, can you set him free?’ The judge will say, ‘how is that possible son? He has done such and such an act and he deserves the punishment.’ Then the son requests the father ….. “Please, please….” Judge replies “Ok I can reduce the sentence, but I cannot make it zero.” This is what is going to happen when you commit social offense. You have created a social mess without taking permission from Guru, assuming that Guru will take you out of it. That is not a good quality of disciple. And now Guru has to ask Krishna to set you free, Krishna is there to accept our loving services. He definitely reciprocates for our loving services. However, we cannot demand by getting implicated in a social network. Always try to stay away from such social and community problems. They have nothing to do with Krishna. There is a pastime about Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who was approached by a few devotees for the same purpose. The devotee, a tax collector, was

94 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

punished by the government because he did not pay all the taxes he had collected to the treasury house. He was caught and sentenced to death. He happened to be a devotee of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Many other devotees came to report this news to Lord Chaitanya. Lord Chaitanya became very upset with them and replied ‘why did him misuse government’s money and created problems in their administration? Why are you all requesting me for helping? If he gets free from this wrong act, he will continue to do this again and again. If you all come with similar problems again, I will not stay here and I will leave this place and go elsewhere. However, all devotees began begging the Lord to protect the devotee this time and they accepted that he has committed this offense but he does not deserve the death sentence. It is an outrageous judgment by the son of the King. At that time, the Lord melted and said If Lord Jagganath helps him, he will be saved. As soon as the Lord said this, in the assembly of the King a minister got inspired by some divine energy and he stood up from his seat and informed the king that the tax collector is a devotee of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and is going to be executed for not turning the tax money to the Government. He further prayed before the King that “O King! Please stop that because we get no benefit from executing him.” The king said “I heard that he has not paid the money to kingdom’s treasury. Therefore, I had asked the officers to get the money back by any means, but I haven’t ordered him to be killed! Whose idea was that?” Then the minister said that “It is your son’s idea”. The king at once ordered to stop the execution of that devotee. It is Lord Jagganath’s mercy that the devotee was saved from that imminent death. Lord Chaitanya is that Jagganath. If a moment more would have passed, that vaishṇava would have lost his material life. Lord Chaitanya, who is Jagganath Himself, protected the devotee and warned him not to commit these kinds of actions again. Becoming a devotee means

95 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

he should also follow all state and central laws, and all financial laws too. He must not use money for one’s own sense enjoyment.

Similarly, one must be conscious not to commit any sinful activities on the strength of being a devotee of Krishna. Devotees must be very humble, never be arrogant to exploit Krishna’s resources unnecessarily. Seeing Krishna present in all energies, devotees will not even use water, electricity, and fire more than required. They do not eat more than necessary. They do not take part in the mundane parties where exploitation of resources is rampant. Hence, the cause of the suffering is intermingling with society and social services. The more detached you are from such activities and engage in Krishna’s or Guru’s service, the more you will be on the safe side. Krishna says to Uddhava in Srimad- Bhāgavatam:

bhaktyaham ekaya grahyah shraddhayatma priyah satam bhaktih puṇati maṇ-ṇistha sva-pakaṇ api sambhava "Only by practicing unalloyed devotional service with full faith in Me can one obtain Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. I am naturally dear to My devotees, who take Me as the only goal of their loving service. By engaging in such pure devotional service, even the dog-eaters can purify themselves from the contamination of their low birth".

1.111 Guest: What about family problems of the disciples?

Swami: Such as?

1.112 Guest: Argument, dissentions between husband and wife, etc. Swami: First of all, the husband and wife are two different souls in two different bodies. One received the form of a man, and the 96 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

other the form of a woman. The attraction between them is sex life. Then, there are reproductions followed with domestic issues for taking care of the child, financial issues, and other problems. All souls are eternally servants of Krishna. Right now their bodily concept of life creates different problems. If both of them insist that only their material problems are important and try to work incessantly for overcoming them, then there are only going to be more problems to deal with. Men should know that he should bring money for the family because he is the maintainer in the family. All family work related to maintenance of family should be taken care by the wife. Of course, when husband is available he can help his wife in different areas of the household. Where is the problem? The problem is that they both work to fulfil their ambitions to defeat their friend circle, big house with home theatre, and several cars, and several children, etc. It takes a lot of hard work. It is called dogs’ race. In Krishna bhakti through devotion, the Supreme Lord helps everyone to subdue their unnecessary activities born out of passionate nature. When we speak about passion, it is not sexuality here. There are three modes of nature: goodness, passion, and ignorance. Goodness in nature is very good. Bhakti to Bhagavaṇ will curb all your unwanted material desires, which is the quality of goodness. When you advance in devotion, then the pure goodness manifests. Goodness nature is sometimes mixed with lower modes of natures like passion and ignorance. For fulfilling material desires, you have to work hard day and night and all your schedules will be messed up. The scriptures have given example of a camel, who likes to eat thorn. Thorn bleeds the animal and the animal eats the thorn mixed with his own blood and enjoys it. The poor beast does not know the cause of his pleasure is his own blood. Similarly, we too like to enjoy our own blood that is our own money, working like camels and donkeys from morning till evening. We don’t know it is our own blood. Guru is there to give guidance according to the scriptures.

97 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

If you have taken shelter of the guru, he will give some practical solutions to be detached from these illusions. It is said in Srimad- Bhāgavatam 5.5.5:

parabhavas tavad abodha-jato yavaṇ ṇa jijṇasata atma-tattvam yavat kriyas tavad maṇo vai karmatmakam yeṇa sarira-baṇdhaṇ

As long as one does not inquire about the spiritual values of life, one is defeated and subjected to miseries arising from ignorance. Be it sinful or pious, karma has its resultant actions. If a person is engaged in any kind of karma, consciousness is unclear, and as long as one is absorbed in fruitive activity, he has to accept a material body. (Lord Rishabadeva instructs His 100 sons)

1.113 Guest: Yes, house holders certainly struggle a lot to fulfil their dreams. Swami: What is their dream? The goal of human life should be “how to get out of the repeated birth and death.”Earning material wealth for living comfortably in this world cannot be a goal. That is not the human perfection. How far you go to try to be comfortable, everything will be taken away shortly. There are people who earn through many crooked ways and end up having diabetes, cancer, die by various diseases or crashes and accidents. Material nature will not allow you to live in a whimsical manner. Honestly, earn and live in God’s consciousness. These material dreams are always a pain for everyone. People are not ready to accept the truth; rather they think we are fools to become a devotee of Lord Krishna. Such foolish people do not understand the importance of spiritual life, spiritual master, and God. If we try to instruct them to be merciful, truthful, devoted to the Supreme Lord, they will hiss at the spiritual instructor. It is said in the sastra that: 98 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

payah-paṇam phujaṇgaṇam kevalam visa vardhaṇam, updesho hi murkhaṇam prakopaya ṇa saṇtaye

When snakes drink milk, it only increases their poison, similarly, good instructions offered to fools makes them angry and does not give them peace of mind. They are called mudha. Na mam duskritiṇoh mudhah, they like to perform inhuman activities and they desire success in human mission. More often than not, they take their material success as perfection of human life. In Kali- yuga their brain substance is reducing every day, it becomes gross and grosser. And in the end of Kali-yuga, they live like animals.

1.114 Guest: When people are engaged in various different activities, how would they be able to devote themselves to the Supreme Lord? Swami: None of them are working twenty four hours. Even if they are working, they are doing so because they do not have any better engagement. We have not said they should not work. They must work, for satisfying the bodily necessities, for few hours e.g. six hours. The days are divided into three part. 3 x 8 = 24 hours. According to scripture, to keep your intelligence intact you need to sleep at night 6 hours, you may sleep about seven hours because you are working eight hours and to go and come back you take about two hours. Sleep and work will take sixteen to eighteen hours. You have still eight hours. You can easily give Krishna at least 3 hours a day. Chanting an hour and half, 30 minutes to worship the form of the Lord, = 2 hours, one hour for reading Bhagavad-Gita. Where is the problem? But you all give excuses, this excuse, that excuse and in the end die like cats and dogs. If you are keen on giving excuses until your death, what can repair you? You come with your problems, and being a spiritual mechanic I am advising you, you should do this, you 99 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

should do that. If you are unhappy and cannot do it, what can I do? The supreme person bestows blessings upon you according to your feeling for Him, bhavagrahi jaṇardhaṇa. It is very simple to understand this. E.g. In your house there is your elderly retired father, who has provided you with everything, but because you are so busy, you act like he does not even exist at home. Reasonably, he can withdraw all your facilities for ignoring him. He is the main cause of your busy schedule because he is approving all your financial expenditures. But, you ignore him under your different excuses. Similarly, Krishna is the maintainer of all living beings. If you behave as if He does not even exist that can cause many types of failures in your material attempts, because you are His part and parcel. He is excusing you like your father being in love with you, does not reprimand you for your ignorance. However, if Krishna wants, He can exercise the power and give you a hard time and it is happening too, we don’t realise it. You run after to settle the immediate cause and by then there is another set of problem emerges. This is a never ending problem. Therefore, offer all your actions for the pleasure of Lord Krishna, thus they can enter into the kingdom of Krishna. He says in Bhagavad-Gita 18.56

sarva karmaṇy api sada kurvaṇo mad vyapashrayah mat parasadad avapṇoti shashvatam padam avyayam

Though engaged in all kinds of activities, My pure devotee, under My protection, reaches the eternal and imperishable abode by My grace.

1.115 Guest: Can one worship a demigod and be a spiritual master? Swami: Never! Demigods lead an opulent material life in heavenly planets. Opulent eating, sleeping, sex, etc. They are 100 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

jiva atmas - ordinary living beings like you and me. Their body is different from the soul. Only a spiritual person can have His body and soul as one i.e, spiritual body. The demigods use material objects of the world to enjoy more superior material objects than the human beings. They may have all eight mystic material opulence, but that will not qualify them to be God. They may reward and inflict pains and suffering upon their devotees according to the devotees’ service and devotion. However, they are not God or spiritual. All demigods live for 72 cycle of chatur-yuga of the earth planet except Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva. Such a long duration of time is taken as eternal. After that time period they die and new demigods are appointed to that position according to the qualification of other jiva i.e. souls. They are ordinary souls like you and me, but with high universal position. Like earthly national constitutions, you select one ordinary person with some exceptional skills as president, Prime Minister, etc. When they are appointed they have security, personal conveyance, bodyguards, white house, and blue house, etc. Once their term is over, he has to vacate the office. Once he vacates the office he becomes an ordinary person like any other ordinary citizen. The government endows power, and he doesn’t have any independent power. The government is comparatively eternal, leader changes, say every five years. The idea is that when he is elected he has to govern for the entire nation. If he does not work for the government; he will be kicked out of that position. Similarly, the supreme Lord gives power to the demigods to govern for 72 chatur-yuga and to take care of the universal elements like water, fire, air, sun, moon, etc. As per age old system of qualification to obtain demigod’s position, one has to perform hundred ashwamedha yajṇa, horse sacrifice, or they need to be pure devotees of Lord Vishnu with an ambition to occupy this position. These are the proclaimed qualification. Rest of it will follow when you occupy the office of the heaven. Therefore, there is no need for them to be a spiritual master from

101 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

the earth planet. The demigods themselves have a spiritual master that is Brahaspati, son of Angira rishi. He lives in a part of Indra loka and helps them whenever there is requirement. Earthly spiritual master are the quintessence of Lord Krishna and all demigods. Sometimes some foolish swamis claim that they are the incarnation of Lord Vishnu and worship demigods like Ganesh and Kali or Durga. You cannot be an incarnation and worship demigods or goddesses, no way.

1.116 Guest: Despite having such spiritual masters, Lord Indra more often gets into trouble, which is what I heard from you. Swami: Everyone is an individual and independent as Krishna is an individual and fully independent. We are all His part and parcels and thus we can use or misuse our independence. When one misuses one's freedom, only trouble manifests in his life. It is true that at the time of initiation, spiritual master makes you free from all sinful activities by asking you to promise in front of the deities and fire. All the past sins will be absorbed in the fire sacrifice. And that time onwards you are completely sinless. In spite of the promise to the spiritual master, deities and fire, if you still commit sinful activities again, you never get a chance to enjoy the blissful life of spirituality again. At the same time, you must understand that the best and comfortable material life too can never give you happiness. Devotees have such a bad experience on such things. Lord Indra is also a good devotee of Lord Vishnu. However, making these commitments is one thing, and honouring them until death is another thing, for entering the kingdom of God. One has to be serious in this matter and very much committed. The atmosphere of the spiritual world is completely disinfected by material qualities and serene. One must match to that atmosphere by character. Otherwise, the whole human life will be a failure. It is possible by the mercy of guru and Krishna, you be obedient to them, do what they ask you 102 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

to do for Krishna, and then their mercy will always be upon you. Illicit relationships, meat eating, drinking alcohol can cause bigger contamination, which brings very bad reputations, which is the history.

1.117 Guest: What is the secret of success in establishing a spiritual movement? Swami: Having three things, Bhakti to Bhagavaṇ and spiritual master, Vedic knowledge and purity. In order to start an institution one requires land, capital, permission, and labour. Our spiritual master did not have any of these things. All that he had was profound devotion, Vedic knowledge and Purity. Purity is the force, knowledge is the basis, sharing with public the transcendental knowledge is the essence.

1.118 Guest: Faith is also required isn’t it? Swami: Without faith there is no bhakti, faith is foundation to Bhakti, devotion or devotional service. Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad-Gita 9-3 asraddadhaṇah purusah dharmasyasya paraṇtapa aprapya mam ṇivartaṇte mrtyu-samsara-vartmaṇi

Those who are not faithful in this devotional service cannot attain Me, O conqueror of enemies. Therefore they return to the path of birth and death in this material world.

1.119 Guest: There are so many paths leading towards godly realization. Which is the most feasible path for people? Swami: Yes, we too witness those. There are karma path, jṇaṇa path, ashtaṇga yoga path, and bhakti path. Whatever path you adopt is alright, but one must learn how to die. The action you regularly perform in this world, does not matter what it is, it is going to frame your mind at the time of your death. The idea of 103 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

following a path in life is to have a better mindset at the time of death. If we do not know how to die, then everything will be spoiled. If we are not preparing for that mindset by these yoga processes then why are you following it? Srimad-Bhāgavatam says:

etavaṇ saṇkhya-yogabhyam svadharma –pariṇishthaya jaṇma-labhah parah pumsam aṇte ṇarayaṇa-smrtih

“The highest perfection of human life, achieved either by complete knowledge of matter and spirit, by practice of mystic powers, or by perfect discharge of occupational duty, is to remember the Personality of Godhead at the end of life”. But if you do not remember the Supreme Lord Narayana at the time of death, instead remember your pet cat, dog, pet python, pet tiger or your dearest woman or dearest man, you will become that. All your yoga, jṇaṇa, tapa everything will be finished. Your knowledge will not protect you unless you know and fix your mind on the Supreme person. Especially, in the western world almost everyone has pet dogs and cats and crocodile and pythons. It is so dangerous to live with them. And in the end, if these animals’ thought happends to come into your mind, you become that animal. The soul of the man will be transferred immediately to that form. Human beings must learn the art of dying perfectly, not to live. Whatever one does regularly in this world, no matter what it is, whether one is acting as a scientist, technologist, corporate men, etc. no use, he is going to die and he starts again his new life elsewhere according to last frame of his mind at last breadth. There is a story of a boatman and a learned scholar. The boat man was sailing the boat and the learned scholar was asking him different questions about science and geography. One of the questions was, whether the boat man knows about the galaxy, 104 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

stars and planets, astronomy and cosmology. The boat man said ‘no sir’. He said that “I am a poor man sailing this boat with my two hands to get my daily food, how would I know all these things.” The learned scholar told him that because he does not know this he wasted 25% of his life. The learned man, further asked the boat man whether he knows the geology, he replied “I am a poor uneducated man what can I know, sir?”Scholar said that “50% of your life is wasted.” After sometime when they were about to reach the middle of the river, then all of sudden appeared a dark cloud, wind began blowing, and there were symptoms of heavy rain, their boat got toppled over, and they were thrown in water. The boat man asked the scholar “do you know how to swim.” The scholar said ‘no’ and the boat man replied, then “your 100% life is wasted and it is finished now.” It is not that you run here and there for cultivating so called knowledge, but if you do not know how to take care yourself at the time of death. It is utter foolishness if you do not prepare for death. You can see all these living beings crawling and flying. All these are living entities, therefore, it is sure if they are not careful about their final hour of life, they can end up in one of those miserable lives.

tasmat sarveshu kaleshu mam aṇusmara yudhya cha mayya arpita maṇo buddhir mam evaishyasy asamshayah

Therefore, Arjuna, you should always think of Me in the form of Krishna and at the same time carry out your prescribed duty of fighting. With your activities dedicated to Me and your mind and intelligence fixed on Me, you will attain Me without doubt.

1.120 Guest: What is the qualification one needs to become a devotee, is it being born in a brahmaṇa family?

105 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

Swami: There is no need to take birth in a brahmaṇa family, that does not mean brahmaṇa cannot become a devotee of Krishna either. Krishna bhakti is not caste oriented. In Krishna bhakti there is daivi varṇasrama, which means according to the quality and work, not just by birth. It is a divine program. Anyone can become a devotee of Krishna. Everyone is a devotee of Krishna in their original position, jivere svarupa hoi krishṇera ṇitya das. The only qualification one requires is to stop sinful activities, mostly the killings of poor innocent animals and aquatics. One cannot be sinful and at the same time become God conscious. When one is free from sinful activities and render service to Krishna, he can be a vaishṇava. And obtaining vaishṇava qualification means he has already obtained brahmaṇical qualifications. vaishṇavas are superior to even vipras in knowledge and devotion. It is like a judge, who masters theory of law and practical application of laws of the government, and then only he becomes the judge. Judge already surpassed the Lawyers education. Without completing that he cannot become a judge. Similarly, vaishṇavas are like Judges, which means they have already completed the qualification of a brahmaṇa. You do not need to take birth in the brahmaṇa family to become a vaishṇava. It is mentioned in the Srimad-Bhāgavatam:

kirata–huṇa aṇdhra-puliṇda-pulkasa abhira-sumba yavaṇah kahasadayah ye ṇye ca papa yad-apasrayasrayah sudhyaṇti tasmai prbhavisṇave ṇamah

“Kirata, Huna, Andra, Pulinda, Pulkasa, Abhira, Sumbha, Yavana, members of the Khasa races and even others addicted to sinful acts can be purified by taking shelter of the devotees of the Lord, due to His being the supreme power. I beg to offer my respectful obeisances unto Him.”

106 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

1.21 Guest: Who are these people? Swami: It is mentioned in Srimad-Bhāgavatam and Mahabhārata: 2-4-18. I am presenting it as it is: Kiratas: are mentioned in the Bhishma parva of Mahabhārata, it is a province of Bharata-varsha. Generally, they are known as the aboriginal tribes of India, and in modern days the Santal Parganas in Bihar and Chota Napur might comprise of the old province named Kirata. Hunas: are the areas of East Germany and parts of Russia. Accordingly, sometimes a kind of hill tribe is known as the Hunas. Pulinda: a province in southern India mentioned in the Bhishma- parva of Mahabhārata. It is still known by the same name. Pulkashas: are Greeks, and they were conquered by Bhimasena and Sahadev. It is mentioned that these non-Vedic race of this part of the world would rule over the world. This pulinda province was also one of the provinces of Bharata, and the inhabitants were classified amongst the kshatriya kings. Later on, due to their giving up the Vedic culture, they were mentioned as mlecchas. (Just as those who are not followers of the Islamic culture are called kafirs and those, who are not followers of the Christian culture are called heathens). Abhiras: are mentioned in the Sabhaprava and Bhishma parva of Mahabharata. It is mentioned that this province was situated on the river Sarasvati in Sind. The modern Sind province formerly extended on the other side of the Arabian Sea, and all the inhabitants of that province were known as the Abhiras. They were under the domination of Maharaja Yudhisthira, and according to the statements of Markandeya the mlecchas of this part of the world would also rule over Bharata. Later on this proved to be true, as in the case of the pulindas. On behalf of the Pulindas, Alexander the Great conquered India, and on behalf of the Abhiras, Muhammad Ghori conquered India. These Abhiras

107 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

were also formerly kshatriya within the Vedic culture, but they gave up the connection. The who were afraid of and had hidden themselves in the Caucasian hilly regions later on became known as the Abhiras, and the place they inhabited was known as Abhiradesha. Sumbhas are the inhabitants of the kanka province of Bharata, mentioned in the Mahabharata. Yavanas: yavanas was the name of one of the sons of Maharaja Yayati who was given the part of the world known as Turkey to rule. Therefore the Turks are yavaṇas due to being descendants of Maharaja Yavana. The Yavaṇas were, therefore, kshatriyas, and later on, by giving up the Vedic culture, they become mleccha-yavaṇas. Descriptions of the Yavaṇas is in the Mahabharata. Another prince called Turvashu was also known as Yavaṇa, and his country was conquered by Sahadeva, one of the Pandavas. The western Yavaṇa joined with Duryodhana in the Battle of Kurukshetra under the pressure of Karna. It is also foretold that these Yavaṇas also would conquer India, and it proved to be true. Khasa are inhabitants of Khasadesha which is mentioned in the Mahabharata. Those who have stunted growth of hair on the upper lip are generally called Khasas. As such, the Khasa are the Mongolians, the Chinese and others who are so designated. The living entities are eternally a part and parcel of God regardless of their origin of birth, whether they follow the Vedic culture or not, they remain a devotee. Thus, there is no bar to become a devotee of Krishna, anybody can chant the holy name, and their heart will change instantly. Therefore, one must take shelter of the Lord as early as possible to reinstate to their original position. The spirit soul is equal everywhere in the universe, whether American, European, Russian, Muslim, and Christian or Hindus, they are all pure souls originally. Now they are covered with their ignorant identification of caste, country and color. 108 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

Qualitatively we are all the same. Body is also the same, made of the same elements. But by changing their cultures and rituals they think they are different from one another. This is called illusion, Maya.

1.122 Guest: So anybody can become a vaishṇava? Swami: That is what we are talking about. Anybody can become a brahmaṇa and a vaishṇava that is the actual divine varṇashrama dharma. It is not monopoly of some people who are born in brahmaṇa or vaishṇava family. Our guru maharaj changed millions of Westerners and Europeans to vaishṇava status. They all follow brahmiṇical culture of the Vedic civilization. As long as they are not highly matured in devotion they may manifest some of their inherent qualities and engage those qualities in the service of Krishna. Those qualities are according to their social order like brahmaṇa, kshatriya, aṇd sudra. A pure devotee of Krishna is beyond all these social orders. Prior to that, follower has to be free from sinful activities. First and foremost of all sinful activities is killing animals and eating them, and then alcohol consumption. Following these rules, one will be a pious person. Without becoming pious, no one will be blessed with devotion to the Supreme Person. Those who do not follow these rules and regulations cannot obtain the mercy of Krishna, without the mercy of Krishna no one can obtain the perfection of life, which is freedom from repeated death and birth.

1.123 Guest: How many births one has to take in a divine life cycle? Swami: A divine life is 4 Billion, 320 million years (432 Crores), which is 12 hours of Lord Brahma. In those years, every living being takes birth and dies for 43 million and 200 thousand times. There are (8,400,000) 84 lakhs types of living beings. In all these lives, there is a different mother and father, 109 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

grandfather, forefather, cat mother, dog mother, serpent mother, bird father, bug mother and different species of relations. Krishna and a bonafide guru are not possible in all these lives, and that is the importance of human life. If you are attached to your so called comfortable life, you are the killer of your own soul. Sastra says:

jaṇame jaṇame sabe pitamata paya krishṇa guru ṇahi mile bhaja hari ei

Birth after birth one receives a mother and father, but if one gets the benediction of guru and Krishna, he conquers the material energy and returns back to Godhead by worship of the Lord.

1.124 Guest: What is the end of human form? How many times we obtain human form? Swami: You either ascent to the spiritual world or again start your cycle of birth and death from fish life, then gradually attain a human form of life again. To get the human form of life again may take billions of years and several kalpas. One kalpa is 12 hours of Lord Brahma, human calculation 1000 chatur yuga consisting of 43, 32,000 years.

Once you attain a human life, a person is endowed with 7 human life cycles continuously. According to , 7th life of every human will be born as a brahmaṇa. And if a person does not perfect in that life, he will be put back into the cycle of birth and death across thousands of types of species. However if one has taken Krishna bhakti, even little bit, that provide him continues human form of life as Krishna says in 6th chapter of Bhagavad- Gita

prapya puṇya-krtam lokaṇ usitva sasvatih samah suciṇam srimatam gehe yoga-bhrasto 'bhijayate 110 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

The unsuccessful yogi, after many, many years of enjoyment on the planets of the pious living entities, is born into a family of righteous people, or into a family of rich aristocracy.

atha va yogiṇam eva kule bhavati dhimatam etad durlabhataram loke jaṇma yad édrsam

Or (if unsuccessful after long practice of yoga) he takes his birth in a family of transcendentalists who are surely great in wisdom. Certainly, such a birth is rare in this world.

1.125 Guest: What about a brahmaṇa who would have done so much pious activities yet not completely perfected in his human mission? Swami: He will be promoted to the heavenly planet to enjoy the credit of his pious activities. Once he enjoyed all his pious merit, he will fall down from heaven. The soul merges in the rain cloud, and through rain water he falls into the reservoir of water to become an aquatic animal and the cycle of birth and death again begins. In this way he has to pass through 80 lakhs of living creatures to again obtain a human form and again the laws of Krishna reward him 7 human lives. The reservoir of water can be ocean, river, rivulet, lake, fish pond, anything.

As per Bhagavaḍ-Giṭa 9.20 and 9.21

ṭrai viḍya mam ṣoma pah puṭa papa yajnair iṣhṭva ṣvargaṭim prarṭhayanṭe ṭe punyam aṣaḍya ṣurenḍra lokam aṣhnanṭi ḍivyan ḍivi ḍeva bhogan

Those of know the prescribed rituals of the three Vedas, purified of sins by remnants of the heavenly nectar,

111 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

worship Me indirectly by such offerings of sacrifice to the demigods; they aspire for ascending to the heavenly planets, as their reward after reaching the world of Indra, they enjoy the celestial pleasure of the demigods in heaven.

ṭe ṭam bhukṭva ṣvarga lokam viṣhalam kṣhine punye marṭya lokam viṣhanṭi evam ṭrayi ḍharmam anuprapanna gaṭagaṭam kama kama labhanṭe

After enjoying extensively the heavenly pleasures in those planets, the results of their pious activities get exhausted, and they return to the worlds of mortals; thus following the philosophy of righteousness in the three veḍaṣ, desirers of sense enjoyment receive only the cycle of birth and death

1.126 Guest: Interesting. Swami: Sastra is very interesting with full of bare truth. By taking the human form and misusing it, one will be degraded to the most fallen life. Choice is yours.

1.127 Guest: Some People follow yoga, sacrifice, austerity give penance and they get some results. Then what is wrong? Swami: Such followers by engaging in the service of the Lord indirectly obtain the results of yoga, sacrifices, austerities, charities and fruitive activities. Pure devotional service includes everything, but foolish people want only material opulence from God and that too without God. And benevolent God blesses them because the living entities desired for it. Unfortunately, one cannot hold on to those possessions forever. At last they lose both the material opulence and Supreme God. When one strongly desires God, Krishna, they get everything including the kingdom of God. Why can’t people understand this simple thing? Futile

112 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

intelligence engaged in killing, killing, killing, and their brain becomes like rocks. Can’t accept any instructions of the spiritual leaders!! It is said in Bhagavaḍ-Giṭa 17.5 and 17.6

aṣaṣṭra vihiṭam ghoram ṭapyanṭe ye ṭapo janah ḍambhahankara ṣamyukṭah kama raga balanviṭah karṣhayanṭoh ṣarira-ṣṭham bhuṭa gramam acheṭaṣah mam caivanṭah ṣarira-ṣṭham ṭan viḍḍhya aṣura niṣhchayan

Those who undergo severe austerities and penances not recommended in the scriptures, performing them out of pride and egoism, who are impelled by lust and attachment, who are foolish and who torture the material elements of the body as well as the Supersoul dwelling within, are to be known as demons.

1.128 Guest: There are many saintly leaders, but they don’t do any serious service to the society except some hospital and school educations. Swami: Those are better than nothing, but those aren't the right service for the saintly people. They think by building hospitals and schools, they will solve peoples’ real problems. How is that possible? The material education and treatments were available to human since ages. What is the big contribution it has made to the human society? Building of schools and hospitals will not stop their death nor will it take them to Krishna’s world. It is just a business and wants to increase your tension even more by their medical and school bills. You can change peoples’ goals by introducing the Supreme Personality of Godhead in their lives. Their problems will be solved and their several generations will have very good character. There is a problem in the human society, but they are unable to recognize it. We know what the

113 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

problem is and it is lack of Krishna consciousness. As much as you are eating three times or more times a day, there must be forced program for all the people on devotional service to the Supreme Lord Krishna. There is no other way.

1.129 Guest: What is the line of action of the Krishna World International? Swami: Chant minimum of sixteen rounds on the beads “Hare Krishna” maha-maṇtra as set by the Vedas, follow regulative principles of no meat eating, no gambling, and no sex outside marriage and no intoxication including no smoking, drinking- tea and coffee. Worship Radha and Krishna every day, read Bhagavad-Gita, Srimad-Bhāgavatam, eat food that is offered to Krishna in the form of prasadam. You are already doing all these actions in different forms. E.g. you are eating, you are worshiping some deity, you are reading newspapers and magazines, you are chanting some maṇtra, you are gambling in different formats in your business. If you are married then a relationship is already there, you substitute bad drinks with good drinks. Athough you performed all these things since past many years, none of these actions helped you, rather they have caused frustration and disappointments in your life. Here onwards, everything that you execute, do it in the pure form, by offering it to Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna. If you do not practice this Krishna consciousness, you cannot go back to your original home that is Krishna loka and then you will keep taking rebirth in material worlds in different forms of life for satisfying different senses, iṇdriyas. If you become a tiger, try to satisfy those senses, become a dog then try to satisfy dog’s senses, become a snake, try to satisfy those senses, and similarly become a bird, fish, elephant, human, and demon and so on. The material business is to satisfy the body and its senses. When you become Krishna conscious then actions are completely changed. Your position is servant, either stay as the servant of the senses or

114 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

Krishna, you have to choose. By such practice high education and good health is guarandeed. In the West, they grind meat and feed infants. Do these people really deserve happiness in life? There will be always tension in life every then and there. They actually want uninterrupted happiness, how can that be possible by such evil life? Such ignorance they live in! Pigs in general eat everything, and that is the future body they are conceiving within by not regulating their eating habits.

1.130 Guest: What does intoxication consist of? Swami: Inside your body, toxic acts like poison e.g. eating pan, smoking cigarettes, ganja, LSD, tea, coffee. These are not necessary for human life. Human life needs to be framed with pure virtues. Once a person follows these simple rules and chant the holy name of Krishna, he at once becomes a good devotee of the Lord and is qualified to be initiated by a spiritual master. Then he will perform initiation in front of the deities and fire. He will ask you to take a vow of not committing these sinful activities again. By following the devotees slowly will manifest mystic powers.

It is said in Bhagavad-Gita 7.28

yesham tv aṇta gatam papam jaṇaṇam puṇya karmaṇam te dvaṇdva moha ṇirmuktam bhajaṇte mam dradha vratah

Persons who have acted piously in previous lives and in this life and whose sinful actions are completely eradicated are freed from the dualities of delusion, and they engage themselves in My service with determination. Therefore, a person desiring to pursue Krishna Consciousness must stop pursuing sinful activities and thereafter

115 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

with determination engage himself in devotional services and advance further.

1.131 Guest: What does guru ask us to promise in front of the fire and deities? Swami: He asks you to promise that hereafter you will not consume alcohol, meat, fish and eggs, wouldn’t indulge in a relationship with a woman or a man outside of marriage, and promise not to gamble, which includes not taking lottery tickets, and not to drink alcohol, wine, tea or coffee or any form of intoxication. And he will obligate you to chant a prescribed number of Hare Krishna mantra every day along with observance of ekadasi fasting by abstaining from grains and beans, which appears before four days of purṇima and amavasya. And above all respect to deities, and Lord Krishna and their unwavering and single pointed worship.

tasmad ekeṇa maṇasa bhagavaṇ satvatam patih srotavyah kirtitavyas ca dhyeyah pujyas ca ṇityada

Therefore, with one-pointed attention, one should constantly hear about, glorify, remember and worship the Personality of Godhead, who is the protector of the devotees. 1-2-14 Srimad- Bhagavatam.

1.132 Guest: Are there any other rules? Swami: Worshipping Krishna and Vishnu . Offer all your fresh cooked food, fruits and nuts to your deities. They are not hungry, but for your purification it is significant that you offer Them everything that you eat. Because He is the source of everything, it is said by Srila Narottama Das Thakura.

hari hari viphale jaṇama goṇaiṇu maṇusya-jaṇama paiya, radha-krishṇa ṇa bhajiya,

116 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

jaṇiya suṇiya visa khaiṇu

"Because I have received the human form of life, which is meant for understanding Krishna, yet I have simply wasted my time by not taking advantage of this opportunity. I have done everything but did not worship Radha-Krishna. Therefore I have taken poison knowingly."

The purport is that one certainly becomes addicted to various sinful activities when he becomes devoid of Krishna Bhakti.

1.133 Guest: How many types’ of gurus are there? What are their spiritual goals? Swami: Two types, one is Impersonalist guru and other is vaishṇava guru. Impersonalists want to merge with God. Personalists want to serve God in different feelings by keeping their individual identities.

1.134 Guest: Which of the two is great? Will we be completely happy by becoming one with God? Swami: Impersonalists want to become one with God due to bad experiences with the miseries of the material world; therefore they advocate such improper philosophy with jugglery of words and interpretation. Their conclusive statements are not supported by the scriptures or you do not find anything in the sastra. They give dissimilarities of matter and spirit to make the people understand. They could not understand that the similarity they give has no match because matter is non-living, and spirit is living. Comparing non-living with living is a fault in their philosophy. Keeping all these in mind, personalists realize that material variegatedness is always a trouble, but the spiritual variegatedness is excellent in quality. All qualities of the spiritual nature are equal with the quality of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore, there is no such painful experience in the

117 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

spiritual world. Impersonalists want to destroy their individuality and become merged in the existence of God because of their bad experience with the so called individual experience with this material world. Unfortunately, although their individuality seems to be merged with Godhead, their individuality has not lost while remain merged in the body of the Supreme Person. Merging is like a dust particle sticking with a body; still it separately remains. They do not become one with God. It will be like a green bird flying into a green forest appearing to be merged with the forest. However, everything appears green but the bird still maintains its individuality. God is all powerful and he can make souls merge in His body or in His bodily effulgence. It is not difficult for Him. But, it is not a sane desire of Jivas to merge with God. Merging does takes away service opportunity; and therefore, they cannot remain in the Brahman effulgence for eternity. Demigods said in Srimad-Bhāgavatam second chapter.

ye aṇye araviṇdaksa vimukta-maṇiṇas tvayy asta-bhavad avisuddha-buddhayah aruhya krcchreṇa param padam tatah pataṇty adho aṇadrta-yusmad-aṇghrayah

‘O lotus-eyed Lord, those who think they are liberated in this life but do not render devotional service to You must be of impure intelligence. Although they accept severe austerities and penances and rise to the spiritual position, to impersonal Brahman realization, they fall down again because they neglect to worship Your lotus feet.’ Merging into the existence of God is called sayujya liberation. But there are other four kinds of liberations, one of them the devotees of Krishna or Narayana desire to maintain their servitude position. They are sarupya, sarshti, salokya aṇd samipya liberations. Impersonalists have no idea of these elevated and most pleasing kinds of liberations. Actually 118 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

speaking one has to be sinless to even get to know these kinds of liberations to practice.

1.135 Guest: How do you define these four kinds of liberations? Swami: Sastra defines these as: the Second liberation sarupya means the liberated devotee looks like Lord Narayana with four hands, bluish elegant body, beautiful helmet, yellow garments and jewels. Srivastava or curly hair mark on Narayana’s chest and kaustuba jewel makes devotee different from Lord Narayana. Sarupya mukti is a form that looks like Lord Narayana without kaustubam jewel and srivatsam mark. In the Vaikun ṛthaṛ planet, the feminine features are like those of Lakshmi’s and masculine features are like those of Narayana. There are also Husband and wife and everyone have their own mansions, every day they get together to go to the palace of the Lord to worship Him, to sing for Him, the temple is the house of God. Here in this world (on planet Earth), the Lord is in the deity form, but in the spiritual world, He is in personal form with His eternal consort Goddess Lakshmi. Because the devotees are intensely engaged in the service of the Lord, they have no attraction for each other except the service of the Lord. In the material world, the husband and wife always think of each other especially the newly married couples to meet and have sensual satisfaction. Whereas, that is not pursued in the spiritual world because there is no separation there; there is no office to attend. Third liberation is samipya, means the promoted devotee always assists and stays with the Lord like the secretaries, and serves the Supreme Lord with all kinds of services that He needs from the devotee. Fourth is salokya mukti, living in the same palace or planet of the Lord. Finally is sarsti liberation, which gives equal opulence, aishwarya, like that of Lord Narayana. A pure devotee does not desire any of these liberations and it is explained in the Srimad-Bhāgavatam:

119 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

salokya-sarsti-samipya- sarupya ikatvamapyuta diyamaṇam ṇa grhṇaṇti viṇa mat-sevaṇam jaṇah

“A pure devotee does not accept any kind of liberation— salokya-sarsti, samipya-sarupyai - even though they are offered by the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead”. If a devotee gets an opportunity to serve the Lord, he may accept one of these four liberations, such as the salokya, sarupya, samipya or sarsti forms of liberation, but he will not accept the sayujya, merging in the bodily effulgence of Him. Sayujya mukti creates fear and hatred therefore the devotees do not want to hear about it, otherwise the pure devotee would rather go to hell than merge into the effulgence of the Lord.

1.136 Guest: Does guru help us do yoga and obtain one of these liberations? Swami: That is what a guru’s job. He trains His disciples to be perfect in devotional service. Yoga for the age of Kali is Bhakti- yoga or devotional service to Krishna and it has to be cultivated by chanting the holy name of Krishna and . Krishna is the original Godhead and Rama is His expansion.

“Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.”

By chanting this mantra, you obtain all the results of all other yogas performed in -yuga, Treta-yuga, and Dwapara-yuga. This is the Statement of all the Vedic literature. There is no need for imitating the yoga of the other ages. By chanting you initiate your devotional service to Krishna. The Lord says to Uddhava 11-14-20:

ṇa sadhayati mam yogo ṇa saṇkhyam dharma uddhava ṇa svadhyasyas tyago yatha bhaktir mamorjita 120 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

“My dear Uddhava, the unalloyed devotional service rendered to you by My devotees brings Me under their control. I cannot be thus controlled by those engaged in mystic yoga, Sankhya philosophy, pious work, Vedic study, austerity or renunciation”. It is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-Gita by the Lord.

bhakṭya ṭv ananyaya ṣakya aham evam viḍho arjuna jnaṭum ḍraṣhṭum cha ṭaṭṭvena praveṣhṭum cha paranṭapa

My dear Arjuna, only by undivided devotional service can I be understood as I am, standing before you, and can thus be seen directly. Only in this way can you enter into the mysteries of My understanding. Why follow other paths when the short cut is already provided?

1.137 Guest: There is no need for doing anything else to become a good devotee of Lord Krishna? Swami: Keep on chanting and rendering devotional services to the Lord, until you see that you are completely peaceful. To become peaceful and happy you have to be free from fruitive mentality. As I said several times, that you have developed a tendency to enjoy the result of your own earning. As long as this goes on in your heart you will be implicated with this material world. Lord Krishna instructs Shri Uddhava:

tavat karmaṇi kurvita ṇa ṇirvidhyeta yavata mat-katha sravaṇadau va sraddha yavaṇ ṇa jayate

As long as one is not satisfied by fruitive activity and has not awakened his taste for devotional service by sravaṇam kirtaṇam vishoh, one has to act according to the regulative principles of the Vedic injunctions. Actually, constant chanting of Krishna mantra 121 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

will give a special enthusiasm. With that enthusiasm you can perform miracles.

1.138 Guest: Is there any restriction in the vegetarian food offering to Krishna? Swami: Yes, Krishna does not like mushrooms, onion, garlic and vinegar, which are in the quality of ignorance and He also does not drink coffee and tea. He is pure goodness personified. Those who follow Him would maintain His standard that is called godly consciousness. If master does not eat, a sincere servant will follow his footsteps.

Three types of food are described in Bhagavaḍ-Giṭa 17.8

ayuh sattva balarogya sukha priti vivardhaṇah rasyah sṇigdhah sthira-hrdya aharah sattvika priyah

Foods which promote life vitality, strength, health, happiness and satisfaction; which are delicious, juicy, nourishing and pleasing to the heart are dear to a person situated in goodness.

You may eat nice juicy fruits, wonderful vegetarian preparations, rice, lentils, soups, savaries, cakes. There are millions of different preparations. Enjoy those instead of dead bodies.

1.139 Guest: These are not so difficult to give up, I think. Swami: Since there are many varieties to eat and drink, why can’t you give up these silly things? There are hundred kinds of dietary restrictions forced on everyone’s life. If you get fever and cold, you are not allowed to eat yogurt, bananas, any sour fruits, and oily food. If you have cancer, there are many restrictions, when you have diabetes, hundreds of restrictions. If you lose all your teeth you cannot chew anything. Then, why can’t people give up few unsavoury food items for the good cause of

122 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

advancing on the path of Krishna Consciousness. Yes, those who claim that they are devotees of Krishna must follow these principles and then only they can desire mercy of the Lord. As my spiritual master says, “first you deserve and then you desire”. For you to refrain from these silly things are not difficult, but there are billions of people are addicted to it. They are determined to satisfy their attachments and taste buds. They like to serve their bodily senses until these senses are naturally weaned away due to old age. Without observing the detachment from sensual pleasures, they demand from God, “God please fulfil this desire and that desire and so on.” Sometimes they pretend that they are getting headache if they don’t drink tea or coffee. Otherwise, they say that I cannot stop eating meat because I don’t get proteins. Protein is everywhere in almost all food. They want to keep their sex organs powerful, so that they can have sex day and night like animals. This is called animal consciousness. With such consciousness they enter into animal body. People do not know what they are doing and they are wasting their human life. Animals have no karma and human laws. All that you eat will be turned into muscles and blood in the body and influence your mind. Consequent to wrong food habits, the animal blood is flowing in human body. The earthly authorities say that one is not allowed to fight for human rights by breaking the civil and criminal laws. You will be executed. Like that if you want to be a gentle devotee of Krishna, you must follow the laws that the Lord asks you to observe. It is for your own higher level of consciousness and life. Otherwise, suffer the reactions of your karma by becoming an animal, tea plant, or coffee plant and live in the field.

1.140 Guest: Then what are these things going on in this world, different saptahas on Ganesh ji, Ayyapa ji, Santhoshima ji? Swami: The bottom line is that people have strong spiritual desire. They are active, they have a desire to be spiritual but what

123 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

they get is material. They were misguided by some swami class. This is like a blind leading another blind. People do not know what spiritual life is, they think worshipping anybody and worshipping the Supreme Lord all are spiritual. But if these preaching are done in relationship with Krishna, like Goddess Durga as a Vaishnavi engaged in the services of the Lord, she has been appointed by Lord Vishnu as in charge of the material nature. Ganesh’s question on devotional service to Krishna as it is given in Padma purāṇa. Padma purāṇa is full of devotional narrations of Krishna asked by the whole family of Sambhu. Ganesh, Skanda, Goddess to Lord Siva. It is very sweet. None of the demigods or goddess is independent gods or goddesses. It is not mentioned anywhere in the sastra. If someone is preaching, that must be with limited understanding. Every purāṇa glorifies a particular deity, but Bhāgavad-Purāṇa glorifies the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead, who is beyond all these gods and goddesses. And there should be one supreme deity for the entire creation. That position is claimed by Lord Krishna by His power, position, fame, knowledge, wealth, and detachment. The Skaṇda Purāṇa states: "From a single desire of the cosmic entity, Lord Krishna, the entire creation is manifested. He is the creator of everything but nothing can create Him. He Himself has stated earlier that: I am the Lord of all creation. I am the progenitor of Brahma, Rudra and Indra. Everything rests in Me and it is from Me that everything has arisen. Know that the whole creation has manifested from Me alone". And it is further confirmed by the Lord in Bhagavad-Gita 9-8 prakrtim svam avastabhya visrjami puṇah puṇah bhuta-gramam imam krtsṇam avasam prakrter vasat

124 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

The whole cosmic order is under Me. Under My will it is automatically manifested again and again, and under My will it is annihilated at the end.

yaṭha ṭaror mula-niṣecanena ṭrpyanṭi ṭaṭ-ṣkanḍha-bhujopaṣkhah pranopaharac ca yaṭhenḍriyanam ṭaṭhaiva ṣarvarhanam achyuṭejya

"By giving water to the root of a tree one satisfies its branches, twigs and leaves, and by supplying food to the stomach one satisfies all the senses of the body. Similarly, by engaging in the transcendental service of the Supreme Lord one automatically satisfies all the demigods and all other living entities." (Srimaḍ-Bhagavaṭam 4.31.14)

1.141 Guest: Do the demigods have devotion towards God? Swami: Yes, otherwise they cannot be in the position of demigods. They are the universal administrators. There are two types of living beings, one is demon and another is demigod. Anybody can be a devotee of Krishna and the demigods also can be a devotee. All others are atheists. It is mentioned in the Padma Purāṇa that:

dvau buta-sargau loke smiṇ daiva asura eva ca visṇu-bhaktah smrto dvaiva asuras tad-viparyayah

“There are two classes of men in the created world. One consists of the demoniac and the other who is godly. The devotees of Lord Vishnu are the godly, where as those who are just the opposite are called demons.”

125 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

1.142 Guest: From this verse it shows that anybody worshiping anybody other than Vishnu is considered to be an atheist, though they are going to the demigod temple. Swami: I have quoted the verse from the scripture. Now you assimilate the subject. was a staunch devotee of Lord Shiva, Hiranyakasipu was a devotee of Lord Brahma. Jarasandha, Banasura all of them were sincere and dedicated devotees of Lord Shiva. What were they doing? There is no spiritual touch. They were terrorizing the universe and killing people all around and particularly the pious and saintly. No merciful qualities at all. The good qualities manifests only when you are in touch with the Supreme spiritual person. He is Lord Krishna. Krishna and all His plenary portions such as Lord Vishnu and other incarnations are identical. It does not matter which of His form you worship viz. Rama, Narasimha, Bhu- , form. They are equal in power, indeed maintaining us.

1.143 Guest: Is the maintainer more important than others like the creator and the destroyer? Swami: Yes, for an example: when a building is constructed and ready to live, people can reside in it. During the construction of building and after the building is demolished, no one can stay in it. When do the people come to reside? After the building is constructed, people can dwell. Similarly, there is a creation by Lord Brahma. You are unmanifest before the creation and you will again unmanifest by the process of annihilation. When do you come to exist? During the maintenance period, and that maintenance is dependent on Lord Vishnu. Lord Shiva is Mahakala- the great destroyer, and Lord Brahma creates. Lord Vishnu maintains. You are getting your food, clothing, and house from Lord Vishnu, the maintainer. Even if you worship Lord Shiva and Brahma still your requirements are supplied by Lord Vishnu only. Therefore, your worship of the demigods is avidhi

126 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

purvakam means worshipping Vishnu in a wrong way. There are nine holes in the body, but the food has to be given to the mouth. Human beings should not foolishly feed other holes in the body, the purpose of feeding the body will not be served. It is said in Bhagavad-Gita by the Lord:

ye apy aṇya devata bhakta yajaṇte shraddhayaṇvitah te api mam eva kauṇteya yajaṇty avidhi purvakam

“Those who are devotees of other gods and who worship them with faith actually worship Me only, O son of Kunti ! But they do so in a wrong way” It is Krishna who maintains all living beings. Therefore, during the maintenance time, anybody creating problems in the planet, and society, whether he is a devotee of Lord Shiva or a devotee of Lord Brahma, regardless of this, they will be killed by Lord Vishnu. This happened to both Rāvana and Hiranyakashipu although they were great devotees of the Lord Shiva and Lord Brahma respectively. When death came to them in the form of Lord Rama and Lord Narasimha, could their God help them? No? Devi Pārvati requested Lord Shiva to help Rāvana, but Lord Shiva refused her request by stating, “I cannot save this demon anymore, Lord Rama has come there” Krishna says in Bhagavad-Gita, mrtyu sarva haras chaham. I appear in the form of death and take everything away. Though Lord Vishnu is in charge of maintenance, He does not require any help from the other demigods for creating and destroying. He is completely independent and potent to create, maintain, and destroy. Therefore, all those demons are killed, though they are devotees of Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva. The great demigods cannot save their devotees if their devotees cross the boundary of peace of the world.

127 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

ṣarva-bhuṭani kaunṭeya prakrṭim yanṭi mamikam kalpa-kṣaye punaṣ ṭani kalpaḍau viṣrjamy aham

O son of Kunti, at the end of the millennium all material manifestations enter into My nature, and at the beginning of another millennium, by My potency, I create them again.

1.144 Guest: What do you mean complete Godhead? Swami: Krishna has diverse energies and all of them can be categorised in three energies viz. Spiritual energy, material energy and marginal energy. All these three energies are conserved in the Supreme Person Lord Krishna. Though all these energies manifest from Him, He still remains complete with these energies. It means His energy never reduces and He can still manifest the same quantity of the energy as He uses for the creation. You must have heard about the mystic pot of Yudhisthira Maharaja, it is called akshaya patra. It can produce unlimited quantity of food. How much ever you use, it still remains filled up. Krishna’s energies are similar. How much He uses them, still He remains complete within His personality. In the ishopaṇishad the first verse explains the authority of God’s energy.

om puramadah purṇam idam purṇat purṇam udacyate purṇasya purṇam adaya purṇam evavashishyate

The personality of Godhead is perfect and complete, and because He is completely perfect, all emanations from Him, such as this phenomenal world, are perfectly equipped as complete wholes. Whatever is produced of the complete whole is also complete in itself. Because He is the complete whole, even though so many

128 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

complete units emanate from Him, He continues to remain the complete.

1.145 Guest: Where are all these energies of God conserved? Swami: You might have seen in the paintings or pictures of Lord Krishna that there is a halo behind His head, like dazzling sunshine. There in all His energies are conserved. Whenever Krishna’s mind focuses on something or on someone, and needs for a particular energies’ action. The energy pops up from the Halo and executes the desire of the Lord. Like the Emperor who desires something to be executed, His respective department executes it without fail.

1.146 Guest: Impressive! So what is the place of the guru? Swami: In material world everyone needs spiritual guidance, knowledge of Krishna’s position, Krishna’s opulence, etc. Guru teaches how to have Krishna’s opulence legally, not by stealing. Stealing is a crime and will be punished by the laws of nature. There is unlimited knowledge to study and realize about the Supreme Father. It is said in the Muṇdhoka Upaṇishad 1-2-12:

tad-vijṇaṇartham sa gurum evabhigacchet samit-paṇih srotriyam brahma-ṇistham

“To understand these things properly, one must humbly approach, with firewood in hand, a spiritual master who is learned in the Vedas and firmly devoted to the Absolute Truth.”

If you trust him, he will take charge of you. You can maintain a satvik life. He will take care of all your necessities. Many sages and gurus in olden times had a cow, Nandini, Kāmadhenu like that. The sages though lived simple lives in a hermitage; they are more opulent than the big big kings because of their devotion to the Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord 129 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

Krishna, the Param-Brahmaṇ. The cows can create anything they request from her, such as food, clothing, shelter, armies, etc. Of course the maintenance nowadays may be in a different format, changes are always taking place. Bottom line is that one remains very happy under spiritual master. One who is passionate but ignorant of the spiritual position, which is disturbed with material desires, cannot be peaceful in material life. It is better for them to voluntarily accept the authority of the spiritual master and follow his guidance. He can make you cross to the other side of the material ocean.

1.147 Guest: So guru is the direct representative of Krishna, and not of the demigods? Swami: Guru is a representative of God that means he is representing demigods too, sarva deve mayo guru. Both demigods and God have a higher sense of unity. No demigods go against Lord Vishnu that is the quality of demigods. Those who do not cooperate with or worship Vishnu, it is explained in the previous verse that they are like demons. According to Vishṇu purāṇa, an atheist means demon. For an example: Without co- operating with the president of the nation, you cannot be in any portfolio during his rule. You can only sit in the opposition and can criticize his actions. But you will not have any power to alter any department. Demigods are chosen by the Lord to be His intimate servants. In the administration of the universe, there is only one party that is Vishnu party; they never ever had any opposition. Opposition can sometimes emerge due to a demon’s austerities and penances followed by blessing of some god. Few demons ruled some part of the universe or heaven for some time and then ultimately they were killed by Lord Vishnu. A Bonafide vaishṇava guru is the direct representative of Lord Vishnu, which means they are as good as Lord Vishnu. Demigods are confidential servants of Vishnu. Therefore, Guru is the representative of all the demigods also. All you need is a 130 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

vaishṇava guru, who is ‘all in one’. It is said in Srimad- Bhagāvatam by Lord Krishna to Uddhava:

acharyam mam vijaṇiyam ṇavamaṇyeta karhicit ṇa martya-buddhyasuyeta sarva deva mayo guruh

One should know the acharya as Myself and never disrespect him in any way; One should not envy him, thinking him an ordinary man, for he is the representative of all the demigods.

1.148 Guest: Lord says that acharya is He. Swami: Yes, if the ambassador of India goes to another country to talk about friendship, he is an empowered representative of the president or Prime Minister of the nation. Everyone respects the ambassador and identifies him as India. Similarly, internally Krishna is the Supersoul, called chaitya guru, and externally Krishna acts as acharya, the spiritual master. Therefore, guru’s instructions should not be taken lightly. Unfortunately, mudhas consider the representative of God as an ordinary man. Because they see him eating, sleeping, bathing, etc. He is a human being like them, so they take him lightly. However, the guru’s consciousness is what actually matters. He is representing God. You are engaged in all materialistic activities and guru is engaged in the Krishna’s mission, so how can he be ordinary and equal to you? The guru ashtakam prayers, it is prayed:

sakshad-haritveṇa samasta-shastrair uktas tatha bhavyata eva sadbhih kiṇtu prabhor yah priya eva tasya vaṇde guroh sri-caraṇaraviṇdam

The spiritual master is to be honoured as much as the Supreme Lord is, because he is the most confidential servitor of the Lord. This is acknowledged in all revealed scriptures and 131 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

followed by all authorities. Therefore, I offer my respectful obeisance unto the lotus feet of such a spiritual master, who is a bona fide representative of Sri Hari (Krishna). We must take knowledge from the sastra on this account.

1.149 Guest: What are the prime duties of the acharya- spiritual master? Swami: Our guru dev explains the duty of the acharya in his books quoting Manu Samhita 2-140, that the acharya takes charge of the disciples, teaches them the Vedic knowledge and its intricacies, and gives them their second birth. The ceremony performed to initiate a disciple into the study of spiritual science is called upaṇiti, or the function that brings one nearer to God and spiritual master. One who is not attempting to bring one’s children nearer to a spiritual master or God and cannot have a sacred thread will not be considered as civilized.

1.150 Guest: Do you perform such ceremonies? Swami: Yes, if the candidate is qualified for the diksha. They have to follow all spiritual rules; it does not matter whether they live at home or in the temple. The devotional service to Krishna has to be rendered in accordance with the scriptural guidance and have to chant the holy name.

Guest: But there are many people in the social orders who have brahmiṇical thread other than sudras? Swami: That kind of thread is acquired through the rituals following family traditions. There must be a spiritual master who initiates disciples according to the Vedic scriptural regulations. People can buy thread from the market and put on their body, they won’t be a brahmaṇa nor kshatriya nor . It has to be done through samskara- the purificatory process by a bonafide spiritual master. It is mentioned in the sastra.

132 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

jaṇmaṇa jayate sudrah samskarad bhaved dvijah veda-pathad bhaved vipro brahma jaṇatiti brahmaṇah

“By birth everyone is sudra, but by undergoing the purificatory ceremonies under the direction of a bonafide spiritual master, one may become a brahmaṇa, and when one knows the supreme spirit, he actually becomes a truly leanred Brahmaṇa”. In kali- yuga, it is said that if one wears a thread across his body he becomes a learned priest, vipratve sūtram eva hi, a man will be known as a brāhmaṇaṇ just by his wearing a thread. That is not scriptural injunctions. In India, brāhmaṇasṇ wear a sacred thread, and in other parts of the world, the members of the priestly class have other ornaments and symbols. However, in the Age of Kali, the symbols alone will suffice to establish a person as a religious leader, despite his ignorance of God.

1.151 Guest: Swamiji, sometimes fear comes in the heart, then it disappears, sometimes, feelings of hopelessness surface. We are trying to find some solution. How can we deal with all these feelings? Swami: If you present this question to a psychiatrist, what would he answer you? Well, fear is due to the ignorance of the actual reality that there is something other than Krishna. Happiness, miseries are a part of life. Actually, all these are like the seasonal changes, like in winter time you need to learn to tolerate the cold, in summer time you tolerate the heat, which you are already doing. Similarly, all these inconveniences always appear and after sometimes, they go away. It is due to absorption in the bodily concept of existence.

bhayaṁ dvitīyābhiṇiveśatah ṇsyād īśād apetasya viparyayo ’smr ṇtih ṇ taṇ-māyayāto budha ābhajet taṁ bhaktyaikayeśaṁ guru-devatātmā 133 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

“Fear arises when a living entity misidentifies himself as a material body because of absorption in the external, illusory energy of the Lord. When the living entity thus turns away from the Supreme Lord, he forgets his own constitutional position as a servant of the Lord. This bewildering, fearful condition is affected by the potency of illusionary energy called māyā. Therefore, an intelligent person should engage unflinchingly in the unalloyed devotional service of the Lord, under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master, whom he should accept as his worshipable deity and as his very life and soul”. In this universe, there is no such problem that can put you in endless miseries. All that you need to know is how to apply this transcendental knowledge to cut down the ignorance. Spiritual master will enlighten on these subject matters. You are taking the material life problems seriously due to not having the right knowledge. Problems will come without invitation, so just work on it it will go away. Like bugs they come to bite you, just drive it away, it will go away. You cannot expect that they will go away on their own. You need to make an endeavor, why, because you are a conscious being. In every action, there are five things that are involved and they are senses, place, time, endeavour and God. Even if it is a spiritual problem, to solve the problem, you need to exercise these four things and finally with God’s blessings you will be free from the problems. As far as fear for death is concerned, that is because of your attachment to your wealth, relatives, and children. It is due to the bodily connection. Thus, remain in Krishna consciousness. The perfect path is devotional service to the Supreme Lord Krishna and Srimati Radharani and they are the root of all worship. Lord Krishna expands into all portions and plenary portions; Radharani expands into all kinds of female portions. Therefore, root of all

134 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

worship is Radha and Krishna. Once you get into the boat of devotion for Krishna, you are free from all fear and anxieties.

1.152 Guest: Sometimes after waking up, all the anxieties and fear return with full force. Only while sleeping, we do not worry. Swami: Sleep is the quality of ignorance. Ignorance is not bliss. Due to the material pain, the mayavadi saṇṇyasis desire to be merged into the existence of God and try to become God. They do not want to suffer any further. It means that no one but Krishna is free from all material contamination and miseries, being transcendental to the qualities of material nature. Thus, most of the saintly mayavadis prefer that if they cannot become God, at least they can merge with God. Whereas, devotees of Krishna have different several options to be free from material miseries by service to Krishna. The problems can be solved easily by the mercy of the Lord. You need to be a devotee, accept His Personality, and follow all the rules pertaining to the devotional service to Krishna. Krishna says, He will take charge of you and make you very happy. Merging with God will be a form of suicide called spiritual suicide. Like people who are fed up with life commit suicide and become ghost. Ghost do not have gross body, still mind is there, which is the root cause of all miseries. Thus, mind has to be purified, without purification of the mind, no one can be happy.

1.153 Guest: What do the sastra and acharyas say about the modern Government? Swami: Modern government is a godless and secular government. They do not know how to rule the country or give justice to the citizens according to the scriptures. Their total endeavours are based on their body; how to satisfy the body and their wife and children. They occupy the political position with difficulty, then to raid the treasury as much as they can and to give the nation to others for plundering. Citizens’ welfare is 135 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

certainly not their main agenda. They do not consider the citizens as their children either. They promote sinful activities in the name of economic development. Do not expect any good things from them. Just take care of yourself in a pious manner as much as possible and be Krishna conscious. Do not plan to take birth in this world again. The situation of this world will be with advancement of time become worse. Rampant bribery will not allow anyone to grow. Any project you manifest, to get approved you will have to spend crores, according to the size of the projects. The Government representatives (ministers) think only government should have all the money, not the citizens. So that they can distribute among themselves. Actually, all money of the government is actually belonged to citizens. They still try harassing them to take more and more as much as possible. However, they are unconscious about the people elected government can throw them on the consecutive elections. If they do not cheat, they cannot be happy. Even in the high court and Supreme Court, judges accept bribe in some or other form, and therefore the justice is only for those who have money.

vittam eva kalau ṇrṇam jaṇmacara-guṇodayah dharma-ṇyaya-vyavasthayam karaṇam balam eva hi

In Kali-yuga, wealth alone will be considered the sign of a man's good birth, proper behaviour and fine qualities. In addition, law and justice will be applied only based on one's power.

As it is justice, delivery has become literal and they do not see whether actually justice has delivered to the aggrieved. We read with great appreciation the real justice given by Parikshit Maharaja to the personified age of Kali and how wisdom used to identify the guilty and for punishing the wrong doer. Present courts do not make any such attempts. Rather, the wrong doers hire the best lawyers from their wrongly earned wealth and on

136 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

some flimsy technical grounds, they are able to get away although they have inflicted injuries and hurt the victim and its family. Political governance, judiciary, bureaucracy and the fourth pillar media are all-corrupt and making material wealth is their sole purpose of existence. None of them is truly performing their duties righteously. Democracy as a system has failed but so did authoritative system, socialism, communism, capitalism, etc. Thus, it is not the system but rather the people who are participant in administering the system who have failed.

1.154 Guest: What is your opinion of a good administration? Swami: Devotees of Lord Krishna must be provided pivotal position in governance and bureaucracy both in the State and Central government. Devotees are the powerful administrators because they are not contaminated by material desires and attachments. They have the full blessing of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They rule perfectly. There will not be any draught, epidemic, and earthquake because of their devotion. They will stop exploitation, prejudice and bribery. They will give justice to all citizens, on time. They see everyone as a part of God, thus they have the greater vision and wisdom to maintain. They never allow anyone to be killed whether human or animals, they will be equal to all living beings. Select a mahabhagavata devotee in all departments, State affairs and Central affairs. Elect them as the judges in all courts. Alternatively, you can make all the judges as devotees of Krishna and advise their responsibility of preventing completely the impartiality, non corruption and bribery. Maharaja Yudhishtira, Maharaja Parikshit, was devotees of the Supreme Lord and they ruled exceedingly well and established dharma all around in their Kingdom. Though Duryodhan ruled well, he did not care for any dharma. The country does not necessarily need a powerful leader based on the material plan, but it needs a ruler who follows the laws of God, dharma. This world is the same world as millions

137 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

of years before. There is no change except for growth of some industries and urbanisation. The trade, farming, banking, brahmaṇical culture, and kshatriya training is still there. What is the difference, except exploitations and bribery? If at all, you need happiness in this world select devotees of Lord Krishna as the rulers. Do not underestimate their power and quality based on their external features. Do not judge them by their attire and tuft of hair; indeed they are the most powerful in this universe because Lord Krishna is with them, as the Lord assisted Pandavas. Narayana sena worth nothing without Narayana. Everything is a question of training and devotees are trained in the perfect administration. The whole parampara system, the acharyas, want these things to happen. All of you can be trained and rule Krishna’s universe in Krishna consciousness. Nowadays, Poor citizens trust a candidate and elect him, He imperfectly manages, and next five years you can do nothing except criticising his administration. This is what is going on! All leaders must be trained in the spiritual science because all living entities are spirit souls. Material science can be supplementary subject.

Lord Krishna describes the vision and supreme spiritual intellect of a devotee in Bhagavad-Gita 6.31-32

sarva bhutasthitam yo mam bhajaty ekatvam asthitah sarvatha vartamaṇo api sa yogi mayi vartate

A devotee who after taking My shelter, renders service with a spirit of devotion, always considers the soul residing in the heart of all living entities as non-differential; such a devotee perfected in the science of associating the individual consciousness with the Supreme Consciousness certainly always resides in Me although he performs under various circumstances of material world.

138 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

atmaupamyeṇa sarvatra samam pasyati yo arjuṇa sukham va yadi va duhkham sa yogi paramo matah

A devotee perceives in comparison with the self, all living entities as equally equipoised in happiness and distress; such a perfected devotee in the science of associating the individual consciousness with the Supreme Consciousness is considered the highest. Therefore, a devotee with such great prowess and control is better placed to accept power and responsibilities and not be deluded by them. Power corrupts a non-spiritual person and absolute material power corrupts absolutely. Ordinary human beings who do not have equipoised mind, how can we expect them not to be corrupted after gaining power? A devotee described above by the Lord will not derelict after gaining power.

1.155 Guest: There are different kinds of people who enjoy life, some are austere, and some are sinners, what are their destinations? Swami: From their actions, it will be clear what the result is going to be. People have the freedom to commit different actions based on their guṇa, influence of material nature. Yet, he will certainly be a fool when he does not think the result of such actions. E.g., people relishing meat eating think they are enjoying the food, but they do not foresee the consequences of such actions. If they ignore and do not change their path even after hearing from the scriptures and devotees, they are considered to be dumb and killers of their own soul. There are state and national laws and the punishment for their violation is prescribed. Yet, some foolish men breach the law and they are punished. When punishment comes, it is not pleasing. They break the laws under their delusion that they can get away with it and in material

139 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

world, they may get away with it by bribery and influences. However, they cannot escape the justice imparted by material nature for violation. That realm cannot be influenced by any bribery and otherwise. The acharyas quote from the sastra that there is a sage who once passed judgment for different kinds of persons engaged in different kinds of services and these included a prince, saintly person, a brahmacari and a butcher. Four different members of the society render different services to the society.

raja-putra chiraṇ jiva, ma jiva muṇi putraka jiva va maro sadhur, ma jiva mara iti

O prince, may you live a long life; my dear brahmachari, may you die now; O saintly person, you may live or die; but you, O butcher, do not live or die. Prince enjoys his life thoroughly because his father rules the kingdom. He has enough to eat, sleep, mate and defend. Hardly cares for laws and orders. He was ordered by the sage to live forever, chiraṇ jiva, because as soon as he dies he is going to hell due to his unrestricted violence on living beings, eating habit, mating with anyone as he wanted. Brahmchari, celibate, was asked to die now, because he went through austerities and he would go immediately to the kingdom of God. Devotee of Krishna is asked to live or die, it does not matter to him, and in any case, he is happy, when he lives, he serves the Supreme Lord, after he dies, he would go to Krishna and serves the Supreme Lord. As far as the butcher goes, he should neither lives nor dies. His living is hellish because of killing animals and when he dies, he is going to hell. Therefore, he should neither lives nor dies. So the reactions will be based on one’s performance of activities. It is better to remain Krishna conscious and serve the Lord and by following the injunctions of 140 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

Bhagavad-Gita, one will be situated in the transcendental platform. Human form of life is very important but unfortunately, people are engaged in the frivolous activities of the material sense gratification and wasting their valuable human form of life. Therefore, they must approach spiritual masters to study the importance of human form. People in the age of Kali-yuga cannot develop devotion to Krishna without a proper spiritual master, who is hundred percent engaged in devotional services to Krishna. In Srimad-Bhāgavatam it is said:

ṇr-deham adhyam su labham su dhurlabham plavam su kalpam guru karṇadharam mayaṇukuleṇa ṇabhaswateritam pumaṇ bhavabdhim ṇa taret sa atma-ha

Krishna said to Uddhava: the laws of nature automatically obtain the human body by evolution, which can award all benefit in life, although it is a very rare achievement. This human body canbe compared to a perfectly constructed boat, having the spiritual master as the captain and the instructions of the Personality of Godhead as favourable winds impelling it on its course. Considering all these advantages, a human being who does not utilize his human form of life to cross the ocean of material existence must be considered the killer of his own soul.

1.156 Guest: What is the science behind animals that they are children of God? Swami: All living entities are children of God. Lord Krishna is never partial to any living beings created by Him and there is no living entity born in this world independent of Krishna’s knowledge. All beings are dependent on God, and they cannot ever be independent. As supreme father of all living entities, Krishna protects all souls equally, whether they are animals, birds or humans. He has not given the power of right to humans 141 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

to kill any beings and eat them. All the living species are on their evolutionary process including humans. Humans can use their to accept the Supreme Laws of nature and follow systematically, and liberate from this material existence and go back to the spiritual world. Once you enter the kingdom of God, the cycles of birth and death stops. The Lord programs evolution that way. Unfortunately, all humans, demons and demigods are bewildered by the facilities of their bodily form as are provided by the Supreme Lord. They choose to give pleasure to the body and extended body in the human form. Moreover, to achieve that material happiness, they exploit material resources including other humans and animals. In this way, they are completely bonded in the network of the material existence. Such bondage drags them down to the cycle of evolution again.

In the Bhagavad-Gita Krishna says: 14.4

sarva yoṇishu kauṇteya murtayah sambhavaṇti yah tasam brahma mahad yoṇir aham bija pradah pita

It should be understood that all species of life, O son of Kunti, are made possible by birth in this material nature, and that I am the seed-giving father. God is the master and father of all living species. An example can be like this: A father may have dozens of children, and he loves all children equally in spite of a different physical structure of the children. Each child may fight each other for their rights, but father distributes his love among all of his children without partiality. In this way, each child is protected under the guidance of the father. Similarly, Krishna is the real father of all living entities, if someone punishes some living beings; the Lord intervenes and punishes that person. Now you can see in the laws of nature how the problems are arising. Humans kill millions of chickens, goats and cows, pigs and other 142 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

beings every day. What do we expect from the God who loves all his living entities equally? He sets in motion tsunami, hurricane, earthquake, wars. All these natural disasters destroy millions of people and this is the result of innumerable killing by human beings of innocent lower species. In the forest, no one goes and sets a fire, sometimes due to friction of the tree branches the fire ignites and destroys the whole forest. Similarly, nobody invites the civil war or the world war, no leader wants it. Yet, because the bad karma of the citizens and leaders, its natural calamities and general disharmony in material world will take place in spite of the hard core steps to prevent the war just like the forest fire. You kill your inferior species; your superiors will certainly kill you. You make your animal food fancy for your , birthday, and death days and other anniversaries. You patiently celebrate your religious festivals without animals’ food, and immediately after such festivals, buy dead animals and seafood to eat and pass stool at the end of the day. You think your so- called dignity in society is going to help you from falling down to hell. You may be the head of America or Russia, the supreme law is waiting for your final breadth in your body. You are thinking that eating vegetables is a poor man’s food and you want to go on with your nonsense in killing all beings, as you sow you shall reap. When you are dragged for the punishment of your mischievous actions, whom are you going to petition? Who is going to listen to you? If we start loving all beings and the whole created beings, no more tragedies will happen to us. The laws of nature works under the direction of Krishna. Therefore, be careful!

1.157 Guest: Who can stop these sinful activities against poor beings?

143 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

Swami: It is the leaders in the government, kshatriyas. Foolish they are! They think if they stop slaughtering of animals they will lose their ministerial position, election, or their income, so they allow killing, killing. Consequently, human beings are also being killed by nature’s way and tortured through many natural calamities! Whom are you going to complain for the nature’s mass killing? Stop these killings and find alternate energy and food for your citizens. Government must recognise problems and intricacies their country is facing for such sinful activities. Educate citizens with the knowledge of body and soul. After becoming, aware about the sin behind eating flesh, people will give it up otherwise government has to prohibit and protect all living forms in that country. Not all scriptures, whether it is Quran, Bible or Bhagavad-Gita recommend killing poor animals. So why do you do these whimsical killings, do not be punished? These are all due to ignorance of the soul. An educated person will see all beings as soul, not body. The Lord 5.18 says it:

viṇaya sampaṇṇe brahmaṇe gavi hastiṇi suṇi chaiva svapake cha paṇditah sama darshiṇah

The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and gentle brahmaṇa, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater (outcaste).

1.158 Guest: What are the meat eaters compared to in the scriptures? Moreover, how can they give it up? Swami: As we said now, they are butchers. They will be unable to come out of the sins they are committing on their own. There is a standard law and for every crime, there is either punishment or penalty whereas for a good action there is reward. Similarly, there is the Supreme Law who can also reward and punish or relieve one’s all sinful activities upon sincere petition. The scriptures recommend prayaschita, atonement, before one quits

144 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

his body, which is impersonal. There are sinners, making money by illegal or sinful means, killing, stealing, robbing, victimizing innocent women, etc. Government’s duty is to arrest them and punish them. If the guilty have not gone through such punishments, the laws of God punish them severely, after death. The ultimate solution is to hear Krishna’s pastimes (katha), acquire transcendental knowledge, and chant Krishna’s holy name and quit altogether all sinful actions. If we hear the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead from liberated persons, this hearing will certainly free us from the bondage of material activities. However, hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam spoken by a professional recite cannot actually neutralize the sinful activities and therefore, it will not reward freedom from repeated birth and death. Nowadays, who are the people in seven days Bhāgavatam hearing programs? None except some elderly ladies and men ! People in general think, only these age-old people need to hear Krishna’s message because they are going to die. Rest of the humankind think they are not going to die now and hence this is their life and time to be relish and dwell in material pleasures and live, as they want. In Mahabharata Vaṇa-parva 313.116): yaksha was testing the Emperor Yudhistira Maharaja; he asked a question to the king, what was the most amazing thing in this world? The king replied that:

ahaṇyahaṇi bhūtāṇi gacchaṇtīha yamālayam śesāhṇ ṇsthāvaram icchaṇti kim āścaryam atah ṇparam Hundreds and thousands of living entities meet death everyday at every moment, but a foolish living being nonetheless thinks he is deathless and does not prepare for death. This is the most wonderful thing in this world. In Srimad-Bhāgavatam, it is said:

ṇivr ṇtta-tarsairṇ upagīyamāṇād

145 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

bhavausadhācṇ chrotra-maṇo-’bhirāmā ka uttamaśloka-guṇāṇuvādātṇ pumāṇ virajyeta viṇāt pasugaṇat

Glorification of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is performed in the paramparā system, that is, it is conveyed from the spiritual master to the disciple. Those no longer interested in the false, temporary glorification of this cosmic manifestation relish such glorification. Descriptions of the Lord, is the only medicine for the conditioned soul undergoing repeated birth and death. Therefore, who ceases to hear such glorification of the Lord except a butcher or one who is killing his own self?

1.159 Guest: How is the death experience that the devotees suffer through? Swami: It is like sleeping. When you go to sleep you migrate to the dreams. Mind takes you through different mental activities. Similarly, after the successful performance of the spiritual activities, when time comes, devotees go to sleep in this body and the next moment they find themselves in the spiritual world with Krishna. Therefore, it is the last life for all true devotees of Krishna. Thus, do not waste this valuable Krishna Bhakti, received by the mercy of the Lord. Chant the holy name of Krishna regularly, if possible always. It is very important. Krishna is the Supreme Pure Consciousness. We must maintain best standards for pleasing the Supreme Person and expressing our devotion. Sometimes the standard may shake due to illusion, like a person flying in the aircraft, due to weather problem aircraft shakes sometimes. Nevertheless, that is momentary anxiety created by the weather, and if the pilot were careful, aircraft would completely come out of the bad weather without any damage. Similarly, maya shakes, but if we are careful we will succeed in great devotional services and get liberated from grasp of material nature.

146 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

1.160 Guest: Does Guru help on this mission of his disciples? Swami: The guru who does not help the disciple in the mission of ending material life is not a guru. The disciples’ mission and focus should be attaining Krishna’s lotus feet through the same guru. His mission should not be building his own material empire. Under the illusion of material nature, the disciple should not make a bonafide guru his servant and obtain material benedictions. Rather the disciple should serve the guru in humility. By service and enquiry, the disciple may get blessings of his guru, but disciple should not have a goal to progress in his material situation by having a guru. The guru who is only working for the economic development cannot be a guru. A guru needs wealth for the service of the Lord, building temples for the Lord. He does not desire anything for himself. Many people who are not familiar with scriptural knowledge they fund for building hospital, and schools, and they think that it is a greatest service for humanity. According to the Vedas that is not the greatest service advocated by some so called spiritualists. Therefore, the gurus should not cheat their followers and should tell the truth that service to God is service to humankind. A guru must know who God is and what his obligation is towards God. One should not become a guru unless he guarantees to take his disciples back home to the kingdom of God, Krishna loka and relieve them permanently from the repeated birth and death. Actually, the following verse is applicable to all responsible leaders. They should not engage in mundane sex to satisfy their mind and senses. They should carefully raise their dependents to Krishna bhakti, Krishna consciousness. One should not become a guru, parents, demigods, etc. anything, if they cannot take care of their children, devotee or disciples’ spiritual life.

gurur na ṣa ṣyāṭ ṣva-jano na ṣa ṣyāṭ

147 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

piṭā na ṣa ṣyāj jananī na ṣā ṣyāṭ ḍaivaṁ na ṭaṭ ṣyān na paṭiś ca ṣa ṣyān na mocayeḍ yahḍ ṣamupeṭa-mr ḍṭyum

One who cannot deliver his dependents from the path of repeated birth and death should never become a spiritual master, a father, a husband, a mother or a worshipable demigod.

1.161 Guest: Can Krishna’s statue in a temple respond to prayers? Swami: Yes, we are unqualified to see the Lord with our senses including the mind. We can only see things that are made of the five elements. We are seeing all these human beings, dogs, hogs, trees, but we are not seeing the soul or the spirit in them. All that we see is their body made of matter. Similarly, Krishna is spirit both inside and outside. Krishna’s body and soul is all soul, complete spirit, then how can we see Him? We are different from our body and therefore we are able to see each other. Those whose body and spirit are one and the same, we require transcendental vision for seeing them, whether He is God or devotees who have achieved liberation and living with Krishna. Krishna out of His mercy, He comes to us in the form of a deity. Do not use the language you used, “statue” or something. The deity form of the Lord is very powerful. Every day, He is bathed, dressed and fed. He can talk; walk if his loving devotees want Him to do so. Our gurudev Srila Prabhupada used to give an example. When you submit letter in the authorized post box, your letter reaches the destination. Post box represents post office, when you insert your letter; it serves your purpose. If you put some unauthorised box, the letter will not be delivered. Similarly, God authorizes the deity form, you can worship the deity and you will get what results you deserve. Krishna is completely spiritual and you can see only the combination of dead matters. Thus, He 148 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

assumes the form in the marble, metal, painting, pictures, etc. Krishna says to Uddhava in Bhāgavatam:

pujadiṇam pravahartham maha-parvasv athave-aham ksetrapaṇa-pura-gramaṇ dattva mat-sarstitam iyat

One who offers the Deity gifts of land, markets, cities and villages so that the regular daily worship and special festivals of the Deity may go on continually will achieve opulence equal to My own.

1.162 Guest: Is there any incident when a deity talked? Swami: Yes, the deity not only talked, but also walked. Gopal deity, situated in Vrindavan, now He is residing in Orissa had a pastime. This pastime He had with two of His pure devotees. Once there were two brāhmaṇas,ṇ one elderly and the other young. They were inhabitants of a place known as Vidyānagara. After touring many places of pilgrimage, the two brāhmaṇasṇ finally reached Vr ṛindāvana. The elderly brāhmaṇaṇ was very satisfied with the service of the younger brāhmaṇa,ṇ and he wanted to offer him his youngest daughter in marriage. When the elder brahmaṇa offered his daughter, the younger brahmaṇa refused because he was poor, illiterate, and the older brahmaṇa’s family was rich, and educated. The younger brahmaṇa was confused about the marriage because he considered it as a miss-match. However, the elder brahmaṇa promised the young brahmaṇa. The young brāhmaṇaṇ received the promise of his elder brahmaṇa before the Gopala Deity of Vrindavan. The Gopala Deity was a witness to this promise. When the two brāhmaṇasṇ returned to Vidyānagara, the young brahmaṇa waited for some time to hear from the elder brahmaṇa and when he did not hear anything 149 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

from elder brahmaṇa, the younger brāhmaṇaṇ reminded of his promise for marriage. The elderly brāhmaṇaṇ due to obligations to his friends and wife answered that he did not remember his promise. Because of this, the younger brāhmaṇaṇ returned to Vrindavan and narrated the whole story to the deity of Gopālajī. In addition, he requested Gopalaji to go with him to Vidyanagara. After a constant request from the young brahmaṇa boy, Gopalaji asked him why he thinks a deity can walk long distance. The young brahmaṇa replied that if a deity can talk, he could also walk. Thus Gopālajī had obliged by the young man’s devotional service, accompanied him to southern India. Gopālajī followed the younger brāhmaṇa,ṇ who could hear the tinkling sound of Gopālajī’s ankle bells. When all the respectable people of Vidyānagara were assembled, Gopālajī testified to the promise of the elderly brāhmaṇa.ṇ Thus the marriage was performed. Later, the king of that country constructed a fine temple for Lord Gopāla.

1.163 Guest: Why then the mayavadi section of people advertises that going to the temple and performance of the activities of Godhead Krishna is all maya? Swami: Because they are in maya, illusion. They have no idea of what is the actual spiritual life. They think God is also like them because they cannot do actions beyond illusory activities. They do not know that God is the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead, and therefore His activities are transcendental unlike these petty materialistic activities. Therefore, they promote all nonsense philosophy about God. Do not pay any attention to them because they are not talking based on the spotless scriptures, which is Srimad-Bhāgavatam. They bluff people with jugglery of logic and examples, which have no similarity with the Supreme Person. For example, they talk in similes of ghatakash aṇd bhadakasha, it means there is a small sky within 150 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

the pot and when it breaks, the small sky merges with the total sky. Similarly, we are living beings situated in the material body, when we die in spiritual consciousness, we will merge with the Supreme. This material example has no substance because pot and space are matter, jada sakti, living being is a spirit, and then how are they being treated alike? Like oil and water, how does it merge? Nowadays, these airlines are merging with one another, but they have their separated yearly turnovers and profits. Merging is for the convenience of the passengers that they should not have any problem in travelling and to bring down cost of operations. Spirit is a person and it never merges with another spirit. How then the spirit will merge with the Supreme Spirit. Even if it appears to be merged, it still maintains its individuality. There are two kinds of groups who speak on void, and formless God they are the followers of Sripada Shankara and Lord Buddha. They preach these philosophies to a certain class of people. However, for present social needs, humankind needs a , than an impersonal God. The personal God always exists throughout the creation, but these unscrupulous preachers cover him like the sun is covered by the clouds. A small living being like spider creates its own net from his saliva, and play within it and later withdraws the net to its own mouth according to its own will. How do you expect God to have difficulty in creating universes according to His own Supreme will? People do not understand these things because the preachers who convinced them of their whims misguide them. Lord Krishna will clear your doubts, so please read the original Bhagavad-Gita commented by Krishna World International. Give yourself some time to associate with Krishna’s devotees. Reading Bhagavad-Gita means associating with Lord Krishna.

1.164 Guest: What about these lawmakers’ statues erected immediately in the middle of the cities? 151 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

Swami: They are not worshipable deities like those that the Lordships are worshipped daily in the temple with 64 upacharas. These statues are erected commemoration of their patriotism and that has no spiritual significance. Where are these persons now? Even if they reincarnate and see their own statue, they will not recognize their earlier birth. Erecting statues of such and such person is a sign of ignorance of the existence of his soul. It is just waste of money and labour. These statues are inviting the crows to come and pass stool on them. Indirectly telling the former expert nationalist that ‘sir you have done such great service for the God’s country, without God consciousness, and now you deserve our foul discharge all over you’.

1.165 Guest: What are the features of the Supersoul, Paramatma? Swami: The Paramatma feature of the Lord expands without limit, as if the sun expands its effulgence and has reflected in many reservoirs of water. Similarly, the Supersoul appears to be divided among all living entities, but He is not divided, He is one and He is situated as the Kshirodhakasayi Vishnu. Kshirodhakasayi Vishnu is the Supersoul of limitless jiva souls and He resides in the region of the heart of all moving and non- moving species like the one sun is reflected in many reservoirs of water. The Supersoul is one, but appears to be many. This feature of the Supreme is expanded throughout the entire material creation. However, the unlimited numbers of jiva souls who are small seekers of the field are not one like the Supersoul. These unlimited souls are all individual and different, but they are still the separated manifestation of the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead Lord Krishna. Many philosophers have mistakenly thought of all souls as being one, and have explained souls’ differences and individuality by suggesting that such souls are under illusion or affected by karma and therefore only seem to be

152 Chapter 1 Who can be a Guru?

divided. This is a false philosophy and is not supported by the Vedic literature or true Vaisnava spiritual leaders.

samam sarvesu bhutesu tishtaṇtam paramesvaram viṇasyatsv aviṇasyaṇtam yah pasyati sa pasyati

One who sees the Super soul accompanying the individual soul in all bodies, and who understands that neither the soul nor the Super soul within the destructible body is ever destroyed, actually sees. 13-28

yatha prakashyaty ekah krtsṇam lokam imam ravih kshetri tatha krtsṇam prakashayati bhrarata

O son of Bharata, as the sun alone illuminates this entire universe, so does the living entity, one within the body, illuminate the entire body by consciousness.

1.166 Guest: What is the next step? Swami: Just follow the teachings of God. We do not have to create anything of our own. He has given everything to us. Accordingly, the spiritual master imparts the knowledge to the disciples. Inquisitive students shall approach him and start rendering service to the spiritual master, find out his needs, his ashram needs, cleaning, cooking, by such humble service attitudes the spiritual master will be pleased with his disciple and offer blessings and will start instructing him on the spiritual science. Attitude towards him must be submissive, just like a child who enquires about the objects of the world, and the father enthusiastically answers everything the child asks.

153 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

Chapter 2

THE QUALITY & ACTIVITIES OF A GURU

Guest 4: What are the qualities of a perfect guru? Swami: He has twenty-six great qualities, which are explained by the Supreme Lord in the beginning of the thirteenth chapter of Bhagavad-Gita. Guru is a pure devotee of Krishna having all senses under his control and wants to serve only the Supreme Lord without personal motivation. Lord Kapila says about his special quality.

naikatmatam me sprhayanti kecin mat-pada-sevabhirata mad-ihah ye’nyonyato bhagavatah prasajya sbhajayante mama paurusani

A pure devotee, who is attached to devotional service and who always engages in the service of My lotus feet, never desires to become one with Me. Such devotee, who is unflinchingly engaged, always glorifies My pastimes and activities.

Guest4: What are the responsibilities of a Guru? Swami: A Guru teaches the entire science of God. He knows the confidential matters of Krishna’s appearance and activities, as much as a secretary knows his master’s confidential and subtle matters viz. the science of matter and spirit, martial arts, medicine, God and His energies, and expansions, etc. as we answered above. He gives the mainstream yoga process to his 1 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

disciples by which they will be devoted to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The scriptures will support all his instructions. He fervently tries to save his disciples from death, birth, old age, material indulgence, and disease, which are major problems of this material world. Everyone is fearful of death and guru finds the solution for that. He guides us according to the scriptural authority not by giving personal opinion with some moral codes. He does not manifest any magic, those are all cheap activities. Guru is fully surrendered to Krishna, and all these chamatkar or , he leaves upto Krishna. He is a spiritual physician, and he prescribes the spiritual medicine. After following his prescription, the followers receive results according to their efforts and sincerity.

Guest 4: How should one respect and worship the guru? Swami: Three times a day one must offer him obeisances by chanting guru-mantra. A disciple must take care of his needs both activities and his personal needs such as prasadam, laundry and cleaning. If he is present in the temple, they must perform guru puja everyday, if he present at the residence the disciple can directly respect and honor his pictures with flower offerings. On His birthday called Vyasa puja, there must be a grand ceremony including glorifying his Krishna conscious activities, holy bath to his lotus feet, preparing many items such as savory, vegetables, rices, dals, soups, sweets, ice creams, etc. Guru is not a personal enjoyer, whatever the disciple offers to guru, he offers to the supreme Lord either outwardly or inwardly. In the fifth canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, the Lord states that the Supreme Lord eats food offered by the devotees through the mouth of His pure brahmanas. Devotees of Krishna are first class brahmanas. In Bhagavad-Gita, Krishna also says that He accepts directly from devotees when they offer Him with love. In addition, disciples eulogize him that it is because of their guru they could come to know Krishna is Supreme

2 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

Godhead. Therefore, he is the cause of their devotional life and cause of freeing them from other indebtedness and bondage. He is the person who gives knowledge about Krishna. Without him understanding Krishna scientifically is difficult. One may know Krishna as a Hindu God. However, to know Krishna in Truth is possible only through the mercy of Krishna.

yasya prasadad bhagavat prasado yasya aprasada na gati kuto bhi

When the guru is pleased by your kind devotional services, Krishna is also pleased with you. When the guru is not pleased, you will be completely lost.

It is like an employee pleasing the immediate manager of a company, who can please the proprietor. You cannot please the proprietor directly. You may not even have access to him if you are an ordinary employee.

Guest4: There are many gurus and they are teaching different things. It is very confusing. Swami: They are teachers of different departments of knowledge. They may not even know who God is! Everyone is different. There are three modes of material nature: goodness, passion and ignorance. Accordingly, there are also different teachers; I will not say spiritual masters. Vibration of the word ‘spiritual’ is not from this world. The spiritual vibrations are from the spiritual world, which is alaukhika world. These different teachers teach topics such as yoga, , karma or kriya. They may be scholars too. The guru is the one, who shows your real destination, which is your original destination and that is the kingdom of God. The modern gurus’ teachings may not be fruitful because their goal is not Krishna. Thus, they do not know the prime goal of human life. If the object is not met, then 3 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

there is no point in moving forward with them. Just like when a person wants to buy Gold, he must know what Gold is. If he does not know what gold is, then he ends up getting imitation gold or plastic as gold and the merchant will convince you that what he has sold is gold. It is not teachers’ fault; it is your fault that you do not know how to identify the actual guru! Some people like to go behind him because guru has money or fame, not because of actual knowledge. The spiritual father sticks with Vedic scriptures without compromising. If they read Vedic scriptures like Srimad-Bhāgavatam and Bhagavad-Gita, , Purānas, etc. then Krishna is that one God! Why follow many paths when the short cut is already provided?

naham vedair na tapasa na danena na chejyaya shakya evam vidho drashtum drashtavan asi mam yatha

The form you are seeing with your transcendental eyes cannot be understood simply by studying the Vedas, or by undergoing serious penances, or by charity, or by worship. It is not by these means that one can see Me as I am.

bhaktya tv ananyaya sakya aham evam vidho arjuna jnatum drashtum cha tattvena praveshtum cha parantapa

O Arjuna! only by devotional service that is bereft of fruitive desires and speculative knowledge, O scorcher of the enemy ! it is possible that I can be realised, seen, and understood perfectly and the devotee can then be engaged with Me.

Guest 4: Modern gurus do not speak anything about Supreme Godhead. Swami: They are health conscious, food, hospital, and education….Whether you keep your health good or bad, you are

4 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

going to die and enter into unmanifest stage of existence in couple decades. As Bhagavad-Gita says avyaktadini bhutani, vyakta-madhyani bharata, avyakta-nidhanany eva, “All created beings are unmanifest in their beginning, manifest in their interim state, and unmanifest again when annihilated”. Why should one exert himself only in frivolous activities of good body and have sex. It is better to take care of the eternal soul by pursuing Krishna and liberation from material world. Do not pursue some imaginary God. Those who do not know who is God they are not theologians either. They are in their research to locate a God or want to advertise themselves as God. First of all, it is very clear that there is God. One has to find Him from the statement of the scriptures and began seeing him philosophically. All the scriptures direct to Lord Krishna alone as the Supreme Person. All demigods also announce the Supreme Person is Krishna. Then twelve Mahajanas also claim Krishna as the Supreme Person. Without scriptures and authorities, it is not possible to establish Godhead. It is mentioned that devotion to Krishna, which is not accepted through statements of the Vedas are just disturbance to the society.

sruti smrti purānadi pancaratra-vidhim vina aikantiki harer bhaktir utpatayaiva kalpate

Devotional service to the Lord that ignores the authorized Vedic literatures like the Srimad-Bhāgavatam, Bhagavad-Gita, Upanisads, Purānas, Narada-Pacharatra, etc., is simply disturbance to the society. Religion means there must be actual God and words of Him. Like a foreigner claiming that he is a citizen of India or America, but before he qualifies to be an Indian citizen or an American citizen, there must be some questions to be answered that is who is the Indian Prime Minister, how many states are there in the country, etc. If you do not even know who the PM is, 5 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

what kind of citizen will you be? Like that, I am following this religion, and following that religion and I don't know who is God, what kind of religion am I following then? Religion has to do only with God realization otherwise, it is fanaticism.

Guest4: Don’t you think the present administration requires a Guru? Swami: Yes, that is what they are missing. They require guru desperately for direction in every sphere of all their ministry and administration. Every sincere leader needs a spiritualist in his cabinet because they need to rule people of the country. Because they are not enlightened in the spiritual science and that is why they make many mistakes, lack authority, and suffer the criticism and insult from the citizens and fellow countries. Citizens will not be self-controlled. Without self-control and consciousness of their own soul, citizens can behave like demons and can cause harassment to society and country. Guru instructs the leaders to rule according to the injunctions of the scriptures, and he distributes actual knowledge and holds them to the right purpose of human society. Nowadays, none of the countries or their citizens abides by the rules of the scriptures. Consequently, they do not need spiritual masters. People are suppressed and made subjugated by the government’s power, and laws and orders. This is artificial. People do fight, there are rogues, thieves, black marketers and irreligiosities and they have been tormenting human society all the time since past several millions of years. The saintly kings were expert in eliminating them by giving them education. Like Maharaja, all his brothers were commanders. They did not have any ambitions to conquer anyone, but when they hear the adversities to dharma on this planet, and requested by other kings, Pandava brothers go there and subdue the violators of dharma. Violence is performed to maintain the peace and dharma of the nation. Presently police and military are required otherwise; the whole country will be 6 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

completely eradicated by the bad people. If the leaders have spiritual councillors in their management body, as councillors the gurus can give develop enthusiasm in entire purpose and process of governance. I personally requested to be in the parliament, but they never replied. Because they are all feathers of the same bird, they cannot handle a saintly person’s instructions.

Guest4: What is the ultimate knowledge Krishna has in His reservoir? Swami: If anyone wants Krishna, God, to protect them, they must follow His instructions. Follow Krishna’s path, which is the perfect path. Lord says in Bhagavad-Gita 18.65:

man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru mām evaisyasiṣ yuktvaivam ātmānaṁ mat-parāyanahṣ ṣ

Always engage your mind in thinking of Me, become My devotee, offer obeisances to Me and worship Me. Being completely absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me.

For those who find it difficult to switch over into devotional service unto Lord Krishna and are presently worshipping some demi-god, ancestors, ghosts, or people from material world, Krishna provides in Bhagavad-Gita 18.66

sarva dharman parityajya mam ekam sharanam vraja aham tvam sarva papebhyo mokshayishyami ma shuchah

Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.

Lord Krishna assures everyone that by abandoning all other righteous path and ideas one, who takes to Krishna’s devotional

7 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

services, he shall always be protected by Krishna and such a devotee shall be freed from all sinful reactions.

Guest 5: Many spiritual masters have many disciples, but selected gurus have less number of followers. Swami: There may be millions of stars in the sky, but there is only one moon. Actually, that one moon is lighting the whole universe, not many stars. There may be many gurus with thousands of disciples; the number of followers is not the criteria of becoming a great guru. The spiritual master must be linked with the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna, in devotion. A bona fide guru is naturally connected with God; whoever takes shelter of such a guru is also fully blessed by the omnipresent Godhead, Lord Krishna. When you try to sell diamonds, hardly you get customers because diamonds are very expensive. Likewise, the real knowledge is heavy; one cannot do nonsense and get real knowledge.

Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita 7.3

manushyanam sahastreshu kashchid yatati siddhaye yatatam api siddhanam kaschin mam vetti tattvatah

Out of many thousands of human beings, hardly one endeavour for the perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection hardly one knows Me in truth.

We find in material life, one out of thousands of human beings take to the path of self-realization. People are engrossed in sense gratification and trapped by material nature. It is very difficult for them to come out of it. Among those who take to the path of liberation and self-realization, not everyone takes to Krishna Consciousness and devotional service to Krishna. Either they worship and devote themselves to some demi-god viz. Durga,

8 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

Ganesh, Shiva, etc. or they are digressed and pulled back into material world by the powerful senses. Devotees of Krishna are not many and that is not surprising. Among these too, knowing Krishna is the pinnacle of this path and it is perfected only by sincere and regular practice.

Guest 5: How did students gain spiritual knowledge in olden times? Swami: By going to gurukula. They lived with spiritual master by being fully detached from their parents unlike modern education. Like Lord Ramachandra, Lord Krishna, Lord Chaitanya, they all went to gurukula to study the spiritual science. The purpose of the incarnations of God going to school is to teach the common people. Learning spiritual science was a part of education at every house and every society. They lived and learned discipline, control of mind and senses, dealing with objects of the world, art, science, self-realization, God and His energies, painting, fighting. Those ashrams are ‘all in one’ school. The disciples were provided only bare minimum necessities of life, not give into sense enjoyment. The students at gurukula are called brahmacharies, follower of the Supreme Brahman, Krishna. The children have to live in gurukula from age of five to twenty five. They have to be trained from controlling all their senses especially sex indulgence, it is said by ,

karmana manasa vacha sarvavasthasu sarvada sarvatra maituna-tyaga brahmacharyam prachaksate

The vows of brahmacharya is meant to help one completely abstain from sex indulgence in work, words and mind-at all times, under all circumstances, and in all places. If a grhasta use this energy only to produce children, they are also called brahmacharies, grhasta brahmacharies. Modern 9 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

parents have forgotten this most important science. They produce children out of lust without performing samskaras. They raise children in an atheistic way. They sometimes ask children to visit the temple only for begging something from their imaginary God. Sincere religious principle is not practiced nowadays nor is there any concept of Gurukula School. Parents are so attached to their children, but they are blind to the children’s’ ultimate wellbeing. However, in many schools, they have dormitory, hostel rooms, but there is not any training on the realization of soul and God. It is believed that what children will do with the knowledge of God! Who will feed the parents if children become fully God conscious? The authorities of the Vedas call them as Mudhas. Actually, all their present existence is dependent on the mercy of God, and yet, they do not see that. ahankara vimudatma kartaham iti manyate, are covered by false ego. The fools think that they are the doers of their actions and they cause their present and future.

Guest 5: After twenty-five years, what are their activities? Swami: After completing their siksha i.e. around the age of twenty-five years, disciples return to their home. If they want to marry, they shall marry and settle down. Krishna is their life, although they are living like householders, grahastas. They bring forth nice children being absorbed in Krishna consciousness. They teach other people about devotional services to Krishna. Those who do not want to marry; they preach Krishna Bhakti by remaining as brahmachari or take order of life. There are also many millions of grahametis, fallen householders completely under illusory energy of God. They wanted to remain under such illusion. They live like animals. When daybreaks they look for food and make money for them, when night enters, they sleep or have sex. Similar to birds and animals who go out of 10 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

their nests looking for food and in the evening, they return to their nest. Such people are completely covered by ignorance. Only devotees can protect them by disseminating spiritual knowledge. General household life is based on lust and envy, which is not even average human form of life. It is said in Srimad-Bhāgavatam:

nidraya hriyate naktam vyavayena ca va vayah diva carthehaya rajan kutumba-bharanena va

“The lifetime of such an envious householder is passed at night either in sleeping or in sex indulgence, and in the daytime either in making money or maintaining family members”. If they take shelter of a spiritual master, he can impart transcendental knowledge and by obtaining such knowledge, they will know how to live in the world with pure consciousness.

Guest 5: Is the gurukula also for girls? Swami: In our guru dev’s school, both boys and girls studied and that tradition of studying still continues. The important thing is that they all rise up early in the morning around 4 am and attend mangalarthi. They are enthusiastic and above five and below 12 years old. We should impart this training to all children. What is the use of raising them otherwise?

Guest: What is kama and prema? Swami: Krishna speaks in Bhagavad-Gita about the demigods. He says that people go to them for material purposes. Anything that is materially motivated is kama. People lack knowledge of the soul, and therefore, they identify themselves as physical body. In order to satisfy the body, both men and women, take shelter of the demigods, who are made in charge of the different portfolios of the universe by Lord Krishna. The goal for both men and women is to love each other. What is presently pursued 11 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

between opposite sex cannot be called love; rather it is lust, which means that they satisfy each other’s senses. It is said in the sastra that:

atmendriya priti iccha dare bali kama krishnedrinya priti iccha dare prema nama

When one desires to satisfy one’s own senses, it is called kama, but when one tries to satisfy Krishna’s senses, it is called prema.

There are artha kamas - desire for wealth; then sri kamas - desire for beauty; virya kama- desire for power; prasasti kama- desire for fame, vidya kama - desire for knowledge and kamas- desires liberation, etc. Demigods accept all these desires when expressed to them. Ultimately, the files of devotees of the demigods have to go to the table of the Supreme Lord for approval. Iso vasam idam sarvam- that everything in the universe belongs to the Supreme Lord Krishna. Therefore, the demigods are not the actual owners. People worship demigod Surya to be free from diseases, worship mother Goddess Parvati and Lord Siva to get nice husband or wife, worship Sani to be free from their misfortune, they worship Ganesh to be free from obstacles, and they worship Lord Indra for the fulfilment of their sex desire. In modern times, many spiritual leaders, swamis and swaminis, accept the panchopasana method to confuse and misguide innocent people. Their object is to misguide the general populace. Most people do not read scriptures. They say they do not have time and hence they depend on these swamis for spiritual knowledge. The modern swamis or swaminis guide them improperly based on their personal notions. Generally, they lead seekers into worship of the unlimited Impersonal Brahman, which is very difficult. Therefore, these people have to imagine some form like Surya, Ganesh, Durga, Siva and Vishnu to attain the Impersonal Brahman. We have discussd this many times. 12 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

Guest: What is the difference between Guru and God? Swami: God is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Guru is the Supreme Personality of Servitor of Godhead. Krishna says ‘I am God’. Guru says ‘Krishna is God’. Krishna claims that He is God; Guru Claims that he is Krishna’s servant. He never fools his followers by magic. He gives a standard devotional service, with a normal brain and intelligence, process as prescribed in the scriptures.

Guest: How does God impart knowledge to the spiritual master? Swami: Like Krishna did to Lord Brahma, from the heart. Lord Brahma underwent austerities to obtain that. He expressed in his heart the word tapa, which means austerity, was given to him by the Lord from within the heart. He followed the path, which Krishna directed him. At the perfection of austerity, the entire spiritual world was revealed to him. He controlled his senses, mind, and focused on the Supreme Lord. He even walked on the transcendental body of Lord Vishnu by descending through the huge lotus stem, but he could not understand the purpose of his birth. Therefore, one should be determined and unwavering to execute spiritual duties if we want to become spiritual. Followers could not be a sense enjoyer, and he must control the senses, at least try to. There is a saying, which our spiritual master tells more often that ‘God helps those who help themselves’. This is also applicable to spiritual life. Krishna is the original spiritual master from within. In my personal case, I always wanted to be in this stage, right from the childhood even before I started my spiritual life. I did not have any idea, but one thing I was sure that I wanted to join some spiritual organization. Krishna guided me to the proper spiritual institution, which is the shelter of Srila Prabhupada. It took a couple of years still Lord helped me. Lord is in the heart of every living being. Everyone can become a spiritual master by His mercy. When Krishna finds 13 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

that, you are very sincere and want to go back to the spiritual world. He personally destroys your ignorance born from the darkness of this material world. It is said Bhagavad-Gita 10.9 to 10.12

machchitta madgata prana bodhyantah parasparam kathayantas cha mam nityam tushyanti cha ramanti cha

The thoughts of My pure devotees dwell in Me, their lives are fully devoted to My service, and they derive great satisfaction and bliss from always enlightening one another and conversing about Me.

tesham satata yuktanam bhajatam pritipurvakam dadami buddhi yogam tam yene mam upyanti te

To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.

tesam eva anukampartam aham ajnana jam tamah nashyamy atma bhava stho jnana dipena bhasvatha

To show them special mercy, I, dwelling in their hearts, destroy with the shining lamp of knowledge the darkness born of ignorance.

Guest: What is the characteristic of a liberated person? Swami: He is constantly engaged in the service of Krishna. A liberated person is not idle. He is idle of material actions, but works for Krishna. You should not think that a liberated person has no activities. He shall not perform selfish activities rather he will be engrossed in activities that pleases the Supreme Lord. It is mentioned in the sastra that:

14 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

iha yasya harer dasya kamana manasa gira nikhilasv apy avasthasu jivan-muktah sa uchyate

“One who engages in the transcendental service of the lord in Body, mind and word is to be considered liberated in all conditions of material existence”.

Guest: How can we distinguish between God and Illusion? Swami: It is very simple where there is no Krishna there is illusion. What appears to be reality without Krishna is certainly Krishna’s maya because nothing can exist without Krishna. What is darkness? The absence of light. God is light and maya is darkness. Once a person accepts God, then he is free. The problem with you is that you want to manipulate darkness this way and that way and convert it into light! However, light is already there, instead of converting darkness to light, just go to the light directly and that is Krishna. How can that be possible? People in general are in ignorance and they want to work in ignorance for being enlightened, how that can be achieved? A simple thing introduced to you is Krishna, and He alone is the God. Others are demigods. People do not want to take it, so they keep on suffering! What can be done?

Guest: But there are so many Gurus, who claim that they are the incarnation of God. Swami: Try to understand this clearly, first the followers are unenlightened and they are a bit lazy as well. Why? Because if someone comes and claims their superiority especially claiming they are God, they must refer to the scriptures and test whether that claiming person is God. If the so-called Guru’s name as God is not listed in scriptures then he is deliberately misguiding people. Such frivolous claims must be protested. E.g., a person visits you and says that he is the finance minister, electricity minister, or Prime Minister. Would you accept him because he 15 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

whimsically claimed or you will check the list of ministers issued by the government, his identity card, suitable government order, purpose of visit, and thereafter through regular association in the form to visit his government office, check him while discharging his function, etc., check with the neighbours and past activities of that person, etc. In addition, report his fraudulent claim. Foolishness and ignorance is not an excuse to accept someone as an incarnation of God. It must be checked. One should not be allowed to play with the sentiment of the general masses.

Guest: But these swamis and swaminis do wonderful service to the society. Swami: Doing wonderful service does not make them God. The quality of the soul is to serve. God does not do service, He accepts service. Either serve God or serve humanity, service is there. Your concept of God is someone who does wonderful service to the society. What do you then call God for creating the gigantic universe and planets and sending all maintenance, changing season, food, clothing, shelter, air, water and fire? There is no one who does wonderful service to all species of life except Krishna Himself.

Guest: Food, clothing and housing are made by people. Swami: But where did the original ingredients came from? A potter can make many clay pots, only if he gets the stock of clay.

Guest: Yes, but many saints provide community service at hospitals and schools. It seems like a lovely idea, doesn’t it? Swami: Oh, well, those services are good for the communities. Nevertheless, they are not spiritual though. Guru helps you to re- establish your relationship with your original father, God. He may not have any interest in materially oriented actions; those are not spiritual activities. They do not advocate social or community services, those are government and philanthropists’ 16 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

responsibility. Guru’s responsibility is to make everyone abide by the God’s law and doing things that makes God happy. Moreover, in the end, they do not take birth in this material world. Actually, spiritual service includes social service, but in social service, there is no God. We too have hospitals, schools, food distribution, amusement parks, etc. All these things are a central attraction to Krishna. The guru may participate in such meetings to enlighten the community members with the transcendental knowledge and give them God, but it is not his area of interest to promote dry social services. This technology has a beginning and it will have an end as well. It definitely helps bring money for their nonsense use of meat and wine.

Guest: But they say Nara is Narayana seva? Daridra ? Swami: many millions follow these both philosophies. Where is the sastric quote supporting daridra narayana seva? Here every Narayana wants to become filthy rich, powerful, beautiful, famous, and knowledgeable and their desires are constantly baffled. Not even one can come out of their poverty. It is because of their previous karma, and the resultant action of one’s karma is called destiny. In addition, one must suffer the consequences of one’s own action. Narayana para avyaktad, original Narayana never comes down to the material platform and suffers the poverty as His reaction of karma. Karma is not for God. Within this material nature, everyone is criminal by breaking Krishna’s laws. Why don’t you go to the jail and address all the criminals, ‘they were all previously prime ministers, and now they are in illusion, actually once they come out of their illusion they all become prime ministers of the nation again and ask them to wake up’ with foolish testimonials’. Moreover, if they are sane criminals then they will demand you to visit a mental hospital. This means those who are spreading such philosophies of daridra narayana are so foolish, that they address all living

17 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

beings as poor Narayanas. There is only one Narayana, and He is Narayana Himself. There is no such thing called daridra narayanas in scriptures. Just like, there is only one Prime Minister, and there are not lot of prime ministers loitering on the street. The truth is that all are jiva atmas suffering from their good and bad , unable to come out of it. In addition, Narayana is beyond all these karmic activities. As Krishna says in Bhagavad-Gita 9-9:

na cha mam tani karmani nibadhnanti dhananjaya udasina-vad asinam asktam teshu karmashu

“O Dhananjaya, all this work cannot bind Me. I am ever detached from all these material activities, seated as though neutral”. The Supreme Lord Krishna is the original Narayana, Who is transcendental and all His actions are pure, and spiritual. He is not classified into any of the social orders and consequent material position. He is the maintainer of all sentient beings. Only God will not come under the laws of the material universes. Similarly, when a person takes complete shelter of the Supreme Majestic Lord, they become free from all social classifications, reactions, laws, and order of the material world. Krishna is Parabrahman- the Supreme Soul and devotees are the one who understands Krishna’s position as He is. Not these speculating saints. Such people cannot be called saints, because “saint” means he must know Narayana’s original position.

Guest 4: People in general are followers of Sankaracharya who propose theory of illusion, mayavada as the ultimate.

Swami: Sankaracharya appeared for a purpose. His philosophy of mayavada, establish illusion as real, is to create more 18 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

confusion and abate the philosophy of , which is the philosophy of Lord Buddha. Nirvana philosophers believe that the life is combination of the material elements. Therefore, theory of mayavada and nirvana is not accepted in the Vedic literature. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu refuted both the theory of mayavada and nirvana, found hundreds of fault in it. Shankaracharya’s philosophy is when God transforms into creation; God loses His identity, which is wrong. Like in a company, everything is belonged to the owner, which is the transformation of the energy of the owner, does not mean owner loses his personality. In Srimad-Bhagavatam, Narada Muni instructs Srila Vyasa dev.

idam hi visvam bhagavan ivetaro yato jagat-sthana-nirodha-sambhavah tad dhi svayam veda bhavams tathapi te pradesa-matram bhavatah pradarsitam

The Supreme Lord Personality of Godhead is Himself this cosmos, and still He is aloof from it. From Him only has this cosmic manifestation emanated, in Him it rests, and unto Him, it enters after annihilation. Your good self knows all about this. I have given only a synopsis. Sripad Shankaracharya is junior to Narada Muni and Srila Vyasa dev.

Guest 4: What does the actual spiritual life means? Swami: The spiritual life means voluntarily accepting some austerities or material inconveniences for the sake of God realization i.e. higher cause. In ancient times, the spiritual masters guaranteed this realization to the children. Many parents too were well qualified in spiritual science. For the sake of good character of children, the parents voluntarily accepted separation from them while sending them to gurukula of spiritual master.

19 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

Male children were sent to gurukula when their age turned 5 years. Gurukula asramas had to be situated far away from houses of the parents. Hence, although the parents were attached to their children, they could not visit gurukula and disturb children’s’ spiritual development. There is a saying that when the bamboo is green, it can be bent. When it turns yellow and then there is an attempt to bend it, it will break. Children should be trained when they are tender in age. Then, under the superior guidance of the spiritual master, children quickly learn spiritual science.

brahmacari guru-kule vasan danto gurur hitam acharam dasavan nico gurau sudrdha-sauhrdah

A student should practice after completely controlling his senses. He should be submissive and should have an attitude of firm friendship for the spiritual master. With a great vow, the brahmacari should live at the guru-kula, only for the benefit of the guru. At both junctions of day and night, namely, in the early morning and in the evening, he should be fully absorbed in thoughts of the spiritual master, fire, the sun god and Lord Vishnu and by chanting the , he should worship them all.

Guest 4: But, nowadays what is going on is opposite. Swami: Yes, especially children of the west, nowadays in India also there is no discipline, self-control nor spiritual discussions. Sex sex sex. They begin to have sex when they turn thirteen or fourteen years old. Most of the time girls get pregnant in that early age. It is very cheap nowadays. Hoggish, doggish life, similar to animal life. The school or college students woo each other for this purpose.

20 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

Guest: But they say that everyone is Narayana? Swami: There is a difference between jiva atmas. If one jiva atma is different from another jiva atma, what to talk about the difference between God and Jivas. Let me ask you another question. If everyone is Narayana, why are they not sitting inside the temple altar and receiving worships by others? Why is Narayana obtaining all the worships?

Guest: That is true too. Swami: That is not “true too”, that is the only truth. Sastra says:

yastu narayanam devam brahma-rudradi daivate samatvena naiva vikshate sa pasandi bhavet druvam

“Those who compare Lord Narayana with Lord Brahma and Lord Siva are considered to be pasandi. That means crooked atheists”

What does it mean? Comparing even great demigods like Lord Brahma and Siva with Lord Narayana is an offense. Hence, comparing Narayana with your ordinary living beings is certainly an apparent crime. Those people who claim all are Narayanas are not speaking sastra, they are speaking asat sastra! It is said in Bhagavad-Gita 16.23

yah ṣśāstra-vidhim utsr ṣjya vartate kāma-kāratah ṣ na sa siddhim avāpnoti na sukhaṁ na parā ṁ gatim

Those who transgress the injunctions of the Vedic scriptures and act whimsically due to their lusty desires do not attain perfection, happiness or the supreme destination.

Guest: Who was propagating all these wrong philosophies without reference to the scriptures? 21 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

Swami: It was Sripad Shankaracharya; his philosophy of , that jiva- living entities and God is one. There is no scriptural reference to that and logically it does not make any sense either.

Guest: Yes, we too have heard and understood that way. What is the truth? Swami: Are you and donkey the same and are you and elephant the same?

Guest: no Swami: Are you and your neighbour the same?

Guest: no Swami: Are you and demigods or demons are the same?

Guest: no Swami: So if you and all these following members are not the same, how will you and God be the same? What does your science and logic say about these foolish assumptions?

If both jiva and God is one, why he should even say jiva and God. There is no necessity at all to take two different words ‘Jiva and God’. Say there is no separate God, everyone is God. Coolie is God, dog is God, snake is God, pig is God, bird is God, tree is God, stone is God, water is God. Do you think they are all God? Even if they are God, why God had to accept these fallen forms? Who made them fallen? Here is another analogy that not all monkies are Hanuman, not all tortoises are incarnation, all lions are not Lord Narasimha, etc. If ordinary monkies, lion and tortoise are God, then every second God is incarnating as these animals. What do you have to say? You may say that God is under illusion now! How God comes under illusion to become a lion? It means illusion is God, because 22 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

illusion is powerful and it is covering God and forcing God to become a dog. Finally, the followers of the impersonal philosophy do not even know, what is the definition of God? In the name of defeating Buddhist philosophers and sending them out of India, he has damaged the pure thinking of the cultured people of India also. The future generation of his time is suffering now; they are being degenerated.

Guest: What is cultured? Swami: In the revealed scriptures, there are two categorizations for the cultured and non-cultured life. One is grhastha, and the other is grhamedhi. The grhasthas are those who live together with wife and children but live transcendentally for realizing the ultimate truth- soul and God. The grhamedhis, however, are those who live only for the benefit of the family members, extended or centralized, and thus are envious of others. The word medhi indicates envious of others. One who is well educated in real philosophy of the self, and body and act accordingly is cultured. Who can be more cultured than they can? Now everything is shadowed, everyone has their own philosophy, and yet they are unhappy. Devahuti to Kardama muni 3-23-56 says it in Srimad-Bhāgavatam

neha yat karma dharmaya na viragaya kalpate na pada sevayai jivann api mrto hi sah

Anyone whose work is not meant to elevate him to religious life, anyone whose religious ritualistic performances do not raise him to renunciation, and anyone situated in renunciation, which does not lead him to devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, must be considered dead, although he is breathing.

Guest: Why then is it so difficult to take up the service of the Lord? 23 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

Swami: People suffer individually, communally, nationally and internationally due to their past and present wrong doings. It is individual karma, communal karma, national and international karma. They are tied up with their problems. Not even a blade of grass moves without the sanction of the Supreme Lord. Therefore, all difficulties are created by the living beings themselves. You can see things going around, and they always keep making bad decisions. Bad karma begins in an individual capacity and in State and National capacity. Krishna says that ‘rain showers depends on your religious activities. forms rain clouds and showers fall. The best rainfall should be at night and in the daytime, there should be sunlight. If so, then the land gets fertilized and crops grow fast and healthy”. Nowadays the rain shower falls the whole day and spoil all your crops and at night the sky is so clear, without any clouds. That is due to sinful activities. Though all these problems are happening throughout the planet, no one takes shelter of the Lord sincerely. People are after their name and fame. Modern biggest illusion is telecasted by film industry.

Guest: So God consciousness is the solution then! Swami: God is Krishna, and thus Krishna consciousness is the solution. In every activity, you keep Lord Krishna as a central being. Let Him be the central pivot of all your actions. In Krishna, there are millions of qualities. By associating with God, one will incur those qualities, as much as a person associates with contagious diseases, he will be affected. Similarly, when you associate with God, His qualities will manifest in you.

Lord Krishna declares the benefits of Krishna Consciousness in Bhagavad-Gita 18.54.

brahma bhutah prasannatma na shochati na kankshati samah arveshu bhuteshu mad bhaktim labhate param

24 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

One who is thus transcendentally situated at once realizes the Supreme Brahman and becomes fully joyful. He never laments or desires to have anything. He is equally disposed toward every living entity. In that state he attains pure devotional service unto Me.

Guest: Guruji, then what is the destination of the social workers, who are performing activities without Krishna consciousness? Swami: In their social list, they only have human beings to nourish and protect. They send all animals to the slaughter houses or kill at home. That is what is going on in the present advanced scientific social civilization. It may change when a powerful spiritually conscious person becomes the leader like Maharaja Yudhishtira or Maharaja Parikshit. These kings never allowed illegal things to happen, which means things that were not in the scriptures. Human beings have obtained scriptures for perfecting their human life. Other species do not understand such injunctions. You well to do human beings are eager to eat animal corpse and eagerly waiting for the weekend to slaughter innocent living entities and consume them. In the west, all the three or four meals are meat. Is that good social life? In sastra, it is said that whoever is born in this world is a citizen, praja. However, your eyes are so narrow, you can see only humans have soul and you send all other creatures to be killed for satisfying your tongue and caring for body. And you say you are a great social worker and that you are into social reformation. That is alright. Nevertheless, you must think more deeply. In the name of education, you teach math and science, social studies, geography, etc. but your children’s life style and conducts remain sinful. They eat chicken, goat, pigs, cows, buffalos, snakes, dogs… and you expect a peaceful atmosphere in this world. Coming back to your question, any good service you perform for the society, you get good results provided there is no 25 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

mistake. Say you are building hospitals and serving thousands of diseased people. You will be born among similar families who own many hospitals, having millions and billions of dollars. Though you are born among them, you are not free from diseases, death and other material sufferings. There are such families who have many hospitals under them. In the modern days, having a hospital means you try to protect the life of many people, and at the same time try to kill the life of many in the womb. There are many such hospitals. In the name of making money they commit infanticide. For all your pious activities, you will enjoy, but your sins cannot be neutralized through pious activities. Furthermore, for your sinful activities such as killing infants in the womb and other living beings, you face acute reactions. You may take billions of years to come back to the conscious life of human form in the manifested world. Similarly, you open up many schools and colleges, you will be born among such classes of families and you can become owners of many such private schools and colleges. Remember you too have to go to school and study, you cannot say that I own so many schools and colleges, and therefore I do not have to study. You may enjoy your name and fame, followers, people are congratulating you and awarding, honouring your arrivals, your publicity going on everywhere. Your monuments are erected in your school. You were awarded Padmashri for your wonderful service to the society, nationally and internationally. You have enjoyed your fame subtly and grossly. Will this reputation, money, awards, and followers solve your real problems? It is just for a few years. Horrible death will still come to take all your facilities away. Since you made mistakes during your service period, hence your rich birth is lost and become ordinary lower class man, or poor, dog, hog, and tree. According to your previous 26 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

consciousness you will be somewhere in proximity to your school or hospital because of your attachment to them. What happened to all your schools and hospitals? You were allowed to enjoy them during one lifetime. You will be forcibly thrust out of earlier body and be asked to enter some other body connected to those institutions. That challenge exists. It is natural, when one has all these opulence and position in the society, to act wickedly and arrogantly, there by sins will be accumulated. The new generation adores and respects your statue at schools and streets, but where have you gone, dear sir? Any trace of you. This is what laws of karma is. Please distribute knowledge of Krishna everywhere and to everyone; does this sound safe and good? Krishna is God, In God you find all the beautiful qualities. Without God, even the social services or serving your daridra narayanas, will end up in the same or worse category. Second point: whatever you are using to serve the public is not your creation. It is Krishna’s creation. All ingredients are made possible in the nature by Krishna. Do not steal Krishna’s property and try to become another independent mini Krishna!! It is sheer enviousness of God. Just like the government agents such as IB, CBI, CIA, Police, National securities working for the Government, Krishna also has multifarious energies working for Him. He knows your action perfectly being omniscient. Be very careful in your actions. This manifested world and its varieties are nothing but interactions and permutations of people’s karma, which forces the laws of nature, i.e. punishment or reward.

Guest: Is death and birth the universal law, correct? Swami: That is the material universal law, but there is a universal lawmaker also. It is not that the universe popped up on its own. The law is that those who have taken birth are sure to die 27 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

and those who died have to take birth again. You do not have to take birth again and die, if you follow, serve the universal lawmaker. Death and birth is not compulsory. Like you are going to a prison house is not compulsory; you can follow the state and federal law and live peacefully in the city. That city, free, life is compared to Kingdom of God.

There is a saying that the ‘king can do no wrong’! The universal lawmaker is not bound within His own law. In your democratic world your president is also tied up with the country’s laws, if he breaks some laws he will be punished too. The universal lawmaker is not subject to His laws. These laws are made for the disobedient living beings. Therefore, you can be obedient, take birth in the spiritual world, and become eternal in the spiritual body. Material body means you manifest your life for few years, enjoy or suffer and then again unmanifest. This cycle is repeatedly going on. Do you know that there is another world where there are no material sufferings such as birth and death?

Guest: No Swami: Nobody is concerned about that world. They are simply happy in this mortal world being ignorant. Ignorance is bliss! Keep on spinning in this material world, like a football being kicked by many players. We are unable to stay in one place, kicked by the material nature from the body of Lord Brahma to the smallest ant. We are happy when we are rich, we are unhappy when we are poor. Not looking at who is rewarding all these good and bad! There must be a supreme Godhead and we must petition to him about all these odd things happening to us rather than trying to be engaged in fixing these insurmountable problems on our own. You may try for trillions of years to solve these problems; you will never be able to fix them on your own way. Therefore, 28 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

material nature has created ‘fool’s paradise’. In the kingdom of blinds, the cross-eyed person is the king. The Lord in Bhagavad- Gita 8-16 says it:

ā-brahma-bhuvanāl lokāh ṣ punar āvartino ’rjuna mām upetya tu kaunteya punar janma na vidyate

O Arjuna, from the topmost Brahma’s planetary system in the material world down to the lowest planetary system everywhere there is repeated birth and death, O son of Kunti, one who attains My abode, will not take birth again.

It is said by the Lord in Bhagavad-Gita 8-19:

bhūta-grāmah ṣsa evāyaṁ bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate rātry-āgame ’vaśah ṣpārtha prabhavaty ahar-āgame

Repeatedly, when his (Brahma’s) day arrives, all the combined living beings come into exist, and with the arrival of his night, they are all without help destroyed.

Krishna says in Bhagavad-Gita 8.20:

paras tasmāt tu bhāvo ’nyo ’vyakto ’vyaktāt sanātanah ṣ yah ṣsa sarvesuṣ bhūtesuṣ naśyatsu na vinaśyati

There is another unmanifested spiritual nature, which is superior and eternal than these manifested and unmanifested material elements. That is Supreme and when everything in this material world is destroyed, that unmanifested spiritual nature remains intact. That is Krishna’s universe. This material world is also His universe, but in the material world, all disobedient souls are

29 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

placed. Like a jail, where all lawbreakers are thrown up. Each prisoner is a worse criminal than the previous one. Living among such people, you never can be happy. Another will pull down your legs always when you try to get out it. Similarly, the completely material universe is a place of suffering, no one can be happy. If someone says that they are happy, it will not be for long.

Guest: Who has seen life after death, life is temporary anyway. As long we are alive, we should do something for the people.

Swami: Srimad-Bhagavatam says the same thing.

praninam upakaraya yad eveha paratra ca karmana manasa vaca tad eva mati-man bhajet ‘By his work, thoughts and words, an intelligent man must perform actions which will be beneficial for all living entities in this life and the next.’ etavaj janma-saphalyam dehinam iha dehisu pranair arthair dhiya vaca sreya-acharanam sada “It is the duty of every living being to perform welfare activities for the benefit of others with his life, wealth, intelligence and words.’ You cannot be idle even for a second. You must do something always. But there is a difference. If you want to put an end to your repeated birth and death, these activities must be absorbed with Krishna’s spiritual activities. Otherwise, your activities are not purified. You may have billions of ordinary peoples’ support and adoration! Nevertheless, if you do not have the mercy of the Lord, no auspiciousness will be with you according to sastra. Sastra says yasmin tuste jagat tushtam, and

30 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

if you please the Supreme Person, you please the whole universe, jagat. In India, there are cow dung patties, which are used for cooking. There are dry cow dung and wet cow dung. The cook throws the dry cow dung into the fire, and wet cow dung laughs and he does not know that once he dries he will be thrown into the fire too. Our cases are also the same. We see so many deaths and births too, yet no one cares. They think they are going to live for millions of years. Once their turn comes they will be dead too. After death, they are going to experience misery or fun, others may not see it. Because others are not seeing it, the suffering you are going to go through cannot be ignored. You will certainly experience the miseries created by your performance.

Guest: Is Lord Krishna not forced to reward for good activities? Swami: No one can force Lord Krishna to award or reward or punish for any work. Lord will not interfere in your gorgeous or sinful activities. He is not envious of your material achievements and great intentions either. You do good deeds, you are well established in the material world, and if your actions are sinful, you will get miseries. This is an automated system. None of these actions will bring you into His attention. If you want His attention, then you have to do all these things while keeping Him as the central pivot. However, you cannot commit sinful activities in His name. Your real good time begins that time by advancing towards the Kingdom of God. Kingdom of God is unlimited with unlimited variegatedness. Attention of the Supreme Lord is not that easy, but activities in Krishna consciousness, that is His private division.

Guest 4: Is God one or many?

31 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

Swami: God is singular and we are plural, plural includes demigods. President is one, ministers are many, and citizens are even more. nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam eko bahunam yo vidadhati kaman (Katha Upanisad 2.2.13) The Vedic literature informs us that Krishna can supply all the necessities for one's life. There is no scarcity and no economic problem. We simply have to try to serve Krishna, and then everything will be complete.

Guest4: Lord Siva, Lord Ganesh, Ayyapa swami…etc are also names of Krishna? Swami: They are plural. Those names are given by Krishna, but these names are not Krishna’s name. Because everything emanates from Krishna, nothing can be independent of the Lord. So all these names are also coming from Him. janmadi yasya yatoh (Srimad Bhāgavatam 1-1-1). From whom everything comes, is Krishna. He is them, but they are not Him.

It is said Bhagavad-Gita 10.37

vrsninam vasudevo asmi pandavanam dhananjayah muninam apy aham vyasah kavinam ushana kavih

Of the descendants of Vrsni I am Vasudeva, of the Pandavas I am Arjuna, of the sages I am Vyasadeva and among great scholars of scriptures, Sukracharya the priest of the Daityas.

The above verse says that everyone is Lord Krishna because they all are created and maintained by His potency. However, that cannot mean that Arjuna is Krishna. Similarly, Siva, , etc. are created and maintained by Lord Krishna but they are not Krishna.

32 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

Guest4: Are incarnations of the Lord real? Swami: All incarnations are real. Vishnu, Narayana and Krishna and expansions are master of the illusory energy.

Guest4: What are the circumstances that make the Lordship descent in this world? Swami: When atheistic members create discrepancies in the righteousness, when miscreants do not accept authority of God, at that time Lord descends. You must be devoted to the Supreme Lord. These rubber stamp manmade religions are not religion; everyone has a phony idea of God and nobody knows who He is? Such rubber stamp religion is not accepted and therefore it is considered as the discrepancy.

Guest4: Why is the Lord not incarnating now? Swami: In Kaliyuga, Krishna incarnated as His Holiname. There is a difference between name of a man and man himself. But there is no difference between name of Krishna and Krishna Himself. Because He is Absolute in His nature.

kali-kāle nāma-rūpe kr ṣsnṣ a-avatāraṣ nāma haite haya sarva-jagat-nistāra

"In this Age of Kali, the holy name of the Lord, the Hare Krishna mahā-mantra, is the incarnation of Lord Krishna. Simply by chanting the holy name, one associates with the Lord directly. Anyone who does this is certainly delivered.

Guest4: What is the role of Durga? Swami: She is the commander in chief of the material nature. Like the police commissioner. She has a trident, which has three sharp edges. She pushes the trident inside the demons stomach and heart. These three sharp nibs are compared to the three fold

33 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

miseries. She is punishing living beings every time. If you become a devotee of the Lord, she will let you go. It is as if you follow the government laws and are obedient to the government officers, you are free from police observation, and otherwise you are trapped.

Gues4t: What is the character of the body an incanation assumes? Swami: Lord cannot have any material body. He only manifests in His spiritual body. He is unchangeable. Nonetheless, He assumes different colors at different incarnations. For example, Krishna Shyama color, Lord Ramachandra is green like parrot, Lord Kapila is white color, Lord Chaitanya is Golden color, and Lord Yajna is red color and so on. Though He may appear in these different bodily colors, He is transcendental to all these colors. It is said in Srimad-Bhagavatam

asan varnas trayo hy asya grhnato 'nuyugam tanuh suklo raktas tatha pita idanim krsnatam gatah

Your son Krishna appears as an incarnation in every millennium. In the past, He assumed three different colors—white, red and yellow—and now He has appeared in a blackish color. (In another Dvapara-yuga, He appeared (as Lord Ramacandra) in the color of suka, a parrot.) All such incarnations have now assembled in Krishna)

Guest4: Is that His powerlessness that He cannot change the body? Swami: Crashes of a building is due to the weakness of the building, a strong building standing without shakes is considered powerful. Falling from a spiritual body to a material body is powerlessness. Unable to fall from spiritual body to material 34 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

body is due to His full power. This question has no value in connection with God, but we can say, relatively one may be an honourable and reputed billionaire always travelling in a private jet or a BMW or a Rolls Royce. He would never like to travel in a hired auto-rickshaw, three-wheeler of Mumbai city. Material body is like three-wheeler. God is not obligated to be in the material body though it is His energy. Material energy is lowest in quality, as if the hogs enjoy stool and remain happy. We mortal beings are like hogs, who want to enjoy the insignificant material opulence of God. Krishna is full of influence of the spiritual energy. He says in Bhagavad-Gita 4.6

ajo api sann avyatma bhutanam ishvaro api san prakrtim svam adhishthaya sambhavamy atma-mayaya

Even though I am without birth and My spiritual body is imperishable and although I am the Lord of all living entities; by presiding over my My internal potency, I incarnate in my original spiritual form.

Guest 4: Do all the incarnations' origin is Lord Krishna? Swami: Yes. There are various kinds of avataras, such as avataras, guna avataras, lilaavataras, satyavesa avataras, manvantara avataras and yuga avataras—all appearing on schedule all over the universe to re-establish real religious principles. There are three Purusha avataras - Maha Vishnu, Garbhodakasayi Vishnu, and Kshirodhakasayi Vishnu. Guna avataras are Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu, and Lord Shiva. Lila avataras are , (Fish), Kurma (turtle) Varaha (Boar) Narasimha (half lion half man) Vaman (Dwarf) Parashurama, Sri Rama, Balarama, Buddha and . Satyavesa avataras like Sesa, Maharaja, Narada muni, Vyasa dev etc. Manvantara-avataras are like Svayambhuva manu, Cakshusa manu, Vaivashata manu etc, there are 14 manus in the 12 hours 35 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

of Lord Brahma. Yuga avataras are Kapila (white color), Yajna (red color), Krishna (blue color) and Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (golden color). In this way, there are thousands of incarnations of the Lord. Lord Krishna is the fountainhead of all incarnation; therefore, He is called avatari, the source of all incarnations. However, all these incarnations have one purpose to re-establish true righteousness. For the age of Kali-yuga, Lord Krishna appeared in the form of Lord Chaitanya in 1486, and a few decades before to Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Lord Balarama appeared in the form of Lord Nityananda Prabhu. In the Lord Brahma states:

dīpārcir eva hi daśāntaram abhyupetya dīpāyate vivr ṣta-hetu-samāna-dharmā yas tādr ṣg eva hi ca vishnutayā vibhāti govindam ādi-purusaṣ ṁ tam aha ṁ bhajāmi

"Lord Krishna expands Himself as Vishnu the way a brilliant candle kindles another candle. Although there is no difference between the power of one candle and another, Krishna or Govinda is compared to the primeval candle". Brahma Samhita 5-46

Guest 4: Are all the incarnations all omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent? Swami: All incarnations of the Lord are all omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent. However, incarnation limits the potency within His purpose without imitating other incarnations, though He is capable to do other incarnation’s pastimes as well. It is not their inefficiency but exhibiting others, pastimes are not required. They know the heart of all demons and act according to the enemies’ theory. Therefore, nothing can be hidden from God. Krishna is the complete Godhead, who manifested all opulence

36 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

in complete such as wealth, power, fame, beauty, knowledge and renunciation.

Guest4: Are all incarnations transcendental to the cycle of birth and death? Swami: The incarnations of the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead has nothing to do with the material world. Therefore, Their appearance and disappearance appears as if a part of human beings. Nevertheless, none of them takes birth as living entities takes birth from the womb of a mother through the seminal discharge. Because They do not have any birth, and when They leave this world They do not die. Death and birth is forced upon the living entities, not upon the Supreme Lord and His expansions. All their births are spiritual; They come in the spiritual body and will leave this world after performing their pastimes of re-establishing the religious principles or whatever they descended for.

Guest4: Are all expansions able to fulfil all desires? Swami: Yes, They can fulfil Their desires. If you want to fulfil your desires, you pray to Them. Nevertheless, it depends on your karma as well. Lord Krishna and His incarnations are completely spiritual. Therefore, they have nothing to do with material desires. Yet, He is fulfilling everyone’s desires because He is the supreme father of all living entities. As if a rich father fulfils all the desires of his children, then why should not God fulfil the desires of His own devotees? Because the child is very close to his father, sometimes the father thinks what is better for his son. Ultimately, everything that is created is His property and he allows us to use because we are His children. You must take shelter of a respective form of the Supreme Lord, without going here and there to meet your material desires. Mainly not putting Krishna’s incarnations and demigods together, they are not one and the same, they are different. ‘One pointed attention of service 37 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

attitude’ to the Supreme Person is required that is the terminology Srimad-Bhāgavatam uses.

Guest 4: What is the time schedule of an incarnation's manifestation? Swami: Whenever devotees or demigods are put into physical and mental difficulty, and the problem is very hard to resolve for powerful demigods, on such distressed devotees' request the Supreme Person advents to eliminate the demoniac influence and saves them.

In Bhagavad-Gita 4.8, Krishna says that he would descent to protect His devotees and destroy the demons.

paritrānāyaṣ sādhūnāṁ vināśhāya cha dushkrṣ ṣtām dharma-saṁ sthāpanārthāya sambhavāmi yuge yuge

To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to re-establish the principles of religion, I Myself appear millennium after millennium.

Guest 4: What are the symptoms of the incarnations? Swami: The incarnations do super human activities. The must be mentioned in the scriptures. Secondly, He performs unique and magnificent activities, which no human beings can ever execute. For example, Lord Ramachandra is so powerful; every action of Him was unique. Killing Bāli, killing thousands of demons in Dandakaranya forest, Ravana and his brothers like Ahi Ravana, Mahi Ravana and others. Lord Krishna killed all demons sent by Kamsa, and finally killed Kamsa. Krishna married 16,108 princesses and by expanding into 16,108 and each form executing different actions. He built 16,108 palaces and lived with each and every one of them simultaneously. Breaking all the forts created by demon Bauma, 38 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

crashing the mystic airplane of demon Salva, etc. Then Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, whose actions are matchless. When Jagganath chariot was running, the chariot wheel stuck in the mud. Healthy elephants tried to release the wheels from the mud and failed. In the end, Lord Chaitanya went behind the chariot and pushed with His head, the chariot began moving immediately. Lord Chaitanya once asked His devotees ‘what do they want to eat’, His devotees said mango. The Lord said to them “bring a mango seed’ when they brought, the Lord asked to sow the seed in the mud, in front of them as everyone was looking at the seed, it began sprouting, became a plant, a tree, then mango flower and mangoes began hanging, very big mangoes with no skin and smallest seeds. These are the outstanding actions of incarnation. Lord Narasimha, half lion and half man, killed the formidable enemy, demon Hiranyakashipu with his entire retinue. Lord can change forms as He wants, manifest and unmanifest as He likes, create universes and annihilate them at His will. All his incarnations perform herculean task and mesmerize devotees’ heart and brain.

Guest 4: What about all these modern swamis who produce gold and fruit? They claim themselves God! Swami: Producing gold, fruits, vibhuti are these valid standards for judging a person as God. What do you say about the Gold mine, who created that? Meru Mountain is made of Gold. There are hundreds of Gold mines. What do you say about that? What about the fruit orchard? If you go to California, you can see orange orchard spread around 10,000 acres of land. There are grape vines all over; peach trees, etc. if you go to a crematorium you find ashes too. What is there to create ashes, you can buy from the market. None of Krishna’s and His incarnation’s actions can be imitated or can be bought from the market!

39 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

There is not any place for material things, magics, products in Krishna Consciousness and devotional service to Krishna. None of the devotees of Krishna will manifest such material magics for pleasing the crowd. They are not after crowd gathering. Rather, a true devotee of Krishna is bound by Krishna’s instructions and he will demonstrate devotional service to Lord Krishna throughout his lifetime. This is a bigger treasure and wealth than those gold ring and vibhuti. Can you please request the famous swamis or swamins to live and demonstrate true devotional service to Krishna? That is the treasure. If they do that, they will get liberated and along with them, they would liberate all their followers. That would be great! Therefore, next time when you face such magic shows, please challenge the swami / swamins to be submissive and glorify Lord Krishna and be 100% engaged in devotional service to Krishna. People do not need another God. We know that Krishna is Supreme Godhead and the duty of every guru is to be engaged in Krishna’s devotional service.

Guest 4: Fruits and vegetables are produced by farmers. Swami: That is right! Therefore, you may call the farmer as God then. But who produces the seed? Who sends out rain for such produces and fruits? Practically you cannot live in this world without the mercy of the Lord. You are just advertising you are independent. You are being controlled by rain, when there is no rain, you are in trouble, when there is too much rain, and you are still in trouble. Humans will be at war with each other’s for food if there is no food production and kill each other for food. All your activities you do in this world are for food. Remember that! Everything else is secondary.

Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita 9.19

tapamy aham aham varsham nigrahnamy utsrujami ca amrutam chaiva mrutyus ca sad asad chaham arjuna

40 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

O Arjuna ! I give heat, I send forth and withhold the rain, I alone am immortality and death as well, all that is manifested and unmanifested, and all that is transitory and eternal too.

Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita 15.13

gam avysa cha bhutani dharayami aham ojasa pushnami chausadhih sarvah somo bhutva rasatmakah

I enter into each planet, and by My energy they stay in orbit. I become the moon and thereby supply the juice of life to all vegetables.

Therefore, farmer is only a karta in cultivation of fruits and vegetables. We humans do not see the subtle forces of Lord Krishna in the form of rain and the essence through which He nourishes and grows the plants provides us food.

Guest 4: What about these vibhuti babas? Are they Incarnates? Swami: I already told you the symptom of incarnations. All others remain Vibhuti babas or nanga babas only. Sometimes they are tantric babas. Are they listed in the Vedas as incarnations of God? Have they performed any magnificent activities? Like Lord Krishna, Lord Rama and Lord Chaitanya? They are not even bonafide gurus, because bonafide gurus neither create such magic nor use hallucination to cheat their followers nor they are after taking their money by selling some cheap mantras. Actually, they are small villains because if you do not cooperate with them they will punish you by some means. In Krishna’s time, there was a king called Vasudev Paundraka, who claimed himself to be Krishna and he said he

41 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

was the real Krishna. He had two artificial hands and held fake Sudarshan disc, lotus flower, and a mace and conch shell. Vasudev Paundraka’s wife and uncle tried to make him understand that he is not God, but he arrested his uncle and sold him to the public as a mad man. He severely chastised his wife for not cooperating with him. At last being madly driven up with the eulogy of his foolish friends, he declared war against Krishna in Dwaraka and got his head severed by the Lord’s Sudarshan . There are such people who claim to be God. First rule of incarnation is that He never says that He is God. When such things happen, it becomes dharmasya glanir.

Guest5: What are the goals of all these material education? Swami: University education pertains only to matter. As such, it can help one to obtain a job and earn money and position. Therefore, it is not considered knowledge. However, it is a path to obtain a job for earning your bodily maintenance. The material education does not bring any godly qualities, however, advanced he may be in material qualifications by education and culture. He lacks in godly qualities. The real knowledge refers to understanding what is spirit and matter. The real knowledge teaches us the distinction between the phenomenal world and the Supreme Lord. In modern education, there is no knowledge about soul; they are simply taking care of the material elements and bodily needs. Therefore, academic knowledge is not complete. ksetra-jnam capi mam viddhi sarva-ksetresu bharata ksetra-ksetrajnayor jnanam yat taj jnanam matam mama

O scion of Bharata, you should understand that I am also the knower in all bodies, and to understand this body and its knower is called knowledge. That is My statement.

42 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

Guest 5: What are the Laws of conservation of energy? Swami: All the energy of the supreme Lord always exists, even if it is not visible to material eyes. My spiritual master used to give an example: When a lamp is broken or the oil is finished, we see that the flame of the lamp goes out. However, according to scientific understanding, the flame is not extinguished; it is conserved. This is conservation of energy. Similarly, when the mind stops functioning on the material platform, it is conserved in the activities of the Supreme Lord. Another example, like the building, which is erected by engineers by assembling many materials, will collapse one day and remain as atoms. Thus, the whole building in the form of atoms is conserved, laws of conservation of energy in the form of atoms remains. yato va imani bhutani jayante, everything comes from Him, he maintains everything remaining and at the end, everything is conserved in Him. That is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Krishna.

Guest 5: Killings of Children in the womb is happening nowadays, can you give some spiritual solution to these sinful actions? Swami: The scientists carry these out. Most scientists are atheists, they do not believe in spirit souls. They have a theory of children in the wombs that they are product of sexual actions. They say that the child in the womb of the mother has no life but is simply a lump of matter. If the lump of matter is aborted by a surgery, no life is killed. According to them, the body of an infant in womb is like a tumour, and if a tumour is operated upon and thrown away, sin is not incurred. The Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Krishna does not support their foolish theory. The soul through the semen of the father enters into the womb of the mother. With the potency and previous action of that soul, the infant body develops gradually with passage of time. When the infant attains around seven months in womb, he becomes

43 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

conscious of the environment. At the tenth month, he is allowed to come out of the body. He is the same soul when he was conceived. He is same when he was one-month age, and his body was not developed. It certainly does not mean that one can kill him, thinking he is a lump at one-month age. In every field, perfection comes from the scratch. Without beginning, there is no end. If you make anything in this world, you have to make a model and then it is transformed into reality. The model is the beginning of giant structure. Similarly, biological machines called bodies are also a beginning of conception and they grow because of the presence of the soul until it becomes a full baby, and then baby is delivered. Killing such babies in the womb itself by foolishly bluffing the mother and encouraging their sex life is sinful. All such rascals should think that they have taken birth too in similar conditions and pattern. From the embryos, they developed and now become a man of surgical operations. The consequence will be both the doctor and mother will be put into same situation and will be aborted many times. The simple spiritual solution you asked for is that to stop doing such abortions by cultivating true knowledge from the transcendentalists and atone for such sinful activities before the doctors or patients enter into the same situation and are being aborted in a similar way. With sincerity, if they take shelter of the Supreme Lord Krishna, Lord may alter their karma. Again, there will be no hypocrisy work before Krishna because He is omniscient and omnipresent like the Sun.

yas tv indragopam athavendram aho sva-karma- bandhanurupa-phala-bhajanam atanoti karmani nirdahati kintu ca bhakti-bhajam govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami

I adore the primeval Lord Govinda, who burns up to their roots all karma of those who are instil with devotion and impartially

44 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

ordains for each the due enjoyment of the fruits of one’s activities, of all those who walk in the path of work, in accordance with the chain of their previously performed works, no less in the case of the tiny insect that bears the name of indragopa than in that of Indra, king of the devas.

Guest 5: How can we trust in God and His service? Swami: Without trust in God, one cannot trust in His service. We do trust blindly in so many things of the world. Restaurants, liquors, packed foods, milks, waters, humans, animals, etc. We do not know is it correct or poisoned, but we believe in them. Sastra denotes about the position of God. Thus, we must trust in God. Sastra says

’sraddha’-sabde—visvasa kahe sudrdha niscaya krishna bhakti kaile sarva-karma krta haya

“sraddha is confident, firm faith that by rendering transcendental loving service to Krishna one automatically performs all subsidiary activities. Such faith is favourable to the discharge of devotional service. asraddadhanah purusa dharmasyasya parantapa aprapya mam nivartante mrtyu-samsara-vartmani

Those who are not faithful in this devotional service cannot attain Me, O conqueror of enemies. Therefore, they return to the path of birth and death in this material world. Bhagavad-Gita - 9-3. So if you do not have faith in Him. He will throw you to the repeated birth and death. The proof is that we are taking birth and dying repeatedly in the material world.

Guest5: In USA dollar bills, they have a slogan in ‘God we trust’. 45 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

Swami: Well, in God we trust, it is a good idea. However, ask them who is God? That they have no idea, ask them what is God’s philosophy, that also they are unaware. Ask them what God wants from them, which are also unknown to them. Without knowing the philosophy of God, their trust in God will take them nowhere! It is just some sentiment. They are Godless and they use God for their sense gratification. There is not even a simple endeavour to know Him and what He wants. These illiterates in the science of God; at the end of each speech say ‘God bless their country’. They think God is their servant and obliged to bless only their country. One day God may destroy them, when they keep on killing God’s other children like cows, turkeys, chickens and pigs, etc. Cows give them gallons of milk to increase their brain tissues and they use those brain tissues and kill the cows. Drink their blood, eat their brain, what kind of people are they, who eats cows! These rascals kill them after extracting all the milk energies from them. Not only America but also all over the world people kill them and eat their flesh. Because they want to eat such living beings their religious verdicts also changes according to their whims. They know the meat does not digest, and they drink alcohol on top of it, this is what the artificial existence. They think they are enjoying, but the day will come that they too become cows and will be slaughtered in a similar way.

Guest5: What do you think will bring them to a real God consciousness? Swami: Start a department in schools and colleges, and teach the new generation about the civilized life based on scriptures. Poor kids are forcibly fed animal food from the very beginning of infancy. Later, it becomes their staple food. What a horrible civilization! Let them find who God is. Human are not animals, and their leaders are also not animals. They can make an endeavour for 46 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

correction. Even so, they will not, because people have created millions of different religions to understand one God. Foolish they are, they want to run the government from these flesh, alcohol, tobacco, sex and gambling. Fifty percent of their State income is coming from by manufacturing and selling of these things. Go to Atlantic City; go to Las Vegas. All these four sinful activities are there. In God we trust, they trust in nobody…. Actually, the slogan can be ‘in God we distrust’. They think God will support all their non-sense and whimsical activities. Amazingly, the whole world is following them. Like there is a saying either directing or misdirecting, they are actually misdirecting all other countries. Leaders, leader countries are very important in this world. Common people just follow them.

yad yad acarati sresthas tat tad evetaro janah sa yat pramanam kurute lokas tad anuvartate

Whatever action a great man performs, common people follow. And whatever standards he sets by exemplary acts, all the world pursues.

Guest 5: What are the consequences for committing these adultery, and killing of animals? Swami: All nations know what the consequences are going to be! They are trying to prevent it as much as possible by flattering each other.

Guest 5: Like what? Swami: Nuclear bombs!! Material manifestation is due to the interaction of time and matter under the supervision of the Supreme Lord. E.g., bamboos in the forest catch fire by action of the wind, by blowing of wind they interact with each other and generate fire. This fire causes destruction of the entire forest by 47 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

burning it down. Similarly, these nations due to sinful activities are rubbing each other like bamboos in the forest, and will cause launching of nuclear weapons in each other’s country and ruin themselves. Krishna is accepting your sentiment because you have some trust in Him. When there is no trust in Him and His message, He makes other arrangements for killing all those human animals. God is equal to all living beings, why should he take only side of human, just because you are saying that ‘in God we trust’. Is that enough? Show in actions, pious actions….. Do not reproduce them for satisfying your tongue and thereafter flush it off in the toilet, otherwise agree to face Him.

It is said in Chaitanya Charitamrta that:

veda-nistha-madhye ardheka veda ‘mukhe mane veda nisiddha papa kare, dharma nahi gane

Among human beings, those who are followers of the Vedic principles are considered civilized. Among these, almost half simply give lip service while committing all kinds of sinful activities against these principles. Such people do not care for regulative principles.

The so-called followers of the holy guideline texts accept their book formally, but they act against the principles of their texts. This is the symptom of this age of Kali. People claim to follow a certain type of religion, saying formally, I am Hindu, I am Christian, I am Muslim, I am this and that, but actually, no one follows the principles enunciated in their religious scriptures. It has become lip service.

Guest 5: Why doesn’t God speak with us? Swami: Oh yes, you demand God directly come to your dream or directly appear in front of you and speak with you? What is 48 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

your special qualification that He will speak to you directly? First of all, you are not even ready to accept that He exists! Second, you commit all kinds of sinful activities against His will. We are disobedient to His orders. We do not care for Him at all. When you displease your father, for your disobedience the father will not talk with you. However, such dissention is not permanent, once you back in following his orders, the relationship is again established. Moreover, it is not that you do not care for anybody. You do care for many people, but you do not care for God. Consider this, that there is a president in the country, is he obliged to speak with you because you have given your vote to Him? He may, but that is his choice, based on your activity, but you cannot demand his audience. Thus, to meet Krishna you have to be qualified.

Krishna says in Bhagavad-Gita 10.10

tesham satata yuktanam bhajatam priti-purvakam dadami buddhi-yogam tam yena mam upayanti te

To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me. First qualification, you have to be fully devoted to Him, and then provide service to Him, and then He will give us understanding because He is in your heart as the Super soul. He controls your memory, knowledge and forgetfulness, matah smritir jnanam apohanam cha.

Guest 5: The material nature is not permanent, but we see all these….. Swami: Who said it is not permanent? The material energy is eternal but the material manifestation is not eternal. Like spider and cobweb, relatively the spider is eternal but the cobweb is not eternal. Cobweb is the creation of the spider and it can be created 49 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

and destroyed as the spider wants. Similarly, the soul spreads energy all over the body, and when it leaves the body, it withdraws the energy from the body and takes it with him, and this is called laws of conservation of energy. Spirit soul conserves all his energy into him. Universe is also created and annihilated by the Lord, the universe is a big body of the Lord and all manifestation after it is withdrawn, and it will be conserved into the Personality of Godhead Lord Krishna, Bhagavan.

Guest 5: Why can’t we become eternal? Swami: You are eternal, but the bio-machine you are living in is not eternal. For example: When you wear a glove in your palm, it appears that you have not put anything in your hand especially when the gloves colour is similar to the colour of your skin. Likewise, it appears the body is same with the soul; it is due to the form of the soul the body has shape. When the soul leaves the body, as mentioned before, the soul carries the complete energy with it, and thus the body begins to decay. Scientists do not accept that, some agree but others do not. They say we have not found out completely and keep on pursuing futile tries. Therefore, we cannot conclude that man is mortal. They want to still follow research on the same subject matter and need more time. Before they will complete their research, the scientists themselves would be dead. It is a very truth to accept, and by simply accepting the perfect authority Lord Krishna, everything will be cleared, but they won’t. Consider an example of a computer. If you want to know the philosophy of a computer then ask the builder of the computer, he will tell you everything about it. However, if you want to speculate on the technicality of the machine, you simply waste your time. Similarly, both the body and soul is manifested by Krishna and He knows everything perfectly and He tells everything in the Krishna Gita or Bhagavad-Gita.

50 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

Guest 5: Things are very complicated. Swami: Things are very complicated as long as we act whimsically, thinking we are independent. If we follow the spiritual authorities, then that is a first perfect step. E.g., a police department makes your life complicated as long as you keep violating the laws of the government. When you break law, you are going to be arrested and punished by the governing body. The laws of material nature can be compared to the police department vis-à-vis your soul. When you keep your consciousness as a dog, the laws of nature drag your soul to the dogs’ body and you will have a dog mother and friends. If you act like a tiger or lion, the laws of nature will force you to enter into that body and live in their society. In that life, you can see humans from inside your zoo cage if you are lucky. The police department cannot punish your soul, whereas, the laws of material nature i.e. supreme police department can punish your soul, and they have absolute authority. Now you understood why you need spiritual life and spiritual master and spiritual God.

Guest 5: What do you mean spiritual God? Swami: Krishna and his expansions are all complete spiritual Personalities.

Guest: And others? Swami: Material gods, who can facilitate only material facilities. In Bhagavad-Gita 7.23 he says

antavat tu phalam tesham tad bhavaty alpa medhasam devan deva yajo yanti mad bhakti yanti mam api

Men of small intelligence worship the demigods, and their fruits are limited and temporary. Those who worship the demigods go

51 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

to the planets of the demigods, but My devotees ultimately reach My supreme planet.

In this connection you need to hear from Lord Siva, who explained to Sankachuda, the material husband of Tulasi devi that is: "Only Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, remains the same. It is by His grace that I obtained the name Mrtyunjaya (the Conqueror of Death). I have witnessed many dissolutions of the world and I shall continue to witness them. Lord Krishna is both material nature and the Supreme Being. He is the individual soul as well as the Supreme Soul. Though He assumes many forms, He is beyond those forms. Whoever repeats His name and sings His glories can conquer death; he does not come under the influence of birth, death, disease, old age and fear. Lord Krishna has created Brahma, the creator; Vishnu, the preserver; and me, the destroyer. By His will we possess those potencies and influences. O King! I have delegated Kala, and Rudra to do the work of destruction, whereas I myself only repeat His name and sing His glories incessantly, day and night. For this reason I am called Mrtyunjaya, and by my knowledge, I have conquered death. I am fearless. When death sees me, he flies away just as snakes flee when they see .”

Guest: I would like to see God, and then only I can believe He exists? Swami: Is it so, sir, we are unable to see the subtle senses such as mind, sky, sound, intelligence, and ego. Even many gross things situated far away. A person is told to be having a good mind and intelligent, when he sees truth through the eyes of the scriptures. Above all these elements is a soul. Soul is also invisible to everyone, then how can we see the God? It is not good to demand that you want to see God. You act in such a way God will see you, then you can see Him by His permission.

52 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

achintyah kalu ye bhava na tam tarkena yojyayet prakrtibhyah param yac ca tad acintyasya laksanam

Anything spiritual to material nature is inconceivable and thus cannot be grasped through mundane arguments. Therefore, one should not try to understand transcendental subjects in this way. All that they have to do is follow the authorities like Mahajanas, great authorities.

Guest: What is the status of these politicians? Worshipping them will have any meaning. Swami: The scriptures do not at all allow honouring the dead. Sastra explains to honour the pure devotees who have departed from this world by spreading the message of Godhead such as acharyas and elevated vaishnavas. Sastra also says that one may offer pinda to the ancestors. Sastra does not say that you worship dead politicians. It is the countries sentiment to honour the ex- politicians who have done something for the country. There was a Napoleon, Stalin, and Mussolini, where are they? Many rich men also have done many social activities, Soon they will die and will be taken for judgment and given another body according to their karma. Worship of the statue of this man and that man is simply an illusory activity. Generally, nobody knows where these people have gone? And without knowledge, they worship these statues.

Guest: The politicians have done so much for the country, what is their destination? Swami: It depends on their actions. For every good work, he will be rewarded. He will get high birth. It is the kind of actions they have executed for the country, which would decide what they would be. Alternatively, are they selfish? Have they plundered the treasury? Bribed men, cheated citizens, built 50 or 100 53 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

million dollar mansion for him. Own many expensive cars, expensive properties, imported objects illegally, all these are satisfying his whims. Many foolish politicians make money for 100s of generations, which may seem as gross foolishness! However, where is this politician going to go, they do not know sir? He may become a cat or a dog in the same palace; rebirth is there, so possibility of any form of life is also there according to karma. This materially sophisticated man enjoying few days or years of life is all that is in his account. They are ignorant about their soul because they want to improve their few days and years of this life. Moreover, for this small pie they destroy their several subsequent births because of the sinful means of wealth aggregation and sense gratification. The soul is eternal. All their wealth and relatives are separated by death. There cannot be any mercy from Krishna after death because they never served Him. They always remained atheists their whole life. Several years ago, an astrologer said a big politician from India became a dog in Sweden. Swedish master has two dogs and one of the dogs is India’s biggest politician of his time. This is possible because rebirth exists. We cannot deny that it is not possible. We must consider that because astrologer predicts many things, which may come true. Why can’t people understand this simple thing?

dehino ’smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvana ṁ jarā tathā dehāntara-prāptir dhīras tatra na muhyati

“As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change”. Bhagavad-Gita - 2-13

Guest: Where have you heard this from? Swami: Our spiritual master. 54 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

Guest: But who has seen all these and who remembers all these? Swami: This does not look like a good argument. Do you remember when you were 40 years old on December 25th, what did you do? Now you are 45 years old, do you remember last year April 13th where were you? If I ask again what did you do six months ago on June 30th evening, what would you say? So you do not remember anything that happened in this life, how would you remember something that happened in the last life? Many times your father remembers what you did in different ages. However, Krishna being a supreme father, He remembers all your past activities and your next life also. Why don’t you accept His instructions?

Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita 7.26

vedaham samatitani vartamanani charjuna bhavishyani cha bhutani mam tu veda na kaschana

O Arjuna, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, I know everything that has happened in the past, all that is happening in the present, and all things that are yet to come. I also know all living entities; but Me no one knows.

Only Lord Krishna can remember and know everything.

Guest: I understood the point. Now can we worship the Spiritual master’s statue? Swami: Yes, he can be worshiped and he should be. It is vigraha or deity should never be called as “statue”. He is in the picture, in his deity form. He follows and had followed the Supreme perfect Person; therefore, guru must certainly be worshipped. Krishna is omniscient, and He knows the sincerity of the bonafide disciple’s expression to his Guru. While the guru is present or passes

55 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

away, at all times guru is always worshipable. It is said in the sastra: ‘archaye vishnau siladhir gurusu nara-matir vaishnave jati budhhir’. That person who considers the deity of the Supreme Lord to be dead matter made out of stone, wood or metal; or the spiritual master, who is an eternal associate of the Supreme Lord, to be an ordinary man who is prone to die and will certainly be a resident of hell.

Guest: Soul is eternal, so I am eternal. Swami: Yes sir, you are the soul and you are eternal. However, you have taken a material body and that is not eternal. For example, you rent an apartment, what are the procedures you have to fulfil before you enter into the house. Why do you need to abide those rules? Because you do not want to be kicked out of that apartment prematurely. The property owner can do that and you want to secure your living there number of years. You request property owner to prepare a contract. We too are in a similar condition while residing in human body. We are dealing with the Supreme Lord, and he allocates us some human body if we have material desires. If you desire Krishna’s world, which is your actual home, Krishna will support you on the journey to migrate to his world. If you desire something else, Krishna certainly approves it, and eventually provides it. Ultimately, everything comes and goes according to our desires.

In Bhagavad-Gita 2.20, it is stated

na jayate mriyate va kadachin nayam bhutva bhavita vana bhuyah ajo nityah shashvato ayam purno na hanyate hanyamane sharire

For the soul, there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come 56 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever existing and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain.

Guest: Theologian asks why god has to take birth. We are limiting Him by that. Swami: Why not, omnipotent means He can do anything that He wants. Why shouldn’t He take birth? Actually, He never takes birth. He is Aja, unborn. When He descends, he follows some human procedures like having a mother or a father. But He selects them, though He selects them He is not born from a womb like human beings. Krishna is there in everyone’s heart and He just appears from His parents’ heart. We human beings do not have that selection in respect to our parents. We are forced to appear and have a dog mother, hog mother, snake mother, bird mother, donkey mother, human mother and so on. Actually, Krishna is like many million Suns, very powerful and potent. Peoples’ thinking is immature to consider that when we talk about God as a person, they think he is like one of the human beings.

Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad-Gita 4.6

ajo api sann avyatma bhutanam ishvaro api san prakrtim svam adhishthaya sambhavamy atma-mayaya

Even though I am without birth and My spiritual, body is imperishable and although I am the Lord of all living entities; by presiding over My internal potency, I incarnate in my original spiritual form.

Guest: He is what He is. Swami: At home, there is a leader, the father. A community has a president. A Village has a Sarpanch, district has a district superintendent, State has a Chief Minister, country, and planet, 57 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

universe, and all have a president or say a leader. One who is president of all material and spiritual universes is called God, and He is Krishna and mother is Srimati Radharani. She is an expansion of Krishna. Like Lord Balarama is an expansion of Krishna in the male section. Radharani is expansion in the female section. Ultimately both male and female are coming from Krishna!

Guest: Who gave Krishna the name Krishna? Why did he select the name Krishna? Swami: What is your name?

Guest: George Fernandez. Swami: Who gave you that name?

Guest: My mother and father together, may be. Swami: Why did they give you that name?

Guest: Because they must have liked it. Swami: This liking and disliking, where is it coming from?

Guest: I do not know, may be from God. Swami: Exactly. All qualities, such as truthfulness, mercy, compassion, love, trust, cleanliness, sincerity, austerity, etc. all opulence such as wealth, power, fame, beauty, knowledge, liking disliking all these are coming from Krishna. We cannot have anything that is not in God. Therefore, God likes His name to be Krishna, which is His choice. Humans are fighting every day for their rights. God is not fighting for His rights! He has no competitor for Him. Therefore, the so-called guru calling himself as God is frivolous. We are representatives here to give His rights. He wants the name Krishna, because it denotes that He has all opulence and therefore He is all attractive.

58 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

Guest: So it is His choice. Swami: Of course, If He is a Person, Supreme Being, Supreme Person, and Supreme Brahman, why should not he choose His rights. He would have chosen Mubharak, or Paul, Antony or something, but He did not, He chose His Name as Krishna. Ultimately, all names are coming from Krishna; there is nothing that can exist without Him. Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad-Gita 10.39

yac chapi sarva-bhutanam bijam tad aham arjuna na tad asti vina yat syan maya bhutam characharam

Furthermore, O Arjuna, I am the generating seed of all existences. There is no being moving or unmoving-that can exist without Me.

Guest: Then who is Jesus Christ? Swami: He is a son of God. There are billions of sons, and all are children of God. Jesus Christ is a spiritual teacher, like our Acharyas. He came to deliver people from their fallen position. He must have used different terminology. Ultimately, he came to preach that everyone should seek devotion to God. To be very moral, religious, one must follow their guidance as it is mentioned in the Bible, thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not do adultery like that. Krishna says wherever there is discrepancy in the religious principles by atheist and create problems to the society He advents, most of the time He sends his representatives. And one of the confidential representatives of Lord Krishna is Jesus Christ. Jesus is not God. Both representative and God have a spiritual body. The representatives’ body can be turned into spiritual due to the constant association with God. E.g., an iron rod is iron but when it is heated up in the fire, it starts acting as fire. The representative of God preaches about God, in his words, thinking 59 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

in the mind, in action working for Krishna always. They become completely spiritual. Consider another example. You may migrate to another country and live there for a long time and then eventually, you will be a citizen of that country, become naturalized. It is exactly like that, but when such spiritual representative leaves this world, He lives with God in full spirituality.

Guest: Why are there so many irreligious activities? Swami: Due to the influence of the age of darkness. The time has been divided into four yugas, Satya-yuga means hundred percent religiosity, Treta-yuga means seventy five percent religiosity, Dwapara-yuga means fifty percent religiosity and Kali-yuga means twenty five percent religiosity and yet day by day it is reducing and gradually God consciousness will become completely zero. At that time, there will be annihilation and again Lord Krishna will reset Satya-yuga. It is the symptom of the age of Kali-yuga so many discrepancies are rampant. In this age of Kali, even the leaders have no spiritual knowledge. Practically, all leaders are atheist and naturally, citizens will be the same.

Guest: It means that people do not have any alternatives. Swami: Let people know this truth and advise them not to act according to symptoms mentioned in the scriptures. There is one panacea and it is easy. We must take shelter of the Supreme Lord Krishna. That is the easiest way.

Guest: How do we know we are transmigrating to other bodies? Swami: There are certain things that are taken care of by God. Many things are not apparent to us and we have to accept from the laws of God. As much as the law of Government is given in their law book. Government has coded and printed all laws but people will require them when they come across a related 60 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

problem and approach a lawyer who is supposed to be an expert on that particular law. Krishna says that we have changed our bodies from an infant to a boy, from boy to adult and adult to old age, similarly the soul transmigrates from one body to another. Before getting, another body there is judgment with Yamaraja for all of our actions. In material world, when people commit crime, the punishment comes only through court and not otherwise. Similarly, Yamaraja judges all souls. He is empowered to know all your actions. E.g. while working in a big firm, all your actions are monitored. In the ordinary dealings if the government can check small things, the powerful personalities can certainly monitor all your actions and you will be given justice according to your good and bad karma.

It is too subtle and beyond comprehension and understanding of human intelligence. We all took birth in this body and that birth was not because of our potency. While we were in this human body, this body gradually transformed from infant to child, child to teenager, then to youth, followed by middle age and then into old age. None of these gradual changes in our body was initiated or it happened because of our need of these changes. Moreover, not all of us want to lose our youth and become old but we do not have the higher potency to stop these changes from youth to old age. On judgement day, although we love this human body, this body dies (as we all know it). We cannot stop the death of our body. Therefore, we are different from this body and that this body does not belong to us and that this body is not in our control. There is some very potent invisible order works in the material nature, which dictates and controls the transformation of this human body and it is inevitable. Birth, death and transformation of body, etc. all is beyond our potency and management. We are puppets in the hands of the invisible order. That invisible order is subtle, all pervading, eternal, potent, and with such huge potency whereby it can cause death of our

61 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

body then it can certainly give us rebirth in another body according to its order. We are compelled to live in this human body within the broader rules of an invisible order but with our limited independence. It is up to us, whether we use that independence for rising spiritually or for material sense gratification. Our pursuits will decide our present and future. All these laws are made by the law maker and Krishna claims that He is that law maker. mayādhyaksenṣaṣ prakr ṣtihṣ sūyate sa-carācaram hetunānena kaunteya jagad viparivartate

This material nature, which is one of My energies, is working under My direction, O son of Kuntī, producing all moving and nonmoving beings. Under its rule this manifestation is created and annihilated again and again. Bhagavad-Gita 9.10

Guest: Though Yamaraja is the lord of death, and gives justice, what about if he commits some sin or ends up punishing some innocent beings, is he too implicated in the laws of nature? Swami: Why not? Even in this planet, the president of the nation, or lawyer himself is not freed of their offenses. If they do, they will be punished too. Similarly, Yamaraja also is not excused from his offenses.

Guest: Is there any such incident in the scripture that Yamaraja was punished for some of his injustice doled out to others? Swami: Yes yes, because of his injustice, Yamaraja was born as a sudra. There was a rishi, whose name was Manduka muni. He was sitting in his ashram and a thief came into his ashram. He was in meditation. He did not know that the thief was there. The 62 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

police also chased him and came to the ashram and asked the muni that he saw this thief and the rishi said ‘no’ I did not see anybody running here and hiding. The police head however sent his associate police search inside the ashram and found the thief was hidden there. The constables arrested both the thief and, the rishi and they were brought to the magistrate. After hearing the offense, Manduka muni was to be thrown into several lances and be killed. The news reached the king, who intervened in this matter and ordered the magistrate to set the rishi free and thereafter, the king personally came and apologized to the rishi. The rishi however was very angry at the law maker Yamaraja. He found no fault at the king or magistrate. He thought they are only an immediate cause. He at once marched towards Yama- loka. Seeing the rishi in the gross body there, Yamaraja was amazed, but he was very respectful to the rishi. However, the angry rishi asked the Yamaraja, why was he put into such difficulty and what he did to deserve such punishment? Yamaraja reading his activities told Manduka muni that in his childhood, he pricked an ant in his evacuation organ with a needle. Manduka muni became angrier at Yamaraja and said for this childish innocence you had given me such punishment and insult, Oh Rajan! I curse you to fall from your position as the Lord of death and become a sudra- low-born. The curse of rishi had a lot of power and it began acting. Yamaraja immediately called Aryama and told him to take care of the planet. Thereafter, Yamaraja was born to a maidservant of Dhrtarastra’s mother Ambika called Vidura. Later after Mahabharata war and because of giving guidance to all Pandavas, he was reinstated in his position as Yamaraja. If for such small offense the rishi was punished, what to say about these fools who have opened slaughter houses in every nook and corner of all cities and villages killing chicken, goats, pigs and cows. What will happen to them in the future? Can you

63 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

imagine their destiny? In addition, the people who eat these dead bodies, what is their fate?

Guest: What about these wars emerging and thousands of living being killed? Swami: It is not the war of demons and demigods. It is the war against Capitalists and Communists. The communists think the world should be according to their way and the capitalists think the world should be as per their principles. Both contradict their laws and policies, because within all the nations, there are communists and capitalists already residing. They are unable to change that, but they want to attack other nations who do not satisfy them. First, understand that this is a big company and it is not just run by the employers alone or by the employees alone. To run a company both employer and employees have to be there. The employer invests money and the employees’ work and generates more money. Although both are important there, the employer does not share the profit with the employees but maintains them on average salary because they do not invest the capital. The problem is that when the employer thinks that He is the supreme, and then the employees can say, yeah you are the supreme because we made you the supreme by increasing your profits. Most of the time, employees are fired and thrown out of the company if this goes on, there can be revolution against the employers and there emerges communism. There are many states, which are dominated by the communists. Under those regimes, there are many capitalists and communists. They are making money and paying taxes and the government is investing huge amounts in manufacturing nuclear weapons. The capitalists are also doing the same thing; they also have employers and employees. These tensions have developed over the years, now there are so many countries who are communists. Capitalists believed in capitalism. Capitalist would say that ‘we trust in God’ and communist would say that we do not trust in God. In 64 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

previous ages, there were different groups and they were named demons and demigods. Some believed in God, and some believed in the nature.

Guest: How can we solve this problem? Swami: There are two gigantic waves rising from the ocean and both claim I am great, are they actually great? No, because their very appearance is due to the ocean. Root is the ocean, which has been forgotten by both of them. Similarly, these employers and employees use God’s resources to become rich. But both have God’s resources. As the waves are created by the ocean and they do not have independent appearance. If both Capitalists and Communists understand that both of them are part of the whole Supreme person and work in this world in His Consciousness and respect each other’s actions, there will be peace and harmony. Now that is not the case. Both of them are manufacturing nuclear weapons, I will throw these weapons in your country, and you throw in my country and die. Both of them think they are important; none of them takes the humble step. Therefore, there must be a superior knowledge, to bring unity, and equality. You can engage in employees’ skills, which does not mean they are employees. You can invest a huge sum of money in your business, but that does not mean employees are your slaves. The Capitalists make so much money using the employees and they make large profits also, then go and donate ten million, twenty million, here and there. When your employees ask for a little more salary, you are reluctant and relieve them from the job. These actions and tendency fostered the Communist mentality and their society. The communists want to protect the right of the employees. You dishonoured them, now things have gone out of control, that they developed nuclear weapons to kill both the civilians of the capitalists and communists. The easy way to live peacefully is to make everyone Krishna conscious, they must be conscious of God philosophically and scientifically, not merely

65 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

thinking that I am Christian, Muslim and Hindu. All these concepts are bogus. You may be this or that, but how much you know about God, that is important. Both the gigantic wave is the creation of the ocean. Similarly, everyone belongs to God; no one is independent of Him.

Guest: Russia and America are Super powers. Swami: They may be superpowers based on the count of their weapons. However, they are not supremely powerful though. Their super power is counted on the number of missiles and power of the bombs they manufacture and digitally use it. However, one who throws first will be the winner. Once it falls down on the other country, it will kill thousands of people in opposing country. The victim government’s whole attention will turn to that rescue the devastation before taking the measurement of defending. Meantime, the enemy throws more bombs. Of course, the sufferer government too can throw more powerful weapons against its enemy, which can destroy the enemy’ country. Generally, the winner will be the one who throws first and fiercely. In modern time, these fire weapons are made of chemical and physical elements. Its radiation and effect can be huge. Krishna’s Sudharsana wheel will only kill a particular person whom the Lord aimed at. Krishna asks the wheel to curb the pride of an enemy and the wheel will kill only that person because the wheel is a person. These fire weapons are not persons rather they are made by the destructive dead particles. Once launched by technological method you cannot retract it, even if you change your mind the next moment.

Guest: What religious method should be adopted to make people see each other with love and respect? Swami: The solution has been repeatedly explained. They have been divided everywhere, socially, religiously, spiritually. There is no unity anywhere. All these foundations are nothing but to 66 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

make an endeavour to unify. However, they have not united and will not be united. Apart from the problems with communists and capitalists, there emerged terrorists, who are not satisfied with the capitalists life style especially religious life and women’s freedom. They think because of the woman’s freedom, their women are also demanding such life style or it is their enviousness towards the capitalists. The complete social structure can fail. All I would suggest is that they are divided in the name of Muslims, Christians, Hindus and they all have religious texts, and all citizens must be asked to follow their respective religious texts philosophically. They are fighting to establish one Supreme Father in different religious ritualistic methods and names. And the people may be allowed to follow what they feel comfortable based on the information of the spiritual texts in their life. If Muslims think they want to follow Bhagavad-Gita, then they must be allowed. If they want to follow Bible, that too should be allowed. If Christians and Hindus want to follow Quran, they must be allowed. God is one, He cannot be two or three or hundreds as you created the sects here and are fighting like cats and dogs. The state must make sure that they follow God consciousness philosophically, not by sentiment. Sentimentalism path of accepting religion must be stopped. Tell them to speak philosophy or science of God. His creation, His form, His name, His attributes, His pastimes, cosmology, etc. There should not be word jugglery, or theorizing and forcing somebody to follow something that has no reality. The main attraction should be God. The dictionary meaning of God is Supreme Being, so He must be accepted by any means. Present government runs away altogether from the religious confusion created by different founders without vedic evidence.

Guest: We would like to hear more on these. What are the other measures to be taken, Swamiji?

67 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

Swami: The cabinets and the head of the cabinet must make sure there should be no partiality, corruption, bribery. The root of it has to be destroyed. Whether he may be a Hindu, Christian or Muslim, they must follow the law book. The punishment and reward has to be equal for everybody, not based on bribery or partiality and being favourable towards some people. The people who try to bribe must be punished. Every country must adhere to this principle. The people should also be allowed to go anywhere in this world. They shall not be restricted to one area where they are born. If they are qualified, they must be allowed to go anywhere in the world. Not keep on rejecting for small things. The planet and the country belong to Krishna and therefore His children are allowed to go, visit, and live anywhere. All the laws of the country must be equal to everyone beginning from progeny. Marriage law has to be one. It is better to marry once in this age of Kali-yuga. One may marry second time, if the marriage did not work. Better to make the first marriage work, somehow or other. Our guru maharaj used to say pick one and stick with it. Nowadays, the border controllers just bark at people coming from another country even with visa. They say they are aliens. They are certainly not aliens. Aliens are from a different planet, not from the same planet. Visitors are not respected in the airports and sometimes abused. Like a dog barks woof woof. If a Bangalore dog goes to Mumbai, the Mumbai dog will say woof woof, meaning why are you here, go back to Bangalore. Similarly, if you go to America, then the American immigration will bark at the Indians or Russians, why did you come here, go back. As long as these limitations are there, it will not bring any unity in this planet. Therefore, such people may be addressed as disunited dogs. You can keep on trying year after year, without serious God consciousness. You will never be united because

68 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

you do not have form and name of God, in that case even the so- called God consciousness will not help. They may say this to keep the terrorists coming inside the country because they need to keep such laws stronger. Who are the terrorists, by the way? They are also citizens. Your laws do not meet their sense gratification. Your men have made so many weapons, now terrorists are taking advantages of it, and using it against you. If you want to create strong laws, do not make such weapons and stops arms business. Weapons can be maintained only for protection of the country. However, you choose to do trade in arms with other country and make money; stop that. Do not supply to the unqualified nations even if they pay higher price. Increase the police force, detective force, military force. Protect the children, women, old men and cows. The cows give nutritious food to humanity. Therefore, they must be protected by any means like children and women. They say they are united. They are not united; they are united only to take your money. Not for spending, the money and they give justice to a nation who is strongly connected with them. Therefore, they are all hypocrites. They say they trust in God but they do not even know who God is and His teachings. As long as hypocrisy, and partiality goes on with both communists and capitalists, they will never ever be united and stay peaceful. There will be war then and thousands and millions of people will be killed like the moth and ants.

Guest: Any other causes of unprecedented calamities? Swami: Killing animals especially cows. You say you are a super power, but the power is given to protect your subordinates. You kill your subordinates living entities in your country. The animals are also born in the same nation; therefore, they too are the citizens. Nevertheless, you kill them, and eat them. Most of

69 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

the time you publically speak on protecting the wild lives. However, you kill domestic animals. The domestic animals have more trust and love towards you, yet you kill them. This is double standards. Therefore, the supreme power forces the war on you. No United Nations or United States can stop the war, as long as you keep on killing. You too will be killed, that is the law of nature. The war occurs and millions of humans will be thrashed. Everyone will suffer in this regard, regardless of what religion they follow. Animals trust you and you kill them. Therefore, you are traitors or crooked. Agent of Maya and pretend to be agents of God.

Guest: These swamis do not speak of all these social reformations. Swami: I am also not trying to speak about the social reform. These people will not listen and implement the solutions. What is the use? I am offering some suggestion to be followed for the human beings. We act like animals and Superior force will exercise their power on us. They always control us. We may make a whimsical effort to be free from the calamities, but it will not be peaceful and secured, as you desire. It is the duty of the swamis to bring light to the public and it is their duty to enliven the society with transcendental knowledge. If they are not doing it, then they are at fault. Moreover, Governments too foolishly keep altering their laws then and there, thinking this is not working, that is not working. It may be good occasionally to make some changes. Nowadays, technology is changing every day and they are changing rules everyday according to discovery and launch of technical devices. God has to be in everyone’s life. Only by association with God can we improve otherwise we remain dogs! Social reformation is impossible. A wine bottle cannot be cleaned with wine. Similarly, social structure cannot be reformed with social ideas. You need to have a spiritual method because 70 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

you are a spirit soul trapped in the material body. There is only one way for all authorities of the world to introduce Bhagavad- Gita, Quran and Bible in all schools and colleges. The respective religious members should be compelled to go to their religious classes every day for an hour at least. That can make many changes to the consciousness of the students. You can kill neither Hindus, nor Christians, nor Muslims. It will be impossible to bring peace and harmony in the society with your diversity. You have already created and adopted these artificial divisions in the society and it is too late now to unite in this base. Introducing books of spiritual knowledge as daily studies for the students will increase godly qualities in them and their future will be bright. Otherwise, everything will sink down to the hellish situations as days passes. Neither United Nations nor united dogs can bring peace and harmony. It is the responsibility of our younger generation to bring harmony in the future. All the people in the administration and senator are the old horses, and one can expect nothing from them. If you try my method, then while on this path you will find bliss in each society. However, the present leaders are running away from the religious ceremonies, functions, talks and over all everything about religion. A Temple is a temple, a church is a temple, a mosque is a temple, and they are all worshiping God in their own way. Know well that God is only one. According to your division, He is not divided. Animals are like children and they are inferior to humans, but the demigods are superior to humans. If you kill animals, our superiors’ demigods will kill us and that is what is happening. Nobody is independent in this world. As the security cameras are everywhere in a firm to monitor all employees’ actions, all our activities are monitored by the superior energetic personalities like demigods and eventually God, who is omniscient. Thus, everyone must follow the path given by the Supreme Lord in the 71 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

Vedic scriptures; otherwise, they are going to simply waste their money and energy in different meetings in NY and LA. No use! If you are sick, then agree to accept the medicine. If you disagree, you continue your sickness and the best remedy is to stop all sorts of animal killing. The animals are in the evolutionary cycle and waiting to be born as human, therefore, they are migrating from one form to another. We, the present human beings, have also obtained our human form because of this evolutionary cycle. If you spoil their progress for your whimsical urge to eat them, the higher authorities will consume you too. When you stop such slaughter of the innocent beings, which is civilized life. Wearing a suit and tie, spraying perfume all over your body, you may be called a so called civilized man. The mercy, compassion, truthfulness and cleanliness are the actual qualities of civilized beings. Otherwise, we will remain animals, probably worse animals. You got it.

Guest: Yes, yes, very nice indeed swamiji. Swami: You were born in a Christian family, when did you come to know that you are a Christian?

Guest: When I was around 10 or 12. We were children, what our parents gave us we followed. Swami: What about you? You were born in a Muslim family.

Guest: Yes swamiji. We are so confused. We really feel ashamed on what is happening in the society. Swami: Nobody is Hindu or Christian or Muslim by birth, it is the community and society that forces you to follow a particular religion, forces you to eat meat, drink alcohol, womanize, gamble, rob, rape. Therefore, you have to stand upon your soul right, and you should develop your divine qualities. In addition, that can be possible only by being attached to God. According to 72 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

Bhagavad-Gita and Srimad-Bhāgavatam, the name of God is Krishna. Krishna declared He is God more than 5000 years ago when He was on the planet. All planetary system and universes belong to Him. Therefore, He descended at his freewill. At that time, there was nothing-called Hindu, Christian, Muslim or Jews. Why are we struggling to live in this world by fighting? If you found better information about God, then why you do not accept it. We are all children of the same God. The title of a religion is not important, but how much you know about God is important. Religion is a tool to understand God.

Guest: Our community needs to be enlightened more on open thinking in this regard. Swami: Everyone has a short life in his or her human body. We are souls, and as souls, we are eternal. Krishna gives us chance to rectify our mistakes in every human body. If a person realizes his origin and relationship with Krishna and takes up the method to reunite with Him, he can enter to the spiritual world. Otherwise, he will be given another human body to realize Him. However, these different bodies are based on our previous karma. If we develop a material desire, then the person attains a material body based on that desire. As a person infected with a disease, he will be caught up in that disease, no way out. If you make consciousness like goat, you see in your Bakrid festival, right. You kill millions of goats, what do you gain by that, just eat their dead body, pass stool, and flush it off. What is the necessity of that? Like these Westerners, they kill animals’ everyday and eat. Then again, on Thanks giving they kill millions of turkey birds. Hindus do not have a particular day in their calendar for killing a particular animal, but nowadays they too kill and eat everything. What is the achievement by killing innocent dependent beings? E.g. a child is dependent on a guardian, and if that guardian kills the child. How will we be treated by the natural law for killing a child? How does the father feel when his son is murdered?

73 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

Similarly, all living beings are children of God. When someone kills them, do you realize how much pain you are giving to the Lord? We, human beings are not powerful and independent to act anyway we want. We are not humble, and therefore, we kill all our fellow animals. What will be the result? Occasionally war breaks out uncontrollably, and hundreds and millions of human beings will be killed in the same way. History records these wars. You think you are intelligent, remember Krishna is super intelligent. How your intelligence works in front of the super intelligence of the Lord. He is many times more than sum of all living beings. You are partial among living beings and He is a friend of all living beings, suhrdam sarva bhutanam. You are friendly only to those who are nice with you. Being partial, humans play politics on every other human, how can they expect justice from the Lord? War, natural calamities are the answer for your insane action on the animals. If you kill animals unnecessarily, then Krishna will kill you.

Guest: We feel sympathy for all those beings. Swami: Better to work on stopping those in your religion. When Krishna advented as Lord Chaitanya in 1486 AD, He had to face such things with Mughals. That time the king of that region was Chand Kazi. One day the Lord ordered all the citizens of Navadvīpa to chant the Hare Krishna mantra, and in each home, they began performing saṅ kīrtana regularly. No one in Navadvīpa could hear any sound other than the words “Hari! Hari!” and the beating of the mr ṣdaṅ ga (drum) and clashing of hand bells. Everyone was chanting the mantra “Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare”. Hearing the resounding vibration of the Hare Krishna mantra, the local Muslims, became angry and complained to Chand Kazi. Chand Kazi was the city magistrate in Navadvipa in West Bengal. Chand Kazi angrily came to one home in the evening, and when

74 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

he saw kīrtana going on, he broke one mr ṣdaṅ ga and spoke as follows. “For so long you did not follow the regulative principles of your religion, but now you are following them with great enthusiasm. May I know by whose strength you are doing so? “No one should perform saṅ kīrtana on the streets of the city. Today I am excusing the offense and returning home. “The next time I see someone performing such saṅ kīrtana, I shall certainly chastise him by not only confiscating all his property but also converting him into a Muslim.” After saying this, Kazi returned home. The devotees were greatly shocked that they were forbidden to chant Hare Krishna Maha mantra and submitted their grief to Lord Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu organized a civil disobedient movement against the Muslim magistrate, practically the Lord wanted to kill all of them. All the citizens began performing saṅ kīrtana, there were around one hundred thousand people gathered against the Muslim magistrate, but because of the order of Kazi, they were not carefree but always full of anxiety. Understanding the anxiety within the people’s mind, the Lord called them together and spoke to them as follows. “In the evening, I shall perform saṅ kīrtana in each and every town. Therefore, you should all decorate the city in the evening. “In the evening, burn torchlight in every home. I shall give protection to everyone. Let us see what kind of Kazi comes to stop our kīrtana.” Performing kīrtana in this way, circumambulation through every nook and corner of the city, they finally reached the door of Kazi. The loud sound of the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra certainly made Kazi very much afraid, and he hid himself within his room. Hearing the people thus protesting, murmuring in great anger, Kazi did not come out of his home. Naturally, some of the people who were very much agitated began to retaliate to Kazi’s actions by wrecking his house and flower garden. Thereafter, when Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu reached Kazi’s house, He sat down by the doorway and sent some respectable persons to call Kazi.

75 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

When Kazi came, his head bowed down, the Lord gave him proper respect and a seat. In a friendly way, the Lord said, “Sir, I have come to your house as your guest, but upon seeing Me you hid yourself in your room. What kind of etiquette is this?” Then Kazi replied, “You have come to my house in a very angry mood. To pacify You, I did not come before You immediately but kept myself hidden”. “Nīlāmbara Chakravartī is Your maternal grandfather, and by this relationship You are thus my nephew”. “When a nephew is very angry, his maternal uncle is tolerant, and when the maternal uncle commits an offense, the nephew does not take it very seriously.” The Lord said, “My dear uncle, I have come to your home just to ask you some questions.” The Lord said, “You drink cows’ milk; therefore the cow is your mother. Moreover, the bull produces grains for your maintenance; therefore, he is your father. Then Kazi replied, “As You have Your scriptures called the Vedas and Purān ṇas, we have our scripture, known as the holy Koran. “According to the Koran, there are two ways of advancement — through increasing the propensity to enjoy, and through decreasing the propensity to enjoy. On the path of decreasing attachment (nivr ṇtti-mārga), the killing of animals is prohibited. On the path of material activities, there is regulation for killing cows. If such killing is done under the guidance of scripture, there is no sin.”

As a learned scholar, Kazi continued to challenge Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, “In Your Vedic scriptures there is an injunction for killing a cow. On the strength of this injunction, great sages performed sacrifices involving cow-killing.” Refuting the Kazi’s statement, the Lord immediately replied, “The Vedas clearly enjoin that cows should not be killed. Therefore, every Hindu, whoever he may be, avoids indulging in cow killing. In the Vedas and Purān ṇas, there are injunctions declaring that if one can revive a living being, one can kill it for experimental purposes. Therefore, the great sages sometimes killed old cows, and by 76 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

chanting Vedic hymns, they brought them back to life for perfection. The killing and rejuvenation of such old and invalid cows was not truly killing but an act of great benefit. Formerly, there were powerful brāhmanasṣ who could make such experiments using Vedic hymns, but now, because of the Kali- yuga, brāhmanasṣ are not so powerful. Therefore, the killing of cows and bulls for rejuvenation is forbidden. It is said in the sastra:

aśvamedhaṁ gavālambha ṁ sannyāsaṁ pala-paitr ṣkam devarenaṣ sutotpattiṁ kalau pañca vivarjayet

In this Age of Kali, five acts are forbidden: the offering of a horse in sacrifice, the offering of a cow in sacrifice, the acceptance of the order of sannyāsa, the offering of obligations of flesh to the ancestors, and a man is begetting children in his brother’s wife.

tomarā jīyāite nāra, vadha-mātra sāra naraka ha-ite tomāra nāhika nistāra

Since you Muslims cannot bring killed cows back to life, you are responsible for killing them. Therefore you are going to hell; there is no way for your deliverance.

go-aṅ ge yata loma, tata sahasra vatsara go-vadhī raurava-madhye pace nirantara

Cow-killers are condemned to rot in hellish life for thousands of years as many as there are hair on the body of the cow”. “There are many mistakes and illusions in your scriptures. Their compilers, not knowing the essence of knowledge, gave orders 77 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

that were against the reason and argument.” After hearing these statements by Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, Kazi, his arguments stunned, could not put forward any more words. Thus, after due consideration, the Kazi accepted defeat and spoke as follows. “My dear Nimāi Pan ṇdita,ṇ what You have said is all true. Our scriptures have developed only recently, and they are certainly not logical and philosophical. I know that our scriptures are full of imagination and mistaken ideas, yet because I am a Muslim, I accept them for the sake of my community, despite their insufficient support. The reasoning and arguments in the scriptures of the meat-eaters are not very sound,” said Kazi. Upon hearing this statement, Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu smiled and inquired from him as follows. “My dear maternal uncle, I wish to ask you another question. Please tell Me the truth. Do not try to cheat Me with tricks. In your city there is always congregational chanting of the holy name. A tumultuous uproar of music, singing and dancing is always going on. As a Muslim magistrate, you have the right to oppose the performance of Hindu ceremonies, but now you do not forbid them. I cannot understand the reason why.” Then Kazi said, “Everyone calls You Gaurahari. Please let me address You by that name. When I went to the Hindu’s house, broke the drum and forbade the performance of congregational chanting, in my dreams that very night I saw a greatly fearful lion, roaring very loudly, His body like a human being’s and His face like a lion’s. While I was asleep, the lion jumped on my chest, laughing fiercely and gnashing His teeth. Placing its nails on my chest, the lion said in a grave voice, ‘I shall immediately bifurcate your chest as you broke the mr ṣdaṅ ga drum! You have forbidden the performance of My congregational chanting. Therefore I must destroy you!’ Being very much afraid of Him, I closed my eyes and trembled. Seeing 78 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

me so afraid, the lion said, ‘I have defeated you just to teach you a lesson, but I must be merciful to you. On that day, you did not create a very great disturbance. Therefore, I have excused you and not taken your life. However, if you perform such activities again, I shall not be tolerant. At that time I shall kill you, your entire family and all the meat-eaters.’ After saying this, the lion left, but I was very much afraid of Him. Just see the marks of His nails on my heart!” After this description, Kazi showed his chest. Having heard him and seen the marks, all the people there accepted the wonderful incident. Then Kazi continued, “I did not speak to anyone about this incident, but on that very day one of my orderlies came to see me. After coming to me, the orderly said, ‘When I went to stop the congregational chanting, suddenly flames struck my face. My beard was burned, and there were blisters on my cheeks.’ Every orderly who went gave the same description. “After seeing this, I was very much afraid. I asked them not to stop the congregational chanting but to go and sit down at home”. “Then all the Muslims, hearing that there would be unrestricted congregational chanting in the city, came to submit a petition. ‘The religion of the Hindus has increased unlimitedly. There are always vibrations of “Hari! Hari!” We do not hear anything but this.’ “One Muslim said, ‘The Hindus say, “Krishna, Krishna,” and they laugh, cry, dance, chant and fall on the ground, smearing their bodies with dirt. “ ‘Vibrating “Hari, Hari,” the Hindus make a tumultuous sound. If the king Hussian Shah hears it, certainly he will punish you. “I then inquired from these yavanas, ‘I know that these Hindus by nature chant “Hari, Hari.” Lord Chaitanya asked him: “The Hindus chant the name Hari because that is the name of their God. Nevertheless, you are Muslim meat-eaters. Why do you chant the name of the Hindus’ God?’ 79 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

One follower of Muslim religion said “Since that time, my tongue also always vibrates the sound “Hari, Hari.” I have no desire to say it, but still my tongue says it. I do not know what to do.’ Another Muslim said, ‘Sir, please hear me. Since the day I joked with some Hindus in this way, my tongue chants the Hare Krishna hymn and cannot give it up. I do not know what mystic hymns these Hindus know.’

Guest: Who is Navab Hussein shah? Swami: My guru maharaja wrote that Pātasāha refers to the king. Nawab Hussain Shah, whose full name was Ālā Uddīn Saiyad Hussein Shāh, was at that time (A.D. 1498-1521) the independent King of Bengal. Formerly, he was the servant of the cruel Nawab of the Hābsī dynasty named Mujah ṇphara Khān, but somehow or the other; he assassinated his master and became the King. Few years ago, we have heard that a member of the royal order killed all the family members in Nepal. Infrequently, it had been taking place in the history. After gaining the throne of Bengal (technically called Masnada), he declared himself Saiyad Husien Ālā Uddīn Seriph Mukkā. There is a book called Riyāja Us-salātina, whose author, Golām Husen, says that Nawab Husen Sa belonged to the family of Mukkā Seriph. To keep his family’s glory, he took the name Seriph Mukkā. Generally, however, he is known as Nawab Hussain Shah. After his death, his eldest son, Nasaratsā, became King of Bengal (A.D. 1521- 1533). This King also was very cruel. He committed many atrocities against the Vaishnṣ avasṣ . Because of his sinful activities, one of his servants from the Khojā group killed him while he was praying in the mosque.

Guest: What defects do you find in Quran and Bible? Swami: Originally, there is no defect in such scriptures but they change it for their convenience, which is the defect. From a scientific and philosophical point of view, there are many 80 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

answers given in Old Testament that are changed, and they created a New Testament for their convenience and it is applicable to Koran as well, to many questions have changed. Yet, śāstra cannot change at a person or peoples’ whim. All śāstras must be free from the four defects of human nature. The four defects are imperfect senses, cheating tendency, and illusion and committing mistakes. The statements of śāstras must be correct for all times.

Guest: Where is the Muslim population from and how did they come to India? Swami: Prior to 1050, India was never subjugated under foreign rule because India was always God conscious. When they became materialistic and broke culture for sense gratification, they began declining. Muhammad Ghori was the part of Mugal Empire. He attacked India around 1050, Mugal were from India and they were Indian kshatriyas, and followed the brahmnical culture. Due to the attack of Parasurama an incarnation of Godhead on kshatriya kings, they ran and hid themselves in the Caucasian hilly regions and later they became known as the Abshiras, and their place is called Abhiradesha. These kshatriya kings were destructive to the brahmanas and rishis, therefore the Lord descended to destroy these classes of people. Fearing Parasurama’s powerful might, many could not live in Indian Territory and therefore they had to run away to other areas of the planet. That time the planet was one, and there were not hundreds of flags, as you see nowadays. Later, they gave up the entire Vedic culture and began their own culture, which is the barbarian culture, which was ruthless in nature. In addition, with their newly built might, the descendants of those kings attacked India and conquered. Our gurumaharaj who was from West Bengal knew what was happening there and he wrote that to convert a Hindu into a Muslim was an easy affair in those days. If a Muslim simply sprinkled water on the body of a Hindu, it

81 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

was supposed that the Hindu had already become a Muslim. During the transition of the British in Bangladesh during the last Hindu-Muslim riots, many Hindus were converted into Muslims by having cows’ flesh forcibly pushed into their mouths. Hindu society was so rigid at the time of Lord Chaitanya that if a Hindu was converted into a Muslim, there was no chance of him being reformed. In this way, the Muslim population in India increased. None of the Muslims came from outside, social customs somehow or the other forced Vedic followers to become Muslims, with no chance of returning to Hindu society. Emperor Aurangzeb also inaugurated a tax that Hindus had to pay because of their being Hindus. Thus, all the poor Hindus of the lower class voluntarily became Muslims to avoid the tax. In this way, the Muslim population in India increased. Chand Kazi threatened to convert the people into Muslims by the simple process of sprinkling water on their bodies.

Guest: People underwent miserable existence in those days and present civilization is suffering the aftermath of such diverse behaviours. Swami: Yes, they are.

Guest: What makes Krishna consciousness different from all other religion? Swami: Our spiritual master used to say that the Krishna Bhakti or Krishna consciousness is the Post Graduate movement of all kinds of religions and we too fully experienced after the philosophical and practical deliberation. We are inviting Christian, Muslim, Hindus or any other – we have no problems- please come with us and try to love God. God is one and chant His name. We chant His name and we are getting wonderful results. You may chant your invented God’s name, if you are not getting the result then what is the use of such chanting. The bottom-line is you want to be Krishna conscious, so you chant 82 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

with us. I can chant with you, but you do not have God’s name. We chant the name of Krishna and Rama and we are very happy by chanting “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare”. Religion like , Muslim developed from the Middle East, but if you go further to the eastern parts of India, there the religion was not developed. In due course of time, it is already there since time immemorial. That which has a beginning, can have an end and that which has no beginning, there is no end. Follow the principles of Vedas, which is the Ancient Testament, not just Old Testament. Some religion has a disease that the world began or history began only from their founder’s birth. Just as Christianity that before Jesus’s birth, there was no history, but mythology. That is not true. Lord Krishna spoke Bhagavad-Gita 5000 years ago. The place where he spoke Bhagavad-Gita is still there, the birthplace and pastimes exhibited by the Lord is still intact. That time there was no such things called this religion and that religion. Now you hired God consciousness from the middle east as you accept foriegn good. You Indians may not want to use your own religion, but import religion because those people are financially sound good. After you hire God consciousness, you realize Krishna consciousness from east has more scientific and philosophical value. Remember, Sun first rises from the east.

Guest: Anybody who chants Hare Krishna mantra will be benefitted swamiji? Swami: Anybody can chant Krishna’s name, originally Krishna belongs to everyone and everyone belongs to Krishna. You may call Him Allah, which means or all pervading, Christians call Him Christ, which is the Greek word for Krishna or nick name for Krishna, Jews call Him Jehovah that means all giver and we call Him Krishna, which means all attractive. These are 83 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

different languages, like this cup on this table, we call it steel glass, you call it steel cup, and somebody else may call it steel tumbler. The object is the same. And Vedas say the name of God is Krishna. Why not? God is one, we are all His children, whoever takes His name they will be naturally benefitted. Even the dog eaters will be fully benefitted. I will tell you an incident that took place 500 years ago. There was a Muslim boy, during the Mugal administration. During the first period of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s associates, Srila Haridas Thakura was born to a Muslim family and received the name Ibrahim. He took up chanting the holy name and chanted 300,000 times every day. The Muslim king captured him for changing his religion. The king asked why Ibrahim changed his religion. Ibrahim said so many Hindus were forced to be Muslim, if one Muslim chants Krishna’s name, what is the loss for the king? The angry king ordered his soldiers to beat him in 22 market places and kill him. The soldiers started executing the orders of the king and beat him in 22 market places. Miraculously nothing happened to Ibrahim, not even a bloodstain appeared on his body, nor did he feel any pain. The soldiers were shocked and worried and requested Ibrahim to die, If he did not die the king would have them killed. Mercifully, Ibrahim or Haridas thakura agreed, by chanting the holy name of Krishna loudly he went to (as good as dead) and the soldiers becoming happy. They brought the body to the king, and the king ordered them to throw the dead body into the powerful river Ganges. The soldiers threw him in the Ganges. After floating for a while, thakura came back from his Samadhi- trance and came out of the water! This is the power of the holy name. Therefore, one should chant the holy name of the Lord with full faith and Krishna will protect you, regardless of what religion one practices. According to sastra, this is the

84 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

perfect yajna for this age of Kali-yuga for all humanity at large. Yajna produces rain showers, and rain shower produces grains, fruits and vegetables. You get all necessities for living in this world and in your final days, you obtain the Kingdom of God, Krishna Loka.

Guest: Is there any incident that authorizes that Krishna’s name can be chanted by living entities? Krishna is God, and calling Him by His name is it right? Generally, we call our father as father, and do not address him by his name, even brothers we address with respect. God is beyond everyone and is the Supreme Father of everyone and therefore calling Him by His name is not offensive? Swami: Yes, it is mentioned in Chaitanya Charitamrta that calling Krishna by His name is offensive if He did not permit us to call Him that way. However, Krishna has approved us and we can chant His name on His order. If a wife is allowed to call her husband by his name then there is nothing wrong in it. Bhatta in Sri Chaitanya Charitamrta asked Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu this question and the Lord answered him as follows: One day Vallabha Bhatta said to . “Every living entity is female (prakrti) and considers Krishna her husband (pati). It is the duty of a chaste wife, devoted to her husband, not to utter her husband’s name but all of you chant the name of Krishna. How can this be called a religious principle?” Advaita Acharya told Vallabha Bhatta, “In front of you is Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the personification of religious principles. You should ask Him, for He will give you the proper answer.” Hearing this Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, ‘My dear Vallbha Bhatta, you do not know the religious principles. Actually, the first duty of a chaste woman is to carry out the order of her husband. The order of Krishna is to chant His name 85 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

incessantly. Therefore, one who is chaste and adherent to the husband Krishna must chant the Lord’s name, for she cannot deny the husband’s order. Following this religious principle, a pure devotee of Lord Krishna always chants the holy name. Because of this, she gets the fruit of ecstatic love for Krishna. Therefore, that is the religious principle. What makes Krishna happy is religion.

Guest: I have heard if a devotee is offended, it is not good for the offender. Swami: There are different levels of devotees. The bad karma begins to the offender based on the intensity of his offence. One should not offend any level of devotees. Sastra compares such offense to a mad elephant entering into a beautiful flower garden. The elephant will destroy the entire flower garden. Similarly, the non-devotee who offends the devotee will lose all his opulence, sometimes even life. Srila Prabhupada was offended by that land lord in Mumbai. Srila Prabhupada said that, He just prayed to Lord Narasimha dev to protect him from the property owner, the property owner is acting like the vicious demon Kamsa. Next day the landlord got a heart attack and died. In Chaitanya Lila, there was an incident. Gopla Chapala offended Srivas thakura. Gopala Chapala made public that Srivas thakura is not a vaishnava but a worshipper of Kali. He spread the kali worshipable paraphernalia in front of Srivas thakura’s house. Whoever saw that thought Srivas began worshipping mother Kali. This news went to Lord Chaitanya, Lord as the omniscient came to know the deceiving character of Gopala Chapala. The next day Gopala Chapala was attacked by leprosy. Slowly his body began to melt. He was a young , but he lost his beautiful face, toes and fingers. People began praising the devotion to Radha-Krishna of Srivas Takura. Gopala Chapala became lonely, everyone stayed away from him, especially when 86 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

he had this formidable disease. Once he was sitting underneath a tree, Lord Chaitanya was going by that side to Ganges to take a bath. He approached the Lord in a humble manner and addressed the Lord “My Nimai, in relation I am like your uncle. Please cure this disease that is eating up my entire existence?” When Lord heard that, He raised his voice and scolded him that you are an offender to the feet of Srivas, you made him to be a worshipper of energy, devi, you will not be pardoned by anyone for years together, angrily the Lord walked away. Days passed. Again, he saw Lord Chaitanya, Nimai, and again requested the way he did many days ago. Then again, the Lord responded to him with anger, and told him if Srivas excuses you, you may be relieved from this disease. Go to him and beg apology from him for your notorious activity. Gopala Chapala went to Srivas Thakura, apologized, and fell to his feet. As usual with humility, Srivas thakura relieved him from his offenses and thereby his disease vanished. Thinking that vaishnavas are ordinary persons, and not respecting instructions, and thinking that they know more than vaishnavas and Krishna, people with such thoughts are subjected to reside in the hell for thousands and millions of years. After judgment, they will be thrown to a different hell, sometimes the earth planet itself is the biggest hell especially when one does not get proper food and water for sustenance.

87 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

CHAPTER 3

88 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

Indra Lost Heaven by Offending His Spiritual Master

Once upon a time, the King of heaven, Indra, being extremely proud because of his great opulence of the three worlds, transgressed the law of Vedic etiquette. Seated on his throne, he was surrounded by the Maruts, Vasus, , Ādityas, Rṇbhus, Viśvadevas, Sādhyas, Aśvinī-kumāras, Siddhas, Chāran ṇas and Gandharvas and by great saintly persons. Also surrounding him were the Vidyādharas, Apsarās, Kinnaras, Patagas (birds) and Uragas (snakes). All of them were offering Indra their respects and services, and the Apsarās and Gandharvas were dancing and singing with very sweet musical instruments. Over Indra’s head was a white umbrella as effulgent as the full moon. Fanned by yak-tail whisks and served with all the paraphernalia of a great king, Indra was sitting with his wife, Śacīdevī, who occupied half the throne, when the great sage Br ṇhaspati appeared in that assembly. Br ṇhaspati, the best of the sages, was the spiritual master of Indra and the demigods and was respected by the demigods and demons alike. Nevertheless, although Indra saw his spiritual master before him, he did not rise from his own seat or offer a seat to his spiritual master, nor did Indra offer him a respectful welcome. Indra did nothing to show him respect. Br ṇhaspati knew everything that would happen in the future. Seeing Indra’s transgression of etiquette, he completely understood that Indra was puffed up by his material opulence. Although able to curse Indra, he did not do so. Instead, he left the assembly and in silence returned to his home. Indra, the King of heaven, could immediately understand his mistake. Realizing he had disrespected his spiritual master, he condemned himself in the presence of all the members of the assembly. Alas, what a regrettable deed I have committed because of my lack of intelligence and my pride in my material opulences. I failed to show respect to my spiritual master when he entered this 89 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

assembly, and thus I have insulted him. Although I am King of the demigods, who are situated in the mode of goodness, I was proud of a little opulence and polluted by false ego. Under the circumstances, who in this world would accept such riches at the risk of falling down? Alas! I condemn my wealth and opulence. If a person says, “One who is situated on the exalted throne of a king should not stand up to show respect to another king or a brāhmanaṣ ,” it is to be understood that he does not know the superior religious principles. Leaders who have fallen into ignorance and who mislead people by directing them to the path of destruction (as described in the previous verse) are, in effect, boarding a stone boat, and so too are those who blindly follow them. A stone boat would be unable to float and would sink in the water with its passengers. Similarly, those who mislead people go to hell, and their followers go with them. King Indra said: Therefore with great frankness and without duplicity I shall now bow my head at the lotus feet of Br ṇhaspati, the spiritual master of the demigods. Because he is in the mode of goodness, he is fully aware of all knowledge and is the best of the brāhmanasṣ . Now I shall touch his lotus feet and offer my obeisances unto him to try to satisfy him. While Indra, the King of the demigods, thought in this way and repented in his own assembly, Br ṇhaspati, the most powerful spiritual master, understood his mind. Thus he became invisible to Indra and left home. Although Indra searched vigorously with the assistance of the other demigods, he could not find Br ṇhaspati. Then Indra thought, “Alas, my spiritual master has become dissatisfied with me, and now I have no means of achieving good fortune.” Although Indra was surrounded by demigods, he could not find peace of mind. Hearing of the pitiable condition of King Indra, the demons, following the instructions of their guru, Śukrāchārya, equipped themselves with weapons and declared war against the demigods. The scarcity of the country is when they are in too much turmoil

90 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

of internal problems. Taking the advantage of this particular hour, the enemies take advantage and attack the sorrowing nation. In this regard Śukrāchārya empowered demons to attack Heaven and dethrone Lord Indra. Though the demons are always allotted the subterranean regions for their residents they were never happy with that area, instead always hankering to conquer the heaven to fulfill their bad intentions. And there ensued great battle between gods and demons. The demigods’ head, thighs, arms and other body parts were injured by the sharp arrows of the demons. Demigods have drunk ambrosia nectar therefore they are immortal, they cannot be killed. But their body can be injured if their enemy attacks them. The demigods in the heavenly planet do not possess a spiritual body, which is more congenial to the spirit’s soul. The heavenly bodies are also subjected to death. We can see all the demigods and their branches are thought of as highly opulent, powerful due to drinking nectar. When they offended the spiritual master, all these so called opulences will be withdrawn by the superior energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Krishna. Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, ‘that one’s material opulence pious activities, devotion to the Supreme Lord everything will be immediately lost when one offends a vaishnava who is engaged in the service of the Supreme Lord.’

yadi vaishnava-aparadha uthe hati mata upade va chinde, tara sukhi yaya pata

“As a mad elephant may trample all the plants in a garden, so by committing one offense at the lotus feet of a vaishnava one may spoil all the devotional service he has accumulated in his life”. Brhaspati being very austere and devoted to the Supreme Lord is a qualified spiritual master for the demigods, offending him is inviting one’s own destruction in both material and spiritual life. The demigods, headed by Indra, saw no other

91 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

course than to immediately approach Lord Brahmā with bowed heads for shelter and proper instruction. Lord Brahma resides in his own planet, which is called Brahma loka or Satya loka. He is the organizer of all the planets, demigods and to manage and increase the population on all planetary system. To reach Brahma’s planet, according to the modern calculation, we take 40,000 earthly years, in the speed of light. The total universal space is 2 billion miles, Lord Brahma resides in the top most of all planets and from there one can see the covering of the universe. Though it is difficult for human beings to visit the Brahma loka unless the permission and facility is granted by Lord Brahma, the demigods being in the same category of Lord Brahma are allowed to visit Brahma’s planet as they want by using their mystic opulence of anima, mahima and prapti sidhis. When the most powerful Lord Brahmā saw the demigods coming towards him, their bodies gravely injured by the arrows of the demons, he pacified them by his great causeless mercy and spoke as follows. By Brahma’s own will, he gave them his audience to the grieved demigods. Lord Brahmā said: O best of the demigods, unfortunately, because of madness resulting from your material opulence, you failed to receive Br ṇhaspati properly when he came to your assembly. Because he is aware of the Supreme Brahman and fully in control of his senses, he is the best of the brāhmanasṣ . Therefore, it is very astonishing that you have acted impudently towards him. Materially it may be natural for a person to maintain pride because of his abundant wealth, power and reputation. Because of the clouded consciousness, one is unable to think the actual proprietor of all this opulence is Krishna from whom he has earned all these opulences. All these opulences are hired due to one’s pious merits. It is like when one maintains good credit, one is eligible for a loan from the bank, but ultimately everything has to be returned to the bank. Similarly when one dies, one has to

92 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

return everything to the Supreme Lord and the Supreme Lord assigns the same asset to someone else who is qualified. It is not necessary that someone has to be one’s own child. Even his own children are no one for that house owner, under illusion one thinks this is my child, this is my wife. So when you render some good pious activities, you receive some wealth and reputation by the mercy of the Lord. But that is just temporary. Many times foolish people dare to offend the servant of the supreme Lord with hired opulences such as wealth and power, being ignorant of the fact that they achieved these things due to the mercy of the Supreme Lord Krishna. The supreme Lord never tolerates the offenses committed to a serious vaishnava. When one does such offense all hard earned material opulence will vanquish from his custody. Generally, one earns all these wealth due to pious activities to vaishnava brahmanas, cow and the supreme Lord, but when they commit an offense, they lose all such opulence by the wrath of the Supreme Lord. The Supreme Brahman is the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead Lord Krishna. One who knows Him is the knower of everything in all the planetary systems. This can be accomplished by sincere endeavors and humility. The Supreme Lord is unconquerable to all beings, and only devotion and love can conquer Him. As long as one is controlled by one’s own senses, no good qualities manifest in one’s heart. It is mentioned in the authoritative scriptures about the Supreme Lord,

krishir bhu vacakah sabdho na sca nirvrtir vacakah tayor param brahman krishna iti abhidiyate

The two words ‘Krish’ and ‘na’ are Param Brahman. Krishna is Param Brahman, Krishna is Supersoul, and Krishna is Bhagavan. When one knows Him with a controlled mind and senses, he is the knower of the Vedas. Such devotees are not ordinary, offending such devotees; one will lose all peace and

93 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

prosperity in one’s life. Though demons tried to conquer heaven many times, they failed in their attempt because the mercy of the spiritual master Brhaspati was always with demigods. The energy derived from the satisfaction of a guru can protect the disciple from all kinds of impediments. If one loses the opportunity to please the spiritual master, ignore his order and dishonor his personality; one will fall back into the material position. It is said by one of our Acharyas in the disciplic succession that:

yasya prasada bhagavad prasado yasya aprasadha na gati kutopi”

“Satisfaction of the Supreme Lord is achieved by satisfying His representative.” It is not achieved by modern education and grammar study. Only by the mercy of Guru, one can obtain the audience of Krishna. So guru gives guidance towards the path of perfection. Lord Brahma continued, because of your misbehavior towards Br ṇhaspati, your guru, you have been defeated by the demons. My dear demigods, since the demons were weak, having been defeated by you several times, how else could you, who were so advanced in opulence, be defeated by them? One’s enemy may be very weak, he must have been defeated by you several times, but when a devotee or spiritual master is offended, the enemy becomes powerful and defeats you. You will be devoid of all opulences and reputation. The power of spiritual potency is always superior to any energy of this material world. It was not Lord Indra who lost the heavenly kingdom for the first time. When he offended Durvas muni, the same thing happened. The demons got power to defeat Indra and his demigods. Lord Brahma said, O Indra, your enemies, the demons, were extremely weak because of their disrespect towards Śukrācārya,

94 Chapter 2 The Quality and Aciviies of a Guru

but since they have now worshiped Śukrācārya with great devotion, they have again become powerful. By their devotion to Śukrācārya, they have increased their strength so much that now they are even able to easily seize my abode from me. Because of their firm determination to follow the instructions of Śukrācārya, his disciples, the demons, are now unconcerned about the demigods. In fact, kings or others who have determined faith in the mercy of brāhmanasṣ , cows and the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, and who always worship these three are always strong in their position. By disobedience to the spiritual master or perfect guru, one can lose all the material opulences and spiritual advancement. By his mercy one can gain material opulences and spiritual advancement. Ultimately the progress of disciples depends upon the mercy of spiritual master. Indra the King who is the master of 33 million demigods can be without any material prosperity, simply by not respecting through bodily expression. What will happen to people who offend such , who come to them for some help for the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead? Spiritual master is the cause of one’s spiritual and material advancement and he is the cause of the downfall of the devotee or anyone else who mistreats the spiritual master. Therefore, one must wake up from the ignorant thought that the Spiritual Master or guru is an ordinary person.

95 Chapter 3 Indra lost heaven by ofending his guru

CHAPTER 3

Indra Lost Heaven by Offending His Spiritual Master

Once upon a time, the King of heaven, Indra, being extremely proud because of his great opulence of the three worlds, transgressed the law of Vedic etiquette. Seated on his throne, he was surrounded by the Maruts, Vasus, Rudras, Ādityas, RṚbhus, Viśvadevas, Sādhyas, Aśvinī-kumāras, Siddhas, Chāran Ṛas and Gandharvas and by great saintly persons. Also surrounding him were the Vidyādharas, Apsarās, Kinnaras, Patagas (birds) and Uragas (snakes). All of them were offering Indra their respects and services, and the Apsarās and Gandharvas were dancing and singing with very sweet musical instruments. Over Indra’s head was a white umbrella as effulgent as the full moon. Fanned by yak-tail whisks and served with all the paraphernalia of a great king, Indra was sitting with his wife, Śacīdevī, who occupied half the throne, when the great sage Br Ṛhaspati appeared in that assembly. Br Ṛhaspati, the best of the sages, was the spiritual master of Indra and the demigods and was respected by the demigods and demons alike. Nevertheless, although Indra saw his spiritual master before him, he did not rise from his own seat or offer a seat to his spiritual master, nor did Indra offer him a respectful welcome. Indra did nothing to show him respect. Br Ṛhaspati knew everything that would happen in the future. Seeing Indra’s transgression of etiquette, he completely understood that Indra was puffed up by his material opulence. Although able to curse Indra, he did not do so. Instead, he left the assembly and in silence returned to his home. Indra, the King of heaven, could immediately understand his mistake. Realizing he had disrespected his spiritual master, he condemned 1 Chapter 3 Indra lost heaven by ofending his guru

himself in the presence of all the members of the assembly. Alas, what a regrettable deed I have committed because of my lack of intelligence and my pride in my material opulences. I failed to show respect to my spiritual master when he entered this assembly, and thus I have insulted him. Although I am King of the demigods, who are situated in the mode of goodness, I was proud of a little opulence and polluted by false ego. Under the circumstances, who in this world would accept such riches at the risk of falling down? Alas! I condemn my wealth and opulence. If a person says, “One who is situated on the exalted throne of a king should not stand up to show respect to another king or a brāhmaṇaṇ ,” it is to be understood that he does not know the superior religious principles. Leaders who have fallen into ignorance and who mislead people by directing them to the path of destruction (as described in the previous verse) are, in effect, boarding a stone boat, and so too are those who blindly follow them. A stone boat would be unable to float and would sink in the water with its passengers. Similarly, those who mislead people go to hell, and their followers go with them. King Indra said: Therefore with great frankness and without duplicity I shall now bow my head at the lotus feet of Br Ṛhaspati, the spiritual master of the demigods. Because he is in the mode of goodness, he is fully aware of all knowledge and is the best of the brāhmaṇasṇ . Now I shall touch his lotus feet and offer my obeisances unto him to try to satisfy him. While Indra, the King of the demigods, thought in this way and repented in his own assembly, Br Ṛhaspati, the most powerful spiritual master, understood his mind. Thus he became invisible to Indra and left home. Although Indra searched vigorously with the assistance of the other demigods, he could not find Br Ṛhaspati. Then Indra thought, “Alas, my spiritual master has become dissatisfied with me, and now I have no means of achieving good fortune.” Although Indra was surrounded by demigods, he could not find peace of mind.

2 Chapter 3 Indra lost heaven by ofending his guru

Hearing of the pitiable condition of King Indra, the demons, following the instructions of their guru, Śukrāchārya, equipped themselves with weapons and declared war against the demigods. The scarcity of the country is when they are in too much turmoil of internal problems. Taking the advantage of this particular hour, the enemies take advantage and attack the sorrowing nation. In this regard Śukrāchārya empowered demons to attack Heaven and dethrone Lord Indra. Though the demons are always allotted the subterranean regions for their residents they were never happy with that area, instead always hankering to conquer the heaven to fulfill their bad intentions. And there ensued great battle between gods and demons. The demigods’ head, thighs, arms and other body parts were injured by the sharp arrows of the demons. Demigods have drunk ambrosia nectar therefore they are immortal, they cannot be killed. But their body can be injured if their enemy attacks them. The demigods in the heavenly planet do not possess a spiritual body, which is more congenial to the spirit’s soul. The heavenly bodies are also subjected to death. We can see all the demigods and their branches are thought of as highly opulent, powerful due to drinking nectar. When they offended the spiritual master, all these so called opulences will be withdrawn by the superior energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Krishna. Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, ‘that one’s material opulence pious activities, devotion to the Supreme Lord everything will be immediately lost when one offends a vaishṇava who is engaged in the service of the Supreme Lord.’

yadi vaishṇava-aparadha uthe hati mata upade va chiṇde, tara sukhi yaya pata

“As a mad elephant may trample all the plants in a garden, so by committing one offense at the lotus feet of a vaishṇava one may spoil all the devotional service he has accumulated in his life”.

3 Chapter 3 Indra lost heaven by ofending his guru

Brhaspati being very austere and devoted to the Supreme Lord is a qualified spiritual master for the demigods, offending him is inviting one’s own destruction in both material and spiritual life. The demigods, headed by Indra, saw no other course than to immediately approach Lord Brahmā with bowed heads for shelter and proper instruction. Lord Brahma resides in his own planet, which is called Brahma loka or Satya loka. He is the organizer of all the planets, demigods and prajapatis to manage and increase the population on all planetary system. To reach Brahma’s planet, according to the modern calculation, we take 40,000 earthly years, in the speed of light. The total universal space is 2 billion miles, Lord Brahma resides in the top most of all planets and from there one can see the covering of the universe. Though it is difficult for human beings to visit the Brahma loka unless the permission and facility is granted by Lord Brahma, the demigods being in the same category of Lord Brahma are allowed to visit Brahma’s planet as they want by using their mystic opulence of aṇima, mahima and prapti sidhis. When the most powerful Lord Brahmā saw the demigods coming towards him, their bodies gravely injured by the arrows of the demons, he pacified them by his great causeless mercy and spoke as follows. By Brahma’s own will, he gave them his audience to the grieved demigods. Lord Brahmā said: O best of the demigods, unfortunately, because of madness resulting from your material opulence, you failed to receive Br Ṛhaspati properly when he came to your assembly. Because he is aware of the Supreme Brahman and fully in control of his senses, he is the best of the brāhmaṇasṇ . Therefore, it is very astonishing that you have acted impudently towards him. Materially it may be natural for a person to maintain pride because of his abundant wealth, power and reputation. Because of the clouded consciousness, one is unable to think the actual proprietor of all this opulence is Krishna from whom he has

4 Chapter 3 Indra lost heaven by ofending his guru

earned all these opulences. All these opulences are hired due to one’s pious merits. It is like when one maintains good credit, one is eligible for a loan from the bank, but ultimately everything has to be returned to the bank. Similarly when one dies, one has to return everything to the Supreme Lord and the Supreme Lord assigns the same asset to someone else who is qualified. It is not necessary that someone has to be one’s own child. Even his own children are no one for that house owner, under illusion one thinks this is my child, this is my wife. So when you render some good pious activities, you receive some wealth and reputation by the mercy of the Lord. But that is just temporary. Many times foolish people dare to offend the servant of the supreme Lord with hired opulences such as wealth and power, being ignorant of the fact that they achieved these things due to the mercy of the Supreme Lord Krishna. The supreme Lord never tolerates the offenses committed to a serious vaishṇava. When one does such offense all hard earned material opulence will vanquish from his custody. Generally, one earns all these wealth due to pious activities to vaishṇava brahmaṇas, cow and the supreme Lord, but when they commit an offense, they lose all such opulence by the wrath of the Supreme Lord. The Supreme Brahman is the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead Lord Krishna. One who knows Him is the knower of everything in all the planetary systems. This can be accomplished by sincere endeavors and humility. The Supreme Lord is unconquerable to all beings, and only devotion and love can conquer Him. As long as one is controlled by one’s own senses, no good qualities manifest in one’s heart. It is mentioned in the authoritative scriptures about the Supreme Lord,

krishir bhu vacakah sabdho ṇa sca ṇirvrtir vacakah tayor aikyam param brahmaṇ krishṇa iti abhidiyate

5 Chapter 3 Indra lost heaven by ofending his guru

The two words ‘Krish’ and ‘ṇa’ are Param Brahman. Krishna is Param Brahman, Krishna is Supersoul, and Krishna is Bhagavan. When one knows Him with a controlled mind and senses, he is the knower of the Vedas. Such devotees are not ordinary, offending such devotees; one will lose all peace and prosperity in one’s life. Though demons tried to conquer heaven many times, they failed in their attempt because the mercy of the spiritual master Brhaspati was always with demigods. The energy derived from the satisfaction of a guru can protect the disciple from all kinds of impediments. If one loses the opportunity to please the spiritual master, ignore his order and dishonor his personality; one will fall back into the material position. It is said by one of our Acharyas in the disciplic succession that:

yasya prasada bhagavad prasado yasya aprasadha ṇa gati kutopi”

“Satisfaction of the Supreme Lord is achieved by satisfying His representative.” It is not achieved by modern education and grammar study. Only by the mercy of Guru, one can obtain the audience of Krishna. So guru gives guidance towards the path of perfection. Lord Brahma continued, because of your misbehavior towards Br Ṛhaspati, your guru, you have been defeated by the demons. My dear demigods, since the demons were weak, having been defeated by you several times, how else could you, who were so advanced in opulence, be defeated by them? One’s enemy may be very weak, he must have been defeated by you several times, but when a devotee or spiritual master is offended, the enemy becomes powerful and defeats you. You will be devoid of all opulences and reputation. The power of spiritual potency is always superior to any energy of this material world. It was not Lord Indra who lost the heavenly

6 Chapter 3 Indra lost heaven by ofending his guru

kingdom for the first time. When he offended Durvas muni, the same thing happened. The demons got power to defeat Indra and his demigods. Lord Brahma said, O Indra, your enemies, the demons, were extremely weak because of their disrespect towards Śukrācārya, but since they have now worshiped Śukrācārya with great devotion, they have again become powerful. By their devotion to Śukrācārya, they have increased their strength so much that now they are even able to easily seize my abode from me. Because of their firm determination to follow the instructions of Śukrācārya, his disciples, the demons, are now unconcerned about the demigods. In fact, kings or others who have determined faith in the mercy of brāhmaṇasṇ , cows and the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, and who always worship these three are always strong in their position. By disobedience to the spiritual master or perfect guru, one can lose all the material opulences and spiritual advancement. By his mercy one can gain material opulences and spiritual advancement. Ultimately the progress of disciples depends upon the mercy of spiritual master. Indra the King who is the master of 33 million demigods can be without any material prosperity, simply by not respecting through bodily expression. What will happen to people who offend such sadhus, who come to them for some help for the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead? Spiritual master is the cause of one’s spiritual and material advancement and he is the cause of the downfall of the devotee or anyone else who mistreats the spiritual master. Therefore, one must wake up from the ignorant thought that the Spiritual Master or guru is an ordinary person.

7