How to See the Guru: Chastity

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Vyasa Puja Day, 25 September 2014

Chastity is the main thing.

Dronacharya was the astra guru, the teacher of weapons, of the Kauravas and the Pandavas. Once he decided to test his disciples. He put up a stuffed bird and asked his disciples to take aim. He tested everyone—Yudhisthir Maharaj and others were there—but one after another, they failed.

"Can you see the bird?"

"Yes, I can see the bird."

"What else can you see?"

"I can see its head, legs."

"Anything else?"

"Yes, I can also see you."

And everybody failed. Then Arjun's turn came. Dronacharya asked him,

"What can you see?"

"I only see the eye of the bird."

"Can you see anything else?"

"No, nothing else."

"Yes, you are perfect, you can be successful!"

You must take perfect aim, give all power to one destination, one target—that kind of attachment is necessary:

Narad Muni asked Vraja gopis, "You are giving your feet dust to Krishna, do you know what result you will get?" All Vraja gopis replied, "Yes, we know. We will be in hell life after life, but we have no problem if Krishna is happy." You can even leave your Guru if he is not giving you proper instruction or is engaging you for a wrong purpose. Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj told this. For the sake of his ideal, Bharat Maharaj left his mother, Prahlad Maharaj left his father, Bali Maharaj rejected his Gurudev's order, Khatvanga Maharaj left all demigods, and yajna-patnis (wives of the brahmans) left their husbands for Krishna. That kind of attachment is necessary to have for your Guru, for Krishna.

Srila Rupa Goswami said,

যুবতীনাং যথা যূনি যূনাঞ্চ যুবতৌ যথা ।
মনোঽভিরমতে তদ্বন্মনোভিরমতাং ত্বয়ি ॥

yuvatinam yatha yuni yunam cha yuvatau yatha
mano 'bhiramate tad van mano 'bhiramatam tvayi

Sri Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu, 1.2.151

"I want that kind of attachment to Krishna that a boy and a girl can have for each other."

We can see Ramanuja Acharya also. He heard there was a Guru in Alwar (South India). He came to that Guru and asked, "You know one mantra that can give liberation. I want to get this mantra." The Guru replied, "I can give you this mantra, but you cannot give it to anybody." Ramanuja Acharya agreed and took the mantra from him. Many people said to him after that, "You have got that mantra, and if you give it to us, we can also get liberation." Ramanuja Acharya gave that mantra to all the people who were present there. His Guru said to him, "You did not respect, did not follow your Guru's order, do you know what is going to happen now?" Ramanuja Acharya replied, "Yes, I can go to hell; but your mantra is very powerful and can give liberation to the devotees. Even if I go to hell, I have no problem, because it will give benefit to others."

It is necessary to understand who the Guru is and what a disciple should be like.

In this Age of Kali so many people can give so many mantras, but where does that mantra come from? Some bogus guru, somebody from the guru business pretends to be a guru and can give you a mantra, but what is the Guru-parampara (disciplic succession) of that guru? There is a difference between mantras. Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj gave one example. Homeopathic globules with medicine and without medicine look the same, but those with medicine will work and can remove the disease, but those without medicine will not work. So, it is necessary to understand where the mantra and the guru come from.

...I have told many things today. I started in the morning at 7 a.m. and now it is 6 p.m., and I have not finished yet. Eleven hours' class. I only came to my room for fifteen minutes to take prasadam...

Devotee: What can we do to have that kind of energy?

This energy will come from Gurudev. I told you.

You must remember what Sanatan Goswami was told. Power comes down. Das Goswami Prabhu told, "I do not want Krishna without Srimati Radharani. I only want Krishna with Srimati Radharani." This is why also Mirabai is not in our parampara: she became crazy about Krishna, but did not have attachment to the devotees of Krishna, to service. That energy will come from the Adi Guru [the Original Guru], and the Adi Guru is Nityananda Prabhu. And how will Nityananda Prabhu's mercy come? Through dham seva, through Gauranga-bhakter seva [serving the holy place, and serving the devotees of Gauranga]. You have to become crazy about Nityananda Prabhu, then you will get that kind of energy.

Devotee: How can we become crazy?

"চৈতন্যের বাতুল কে রাখিতে পারে, Chaitanyer batul ke rakhite pare?" It was said about Raghunath Das Goswami. "No one can stop the one who becomes crazy about Chaitanya." So, no one can stop those who become crazy about Nityananda Prabhu. When Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya debated with Gopinath Acharya, he asked, "How is it possible?" Gopinath Acharya explained that it was possible by the mercy. The mercy, the energy comes directly from the Guru. It is called power transmission; when the power comes, more and more devotion will come to you, and you will feel humbler and humbler.

তৃণাধিক হীন কবে নিজে মানি
সহিষ্ণুতা-গুণ হৃদয়েতে আনি'

trnadhika hina kabe nije mani
sahisnuta-guna hrdayete ani'

"When will I feel that I am lower than a blade of grass, when will I bring the quality of tolerance into my heart?"

'Kabe habe bolo, se dina amar?' by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

When more devotion comes, you will become humbler and more tolerant, and also more dedication will come. Sincerity and dedication are very important; first is sincerity, then dedication. Full dedication means that if you want to leave your service, service will not want to leave you—that kind of 'curse' will come.

...Many devotees came here today from Mayapur and all Bengal. I have got a chance to serve everybody, and I am getting one more year to live, getting energy to serve my Guru for one more year. It is Gurudev's mercy, but actually everything can change, that is why we must make every step very carefully. We all the time make so many offences, so many things, but we must always try to avoid Vaishnav aparadh. It is necessary for our spiritual life.

Do you have any other questions?

Devotee: We are very happy to hear Krishna-katha from you...

When somebody has attachment to Krishna-katha, then we must think that their material attachment is being removed. Attachment to Krishna-katha, desire to hear Krishna-katha is good.

You should also understand that you are studying in a transcendental university. When you study in a mundane university, school, or college, if you are a good student, you will make new friends every year and leave the friends who fail in their studies. In the same way, you must make friends with higher, senior devotees. You must be careful who you associate with.

Every day Raghunath Das Goswami Prabhu got some buttermilk in a leaf pot from Radha Kunda, but when one day the Vraja-basi brought a pot from another place, from Surya Kunda, Das Goswami Prabhu threw away that pot with milk because he did not want to mix, did not want to get association of competitors of Srimati Radharani.

Once a devotee asked Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj a question. That devotee took the first initiation from Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur and the second initiation from his disciple, and he asked Srila Sridhar Maharaj what his relation with Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur and his second initiation Guru should be: what should be the relationship with the Acharya and with his successor? Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj said that when Krishna came to an assembly, different devotees saw Krishna in different ways. Similarly, disciples will see their Guru in one way, and the godbrothers of the Guru will see the Guru in another way.

Also, in Dvapar-yuga, Balaram played with Krishna as a cowherd boy, but when Balaram becomes Nityananda Prabhu and gives Mahaprabhu's conception to others, He is higher—Nityananda is much more powerful. You heard also about the dream of Sachi Mata. She saw Krishna and Balaram sitting on her altar, and Nityananda Prabhu was chastising Balaram and Krishna, "Come down from the altar! This place is not Yours—it is Gauranga's place! It is not Dvapar-yuga any more, it is Kali-yuga, so You must come down." We must understand the meaning of that dream...

Acharya should also watch out so that a distance does not come between his godbrothers and himself because of his disciples. This is what Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj told. If any godbrothers get some disrespect from the disciples of the Acharya, that is also not good for the Acharya, you must understand that.

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• PART 1:
How to See the Guru: Mercy