Who Is a Real Disciple?

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh
4 January 2019, part 7

Who is a Vaishnav? A Vaishnav is actually a great soul. Only a great acharya can recognise who is a great Vaishnav, that is why we have to follow their instruction:

গুরুমুখ-পদ্মবাক্য চিত্তেতে করিয়া ঐক্য
আর না করিহ মনে আশা

guru-mukha-padma-vakya, chittete kariya aikya,
ara na kariha mane asa

Make the teachings from Sri Guru's lotus mouth one with your heart, and do not desire anything else within your heart.

You must follow what is coming from their lotus mouth (mukha-padma), that is your religion, that is your main teaching.

You may be living in family life, I have no objection, no problem. Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur also told that somebody can live householder life, it is not a problem because even a householder devotee can be a vanaprastha or a sannyasi because their mood is devotional, they dedicate their life fully to Lord Krishna, they always serve twenty-four hours a day; they may go to work, but they always work for their Guru, for the Vaishnavs, they offer everything to the Lord. Such householders are sannyasis.

In Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswat Thakur's time also, the secretary of Chaitanya Math was a grihastha, his name is Kunja Bihari Prabhu (affectionately known as Kunja Babu), later he became Srila Bhakti Vilas Tirtha Maharaj. Kunja Babu could not always stay at the temple, but he always served Chaitanya Math from his householder life. Moreover, when he would come to visit Chaitanya Math, to see Prabhupad, at that time almost all sannyasis would give him their full obeisance.

In this way, Srila Prabhupad teaches us that we do not discriminate who is a grihastha, who is a brahmachari, and who is a sannyasi. Those who are dearest to Gurudev, those who can serve Gurudev properly, who can follow his instruction properly, they are the real devotees.

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