Guru-Bhakti, Guru-Drohi

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
speaking online to devotees in São Paulo, Brazil
22 September 2019, Kolkata, part 6

Do you have any questions?

Question: What is in your vision the secret to the success of a united mission here in Brazil?

Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math is one mission, it is not a separate mission—it is not a Russian mission, it is not a Brazilian mission, it is not a London mission. This mission is the mission of Chaitanya Saraswat Math, and if we follow the instruction that Gurudev told us, it will be good for us, good for everybody. This is the main thing for our spiritual life.

We have not come to this world to enjoy things, to do our own thing. The main point is what Gurudev told everybody—if everybody follows that instruction, it will be good. Gurudev spoke about the mission all the time, and we must serve Gurudev's mission all together. This is the main thing.

You can see the example of Arjuna. Arjuna was never jealous of Ekalavya. Arjuna did right—he told Dronacharya that Ekalavya did what he did because he wanted to be the highest disciple. Arjuna was never jealous of Ekalavya—Arjuna showed ahaituki krpa, ahaituki daya (causeless mercy, causeless kindness) to all souls all over the world.

Some say that Ekalavya is a niskapata (staunch) devotee of his guru, but then some can also say that if he was a proper devotee of his guru, then Krishna would not have been able to destroy him. I have already told you that.

It happens in this world—sometimes, our desire is to become bigger, greater than some Vaishnav, but this is not bhakti—it is abhakti, it is atibadi. Then, the desire of Ekalavya's heart was to become bigger than Arjuna. What is the use? There is mukh and mukhosh. Mukhosh means you put on a false plastic face, for example a tiger's face, and you say, "I am a tiger!" It is a mask. You show you are a sannyasi, but you have other things inside. This is a disguise, a mask. Mukh means face and mukhosh is a disguise, a mask. Somebody pays their full obeisance to you and shows that they are very humble, but as soon as they get a chance, they will cut your throat.

So, somebody may be worshipping their guru, but it can be a disguise. For example, Ekalavya went to the forest, installed a clay murti of his guru there, and started worshipping him and learning dhanu-vidya (archery). Somebody puts on the mask of guru-bhakti, but in fact they can be guru-drohi (traitors of the guru, envious of the guru). Ekalavya too went against the guru—he thought, "Oh, Gurudev has rejected me, but we shall see!" What should he have done? He should have accepted it, "Gurudev has rejected me now for whatever reason. I come from a lower cast, I am a fallen soul, but I must just wait." It is necessary to have patience, but he did not wait—he wanted to be a bigger thing, so he went to the forest and took a vow, "I am accepting Dronacharya as my guru in my heart and soul and I am keeping his Deity here. I will learn more than Arjuna, more than anybody else!" This is not guru-bhakti (devotion to the guru). This is guru-drohi (treachery and envy of the guru). He did not accept his guru's order—he wanted to be the biggest personality, the biggest fighter, that is why he did what he did for his indriya-tripta (satisfaction of his own senses), his own enjoyment. That is not devotion.

You must always go behind the Vaishnavs—do not cross the line. You have your limitation, and if you cross the line and exceed your limit, that will be a big problem for you. Do not cross the line. That is the main thing we must understand. In the material world, people say, "We want to be big," "We want to be big," but here is Ekalavya who wanted to be bigger than Vaishnavs and in the end he got nirvises Brahma [impersonal form of the Lord, spiritual suicide]. Sriman Mahaprabhu also told the example of Hiranyakasipu and Prahlad Maharaj. What is guru-bhakti? What is bhakti? What is pure devotion? "Oh, I can do something," "I can make a building!", "I can make a temple!", "I can do this!", "I can do that!", "I want to be the biggest Guru!"—this is all not guru-bhakti. Devotion means living under the guidance of a Vaishnav.

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