Myth: “Srila Prabhupada is not living anymore so new living gurus are necessary”
Anti Ritvik Myths debunked (#32)
Myth: “Srila Prabhupada is not living anymore, therefore new living gurus are necessary ”
Truth: It is Srila Prabhupada who is still spiritually living and available, but self-made “gurus” are drying up or already spiritually dead.
This is the first in the series of articles that refute various aspects of vapuvada, an erroneous philosophy which argues in favor of mandatory physical contact with a manifested guru (so called “living guru”), and its supporters advocate it in such a way that Srila Prabhupada allegedly cannot be a guru nowadays, despite his instructions that he himself would remain the initiating and instructing spiritual master for his entire ISKCON movement, and initiation ceremonies must be conducted on his behalf, even after his physical departure (so that new devotees would become his initiated disciples). Thus, vapuvada is one of key ideological aspects of ritvik-prativada (anti-ritvik/anti-Prabhupada philosophy). As we will see, it’s both deviation and novel doctrine for ISKCON that wasn’t taught by Srila Prabhupada and that was employed to hijack ISKCON. [Read More…]
Myth: “But there are many cases of maha-bhagavatas and acaryas falling down”
Anti Ritvik Myths debunked (#31)
Myth: “But there are many cases of maha-bhagavatas and acaryas falling down”
Truth: There is no example of genuine transcendental guru’s falldown in Srila Prabhupada’s books.
The idea that bona fide acaryas/diksa gurus spiritually fall down, often with devastating scandals (as in maya-ISKCON and other deviant groups), is alien to Srila Prabhupada’s instructions. He didn’t teach that, and during Srila Prabhupada’s manifested presence there was no such understanding in ISKCON (see articles on guru-tattva in ‘Back to Godhead’ in the 1970s, etc.). The first significant attempt to justify falldowns of supposedly genuine gurus occurred in August 1980, when the GBC controlled by “zonal acaryas” published “The Mahajans Have Difficulties” official paper. [Read More…]
Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Mahārāja Prabhupāda Appearance Day (Avirbhava Tithi)
Appearance Day
of Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Mahārāja Prabhupāda
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Praṇati
नम ॐ विष्णु-पादाय कृष्ण-प्रेष्ठाय भू-तले
श्रीमते भक्तिसिद्धान्त-सरस्वतीति नामिने
nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale
śrīmate bhaktisiddhānta-sarasvatīti nāmine
I offer my respectful obeisances unto His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī,
who is very dear to Lord Kṛṣṇa, having taken shelter at His lotus feet.
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati was born in the holy pilgrimage place of Jagannatha Puri to Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, the great Vaishnava acharya in the line of succession coming from Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Although employed as a government magistrate, Srila Bhaktivinoda worked tirelessly to establish the teachings of Lord Chaitanya in India. He envisioned a worldwide spiritual movement and prayed for a son to help him achieve his dream.
On February 6, 1874, in the sacred pilgrimage town of Jagannath Puri, where Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura served as superintendent of the famous Jagannatha temple, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta appeared in this world. He was given the name Bimala Prasada. At the age of seven, Bimala Prasada had memorized the more than seven hundred Sanskrit verses of the Bhagavad-gita and could speak illuminating commentaries upon them. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, the author of many important books and other writings on Gaudiya Vaisnava philosophy, trained his son in printing and proofreading.
By the time he was twenty-five years old, Bimala Prasada had acquired an impressive reputation as a scholar of Sanskrit, mathematics, and astronomy. His astronomical treatise, Surya- siddhanta, won him the title Siddhanta Sarasvati in recognition of his immense learning. In 1905, following the advice of his father, Siddhanta Sarasvati accepted spiritual initiation from Srila Gaurakishora Dasa Babaji. Although Srila Gaurakishora Dasa Babaji was illiterate, he was renowned throughout the continent as a great saint and Vaishnava acharya. Siddhanta Sarasvati, although a great scholar, exhibited humility and dedication in the presence of Srila Gaurakishora. Satisfied with such humility and dedication of his highly educated disciple, Srila Gaurakishora gave Siddhanta Sarasvati his full blessings and requested him to “preach the Absolute Truth and keep aside all other work.” Upon the disappearance of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura in 1914, Siddhanta Sarasvati became editor of his father’s spiritual journal, Sajjana-tosani, and founded the Bhagawat Press for the publication of Gaudiya Vaishnava literature. In 1918 Siddhanta Sarasvati accepted the renounced order of spiritual life, assuming the title Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Goswami Maharaja. For purposes of propagating Gaudiya Vaishnavism throughout India, he organized the Gaudiya Math, with sixty-four branches throughout the country. The headquarters of his mission, the Chaitanya Gaudiya Math, is located in Sridhama Mayapura, the birthplace of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta adjusted ancient traditions to conform to technological and social conditions of the twentieth century. He considered the printing press a most effective means of spreading this message throughout the world and was himself the author of many important translations, commentaries, and philosophical essays. He was the first spiritual teacher in this line to allow his renounced preachers (sannyasis) to wear Western clothes and travel in modem conveyances rather that on foot. Throughout the 1930s, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta expanded and increased his missionary work and succeeded in reestablishing Gaudiya Vaishnavism as the leading force in Indian spiritual life.
On January 1, 1937, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura passed from this world.
[Text from the eight-volume Harmonist (As It Is) Magazine]
The Acharya-Sampradaya methodology (Follow-Up 2)
In this article about the Spiritual Master(s) for the usage of definitions I will be referring to Srila Prabhupada’s works. It appears that Srila Prabhupada would use the word “guru” and “spiritual master” as synonyms, that is the words are interchangeable. But at a closer inspection the definitions of the word “spiritual master” breaks down into two manifestations. So for clarity of this article I will be using the words that Srila Prabhupada does for the word “spiritual master” which are found in the Chaitanya Charitamrta.
“The first manifestation described is the spiritual master, who appears in two plenary parts called the initiating spiritual master and instructing spiritual master. They are identical because both of them are phenomenal manifestations of the Supreme Truth.”
Cc Adi Lila Chapter 1 introduction, page 18.
In the beginning of Chaitanya-caritamrta, Srila Krsnadasa kaviraja Goswami writes;
“I offer my respects to my spiritual masters.” He uses the plural here to indicate the disciplic succession. It is not that he offers obeisances to his spiritual master alone but to the whole parampara, the chain of disciplic succession beginning with Lord Krishna Himself. Thus the spiritual master is addressed in the plural to show the authors high respect for all Vaisnavas. [Read More…]
prabhupadanugas
- Lord Nityānanda Prabhu’s Appearance Day
- Why is it so difficult to liberate even one soul from the material world? (Question by Bhakta Waldemar)
- “Revised and Enlarged Second Edition” of Srila Prabhupāda’s Bhagavad-Gita???
- All-ways Remember
- Manah-siksa (Teachings to the Mind) by Srila Narottama dasa Thakura
- Srila Prabhupada glorifies Sri Advaita Acarya
- Myth: “Krsna-bhajanamrta proves that bona fide diksa gurus fall down by dozens”
- Somewhere Over the Rainbow
- Myth: “Bg. 9.30 verse proves that despite falldowns diksa gurus remain saintly and properly situated”
- The Antidote
- Myth: “Falldowns of diksa gurus in ISKCON after 1977 it’s not a big deal it’s normal”
- Question: How will Prabhupada’s disciples, initiated in the ritvik system, touch Prabhupada’s lotus feet ?
- D.O.A.
- Ritvik Acarya or Diksa Guru?
- Be Happy and make others Happy
- All Day
- Myth: “Nonliberated gurus chant purely and their disciples will reach shudha nama”
- Bhaktivinoda Thakur – Surrender
- Bhuliya Tomare – Forgetting You
- Quench Your Thirst
- Myth: “Non-liberated persons can act as transparent via medium to God”
- How the GBC changed Deity worship in ISKCON
- Clean Out Your Ears
- Please Don’t Ignore the Cries of Srila Prabhupada’s Abused Children!
- Myth: “Worshipping nonliberated gurus is not idol worship”
- Perspectives on “These kind of symptoms are seen when a man is poisoned”
- Flock of Fools
- Myth: “Srila Prabhupada’s letters to Acyutananda and Hamsaduta authorized them to become initiating gurus”
- Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada Tirobhava tithi (Disappearance day)
- Narendra Modi presenting Bhagavad-gita to Wladimir Putin
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