Prabhupad vani- "Glories of my divine master"

Question: How does actual service to Krishna (Krishna-seva) happen?


Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur: Actual service to Krishna (Krishna-seva) happens on...ly through the service of Krishna’s devotees, viz. Guru and Vaishnav. Sahajiyas are not able to understand this. They think, “One who worships Krishna (directly), he is the greatest” and thus they consider themselves Vaishnavs, take service from others and themselves abandon the service of Guru and Vaishnav.
However, one who has heard the teachings of Sri Chaitanyadev and the Goswamis knows that truly truly the service of Krishna (Krishna-seva) happens only through the service of Krishna’s devotees, viz. Guru and Vaishnava.
Those who abandon the service and guidance of the sadhus and Sri Guru (Sadhu-Guru-seva and anugatya) and feign the service of Krishna (Krishna-seva) and the service of the holy Name (Nam-bhajan), make offences (aparadha) with every step they take. Whenever one is making offence (aparadha), they are not chanting the holy Name of Krishna (Krishna-nam) or engaging in the service of Krishna (Krishna-seva).
On the contrary, all surrendered devotees who proceed under the guidance of Guru and Vaishnav and serve them (practice Guru-Vaishnav anugatya and seva) (in truth) serve Krishna and chant the holy Name of Krishna, by the mercy of Guru and Krishna. Only those who serve Krishna’s devotees, viz. Guru and Vaishnav with faith and affectionate love (adara and priti) receive the mercy of Sri Chaitanyadev and the Goswamis.
(At the time) when my conception was, “I am a greatly learned in mathematic scriptures, I am greatly learned in philosophical scriptures,” by good fortune I obtained the association (darshan) of Sri Gurudev.
When he then struck down my great truthfulness, my pure, ethical life, my scholarship, and so forth, knowing them to be trifling, I understood, “I cannot conceive how great this personality is who can strike down (all) my great virtues!” By him striking me down, I was able to understand, “There is no one so lowly or abominable as me; this is my nature. This great soul (mahatma) is not attributing any value to scholarship, ethical character, and any of the things I am considering to be supremely desirable.”
Then I understood, “Such invaluable things must be present within this great personality!” Then I considered, “Either he is extremely merciful or he is extremely egotistical (ahankari).” Then I humbly prayed to the Lord for mercy.
Thereafter, by the mercy of the Lord, I was able to understand that apart from the mercy and service of this type of great personality who is devoid of desire for anything of this world (Nishkinchan Maha-purush) there is no other road towards my welfare. When I properly understood in this way, I then received the shelter and abounding mercy of Sri Gurudev and thus became fulfilled.
Through the strike I have received from Sri Gurudev, I have understood that if the people of this world are not struck down in the same way, they will not become conscious, their proper awareness will not come about. So I am saying to everyone, “I am the greatest fool; among all the people present in this world, I am the greatest fool; you all should not be a fool like me, you all should not remain absorbed in calculative (illusory) subjects, (but rather) you all should enter into subjects of the spiritual world (Vaikuntha–katha), (then) you will become great personalities.”
I am speaking to you all the good words of he whom, by the mercy of the Lord, I have understood to be the supreme good (param-mangal)—Sri Gurudev.
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English translation of Bengali text.
Sri Gaudiya Darshan

Nabadwip P.2008- Sripad Nemi Maharaj heart-touching kirtan and Gurudev P...


Tridandisvami Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja : What is the purpose of the Gaudiya Matha?

   Many people who come forward to perform sadhana-bhajana, to lead a life of devotional service, become trapped by the illusory potency of the Lord and become attached to maya in her feature as a woman. In this way they entrench their life in misery. We should be ever alert to this. The Gaudiya Matha is not an establishment intended to facilitate this. What is the purpose of the... Gaudiya Matha? It is to sincerely and purely follow the teachings of Srila Rupa Gosvami. The Gaudiya Matha's very existence is based on one objective alone: to follow the instructions of Sriman Mahaprabhu and Srila Rupa Gosvami by becoming acquainted with their teachings and performing bhajana accordingly.
One who leads such a life by remaining under the shelter of a genuine guru actually performs Vyasa-puja. Such conduct alone signifies fitting worship of Srila Rupa Gosvami and our entire guru-parampara. If one wishes to perform sadhana-bhajana by following such rules and regulations then one may stay in the matha, but there is no place in the matha for those nurturing worldly (asat) propensities.
You all should clearly understand that the matha is not a place for arranging and celebrating marriages. If one wants to practise bhajana in its purest form, then one should reside in the matha and serve Sri Guru and the Vaisnavas, even though one may receive chastisement from them. Sri Narada's curse upon Nalakuvara and Manigriva proved to be extremely beneficial for them. In the same manner, the chastisement of Sri Guru and Vaisnavas is also highly auspicious. If a person tolerates their chastisement and continues to reside in the matha, then he alone can truly understand their mercy.


source : India, Mathura, 16 July 2008

Gaudiya Parampara and its Supreme Especiality.



Gaudiya Vaishnava Bhagavat Guru Parampara and His Supreme Especiality

A clarification of some misconceptions regarding the Gaudiya Vaishnava Guru Parampara and their mood of devotion.

*Pancharatrika and Bhagavat-Guru Parampara

*Jagad Guru Prabhupad Sri Srimad Bhaktissidhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur delineated the Rupanuga line of highest devotion in his song “Guru parampara”

*Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana is Ratnavali Devi- belong to the manjari´s group of Gopis.

               * The glories of Srila Baladev Vidyabhusan Mahasay

             * Diference between Raganuga and Rupanuga

             * Priya Narma Sakhas are in sakhya rasa

             * All Gaudiya Acharyas have fixed the same supreme goal and devotion

           * Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj is surely a Rupanuga Acharya in all respects.

         * Sometimes, Vaisnavas hide their internal mood according to time and circunstances.


          * Srila Sukadev Goswami is right, Srila Jayadev Goswami is right


   In the beginning of Srila Gurudev B.V.Narayan Goswami´s book called “Prabandha Pancakam”, Srila Gurudev says:

“Nowadays, as in the field of politics, we find that envy, hatred, bickering, insubordination or reluctance in the matter of accepting the guidance of senior authorities and other anomalies have also entered the arena of dharma. In former times everyone used to deeply revere the axiom “mahäjano yena gataù sa panthä” and honour the principle of änugatya, (accepting the guidance of one's respectable superiors. Due to the deteriorating influence of time, some narrow-minded modernists want to cut away at the holy thread of anygatya in the ancient parampara-system and destroy friendship between the pure sampradayas. They consider themselves important by inventing an imaginary process of bhajan and then establishing them as authentic. These people who are creating factions within the sampradaya cannot understand that by their ignoble endeavours, contrary to serving the mano´bhista or innermost desire of Kali Yuga Avatari Sri Chaitanya |Mahaprabhu, they are digging up the roots of the Gaudiya Vaishnava Sampradaya”

   We see that Gurudev words are still suitable for the present. Especially the misconceptions regarding the goal propagated by the Acharyas of the Gaudiya Vaishnavism have been misinterpreted by many preachers and the so called ‘advanced’ devotees who have been propagating their own erroneous and unbased philosophy regarding this topic. Especially among them are; Krsna Balaram Mandir, ISKCON leaders and a Sangha created by Swami Tripurari. They all have the same imaginary idea regarding some of the topics that we will discuss in this article. The evidences here presented are not mine; they came from the bonafide Gurus who are also the diksa or sanyassi Guru of the 3 Institutions who are spreading these imaginary ideas regarding the Gaudiya Parampara and their tattva-siddhanta. So, something had to be written- on the base of tattva-siddhanta, to ascertain the goal of our life before we start the appropriate practice in order to attain that goal. That’s why Gurudev used to quote Srila Krsna Das Kaviraj Goswami, who in the beginning of his Chaitanya Caritamrta, just after the mangala-carana, told about the goal and the importance to fix it first:

Sukadev Goswami is right, Jayadev Goswami is right- Prabhupad Saraswati Thakur




Srila Sukadev Goswami is right, Srila Jayadev Goswami is right

   In the book called “Prabhupad Saraswati Thakur” by Mandala Publishing Group wich contains many articles written by Prabhupad, in the page 117 of the same, Prabhupad wrote:

   “The ‘hidden matters’ can only be known by the special mercy of Sri Krishna and not otherwise. They are not to be divulged to all persons indiscriminately. This explanation offered by the Goswamis is not opposed to the open treatment of the same subject by Sri Jayadeva and others writers. In spite of the Gita Govinda and its companion works, the subject of the relationship of Sri Radhika to Sri Krishna remains shrouded in impenetrable mistery. No language can convey to the lay reader anything but a misleading idea of the nature of the subject on wich Sri Sukadev maintained such discrite silence. This result is hailed with unmistakable joy by Srila Krsna Das Kaviraj Goswami, author of Sri Chaitanya Charitamrta. Kaviraj Goswami pertinently observes that no joy can excel that of the narrator of the hidden subject when he realizes that those very persons are wholly and automatically barred from all knowledge of the subject. They will surely not appreciate the same for fear of whose neblect the writer is afraid to narrate fully. Sri Sukadev Goswami´s hesitation to divulge the secrets of the Vedas is well founded. The conduct of Sri jayadev Goswami in speaking without reserve is equally in order if we remember that his book cannot be understood at all by those who are lacking in the highest spiritual culture.
   Certain uncritical writers have even thrown mud at the author of Gita-Govinda; but they are the exceptions. Generally writers have thought it wise to avoid all reference to the subject for the honest enough reason that they have failed to understand how a book wich has a most obscene exterior could be cherished by all the great devotees of the country, whose conduct is universally admitted to have been free from any taint of casuality.”