What Srila Prabhupada Showed Us
BY: AUWSURYA
Jan 09, 2012 — INDIA (SUN) — I am praying that gradually, gradually the standard of how to love, honor and respect one's spiritual master can change. It is said in the Raga Vartma Chandrika that service to guru is of two types: one type of service is ordinary... the second, with loving affection from the heart. This second type of service to Sri Guru is called anuraga. If there were more disciples in the mood of anuraga, then truly, the need for all the pomp, all the popularity, and all the glamour would diminish.
When one serves with loving affection from the heart, he is only able to do so if he or she is educated in the subtleties of understanding who is an uttama-adhikari, who is a madhyama-adhikari, and who is a kanistha-adhikari (topmost, intermediate, and beginner qualification).
Gurus also fall within these 3 divisions, as well as general sadhaks. It is not possible to serve a kanistha guru with genuine anuraga, because the flow of reciprocation which manifests from the heart of a madhyama or uttama guru does not flow from a kanishta guru. Once an individual is educated in the science of bhakti, as given in the literatures of not only Srila A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami, but Srila Rupa Goswami, Srila Sanatana Goswami, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur, and other premi Vaisnavis, he or she will be able to discern if the individual that is presenting themself to be guru is still full of materialistic tendencies.
In Vedic times, disciples LIVED with their gurus! Srila Prabhupada lived directly with his disciples! DO NOT TAKE A GURU IF THAT PERSON INSISTS THAT THEY HAVE A PRIVATE LIFE! Once a person takes a disciple, it is not that simply the guru "owns" the disciple.... the DISCIPLE also OWNS the guru! Because the teacher-guru who is for REAL knows, "My future happiness, my sanity, everything about my existence is dependant on not hurting these persons who have taken shelter of me......I can NEVER hurt them!"
It is just like the true, functional, and eternal conception of a mother or father... ALWAYS to give nurturing, compassion, forgiveness, encouragement, etc. to the children. Without cessation, without a mood, of "Now let me move on to something more interesting". NO! An actual guru will never be emotionally exhausted by his service... rather, by sincere service to the disciples, the actual guru will become more and more enlivened and invigorated.
Nowhere do we see our parampara acaryas indicated a state of "emotional and physical exhaustion". That such a statement would be spoken by one who is professing to have been following the sadhana of bhakti-yoga is truly evidence of a lie... one who is following proper sadhana, meaning daily rising during brahma-muhurta hour, attending mangal arotik, chanting at least 16 rounds of japa, hearing Srimad Bhagavatam, etc., would never, never, never experience a state of "mental and physical exhaustion". It simply would not happen, because when we put ourselves in the spiritual energy, TRAVELING or NOT, we ride on the waves of transcendental shakti, and She is an unlimited ocean of transcendental joy, AND energy!
Srimati Bhakti devi kijay!
with deepest love and affection,
Auwsurya
