Let Us Avoid the Ditch
BY: RAVI DASA
Feb 11, VRINDAVAN, INDIA (SUN) — Dear Bhakta Alex, thank you for pointing out the grammatical error. In your responses to my experience of the Satvatove seminar you have chosen not to respond to any of the many points I raised about it’s presentation and content, rather choosing to focus on the fact that I noted that Dhira Govinda's literary works had been deemed to be deviating from the Vaishnava sastric siddhanta, by the ISKCON sastric advisory committee. This panel of devotees examines works presented by devotees to ensure that they are in harmony with Srila Prabhupada's works and those of the previous Vaishnava Acaryas.
You point out that “you seemed to have chosen the option of letting Danavir Maharaja and the GBC do your thinking for you, at least on this particular issue.”
Well first, quoting a review of something is not uncommon, people do it all the time in regard to books and movies. I am sure if his literary efforts had gotten positive reviews, Dhira Govinda would have probably put them on the cover of his books.
But let us examine the premise that this is all based on.
Srila Prabhupada produced many books, these are not the product of mental speculation, but authorized commentaries of the previous acaryas. Why didn’t He do His own thinking on the subjects of the soul, The Supersoul, the Guru, time, the material world, the modes of nature and so many other topics? This is the parampara system. The knowledge is passed down unchanged, from qualified spiritual master to qualified disciple, so that we receive it in pristine, fully potent form. These are the words of The Supreme Lord and the surrendered soul does not see the need to alter, amend or “improve” them. The empowered Guru is a transparent via media, that transparency is a primary qualification. He is free from the defects that condition our perceptions. When a bewildered condition soul starts to “do his own thinking” amending inventing or even ignoring the pure knowledge from the sampradaya acaryas we have a recipe for trouble and many long discussions of different personal opinions.
Our intelligence is meant to discriminate which sources of authority we take shelter of. You have expressed that you feel strongly the Dhira Govinda's presentation is something you have read and have quoted from and obviously agree with. In the material world there is never any dearth of people giving their opinions and commentaries on works of philosophy. We can read these and give out own two cents worth, even become published authors, adding to the growing mountain of speculative thought, or we can properly utilize our time to study and understand what great realized souls have left for our eternal benefit.
You gave a nice quote from Srila Prabhupada in your article, that we should not surrender our intelligence, but use it to assist us in surrendering. We have never met, and I do not know you, but I have one simple request. Please read Srila Prabhupada's books. He made such a herculean effort to produce them for us. Starting with Isopanisad and Bhagavad-Gita, the ABC’s of spiritual life, progressing on to the ripened fruit of Vedic knowledge, the ten cantos of Srimad Bhagavatam, then the postgraduate course of Bhakti Yoga The Chaitanya-caritamrita. There are also many other great works too, the nectar of devotion and instruction, the list is long. You may have already read some if not all of them. This will really help in discriminating between ignorance and transcendence. This is the proper use of the intelligence, to absorb the pure potency of the words of The Lord unencumbered by any tinge of speculation or conditioned confusion.
So we can spend out time reading so many things from so many people, newspapers, novels, biographies, pop psychology, political and philosophical opinion, this is invariably presented as being some incredible revelation, new and lemon scented! Simply the product of the confused condition souls search for meaning and substance in this ever changing material world. As Srila Prabhupada would say: “The blind leading the blind, we all end in the ditch”.
So let us avoid the ditch, and by following the crystal clear instructions of the pure devotees, we can instead go back home back to Godhead. Hare Krishna!
