Prominent Limp
BY: RAVI DASA
Feb 18, VRINDAVAN, INDIA (SUN) — Dear Bhakta Alex,
I admire your determination to keep this thread alive. I have concluded that you must have too much spare time on your hands! Although in England we have a saying, “if you want something done, ask a busy person”. Perhaps like me you have a service that takes a great deal of your time, and have to squeeze your responses in late at night or before you start work. As you may know, I am a vanaprasthi, retired from material life, living in Vrindavan, engaged in research on behalf of the Braj Foundation for the restoration of the sacred Kunds, Forests and Hills of Braj. As we have entered in this lengthy exchange perhaps you could also reveal details of your service and something about yourself. Krishna Consciousness is all about being personal. We have a personal God, a personal philosophy and many of us choose a personal guru. Srila Prabhupada was strongly preaching to destroy the atmosphere of impersonalism.
nirvisesa-sunyavadi-pascatya-desa-tarine
…delivering the Western countries,
which are filled with impersonalism and voidism.
So the atmosphere where we have taken birth and chosen to spend much of this lifetime is one saturated with impersonalism. It should not be so surprising then if we drag this grave misunderstanding with us into Krishna Consciousness. Like so many of the mental aberrations that the Satvatove seminar purports to deal with, we need to free ourselves from not being personal in our dealings with the devotees and Spiritual Master.
I would be the last person on the planet to advise you not to surrender at the Lotus Feet of Srila Prabhupada, a more personal, loving and knowledgeable personality you could not find in all the three worlds. I also feel that the sweetness and intimacy that comes from personal exchanges will be missing in some ways from your relationship. So while you can no doubt make significant spiritual advancement by strictly following sastric guidance, Why exclude the possibility that one day you may find someone who you feel is qualified to guide you and want to accept diksa and siksa as is described in the revealed scriptures? There is no rush, it is your personal decision. It might not be the local Zonal Acharya, with thousands of disciples swooning at his feet. The choice is yours and yours alone, under the guidance of sastra.
Dhira Govinda feels that his prominent link to transcendental knowledge comes from the siksa he receives from Srila Prabhupada's teachings. But if we look at the parampara, I may feel my prominent link is Srila Rupa Goswami. We are, after all, Rupanugas. Or perhaps I would like to become a disciple of Srila Jiva Goswami, the world's greatest philosopher. Then again, why not go for gold with Srila BhaktivinodA, or just bypass the whole parampara and go straight to Krishna? That is not recommended however, you cannot leapfrog over the guru to get to Krishna.
Unless one satisfies his guru, one cannot receive proper knowledge. That is quite natural. If one receives his guru properly and seats him comfortably, and if the guru is pleased with one's behavior, the guru can speak very frankly and freely, and this will be very beneficial to the student. (SB 3.25.4)
The guru is the most merciful external representative of Lord Krishna. It is a great boon to be able to hear directly from His lotus mouth, guru-mukha-padma-vakya, the words of the bona fide spiritual master are like priceless gems, delivering transcendental knowledge. Of course we can say, “I can listen to taped lectures and conversations” that is good. But what if you have a personal question, should I develop this service, go to this country to preach, should I get married? Is there not a danger that we fall into the realms of speculation... “I think Srila Prabhupada wants me to…run Satvatove courses.” Can we trust that we will accept the right conclusion, even if we feel it is wrong or is the most challenging?
I think I am beginning to understand your strategy around Dhira Govinda's book. Of course, I have to enter into the realm of speculation, but that is well known territory to you and your guide. At first I thought that perhaps you had made a deal with Dhira Govinda (or even that you were Dhira Govinda writing under a pseudonym) and wanted to boost sales or were on some sales commission. They say that any advertising is good, even if it’s bad! Dhira Govinda is obviously an astute businessman. Anyone who can sell what he sells at the price he asks has to be respected as a capable vaisya. But now that the book is online and free, selling it would prove a challenge, even for him.
Although in your submission "Reading, Writing, Thinking", you quoted Srila Prabhupada as suggesting that our realizations be published in Back to Godhead, I will assume that you have not been successful in getting them to agree, so I have concluded that you are using Sampradaya Sun as a vehicle to gradually reveal to the world its questionable content.
I will note that (and correct me if I am wrong) for a person that presents himself to be under the guidance of Srila Prabhupada, your "Prominent Link”, the quotes in your last submission are entirely from Dhira Govinda. Perhaps he is your prominent link to his prominent link, or does that sound too much like the parampara system?
We have to admire the boldness and openness of Dhria Govinda's writing. He gives us a telling insight into his personal process of accepting a spiritual master
"Late in 1988 some senior devotees in the yatra recommended that I ought to take second initiation. I thought, well, if that's the program, then I have no problem with it."
OK, not exactly a deep examination of what is the duty or responsibilities of the Guru and disciple, but to this he adds:
"They gave me a list of initiators. Danavir Maharaja was the only one on the list who I knew with any intimacy, so I said I'll take him."
Not a lot of consideration it seems, but this superficial treatment of such an important event is not surprising from a person that openly admits:
So while the sastra recommends that we take guidance from those who are spiritually and emotionally healthy, when we are unfit, that may affect our ability to make the right choice.
It is not a trivial thing. We are entering into an eternal relationship, so it is not like looking at a box of chocolates and choosing which one we like best. Our life has to be dedicated to pleasing the spiritual master.
yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasadam:
"By pleasing the Spiritual Master, who is a pure Vaisnava, one pleases the Personality of Godhead, but if one displeases the spiritual master one does not know where he is going."
Sri Sri Gurv-astaka 8
Perhaps if Dhira Govinda would have more carefully listened to these sublime prayers, then he could have avoided the next misfortune. He writes:
"Danavir Maharaja became upset with me when I wrote The Humble Guru, and then again when I wrote Srila Prabhupada: The Prominent Link."
It seems clear that Dhira Govinda prabhu sadly but clearly falls into the category of those who do not know where they are going, having displeased the spiritual master.
Will we be getting the next installment of his misguided conclusions in your response?
