Sastra versus Speculation
BY: BALAVIDYA DASA
Mar 7, USA (SUN) —
"Unless It Is Authoritatively Mentioned in The Sastra, We Reject"
Srila Prabhupada, 31.12.1976, Bombay
Dear readers, kindly contemplate the following words of Srila Prabhupada:
Indian man:You don't agree with what has been preached...
Prabhupada: Why shall I agree? Because there is no such thing in the sastra. Is there word, any word, in the whole Bhagavad-gita, daridra-narayana-seva?
Indian man: No, but what Ramakrishna Paramahamsa...
Prabhupada: Ramakrishna, how he become paramahamsa if he does not know the sastra? That is the difficulty. Everyone becoming self-made guru, self-made avatara, self-made saint. That is the difficulty. Without any reference to the authentic sastra.
Indian man:So it's a very revealing thing, you deny Ramakrishna Paramahamsa...
Prabhupada: I don't deny. You accept, you accept. My point is unless it is authoritatively mentioned in the sastra, we reject.
Indian man:But sastras were written thousands of years ago. Life might have changed.
Prabhupada: That's all right. In the sastras it is not said that after passing of many years the Sastra becomes obsolete. This is another ignorance. Sastra is not like that. You write some mental speculation and after some years it changes. That is not sastra.
Prabhupada: …The jnana must be received through the right source. Jnana is not speculation. The modern rascals, they create jnana by speculation. That is not jnana. That is ajnana.
Why is it foolishness to propose a rtvik diksa system?
"My point is unless it is authoritatively mentioned in the sastra, we reject," Srila Prabhupada.
Why is it foolishness to propose a "hybrid" rtvik diksa system?
"My point is unless it is authoritatively mentioned in the sastra, we reject," Srila Prabhupada.
Why is it foolishness to propose that the jiva established in krsna-prema falls through envy of Krsna in Goloka Vrndavana?
"My point is unless it is authoritatively mentioned in the sastra, we reject," Srila Prabhupada.
Why is it foolishness for the GBC to continually concoct some new form of appointment/no objection process for diksa gurus within ISKCON?
"My point is unless it is authoritatively mentioned in the sastra, we reject," Srila Prabhupada.
Why is it foolishness for the GBC to concoct some form of five-year-waiting-list-committee-approval for sannyasa-by-appointment within ISKCON?
"My point is unless it is authoritatively mentioned in the sastra, we reject," Srila Prabhupada.
Why is practically everything in the 'ISKCON Law Book' concocted by the GBC simply foolishness?
"My point is unless it is authoritatively mentioned in the sastra, we reject," Srila Prabhupada.
Srila Prabhupada, the empowered representative of Sri Krsna, presents the sastra, As It Is. Now after his disappearance lila, so many puffed-up fools and rascals have arisen. These conditioned idiots are determined to replace "Sri Krsna says, the Vedic sastra directs, Srila Prabhupada's teachings" with "I think, in my opinion, my new idea". They do not "know the sastra, live by the sastra, or teach the sastra". Living in the confused ignorance of mental speculation, they are all "simply a disturbance to society". Having deviated from the order of the spiritual master, they are all "asara, useless". Those who actually want to advance in Krsna-consciousness should avoid their association, and rather seek the association of those who are surrendered to guru, sadhu and sastra, As They Are.
We hope this is found helpful,
Your servant, Balavidya dasa
