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<\/center>\nArtist: Dominique Amendola at http:\/\/dominiqueamenolda.com<\/em><\/p>\n
A lecture by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada on Srila Saccidananda Bhaktivinoda Thakura\u2019s appearance day, September 3, 1971, London.<\/em><\/p>\n Today is a very auspicious day: Thakura Bhaktivinoda\u2019s birthday. Here is the picture of Thakura Saccidananda Bhaktivinoda. He was one of the acharyas of this disciplic succession from Krishna. We have got a succession table from Krishna\u2014a genealogical table. There are two kinds of genealogical tables, one by the semen\u2014the father, his son, his son, like that. That is a material genealogical table. And there is a spiritual genealogical table\u2014disciplic succession. Just like Krishna, the original father, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, spoke the Vedic knowledge to Brahma, Lord Brahma spoke to Narada, Narada spoke to Vyasa, and Vyasa spoke to Madhvacharya. So, in this disciplic succession, Lord Chaitanya\u2014from Lord Chaitanya to the Six Gosvamis, and similarly, coming down, down, to Bhaktivinoda Thakura, then Gaurakisora dasa Babaji Maharaja, then my spiritual master, and then we are the next generation, my disciples.<\/p>\n So there is a disciplic succession, and the acharyas are authorities. Our process of knowledge is very simple. We take it from authorities. We don\u2019t speculate. Speculation will not help us to come to the real knowledge. Just like when we are in difficulty, in some legal implication, we go to some authority, a lawyer. When we are diseased, we go to a physician, the authority. There is no use in speculation. Suppose I am in difficulty in some legal implication. If I simply speculate, \u201cI shall be free in this way and that way,\u201d that will not help. We have to go to a lawyer who knows things, and he will give us instruction, that \u201cYou do like this; then you\u2019ll be free.\u201d Similarly, when we are diseased, if we speculate at home, \u201cMy disease will be cured in this way and that way,\u201d that is useless. You go to an authorized physician, and he will give you a nice prescription, and you\u2019ll be cured. That is the process of knowledge. But in the modern age people think, \u201cI am free, I am independent, and I can make my own solution.\u201d That is rascaldom. That\u2019s not good. Arjuna was talking with Krishna as a friend, but when he saw that there was no solution talking like this, he surrendered to Krishna. He said, sisyas te \u2019ham, aham:<\/em> \u201cMyself, I surrender unto You as Your disciple.\u201d (Gita<\/em> 2.7) Sisyas te \u2019ham sadhi mam tvam prapannam. Prapannam<\/em> means \u201csurrendered.\u201d So that is the Vedic injunction, that if you want to know transcendental knowledge or science . . . Transcendental<\/em> means beyond the scope of your direct perception.<\/p>\n Spiritual knowledge is beyond the scope of your sense speculation. When a soul, only a spiritual spark, leaves this body, you cannot see it. Therefore, the atheistic class of men speculates, \u201cThere may be a soul; there may not be soul.\u201d Or, \u201cThe bodily function was going like this; now it stopped. The blood corpuscles have ceased. It is no more red; it is white. Therefore life . . .\u201d These are speculation. This is not actual knowledge. Actual knowledge you get from the authority, Krishna. He says, tatha dehantara-praptir dhiras tatra na muhyati.<\/em> Just like the soul is passing through different stages. Dehino \u2019smin yatha dehe<\/em>. (Gita<\/em> 2.13) Deha<\/em> means this body. Asmin dehe<\/em>: in this body there is dehi. Dehi<\/em> means the owner of this body. That is the soul. That is passing through childhood, boyhood, babyhood, youth, old age. Everyone can perceive that you were a child\u2014you were a baby, you were a boy, and now you are young man or old man. So you are there. And as you are passing through different types of bodies, similarly, when you give up this body you will accept another body. What is the difficulty? Tatha dehantara-praptir dhiras tatra na muhyati<\/em>. (Gita<\/em> 2.13) There is no question of becoming astonished, how transmigration of the self, the soul, takes place. The vivid example is there. Simply you require a little intelligence. That intelligence is developed through the instruction of the acharya.<\/em> Therefore the Vedic injunction is not to acquire knowledge by speculation. That is useless.<\/p>\n athapi te deva padambuja-dvaya- Ciram vicinvan. Ciram<\/em> means for thousands of years you can speculate, but you cannot understand what is God. That is not possible. But if you receive knowledge from the devotee, he can deliver you. Therefore the Vedic injunction is tad-vijnana<\/em>. Vijnana<\/em> means science. If you want to know the transcendental science, then you must approach a guru. If you are at all interested to understand the spiritual science, tad-vijnartham sa gurum eva abhigacchet,<\/em> you must approach a guru. (MU<\/em> 1.2.12) Guru<\/em> means this disciplic succession, as I have explained.<\/p>\n Bhaktivinoda Thakura was an ideal guru. He was not a sannyasi;<\/em> he was a grihastha,<\/em> a householder, living with family, wife, children. Still, he was guru.<\/em> So anyone can become guru\u2014<\/strong>not that only a sannyasi can become guru.<\/em> A householder also can become guru,<\/em> provided he knows the science. When Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was talking with Ramananda Raya . . . Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was a sannyasi,<\/em> born in a very high brahman family, a very learned scholar. He was talking with Raya Ramananda, a grihastha,<\/em> governor of Madras. And He was questioning, and Ramananda Raya was answering. That means Ramananda Raya was taking the part of guru,<\/em> and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was taking the part of a disciple. So, Ramananda Raya was hesitating. He thought, \u201cI am a grihastha,<\/em> and not even a brahman.<\/em> And besides, I am dealing in material affairs, politics. I am a governor. And Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is a sannyasi,<\/em> born of a high-class brahman family. So it does not look well that I teach Him.\u201d He was hesitating. And Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, \u201cOh, why you are hesitating?\u201d<\/p>\n kiba vipra, kiba nyasi, sudra kene naya He said, \u201cDon\u2019t hesitate. Either one may be a brahman or one may be a sudra (kiba vipra, kiba sudra<\/em>). Vipra<\/em> means brahman,<\/em> and sudra is the fourth-grade human being. So, kiba vipra, kiba sudra:<\/em> he may be a first-grade human being or the lowest-grade human being, or he may become a sannyasi or a grihastha.<\/em> It does not matter. Anyone who knows the science of Krishna, he can become a guru.\u201d This is the verdict. Because spiritual science does not belong to the bodily platform. It is on the spiritual platform. It is very nice. Just like when you go to a lawyer or an engineer or a physician, you do not inquire whether he\u2019s a brahman or a sudra.<\/em> Simply you have to know whether he\u2019s a lawyer; that\u2019s all\u2014whether he\u2019s a physician. If he knows the medical science, he may be a brahman,<\/em> he may be a sudra,<\/em> he may be a sannyasi,<\/em> he may be a householder\u2014it doesn\u2019t matter. Your business is with a physician, with a lawyer. Similarly, our business is to understand Krishna. So anyone who knows Krishna perfectly, we have to go there. Tad-vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet.<\/em> The Vedic injunction is not that you have to approach a sannyasi or a grihastha or an Indian or American. No. Gurum.<\/em> And guru means who knows the science of Krishna.<\/p>\n <\/span>So, Bhaktivinoda Thakura was a grihastha,<\/em> a very responsible officer, magistrate. And he was so exalted that he would come from his office generally at five o\u2019clock, then take his supper, and immediately go to bed. Immediately. Say at seven o\u2019clock in the evening he went to bed and he woke up at twelve o\u2019clock\u2014it is sufficient sleep, five hours. One should not sleep more than five to six hours. Minimize as far as possible. The Gosvamis used to sleep not more than one and a half or two hours. Sleeping is not a very important thing. Even big politicians, they used to sleep for two hours. Especially in the spiritual line, one should minimize as far as possible eating, sleeping, mating, and defending. Minimize. And gradually it will come to nil. Raghunatha dasa Gosvami was eating only a little piece of butter every alternate day, not even daily. So, Bhaktivinoda Thakura, regularly he was coming from his office, and after taking his supper, immediately he would go to bed, and he would wake up at twelve o\u2019clock and write books. He left behind about one hundred books. And he excavated the birthplace of Lord Chaitanya, organized how to develop that birth site, Mayapur. He had so many businesses. He used to go to preach about Chaitanya\u2019s philosophy. He used to sell books to foreign countries. In 1896 he attempted to sell Life and Precepts<\/em> of Chaitanya in McGill University in Montreal. So he was busy, acharya.<\/em> One has to adjust things. Not that \u201cBecause I am grihastha,<\/em> householder, I cannot become a preacher; it is the business of the sannyasi or brahmachari.<\/em>\u201d No. It is the business of everyone. The whole world is suffering for want of knowledge. The present civilization is animal civilization. They do not know anything beyond eating, sleeping, mating, and defending. That\u2019s all. This is animal civilization. An animal does not know beyond these four principles of life: eating, sleeping, mating, and defending. That\u2019s all. No, human life is meant for something else: \u201cWhat I am? What is God? What is my relation with God? What is this material world? Why I am here? Where I have to go next?\u201d So many things one has to learn. Athato brahma jijnasa.<\/em> This is human life. Not to eat and sleep and have sex life and die someday like cats and dogs. Therefore there is need of acharyas,<\/em> teachers, for propagating spiritual knowledge, Krishna consciousness. Although Bhaktivinoda Thakura was a grihastha,<\/em> householder, a government officer, magistrate, still he was acharya.<\/em> So from his dealings, from his life, we should learn how one can become a preacher in any stage of life. It doesn\u2019t matter what one is.<\/p>\n There was one incident, very interesting, when he was magistrate in Jagannatha Puri. Jagannatha temple is a very big establishment. In the temple fifty-six times daily bhoga<\/em> is offered. And you\u2019ll find in the temple always at least five hundred to one thousand people gathered. They come from outside, and prasada<\/em> is ready. If you go and ask in the Jagannatha temple, \u201cWe are one hundred men come from outside. We want prasada,<\/em>\u201d yes, immediately ready. So it is a huge temple. This is one temple, but there are many other thousands of temples in India where prasada<\/em> is distributed. Now it is minimized by our present government. They think that it is an unnecessary expenditure. They are minimizing. But it is not an unnecessary expenditure. They do not understand. Formerly in India there was no necessity of hotel. Anyone goes anywhere, even in a village, he goes to a temple\u2014prasada<\/em> is ready. There is no need of going to a hotel. You pay or don\u2019t pay. If you say, \u201cI want a little prasada,<\/em>\u201d \u201cYes, take it.\u201d That is the system still. There is the Nathadvara temple in Rajasthan. You pay two annas<\/em> only. Two annas <\/em>means one cent. You get sumptuous prasada<\/em> for two annas,<\/em> all very nice prasada<\/em>, still. So prasada<\/em> distribution in the temple is a longstanding tradition. The Jagannatha temple is managed by a body, and it is the custom that the local magistrate of the district becomes the president, or manager. So Bhaktivinoda Thakura was manager in that sense, because he was magistrate. The managing committee was being presided over by him. So, there was a complaint. In Orissa\u2014this Jagannatha temple is situated in Orissa. Utkala. This state originally belonged to Dhruva Maharaja. His son\u2019s name was Utkala, Maharaja Utkala. So, in this Utkala there was a pseudo-yogi. Just like you\u2019ll find nowadays also, there are so many rascals declaring, \u201cI am incarnation of God.\u201d And they know some mystic power, play some jugglery, and foolish people take them: \u201cOh, he\u2019s God.\u201d So, there appeared one such pseudo-God, pseudo-Vishnu, in a village of Orissa. And he was dancing rasa<\/em> dance, and foolish people were sending their daughters and wives to dance with him. You see? There were so many. People are so foolish, they do not know . . . They want to be cheated, and these cheaters come. He declared, \u201cI am God. I am Vishnu.\u201d There were sane men also. They took objection: \u201cWhat is this nonsense? This man is dancing with ladies and girls.\u201d So they filed a complaint. At that time it was British rule. They complained to the governor or the commissioner, very high officer. The commissioner knew that Bhaktivinoda Thakura\u2014his name was Kedaranath Datta, his household name. So the commissioner of the division, he knew that Kedaranath Datta was a religious man, and he was the magistrate in charge. So he handed over the case for inquiry: \u201cWhat is this complaint? You please inquire and do the needful.\u201d Bhaktivinoda Thakura was a pure devotee, and he understood: \u201cThis rascal is a bogus man, cheating people. I must inquire.\u201d So he went to the village in plain dress with some police constables. They also were in plain dress. And as soon as he approached, that rascal yogi said, \u201cOh, you are Kedaranath Datta. Very nice. I shall make you king of India. Please don\u2019t try to bother me.\u201d Because he could understand, \u201cHe has come to inquire about my rasa-lila.<\/em>\u201d Bhaktivinoda Thakura first said, \u201cSir, you are such a great yogi. Why you are in the village? Why don\u2019t you go to Jagannatha Puri? There is temple, and Lord Jagannatha is there. Better you go there and see the Lord and be happy. Why you are in this village?\u201d \u201cOh, Jagannatha?\u201d replied the pseudo-yogi, \u201cThat is made of wood. I am personally the Supreme Lord. That is made of wood.\u201d Oh, then Bhaktivinoda Thakura\u2014he was a devotee\u2014he became fire. The yogi was insulting. Arcye sila-dhir gurusu nara-matih<\/em>. According to shastra,<\/em> if somebody thinks\u2014just like here is Deity. If somebody thinks, \u201cOh, it is made of stone . . .\u201d It is stone to the eyes of the nondevotee, but to the devotees it is personally the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It requires the eyes to see. So, devotees see from a different angle of vision. Just like Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, when He entered the Jagannatha temple, immediately He fainted: \u201cOh, here is My Lord.\u201d And the nondevotee is seeing: \u201cIt is wood, a lump of wood.\u201d Therefore, to the nondevotee, He remains always as wood, but to the devotee He speaks. That is the difference. Premanjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena.<\/em> (Bs<\/em> 5.38) If God is everything, why He cannot manifest through wood or stone? That\u2019s a fact. God is omnipotent. He can express Himself even through wood and stone. That is God\u2019s omnipotence. Not that God is unable to express Himself through wood or stone. Then how He\u2019s omnipotent? Omnipotent means His potency can be expressed through anything. Because anything, everything, is the expansion of God\u2019s energy. Parasya brahmanah saktis tathedam akhilam jagat.<\/em> The whole world is a manifestation of different energies of God. Just like through the energy of electricity the electric powerhouse, although far, far away from this place, was expressing. There is electricity. Through this glass, through these wires, the power can be expressed. There is a process.<\/p>\n So, Bhaktivinoda Thakura became hot with anger, because a devotee cannot tolerate blasphemy of another devotee or of God. So as soon as the yogi said, \u201cWhy shall I go to Jagannatha Puri to see the wooden Jagannatha? I personally am Vishnu,\u201d Bhaktivinoda Thakura ordered his constables, \u201cArrest him. Arrest this rascal.\u201d So he was arrested. And when he was arrested\u2014he had some yogic mystic power\u2014all the constables, Bhaktivinoda Thakura, and his family members became affected with high fever, 105-degree fever. So when Bhaktivinoda Thakura came back, his wife became very much disturbed: \u201cYou arrested Vishnu, and we are all going to die. Now we have got high fever.\u201d Bhaktivinoda Thakura replied, \u201cYes, let us all die, but this rascal must be punished.\u201d This is the view of a pure devotee. So, the yogi was taken into custody, and a date was fixed for his trial. All these days, Bhaktivinoda Thakura and his family especially, they were suffering from high fever. Maybe that yogi was planning to kill the whole family, but it was going on as fever. So, on the trial day, Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Kedaranath Datta, when he came to the bench and the man was presented, the so-called yogi had big, big hairs. So Bhaktivinoda Thakura ordered, \u201cBring one barber and cut his hair.\u201d No barber dared. The barbers thought, \u201cOh, he\u2019s Lord Vishnu. If I offend, as he\u2019s suffering from fever, so I shall also die.\u201d So Bhaktivinoda Thakura ordered, \u201cGive me the scissors. I\u2019ll cut.\u201d So, he cut his hairs and ordered him to be put in jail for six months, and in jail that Vishnu incarnation managed to take some poison, and he died.<\/p>\n This is one of the incidents. There are many incidents. He was a very strong man. He punished many pandas<\/em> in the tirthas<\/em> who exploited visitors. So, this is the position of a devotee. In spite of his becoming a responsible magistrate, a householder, still, Bhaktivinoda Thakura was acharya.<\/em><\/p>\n We have to follow the acharyas.<\/em> If we are at all interested in spiritual science, we must follow the Vedic instruction tad-vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet.<\/em> We must approach. You cannot have spiritual knowledge simply by speculating. Impossible. Simply waste of time\u2014srama eva hi kevalam. <\/em>(SB<\/em> 1.2.8) You must go to the authority. Therefore, the Bhagavad-gita <\/em>(13.8) recommends, acaryopasanam. Acarya-upasana\u2014<\/em>worshipping not only the Lord, but also the acharya.<\/em> Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, guru-krsna-prasade paya bhakti-lata-bija.<\/em> (Cc Madhya<\/em> 19.151) Guru, <\/em>acharya;<\/em> and Krishna. One should seek the favor of both. Not that \u201cI am now seeking the favor of Krishna. What is the use of guru or acharya?\u201d No. You cannot overstep the acharya and go to Krishna. That is not possible. Krishna will not accept you. Just like if you want to see a big man you should go through his secretary, through his orderly, doorkeeper; similarly, our process is to go through the acharya (acaryopasanam<\/em>). That is the injunction of the Vedas.<\/p>\n Tarko \u2019pratisthah:<\/em> if you want to enter into the spiritual world, you cannot get through simply by arguments, because there is no limit to arguments. I place my argument in one way. Then another man, who is better in argument, places his argument in a different way. So if you simply go on arguing, it is not possible. Tarko \u2019pratisthah.<\/em> Argument will never help you. And srutayo vibhinnah.<\/em> If you think, \u201cI shall read scriptures and understand God,\u201d no, that also is not possible. Srutayo vibhinnah: <\/em>scriptures are also different, because scriptures are made according to time, circumstance, and people. Just like the Bible. Lord Jesus Christ preached in the desert, Jerusalem\u2014or wherever\u2014to people who were not so advanced. Therefore his first instruction was \u201cThou shall not kill.\u201d That means they were very much engaged in killing affairs; otherwise, why this instruction? And actually, it so happened that they killed Jesus Christ. So that society was not very enlightened. So, a scripture for a society that is not very enlightened and a scripture for a society that is very enlightened must be different. Just like the dictionary: For the schoolboy a pocket dictionary, and for a college student the big international dictionary. Both of them are dictionaries, but the small pocket dictionary is not equal to the big dictionary, because it is made different for different classes of men. So, scriptures are made according to different classes of men. There are three classes of men: first-class, second-class, and third-class. The third-class man cannot understand the philosophy and scriptural injunctions of the first-class man. That is not possible. Higher mathematics cannot be understood by the small schoolboys who are simply trying to understand \u201cTwo plus two equals four.\u201d But \u201cTwo plus two equals four\u201d is equally good for the higher mathematics student. But still, higher mathematics and lower math are different. Therefore it is said, srutayo vibhinnah:<\/em> the scriptures are different. So if you try to understand what is God simply by reading scriptures, you cannot succeed. You must approach a guru. Just like a medical book may be available in the market. If you purchase one medical book and study and think you can become a doctor\u2014that is not possible. You must hear the medical book from a medical man in the medical college. Then you will be qualified. And if you say, \u201cSir, I have read all the medical books; recognize me as a medical practitioner,\u201d no, that will not do.<\/p>\n So, srutayo vibhinnah:<\/em> scriptures are different. And argument also is not helpful. One man may argue better than me. And then philosophy. It is said, nasau munir yasya matam na bhinnam:<\/em> One philosopher differs from another philosopher. Just today Syamasundara has purchased one book about different philosophers. By that also you cannot ascertain what the truth is. Therefore shastra says, dharmasya tattvam nihitam guhayam.<\/em> The truth is very confidential. If you want to know that truth, mahajano yena gatah sa panthah:<\/em> you have to follow the great acharyas (Mahabharata, Vana-parva <\/em>313.117, quoted as Cc Madhya<\/em> 17.186). Then you will understand. Therefore acarya-upasana <\/em>is essential. In all the Vedic shastras the injunction is that. Tad-vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet, srotriyam brahma-nistham. <\/em>(MU<\/em> 1.2.12) Tasmad gurum prapadyeta jijnasuh sreya uttamam <\/em>(SB<\/em> 11.3.21): one who is inquisitive to understand higher truths must surrender to guru.<\/em> Tasmad gurum prapadyeta, jijnasuh sreya uttamam\u2014<\/em>one who is inquisitive, who is now inquiring about transcendental subject matter. Tad viddhi pranipatena pariprasnena sevaya<\/em>. (Gita<\/em> 4.34) All the shastras say. In our Vaishnava shastra also, Rupa Gosvami says, adau gurv-asrayam:<\/em> \u201cFirst, in the beginning, you must take shelter of a bona fide guru.\u201d (Brs<\/em> 1.2.74)<\/p>\n We should adore, we should worship, Bhaktivinoda Thakura\u2019s birthday, because in the modern age he reintroduced the disciplic succession from Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Five hundred years ago, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu taught this philosophy, but within two hundred years . . . Because this material world is so made that whatever you introduce, in due course it will deteriorate. You make a nice house, but after one hundred years, two hundred years, or nowadays, after fifty years, it becomes dilapidated. That is nature\u2019s law. Kala,<\/em> time, will destroy everything. Now the British Empire, such a big, vast empire, is finished. Kala,<\/em> time, will finish everything. Anything material, it has birth, it has growth, it has got some opulence, then dwindling, then finished. That is the way of material nature. So, we are interested in spiritual subject matter. Therefore the process is adau gurv-asrayam:<\/em> one has to accept a bona fide spiritual master. That is our process. Without accepting a bona fide spiritual master, we cannot make any progress. It is impossible.<\/p>\n So, Bhaktivinoda Thakura is acharya,<\/em> one of the acharyas.<\/em> And he left behind many important books\u2014Caitanya-siksamrta, Jaiva-dharma<\/em>\u2014in Bengali and Sanskrit. And many songs. He prepared many books of songs. The song Sri Nama <\/em>(gay gora madhur svare<\/em>) is Bhaktivinoda Thakura\u2019s. We are trying to present Bhaktivinoda Thakura\u2019s books also in English translation. Gradually you will get them. So, our adoration, our worship to Bhaktivinoda Thakura today, is because he may bless us to peacefully progress in Krishna consciousness. Acarya-upasana\u2014<\/em>simply by the blessings of the acharyas we can make rapid progress. Vedesu durlabham adurlabham atma-bhaktau.<\/em> (Bs<\/em> 5.33) Yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasadah.<\/em> (Sri Gurvastaka<\/em>) We sing every day, \u201cBy the mercy of the spiritual master, acharya,<\/em> we immediately get the blessings of Lord.\u201d Immediately. Yasya prasadat. Yasya<\/em> means \u201cwhose\u201d; prasadat<\/em>, \u201cbenediction.\u201d By the benediction of the spiritual master (yasya prasadad<\/em>), bhagavat-prasadah:<\/em> if spiritual master, acharya,<\/em> is pleased, then you should know that Krishna is also pleased. You should know. This is not very difficult. Just like you are working in an office, if your immediate officer, boss, is pleased, that means the proprietor of the firm is also pleased\u2014although you do not see him. This is fact\u2014if your immediate boss is pleased. Similarly, we, our business, this spiritual line, is guru-krsna-krpa.<\/em> We have to first receive the merciful benediction of the acharya,<\/em> and then Krishna will be pleased and He\u2019ll also give His blessings. There is a verse in the Srimad-Bhagavatam<\/em> (11.19.21), mad-bhakta-pujabhyadhika.<\/em> Krishna says, \u201cIf anyone worships Me directly and if anyone worships Me through the acharya,<\/em> he\u2019s a better devotee who is coming to Me through the acharya\u201d (mad-bhakta-pujabhyadhika<\/em>).<\/p>\n This Vaishnava philosophy, process, is to go through the acharya\u2014<\/em>servant of the servant of the servant. We should try to become servant of the servant. Gopi-bhartuh pada-kamalayor dasa-dasanudasah. <\/em>(Padyavali<\/em> 74, quoted as Cc Madhya<\/em> 13.80) We should not approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead directly. That is not good. In the Vedic injunction also it is said, yasya deve para bhaktir yatha deve tatha gurau.<\/em> (SU <\/em>6.23) If one has got unflinching faith in the Supreme Personality of Godhead (yatha deve<\/em>) and similar faith in guru . . . Of course, we must accept a bona fide guru in the disciplic succession. That is also not very difficult to select, who is bona fide guru.<\/em> \u201cBona fide guru\u201d means he presents himself as servant of God\u2014he does not pose falsely that \u201cI am God\u201d\u2014this is bona fide. It is not difficult to find out bona fide. But this is the test. If anyone says that \u201cI am God,\u201d then he cannot be guru. Because he has no knowledge. How he is God? He can cheat some people\u2014that is a different thing. You can cheat all people for some time and some people for all time, but not all people for all time. That is not possible. So any guru who poses that \u201cI am God\u201d is a false guru. The bona fide guru will say, \u201cI am servant of the servant of the servant of Krishna, God.\u201d That is the business of guru. He serves Krishna as Krishna desires; that is his business. That is also not very difficult. Krishna desires, Krishna says, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja:<\/em> \u201cYou give up all other engagements and just surrender unto Me, and I\u2019ll give you protection.\u201d (Gita <\/em>18.66) Krishna says. So guru\u2019s business is that \u201cYou simply surrender to Krishna.\u201d What is the difficulty? He simply repeats the same thing\u2014not for himself, but for Krishna. He is bona fide guru.<\/p>\n So, this Krishna consciousness movement is bona fide because we say the same thing as Krishna says. We don\u2019t make any addition or alteration. Not like big scholars who say, \u201cIt is not to Krishna . . .\u201d Krishna says, man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru <\/em>(Gita<\/em> 18.65), and the scholar interprets, \u201cIt is not to Krishna.\u201d Just see the foolishness. Krishna says directly, \u201cunto Me,\u201d and the scholar says, \u201cnot to Krishna,\u201d misleading. Such a misleading guru will not help you. Therefore, to find out a bona fide guru means to find one who does not change the words of Krishna. That is his position. He presents everything as it is, and he has understood the science thoroughly (jijnasuh sreya uttamam<\/em>). What is the symptom of a guru? Tasmad gurum prapadyeta jijnasuh sreya uttamam. <\/em>(SB<\/em> 11.3.21). Those who are inquisitive to understand higher scientific knowledge (uttamam<\/em>)\u2014uttama<\/em> means higher. There are three words: uttama, madhyama, adhama<\/em>\u2014first-class, second-class, third-class. Spiritual knowledge is uttamam.<\/em> Anyone who is inquisitive to understand first-class knowledge, he requires a guru. Those who are interested in third-class knowledge, they do not require any guru. Third-class knowledge means animal knowledge: how to eat, how to sleep. How to make arrangement for eating, how to make arrangement for sleeping\u2014that is third-class knowledge. Because the animals also try for this kind of knowledge, how to eat, how to sleep. Therefore this kind of knowledge is third-class knowledge. And second-class knowledge is \u201cWhat I am?\u201d Athato brahma jijnasa\u2014<\/em>the Vedanta. That is second-class knowledge. And first-class knowledge, when he actually understands what he is\u2014he is eternal servant of Krishna\u2014and engages himself in the service of the Lord; that is first-class knowledge. And therefore, as soon as he comes to the first-class knowledge platform, he becomes happy:<\/p>\n brahma-bhutah prasannatma After being liberated from the material concept of life by the blessings of Krishna and guru, one comes to the platform of first-class knowledge, where he engages himself directly in the service of the Lord. That is first-class knowledge. First-class knowledge is beyond liberation. Second-class knowledge is trying for liberation. And third-class knowledge means being in bondage, like animals. The animals are bound up by their particular types of body and have no possibility of becoming liberated. That is animal life. But human life is better than animal life because, if he likes, a human can make himself liberated from this bondage of material body. That is the facility. He can understand himself, what he is. He can understand what is God. He can understand the relationship between God and himself. He can understand what is this material world. Because there are thousands of books of knowledge. Take Bhagavad-gita.<\/em> Everything is there. And it is meant for human beings, not for cats and dogs. Cats and dogs cannot understand, but a human being can understand.<\/p>\n So, this Krishna consciousness movement is to enlighten people to utilize this very nice life, human form of life, properly. To utilize it properly means to revive one\u2019s dormant Krishna consciousness. The Krishna consciousness, or God consciousness, is there already. It is developed in the human form of life, but it is now covered due to our background of association with this material world for unlimited years. We are coming through different species of life, over millions and millions of years. Suppose I was a tree sometime; I was standing up for ten thousand years in one place. We have passed through. That\u2019s a fact. That is evolution. Now we have the opportunity of light. If you don\u2019t use this opportune moment and again go back to the cycle of evolutionary process, jalaja nava-laksani sthavara <\/em>. . . So this is a great science. Unfortunately, there is no opportunity for the people to study this science in schools, colleges, or universities. They are simply teaching people, \u201cYou work hard and gratify your senses.\u201d That\u2019s all. Therefore a section, younger section, has been disgusted. They have refused to cooperate with this materialistic society on account of this disappointing education. And it will increase, because this sort of education cannot give peace or prosperity to people. Problems are increasing. Therefore, our request is that if you want to decrease or completely finish all the problems of life, take to Krishna consciousness through the process of disciplic succession and you\u2019ll be all happy.<\/p>\n Thank you very much.<\/p>\n Shyamasundar das: If anyone has any questions pertaining to the lecture, you can ask them at this time.<\/p>\n Devotee (1): Bhaktivinoda Thakura, he also took sannyasa in later years? Is this right?<\/p>\n Prabhupada: Yes. In very late years, in his retired life.<\/p>\n Devotee (2): Prabhupada, you say that an animal has no chance for liberation. What would happen if an animal came in contact with a pure devotee?<\/p>\n Prabhupada: Yes, there is a chance of deliverance. Yes, even an animal, because he\u2019ll hear Hare Krishna from the pure devotee. That will not go in vain. The devotee will give prasada.<\/em> The animal does not know, but the devotee, out of compassion, gives prasada<\/em> and chants Hare Krishna. So the animal also gets the opportunity of hearing. So he\u2019ll also be liberated. One dog, during Chaitanya Mahaprabhu\u2019s time, he also became liberated. There is a history. Sivananda Sena\u2019s dog, he was liberated by the grace of Lord Chaitanya. So by the association of a pure devotee . . . Therefore Bhaktivinoda Thakura, in one song, prays to the Lord, kita-janma hau yatha tuya dasa. Kita<\/em> means \u201cinsect.\u201d \u201cMy Lord, if I have to take my birth again\u201d\u2014because a devotee does not pray to God for liberation; he simply prays, \u201cWherever I may take my birth, may I never forget You.\u201d That\u2019s all. That is a devotee\u2019s prayer. A devotee does not say, \u201cElevate me to the heavenly planet or Vaikuntha planet.\u201d No. \u201cYou can put me anywhere.\u201d Just like Bhaktivinoda Thakura says, kita-janma hau:<\/em> \u201cMy dear Lord, I have no objection if I have to take my next birth as an insect\u201d\u2014what to speak of human being or other thing\u2014\u201cas an insect, but I must be in the house of a devotee.\u201d An insect, by eating the remnants of foodstuffs left by the devotee, will be delivered. Kita-janma hau yatha tuya dasa\/ bahir-mukha brahma-janma nahi asa:<\/em> \u201cI don\u2019t want my next birth as Lord Brahma if I forget You. I don\u2019t want.\u201d A devotee prays to the Lord that he be able to constantly remember the lotus feet of the Lord, never mind whether as insect or as king or as dog\u2014never mind. That is pure devotee. That is wanted.<\/p>\n Indian man: If one has accepted a bona fide spiritual master and does not receive much knowledge from him, can he change his spiritual master later?<\/p>\n Prabhupada: A bona fide spiritual master, where is the necessity of changing?<\/p>\n Indian man: No, he has not got the knowledge from him, but can I change?<\/p>\n Prabhupada: No, no. Bona fide spiritual master means he must get knowledge. He must get knowledge. He must inquire from the . . . The student must inquire from the spiritual master. If he remains dumb, then what the bona fide spiritual master can do? Adau gurv-asrayam sad-dharma-prcchat\u2014jijnasuh.<\/em> He must be jijnasuh.<\/em> We get so many letters daily, so many inquiries. The student must be very inquisitive. Otherwise, how will he make progress? If he remains dumb, then what can the bona fide spiritual master do? If you go to a very nice school but you do not study, if you do not inquire, then what is the use of going to the nice school? You must also be very alert to inquire, to understand, to make progress. Then it will be all right. If you do not utilize the benefit of having a bona fide spiritual master, then that is your fault. You must utilize the opportunity. We are publishing so many books, so many literatures, magazines. Why? Just to enlighten more and more. But if you don\u2019t take advantage of this, then how can you make progress? Change of spiritual master is required when the spiritual master is not bona fide. Otherwise there is no necessity of changing.<\/p>\n Indian lady: How does one contact the spiritual master? Through a book can you contact the spiritual master?<\/p>\n Prabhupada: No, you have to associate.<\/p>\n Shyamasundar das: \u201cCan you associate through a book?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n Prabhupada: Yes, through books, and also personal. Because when you accept a spiritual master, you have got personal touch\u2014not that in air you make a spiritual master. You make a spiritual master concrete. So as soon as you accept a spiritual master, you should be inquisitive.<\/p>\n English man: If the spiritual master, Prabhupada, worships God through a demigod, is he bona fide?<\/p>\n Prabhupada: No. He does not know how to worship. How he can be bona fide? Krishna says, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam.<\/em> (Gita<\/em> 18.66) Why he should go to the demigods? That means he has no knowledge. Krishna says, mam ekam.<\/em> Why should you go to others? That means he\u2019s insufficiently qualified. Why should you go to the demigods? What is the necessity? He\u2019s not bona fide, because he has insufficient knowledge. Bona fide spiritual master must have sufficient knowledge. Krishna says, God says, mam ekam.<\/em> Why he should go to demigods? That is proof that he\u2019s not bona fide.<\/p>\n Devotee (3): If one accepts initiation from a bona fide spiritual master but continues to perform material activities, is he still bound by his karma?<\/p>\n Prabhupada: He has to do everything under the instruction of the spiritual master. That is his duty. Sisya. Sisya<\/em> means one who voluntarily accepts disciplinary measures from the spiritual master. He\u2019s ruled by the spiritual master.<\/p>\n Indian lady: Can the death of a spiritual master take us too? . . . Is that spiritual master still guiding after his death?<\/p>\n Prabhupada: Yes, yes. Just like Krishna is guiding us, similarly, the spiritual master will guide. We are being guided by Krishna, by the Bhagavad-gita,<\/em> although Krishna is not physically present, so-called. Krishna is always present. But even if we say that Krishna is not physically present as He was present before Arjuna, still, His book Bhagavad-gita<\/em> is there. And that Bhagavad-gita<\/em> is nondifferent from Krishna. Krishna and Krishna\u2019s teaching are the same, absolute. That is Absolute Truth. Here, the form [indicating the Deity], the same. It is not that we are making a show of offering Krishna some food. No, we are offering directly to Krishna and He\u2019s eating. Krishna, being absolute, can act through anything, provided we are sincere and serious.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" So, today is a very auspicious day, Thakura Bhaktivinoda\u2019s birthday. Here is the picture of Thakura Saccidananda Bhaktivinoda. He was one of the acharyas of this disciplic succession from Krishna. We have got a succession table from Krishna\u2014a genealogical table. There are two kinds of genealogical tables, one by the semen\u2014the father, his son, his son, like that. That is a material genealogical table. And there is a spiritual genealogical table\u2014disciplic succession. Just like Krishna, the original father, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, spoke the Vedic knowledge to Brahma. Lord Brahma spoke to Narada, Narada spoke to Vyasa, and Vyasa spoke to Madhvacharya. So, in this disciplic succession, Lord Chaitanya\u2014from Lord Chaitanya to the Six Gosvamis, and similarly, coming down, down, to Bhaktivinoda Thakura, then Gaurakisora dasa Babaji Maharaja, then my spiritual master, and then we are the next generation, my disciples. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-78243","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78243","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=78243"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78243\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":96230,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78243\/revisions\/96230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=78243"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=78243"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=78243"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/em>prasada-lesanugrhita eva hi
<\/em>janati tattvam bhagavan-mahimno
<\/em>na canya eko \u2019pi ciram vicinvan
<\/em>(SB<\/em> 10.14.29)<\/p>\n
<\/em>yei krsna-tattva-vetta, sei \u2018guru\u2019 haya
<\/em>(Cc Madhya<\/em> 8.128)<\/p>\n
<\/em>na socati na kanksati
<\/em>samah sarvesu bhutesu
<\/em>mad-bhaktim labhate param
<\/em>(Gita<\/em> 18.54)<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/08Leijv.jpg)
By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada<\/strong><\/p>\n