What is the desire of Guru from his disciple? | Rus-Split| 9.9.92 | Gopāl Kṛṣṇa Goswāmī Mahārājā

That in the male form of life one has the opportunity to obtain 4 births, and in the female form one has the opportunity to obtain 3 births. The first birth is from the womb of the mother, and this birth is common both to animals and to human beings. The second birth is realized when you accept initiation into the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. The third birth is realized when you take initiation into the Gayatri Mantra. This is known as the Brahman initiation. And the fourth birth is realized when you take sannyas. In our Vaishnava Sampradaya, in the male body you can obtain four births, and in the female form you can obtain three births. So those who are accepting initiation today, they should please take these vows of initiation very seriously. Please remember that these vows of initiation are going to be taken today. In front of the spiritual master, in front of Śrīla Prabhupāda, in front of the Deities of Goloka Vaiṣṇava and in front of all the devotees. So please do not forget these vows later on. The nature of the material world is that the illusionary energy is always trying to cheat us. It is trying to cheat us to understand the sense enjoyment is natural and is a path to happiness. But the scriptures and the spiritual master are telling us the opposite. They're telling us to give up sense enjoyment because without purity there cannot be development of love of God. So all those who are accepting initiation in our Krishna Consciousness movement, they agree to chant minimum 16 rounds a day, and on Ekādāsīs and other auspicious days to chant more, like 25 rounds, and to follow 4 regulative principles. The 4 regulative principles that we follow are: no illicit sex, no intoxication, no meat, fish, and eggs, and no gambling. And the fifth principle is to control the mind. Now we not only have to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra 16 rounds, but we should make an endeavor that we chant good quality rounds. Therefore, in the Vedic scriptures it is recommended that in chanting the holy name, 10 offenses should be avoided. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta it is explained that there are 3 different stages of chanting the holy names of Kṛṣṇa. The first stage is when you chant and commit offenses at the same time. The second is when you make an attempt to minimize the offenses. And the third is when you chant without any offenses at all. So those who are accepting initiation today, they must make an attempt to avoid the offenses. It is said in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, bhau janmakāre yādi śrāvana-kṛṭṇa tabhūtana paya kṛṣṇa-padhe prema-dhana. One may go on chanting the holy names birth after birth, But unless one is chanting without offenses, he will not be able to develop love of God. Very briefly, the 10 offenses that we should avoid, the main ones are as follows: to blaspheme those who have dedicated their lives for propagating the holy names of the Lord. This is the first offense. I'm going to describe these offenses in brief now, and I'll explain them in detail in the evening. So those who dedicate their lives to preach the mission of the Lord are very dear to the Lord. Therefore, one should not criticize them out of envy. In the material world, A is envious of B, B is envious of C. But in spiritual life, envy should not be there. If you see somebody doing nice service, you should appreciate it and aspire to also do nice service like the other person. Durvasa Muni was envious of the exalted position of Amresh Maharaj, but in the end, Durvasa Muni had to run from the heat of the Sudarshan Chakra of the Lord. And wherever he ran, the Sudarshan Chakra was right behind. And ultimately when he came to the Lord, the Lord told him that, "My devotees are so dear to Me that I do not have the power to forgive you for the mistakes you have committed at the feet of Amresh Maharaj." The Lord told Durvasa, "My devotees reside in My heart and I reside in their heart. They make all sacrifices for My pleasure. Therefore I am indebted to them." So envy should be destroyed and we should not offend Vaiṣṇavas. Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, "A beautiful garden can be spoiled by a mad elephant." So all the gains of chanting the holy names of Kṛṣṇa can be destroyed by this one, Vaiṣṇava prasada. Then the second offense is to consider the names of demigods to be equal to or independent of the holy names of Lord Viṣṇu. Fortunately, in your country this is not a big problem. This offense is a big problem in countries like India where people think all gods are one. There is one Supreme Lord, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and 33 million demigods and demigoddesses. And these demigods and goddesses derive all their strength and power from Kṛṣṇa. Eka-lā'īśvara-kṛṣṇaḥ sarv-bhātayāt. Kṛṣṇa is the only master and all others are His servants. Third is to disobey the instructions of the spiritual master or to consider him an ordinary person. So the spiritual master is the representative of the Supreme Lord. The spiritual master is not a Superman. Superman means like you read, you probably read comics when you were young. The Superman jumps from one tree to another, he does magic all the time. Prabhupāda said the spiritual master is just like a postman. Just like the postman brings letter to you intact, the spiritual master brings the message of Godhead. We understand the desire of the Lord when it is revealed to us through the agency of the spiritual master. Kṛṣṇa speaks to us through the agency of the spiritual master. Therefore, one should not be independent of the instructions of the spiritual master. Thakura Bhaktinoda has said that just like you cannot separate the body from the soul, a disciple cannot separate his life from the instructions of the spiritual master. What is the desire of the spiritual master? Only one: that the disciple continue to purify oneself, that one free oneself from the material tendencies, because material tendencies are responsible for keeping one entangled in material existence. And the spiritual master does not concoct the process of self-realization. He just repeats what he has heard from his spiritual master. Like nearly everything that we speak in our classes is what we have heard from Prabhupada. And almost everything that Prabhupada spoke was what he heard from his spiritual master. So this way the disciplic succession traces back to the original speaker, the Supreme Lord. Disciples should not think the spiritual master will just come and flatter me. Once I was walking with Prabhupada in Bombay in 1976, and looking at my face, Prabhupada said, "My business is to find faults in you." So the spiritual master's business is not to flatter the disciple, but to correct the inabilities or shortcomings of the disciple so that he can make spiritual advancement on the journey back to Godhead. The disciple should have the humility to understand that his own mind is always cheating him. Therefore, we go to the purified mind of Vyāsadeva and his representative, the spiritual master, for guidance. Why is the spiritual master respected? Because he is carrying out the orders of the Supreme Lord. He's reminding us about Kṛṣṇa's instructions, and through his example, he's convincing others, he's convincing us to come to the pure path. So one should not expect flattery from the spiritual master, but rather one should be willing to be chastised. The instructions of the spiritual master should be taken seriously, established in the heart. One should not take the instructions from one ear and take them out from the other ear. If you undermine the instructions of the spiritual master, then your spiritual advancement will automatically become checked. Another trick that Maya plays is it makes you believe that now you're old devotee, you're old enough, you don't need instructions of the spiritual master. Sometimes we find that devotees are very humble when they're initiated, A few years after they are initiated, they act in a manner in which they don't need any instruction. This is māyā's trick. Once you become independent of the spiritual master's association and instruction, you gradually become independent of even Kṛṣṇa's association and instruction. The next offense is to blaspheme the Vedic literature or to consider the Vedic literature to be compiled by some ordinary personality. The word veda means knowledge, and Vedic literature is for entire humanity. This Vedic literature is not just for India or people of one country or people of one community. It is for the entire humanity. So we must understand that the Vedas contain sanatana-dharma, eternal religion or duty of the living entity. And the eternal duty of the living entity is to engage in service to the Lord. And the Puranas are known as the supplementary Vedas. And the Puranas also should be recognized to be the work of Vyāsadeva. There are 18 Puranas, and the topmost Purana is the Srimad Bhagavatam, the Bhagavad Purana. So at no point should we think, oh, now we are living in modern 20th century Ukraine or Russia, and this Vedic literature has no relevance today. Vedic literature is outdated, not for 20th century. It is just for the villagers of India. No, this is how Maya will trick you. Slowly, slowly, you will lose faith in the scriptures, lose faith in bhakti, and increase faith in Maya. So we must always understand that Vedas contain eternal wisdom for entire humanity, which was true yesterday, is true today, and will be true tomorrow. The next is to consider the glories of the chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa to be imagination, or to give some own interpretation to the chanting of the holy names of the Lord. These are the fifth and sixth offenses. Kali-kale nama rupa Kṛṣṇa-vatār. In Kali-yuga, the Lord incarnates in His holy name. So in Kali-yuga, all you need is the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra to develop love of God. You don't need any other mantras, you don't need any other means. Hare Naṁ, Hare Naṁ, Hare Naṁ eva kevalam. Kalo na steva na steva na steva eva gatīr anyatha. It is said, Hare Naṁ, Hare Naṁ, Hare Naṁ. This is the only alternative in this age of Kali for self-realization. So this is the only alternative. We must have faith in this alternative and not try to resort to other mantras also. Just like watering the root, sādhu nourishes the whole tree, or putting food in the stomach gives energy to the whole body. Similarly, just as chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra is enough to develop love of God if we chant sincerely, following the regulative principles and avoiding the offenses. Also, we should not underestimate the value of the potency of the Holy Name. We should not think the glories of the Holy Name are being exaggerated. By chanting the Holy Name once, you can wipe away thousands of sins. But we have committed so many trillions of sins that unless we chant the Holy Names day and night, we will not be able to wipe away the results of all our sinful activities. Therefore, Kṛṣṇa is instructing us, always chant, always chant. The spiritual master and the sādhus are reminding us, Always chant. When Lord Caitanya was cleaning the Gundaicha temple, he and his followers, associates, they were always chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, and they uttered nothing but the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra even though they were engaged in cleaning the temple. So we have to tie the holy name to our tongue. So initiation ceremony is an opportunity for the disciple to become serious and make a serious attempt to tie the holy name to the tongue. Then the next is to commit sins on the strength of chanting. By chanting the holy names of Krishna even once, countless sins are wiped away. So one should not think that now I've been chanting the Hare Krishna mantra for 2 or 3 years or 4 years or 10 years or 20 years, so all my sins have been wiped away, so now I can commit fresh sinful activities. Devotee doesn't want to be a burden on the Lord. Other people go to the temple or the church or the mosque And they present their shopping list to the Lord. They say, "God, give me this, give me this, give me this." But what does the devotee pray? "I may please take my birth, wherever I take my birth, I may always be in the association of Vaiṣṇavas." What did Thakura Bhaktivedānta Mahāprabhu say? "My dear Lord, You may please, if You have to give me another birth, please give me another birth as a worm in the house of a Vaiṣṇava." The 8th offense is to consider the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra as one of the auspicious ritualistic activities that are recommended in the Vedas. The chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra should not be compared to some karma-kanda activity. Karma-kanda means you're ready to do some sacrifice, but in exchange you want some material benefit. So we don't chant the holy name so that I may get a ticket to America, or I may get this Mercedes car, or this material benefit, or whichever one. We chant the holy names because through the holy name we are begging the Lord, please, please, please engage me in devotional service. Hare is an address to the energy of the Lord Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. So when Radharani sees that you are chanting sincerely, she recommends to Kṛṣṇa, "Yes, please give him devotional service." When we chant the holy names of Kṛṣṇa 16 rounds attentively, we are praying to the Lord, what? "My dear Lord, please engage me in devotional service." Kṛṣṇa will give you all types of material opulences, but bhakti, devotional service, is very rarely awarded, only to the most fortunate. So So those devotees who have taken to the Krishna conscious process are the most fortunate people on this planet. The most fortunate are not those who have a Mercedes car or a nice Pierre Cardin suit or a big bank balance in Switzerland. The most fortunate are those who have taken shelter of a bona fide spiritual master and are attempting to go back to Godhead. Material happiness has a beginning and an end, but spiritual happiness has no end. Even when the devotee leaves the body, he just continues the process of serving the Lord. And the nature of spiritual happiness is it is always increasing, increasing, increasing. Bolshoi, bolshoi. And 9th offense is to preach the glories of the Holy Name to the faithless. So on the one hand, Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, "Jāre dakatahe kaho 'kṛṣṇa upadeśa." Whoever you see, tell him about Kṛṣṇa. On the other hand, we are saying don't preach to the faithless. So some of you may be confused. You may say, how are you going to determine who is faithful, who is faithless? Obviously, when you go on the streets, it is not written on somebody's face, or no one's carrying a badge, I'm faithful, so please preach to me the glories of the Holy Name. So the devotee preaches to everyone to chant Hare Krishna, begs everyone, and falls at the hands, please, please, please take to the chanting of the Holy Name. But the deep meaning of the Holy Name may be explained. Only after the person develops faith in the Holy Name. Just like you may meet someone on the road and he ask you, 'Kaak was avood?' You'll tell him your name, but you won't tell him your secrets, like where you have your money or bank balance or whatever, in your first encounter. So tell everyone to chant. Even if they insult you, don't feel offended. Nityananda was the original spiritual master, the incarnation of Lord Balaram, carrying out the orders of Lord Caitanya. He He was preaching house to house in every village in Bengal. And during his preaching endeavors, he was regularly preaching to two brothers, Jagai and Madhai, who were born in Brahminical family but had become devotees. Even when Nityānanda was attacked by them, blood was coming out from his forehead, he was still with folded hands pleading with them, "Please chant, please chant." So with the same humility we have to carry out the orders of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. So those who are accepting initiation, they should also understand that they have to tangibly help in spreading Lord Caitanya's message. Don't take initiation and then go into semi-retirement. Sometimes you see devotees work hard till they're initiated, but after they're initiated, they think they've conquered the whole world and they go into retirement. Prabhupāda said initiation is only the beginning. So now is the beginning. It's the opportunity for you to take the, the opportunity of initiation seriously and show to the spiritual master and Krishna how you want to dedicate this life to the Lord's service. The last offense is to maintain material attachment in spite of chanting the holy names of the Lord. So material attachments are responsible for keeping us entangled in the material world, and as long as you maintain material attachments, you're guaranteed to stay. So we have to break our material attachment. This does not mean that you have to abandon doing your duty. Just like if somebody is in the Krihastha Ashram, he may have some duties to do, but the purpose of executing all transactions should be pleasure of Guru and Kṛṣṇa. Material attraction, material attachment looks beautiful only when you don't have spiritual knowledge. Just like in the presence of sunshine, darkness is destroyed and everything becomes vividly clear. Similarly, in the presence of spiritual instructions, one understands the foolishness of maintaining material attachment. Now, all those who are accepting initiation, they must also understand the importance of sadhna bhakti. Sadhna bhakti means attending mangala-ārti, class, guru-pūja, chanting your rounds in the morning. Those who are grihasthas, then they should arrange their schedule at home in such a way that they can carry out these programs. It is not that now you are grihastas, you can get up at 8 o'clock in the morning and do your mangalārti at 9 o'clock. Then you are not grihastas, then you are grihamedhi. Grihastas means one who leads a disciplined life. So those who live at home must practice the process of sādhana-bhakti at home, and those who live in the āśram must take advantage of the temple schedule. Of course, some of you live in āśrams which are very far from the temple, so in that case you may make a schedule so that in the āśram you can follow the temple schedule. So on this auspicious day, 23 candidates are taking initiation in the chanting of the holy names. So my humble request on behalf of Śrīla Prabhupāda and the entire parampara is please take this opportunity very, very seriously and be determined to succeed on the spiritual path. And also those who are accepting initiation In addition to chanting, they must take a vow to also read Prabhupāda's books every day. You should— everyone, every devotee should try and read at least for 1 hour a day. Don't read the books when you're about to fall asleep. Read them when you're fully alert. Just like you don't fall asleep in front of prasadam, don't fall asleep while chanting and reading. And everyone should also execute service. There's many different types of service that one can engage in. The one service that Prabhupada emphasized the most was the service of book distribution. This is known as sankirtana-yajña. So sankirtana-yajña is the yajña for this age. So sankirtana-yajña consists of two different aspects. One aspect is chanting the holy names and spreading the chanting of the holy name. The other is to distribute the books so that people understand the importance of chanting the holy name. So even though there may be some difficulty Even though the mind may present obstacles, we should not withdraw from this very important mission that Prabhupada has given us. Through the meaning of book— through the medium of book distribution, millions of people are being saved from the cycle of birth and death. So we should dedicate ourselves to Lord Caitanya's preaching mission and thereby become happy and peaceful. So just like a sick man needs both the medicine and the diet to recover, so we are also spiritually sick. So we need the medicine, which is the chanting of the Holy Name, and the diet, which is the service, to recover. Hare Kṛṣṇa. Lama Lama Ale Ale.