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The bound cannot help the bound [Fwd from Das]

• Subject: The bound cannot help the bound [Fwd from Das]
• From: Vaisnava das
• Date: Sat Feb 24 07:00:49 1996
• Message-Id: id754

Hare Krishna! Dear Madhudvisa Prabhu, please accept my most humble

obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!



Yes!!



>IT IS PRABHUPADA'S POINT. NOT MINE...

>

>It is a disease, both in ISKCON and in the ritvik camp now also. The idea of

>non-liberated spiritual masters is attractive to non-liberated people [who

>have no intention of ever becoming liberated!!] because it means they can be

>"Gurus" and at the same time be in maya!!

>

>As for the only principle being repeating the knowledge perfectly, that is

>not the only consideration at all. We have seen big, big preachers in ISKCON

>repeating Srila Prabhupada's instructions [take Bhagavan for example]. His

>preaching was more or less perfectly in line with Prabhupada's books. But

>his motivation was wrong. He was doing it for fame, profit, adoration and

>distinction.. He was doing it for himself, not Krishna and Srila

>Prabhupada... SO HIS PREACHING WA - even though it was in line with Srila

>Prabhupada's teachings



And not only Bhagavan--so many others, who repeat perfectly, but their

personal examples contradict their words! It confuses and misleads the

neophytes, who observe and conclude that such deviant behaviour is

acceptable as long as they don't change the philosophy! Or worse still,

aspiring disciples or devotees whose faith is still fledgling lose hope to

ever come to the standard set by Srila Prabhupada in his books and in his

personal example and give up and fall back into sense enjoyment.



"Be ye perfect as thy Father in heaven!" The whole point is to become

devotee, is it not? To become actual, pure devotee, awakened in unalloyed

love of Krishna. If one is really a devotee, then it is understood that he

is already liberated. If one is not a devotee, or has not yet attained at

least brahma-bhutah stage, how is it possible for him to deliver anyone

from repeated birth and death and from the clutches of the material energy?

Assuredly even the neophytes can point the way, introduce us to the pure

devotee, but they cannot give us what they have not got for themselves, not

any more than Lord Brahma could grant immortality to the demon

Hiranyakashipu! It is common sense.



Throughout Srila Prabhupada's books, letters, conversations he repeatedly

urges the necessity of becoming pure, of hearing from and serving the pure

devotee, of taking shelter of the fully realised souls, the liberated

souls. Should we ignore this advice in favour of his comments that the

non-liberated souls can also act as spiritual master or preach? Who is

taking Srila Prabhupada's words out of context? We should beware of

discounted goods. Srila Prabhupada was perfect, and he presented the

Perfect. He gave us the perfect scientific, step-by-step process how to

attain perfection. So why should any serious devotee settle for less?



Anyway, I am not a scholar, not well-versed. Even a non-liberated devotee

is an exalted personality, and certainly if he is obedient to the order of

the pure devotee he will eventually become perfect, but for his own sake as

well as for the sake of others, he must not pose himself as a qualified

acharya, though he may and really ought to actively preach, recruit

devotees and train them to follow the pure devotee, just as Srila

Prabhupada's disciples did when he was present. When they did just that,

all the devotees respected and worshipped them as representatives of Srila

Prabhupada, but when they tried to present themselves as good as Srila

Prabhupada just because they could repeat the philosophy inside out, their

inflated false egos burst at the seams!



Hope you are well.--Your servant, Das



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