>Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila >Prabhupada. All glories to the Vaishnavas who are so nicely executing >the mission of H.D.G. A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami. > Thank you very much, Maharaja, for taking your time to read my >letter. Please forgive me if I am offensive in anyway. > The second verse of Sri-Guru Vandana translates into, "Make the >instructions from the lotus mouth of the spiritual master one with your >heart and do not desire anything else. Attachment to the lotus feet of >the spiritual master is the best means of spiritual advancement." So, >what I am asking you is how can I cultivate a nice relationship with my >gurudeva, in my heart. > Srila Prabhupada provided the perfect example of a guru-diciple >relationship, he was completely surrendered to his Guru Maharaja. And >although his spiritual master was not physically present he lived in >Srila Prabhupada's heart through his instruction. > Still, I find myself feeling so much seperation from my >spiritual master because I am not so nicely fixed up. Please, can you >give a little counsel on how to keep the order of the spritual master, >always in the heart, and how to become sincere in our desire to serve >him? > > I also have a few questions about anarthas. How can we >erradicate them from our hearts? And how can we smash the false ego? >Also, how can we chant without offense, and develop steady sadhana? >Finally, how can we learn to apprieciate and serve the Vaishnavas? > Thank you very much, Maharaja, for your time and mercy. > > > Your servant, > Dear Mataji Hare Krishna. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! You can call me "Madhudvisa dasa" or "Madhudvisa Prabhu" whatever you prefer. Cultivating a nice relationship with Srila Prabhupada doesn't start in the heart... Our heart is very dirty at the moment, covered with tons and tons of dirt accumulated there from thousands and millions of births here in the material world... So our heart is a little covered at the moment. Devotional service, Krishna consciousness starts with hearing the pure message of Krishna from the lips of a pure devotee -- and then putting it into practice in our lives. The hearing process must be properly done otherwise there will not be any good result. The speaker must be qualified and the hearer must also be qualified and the hearing must be submissive, attentive and respectful and one may question to clarify the subjet matter. But it's not that one has to blindly hear from any rascal who might want to speak. NO. One must see if the qualifications are there. And how will we know what the qualifications are?? Srila Prabhupada was one asked how one could tell a cheating guru from a real guru and he replied if one is trying to purchase gold but doesn't know what gold is or where it can be purchased there is a very good chance he will be cheated. First one has to know what gold is... So how to find out what a qualified spiritual master is? Of course the answer is so obvious. One can simply read Srila Prabhupada's books and see Srila Prabhupada's perfect example. If there is a qualified spiritual master he will display the same humility, purity, attractiveness and potency Srila Prabhupada does. He will enjoy chanting Hare Krishna, he will be chanting Hare Krishna always, reading Srila Prabhupada's books always, he will be happy to see his disciples advance in Krishna consciousness and he will have the potency to actually awaken the love of God, Krishna, dormant in all our hearts. His preaching will be very effective... The standards have not changed. If one wants to be the guru he has to display the same qualities Srila Prabhupada does... Guru is one -- there are not two standards... It is very clearly described in Srila Prabhupada's books. Nowadays so many people who are calling themselves "Hare Krishna's" are accepting "spiritual masters" who certainly don't live up to the descriptions of the guru in Srila Prabhupada's books. I can only assume they haven't read Srila Prabhupada's books, or perhaps, they would prefer their "spiritual master" to be an ordinary mundane being like themselves... It makes everything very cheep. If the "spiritual master" cannot even follow the principles and doesn't even enjoy chanting Hare Krishna what hope is there for the "disciples"? So if you actually are interested in Krishna consciousness you should avoid the assocation of such fools who have accepted ordinary men as the "guru". The guru is not an ordinary man and to consider him as such is offensive. So it is also offensive to worship an ordinary man as the guru... So this nonsense in ISKCON has completely destroyed the whole thing. You will not find Krishna consciousness there. It is far better to find some devotees who are trying to honestly develop their relationship with Srila Prabhupada. Srila Prabhuapda is not at all dead as ISKCON would have us believe. He is living in his books and tapes. So we can take advantage of hearing from him, the undisputed pure devotee acarya, and whatever clouds of darkness these bogus "gurus" have created in ISKCON can be blown away by the pure transcendental vibrations emanating from the lips of our eternal master, His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada... So hear from Prabhupada in the association of other devotees who want to hear from Prabhupada. It's a very powerful process... Srila Prabhupada wanted ISKCON to be a society of pure devotees fully engaged in pure devotional service 24 hours a day. That purity was what set ISKCON apart from every other organization, it is what attracted me and so many other devotees. The "purity is the force" as Srila Prabhupada always says. But now, in ISKCON, the purity has gone so that is a great problem. If your "spiritual master" is not fixed up you will never be fixed up and by serving him your anarthas will increase, not decrease. I have seen it so many times in the past 10 years in ISKCON. So many sincere young boys and girls come to the movement after reading Srila Prabhupada's books very enthusiastic and full of energy to serve Srila Prabhupada and Krishna... But they soon find out that is not possible in ISKCON... "Prabhupada is dead now... You need a "living" guru... So they are forced to take initiation from a "living" conditioned soul... And that is the end of the enthusiasm, the energy, the purity and the beginning of so many anartha's... So if you want to get rid of your anartha's you have to find someone without any anartha's and surrender to him, serve him. Srila Prabhupada is available to us all. We just have to pick up his books and read them. Prabhupada is living in his books. It is a very simple thing. And when we realize Prabhupada's books are so wonderful we will want everyone to read them and we will become very enlivened to distribute them also... Krishna consciousness is a very simple process -- we just have to follow it. It is a simple thing. Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna is the Supreme Enjoyer. We are constitutionally servants, we have to serve someone or something... But we will never be happy with material service in the material world. Our natural business is to serve Krishna, we will be happy if we serve Krishna... We just have to surrender to a pure devotee of Krishna who can guide us, show us how to serve Krishna. But if you surrender to a conditioned soul you will always be a conditioned soul... The bound cannot rescue the bound... "The transcendental vibration from the mouth of a pure devotee is so powerful that it can revive the living entity's memory of his eternal relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna... For a conditioned soul therefore, it is very important to hear from the mouth of a pure devotee, who is fully surrendered to the lotus feet of the Lord without any material desire, speculative knowledge or contamination of the modes of material nature... One may stay in his position of life -- It does not matter what it is -- but if one hears from the mouth of a pure devotee, he gradually comes to the understanding of his relationship with the Lord and thus engages in His loving service, and his life becomes completely perfect." (from Srila Prabhupada's purport to Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.20.25) tad viddhi pranipatena pariprasnena sevaya upadeksyanti te jnanam jnaninas tattva-darsinah "Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth." "...mental speculation and dry arguments cannot help one progress in spiritual life. One has to approach a bona-fide spiritual master to receive the knowledge. Such a spiritual master should be accepted in full surrender, and one should serve the spiritual master like a menial servant, without false prestige. Satisfaction of the SELF-REALIZED spiritual master is the secret of advancement in spiritual life. Inquiries and submission constitute the proper combination for spiritual understanding. Unless there is submission and service, inquiries from the learned spiritual master will not be effective. One must pass the test of the spiritual master, and when he sees the genuine desire of the disciple, he automatically blesses the disciple with genuine spiritual understanding. "In this verse both blind following and absurd inquiries are condemned. One should not only hear submissively from the spiritual master, but one must also get a clear understanding from him, in submission and service and inquiries. "A bona-fide spiritual master is by nature very kind toward the disciple. Therefore when the student is submissive and always ready to render service, the reciprocation of knowledge and inquiries becomes perfect." (From Srila Prabhupada's purport to Bhagavad-gita 4.34)