Sri Shrinivas Acarya–The First Book Distributor
December 29, 2012 by Gauridas Pandit dasa
Filed under Devotees
Shrinivas Acarya is one of the most important acaryas in the generation immediately following Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He was an illustrious disciple of Gopal Bhatta Goswami and Jiva Goswami. His achievements include leading the very first book distribution party in the history of Gaudiya Vaishnavism; converting a king and his entire kingdom to the Vaishnava religion, originating the Manohar Shoy style of kirtana, developing elaborate techniques of Manjari-sadhana and co-organizing the first
Appearance
In a small village of ...Read More
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Prabhupada’s Disappearance Day, Lecture (1)
June 24, 2011 by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Filed under Guru, MP3 Audio
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Now, you American boys and girls who have taken to this movement, please take it more seriously and… That is the mission of Lord Caitanya and my Guru Maharaja, and we are also trying to execute the will by disciplic succession. You have come forward to help me. I shall request you all that I shall go away, but you shall live. Don’t give up pushing on this movement, and you’ll be blessed by Lord Caitanya and His Divine ...Read More
Spiritually There is No Difference Between Appearance and Disappearance
May 16, 2011 by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Filed under Guru, MP3 Audio
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Although this is the disappearance day of Om Visnupada Sri Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, so there is nothing to be lamented. Although we feel separation, that feeling is there, but spiritually, there is no difference between appearance and disappearance. There is a song, Narottama dasa Thakura’s song, ye anilo prema-dhana. Do you know, any one of you? Can you sing that song anyone?
His Divine Grace ...Read More
Prabhupada on his Disciples Becoming Gurus
March 15, 2011 by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Filed under Guru
It is not that you have become a student and you’ll remain student. No. One day you shall become also guru and make more students, more students, more. That is Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s mission, not that perpetually… Yes, one should remain perpetually a student, but he has to act as guru. That is the mission of Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
76-09-01.Jag Letter: Jagajivana Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated July 27, 1976 and have noted the contents ...Read More
The Difference Between Useless Disciples and Useful Disciples
February 12, 2011 by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Filed under ISKCON
Some of the disciples strictly accepted the orders of the acarya, and others deviated, independently concocting their own opinions under the spell of daivi-maya. This verse by Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami [in his Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Adi Lila 12.10] describes the beginning of a schism. When disciples do not stick to the principle of accepting the order of their spiritual master, immediately there are two opinions. Any opinion different from the opinion of
The order of the spiritual master is the active principle ...Read More
The Life of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Prabhupada
November 8, 2010 by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Filed under Guru
Absolute is sentient Thou hast proved. Impersonal calamity Thou hast moved. This gives us a life Anew and fresh. Worship thy feet Your Divine Grace.
Oh! my Master The evangelic angel. Give us thy light, ...Read More
Initiation Into Spiritual Life
October 9, 2010 by srila-bhaktisiddhanta-sarasvati-thakur
Filed under Guru
The bad preceptor is a familiar character. It is inexplicable how those gurus who live in open sin contrive never-the-less to retain the unquestioning allegiance of the cultured portion of their disciples…
Initiation into Spiritual Life by His Divine Grace Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati
An article from Sree Sajjana Toshani December 1928
The ceremony of diksha or initiation is that by which the spiritual Preceptor admits one to the status of a neophyte on the path of spiritual endeavor. The ...Read More
Prabhupada Wanted No More Gurus for 10,000 Years–A Completely Bogus Idea
March 7, 2009 by mahaksa-dasa
Filed under Guru
What some 10,000 year philosophers are doing is highly offensive, IMHO. They are just as bogus as the dudes who grabbed vyasasanas as soon as their only bar to sitting in the seat was now dead and gone. I say this because such folks are placing restrictions on Srila Prabhupada, Lord Balarama, and the whole guru tattwa.
“The Final Order,” the IRM’s “Bible” states the following:
“The disciplic succession, or guru parampara, is eternal; there is no question of it stopping. According ...Read More
Prabhupada is still the Guru in ISKCON
February 22, 2009 by Gauridas Pandit dasa
Filed under Guru, Prabhupada
Dear G.B.C.’s and leading devotees,
Please accept my respectful obeisances.
All glories to our jagat guru Srila Prabhupada!!!
It is time again for the annual international GBC meetings in Sridam Mayapur. The purpose of the meetings is to improve devotional service in Srila Prabhupada’s mission, the International Society for Krsna Consciousness, ISKCON. The most important unresolved ever-changing issue is the guru issue. There continues to be a lot of speculation about the guru issue within ISKCON.
One ...Read More
Srila Prabhupada Guru Tattva
June 12, 2006 by harinam-das
Filed under Guru
It is widely known that Srila Prabhupada instituted a ritvik or representative (proxy) initiation system throughout ISKCON as early as 1971 in order to meet the growing need to initiate his disciples worldwide. However what is not widely known is that he instructed his disciples to continue initiating new disciples on his behalf even after his physical disappearance.
He called those disciples who performed the initiation ceremonies ritvik representatives of the acharya (officiating acharyas). Below are quotes directly from Srila ...Read More
The “Acharyadeva” has no Bhakti… ISKCON’s False “Acharyadevas”
May 28, 2006 by Madhudvisa dasa
Filed under ISKCON
You are trying to introduce people to a different Acharayadeva. And that is a great disaster. Because your “Acharyadeva” and all the other so-called “Acharyadevas” in ISKCON are presenting a different message to the message we are getting from the real Acharyadeva, Srila Prabhupada.
Dear Mataji Hare Krishna! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! I am very sorry to hear of your husband’s experiences leading him to temporarily lose faith in Srila Prabhuapda and the ...Read More
Some Statistical Reflections on the Awesome Stature of the Acharya
December 18, 2005 by hansadutta-dasa
Filed under Prabhupada
WHAT THE ACHARYA, SRILA PRABHUPADA, DID IN TEN YEARS.
Srila Prabhupada translated and wrote purports to 18,000 verses of Srimad-Bhagavatam. Reading one verse with purport daily would take the reader 49.31 years to complete.
He translated and wrote purports to 700 verses of Bhagavad-gita. It would take the reader aproximately two years to complete.
He translated and wrote purports to the 17 volumes of Chaitanya-charitamrita (2,170 pages, or 11,555 verses). Reading one verse with purport ...Read More
Prabhupada Desires His Disciples to Become Qualified Like Him
November 5, 2005 by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Filed under Guru
Lord Caitanya says that Under My order, you become a spiritual master. To become a spiritual master under the order of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is not very difficult. Unless we adulterate, mix in something nonsense in His teachings, if we simply present, as it is, then every one of us can become a spiritual master.
So many people say, “Oh, Swamiji, you have done wonderful.” So I say, the secret of my wonderful activities is that I have not tried to ...Read More
Difficult times for new Bhaktas…
May 19, 2005 by Madhudvisa dasa
Filed under Guru, Letters
Krishna consciousness is a lifestyle which is about as different as possible from the lifestyle we have been trained up to lead in the West. To make the transition training is required. So Prabhupada created ISKCON where he could train his disciples to live a life centered around Krishna and where they could practice pure devotional service…
Hare Krishna My Dear Madhudvisa dasa
Please accept my utmost respect and devotion for your kindly preaching this Krishna consciousness movement. Your articles ...Read More
Satsvarupa—Vaisnava Aparadha to Question His Qualification as Guru?
April 8, 2005 by Madhudvisa dasa
Filed under ISKCON, Letters
Don’t take shelter of the GBC who CAN NOT DELIVER YOU. I can guarantee that Satsvarupa can not take you or any of his disciples back home, back to Godhead. You need to take shelter of Srila Prabhupada, serve him, enquire from him submissively. Such a pure devotee can give you real knowledge because he has seen the truth.
Dear Bhakta R…
Hare Krishna! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
You have taken offense to ...Read More
Sri Vaisnava Acharya Rules with Love
June 17, 2003 by visoka-dasa
Filed under Devotees
The Vaisnava acharya is always situated in his original spiritual nature. He is situated in permanent liberation, as said in Srimad Bhagavatam: Liberation is the permanent situation of the form of the living entity after he gives up the changeable gross and subtle material bodies. Srimad Bhagavatam 2.10.6
Pure souls always come to the same conclusion
Sri Vaisnava Acharya is always in agreement with all other acharyas and self-realized souls, who are free from all contamination of material logic. Pure souls always ...Read More
Ritvik–Representative of the Acharya, For the Purpose of Performing Initiations–Both First Initiation and Second Initiation
February 16, 2003 by mahesh-das
Filed under Guru
His Divine Grace has so far given a list of eleven disciples who will act in that capacity…
Madhya 24.330 Similarly, a disciple’s qualifications must be observed by the spiritual master before he is accepted as a disciple. In our Krsna consciousness movement, the requirement is that one must be prepared to give up the four pillars of sinful life-illicit sex, meat-eating, intoxication and gambling. In Western countries especially, we first observe whether a potential disciple is prepared to follow ...Read More
The Future of the Krishna Consciousness Movement is in Srila Prabhupada’s Disciple’s Hands
October 23, 2002 by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Filed under Guru, MP3 Audio
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So we have got this message from Krsna, from Caitanya Mahaprabhu, from the six Gosvamis, later on, Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Bhaktisiddhanta Thakura. And we are trying our bit also to distribute this knowledge. Now, tenth, eleventh, twelfth… My Guru Maharaja is tenth from Caitanya Mahaprabhu, I am eleventh, you are the twelfth. So distribute this knowledge…
Prabhupada: (airport noises) (leads Prema-dhvani; says “Los Angeles bhakta-vrnda ki jaya!”) So my dear boys and girls, about six years ago I came to your ...Read More
WHAT IS INITATION?
March 10, 2002 by roy-barrios
Filed under Guru
This seems like a simple question since so many devotees have taken initiation. But I have asked a few devotees and they seem not to really understand what is real initiation. So this is my humble attempt to try to understand what is real initiation.
It seems that initiation is two fold, but that’s when we look at it from the material point of view. First we have the initiation ceremony or ritual. The ceremony seems fairly simple to understand that ...Read More
Replacing Srila Prabhupada?
September 30, 2000 by vyasasana-dasa
Filed under Devotees, Letters
I am confussed by the state of affairs, today, when leading godbrothers are trying to replace the position of my only beloved spiritural master? Are we so quickly enlinghtened, that we can replace a great acharaya. It’s Mayas illusion.
Dear Prabhu
Please accept my humble obesiences, all glories to Srila Prabhupada! I have been disasociated form the devotees since Srila Prabhupada’s dissapperence. For no reason other than I could not tolerate seeing my godbrothers picturtures on the Vyasasaan. I thought it was ...Read More



