Published on March 25th, 2023 | by HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
12Prabhupada Speaks on Bona Fide and Bogus Gurus
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Translation: “O Sūta Gosvāmī, your words are pleasing to our minds. Please therefore explain this to us as it was spoken by the great devotee Śukadeva Gosvāmī, who is very expert in transcendental knowledge, and who spoke to Mahārāja Parīkṣit upon being asked.”
Prabhupāda: So Parīkṣit Mahārāja was asking and Śukadeva Gosvāmī was replying. Both of them were fit to ask and to reply. Bhāgavata-pradhānaḥ. Mahārāja Parīkṣit was disciple, and Śukadeva Gosvāmī was his spiritual master. If both of them become fit, are fit, then the discussion of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is very pleasing. The student and the master. If the master is learned and the student is foolish, then it will be not very much pleasing. Or the master is foolish and student is also foolish, that will also not be … Both of them should be … Satāṁ prasaṅgān mama vīrya-saṁvido bhavanti hṛt-karṇa-rasāyanāḥ kathāḥ [SB 3.25.25]. Vīrya, vīrya means potency. Just like if a potent husband and potent wife have sex intercourse, immediately there will be pregnancy. Therefore this word is used. Potent. Formerly, this was being used. Both the husband and the wife remained potent, not impotent and sterilized. They remained potent, voluntarily. But when they wanted to beget a child, that one sex intercourse is sufficient. There is child.
Therefore it is said, satāṁ prasaṅgān mama vīrya-saṁvido bhavanti hṛt-karṇa-rasāyanāḥ kathāḥ [SB 3.25.25]. If the Bhāgavata discussion is done between the two potents, the disciple and the master, then immediately, sadyaḥ hṛdi avarudhyate. As it is said in the beginning. Have you got Bhāgavata? The first, beginning? Sadyo hṛdy avarudhyate. Nigama-kalpa-taror galitaṁ phalam idam [SB 1.1.3], Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Sadyo hṛdy avarudhyate, śuśrūṣubhis tat-kṣaṇāt. Śuśrūṣubhiḥ, those who are serious about understanding about the Supreme Absolute Truth, so for him, immediately God becomes entrapped within the heart. God is there, but especially… Hṛdi avarudhyate, kiṁ vā paraiḥ… Avarudhyate means you capture God. If there is discussion between devotees… Tuṣyanti ca ramanti ca. In Bhagavad-gītā it is said. Tuṣyanti ca ramanti ca. When Bhāgavata discussion is there amongst devotees… It is the business of the devotees, not the business of the nondevotees. Unfortunately, India, it has become a profession.
Some unscrupulous persons, they recite Bhāgavata-saptāha, and the audience gather also for some material benefit. They take it as auspicious activity, śubha-kārya. They don’t care for neither the speaker nor the devotee. They don’t care for understanding the science of God. They are after some material profit. The professional reader, he reads, he takes some contribution, some money, some clothing, some umbrella, some shoes, some food, some money. In this way, he collects a very lump sum for his maintenance of his family, and the audience also thinks that “By hearing Bhāgavatam, I’ll be very much profited materially.” This is going on. Bhāgavata-saptāha. Bhāgavata-saptāha, imitation. Parīkṣit Mahārāja heard for one week Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from Śukadeva Gosvāmī. So they are imitating this one week. But where is Parīkṣit and where is Śukadeva? Both of them have got some ulterior purpose to hear Bhāgavata. Therefore it is not affecting. They are hearing Bhāgavata for thousands of years, but still, they are where they were formerly.
But actually, if Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is heard… Just like Parīkṣit Mahārāja is hearing… Śrī-viṣṇoḥ smaraṇe. Śrī-viṣṇu, abhavad vaiyāsakiḥ kīrtane. Śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam [SB 7.5.23]. Śrī-viṣṇoḥ śravaṇe parīkṣit. Parīkṣit Mahārāja got salvation simply by hearing about Viṣṇu. Śrī-viṣṇoḥ smaraṇe, śravaṇe. Parīkṣit Mahārāja he was king, he was politician. So he had no much knowledge about Vedic instruction. But when he was cursed that he would die in seven days, he became very serious, and all the sages and saintly persons agreed that “Mahārāja Parīkṣit, for the last remaining days of his life, seven days, he should hear attentively Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.” So śrī-viṣṇoḥ śravaṇe parīkṣit. He got salvation simply by hearing about the glories of the Lord or activities of the Lord, which is described in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Śrī-viṣṇoḥ śravaṇe parīkṣid abhavad vaiyāsakiḥ kīrtane. And Vaiyāsaki… Vaiyāsaki’s name is mentioned here. Vaiyāsakir ātma-vidyā. Vaiyāsaki means Śukadeva Gosvāmī.
He simply went on narrating. In the middle, there were some questions, intelligent questions, by Parīkṣit Mahārāja. Question is also required. If you simply hear, do not understand, just like dumb stone, that’s not good. You should hear attentively, and as soon as there is some difficulty, you should question. Tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā [Bg. 4.34]. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said that you should understand… First of all surrender. Praṇipāta. Tad viddhi praṇipātena. Praṇipātena means you must find out an able teacher, where you can surrender. So nobody wants to surrender, but if he sees that there is a greater personality than him, he surrenders. That is nature. So this praṇipāta word means that you do not go for understanding Bhagavad-gītā and Bhāgavata to a store-keeper. You should go to a person where you can surrender. Tad viddhi praṇipātena [Bg. 4.34]. And paripraśnena. And inquiry. And sevayā. You should not take… You should not inquire gratis; you must give service.
Just like if you purchase something, you must pay for it. Therefore it is called sevayā. You cannot pay by returning the value which is taught by the spiritual master. That is not possible. Therefore it is called sevayā. Dedicate your life for his service. You cannot pay. What you have got to pay to a spiritual master? Just like our King Pṛthu Mahārāja. When the Kumāras preached to him about transcendental knowledge, he very humbly submitted, “My dear spiritual master, you have taught me so nice. I require to give you some dakṣiṇā.” Dakṣiṇā, that is required. After initiation, one should pay dakṣiṇā. That is a system. “I should pay dakṣiṇā, but what shall I pay? I haven’t got anything as my personal possession. It is already by the mercy of the brāhmaṇas that I am enjoying this kingdom. So it is already belonging to you. My kingdom, it is already belonging to you.” That was the system. If any saintly person, brāhmaṇa, will ask from a kṣatriya king, he cannot deny.
Karṇa, he gave his son to be sacrificed. A brāhmaṇa asked that “I want your son to be sacrificed by you.” He was incarnation of God. He tested Karṇa’s charity. He was very charitable, so he asked him that “I want your son, and you shall sacrifice, you both, husband and wife.” He agreed, Karṇa, “Yes, I’ll do that.” So there was some test like that. So actually, formerly, the kings, they possessed their kingdom just to manage, not thinking “It is my property. I am the king.” As soon as the kings thought like that, the monarchy finished. The king never thought like that. He thought himself as appointed agent of God, king. So he never thought. So Par… Śuka. . . Pṛthu Mahārāja said that “Nothing belongs to me, and even if I can pay from my treasury, so I cannot actually pay for the benefit I have derived from you. Therefore, the only way I can pay—that I surrender unto you. You can utilize me in any way.” So, tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā [Bg. 4.34]. Therefore the disciple’s duty is to be ready always to serve the spiritual master, at any cost.
That is the disciple’s duty. Sevayā. Upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ. So real knowledge can be achieved in this process. Praṇipāta… Not that I can challenge, “Oh, I can know. I have got so much education and degrees. I can understand what is God,” or “There is no need of God. I am God. We are the controller.” So these are all rascaldom. Real thing is tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena, as Parīkṣit Mahārāja, the emperor of the world, he’s hearing from Śukadeva Gosvāmī, you have seen that picture in our Bhāgavata, newly published, how Parīkṣit Mahārāja humbly asking and sitting before Śukadeva Gosvāmī. So bhāgavata-pradhānaḥ. Bhāgavata-pradhānaḥ. So Śukadeva Gosvāmī is the chief bhāgavata. Bhāgavata, there are two kinds of bhāgavata: grantha bhāgavatam and this person bhāgavatam. So Śukadeva Gosvāmī was person bhāgavatam, bhāgavata, chief. Bhāgavata-pradhānaḥ. Bhāgavata-pradhānaḥ means realized souls. We should not hear Bhāgavatam from a professional man, who are observing the Bhāgavata-saptāha.
I know, in Bombay there is a big speaker of Bhāgavatam. He preaches that “You remain in your family life very peacefully. This is the instruction of Bhāgavata.” He never teaches that you have to give up this nonsense family life and you have to go back to home, back to Godhead. He never preaches that. There are so many examples. He comes to the conclusion that “You live peacefully,” as if to live peacefully in this material world is the highest achievement of life. They will never disclose the actual fact that nobody can live in this world peacefully. It is not possible at all. But they want money. So they’ll flatter or they’ll go to Kṛṣṇa’s rāsa-līlā, presenting Kṛṣṇa as ordinary human being and the gopīs are ordinary girls. So this is very palatable for us, kissing, embracing young girls. So Kṛṣṇa is doing, but they take it that their embracing and kissing is supported by Kṛṣṇa. This is going on. That is a different subject matter; they do not know that.
Therefore the Kṛṣṇa’s dealing with the gopīs have been described in the middle of Tenth Canto. And nine cantos have been devoted, describe, so that one may understand what is Kṛṣṇa. What is Kṛṣṇa. The beginning of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Begins, janmādy asya yataḥ [SB 1.1.1]. What is this Vāsudeva, Kṛṣṇa? Janmādy asya yataḥ. “He the origin of everything.” And we, if we take Kṛṣṇa as ordinary person and He’s dancing with the gopīs just like ordinary thing, then what Bhāgavata he will understand? He will go to hell. He’s deriding, taking Kṛṣṇa very insignificantly. Avajña. Avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam [Bg. 9.11]. “These rascals, because I observe My pastimes just like human being, they’re accepting Me as human being, ordinary.” Mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam. Paraṁ bhāvam ajānantaḥ. They do not know what is the background of Kṛṣṇa. The background of Kṛṣṇa is in the beginning said janmādy asya yataḥ [SB 1.1.1]. The first aphorism of Vedānta-sūtra.
That means, Vedānta means to understand Kṛṣṇa. These rascal Vedantists, they try to kill Kṛṣṇa. They want to become himself Kṛṣṇa, the so-called Vedantists. Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ [Bg. 15.15]. The purpose of reading Vedānta means to understand Kṛṣṇa. So without understanding Kṛṣṇa, without being trained up how to understand Kṛṣṇa, if one reads about Kṛṣṇa’s rāsa-līlā, he’ll go to hell. Because he has got the tendency of this easy sex, so he thinks, “Kṛṣṇa is like us.” And therefore, for ordinary men, this kṛṣṇa-līlā… Kṛṣṇa-līlā means they simply understand kṛṣṇa-līlā means Kṛṣṇa’s rāsa-līlā. That’s all. And Kṛṣṇa’s killing the Kaṁsa, that is not līlā. Because Kaṁsas, the rākṣasas, they are afraid of being vanquished by Kṛṣṇa. So they do not like that līlā. They’ll like this līlā. So therefore the idea is that if we want to understand Kṛṣṇa, we should… Kṛṣṇa understanding is not so easy.
manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu
kaścid yatati siddhaye
yatatām api siddhānāṁ
kaścin māṁ vetti tattvataḥ [Bg. 7.3]
You do not know. You are going to the street… Just like the two boys were coming. They did not know that they were going to be killed. So our life is so jeopardized. Any moment I can die. That’s a fact. If you don’t take seriously like that, that “Any moment, I can die.” So Parīkṣit Mahārāja had the opportunity of hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam for seven days, so I do not know whether we’ll have, I have opportunity for reading Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam for seven minutes. So let me read it very seriously.” That should be our attitude. Not that, “Seven… Oh, Parīkṣit Mahārāja was given seven days notice. Oh, I have no such notice. I may live for seven millions of years.
” That is our disease. Here the most wonderful thing is that everyone is seeing that everyone is dying every moment, but the man seeing, he’s thinking that he will live forever. This is the most wonderful thing. Nobody thinks, “No. He is dying, so I will have to die.” No. He thinks “I’ll live. He is dying.” This is the most wonderful thing.
Aśītiṁ caturaḥ, eighty-four lakhs or 8,400,000’s. Bhramadbhiḥ puruṣaiḥ prāpyaṁ mānuṣyam. In this way, going through so many species of life, we have got this human form of life.
teṣām ātmābhimāninām
varākāṇām anāśritya
govinda-caraṇa-dvayam
(Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa)
In this valuable life, it will also be spoiled if we don’t surrender to Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is canvassing personally,
mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja
ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo
mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ
[Bg. 18.66]
Kṛṣṇa personally comes to canvass. Because we are all Kṛṣṇa’s children, He’s very sorry that we are in this miserable condition of life. He’s very sorry. But we are so fool, we do not know that what is the condition of our life. We are thinking we are very much happy. This is called māyā. He’s suffering, he’s kicked by the shoes of māyā every moment, and still, he’s thinking “I am very happy. Why shall I go back to home? I shall remain in America.” But you cannot be allowed to remain in America. You are thinking, “All right… You are born of a very rich family, a rich nation, you have got opulence. You have… Your roads and your houses are very nice, but who is going to allow you to live here? Why don’t you think like that? You may live for fifty years, or sixty years, or utmost 100 years; then you’ll be kicked out. But they do not know that life is eternal.
When I am kicked out, then what life I am going to accept? They are in oblivion. There is no education in the university. This is going on. So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is a boon to the human society. You should take it very seriously and utilize your human form of life to understand it and be happy. Thank you very much. (pause) Why not begin immediately?
About the Author
HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Founded the Hare Krishna Movement in 1966 in New York. In only 11 years he spread the movement all over the world. He wrote more than 80 books including Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Srimad-Bhagavatam, Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Sri Isopanisad. Prabhupada's books constitute a complete library of Vedic philosophy, religion, literature and culture.
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Hare Krishna Everyone!
My Humble obeisances to everyone,
To start, I believe Srila Prabhupada is the true Guru and pure devotee and have trying to build a relationship with him and have been chanting 17 or more rounds per day and am uninitiated and a complete bozo too. However I keep to myself usually and try to only focus on my chanting, daily life and studying the materials Prabhupada left for us. My awkward question is that someone recently told me about some swami’s and other devotees and I checked into them and I found this list on Krishna.org called bogus gurus and when viewing the site I saw two devotees that my dear friend was seriously interested in and it said all sorts of things about them. It was on Harekrishna.org and not sure if its a valid authority or not in KC.
Im not sure if this is a malicious website or if it has any truth to it but my concern is now my friend really likes two these people on this site. One is living and one who has left their body.
I know that these people did initiate people in their lives and also did great things and completed big goals too with followers. Its hard for me to take in that someone could be so evil and still pretend to be a devotee.. Im not sure how this is possible but am having trouble with it and making me more cautious about anyone I meet that is a conditioned soul to begin with..
How does one react to situation like this carefully so that the other person is not saddened or how do you find the means to check to see if all these accusations are True or not?
I thank you all and if I have unintentionally committed any offenses by writing this letter, then I like to beg forgiveness and ask to be corrected, for I am deeply concerned about the integrity of Srila Prabhupadas Society for Krishna Consciousness.
Fallen Ryan
Hare Krishna Ryan
You are doing the right thing, concentrating on chanting Hare Krishna and reading Prabhupada’s books and trying to minimize your association with non-devotees. If we associate with non-devotees our old bad habits will very quickly come back and if we keep associating with them we will gradually forget Krishna consciousness so it is essential that we remain in the association of devotees and of course the best devotee association is Srila Prabhupada.
It is not that the ISKCON gurus are necessarily ‘evil’ but they all agree to ISKCONs deviations from the teachings of Srila Prabhupada. They have all disobeyed Srila Prabhupada in so many ways so although they may be ‘sincere’ in a way they have no potency to inject actual spiritual knowledge into the hearts of their submissive students. So their disciples serve them and give them their money and everything and get nothing back in return at all. It is a great disaster.
But the people who are after the ISKCON gurus are generally the people who want bogus gurus. Most people do not want a guru who will tell them what to do, they don’t want someone who will tell them to change their life and give up the things they are attached to and surrender to Krishna… So most ‘popular’ gurus in ISKCON do not demand much from their disciples. They are happy to have the disciples and get some worship and money from them and they do not want to disturb the disciples by enforcing any strict rules like following the four regulative principles and chanting at lest 16 rounds a day and getting out of bed before 4:30 in the morning and attending Mangal-aroti and going out on the streets daily chanting Hare Krishna and distributing Prabhupada’s books. No. This would be too much to ask of the disciples. Better not bother them and enjoy the worship and money they offer and in return they reassure the disciples that they are great devotees and are on their way back home back to Godhead.
It is called sahajism. A sahaja takes Krishna consciousness very cheaply. He may be externally attached to all things devotional and like kirtans and hanging out with the devotees and so on, but it is a social thing and really the center of his life remains his sense gratification. This is just materialism actually. It is useless. But that is what 99.99% of the people who are looking for gurus want. They are cheaters who do not really want to surrender to Krishna and they want a guru who will play the part without demanding that they surrender to Krishna.
Actually the most violent thing is for someone who is not a pure devotee of Krishna to take the position of a guru and accept disciples who he is unable to guide back home back to Godhead. Because he convinces them to surrender to him and serve him and give him their money but he can not even take himself back to Godhead, what to speak of his hundreds of disciples… So in Sri Isopanisad it is described that the worst hell is awaiting these bogus gurus who take on the guru business for some personal benefit.
Anyhow the bottom line is people who are attracted to these bogus gurus are usually bogus themselves and there is not much you can do about it. You can explain to him the importance of association with a pure devotee of Krishna and explain the glories of Srila Prabhupada and try to convince him to read Srila Prabhupada’s books. Usually these people have no real interest in Srila Prabhupada, because he is a real guru, that is not what they are looking for… But really the only hope is to somehow get him to read Srila Prabhupada’s books. At least something, even a small book like ‘Beyond Birth and Death’ and after he has read it discuss it with him and get him to read another book and in this way gradually he will realize what Krishna consciousness actually is…
Krishna consciousness means giving up our own personal sense gratification and instead working for the pleasure of Krishna… It is a huge jump to go from materialist to devotee… And these bogus gurus who present materialism clocked as devotional service are of course a more attractive proposition than Prabhupada who is presenting pure devotional service for the so-called disciples who really want to be cheated.
Prabhupada so often says that this world is the world of the cheaters and the cheated. So we are seeing in ISKCON the cheating gurus and the cheated disciples, and that is what they want, they want to be cheated. There is not much we can do about it… There is a big market for cheating gurus so ISKCON are supplying plenty of cheating gurus to meet this market…. But everyone is going to hell, that is the great problem.
Krishna consciousness can not be watered down like this. We have to follow it the way Prabhupada teaches it otherwise it is not going to work…
Just because ISKCON gurus have completed big projects does not mean that they are spiritual. Materialists can also complete big projects. The value of the tree is determined by the fruit. Generally these ISKCON gurus who initiate so many disciples and have so many big projects are later exposed as complete karmis and sense gratifers who have absolutely no spiritual realization at all. It is amazing. We had Prabhuvisnu Swami as the GBC in Australia after Bhavananda who was a raging homosexual and pedophile was exposed and the GBC knew he was regularly visiting prostitutes in Thailand and other places for more than ten years and they were able to keep this quiet and kept him as a ‘bona fide ISKCON guru’. When he got caught for the third time and they finally could not cover it up any more he wrote a resignation letter which showed he was completely on the bodily platform, a complete karmi. And he was one of the biggest ‘gurus’ in Russia and the leader of ISKCON in Australia. They are pretenders. They can not have any real spiritual potency because the whole policy of ISKCON is to reject the orders of Srila Prabhupada in so many ways and that means to be an ISKCON guru they also have to reject Srila Prabhupada’s orders…
It sounds crazy but really that is the way it is. You are not going to find a bona fide guru in ISKCON except Srila Prabhupada.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
HARE KRSNA! I’m curious about one thing. All these bogi yogis (gurus) in ISKCON, how do they explain the fact that everybody in ISKCON is reading SRILA PRABHUPADA’S books and people are making spiritual advancement because of SRILA PRABHUPADA’S books, how can they dare to claim that SRILA PRABHUPADA is not with us anymore? And if they’re all pure devotees, which of course they should be since they’re diksa GURUS, why aren’t their disciples studying their books? Such rascals! Good luck at the time of desth! HARIBOL!
please help i live in newark delaware, his grace prabhupada came to see me in a vision above my head 6ft or so maybe less i saw him with my eyes he did not speak but looked at me. i was thinking was this an illusion. so now he’s all I think about , any how he had a marone red deep robe on can you explain this too me. Thank You. ann
prabhuji i want to know how krshna left this world….what was his last message for us
Krishna did not leave the world. He is still with us. He is in everyone’s heart as Supersoul and He in the temple in the form of the Deity. You can talk to Him. He is living in the Bhagavad-gita and in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, you can hear from Him and hear about Him. He is living. He did not leave. He is with us now.
hare krishna prabhuji….thanks for all ur mails it really motivates me to moveahead to spiritual life…but frm few days m not getting ur mails….
Hare Krishna, provuji. I m from bangladesh a 19 year old boy. When i came across with the books of Srila Pravupada I cudnot continue meat eating. I left all those bad 4 deeds out. I started to chant Hare Krishna mahamantra gradually as per the instructions given by Pravupada himself. Though yet I dont have any spiritual master I follow Srila Pravupada. But suddenly I came across with sum indian agnostics via internet. They were debating with sum people of fanatic religion(not hindu, other). I was impressed to see their philosophy. The agnostic claimed that they follow Vedas strictly. They also said that God is formless. I asked them why. They said He is formless as Vedas. Then i asked them about Lord Sri Krishna. They said He is not God. They said,’ Krishna is the greatest warrior, best man, best follower of Vedas on the earth ever but He is not God’. I was thundered at their answer. I asked them about SrimadVagbad Gita. They said that Gita is the most beautiful scripture of Vedas. They added’ we have to interpret Gita according to Vedas’. I was shocked. They also said’ we dont believe in fake stories of Gopis’…… They added,’ if any puran contradicts with Vedas it is to be rejected’………..now provuji tell me what shud i do now? Eagerly waiting for ur response. If u also provide me a vedic interpretation on KRISHNA i wud b grateful to u. Hare KRishna
Hare Krishna Bishwajit
These people are Mayavadis and their philosophy is very attractive to the materialistic people because basically they conclude that there is no God, there is no Krishna, and there is no need to surrender. And they do this by twisting the words of Krishna. They are very dangerous indeed.
Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu warns mayavadi bhasya suni sarva haya nasa, “One who hears the Mayavadi philosophy is doomed…” So do not hear from them. Otherwise your advancement in Krishna consciousness will be doomed…
You should take Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s warning seriously and have nothing whatsoever to do with these Mayavadis…
Rather take shelter of Srila Prabhupada by reading his books and chant:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Hare Krishna Madhudvisa dasa,
I have a question regarding ISKCON gurus. I am reading more and more about ISKCON science and learning from His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. It is amazing, so full of knowledge and wisdom. But at the same time, as His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada said, it is best to have a guru, for he can help the aspiring devotee to go back to Godhead. And so sadly, there is so much information on the web that tells of horrific stories of bogus gurus within ISKCON that misled the devotees at best and abused their trust in so many ways that I dare not discuss here. How is one supposed to find a guru? Who can I trust? If it is not a necessity to have a guru, His Divine Grace insisted nonetheless on the betterment of receiving an initiation. How would that be possible?
I would be ever so grateful if you could please answer my question(s). Thank you very much.
Hare Krishna,
Claire
Hare Krishna Claire
You have to have a bona-fide guru. Not a bogus guru. And a bona-fide guru is very, very rare.
So we are suggesting that you take shelter of Srila Prabhupada. Read all his books. Follow his instructions. Accept him as your guru.
Initiation is not possible without surrender. So first surrender and become qualified for initiation. You have to at least strictly follow the four regulative principles [no illicit sex, no meat eating, no gambling and no intoxication] and chanting at lest 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily. And read Prabhupada’s books and follow the instructions you find in the books. Then you have found a bona fide guru and if you surrender to him and follow his instructions and make that the mission of your life then you will be initiated. That is initiation. Surrender to the orders of the bona fide spiritual master.
However, if you look for some “living guru” and find someone who is not a pure devotee of Krishna he will not be able to help you at all… There are unfortunately so many cheaters and even more unfortunately most people want a cheating guru. That is why Srila Prabhupada says so often that this world is the world of the cheaters and the cheated. Generally speaking the gurus are cheating and they are doing a very good business because the vast majority of the people want to be cheated.
So I am letting you know that Prabhupada is a real bona fide guru and that you can become a pure devotee of Krishna by surrendering to him and serving him… Why is it so hard for people to see this. Prabhupada is with us. He is here, he is living in his books and other recorded vani. We simply have to take advantage of his association…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare krishna Bishwajit,
WHATEVER SRI MADHUSIVA DASA HAS SAID IS ABSOLUTELY RIGHT AND I WANT TO SHARE MY LITTLE BIT OF KNOWLEDGE WHICH I GOT FROM MERCY OF SIRLA PRABHUPADA.
i am sirla prabhupada’s dasa,i folllow his teachings,read his books and accept sirla prabhupada as my guru.i started like you and after some years same questions were their in my mind.as you know this is kali yuga and there is adulteration in pure literature’s of dharma also,in fact pure sanatana dharma can’t be distroyed but in kali yuga real meaning of the purans and vedas and even bhagvat gita are mixed by such word jugglery that we think oh’this religious person is saying whatever is in veda etc.In fact if we read Sirla Prabhupada books carefully and seriously take his arguments which are from different scriptures,we will understand that god cannot be formless,vedas have not described it as formless and no scripture has done this.
As somebody told you that if any puran contradicts with Vedas it is to be rejected. See,this is more than result of poor knowldge because puran is nothing but detailed meaning of Vedas.in all scriptures including srimad bhagvatam which accepted by top gurus who accept god as formless,tell us about veda vyasa who was incarnation of lord Visnu,from which all Vedas came and than lord brahma learned it.
Veda Vaysa as he was god himself is above maya.he made vedaS simple by introducing purans and my other authentic scriptures so that we can understand vedas.so purans and whatever which is written by veda vayasa is same as veda.
After all i want to request you to read sirla prabhupada books mainly si bhagvad gita, bhagvatam,knowldge of the self, conversatins etc.
Then you will understand everything,and will surly think yourself as most fortunate to be able to get this association of pure devotee like Sila prabhupada.Everyting is described please read all you doubts will get vanished .
Sirla Prabhupada had given examles from vedas,purans etc, and established krishna as eternal god with eternal body,who is lives in our hearts.
He has given examples from vedas,purans,and from every scripture that krishna is god and is is not formless.Bhagvad Gita which is told by the supreme god krishna himself, is final juice of all Vedas etc and it is real truth as told by krishna who is above maya.
SO PLEASE READ SILA PRABHUPADA ORIGINAL BOOKS ALSO ONLINE AT http://prabhupadabooks.com/
HARE KRISHNA,
HARI BOL