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HH Danavir
Goswami
Sannyasi:
“I am not different from Srila Swami Maharaja
in any way. In the beginning he told you, A, B, C, D.
A, apple; B, ball; C, cat; and D, dog. I am telling
something more, by his desire. We should not remain
in first grade for all time. If we are not gradually
developing our study, then we are like foolish persons.
We cannot remain in the same position, in the same stage,
always. If Srila Swami Maharaja were here now, he would
tell you all the same things that I am telling. Surely
he would.”
Response:
The sannyasi uses the term “Srila Swami Maharaja”
to indicate His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada. Several assertions are made above which
we shall address.
Assertion #1: Srila
Prabhupada provided no more than beginning spiritual
education for his students.
This statement is
totally incorrect. Srila Prabhupada not only gave the
A,B,C,D’s of spiritual instruction through Bhagavad-gita—but
he also provided graduate and post graduate level education
through Srimad Bhagavatam and Sri Caitanya Caritamrta.
Bhagavatam begins where the Gita leaves off at the lotus
feet of Sri Krishna and proceeds systematically upward
to the Lord’s calves, knees, thighs, chest and
finally arrives at the His smiling lotus face (the Tenth
Canto). The Tenth Canto elaborately describes Krishna’s
pastimes in Vraja dhama culminating in the rasa dance
with His beloved gopis.
Sri Caitanya Caritamrta
further elucidates the glories of the Lord’s intimate
lilas of sakhya, vatsalya, and madhurya rasas found
in Goloka-Gokula dhamas. The scripture further reveals
the mystery of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s identity
as Lord Krishna in the mood and complexion of Srimate
Radharani. There seems to be no dearth of higher principles
in the teachings of Srila Prabhupada. Aside from his
classes and writings, His Divine Grace graphically taught
by his own example how an uttama adhikari on the highest
level of Krishna prema conducts himself and spreads
the sankirtana movement.
Assertion #2: Those
who do not follow the advice of the sannyasi are not
developing spiritually and thus are like foolish persons.
We, members of ISKCON
may well be foolish, but we are not in bad company.
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, demonstrating the role of an
ideal disciple, accepted himself as a fool (murkha)
by unquestionably accepting the orders of his gurudeva.
Sri Isvara Puri is said to have told Sri Caitanya that
He was unfit for studying Vedanta and should simply
chant the holy names of Hari instead.
Srila Prabhupada
cautioned his followers against seeking divergent instruction.
Unfortunately, some devotees did not follow that important
instruction and instead became confused and left their
spiritual master’s society as dissidents. If ISKCON
members adhere to the explicit instructions given by
the founder-acarya, true gaudiya Vaisnavas will be satisfied.
Assertion #3: The
sannyasi and Srila Prabhupada are non-different and
if Srila Prabhupada were here now, he would tell the
same things that the sannyasi is telling.
First the sannyasi
said that he was telling something more [different]
than what Srila Prabhupada told. Now in contradiction
he says that he is non-different from Srila Prabhupada.
To resolve the two seemingly opposite statements the
sannyasi proposes that if Srila Prabhupada were present
now he would say the same things that the sannyasi is
saying.
The problem here
is that the sannyasi says things which are quite different
than what Srila Prabhupada actually said, wrote and
did. This leaves us with the choice of putting our trust
in a notion of what Srila Prabhupada might have said
if he “were here now” or trusting in what
Srila Prabhupada actually did instruct. This will become
clearer below.
Sannyasi: “I
want to clarify this for you. If you are doing arati
of Krsna and Radha, what is the use of singing to Nrsmhadeva?
You should chant the kirtana by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura,
by Dina Krsnadasa, and others. Srila Narottama has written,
Jaya jaya radha-krsna jugala-milana, and we should chant
that. Suppose your gurudeva wants you to give him some
mahaprasadam preparation, and instead you pour cold
water on his hand. What is this? It is nonsense.
Prabhupada gave some concession
for the beginners. Now, if you are performing arcana
and arati of Radha and Krsna, then you should sing the
song of that very Radha-Krsna arati. If you are performing
the arati of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Jaya jaya gauracandra,
at that time why should you chant to Nrsmhadeva?
… We give so much honor to Nrsimhadeva, but in
the appropriate time and in accordance with His mood.
If we are remembering Nrsimhadeva when we are doing
arcana of Radha-Krsna, then Radha and Krsna will go
away.”
Response:
In all the ISKCON temples I have visited, prayers to
Nrsimhadeva are sung after the arati to the main deities
(Gaura Nitai or Radha Krishna) is completed. So there
does not seem to be a difference of practice on this
issue. The sannyasi is saying not to sing the Nrsimha
prayers during the arati ceremony and devotees of ISKCON
do not.
It seems the sannyasi
does not approve of having a picture of Lord Nrsimhadeva
on the altar. On this point we must defer to Srila Prabhupada’s
superior judgement who wisely invoked the protection
of the sankirtana movement by the presence of the half-man
half-lion incarnation.
Sannyasi: “Even
if you are chanting kirtana and performing arcana to
Radha-Krsna, if you are keeping Nityananda Prabhu there,
then, according to our Vedic culture, Radha-Krsna will
not be there. They will run away from there.
“… Therefore, don't
keep Radha-Krsna and Gaurcandra-Nityananda Prabhu in
the same section of the altar. You can keep only Radha-Krsna
and Mahaprabhu on one altar. Because Mahaprabhu is Radha-Krsna
Himself, there is no harm in that. There is no rasabhasa.
However, if you are keeping Radha-Krsna, Gaur-Nityananda,
Nrsimha, Hanuman, Rama, Dvarakadhisa-Satyabhama, Lord
Jagannatha-Baladeva-Subhadra, and the gopis on the same
altar -- if you are making a mixture of them all --
then Radha and Krsna are really not there. They can
never be there. You should realize this.
“In Indian culture, if the
elder brother is present, the younger brother and his
wife cannot play together. Never, never, and never.
Baladeva Prabhu is like a father to Radhika. If He is
present, Radha and Krsna will not meet. They will quickly
run away. Radhika offers pranama to Baladeva Prabhu
as a father. Nowadays, in Western civilization, even
a woman can go naked even before the eyes of the elder
brother of her husband. She can also play with him.
In Rasa-sastra, however, if you want to love Krsna and
Radhika, you will have to do everything properly. Your
Prabhupada could not teach all these things to his unqualified
disciples, and therefore he told me to teach them something
so that gradually they would learn. If he had told them
at that time, they could not have understood. You should
try to know all these truths. I am not telling anything
other than what Srila Swami Maharaja wanted.”
Response:
Srila Prabhupada was well aware of the transcendental
etiquette of not placing deities of Balarama or Nityananda
on the same altar as Radha Krishna deities and he did
instruct it to his disciples. Therefore it is most incorrect
to say that Srila Prabhupada “could not teach
all these things to his unqualified disciples.”
It was Srila Prabhupada, in fact, who donated the single
deity of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu to be placed on a
Radha Krishna altar in a Mathura Gaudiya temple.
Everyone knows that the standard in all ISKCON’s
major temples is separate altars for Radha Krishna,
Guru Gauranga, Jagannatha, Subhadra and Baladeva, Nrsimhadeva
and Sita-Rama deities.
“Just
like in our Vrindaban temple, you can have 3 Deity
compartments. Facing the altar, Nrsimhadeva can be
on the left, Guru-Gauranga in the center, and Jagannatha-Subhadra-Balarama
on the right so that you can organize Rathayatra.”
(Letter from Srila Prabhupada; June 18, 1976)
Sannyasi: “When performing arati
of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, do not sing samsara davanala
lidha loka to gurudeva. You should chant that before
arati, and while arati is being performed, you should
chant, Jaya jaya gauracandra or Jaya jaya Radha-Krsna
jugala-milana. This arati should be sung.”
Response:
Here the sannyasi gives two directives—the first
concerning what song should not be sung during mangala
arati and the second about which songs should be sung
during aratis.
Directive #1: The sannyasi strongly
objects to the fact that Srila Prabhupada taught his
followers to chant the guruvastakam prayers each morning
during mangala arati kirtana. Yet it behooves the sannyasi
to comprehend that the selection was not an oversight
by His Divine Grace, nor was it meant to be but a beginners’
exercise meant to be later replaced by some other song.
His Divine Grace personally chanted the song when he
led mangala arati and he emphasized the importance of
singing these prayers daily in his classes:
Therefore
we sing daily, yasya prasädäd bhagavat-prasädaù.
By the mercy of guru, immediately we become, get the
mercy of God. Yasya prasädäd bhagavat-prasädo
yasyäprasädän na gatiù kuto
'pi. Yasyäprasädät. By... If guru is
not satisfied, then na gatiù kuto 'pi. He has
no gati. Gati means advancement. He has no advancement.
Dhyäyaà stuvaàs tasya yaças
tri-sandhyam. Therefore this Gurvañöaka,
saàsära-dävänala, we have to
sing. (Lecture by Srila Prabhupada; October 1,
1972)
So the
saàsära dävänala-léòha-loka,
these eight stanzas of Viçvanätha Cakravarté
Öhäkura is very important. We sing daily.
That's very good. (Lecture by Srila Prabhupada;
November, 30, 1976)
The guruvastaka stanzas signify
more than simply a song to be sung during arati—they
express the priceless formula Srila Prabhupada used
for spreading Krishna consciousness throughout the world.
He wished that his own disciples and future generations
of devotees should inherit this unique gift. When an
empowered acarya has established a successful practice,
why should it be carelessly abandoned?
Directive #2: The sannyasi advocates
singing the gaura-arati song during sundara arati when
the presiding deities in a temple are Lord Caitanya
and Nityananda. When the presiding deities within a
temple are Radha-Krishna, the sannyasi advocates singing
a different song glorifying the pastimes of Radha and
Krishna such as Jaya jaya Radha-Krsna jugala-milana.
ISKCON temples sing the guruvastaka
prayers and the Hare Krishna mantra during mangala arati
and they worship Lord Caitanya and Nityananda by singing
the gaura arati song (jaya jaya gauracander…)
and the maha mantra during sundara arati. Even if the
presiding deities are Radha-Krishna, there is no rasa
bhasa in singing the gaura arati song during sundara
arati because Lord Caitanya is Himself the combined
form of Radha and Krishna.
(kiba) jaya
jaya goräcänder äratiko çobhä
jähnavé-taöa-vane jaga-mana-lobhä
jaga-jana-mana-lobhä
All glories, all glories
to the beautiful ärati ceremony of Lord Caitanya.
This Gaura-ärati is taking place in a grove on
the banks of the Jähnavé [Ganges] and is
attracting the minds of all living entities in the universe.
Rather than trying to replace
Srila Prabhupada’s divine arrangements, it would
be far more beneficial for the sannyasi to adopt them
himself.
Sannyasi: “We should try to
know Srila Swami Maharaja's real mood. In the morning,
at the time of mangala-arati, we sing the kirtanas written
by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Dina Krsna dasa and other
acaryas. My Guru Maharaja has written a very good mangala-arati
song. Why should we not sing that?”
Response: Understandably
the sannyasi carries particular preferences for how
to worship Krishna, suggesting that the song written
by his Guru Maharaja should be sung during mangala arati.
However, Srila Prabhupada’s real mood has already
been revealed in the guruvastaka song of Srila Visvanatha
Cakravarty Thakura which he found most pleasing. These
eight stanzas establish imperative principles of Vaisnavism
regarding the spiritual master, Lord Gauranga’s
sankirtana movement, elevated deity worship, bhagavata
prasädam and the conjugal rasa between Radha and
Krsna. I find it, therefore, unreasonable to assume
that Srila Prabhupada would wish his disciples to change
the standards which he personally inaugurated and bequeathed
to ISKCON.
Sannyasi: “Your Prabhupada was
so kind, and therefore he made some concessions. He
did not want to disturb anyone. He considered, "Somehow
they should chant, Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna." After
that, however, he said, "You should not commit
any offense while chanting." After that he told
them, "You should chant with a sense of relationship
with Krsna." After that there were so many other
things he wanted to tell you. He has written it all
in his books, but so many were not intelligent to accept
all his teachings. They neglected his words. They never
honored the mood of their gurudeva, and thus they very
quickly fell down. If those who appear to be in good
standing are committing offenses, it is understood that
they are also falling. They must be fallen. Those who
are sincere grhastha-bhaktas or renunciates will be
okay. We should therefore try to know the real deep
meaning of what Srila Swami Maharaja has written. If
they had followed his orders, I think they would never
have fallen down. We must go deeply into his teachings.”
Response:
Correcting his former statement to the contrary, now
the sannyasi admits that Srila Prabhupada “has
written it all in his books.” The sannyasi also
accurately notes that those disciples who fail to accept
those teachings fall down. Nevertheless, going “deeply”
into Srila Prabhupada’s teachings does not authorize
a disciple to discard certain practices of his choosing
and to replace them according to one’s own preferences.
Sannyasi: “For a beginner, the
second class is too high. But, like a plantworm, he
first puts forward one foot on the next leaf or twig,
and when he is confident that his foot is situated on
sound ground, he lifts the other foot. This is also
the process of ascending to the roof. If you are not
following, you will think, "I like to remain on
the first step, because my gurudeva has told to be here.
He has never told me to place my feet on the next step.
How I can take my feet from here?"
There was a well made by any father -- for drinking
water. His son was thinking, "My father has made
a well." After some time the water in the well
became contaminated, and there were so many worms there.
Ganges was very near, and many good advisors, the son's
older and wiser relatives, told him, "Don't take
water from this well; otherwise you will fall sick.
So many rogas, diseases, will come." The boy replied,
"I cannot obey you. My father has made this well.
Whether I live or die, I must take water from this well.
I don't know Ganges. I will not go to Ganges. I will
take this well water." What is this? It is nonsense.
You should try to understand what your father did. He
wanted to give pure water. If your water is not pure,
you should try to make it pure and then drink it. Still
better, you should go to Ganges.”
Response: The
analogy above places Srila Prabhupada as the father,
ISKCON devotees as the son, the sannyasi and his followers
as the pure Ganges water, and the ISKCON organization
as the contaminated well water. Designed to weaken faith
in ISKCON, this derogatory and repugnant preaching mechanism
illustrates precisely why His Divine Grace warned against
peripheral involvement for his students.
Sannyasi: “If you are offering
bhoga, then why chant namo maha-vadanyaya or namo brahmanya
devaya? What is the need of those slokas? You should
simply pray, "I am offering this bhoga to You.
Please accept it. There are so many mantras and so many
procedures. At first, for beginners, and for those who
had not received second initiation, he said, "Oh,
chant namo maha-vadanyaya, and He will accept your offering.”
But now, in developing further, you must utter the proper
mantras and slokas.
When you are making a bhoga offering, then you should
pray srim klim radha- krsnabhyam or etat nivedyam klim
gauraya svaha. This is the method adopted by Caitanya
Mahaprabhu, and before that, by Narada, Vyasa, Sukadeva
Gosvami, Isvara Puri, and Madhavendra Puri. This was
also accepted by Svarupa Damodara, Raya Ramananda, Rupa
Gosvami, and especially by Sanatana Gosvami in Hari
Bhakti Vilas. He has given all these rules and regulations.”
Response:
The sannyasi favors using standard mula mantras such
as çréà kléà rädhä-kåñëäbhyäm
namaù or klim gauraya svaha. Perhaps the sannyasi
or those from whom he was misinformed of ISKCON’s
bhoga offering procedures are unaware that ISKCON has
for many years been using those mantras along with the
bhoga-arpana mantra idaà naivedyam [Note: the
word “idaà” and “etat”
both mean “this”]. Long ago ISKCON’s
GBC Deity Worship Research Group compiled the two volume
book called Païcarätra-Pradépa taken
from Srila Sanatana Goswami’s Hari-bhakti-viläsa.
This book includes arcanä-paddhati (standard procedures
for deity worship) and provides instructions for offering
foodstuffs to the deities as follows:
Chant idaà naivedyam
and the Deity müla-mantra, and offer bhoga to the
Lord. [Note: the word “idaà” and
“etat” both mean “this”]
The müla-mantra for Radha-Krsna
worship are given as well: çréà
kléà rädhä-kåñëäbhyäm
namaù. The müla-mantra for Lord Caitanya
worship is: kléà gauräya namaù.
The sannyasi objects to devotees
offering bhoga to the deities chanting the prayers to
Lord Caitanya and Lord Krsna beginning with the words;
namo maha-vadanyaya or namo brahmanya devaya but Srila
Prabhupada established a procedure for offering foodstuffs
early on in the development of his movement:
Yes,
you may say the prayer to the Spiritual Master 3 times,
and also the Namo Brahmanya . . . prayer 3 times,
when offering Prasadam. That is very nice to say the
mantra 3 times. Also, you may, after offering to the
Spiritual Master, offer to Lord Caitanya by saying
the prayer, Namo Maha Badanyaya . . . 3 times, and
then offer to Krishna thrice.” (Letter
Mar. 22, 1968)
Since this procedure was used
universally within ISKCON under Srila Prabhupada’s
direction and was never rescinded, the Païcarätra-Pradépa
also employs these mantras as part of bhoga offerings.
The sannyasi asks, “What is the need of those
slokas?” Technically the words idaà naivedyam
do indicate the meal which is to be honored by Their
Lordships yet Srila Prabhupada preferred to include
three other prayers as well.
nama
oà viñëu-pädäya kåñëa-preñöhäya
bhütale
çrémate bhaktivedänta svämin
iti nämine
namo
mahä-vadänyäya
kåñëa-prema-pradäya te
kåñëäya kåñëa-caitanya-
nämne gaura-tviñe namaù
namo
brahmaëya-deväya
go-brähmaëa-hitäya ca
jagad-dhitäya kåñëäya
govindäya namo namaù
Thus His Divine Grace gave these
three mantras to be chanted along with idaà naivedyam
and the mula mantras to teach absolute faith in the
spiritual master, Lord Caitanya and Lord Krsna as essential
requirements in spiritual life.
“The
details of the main principles may sometime differ
as set by different Acharyas (authorities) but the
main principles as they are do not differ. In the
details of such activities, there may appear some
different formularies or formalities, but the main
principles of devotional worship called by the name
Archan are all the same everywhere.” (June
29, 1956 edition of Back to Godhead magazine)
In
conclusion we can understand that it is the duty of
an acarya to select the particular details of worship
for his disciples to follow in deity worship abiding
by the principles delineated in Çré Sanätana
Gosvämé Hari-bhakti-viläsa. Srila Prabhupada
perfectly accomplished this task leaving no necessity
for unsatisfactory alterations.
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