LESSON 1: THE SPIRITUAL MASTERS Title/Subtitle/Overview • Title: Srila Prabhupada, Our Founder-Acarya • Subtitle: Celebrating Srila Prabhupada’s preeminent position in ISKCON, as well as every follower’s foundational relationship with him. • Overview: Sambandha (Lessons 1-3) Our relationship with Srila Prabhupada; Abhidheya (Lessons 4-7) Acting in Srila Prabhupada’s mission; Prayojana (Lessons 8-10) Loving Srila Prabhupada. Lesson 1: The Spiritual Masters 1. Guru is one, gurus are many, and we offer our respects to all of them as multiple manifestations of Krsna’s mercy. (CC Adi-lila 1.1) “He, [Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Goswami] uses the plural here to indicate the disciplic succession. He offers obeisances not to his spiritual master alone but to the whole paramparä, the chain of disciplic succession beginning with Lord Kåñëa Himself.” (SP’s Intro to CC) 2. What is a guru? • “Standard knowledge is received from the paramparä system, disciplic succession. Therefore it is said, çrotriyam. Çrotriyam means ‘who has heard from the paramparä system.’ Çrotriyam...And the result is brahma-niñöham: ‘He is firmly fixed up in the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.’” (SB lecture 3.25.4, Bombay, 4 Nov 1974) �1 3. Why do we need a guru? • To learn almost anything, we need a teacher (even to tie our shoes!), yet when it comes to studying the highest science, “the spiritual science of the self” (Bg. 10.32), we often naively think we can “do it ourselves.” • “By nature's own way the complete system of material activities is a source of perplexity for everyone. In every step there is perplexity, and therefore it behooves one to approach a bona fide spiritual master who can give one proper guidance for executing the purpose of life.” (Bhagavad-gétä, 2.7 purport) 4. How is the guru one? • “The guru is one because he comes in disciplic succession. What Vyäsadeva and Kåñëa taught five thousand years ago is also being taught now. There is no difference between the two instructions. Although hundreds and thousands of äcäryas have come and gone, the message is one.” (Science of Self-Realization, “Choosing a Spiritual Master”) • As we’ll see in later lessons, SP is inviting everyone to realize God and become a guru in parampara, according to one’s capacity. Here’s a preview: “Because people are in darkness, we require many millions of gurus to enlighten them. Therefore Caitanya Mahäprabhu's mission is, He said, that ‘Every one of you become guru’…[And if you think,] ‘But I have no qualification. How can I become guru?’ There is no need of qualification. ‘Still I can become guru?’ Yes. ‘How?’ Whomever you meet, you simply instruct what Kåñëa has said. That's all. You become guru.” (SB 6.1.21 Lecture, 21 May 1976, Honolulu) �2 5. How is the guru different? • By role: “The initiating and instructing spiritual masters are equal and identical manifestations of Kåñëa, although they have different dealings.”(Çré Caitanya-caritämåta, Ädi-lélä, 1.34 purport) “Just as a faithful son may go out for earning money and subsequently brings to his father the wealth gained, later the son may ask for some allowance from the father and whatever he receives from the father he is entitled to spend of his own enjoyment. Similarly, a disciple may hear some instructions from another advanced Vaisnava but after gaining that good instruction he must bring it and present it to his own spiritual master. After presenting them, he should hear the same teachings gained from his spiritual master with appropriate instructions.” (Sri Krsna Bhajanamrta, verse 48, Srila Narahari Sarkara) Observation: In ISKCON’s global family, initiating gurus are like parents, and instructing gurus are like well-wishing relatives. Their relative prominence in our lives depends on the relationships we develop with them. Sometimes we are closer to our parents and sometimes we are closer to our uncles and aunties. If all are well-wishers, serving cooperatively in our founder-acarya’s mission, harmony prevails. • By qualification: “A person who is liberated acharya and guru cannot commit any mistake, but there are persons who are less qualified or not liberated, but still can act as guru and acharya by strictly following the disciplic succession.” (Letter to Janardana, 26 April 1968) “This Kåñëa consciousness movement directly receives instructions from the Supreme Personality of Godhead via persons who are strictly following His instructions. Although a follower may not be a liberated �3 person, if he follows the supreme, liberated Personality of Godhead, his actions are naturally liberated from the contamination of the material nature. Lord Caitanya therefore says: ‘By My order you may become a spiritual master.’ One can immediately become a spiritual master by having full faith in the transcendental words of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and by following His instructions.” (SB 4.18.5 purport) Observation: Liberated or nonliberated, a guru is genuine if he “strictly follows” the orders of guru and Krsna. In this way, everyone is eligible to become a spiritual master and please SP and SCM. • By commitment: “The spiritual master who first gives information about spiritual life is called the vartma-pradarçaka-guru, the spiritual master who initiates according to the regulations of the çästras is called the dékñä-guru, and the spiritual master who gives instructions for elevation is called the çikñä-guru.” (Çré Caitanya-caritämåta, Madhya-lélä, 8.128 ppt) Observation: Note the progressive commitment from introducing to initiating to instructing. Whoever instructs us the most is naturally more prominent in our lives because, whether introducing, initiating, or instructing, the guru is always teaching, especially by example, the most powerful teacher. “Example is better than precept,” and “Actions speak louder than words.” 6. All genuine gurus are different manifestations of Krsna’s mercy. • “I first offer my respectful obeisances at the lotus feet of my initiating spiritual master and all my instructing spiritual masters.” (CC Adi 1.35) Purport excerpt: “A devotee must have only one initiating spiritual master because in the scriptures acceptance of more than one is always forbidden. There is no limit, however, to the number of instructing spiritual masters one may accept. Generally a spiritual master who constantly instructs a �4 disciple in spiritual science becomes his initiating spiritual master later on.” • In this last sentence SP indicates the natural, normative guru-disciple relationship sustainable over time. Presently in ISKCON a relatively few number of spiritual masters are initiating dozens, hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands of disciples, who often receive more instruction from local senior devotees. To help our guru-disciple culture become more local and sustainable, we need to train and empower “millions of gurus” worldwide to act as local spiritual masters—initiating and instructing--as SP indicated. But, one may ask, isn’t the initiator necessarily more important and qualified than the instructors? • “One should know the instructing spiritual master to be the Personality of Kåñëa. Lord Kåñëa manifests Himself as the Supersoul and as the greatest devotee of the Lord.” (CC Adi-lila 1.47) Purport excerpt: “There is no difference between the shelter-giving Supreme Lord and the initiating and instructing spiritual masters. If one foolishly discriminates between them, he commits an offense in the discharge of devotional service.” • Furthermore, in Gita 4.34 Krsna famously says: “Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized souls can impart knowledge unto you because they have seen the truth.” In the word-for-word translations, SP renders the knowledge-impartment verb, upadeksyanti, as “they will initiate,” whereas in the verse translation SP writes, “the self-realized souls can impart knowledge unto you because they have seen the truth.” In other words, the essence of initiation is the instructions that prepare one to go back home, back to Godhead. • Ultimately, it is Krsna, the original instructor, who delivers us (“I will deliver you from all sinful reactions…” Bg. 18.66) through all his sampradaya representatives. Thus, sampradäya-vihénä ye manträs te �5 niñphalä matäù. “If one is not actually connected with a bona fide disciplic succession, whatever mantras one chants will not bring the desired result.” (Padma Purana) If “it takes a village to raise a child,” it certainly takes a sampradaya of bona fide gurus—different manifestations of Krsna’s mercy--to raise a sadhaka. 7. How did SP introduce the oneness & difference of God & guru in ISKCON? • “On Janmastami Day, 1966, SP announced on the eve of the first initiations: ‘Initiation means that the spiritual master accepts the student and agrees to take charge, and the student accepts the spiritual master and agrees to worship him as God.’ He paused. No one spoke. ‘Any questions?’ And when there were none, he got up and walked out…” ‘Does what you told us this morning,’ Howard asked, ‘mean we are supposed to accept the spiritual master to be God?’ ‘That means he is due the same respect as God, being God's representative,’ Prabhupäda replied, calmly.” ‘Then he is not God?’ ‘No,’ Prabhupäda said, ‘God is God. The spiritual master is His representative. Therefore, he is as good as God because he can deliver God to the sincere disciple. Is that clear?’ It was.” (SPL Vol. 2) • SP introduced the oneness and difference of God and guru as a way to test whether his followers were ready for initiation. As SP writes in his purport to Bg. 4.34, “both blind following and absurd inquiries are condemned.” Howard’s good question enabled SP’s followers to pass the test. �6 Lesson Outcomes: By the end of the lesson Ss will be able to… o Identify different usages of the word guru, from popular to perfect. o Explain why we need a guru. o Explain how all genuine gurus are one, and also how they’re different. o Explain how all genuine gurus are different manifestations of Krsna’s mercy. o Recount how SP introduced the oneness & difference of God & guru. Transition: All Vaisnava guru/disciple relationships thrive under the shelter of the founder-acarya, the foundational spiritual master of a disciplic branch. In the next lesson, we’ll examine the origin, history, and characteristics of the founder-acarya, with a focus on our Gaudiya Vaisnava line. �7 LESSON 2: THE FOUNDER-ACARYA In the first lesson, we looked at the guru principle—what a guru is, why we need a guru, how the guru is one, how gurus are different, and how all gurus are different manifestations of the original spiritual master, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In this lesson we’ll look at the “founder-acarya,” the foundational spiritual master of all gurus and disciples in his line. 1. Our disciplic succession is a siksa-parampara, a line of instruction. • “Disciplic succession means to accept the disciplic conclusion.” (Letter to Dinesh, Tittenhurst, 31 October 1969) • “Disciplic succession does not mean one has to be directly a disciple of a particular person…Arjuna accepted Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and we also accept the same truth under the disciplic succession of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Things equal to the same thing are equal to one another…Another example is that a tree has many branches, and you will find one leaf here and another leaf there. But if you take this leaf and the other leaf and you press them both, you will see that the taste is the same. The taste is the conclusion, and from the taste you can understand that both leaves are from the same tree.” (Letter to Kirtanananda, Los Angeles, 25 Jan 69) 2. Historical seeds of “founder-acarya” in the Gaudiya Vaisnava Sampradaya • Organizational seed: Within a dozen years after the disappearance of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu (SCM) in 1534 C.E., His chief disciples, the Six Goswamis of Vrndavana, founded an organized sanga in His name, “The Visva-Vaisnava-Raja Sabha.” The “Visva-Vaisnava-Raja” is SCM, the “King of the world’s devotees,” and the “Sabha” is the gathering, or assembly, of those who worship Him. �8 • Philosophical seed: In his Bhakti-rasämrta-sindhu, Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé identified the fourth principle of devotional service as sädhu-vartmänu- varttanam, which Çréla Prabhupäda later translated in The Nectar of Devotion as “following in the footsteps of great äcäryas (teachers) under the direction of the spiritual master.” (Bhakti-rasämåta-sindhu, 1.2.100; The Nectar of Devotion, p. 53) As a child may see his parents as everything at first, then matures to see them in perspective, so we may first see our spiritual parents and relatives (siksa/diksa gurus) as everything, then mature to appreciate them in relation to the “great acaryas.” • Cultural seed: In the 17th song of his Prarthana collection (circa 1560), Srila Narottama dasa Thakura distinguished his diksa guru, Lokanath Goswami, from their great rasacarya, Srila Rupa Goswami. Verse 4 reads: prabhu lokanātha kobe saìge loyā jābe
 śrī rūpera pāda-padme more samarpibe “When will my master, Lokanätha Gosvämé, take me with him and place me at the lotus feet of Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé?” “Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé is described as the bhakti-rasäcärya, or one who knows the essence of devotional service. His famous book Bhakti- rasämåta-sindhu is the science of devotional service, and by reading this book one can understand the meaning of devotional service.” (CC Adi 5.203 purport) Note: Since Lokanath Goswami knows it is his duty to enhance his initiated disciple Narottama’s relationship with their “rasacarya,” Srila Rupa Goswami, he is privileged and honored to assist his disciple in his spiritual quest. • Linguistic seeds: More than 300 years after the planting of the aforementioned organizational, philosophical, and cultural seeds of “founder-acarya,” Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura planted the phrase’s �9 linguistic seeds in Bengali in his Harinama-cintamani. In Chapter 6, verses 22-23, we find: sampradäyera ädi-gurura--the original guru of the sampradäya. ädyäcärya yini—one who is the original äcärya of a sampradäya [branch]. guru-çiromaëi—the crest jewel of all the gurus. (Harinäma-cintämaëi, 1900) While planting those seeds, SBT made an implicit connection between the originators of the four Vaisnava sampradayas and the great acaryas empowered to represent them in our Kali-yuga. 3. Advent of “founder-acarya” • “founder Acharyya” first appears in the October 1930 issue of The Harmonist, p. 131: “The Gaudiya Math is also identical with its founder Acharyya. The associates, followers and abode of His Divine Grace are limbs of himself. None of them claim to be anything but a fully subordinate limb of this single individual.” • “Founder-Acharya” next appears in 1933, in Sree Krishna Chaitanya, the scholarly book by Prof. Nishikant Sanyal, edited by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura (SBST). In this work SBST and Sanyal make explicit Harinama-cintamani’s implicit connection between the originators of the four Vaisnava sampradayas and their powerful representatives, the founder-acaryas of our Kali-yuga: “The systems of Sree Vishnuswami, Sree [Nimbarka], Sree Ramanuja and Sree Madhva …are connected with the ancient times by their recognition of the [remote] authority of the eternal ancient teachers, [namely] Lakshmi, Brahma, Rudra and the four [Kumaras], respectively… “The four Founder-Acharyas of the Iron Age professed to preach the views of those original teachers of the religion.” (Sree Krishna Caitanya, �10