Questions and Answers

Questions and Answers
with Srila Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja

Sri Guru-vandana / Vyasa-puja
The Worship of Sri Guru
by Srila Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja
Chapter Three: The Meaning of Vyasa-Puja
Caitanya-Caritamarta Adi 17.16
tabe nityananda-gosanira vyasa-pujan
nityanandavese kaila musala dharana
Nityananda Prabhu then arranged to offer Vyasa-puja, or worship of the spiritual master,
to Lord Sri Gaurasundara. But Lord Caitanya carried the plow like weapon called musala in
the ecstasy of being Nityananda Prabhu.
PURPORT
By the order of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Nityananda Prabhu arranged for Vyasa-puja of
the Lord on the night of the full moon. He arranged for the Vyasa-puja, or guru-puja,
through the agency of Vyasadeva. Since Vyasadeva is the original guru (spiritual master) of
all who follow the Vedic principles, worship of the spiritual master is called Vyasa-puja.
Nityananda Prabhu arranged for the Vyasa-puja, and sankirtana was going on, but when He
tried to put a garland on the shoulder of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, He saw Himself in Lord
Caitanya. there is no difference between the spiritual positions of Lord Caitanya
Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu, or Krsna and Balarama. All of Them are but different
manifestations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. During this special ceremony, all the
devotees of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu could understand that there is no difference
between Lord Caitanya and Nityananda Prabhu.
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is svayam-bhagavan, the Original Personality of Godhead.
vrajendra-nandana yei, saci-suta haila sei,

balarama ha-ila nitai
Srila Narottam Das Thakur, Ista-deva Vijnapti(from Prarthana)
The son of Maharaj Nanda, Krsna, is Caitanya; and Nitai is Balarama. Krsna is avatari, the
source of all avataras. Balarama is avatara, an incarnation. Brahma-samhita gives the
example of the lamp. From one original lamp many lamps can be lit and all the lamps have
the same potency of living light. Mahaprabhu showed that there is no difference between
avatara and avatari. Nityanandavese kaila musala dharana --- in the ecstasy of being
Nityananda Prabhu, Lord Caitanya showed the form of Nityananda, carrying the plow-like
weapon called musala."… when [Nityananda Prabhu] tried to put a garland on the shoulder
of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, He saw Himself in Lord Caitanya." Thus there is no difference
between avatara and avatari, no difference between Caitanya and Nityananada, no
difference between Krsna and Balarama. This is siddanta. The gaura-avatara is a purna-
avatara, complete incarnation, not an amsa-avatara, partial incarnation. Prabhodanada
Saraswatipad has described this in Caitanya-candramrta:141
yadi nigadita-minady-amsavad gauracandro

na tad api sa hi kascic chakti-lila-vikasah
atula-sakala-sakty-ascarya-lila-prakasair
anadhigata-mahattvah purna evavatirnah
If someone says that Lord Caitanya is an amsa-avatara like Lord Matsya, or if not that then
a lila-avatara or a saktyavesa-avatara, then he does not understand the actual glory of Lord
Caitanya, the Original Personality of Godhead who is full of allperfect and incomparable
potencies and wonderful pastimes.
(Sri Caitanya-candramrta 141)
It is not an easy thing to understand Gauranga Mahaprabhu. He is a purna-avatara, not an

amsa-avatara. He is saktiman, the energetic, and atula-sakti, having incomparible
potencies. Through his potencies He has manifestad a wonderful lila. One cannot
understand this lila-tattva through material knowledge or scholarship.
Mercy of Mahaprabhu
na yogo dhyanam na ca japa-tapas-tyaga-niyama
na veda nacara kva un bata nisiddhady-uparatih
akasmac caitanye vatarati daya-sara-hrdaye
pumarthanam maulim param iha muda lunthati Jana
Now that Lord Caitanya, His Heart filled with the ocean of mercy, has descended to this
world, those living entities who had formerly never practiced yoga, meditated, chanted
mantras, performed austerities, followed various Vedic restrictions, studied the Vedas,
performed spiritual activities, or refrained from sins, have become able to easily plunder the
crest jewel of all goals of life, which is prema-dhana.
There are those who are very, very sinful persons; those who have not practiced yoga,
meditation or austerity; those who have not studied the Vedas and are bereft of Vedic
knowledge; those who have performed no vows and have no good behavior. They have
only asadacara, bad behavior. Still, Mahaprabhu is so wonderfully merciful. He is an ocean
of unlimited mercy, daya-sagara. He does not consider their lack of qualification.
Mahaprabhu offers this prema to them all indiscriminately. When Mahaprabhu appeared,
everyone drowned in this ocean of prema.
patrapatra-vicaranam na kurute na svam param viksyate

deyadeya-vimarsakah na hi na va kala-pratiksah Prabhu
sadyo yah sravaneksana-pranamana-dhyanadina durlabham
dhatte bhakti-rasam sa eva vagaban gaurah param me gatih
He does not consider whether a person is qualified or not. He does not see who is His own
and who is an outsider. He does not consider who should receive and who should not. He
does not consider whether it is the proper time. The Lord at once give that nectar of pure
devotional service that is difficult to obtain even by hearing the messages of the Lord,
seeing the deity, offering obeisances, meditation, or following a host of spiritual practices.
That Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Gaura Hari is my only shelter.
Confidential
Gauranga Mahaprabhu is my only shelter. Without the mercy of Gauranga Mahaprabhu no
one can understand bhagavata-tattva.
srimad-bhagavatasya yatra paramam tatparyam utenkitam
sri-vaiyasakina duranvayantaya rasa-prasange pi yat
yad radha-rati-keli-nagara-rasasvadaika-sadbhajanam
tad vastu prathanaya gaura-vapusa lokevatirno harih
Because they are very difficult to understand, Sukadeva Goswami had only briefly hinted at
the sweet amorous lastimes of Sri Sri Radha and Krsna in his description of the rasa dance
in Srimad Bhagavatam. Now Lord Hari has descended to this world in a golden form to
reveal the truth of these pastimes.
Gaura Hari descended to reveal the truth about Lord Krsna's dancing with the gopis, rasa-
lila prasanga. The Bhagavata is the sweetest, most ripened, nectarean juicy fruit of the
Vedic tree --- nigama-kalpa-taror galitam phalam (SB.1.1.3)
Its essence is rasa-lila. But the speaker of that Bhagavata, Sukadeva Goswami, very
purposefully described that rasa-lila indirectly. Why? Because such bhaktas who can
understand, who can relish its mellow, are very, very rare. In order to elaborately reveal this
radha-krsna-gudha-rasa-prema-lila, the conjugal living affaire between Radha and Krsna
which are very, very confidential -- and to preach it in this world, Mahaprabhu appeared.
Without the mercy of Mahaprabhu no one can understand Srimad Bhagavatam, bhagavata-
tattva.
Storehouse of Prema
Yaha, bhagavata pada vaisnavera sthane
Ekanta asarya kara caitanya-carane
Go and approach a vaisnava-gaura-priya, a dear devotee of Gauranga Mahaprabhu. Study

and hear Bhagavata from him and completly take shelter at the lotus feet of Caitanya
Mahaprabhu --- ekanta asaría kara caitanya-carane.(Cc Antya 5.131)
Mahaprabhu is prema-purusottama, he gives Krsna-prema. That prema is like an

unlimited ocean. Whoever is the custodian of that storehouse of prema and whoever is the
doorkeeper of that storehouse, by their mercy you can get it. Nityananda Prabhu is the
custodian and Sanatana Goswami is the doorkeeper. Therefore, here you see Mahaprabhu
manifested Himself in the form of Nityananda Prabhu. Nityananda Prabhu is more merciful,
more munificent more magnanimous than Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Nityananda Prabhu
distributes prema with two hands, not with one hand. He is always intoxicated with that
prema-madira, intoxicating prema. He is avadhuta-dharana, one who has the nature of a
madman. He is more indiscriminate than Gaurasundar. Previously there were very strong
doors and bolts on that storehouse, but when Mahaprabhu appeared and gave the
custodianship to Nityananda Prabhu and engaged Sanatan Goswami as the doorkeeper,
they broke open the doors. Sanatan Goswami wrote a commentary on the tenth canto of
Srimad Bhagavatam called Brhad-vaisnava-tosani, and thus he opened the door, unbolted it,
and called everyone, "O my brothers, please come! Now the door is open. It is unbolted.
Come and take this mellow Drown yourself in this unlimited ocean of prema. If you take
this prema then you will consider the position of Lord Brahma to be very, very insignificant."
Mahaprabhu knows the nature of these two personalities, therefore He appointed them in
these positions. Without the mercy of such vaisnavas no one can understand bhagavata-
dharma-tattva. Nirmatsaranam satam vedyam - only the vaisnavas who are nirmatsara,
non-envious, can understand bhagavat-dharma-tattva.(S.B.1.1.2) Otherwise no one can
understand the Bhagavata. The Bhagavata will never reveal Himself before them. Only
those who are nirmatsara, and free from crookedness, kapatya, can understand bhagavat-
dharma.
Three Crooked Persons

There are three types of crooked persons, dhana-kapati, bala-kapati, and prema-kapati.
Dhana-kapatis are those persons who have much wealth, but they never spend it for the
propagation of bhagavata-dharma. They never give donations to bhakta-bhagavata, the
vaisnavas who are propagating bhagavat-dharma. They are the number one type of kapati,
crooked person. They never spend there wealth for the service of Sri Guru, Krsna, or the
vaisnavas, but instead they spend so much money in other ways. They are krpana, misers.
They cannot understand bhagavata-dharma. They cannot get the mercy of Mahaprabhu.
They cannot get prema, even though Mahaprabhu is offering it.
The second type of kapati, crooked , duplicitous person, is the bala-kapati. He has strength,
but even though Mahaprabhu's tumultuous kirtana is going on, he is not dancing in that
kirtana. He has strength, but he doesn't dance, tandava-nrtya, in gaura-kirtana.
The third type of kapati is the prema-kapati. He has not gotten prema, but he develops the
abhimana, "Oh, I am a vaisnava. I am a great devotee." These three types of kapatis
cannot get Mahaprabhu's mercy.They cannot understand bhagavata-dharma-tattva. They
cannot get prema unless they give up their kapatya and enviousness and serve sadhu, guru
and vaisnava --- niskapata-seva. They should render service without duplicity and get the
mercy of Mahaprabhu. Even though Mahaprabhu is living prema indiscriminetly, they cannot
get it.
Real Vyasa-puja
In his purport Srila Prabhupada writes, "Nityananda Prabhu arranged for the vyasa-puja of
the Lord… Since Vyasadev is the original guru (spiritual master) of all who follow the Vedic
principles, worship of the spiritual master through the agency of Vyasadev is called vyasa-
puja."
Sri Bhaktisiddanta Saraswati Goswami Prabhupada Maharaja introduced the ceremony of

vyasa-puja in our line on his 50th birthday. From that day, every year it has been going on.
On his 52nd birth anniversary, Srila Bhaktisiddanta Saraswati Goswami Prabhupada
Maharaja gave a lecture on Srimad Bhagavatam describing the meaning of vyasa-puja. He
said, "vyasa-puja jeans the puja of all gaudiya-vaisnava-acaryas." From this statement we
can understand the purport of vyasa-puja. It is not only the puja of Vyasadev, or of Krsna,
or of Gaurasundar, or of guru. That is not real vyasa-puja. Vyasa-puja means the puja of all
pure gaudiya-vaisnava-acaryas. That is real vyasa-puja.
In this bhaktivinode-dhara we find a mantra for vyasa-puja:
sri damodara svarupa,sri rupa, sri sanatana,sri ragunatha,sri jiva,bhatta yuga,sri krsnadasa
kavirajadi, srimad bhaktivinoda,srimad gaurakisora dasa, srimad bhaktisiddanta sarasvati,
srimad bhaktivedanta svami padanka sarvebhyo gurave namah
I offer my obeisances to the footprints of all the gurus, Srila Svarup Damodara Goswami,
Srila Rupa Goswami, Srila Sanatana Goswami, Srila Ragunatha Das Goswami, Srila Jiva
Goswami, Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami, Srila Ragunatha Bhatta Goswami, the devotees
beginning with Srila Krsna das Kaviraja, Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur, Srila Gaurakisora Das
Babaji, Srila Bhaktisiddanta Sarasvati and Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
Vyasa-puja means the worship of all of these gaudiya-vaisnava-acaryas.
Merciful Gift
Bhaktivinode Thakúra has said, "Gaudiya-vaisnava-siddhanta is the opinion of all gaudiya-
vaisnava-acarya-mahajanas. Whatever gaudiya-vaisnava-siddhanta we have received, that
is guru-varga-dhana --- the merciful gift of all the gaudiya-vaisnava-acaryas. That is their
lila-vaisistya, the wonderful characteristics of the lila of that guru-vaisnava-acarya.
"Gaudiya-vaisnava-siddhanta is the krpa-vaisistya, the special characteristics of their
merciful lila. If we do not observe this festival, if we do not remember and glorify the
gaudiya-vaisnava-acrayas, it Hill be a great disservice towards them. If we do not discuss
their vaisistya, their wonderful characteristics, if we remain inactive, not observing the
appearance day and disappearance day of such acaryas, mahajanas, then it will be an
anyaya, a great injustice. Without their mercy we cannot understand this gaudiya-vaisnava-
siddhanta. Through Sriman Mahaprabhu is wonderfully merciful, indiscriminately living
Krsna-prema, still, we cannot have it without their mercy.
No Compromise
Bhaktivinode Thakur, a great acarya in our line, has said that if you want to develop pure
bhakti then you should not even slightly compromise with abhakti, non-devotion. Our
revered spiritual master Srila Prabhupada also said there should be no compromise. Where
is the question of compromise? Bhaktivinode Thakur emphatically said, "It is better to have
an empty cowshed than to have a dusta-goru, a wicked cow." That means that in this
bhaktivinoda-dhara, in this flow coming from Bhaktivinode Thakúr, there is no question of
impurity, no question of checking the flow. Crookedness and enviousness are not allowed.
Best Type of Worship

In the Eleventh Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, Krishna said to Uddhava:
Mad-bhakta-pujabhyadhika
Sarva-bhutestu man-matih
The worship offered to My bhakta, My dear devotee, is better than worship offered directly
to Me.
(Bhag. 11.19.21)
Also, in Caitanya-bhagavata, Mahaprabhu said,
Amara bhaktera puja-ama haite bada

Sei prabhu veda-bhagavate kaila dadha
In the Vedas and Puranas the Lord has firmly declared, "Worship of My devotees is better
than worship of Me.
(Cb. adi1.8)
Therefore, in this vyasa-puja Nityananda Prhabhu was offering worship and Mahaprabhu
appeared in the form of Nityananda Prabhu, because Nityananda Prabhu is a bhakta. He is
Balaram.
Anera ki katha, baladeva Masaya

Yanra bhava-suddha-sakhya-vatsalyadi-maya
Tenho-apanake karena dasa-bhavana
Krsna-dasa-bhavavinu ache kona jana
(Cc.adi 6.76-77)
Because He is Krishna's elder brother, Balaram's mood is suddha-sakya-vatsalya --- a

mixture of pure sakhya, brotherhood, and vatsalya, parental love. What to speak of others,
even He says, "I am Krsna-dasa." Krsna-dasa-bhava vinu ache kona jana --- Are any who
are not Krsna-dasa?
Nitai is Guru
That same Balaram is Nitai. Guru Krsna-rupa hana sastrera pramane-sarstra-pramana
describes that Krishna appears as guru.(Cc.adi1.45) Nityananda offered vyasa-puja to Gaura
because Gaura is svayam-bhagavan, the Original Personality of Godhead. But when Nitai
was going to put the garland on Gauranga Mahaprabhu, He saw himself there. That means
that vyasa-puja is his puja, Nityananda's puja, because Nityananda is guru. He is bhakta,
bhakta-rupa, bhaktavatara.
Panca-tattvatmakam krsnam
Bhakta-rupa-svarupakam
Bhaktavataram bhaktakhyam
Namami bhakta-saktikam
I offer my obeisances unto the supreme Lord, Krishna, who is nondifferent from His
features as a devotee, devotional incarnation, devotional manifestation, pure devotee, and
devotional energy.
(Cc.adi 1.14)
Bhakta-rupa is Chaitanya, and bhakta-svarupa is Nityananda. Mahaprabhu manifestad the

form of Nityananda, because guru is the manifestation of Nityananda. These evidences are
found in the Vedas and in the Bhagavata. If you want to get prema-bhakti, the only means
is that you should offer worship without duplicity. Serve pure vaisnavas without duplicity
and get their mercy. Then you will get the mercy of Mahaprabhu; then you will get prema.
Otherwise you cannot get prema. Worshiping the vaisnavas and glorifying the vaisnavas'
names, forms, and pastimes is the only means.
Very Powerful
Serving the vaisnavas; taking the dust or the foot washing water of the vaisnavas; and
adharamantra, tasting the remnants of the vaisnavas foodstuffs --- these three are very
powerful. No one can estimate or evaluate the potency in these three things. Therefore
they are amulya-vastu, invaluable. Narottam Das Thakur has therefore sung:
Vaisnavera pada-dhuli tahe mora snana Heli

Tarpana mora vaisnava nama
Vaisnavera ucchista tahe mora mano-nistha
Vaisnavera namete ullasa
The dust of the vaisnavas' lotus feet is my bathing water. My mantra for offering oblations,
tarpana, is the names of the vaisnavas. My mind is firmly convenced of the spiritual benefit
obtained by eating the remnants of foodstuffs left by the vaisnavas. The names of the
vaisnavas are my happiness.
(Srila Narottam Das Thakur,Prathana 35)

Who is a Vaisnava?
Another question comes, vaisnava-ke? Who is a vaisnava? You should understand who is a
vaisnava, otherwise you will be confused. '
kanaka-kamini,' 'pratistha-baghini.'
Chadiyache jare,sei to vaisnava
Sei anasakta.' Sei suddha-bhakta.'
Samsar tatha pay parabhava
Yatha-yoga bhoga, nahi tatha roga,
Anasakta' sei ki ar kahabo
'asakti-rohita,' sambandha-sahita,'
visaya-samuha sakali 'madhava'
se 'yukta-vairagya.' Taha to' saubhagya,
taha-i jadete harir avivaba
kitane jahar, 'pratistha-sambhar.'
Tahar sampatti kevala 'kaitava
Money, women, and fame are like tigers. A vaisnava gives them up and keeps them at a
distance. Such a devotee, who is without material attachments, is a suddha-vaisnava. Such
a devotee had conquered over the material world and its illusions of enjoyment. Accepting
only what is needed in the service of the Lord, he remains free from the diseased mentality
of material enjoyment and dedicates himself to the Lord's service. Free from all false
attachments, he sees everything is meant for the pleasure of Sri Krishna. He knows that to
engage everything in the service of Krishna is real renunciation. Because he understands
that the true position of renunciation is in dedicating everything to Krishna, he is truly
fortunate. Although he lives within the material world he dwells within the revelation of
Krishna's pastimes and experiences the extension of the spiritual world within the material
world. On the other hand, one who chants the holy name of the Lord for name and fame is
simple a hypocrite and a cheater.
(Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati,Vaisnava-ke 11-13(from Mahajana-racita Gita)
Completely Detached
A vaisnava is one who has given up the desire for possessing kanaka and kamini, gold and
women. And pratistha-baghini ---he is not running after name, fame, adoration or prestige.
Such a person is a vaisnava, a pure devotee. A vaisnava is not attached too or attracted to
kanaka, kamini, or pratistha --- wealth, women or prestige. He is completely detached from
them. His only attachment is to the lotus feet of Krishna. A vaisnava has completely
defeated the material world of maya. He is yukta-vairagya --- although he has everything
he is not attached. He is anasakta, completely indifferent. He utilizes everything for the
enjoyment and living service of Krishna, guru and Gauranga.
'asakti-rohita,' sambandha-sahita,'
visaya-samuha sakali 'madhava'
He is fixed and established in his pure, eternal, loving relationship with Krishna. He
understands that everything found here in the material world is all paraphernalia for
Krishna's enjoyment and there is nothing here for the jiva's enjoyment. Krishna is the only
visayi, meaning one who has material wealth, land, property, and money. All of these things
belong to Krishna. One who knows this is a yukta-vairagi, a renunciate who uses everything
for Krishna's pleasure, not a phalgu-vairagi, a false renunciate. Such false renunciation is
described:
Kirtane jahar, 'pratishta-sambhar.'

Tahar sampatti kevala 'kaitava'.
One may be doing kirtana, dancing, chanting, and playing mrdanga, "din-din-din-din-dah!"
Playing the cymbals, "dah! dah! dah!" But he is only doing it for the name, fame, and
prestige. Whatever sampati, reward, he gets is kaitava, only cheating. His bhajana is only
duplicitious, crookedness and enviousness. He is not a vaisnava. One should understand
who is a vaisnava.
Best Worship
Jiva Goswami Prabhu in Bhakti-sandarbha quotes Padma Purana:
Testam pujadikam gandha-

Dhupadhyaih kriyate naraih
Tena pritim param yami
Na tatha mama pujanat
The Supreme Lord Krishna says,"One may offer puja, worship, to Me with gandha, scents,
pulpa, flowers, incense, lamp, etc., but if they never offer worship to my dear devotees with
all these paraphernalia, I am not pleased with it.
(Padma-purana, karttika-mahatmya(quoted in Bhakti-sandarbha 269.12)
Krishna says to Uddhava
Adarah paricaryayam
Sarvangair abhivandanam
Mad-bhakta-pujabhyadhika
Sarva-bhutesu man-matih
Mad-arthesv anga-cesta ca
Vacasa mas-guneranam
Mayy arpanam ca manasah
Sarva-kama-vivarjanam
My dear devotees render service to Me with great care and respect. They offer obeisances
to Me with all their bodily limbs. They worship My devotees, which is greater than worship
of Me. They see all living entities related to Me. They engage the entire energy of their
bodies for Me.They engage their power of speech in glorification of My qualities and form.
They dedicate their minds unto Me and try to give up all kinds of material desires. Thus My
dear devotees are characterized.(Bhag.11.19.21-22)
These are vaisnavas. Krishna says, "Mad-bhakta-pujabhyadhika --- the worship offered to
them is better than worship offered to Me directly." That worship is vyas-puja of all pure
gaudiya vaisnava acaryas. Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Prabhupada expressed this
at his vyasa-puja.
Acarya-avatara Kirtana
Krishna is visaya-vigraha, the object of love, and guru-vaisnava is asraya-vigraha, the abode
of love. The only activity of such guru-vaisnavas is hari-kirtana. They have no other activity.
Unless the asraya-vigraha-avatara acarya-sri-gurudeva does kirtana, how can you
understand the tattva of the visaya-vigraha? How can you understand the tattva of the
nama, rupa, guna, parikara, and lila of visaya-vigraha --- the truth about the name, form,
qualities, associates, and pastimes of the Supreme Lord? We cannot understand unless
acarya-gurudeva does kirtana. No one can understand the sastra-avatara, the incarnation of
all sastras, Srimad Bhagavatam. It is the vani, the message incarnation of Lord Krishna. No
one can understand the bhagavata-tattva, the purport of this sastra-avatara, unless acarya-
gurudeva, who is asraya-vigraha, does kirtana. Sri-nama and sri-mantra have appeared in
this material world as sabda-avatara. But unless acarya-avatara does kirtana in the ears of
the sisya, disciple, it will not be effective. You will find that the mantra and the holy name
are written there in satra, grantha. One may say, "yes, the mantra is written here, so I'll
chant it." But unless the mahanta-guru, asraya-vigraha-acarya does kirtana in the ears of
the sisya it will never be effective. It is absolutely necessary. Sri-nama, sri mantra, and
grantha-bhagavata are all visaya-vigraha. Without the kirtana of the asraya-vigraha they will
never manifest. Try to understand. Mahaprabhu will help you. Nityananda prabhu will help
you.
One may think, "If I do arcana, worship of the deities in the temple, then I can understand
everything," no. You cannot understand adhoksaja, that which is beyond sensory
perception. The visaya-vigraha will never manifest without the kirtana of the asraya-
vigraha, acarya-avatara, guru, vaisnava. This is absolutely necessary. Therefore puja offered
to them is a superior type of puja mad-bhakta-pujabhyadhika.
Therefore when Nityananda prabhu offered vyasa-puja, Mahaprabhu manifestad the form of
Nityananda, "I am Nityananda." That is guru-puja, vyasa-puja. This is the purport here.
Kirtana is Required
Mahaprabhu has written, kirtaniyah sada harih, one should always do kirtana of the names
of hari. Our tattva-acarya Jiva Goswami in his Sandarbha has written:
Yadyapyanya bhaktih kalau kartavya tada kirtanakhya bhakti- Samypgenaiva
Even though in the age of kali one may perform the above eight branches of bhakti,
nevertheless, one must perform kirtana as the principle way of advancing in sadhana-
bhakti.
(Krama-sandarbha commentary to Bhag.7.5.23-24)
In Kali-yuga, although one may cultivate other types of bhakti such as smaranam, arcanam,
vandanam, dasyam and sakhyam, still one, should cultivate these other types of bhakti only
with kirtana --- that is kirtanakhya bhakti.
One must accept a sadhu-guru-acarya-vaisnava and hear kirtana from him. Kirtana is
required. Who does kirtana? Asraya-avatara, asraya-vigraha-acarya, vaisnava-guru does
kirtana. Without his kirtana you cannot understand this bhakti-tattva. Therefore Jiva
Gosvami says, kirtanakhya bhakti-samyogenaiva, and this is our siddhanta. One must
approach such a guru-acarya-vaisnava who is asraya-vigraha. His only activity is hari-
kirtana. Unless the asraya-vigraha-acarya-guru-vaisnava does kirtana, bhakti-tattva cannot
be revealed to you. Although other processes of bhakti are there in Kali-yuga, without the
kirtana of the acarya-avatara, bhakti-tattva cannot be understood.
The puja of the asraya-vigraha-acarya-guru-vaisnava is the topmost puja. Therefore vyasa-

puja is known as the puja of all suddha-gaudiya-vaisnavas. At the conclusion of the vyasa-
puja festival on his 52nd birth anniversary, Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Prabhupada
Maharajá gave a lecture and said, "Real vyasa-puja is the puja of all suddha-gaudiya-
vaisnava-acaryas. It is not only the puja of vyasa, not only the puja of Krishna or of
Gaurasundar. It is not just guru-puja. It is the puja of all suddha-gaudiya-vaisnava-acaryas.
Therefore in our Bhaktivinoda-dhara we find this mantra in the Vyasa-puja Paddhati:
Sri damodara svarupa, sri rupa, sri ragunatha, sri jiva, bata yuga, sri krsnadas-kavirajadi,
srimad bhaktivinoda, srimad gaurakisora dasa, srimad bhaktisidhanta sarasvati, srimad
bhaktivedanta svami pandanka sarvebhyo gurave namah
This is vyasa-puja.
Questions and Answers

Devotee #1: Sabda-brahma is Krishna in sound vibration?
Gour Govinda Swami: Yes. One has to hear. It is not that, "All right, tapes are there, I'll
hear the recorded tapes." Sabda-brahma will never descend.
Devotee #2: It doesn't descend through transmission of tape?

Gour Govinda Swami: No, no.
Devotee #2: Only when you are personally sitting there with a pure vaisnava?
Gour Govinda Swami: Yes. Now in this material scientific age so many techniques are
there. People, say, "No more teacher are required. We'll teach through television."
Nonsense. Sabda-brahma will never descend.
Devotee #3: What if one is a disciple of a bonafide guru, then later on that guru stops his
lila. What should one do?
Gour Govinda Swami: Lila is always there:
adyapiha sei lila kare gaura-raya,

kona kona bhagyavan dekhibare paya
(Cb. quoted in Bhaktivinode Thakur's Navadvipa Mahatmya Pramana-khanda)
Gauranga's pastimes are still going on. People say, "Oh Gauranga Mahaprabhu has
disappeared." One who is very fortunate and has vision he can see how gaura-lila is going
on.
Devotee #3: That means that guru is always there?
Gour Govinda Swami:Yes. He is always there. His lila is going on.
Devotee #3: I may think, "I have already taken the dust of the lotus feet of my guru. Now
he is not here. So I don't need that dust anymore."
Gour Govinda Swami: Darsana is there. The guru is always there if you have the eye to
see. If you are a sat-sisya you can always see how the guru is present.
Devotee #4: How can we see guru?
Gour Govinda Swami: Blind man! If you are endowed with that vision you can see.I
never lost sight of my guru. I see my guru is always there. Therefore I cannot say,"nitya-
lila-pravistha". It is so painful to me. No! He is here.
Devotee #4: Do you have to be a pure dovotee to see a pure devotee?

Gour Govinda Swami: Yes! That vision is required. If you have no vision then you are a
blind man.How can a blind man see? The object is there. What is required to see the
object? The first thing is the eye. Next is light. You may be endowed with vision, but if
there is no light, how can you see? Can you see in the darkness? Therefore two things are
required, first vision and then light. Even if you are endowed with eyes, if there is no light
then you can't see. What is that light? The enlightenment by the mercy potency. If you are
devoid of that, how can you see?
Devotee #5: Anarthas are like clouds in front of the eye?
Gour Govinda Swami: Yes, Yes. Anarthas are like clouds covering the sun. The eye is
covered.
Devotee #2: Can one see guru appearing in different forms, or is he coming in dreams?
Gour Govinda Swami: He may come in a dream. He has different forms also, just as
Krishna has different forms. Krishna has so many manifestations. Therefor we have
described in our book Sri Guru-vandana about samasti-guru and vyasti-guru.
Devotee #6: What are those kind of gurus?
Gour Govinda Swami: Guru Krsna-rupa hana sastrera pramane (Cc. adi-lila1.45} --
scripture describes that it is Krishna who appears as guru.
Krishna is one. Guru tattva is also one. Guru is one, but he appears in different, different,
forms. That is samasti-guru. The particular forms such as Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami, Srila
Bhakitisiddhanta, this person and that, this is vyasti-guru.
Devotee #3: When Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati left, guru was still there?
Gour Govinda Swami: Yes.
Devotee #3: Guru is always present?
Gour Govinda Swami: Yes, always present.
Devotee #3: Because guru is non-different from Krishna we understand that to be a guru
is not an easy thing. So why is it said that someone maybe on the level of kanistha or
madhyama and be guru?
Gour Govinda Swami: All are gurus. There is kanistha-guru, madhyama-guru, uttama-
gurus. Divisions are there. What you deserve you get. Krishna knows what you deserve so
He makes an appropriate arrangement for you.
Devotee #7: Some devotees are not accepting guru now. They are saying, "I'll just accept
sastra.
Gour Govinda Swami: How can you understand sastra?
Devotee #7: But we have seen, as in Russia, that some devotees have only gotten books
and they are now chanting, worshiping the deity, and preaching.
Gour Govinda Swami: You cannot understand. In sastra, mantra is there. Nama is there.
But unless it comes out from the lips of sad-guru, Sri Guru, your chanting will never be
effective. The potency will never be there.
Devotee #7: But they say that smrti-sastra is coming from the lips of vaisnavas, so we are
heaing smrti.
Gour Govinda Swami: Yes. This is how sastra manifests. When is comes out from the lips
of sad-guru, Sri Guru, then it manifests. Though sastra is there, by itself it will never
manifest to you. It's a question of manifestation.
Devotee #7: Other persons say that we can hear from the commentaries of the vaisnava-
acaryas.
Gour Govinda Swami: For that reason it is said,
bhaktya bhagavatam grahyam

na buddhya na ca tikaya
Srimad Bhagavatam can only be understood by bhakti, not be dint of one's intelligence or
by reading commentaries. (Cc.24.313)
You cannot understand Bhagavata by taking help of the tikas, commentaries. So many
commentaries are there. One may think, "Yes, I am a scholar. It is all written in Sanskrit. I
know the language so I can read and understand it." No! You can only understand Srimad
Bhagavatam by bhakti. You cannot understand Bhagavata by dint of your material
scholarship, learning, intelligence, or by taking the help of the commentaries. No, no. Hear
from acarya and then you can develop bhakti. Unless you hear, how can you understand
just by reading? You cannot understand. Grantha-avatara will never manifest to you. You
will only see paper, and black and white. Nothing else.
Devotee #7: Then what is the meaning of the brhad-mrdanga-sankirtana? Srila

Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati has said that our kirtana is brhad-mrdanga-sankirtana, the
printing press.
Gour Govinda Swami: Yes. That will inspire you. Just one book distributed spreads so far.
First you read the book and then one friend says, "Oh, let me read it." Then he lets
someone else read it. In this way it spreads so much. The sound of the mrdanga only goes
from here to there. But the brhad-mrdanga spreads so far. That will inspire you. You will
think, "Who is the source? Let me go and see and hear from him."
Devotee #7: So first you hear and then if you read the same thing in the sastra...
Gour Govinda Swami: Yes. It is only in Kali-yuga that books are required.. In other yugas
there are no books. Just by hearing once they would never forget. But in this yuga, if I ask
you to repeat what you have heard after the class, how much can you repeat? You will have
already forgotton ninety to ninety-five percent. Only five percent you may be able to repeat.
Books are required. Therefore Vyasadev came and wrote books. In other yugas there are
no books. They will help you remember, "Oh yes. I have heard. Now it is here."
Devotee #7: In your book Sri Guru-vandana, you have described this flow of nectar as
padma-madhu.You said that it comes to a devotee who is a sincere hearer. So someone
who is very sincere to hear from guru and serves guru, he may get that nectar even though
he may not have physical contact?
Gour Govinda Swami: You should be greedy. Physical contact is required. You must hear
directly, not just by listening to tapes. Sabda-brahma will never descend through a tape.
One must hear from a physically present Sri Guru.
Srila Gour Govinda
Maharaja Page
Why Krsna Became Gauranga
Mahaprabhu
by Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja
Two Kinds of Maya
Two mayas are there. One is Maha-maya, that is to say, the

illusionary energy, and the other is Yoga-maya. Yoga means that
which gives you an opportunity to go to Krsna. That is Yoga-maya.
That which prevents, that is viyoga-maya or Maha-maya. Yoga
means union. Viyoga means separation. So there are two mayas.
Viyoga-maya or Maha-maya is working in the material world. Her

activities are so wonderful. Srila Prabhupada has said: the froggish
philosophers, mundane wranglers, what can they understand--what
to speak of Yoga-maya, the internal energy of the Lord, her activities
are so amazing and wonderful. Even sometimes it becomes very
difficult on the part of Krsna to understand them! What to speak of
us, even Krsna becomes amazed! So I shall speak that thing.
Radharani is hladini sakti. She is Madana-mohana-Mohini, who

attracts the senses of Madana-Mohan, Krsna. Krsna always thinks of
Radharani. He gets so much pleasure when He unites with Radha,
which He cannot get elsewhere. Radharani is leftist, 'vamangi'. Her
mood is leftist mood. Candravali is the opposing party, 'daksinangi',
rightist. Krsna does not get so much pleasure when He unites with
Candravali; at that time He also thinks of Radha. Thus sometimes
Krsna goes to Candravali's camp in order to raise the leftist mood of
Radharani to the highest point; only for that purpose, nothing else.
GREAT DISAPPOINTMENT
One day Srimate Radharani decorated Her kunja very nicely. Her
asta-sakhis, eight intimate sakhis are there. Lalita, Visakha, Tunga-
vidya, etc., they decorated Radharani's kunja with varieties of
scented flowers, so many decorations. Krsna will come. They are all
waiting. Radharani is waiting, waiting eagerly for Krsna to come.
Some wind is blowing, some sound is produced. "Oh, Krsna's
coming!" So she is in anxiety at every moment. But Krsna has not
come.
They sent one dyuti, messenger, "You go and see where is this
Krsna!" So the dyuti went out and on the way met Saibya,
Candravali's companion sakhi. Saibya told her that Krsna is in
Candravali's kunja. So that dyuti came back and reported it to Lalita
and Visakha. "Krsna is in Candravali's kunja." So Visakha became
very angry. Lalita is a bit softer. Visakha is very hard. They reported
this to Radharani. Radharani became sulky. Her leftist mood became
heightened and reached the topmost point.
What does Srimate Radharani say? "Why should Krsna come to Me?
I am most ill-fated! So many gopis are there. Candravali and so
many others are there." That is leftist mood. So Radharani says, "I
don't want Krsna to come. Don't allow Him to come to My kunja.
Entrance is forbidden!" Radha said this out of sulkiness.
HARSH WORDS
Meanwhile, Krsna came, but at the gate Visakha and Lalita stopped
Him. "Not allowed!" "Get out from here, unreliable person! Our
prana-sakhi, our dearmost sakhi has decorated this kunja so nicely,
waiting for You. Where were You?! Why are You coming now? Get
out from here!" Visakha was very hard.
Krsna is now in a very humble mood. He said, "I am a great

offender. Please allow me to go and beg excuse at the lotus feet of
your prana-sakhi." "NO! NO! Get out from here! Now allowed.
Admission forbidden."
Krsna became disappointed. He could not understand what to do. He
went to the banks of the Yamuna. He gave up His garments and
rolled on the sand, morose, disappointed, crying.
ONLY ONE HOPE

Then Paurnamasi devi, Yoga-maya, came. She knows everything and
arranges all the activities there, the lilas there. All the activities of
Purnamasi, Yoga-maya, are so wonderful that sometimes even Krsna
cannot understand.
So Purnamasi devi said, "Oh my dear boy, why are You in such a
condition? I know everything. All right! All right! I have made an
arrangement. I have already sent Vrnda-devi to make arrangements
for your union with Radharani."
Then Vrnda came. Krsna was very morose, crying, sitting there,
rolling in the sand of the Yamuna. Vrnda devi thought, "Oh! I am an
instrument in the hand of Purnamasi, Yoga-maya. Krsna is lila-maya,
what a very wonderful lila He has manifested. So now Krsna is
feeling so much acute pangs of separation from Radharani, and
Radharani has developed a sulkiness that Krsna doesn't know how to
break. So Paurnamasi is using me as instrument. If I can be an
instrument in uniting Radha and Krsna, then I think my life will be
successful."
She thought to herself like that, and then approaching Krsna, she
said, "I am Vrnda. I have come here under the direction of
Paurnamasi. I understand that there is no means how you will be
able to meet Radharani and console Her, to break Her sulkiness. No
other means is there, but one thing is there. If you do what I say,
then there is hope."
Krsna says, "All right. I must do whatever you say. I cannot

understand what to do. I am bewildered, I can't think of what to
do."
Vrnda said, "All right. You should give up this gopa-vesa (dress of a
cowherd boy). You have to give up this thing. Such nice curling hair
on Your head--but you have to shave your head. Yes. And give up
the flute. Give up your peacock feather. And don't be in these three
places bent, tri-bhanga. Give up all these things and this blackish
body. No! These are all things You have to give up. You have to
shave Your head and You have have to become a sannyasi and give
up all these things. I will teach You one song. You have to sing that
song. And take one khanjani, a musical instrument. You have to play
and sing that song in that sannyasi form, then there is hope."
When Vrnda said this, immediately that form appeared there. Krsna
became that sannyasi form--shaved head, and His complexion is of
molten gold. No peacock feather, no flute, no three places curved
form. In yogi, sannyasi form He immediately appeared there. Then
Vrnda devi sang a song, that is glorification of Radha,
srimate radhe bada abhimani

bamya bhave siromani-syama sari ange
achadana tava tapta-kancana varana
eto dina chile pagalani raye
kanu preme prana sampi
sarve rupe guneogo gandharvike
kanu mana kari curi aji radha prema
bhika mage kanu phere dware dware hai
"Oh Srimate Radharani, You have developed a sulky mood. You are
the crest jewel of the leftisty mood. Your whole body is covered with
a bluish sari. The complexion of Your body is that of molten gold. Up
to now Radharani was mad for Kanu (Krsna) prema. She was
stealing the mind of Krsna. O Gandarvike, You were stealing the
mind of Kanu, Krsna, enchanting Him with Your beautiful form and
qualities. But today Kanu, Krsna, is moving from door to door
begging radha-prema, radha-prema, radha-prema"
SANNYASI THAKURA
So Krsna sang that song. Then He went to Radharani's kunja. At the
gate He found Lalita and Visakha. Krsna started singing this nice
song glorifying Radharani. Singing, "Kanu is a beggar today, moving
door to door begging radha-prema, radha-prema, radha-prema."
Seeing a sannyasi singing this nice song, Lalita and Visakha became
very happy.
Visakha said, "Sannyasi thakura, this song You are singing is very
nice. Who has taught You this song?"
Krsna replied, "My Guru is Gandharvika (Radharani)."
"Oh, Your Guru is Gandharvika?"
"Oh yes, My Guru has taught me this very nice song."
"Why have you come here, what do You want?"
The sannyasi said, "I have nothing, I am a beggar. I've come here to
get radha-prema, radha-prema. I am a prema-bhikhari. I am a
beggar of prema."
"All right, O sannyasi thakura, my prana-sakhi is very, very

distressed. She is always crying, in a dying condition. Her fate is
very, very bad, ill-fated. Do You know the calculation of fate,
sannyasi? Can You calculate seeing the lines on the hand of my
sakhi?"
"Oh yes, I know it."
"You know? Who has taught You?"
"Oh my Guru has taught Me all these things--Gandharvika."
"Will You come into the kunja to calculate the fate of our prana-
sakhi? She's very much distressed."
"Oh yes, I can do."
Krsna wants that thing (that meeting), so He said, "Yes, I can

come."
So in the meantime, Lalita has gone to Radharani and said that a

sannyasi thakura has come. "He is singing a very nice song. He
knows how to calculate Your fate."
Then Visakha takes the sannyasi into the kunja. She requested
Krsna, "Will You please again sing that nice song You were singing
before?"
Then Krsna sang that song in glorification of Radha. "Today Kanu is

a bhikari, He is a beggar, moving from door to door begging radha-
prema." When Radharani heard that last line, She said,
aslisya va pada-ratam pinastu mam

adarsanan marma-hatam karotu va
yatha tatha va vidadhatu lampato
mat-prana-nathas tu sa eva naparah
Radharani said the last verse of Siksastskam. "That debauchee,

lampatah, whatever He likes He may do. He may do. He may
embrace Me or kick Me, or crush Me with His feet or put Me in this
condition of acute pangs of separation. Such painful condition, not
giving Me darsana. Whatever He likes He may do, that debauchee.
But He is the Lord of My heart, no one else."
Then Lalita said, "Have patience, O sakhi. One sannyasi thakura has
come who will calculate Your fortune. Don't be impatient."
So Lalita let the sannyasi into the kunja and arranged a seat on the
veranda of Radharani's bedroom. Then Lalita brought Radharani
onto the veranda. So Radharani came, putting a veil on her head.
Why? Because Radharani only sees Krsna. She never sees any other
male. Putting on the veil, Radharani came and sat near the sannyasi
thakura. Lalita brought Her left hand to the sannyasi thakura.
"Please calculate the fortune of our prana-sakhi."
Krsna said, "I am a sannyasi, I cannot touch the hand of your sakhi."
"How can You calculate then?"
"No, I can calculate seeing the lines on Her forehead. I know how to
do it."
"But my sakhi does not look at any male, only Krsna. No. She's very
strict in that matter. She never looks at any male but Krsna."
"Are-baba! I am a dandi-sannyasi. There's no harm. I have no

desires. I've given up everything. I am a sannyasi. I am only a
beggar. Begging love, I am prema-bhikari. I have given up
everything. I have no desires. If your sakhi lifts the veil, there is no
harm at all. Then I can calculate. I am a sannyasi, I am not an
ordinary male."
Lalita devi removed the veil. Then immediately Krsna's form came,
tri-bhanga-lalita. That sannyasi form disappeared. Now tri-bhanga,
three places curved, peacock feather and flute. Then the eyes of
Krsna and the eyes of Radha united. Her sulkiness was gone.
Then Visakha said, "So amazing, what is this?
pahile dekhilun tomara sannyasi-svarrupa ebe

toma dekhi muni syama-gopa-rupa
tomara sammukhe dekhi kancana-pancalika
tanra gaura-kantye tomara sarva anga Dhaka
tahate prakata dekhon sa-vamsi vadana
nana bhave cancala tahe kamala-nayana
"At first I saw You appear like a sannyasi but now I am seeing You
as Syamasundara, the cowherd boy. I saw You appearing like a
golden doll, and Your entire body appeared covered by golden luster.
I now see You holding a flute to Your mouth, and Your lotus eyes are
moving very restlessly due to various ecstasies."
(Sri Caitanya.caritamrta, Madhya 8.268-270)
KRSNA-LILA, GAURA-LILA
That is what Ramananda Raya saw. Ramananda Raya is Visakha

sakhi in Mahaprabhu's lila. Mahaprabhu showed that form to
Ramananda. So amazing! So this is how Krsna has to cry and has to
become a sannyasi begging for radha-prema. Radharani was crying
and Visakha stated, "One day You'll have to cry like that!" And so
He's crying in the form of Mahaprabhu.
sri-radhayah pranaya-mahima kidrso vanayaiva

svadyo yenabhuta-madhurima kidrso va madiyah
saukhyam casya mad-anubhavatah kidrsam veti lobhat
tad-bhavadhyah samajani sai-garbha-sinadau harinduh
(Sri Caitanya caritamrta, Adi 1.6)
What is Radharani's love? Now Krsna is a beggar of that. Radha-

prema-bhikari. He came in a sannyasi form, as a beggar, begging
radha-prema. In a completely different form--no three places curved,
no curling hair--shaved head. Now His yellow garment is saffron
colour and He's begging for radha-prema. That is radha-bhava. He
came in this sannyasi form, otherwise He cannot pay back the debt.
Krsna has become indebted. In this way, Krsna paid back the debt.
So Radharani's sulkiness vanished. That is why Krsna became
sannyasi, He became Mahaprabhu.
He (Krsna) came to understand these three things: "What is

Radharani's love? What is My beauty that Radharani relishes? What
happiness and pleasure does Radharani get relishing My beauty, how
can I know?" In order to fulfill these three types of greed and
desires Krsna appeared as Mahaprabhu, from the womb of
Sacimata, sai garbha-sindau harinduh. In order to understand these
three things is why He became a sannyasi. This is so wonderful--
Krsna became amazed. This is the activity of Yoga-maya,
Paurnamasi. Oh, so wonderful that even Krsna cannot understand,
then how can others understand?
End
Srila Gour Govinda

Maharaja Page
Sheep Logic
by Srila Gour Govinda Maharaja
[Excerpts from Pariprasna: The Process of Inquiry]
Devotee: What if someone tries to serve his guru in this way and
then later on the guru falls down?
Gaura Govinda Swami: That's a bogus guru, nor a bona fide

guru.
Devotee: In that case one's surrender and service count for

nothing?
Gaura Govinda Swami: Nothing, zero! They are of no value,

because that guru was not bona fide, he was a hypocrite, a follower
of Kali, only outwardly posing as a Vaisnava guru.
You should be careful before accepting a guru. That's your

responsibility. Don't be superfluous. You should be very serious and
don't follow gaddalika-srota-nyaya. "Gaddalika" means a flock of
sheep. Sheep move in a flock and one is at the head, leading. If that
sheep jumps into a ditch the whole flock will jump into a ditch. They
never think, "Why should we jump into a ditch?" If the leader jumps,
they think, "That is a nice path. We should also go that way." You
should use your intelligence. Don't follow this sheep logic. That is
your responsibility. You should desire to get Krsna. That is the
perfection of human life.
This morning I talked about how consciousness should be fully

blossomed, cent percent purna-vikacita-cetana. That is the
perfection of human life. If someone can get Krsna then he'll have
obtained supreme perfection. That means cent percent Krsna. Not
twenty-five percent, thirty percent or fifty percent Krsna. No! Cent
percent Krsna. Who can give cent percent Krsna? Only the person
who has it can give. If someone has only twenty -five percent Krsna,
how can he give you cent percent Krsna? He doesn't have the
balance in his account.
This is your responsibility. You should find such a person and don't
follow this gaddalika-srota-nyaya." Oh, everyone is accepting so and
so as a paramahamsa, maha-bhagavata. Everyone says so." Alright,
don't think anything, fall into the ditch.
Don't Find Fault

Devotee: It's very easy to understand this point after the fact. But
there were many supposedly quite advanced devotees...
Gaura Govinda Swami: Don't find fault with others. Find fault with
yourself. See good in others. See bad in yourself. You have
committed a mistake; therefore such a thing has happened. The
caitya-guru, Paramatma, Krsna, He knows your heart.
He knows what you are whispering in your heart. You cannot cheat
Him. Outwardly you may be speaking very sweet from the lips. Your
external dealings may be very nice. But inside, don't be hypocrite.
Be a simple, natural vaisnava. You have no simplicity in your heart.
Duplicity, pretentiousness, crookedness, politics- so many nasty
things are there in you heart.
You follow this gaddilika-srota-nyaya logic. Krsna as caitya-guru,

Paramatma, knows you are not serious. You should be thinking,
"How can I get a bona fide guru? The aim of my life is to get Krsna,
cent percent Krsna." You should be crying in your heart. Krsna will
know, "Yes, this soul is crying for Me." This crying is most important.
In the Adi Purana Krsna had said, "rudanti mama samvidhau."
"Rudanti" means crying. Aham parikartah- One who cries for Me
from the core of his heart purchases Me. Have you ever cried for
this? Therefore I say you are not serious. You are superfluous. You
are just following this gaddalika-srota-nyaya. That is your mistake.
Why do you find fault with others? Krsna knows, "Oh this fellow
wants a cheater, not a teacher." Therefore Krsna provides a cheater.
You should admit that it is your bad karma, your mistake. Then
repent and cry. Cry before Krsna, before Mahaprabhu. Cry form the
core of your heart so They'll shower Their mercy on you. Then you'll
never be cheated. This is the process. It is a most important and
serious thing.
This is a personal relationship and a personal responsibility. It is not

the responsibility of anyone else. You alone are responsible for your
activity. Why should someone else be responsible? It is up to you to
accept a bona fide guru, not a bogus guru; to get cent percent
Krsna; to make your life successful, not his life, or that life, or
anybody else's life. This is a very deep confidential philosophy, try to
understand it.
Guru Darsana
Gaura Govinda Swami: One thing is important: We don't' know
who is a real, bona fide guru. Can you know? Can you measure? Can
you see with your material vision? You can't see. You can't measure
him. Krsna is adhoksaja. He cannot be measured by the defective
material senses. Similarly, His true representative the bona fide guru,
the dear devotee who is very intimate and very confidential, cannot
be measured by your defective senses. You cannot see him with
your material vision. You can only see the outward body of flesh,
bones, marrow, blood, and urine. In the 11th Canto Krsna says that
the guru acarya is as good as He Himself.
acarya-mam vijaniyan
navamanyeta karhicit
na martya-buddhyasuyeta
sarva-deva-mayo guruh
One should know the acarya as Myself and never disrespect him in
any way.
One should not envy him, thinking him to be an ordinary man, for he
is the representative of all the demigods. (Bhag. 11.17.27)
In addition, in Guruvastaka (Verse 7) we chant:
saksad-dharitvena samastra-sastrair uktas tatha bhavyata eva

sadbhih kintu prabhor yah priya eva tasya vande guroh sri-
caranaravindam
Every day you sing saksad-dhari, and Krsna says the same thing:
acaryam mam vijnaniyan-"He is as good as Myself." Na martya-
buddhyasuyeta-"Don't think of him as an ordinary mortal human
being." Sarva-deva mayo guruh- "No, all the demigods are there in
him."
This is guru tattva.
How can you see such a guru with your material vision? As you
cannot see Krsna with material vision, you cannot see the guru with
material vision. You will only see the outward thing, which is not
guru. Only if the guru showers his mercy on you can you be
endowed with the vision to see his true form. By the mercy of guru
you can see guru, otherwise you cannot see.
This vision is only obtained by crying and crying and crying before
Krsna: "Oh Krsna, I don't know who is your real representative who
can deliver You to me cent percent. I want you cent percent, O
Krsna." If you cry before Krsna then Krsna will make an
arrangement. He is there in the heart as Paramatma. He will
understand, "Now he's crying for Me, so I must help him." He will
make an arrangement that you meet a bona fide guru, a genuine
representative of Krsna. Otherwise it is not possible. This is the only
process.
But in our case we try to measure everything. We measure the Lord.
We measure the guru. We try to see the Lord with our vision, with
our defective senses. Therefore our acaryas and sastras say that the
guru is the seer, drasta, and you should put yourself in the position
as the object to be seen, drsta. It is very difficult to understand this
point because almost everyone thinks just in the reverse. You think
you are the seer and the Lord or guru are drsta, the objects to be
seen. No! It is the complete opposite. The Lord is the seer and the
guru is the seer. You are not the seer. You are the object to be seen
by guru or seen by the Lord. Do you understand? This is a very deep
philosophy.
Cry For Guru

What I am saying is from the previous acaryas. Nothing is mine, not
a single letter. I follow the path the acaryas have shown. I have
done that in my life and therefore I got my guru. That is my
experience. Following what our acaryas say, what sastra says,
sadhu-sastra-guru-this is the process. But you have never followed
it. I think you cannot understand it clearly. Try! It is a simple thing.
You cry before Krsna, cry before Mahaprabhu, "Please help me,
please help me, please help me!" Krsna is the heart and can
understand, "Oh, now he is crying." He will help you. He will make
arrangements that you can get a bona fide guru who is Krsna's true
representative, a confidential, intimate associate if the Lord-and then
your life will be successful. Don't be desperate. There is no question
of despondency on this path. There is no pessimism here. It is all
optimism. Mahaprabhu is so merciful-maha-vadanyaya avatara. Srila
Kaviraja Goswami in Caitanya Caritamrta has used the word
adbhuta, wonderful three times; adbhuta-karunya, adbhuta-vadanya,
adbhuta-audara, wonderfully munificent, wonderfully merciful,
wonderfully magnanimous. This is Sriman Mahaprabhu. Cry before
Him. Cry before Krsna to shower His mercy on you. It is the only
thing required. Don't try to measure Krsna or His representative the
guru with your defective senses. You will only be cheated. You
should have complete, unflinching faith in Mahaprabhu, Krsna and
sadhu. There is no other way.
Confirmation Needed
Devotee: How do we discern between the prompting of Paramatma
and the ramblings of our mind?
Gaura Govinda Swami: Krsna is there in your heart as

Paramatma, caitya guru. He is your friend. The Upanisadas say, dva
suparna sayuja sakhayah- Your friend the Supersoul prompts, but
you cannot hear Him. A liberated soul can hear, but a conditioned
soul cannot. A conditioned soul only hears the promptings of maya.
If, within and without, that prompting in confirmed by sadhu and
sastra, then it is all right. Confirmation is needed. Then you can
understand, "Yes, that prompting was inside me. Now the same
thing has come out from the lips of sadhu." If sastra says the same
thing then it is confirmed, otherwise not. A conditioned soul cannot
hear what the Paramatma prompts. Only a liberated soul can hear.
Though He prompts, you cannot hear because you heart is filled
with dirt. Clear the contamination. Cleansed of the dirt, you heart
will be purified. Then you can hear, otherwise not. How will you hear
with a filthy heart?
Devotee: Sometimes we cry for something and we get some help.

But then we become again satisfied in life.
Gaura Govinda Swami: There should always be crying. Then we

will always get help. Not that you should say, "Oh, now I have
gotten, finished." There should always be crying, "I cannot get, I
cannot get, I cannot get anything!"
Mahaprabhu was always crying. He has taught us to cry: "Hari Hari

bolite nayane ba'be nira"- uttering the name of Hari and shedding
tears.
Devotee: You explained that to please you we have to become
simple and not duplicitous. I was wondering what practical service is
pleasing to you?
Gaura Govinda Swami: That's individual, not general. There are

specific and general instructions. For individual instruction, you come
to me and I will speak. Those instructions differ form person to
person. It's not the same for one and all. Don't be so foolish as to
ask such a question.
Devotee: All this talk of crying for Krsna: I was just reading in the
Nectar of Devotion that we should not cry before the Deity.
Gaura Govinda Swami: Don't cry before the Deities- cry in your
room! This crying should be in the heart. Krsna is everywhere. If you
cry, Krsna knows, Krsna sees.
Genuine Sadhu-sanga
Devotee: Paramatma is comparable to guru in some ways?
Gaura Govinda Swami: Paramatma is the manifestation of guru

and guru is the manifestation of Paramatma. Katha Upanisad says:
nayam atma pravacena labhyo na medhaya na bahuna srutena yam

evaisa vrnute tena labhyas tasyaisa atma vivrnute tanum svam
The Supreme Self can never be known by any amount of argument,

reasoning, intelligence, or by much hearing. To those whom He
chooses, however, He may reveal His personal form.
If someone is crying for Krsna, Paramatma knows. Then Paramatma

assumes a body and appears. When He appears externally he is
guru. "Tanu" means body. Vivrnute tanum svam- He assumes a body
and is known as caitya-guru. Therefore I say, cry,cry,cry! Paramatma
will know, "Now he is crying for Me." In this regard, sadhu-sanga in
most important. And that means a real sadhu in the true sense, not
a hypocrite sadhu, not a bogus sadhu- a real sadhu. "Guru" means
heavy, not laghu. These words have their meanings and you should
understand them. If you really meet guru then you association with
laghus will be bitter. That's a most important thing. That's the test
who is guru.
"Laghu" means material things. You are associating with material

poets, material politicians, materially wealthy persons, and materially
learned persons. They are laghus. When you associate with a sadhu
and get his krpa then automatically the taste will be bitter and you
will no longer like to associate with laghus. You should associate
with a real sadhu. Sadhu-krpa, then mercy of sadhu, is powerful. It
is a most important thing. It is said, vaisnava- krpaye tare sarva
siddhi- If you can get the mercy of a sadhu then you will achieve all
perfection. Moreover, it must be with a real sadhu, a sadhu is the
true sense of the term. Not a hypocrite or bogus sadhu or kali-cela!
They are only posing like sadhu. If a genuine sadhu casts his
merciful glance on you then you have it!
Sadhu-sanga is most important, most important. One should develop

greed for such a type of sadhu-sanga. Don't resist such greed. You
are greedy for material accumulations. That is you enemy. That will
lead you to hell. Now become greedy for this, to have such sadhu-
sanga. "How can I get it, how can I get it?" Develop this greed. It
should not be resisted. It is the only thing needed.
Srila Gour Govinda
Maharaja Page
Simplicity and Faith
by Srila Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja
Gopal and the Schoolboy
A mother has a six or seven year old son. She wanted to admit
him into primary school so that he could get some education, but
the school was a little far away, half a mile from their house. Still
she told the boy that he should go every day to the school in the
morning.
So, the boy started going. On the path to the school, he had to
pass through a jungle where there were some ferocious animals,
tigers, and snakes. Being a small child, he was afraid. He came to
his mother and said, “Oh mother, when I was going through that
jungle on the way to school, I was very afraid. So many ferocious
animals are there. I can’t go any more.”
His mother said, “Why are you afraid? Don’t you know that your
friend Gopal is there? Just call your friend; He will help you. You
need not be afraid.”
“Oh, my friend is there?”
“Yes. When you feel afraid, you should call out, ‘Oh my friend
Gopal, I am in a fearful situation! Where are You? Please come!’
You should say like that.”
The child followed her instruction. When he was passing through

the jungle and he felt afraid, he called out, “Friend Gopal! My
brother Gopal! Where are You? I am in a fearful situation. Please
come! Help me!”
Gopal appeared before him. “Yes, I am here. Why are you

afraid?”
“I have to go through the jungle to go to school and it is full of

ferocious animals.”
“All right, don’t fear. Come with Me!” Every day, Gopal was
helping him.
Milk from Gopal
In Indian school they perform ganesa-puja and sarasvati-puja to

give the students knowledge. For these festivals, the teacher will
collect some fees from the students. One day at school the teacher
announced that they were going to have such a festival, and that
the students should all pay some fee. But the boy and his mother
were very poor. There was nobody in that family, only the mother
and the son, and they had no money.
The teacher told him, “You are poor. You don’t have enough
money. But you should at least bring fifty paisa—half of a rupee.”
The child returned home and told his mother that the teacher
said that he had to pay fifty paisa for the festival. But they had
nothing, not even a single paisa. The mother said, “Tell the teacher
that we have no money. We are very poor. But we will bring milk.”
The child said, “Who will give us milk?”
“Oh, your friend Gopal will give us milk. He tends cows. He can
supply as much milk as your teacher wants. Yes. You tell Gopal!”
So that day in the forest he called out to his friend, “O Gopal,

where are You?”
“I am here.” Gopal appeared. “What do you need?”
“My teacher has said that I have to pay fifty paisa, but we have
no money. My mother said to ask You to give us some milk, because
they need milk for the festival. So you must supply as much milk as
they need.”
“Oh yes, I must supply, I am always here to help you.”

“Later, on the puja day when he was passing through the jungle,
he called his friend, “Gopal, today is the day. Please come!”
Gopal came with a small earthen pot filled with milk. “All right,
take this milk. Give it to your teacher. This pot will give as much
milk as they want. It will never be empty.” The boy took it and gave
it to the teacher.
Seeing the small pot, the teacher said, “Oh this is just a small
amount of milk. We need a large amount, ten buckets of milk. You
have only brought a small pot.”
“No, no, no. It will never be empty. You bring ten buckets and
pour this pot out. All ten buckets will be filled.”
The teacher did so, and amazingly, ten buckets were filled. Then
the teacher asked, “Where did you get such a pot?”
“My friend Gopal gave it to me.”
“Your friend Gopal? Who is He?”
“Oh, He stays in the jungle. Every time I need, I call Him. My

mother told me that whenever I am in a fearful situation I should
call out, ‘Gopal! Gopal! O brother! O my friend Gopal!’ Then He
appears. He helps me, protects me, and leads me to school. He gave
this pot of milk. He says that He is a friend to one and all.” Krishna
says in Bhagavad-Gita (5.29), suhrdam sarva bhutanam—“I am the
only well wishing friend of all living entities.”
“He says He is not only my friend, He is a friend to one and all. If

one calls, He is there ready to help in time of danger, in time of
need, in time of calamities.”
Why Doesn’t Gopal Come to You?
Such a simple child gets help from Krishna. But you are
worrying, he is worrying, she is worrying, “What shall I do? What
shall I do? I need so much money. How can I do it? I cannot collect.
I have to do this thing. I have to do that thing. I have so many
problems, so many hindrances, so many obstacles. Why don’t you
ask Gopal? Gopal is ready to help you, but you are not asking Him.
If you are asking, then why is Gopal not coming? You say, “Yes, yes
I am asking, ‘O Krishna! O Krishna! Please help me, please help me!’
But Krishna is not coming and helping me.”
Gopal immediately appeared before that small child. Why can’t

you get Gopal’s help? Why doesn’t Gopal come to you? What is the
difficulty? What is the reason? It’s because you have no faith in
Gopal, no faith in Krishna. It’s a question of faith. That small child
had strong faith. As soon as his mother told him, he put strong
unflinching faith in her words, and he got Krishna. But you do not
have faith.
Now in America, many, many people have lost faith. In his

Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu (1.4.15) Srila Rupa Goswami says, adau
sraddha, the first thing is unflinching faith. Similarly Krsna says in
Gita (4.39)
sraddhavan labhate jnanam tat-parah samyatendriyah

jnanam labdhva param santim acirenadhigacchati
“A faithful man who is dedicated to transcendental knowledge

and who subdues his senses is eligible to achieve such knowledge,
and having achieved it he quickly attains the supreme spiritual
peace.”
What do we mean by sraddha? Rupa Goswami says that the first

thing is sraddha. Following that comes other things. Sraddha means
strong, unflinching faith. Bhajante mam drdha-vratah—those who
have faith, they do bhajana with determination. [Bg. 7.28]. Strong
faith in what?
Sadhu-sastra-guru-vakya; faith in what sadhu says, what guru says,

what sastra says—what Krishna says [Narottama Das Thakur’s
Prema-bhakti-candrika 1.10] You should put strong unflinching faith
in what Krishna says in Bhagavad-gita and Srimad Bhagavatam. It is
said:
visvasa mile krsna tarke bahu dura
If one has faith, then he can easily obtain Krishna and arguments or
doubts stay far away.
Why Depressed and Disappointed?
If you have strong faith, you will get Krishna. You have faith, but
it is not strong. It is soft faith. At any time it can break and you feel
yourself disappointed, depressed. Why such feelings? Why
disappointed? Why depressed? Because you do not have strong faith
in Krishna. You have no faith in sadhu-sastra-guru vakya You have
lost faith, therefore you feel disappointed and depressed.
Faith is the most important thing. It has been stressed in

Bhagavad-gita, in Srimad Bhagavatam, and all of our acaryas have
said it. Rupa Goswami says in Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu (1.4.15-16)
that everything begins with sraddha:
adau sraddha tatah sadhu-sango 'tha bhajana-kriya

tato 'nartha-nivrttih syat tato nistha rucis tatah
athasaktis tato bhavas tatah premabhyudancati

sadhakanam ayam premna pradurbhave bhavet kramah
“First comes sraddha, faith; next sadhu-sanga, association with

saintly persons; after that bhajana-kriya, spiritual practices; then
anartha-nivrtti, cessation of all offenses or obstacles; next nistha,
firmness; which is followed by ruci, taste; after that asakti,
attachment; then bhava; and then appears prema. These are the
different stages leading to prema’s appearance within the heart of a
spiritual practitioner.”
It’s a gradual process. Mahaprabhu said the same thing:
ucca sankirtane kari sraddhara pracara
“Loudly chant the holy names and preach with faith.”

When my guru-maharaja came to the West, what did he have
with him? Only strong faith in Krishna, strong faith in the words of
his guru, strong faith in the holy name. He had nothing else. It is a
question of strong faith in Gopal. But people are lacking faith. You
should develp strong faith. Caitanya-caritamrta (madhya 22.62)
states:
‘sraddha’-sabde----visvasa kahe sudrdha niscaya

krsne bhakti kaile sarva-karma krta haya .
“Sraddha” is defined as confident, firm faith that by rendering

transcendental loving service to Krishna one automatically performs
all subsidiary activities. Such faith is favorable to the discharge of
devotional service.”
Chant Loudly!
If you develop krsna-bhakti, all of your duties and obligations are

finished. You are thinking, “This is my duty, my responsibility, to
look after the maintenance of my family, my wife, and my children.
But it is said, krsne bhakti kaile sarva-karma krta haya --- “All of your
work is finished.” Everyone says this, but they are only speaking
from the lips. In their heart, 99.9% people have no faith. Therefore
Guaranga Mahaprabhu has said, ucca sankirtane kari sraddhara
pracara — “Chant loudly: hare krsna hare krsna, krsna krsna hare
hare, hare rama hare rama, rama rama hare hare. Inculcate
sraddha, faith unto those people who have not developed sraddha.”
My guru-maharaja did that. When he first arrived here he came

with only a pair of kartalas. He simply went to a park and chanted
Hare Krishna. The hippies were rolling on the ground, half-naked,
taking strong drugs like LSD and marijuana, and becoming mad. My
guru-maharaja just played karatalas and chanted, and thereby he
inculcated sraddha in them. Cora-vesya-satha—the thieves, the
prostitutes, and the cheaters — sadhu is able to inculcate sraddha
even into them. That is Mahaprabhu’s instruction; agre sraddha diya
--- “First inculcate sraddha unto them.” Then when they are
sraddhavan, when they ahve developed sraddha, strong faith in the
holy name, strong faith in Krishna, and sadhu-sastra-guru-vakya,
then they are eligible to be initiated.
There is the offense to the holy name known as sraddha-hina-

jane namopadesa---“giving someone nama-upadesa, instructions on
chanting, if they are lacking in sraddha.” So agre-sraddha—first one
must have sraddha.
How can one develop sraddha? That is another question—for this

reason we perform loud sankirtan. Doing so you can develop
sraddha. Don’t feel depressed or disappointed; Mahaprabhu is there,
Krishna is there, Srila Prabhupada is there. Chant loudly and fill the
atmosphere with transcendental sound vibration! You should have
full faith in the holy name, in Gopal, in Krishna and Mahaprabhu.
Don’t feel depressed at any time, under any circumstances. There is
no quetion of pessimism in Mahaprabhu’s movement. There is all
optimism. I have seen during my tour that now this pessimism is
widespread amongst the devotees in America. Seing that, I feel
very sorry. I am crying in my heart. What has happened? My guru-
maharja came here first. He sowed the seed here. Now what has
happened? They have lost faith — such a sorry state of affairs.
How is it that a small boy immediately developed faith and got

Krishna? He cried out, “O Gopal! Where are You? My mother has
said to call you!” And immediately Gopal appeared..
The Determination of Dhruva
Dhruva Maharaja was also only a child, a five-year old boy. When
he inquired from his mother Suniti, she told him, “Narayan is there.
If you get the mercy of Lord Narayan then all of your desires will be
fulfilled.”
Dhruva siad, “Yes! Lord Narayan. Where is He?”
Suniti said, “I have heard that saints and sages go to the forest
to get Him.”
Dhruva said, “Oh, I must go! I must go and get Him!” He was
only a five-year-old boy ,but he had such determination.
Later, Narada Muni told him, “The forest is a very dangerous

place. There are many fearful, ferocious animals here --- tigers,
lions, and snakes. You are a small boy, what can you do here?”
Dhruva said, “No! No! My mother said that Narayan is there. I

must go and find Him. Dhruva wouldn’t hear any dissuasion. He was
so strong and determined! Therefore his name is Dhruva. “Dhruva”
means “determined”. His determination never shakes. Rupa
Goswami therefore says in Upadesamrta (text 3):
utsahan niccayads dhairyattat-tat-karma-pravartanat

sa∫ga-tyagat sato vrtthe˙ sadbhir bhakti˙ prasidhyati
“One can execute the process of bhakti-yoga successfully with

full-hearted enthusiasm, perseverance, and determination, by
following the prescribed duties in the association of devotees and
engaging completely in activities of goodness.”
Rupa Goswami, mahajana-acarya, says one must have utsaha,

enthusiasm, and niscaya, determination. “Yes, I am determined to
achieve this thing. I must achieve it.” Dhruva had that kind of
determination. But also dhairya, you must have patience. Don’t lose
patience. This strong determination and strong faith is most
important. Nothing is impossible. Krishna is always there to help
you. He is there in your heart. He will test how strong your faith is
in Him. Your faith is shaking; it is not strong. How determined are
you? Krishna creates everything. His will is supreme. By His mere
desire creation, maintenance, and destruction take place. We are
completely dependent on His will. Bhaktivinoda says in Sarangati
(3.4.7) tomara icchaya achi nirbhara koriya --- “I am completely
dependent on Your will, O Krishna.” So Krishna says, “Okay, I will
test your faith, to see if you are really completely dependent on My
will.” But you are lacking faith and Krishna knows, “Oh, he has no
faith. He only speaks from the lips. In his heart he has no faith.”
Everything takes place according to the will of Krishna. If He

doesn’t will, a blade of grass will not shake. So it is a question of
faith. But why do we lack faith? Dhruva immediately put strong
faith. He was not afraid of any situation. “Where is that Narayan?
Where is Narayan!” The example is also there in the story about the
young boy and Gopal. But we can’t put faith. What is the reason?
Why are these small children able to have faith, but adults cannot?
It is because you are crooked and they are simple. A child is very
simple, but as soon as he grows up and associates with adults, those
who are very crooked, he develops crookedness. Otherwise, in the
beginning a child is very simple. Simplicity is vaisnavism. All our
acaryas have said this. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami
stresses on this; saralata hi vaisnavata—simplicity is vaisnavism. Real
vaisnavas are a simple as a child. There is no question of
crookedness, duplicity or pretentiousness in them. But our heart is
full of these things. We are not al all simple-hearted persons. We
are very crooked. Duplicity, crookedness, and pretentiousness are in
you. But Krishna is in your heart. He knows what is in you; you
cannot cheat Him. Therefore we say that sadhu-guru-mahajan are
patita pavana, not kapati-pavana---they are the saviors of the fallen,
not saviors of the crooked.
Some persons say, “Shall I just have blind faith? Shall I not think
anything? Shall I not apply my intelligence, my deliberation? Should
I just put blind faith in whatever sadhu and sastra say?”
They say, “We have our own intelligence. We must think very
seriously before we can accept.”
How can you deliberate on what Krishna says, what sastra says ,
what the mahajanas say? They have no defects. You are a
conditioned soul with four defects; bhrama (tendency to commit
mistakes), pramada (the tendency to be illusioned), vipralipsa (the
tendency to cheat), and karanapatava (imperfect senses). Your
senses are defective. The thoughts in your mind are defective. What
you perceive through your senses is defective.
“There is no Sadhu Present”
You say, “Oh! we have been cheated so many times. Now we

won’t put faith in anyone. No sadhus are there. We don’t see any
sadhu.”
Can you see a sadhu? Do you have the vision to see a sadhu?
You are a conditioned soul. You have defective vision. How can you
see a sadhu? You have developed this motto, “Seeing is believing.”
You say, “ If I see, then I will believe. Can you show me? Can you
show me the Lord? Then I will believe.”
But you are not prepared to admit that you are blind. You have
no vision to see the Lord. Even if I show you the Lord, how can you
see without vision? You are not prepared to admit your
shortcoming. You are such a crooked, pretentious, duplicitous
person. You are always trying to hide your defects. You are not
prepared to admit them. This is proof that you are not at all simple.
You are a crooked person. Be simple! If you just once say with an
open heart, “Krishna I am Yours!” then immediately Krishna will
accept you. He is there in your heart, but you can’t cry out to Him.
Your heart if filled with such filth, such duplicity and crookedness.
You are ever simple. And Krishna knows it.
This is the reason why you cannot develop strong faith. Now
you want to see sadhu. You say, “We don’t see any sadhus. There
are no sadhus.
If there is no sadhu, then how are things going on? This is Kali-
yuga, the most sinful and degraded age. Still there is ekapad-
dharma, one-legged religion, therefore things are continuing.
Otherwise everything would have been finished, destroyed. In
Satya-yuga dharma had four legs. In Treta-yuga three legs were
there. In Dvarpara-yuga two legs were there, and in Kali-yuga there
is one leg. Because this one leg of dharma is present, things are
going on and we are all here.
The holy name came---this is the yuga-dharma for Kali-yuga. But

we have no faith, no belief in it. We are such crooked persons. We
have no simplicity. We only speak with the lips while something else
is in the heart. This simplicity is vaisnavism It is the only thing
required. Make your heart simple. Drive out, throw out all this filth,
crookedness, duplicity, and pretentiousness, and immediately you
will get Krishna.
Krishna emphasizes this sraddha in many places in the Gita:

Chapter four, text 39 states: sraddhaval labhate jnanam---“A faithful
person quickly obtains transcendental knowledge.” In chapter nine,
text three, Krishna states: asraddadhanah purusa aprapya mam
nivartante mrtyu-samsara-vartmani ---.Those who have no sraddha,
no faith, cannot approach Me. Again and again they will fall down
here to this mrtyu-samsara, world of death.
Sadhus Have No Defects
Those who have vision, they see and they say, arya-vijna-vakya nahi
dosa catustaya—the words of the mahajanas, sadhus, are free from
the four defects. Why don’t you put unflinching faith in their words?
You say, “I must think about it first. I must deliberate on what they
say. If I am convinced then I will apply it.”--- This is all duplicity,
crookedness, lack of faith! You are not prepared to admit that you
have four defects. Your senses are defective, how can you see? You
think, “I am the seer. I will see.” But you are not the seer. You have
defective vision. How can you see a sadhu who is free from defects
and exists on the transcendental platform? He is in the fourth
dimension. You are limited to three dimensions: length, breadth and
height. Can your material mind conceive the fourth dimension?
Then how can you say, “If I see, only then I will accept?” Nonsense!
Such nonsense! You can only act on faith. Nothing else.
In the story I told, the mother instructed and the child put faith
in her words. The mother is authority and the child is simple.
Sadhu, mahajana, and sastra are authority. But you have no faith in
them. How can you get Krishna? Faith is the most important thing.
Even if you put blind faith, still you will be delivered because sadhu
mahajanas are free from defects. What they say is real truth---
mahajana yei kahe, sei satya mani (Cc. Madhya 25.56). Suppose you
put blind faith in sadhu’s words and you go to hell; then sadhu-
mahajan will go to hell to deliver you. But by your manipulations,
politics, and duplicity, even if you elevate yourself to the position of
Brahmaloka, Satyaloka, still you will fall from there and you cannot
be delivered by sadhu-mahajana.
One who is very simple, immediately puts strong unflinching

faith, immediately surrenders, and immediately is accepted by
Krishna. That is what is needed. Simplicity is vaisnavism, but we are
lacking that thing.
You should take example from mahajanas like Rupa and
Sanatana Goswami. How simple they are! Once a very puffed-up,
proud pandit came to see them. He was traveling everywhere,
challenging and trying to defeat others. That pandit came to
Sanatana Gosvami and Rupa Goswami and said, “You debate with
me. If I am victorious then you will sign a certificate of defeat and if
you defeat me then I will sign a certificate that you have defeated
me.” Rupa and Sanatana immediately said, “No, we will give you a
certificate. Please go, dandavats. Yes, we are defeated. You are
victorious” This is simplicity.
Jada Bharat and the Dacoits
Jada Bharat was also simple in this way. A group of dacoits were
searching for a nice human being to sacrifice so that Kali would be
pleased and they could get a benediction from her. They found Jada
Bharat sitting in a cornfield. He was very strong, stout, and good-
looking. They thought he would be very nice for sacrifice. Jada
Bharat was like a madman --- dumb and callous like an animal. Just
like the butcher taking an animal to the slaughterhouse, the dacoits
took him to be sacrificed. Jada Bharat went with no protest, just like
a simple child. He was such an elevated paramahamsa! The dacoits
bathed him and put new clothes on him. The put vermilion on is
forehead. Then they asked him, “Please bow down here.” Like a
simple child he did what they said. Then they raised a sword to cut
off his head.
Kali is a vaisnava, a maidservant of Krishna. Seeing their activity,

she said, “What are these rascals dacoits doing?” Kali suddenly
came out from deity with a sword in her hand and chopped off the
heads of those dacoits and Jada Bharat was saved.
Nevertheless you are thinking, “Shall I put faith blindly? Shall I

not think about it? Shall I not deliberate on it?” You are saying like
that because you have no faith. Because duplicity and crookedness
is there in your heart. You are not simple.
One who is very simple is really surrendered. He is a real sadhu,

and he is protected. This simplicity is lacking in you. You think, “I
will see.” But you are not the seer. Krishna is the seer; sadhu is the
seer. You are to be seen. But you are thinking just the opposite, “I
will be the seer and the sadhu will be seen.” What is this nonsense?
They are the seer---Krishna is the seer, sadhu is the seer. You have
to be seen. When they cast their merciful glance on you, then your
good fortune arises. You become fortunate, subhagya. But you are
thinking, “I am the seer.” Just the opposite. That’s the whole
problem, nothing else.
Questions:
Devotee: How can someone develop simplicity?
Gour Govinda Swami: Associate with a simple sadhu. As I

described by guru-maharja, how he came and inculcated faith. And
why are you lacking faith now? Because you are not associating with
sadhus! You say, “We cannot see sadhu. There are no sadhus
present now.” That’s the whole trouble with you.
Devotee: But if we are duplicitous in the heart, then we will be

blind and won’t be able to see who is a sadhu. So how can we
associate with sadhus if we don’t know who is a sadhu?
Gour Govinda Swami: Therefore I say, even if sadhu comes,

because you are blind you have no faith in him. You want to be the
seer, so you cannot get any benefit. You cannot associate. If a
sadhu comes and chants here, speaks krsna-katha, it will never
enter your ear. You cannot get any benefit. You don’t do sadhu-
sanga at all. Although you come and sit here, you are just posing,
you are just pretending. You are such a pretender! Because you
have no faith, the sadhu’s katha will never enter your ear. Thus, you
cannot get any benefit. Just pretending. Sitting for ten or fifteen
minutes, then getting up and going out. Why is this? Because you
have no faith. You are not simple. You want to be the seer. But you
are not the seer. That’s the whole trouble.
Devotee: So I should just give it up?
Gour Govinda Swami: Yes! Give up everything! Just throw it out!

Throw it out! Make your heart clean and open. Jesus Christ said,
“Empty thyself. I will fill thee.” But you are not emptying. Your heart
is full to the brim with crookedness, duplicity and enviousness --- all
nasty things. How can he fill you? There is no space. Empty yourself.
Throw it out! Then you will get.
[From an evening program in Lansing, Michigan on 28 October

1991]
Srila Gour Govinda

Maharaja Page
There Is No One Like My Guru
[From a Lecture given by Srila Gour Govinda Maharaj, 7 April , l992,
BBSR]
Retyped from "Sri Krsna-kathamrta", by Puru Das Adhikari
"The Gaudiya sampradaya, the parampara of Caitanya Mahaprabhu,

is a bona fide Vaisnava sampradaya. One should accept the
instructions which are coming from the acaryas in this parampara as
it is and practice them in one's life. Then You will get the mercy of
Mahaprabhu. With a simple heart, that is krsna-seva. We are not
speaking anything pseudo-sampradayist. We should not hear the
words of pseudo-sampradayists. When Mahaprabhu ordered, "You
become guru and deliver this world," that instruction has come unto
my guru, Srila Prabhupada, and my guru gave me this same order.
So I will never develop any duplicity or crookedness in executing this
order.
That means I will never come in murkha--sampradaya or kapatya-

sampradaya or phalgu-sampradaya, the school of fools, hypocrites
and pretenders. I will never teach duplicity or crookedness to
anybody. Those who are visayis, materialistic persons, are
duplicitous, crooked, and envious, they come under pseudo-
sampradaya. They are selfish persons. Those who are under the
bonafide sampradaya coming from Gauranga Mahaprabhu, they are
so powerful that they kick all such sampradayas. They are always
twenty-four hours day and night engaged in loving service ot the
lotus feet of Radha and Krsna, executing the order of their guru.
They never desist from rendering pure service without duplicity,
nikapata-seva. An acarya is natural, not pretending, he is not
pretentious. He is not pretending as acarya. He is a natural acarya,
not artificial. He is more humble than a blade of grass lying on the
street and as tolerant as a tree. He gives respect to one and all,
seeing Krsna in everybody and never demands respect for himself.
Our teachings which are coming through our parampara are true,
coming form Mahaprabhu. They are our sadacara, our regulative
principle. They are law for all humanity. And this law, this sadacara,
has come down to us through parampara. If we disrespect it, if we
don't execute it in our life, if we add any deliberation, if we twist it,
then we will become offenders. We will commit offence by not
obeying the orders of guru. Yes, namaparadha. Then we will be far
away from the lotus feet of our guru. Guru will never keep us at his
lotus feet. If, in order to execute, to obey the order of my guru, it is
needed to become very proud, I will never hesitate to become very
proud. If it is needed to become an animal, I will never hesitate to
become an animal. If it is needed to go to hell for guru, I will never
hesitate to do it. Do you follow me? That is how to execute the order
of the guru. That is how to become a true follower of guru.
I will never hesitate to do it. I will never hear from anyone but my
guru. Those who are saying something different form this teaching
coming through bonafide parampara, coming from Mahaprabhu‹we
will never listen to them. If somebody says something different, then
like Bhimasena, with my fist, I will crush it. I will destroy it. I will
defeat it. I am so proud. With just one speck of dust form the lotus
feet of my guru, crores and crores of people of this world will be
delivered. You should understand how powerful one little speck of
dust of my guru's lotus feet is. There is no such a scholar as my
guru. I will never accept anyone else as a scholar. There is no such
teachings as those that my guru has imparted, to be found in any
human being, or in any demigod. I know it very well. No one else
can give such teachings. There is nothing in thiw world that is as
heavy as a tiny speck of dust from the lotus feet of my guru. This is
the follower of true parampara, I am following such parampara. This
is the teaching, one should understand it very well.
Only Mahaprabhu gives prema. Mirabai got sayujya mukti, but we

hate it. Gaudiya Vaisnavas hate it. We won't hear all these things.
Get out from here! I am so proud, I will crush it with my fist!
Entering into the body of the Lord, that was her desire. Jiva
Goswami appreciated that she said that Krsna is the only male, but
after that finish, chelo! Get out! Do you follow? Only Mahaprabhu
gives prema, nobody else. It is a simple fact. Why are you making it
complicated? It is very simple. Don't twist it, don't add any
deliberation to it. As it is. This s most important. It appears
contradictory but in tattva there is on contradiction. You should
understand in tattva. Apparent considerations are not tattva.
Apparent considerations and absolute considerations‹apara vicara
and tattva vicara. All our Gaudiya Vaisnava philosophy is bassed on
tattva vicara, not apara vicara."
Srila Gour Govinda

Maharaja Page
A Living Sadhu
[From Chapter Six of Pariprasna: The Process of Inquiry]
Devotee: Srila Prabhupada always emphasized that he was

eternally present in his books, instructions, tapes, and letters. So
when you say we should take association of a sadhu can we do that
through Srila Prabhupada's books?
Present in His Books
Gour Govinda Swami: If Prabhupada says he is there, then you

try to see him, associate with him and listen from him. Do you see
Prabhupada? Is he speaking to you?
Devotee: Through his books.
Gour Govinda Swami: Through his books, yes. All sadhus speak
through their books. Jiva Goswami, Rupa Goswami, Sanatana
Goswami, Bhaktivinoda Thakur, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati and Srila
Prabhupada all say that they speak through books.
This is not a new thing. This is our vaisnava procedure. But you
should see him. Can you see Bhaktivinode Thakur? Can you see Jiva
Goswami ? You may say, "Oh I have read their books, I have their
association." That won't help you. You cannot understand what they
have said merely by reading their books.Your consciousness is very
low, so you cannot understand their words. They are very, very
merciful, but you should follow the proper path. If you are intelligent
you will understand how they are still here, not only in the form of
their books but also they are here. You should see them. Why are
you thinking so foolishly? So many books were already there, so why
has Srila Prabhupada said this? You are thinking, "We need only to
read books. There is no need of association with a sadhu who is
physically present. Is there any sadhu? No, there is no sadhu at all."
Seeing is Believing
Your motto is, "Seeing is believing." You cannot see, so you cannot
believe. Because you are a conditioned soul your vision is defective.
You cannot see a sadhu.
Krsna is there, can you see him? No, you cannot, because you are
not endowed with proper vision. First develop the proper vision and
then you can see Krsna. Then you can see how a sadhu is there. It
is not a fact that sadhus are not present. How is everything going
on? How does the sun rise, the wind blow, and Indra give rain? All
these things are going on. No sadhu? No Krsna? It's nonsense,
foolishness. We are so proud and puffed up. We are indentifying our
self as the body, mind and false ego. We think we are very great. So
we say "Oh there is no sadhu." We are in the category of
identification with the body and mind. We have not come to the
beginning of the stage of purity. No!
Devotee: So we have to associate with a living sadhu?
Gour Govinda Swami: Definitely. There is always one there. But

he is not a cheap person. Such a person is very rare. If you can get
his mercy then you can see him. Otherwise, by your own effort and
perception you cannot see him. No, no, no.
You always think that you are drasta, the seer, and that the sadhu is
drsta, the one to be seen. Everyone is like this. They think they are
the seers. But it is just the reverse. You are to are to be seen and
they are the seer! Think this over very deeply. I think you cannot
completely understand what I say. We always think that we are the
seer and that they are to be seen, but this is not a fact. It is just the
reverse. They are the seers and we are to be seen.
Merciful Glance
Devotee: How are we seen by the sadhu by our service?

Gour Govinda Swami: Yes. The sadhu is the seer. If he showers
his mercy upon you, he sees you. If you receive that merciful glance
then you are very fortunate. However, you are in the category of
bodily consciousness. How can you have it?
Guru is the manifestation of the Supersoul, caitya-guru in the heart.
He manifests a body and appears. He knows your heart.
Devotee: I don't quite understand.
Gour Govinda Swami: Yes, try to understand. As I told you, just

hear patiently. A new bhakta cannot understand it because it is a
topic of the highest class. You are in pre-primary class, how can you
understand? You are not even in the primary class. How can you
understand this topic of the highest class? Just accept the bona fide
authorities. That will help you. The teacher says, "Two plus two is
four." The primary school student accepts it. If the teacher asks the
child, "What is two plus two?" The child will reply, "Two plus two is
four." "Why is two plus two four?" " My teacher says." He will answer
like this. That means he has accepted authority. This is the only
principle in the beginning. How is two plus two four? Why not three
or five? That will be explained in a higher mathematics class, not in
the beginning. You have to have patience and get a promotion. My
guru maharaj says in his purport that the beginning is purity of
consciousness. First come to this beginning stage, then gradually
other things will come up. You are not in the beginning stage so how
will the higher topics come up? This is a very, very subtle and very
deep philosophy.
Putting full faith in the sadhu you need only submissively hear ---
sravanam, sravanam, sravanam. In that way you can get the mercy
of that sadhu. That will help you. Only one thing is required, nothing
else --- sravanam, sravanam, sravanam. Just hear. Serve that sadhu,
please him, hear submissively, surrender yourself at his lotus feet
and submissively ask questions. Out of mercy the sadhu will impart
tattva-jnana to you.
This is the only process.
Unless you get association with a living sadhu, what can you do?
Will you put some question to Srila Prabhupada and Srila
Prabhupada will answer you? This process is a living thing, it is
always there, it is always current. It is not that inquiry was done a
certain way in the past and now things are done differently. No! It is
an eternal process, pranipatena pariprasnena sevaya.
[Pages 108-109]
Genuine Sadhu-sanga
Devotee: Paramatma is comparable to guru in some ways?
Gour Govinda Swami: Paramatma is the manifestation of guru

and guru is the manifestation of Paramatma. Katha Upanisad says:
nayam atma pravacanena labhyo

na medhaya na bahuna srutena
yam evaisa vrnute tena labyas
tasyaisa atma vivrnute tanum svam
The Supreme Self can never be known by any amount of arguments,

reasoning, intelligence, or by much hearing. To those whom He
chooses, however, He may reveal His personal form.(Katha Upanisad
1.2.23)
If someone is crying for Krsna, Paramatma knows. Then Paramatma

assumes a body and appears. When He appears externally He is
guru. "Tanu" means body. Vivrnute tanum svam --- He assumes a
body and is known as caitya-guru. Therefore I say cry, cry, cry!
Paramatma will know, "Now he is crying for Me." In this regard,
sadhu-sanga is most important. And that means sadhu in the true
sense, not a hypocrite sadhu, not a bogus sadhu --- a real sadhu.
"Guru" means heavy, not laghu. These words have their meanings
and you should understand them. If you really meet guru then your
association with laghus will be bitter. That's a most important thing.
That's the test who is guru.
"Laghu" means material things. You are associating with material
poets, material politicians, material wealthy persons and material
learned persons. They are laghus. When you associate with a sadhu
and get his krpa then automatically the taste will be bitter and you
will no longer like to associate with laghus. You should associate
with a real sadhu. Sadhu-krpa, the mercy of a sadhu, is powerful. It
is a most important thing. It is said, vaisnava-krpaya tara sarva-
siddhi --- If you can get the mercy of a vaisnava sadhu then you will
achieve all perfection. Moreover, it must be with a real sadhu, a
sadhu in the true sense of the term. Not a hypocrite or bogus sadhu
or kali-cela! They are only posing like sadhu. If a genuine sadhu cast
his merciful glance on you, then you have it! Sadhu-sanga is most
important, most important, most important. One should develop
greed for such a type of sadhu-sanga. Don't resist such greed. You
are greedy for material accumulations. That is your enemy. That will
lead you to hell. Now become greedy for this, to have such sadhu-
sanga. "How can I get it, how can I get it?" Develop this greed. It
should not be resisted. It is the only thing needed.
[Pages 113-114]
Blind Leading the Blind

Devotee: What if a devotee is initiated but he has not reached the
stage of nista. Should he accept guidance from a superior vaisnava?
Gour Govinda Swami: Yes, they are teachers-siksa-guru.
Devotee: If one thinks I have my guru already, like Prabhupada,

and I don't need any guidance?
Gour Govinda Swami: No, the moment this enters you are
finished! You are welcoming your fall down. If one is not free from
anarthas, how can he lead? He is a blind man. If a blind man is
leading another blind man all will fall into a ditch, finished! The
leader falls then the followers fall. This is going on.
Devotee: Maharaj, you were explaining two processes for

controlling the mind. One was to turn a deaf ear to the mind. I think
the other was taking shelter of a guru who has taken shelter of Hari?
Gour Govinda Swami: Sadhu-hari-guru caranopasanastrah- There

are two weapons: First, turn a deaf ear to the promptings of your
wicked mind. If you lend an ear your mind will capture you. It will
become your master and you will become weak. The second weapon
is guror hares caranopasanastrah (S.B.CH.11Text 17) --- Service
to the lotus feet of guru and Krsna.
Devotee: Because you love your spiritual master you don't want to
fall down, in that way you control the mind. Is that how it works?
Gour Govinda Swami: Guru will inflict discipline on you. Sisya

means under discipline. Sisyas te ham sadhi mam tvam prapannam -
-- In the second chapter of Bhagavad-gita Arjuna says, "I am now
Your disciple, please inflict discipline on me." If guru inflicts discipline
on you he will catch hold of your ear and slap you. "You rascal, idiot,
kanka. Why are you doing this?" Discipline means punishment. Guru
has the right to chastise you. And by that chastisement your heart
will be cleansed, your anarthas will go. Otherwise how will they go?
Accept that discipline ungrudgingly. Don't complain, "You rascal
guru." Rather you should think, " Oh, gurudeva has inflicted
punishment on me. I am so fortunate. I am getting krpa now." If
guru never inflicts his punishment on you it means no krpa.
Devotee: Like Sivananda Sena. Nityananda Prabhu kicked him.
Gour Govinda Swami: Yes, he kicked him, "You rascal, what are
you doing!"
Sivananda Sena was not there. He came late and Nityananda Prabhu
got angry, "Where is that rascal Sivananda Sena?" Then Nityananda
Prabhu kicked him. Then Sivananda Sena started dancing, "Oh today
I have got such good fortune. He kicked me." His wife was weeping
and crying, but Sivananda Sena danced in pleasure. This is vaisnava-
krpa, the devotee's mercy.
Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 5 Ch.11

TEXT 17
bhratrvyam enam tad adabhra-viryam

upeksayadhyedhitam apramattah
guror hares caranopasanastro
jahi vyalikam svayam atma-mosam
SYNONYMS
bhratrvyam--the formidable enemy; enam--this mind; tat--that;

adabhra-viryam--very, very powerful; upeksaya--by neglecting;
adhyedhitam--unnecessarily increased in power; apramattah--one
who is without illusion; guroh--of the spiritual master; hareh--of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead; carana--of the lotus feet; upasana-
astrah--applying the weapon of worshiping; jahi--conquer; vyalikam-
-false; svayam--personally; atma-mosam--which covers the
constitutional position of the living entity.
TRANSLATION
This uncontrolled mind is the greatest enemy of the living entity. If

one neglects it or gives it a chance, it will grow more and more
powerful and will become victorious. Although it is not factual, it is
very strong. It covers the constitutional position of the soul. O King,
please try to conquer this mind by the weapon of service to the lotus
feet of the spiritual master and of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. Do this with great care.
PURPORT
There is one easy weapon with which the mind can be conquered--
neglect. The mind is always telling us to do this or that; therefore
we should be very expert in disobeying the mind's orders. Gradually
the mind should be trained to obey the orders of the soul. It is not
that one should obey the orders of the mind. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta
Sarasvati Thakura used to say that to control the mind one should
beat it with shoes many times just after awakening and again before
going to sleep. In this way one can control the mind. This is the
instruction of all the sastras. If one does not do so, one is doomed
to follow the dictations of the mind. Another bona fide process is
to abide strictly by the orders of the spiritual master and
engage in the Lord's service. Then the mind will be
automatically controlled. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has instructed
Srila Rupa Gosvami:
brahmanda bhramite kona bhagyavan jiva

guru-krsna-prasade paya bhakti-lata-bija
When one receives the seed of devotional service by the mercy of

the guru and Krsna. the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one's real
life begins. If one abides by the orders of the spiritual master,
by the grace of Krsna he is freed from service to the mind.
Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Fifth Canto, Eleventh

Chapter of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, entitled "Jada Bharata Instructs
King Rahugana."
Srila Gour Govinda
Maharaja Page
The Blue Jackal
Questions and Answers with Sri Srimad Gour Govinda
Swami Maharaja
The following article appeared in issue number 15 of Sri Krishna

Kathamrita Bindu, the free fortnightly email magazine from ISKCON
Gopal Jiu Publications.
QUESTION: How can we have unalloyed devotion to our guru and

also see the godbrother of our spiritual master as our spiritual
master?
GOUR GOVINDA SWAMI: We will offer the same respect to him as

we pay to our spiritual master. But as Hanuman says, Rama has
occupied my heart:
sri-nathe janaki-nathe cabhedah paramatmanih

tathapi mama sarvasvam ramah kamala-locanah
There is no difference between Sri-nath (Vishnu, the Lord of the

goddess of fortune) and Janaki-nath (Rama, the Lord of Sita),
since They are both the Supersoul. Still, lotus-eyed Rama is
everything to me.
(Prema-bhakti-candrika, text 29)
We should not deviate from our guru. That is unalloyedness. Don't

be affected by any differences between our guru and his godbrother.
We should overlook them. Still, our attitude should be, "I am
following the instruction of my guru. I am not following the
instruction of the godbrother of my guru."
QUESTION: What should we do when we see that some superior

vaisnava needs correction?
GOUR GOVINDA SWAMI: Keshava Bharati was the godbrother of
Iswara Puri, who was the guru of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
Mahaprabhu corrected Keshava Bharati. But we should not imitate
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead
and we are not. We should not try to correct anyone who is superior
to us. We must act in such a way that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu will
give us the intelligence what to do:
tesam satata-yuktanam bhajatam priti-purvakam dadami buddhi-

yogam tam yena mam upayanti te
To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love, I give

the understanding by which they can come to Me. (Bg 10.10)
Krishna says, "I'll give you the intelligence." So, if you are a true
follower of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, He will give you intelligence. You
will be able to act in such a way that the vaisnava becomes
automatically corrected.
You won't need to correct him directly. You should not have this
thought in your mind, "Let me correct him." No, no, no, no, no, no!
We are not qualified to correct them. Our attitude should be, "trnad
api su-nicena taror iva sahisnuna - I am the lowest of the low
(Siksastaka 3).
QUESTION: How do you correct a godbrother?
GOUR GOVINDA SWAMI: With a godbrother we have a friendly

relationship. So we may talk to him in a friendly way. Sometimes we
may even cut jokes with him.
To correct him we may say something at some opportune moment

when we know it will not hurt him. An intelligent man will do like
this. You must speak in such a way that it will not hurt his feelings.
Mahaprabhu said:
prani-matre mano-vakye udvega na diba

Neither by mind nor words should a devotee cause anxiety to any
living entity, regardless how insignificant they may be. - CC Madhya
22.120
Don't speak or act in such a way that will hurt their feelings. Don't
agitate them. This is the devotee's behavior.
yasman nodvijate loko lokan nodvijate ca yah

harsamarsa-bhayodvegair mukto yah sa ca me priyah
He for whom no one is put into difficulty and who is not disturbed by
anyone, who is equipoised in happiness and distress, fear and
anxiety, is very dear to Me. - BG 12.15
Krishna says, "He who is not agitated in any circumstances is very

dear to Me. If someone tries to agitate him he never agitates back
or disturbs anyone. He is equal in both harsa and amarsa, favorable
and unfavorable conditions. In all conditions he is equal, sama.
Bhayodvegair, he has no fear, no anxiety. He is very dear to Me."
As Mahaprabhu has instructed, one should speak very sweetly so the

devotee may be corrected, but in such a way that they will not be
disturbed. For one who is intelligent, who is a true devotee,
Mahaprabhu will give them intelligence whereby you will know how
to act and speak in such a way that you will not hurt the devotee
and at the same time you will correct them.
And you should never have this thought in your mind that, "I'll
correct him." You should think, "I am not a qualified person to
correct him. I'm the lowest of the low. I am an ignorant fool,
murkha. I have no qualification." You should not cherish the thought
in your mind to correct them. This thought is very bad and offensive.
This is a very, very subtle point. It is very difficult for ordinary people
to understand. But those who are devotees, who have made some
advancement in spirituality, they can understand this point.
QUESTION: We cannot approach Krishna without a spiritual master.
What about approaching Chaitanya Maharabhu?
GOUR GOVINDA SWAMI: Unless you approach a spiritual master you

cannot approach Mahaprabhu. Mahaprabhu is the Supreme
Personality of Godhead. He is Krishna. The spiritual master is the
expansion of Nityananda Prabhu. You get the mercy of Nityananda
through the spiritual master, not directly. Guru is rupanuga-dhara - a
follower of the Goswamis in disciplic succession.
QUESTION: Who will decide who is a spiritual master?
GOUR GOVINDA SWAMI: Are baba! The decision comes from

Krishna. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has ordered:
yare dekha, tare kaha 'krsna'-upadesa

amara ajnaya guru hana tara' ei desa "Whomever you meet, tell
them about Krishna: 'O brother, Krishna has said this thing.' Don't
concoct. Just present it as it is. I order you to become a spiritual
master and deliver the world." If you just do this, if you just present
things as they are, following the disciplic succession, you will
become guru. Krishna will give you that position. Don't hanker after
it.
Just do it. The decision comes from Krishna, from Chaitanya

Mahaprabhu.
There is no question that someone will decide (laughs). Apratihata -

it will automatically come. If Chaitanya Mahaprabhu wants, if Krishna
wants, no one can check it. You should have full faith and patience.
Don't be pessimistic.
There is no question of pessimism. We should be full of optimism.

We don't need to bother about these things. Those persons who are
now blowing their own trumpet, beating their own drums, Krishna
will finish them at any time.
Don't be disturbed. You should have patience and full faith in guru-
sadhu-sastra. Because it is the material world some disturbances will
come up. pade pade vipada - "At every step there is danger." And at
the same time it is Kali-yuga, the age of quarrel and hypocrisy. This
world is filled with hypocrites. So some hypocrites will come and say,
"Oh, I am guru. I am sadhu. I am such a great man." He may come
and beat his own drum, blow his own trumpet, and make some
politics. It is quite natural. These things should not disturb you. Be
dhira, don't be disturbed. Have full faith in guru-sadhu-sastra. Just
do your duty as guru has instructed, as it is.
Present Krishna consciousness as it is. Time will change things in the

long run. You need not be worried. Have patience. Quote sastra and
the acaryas.
Our basis is guru-sadhu-sastra. I never say anything different. I

always quote authority.
Although he was a householder, Srila Prabhupada got the full mercy

of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He
never spent any time in the matha, but he became acarya because
he was very, very simple, not envious. You cannot put a stamp on
someone, "You are acarya." Or else the day may come to prove that
he's not an acarya.
I will tell you a nice story. Once a jackal fell into the blue dye-water
of a washerman. The jackal became blue. Then he went to the
forest and declared to everyone, "I am the king of the animals." All
of the animals said, "Oh yes! He is strange looking. He might be
king." Thus they made the jackal king and he sat on the throne.
Then when evening came, all of the jackals began howling, "Youka
hou! Youka hou!" So the jackal king also started howling, and then
everyone saw, "Oh! He's a jackal! Beat him! He's not king!" In this
way, he was revealed. We know these things, so why we should be
disturbed? Don't be disturbed. The time will come. Krishna and
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu will reveal everything. Have patience.
QUESTION: We can see that envy may be very subtle. What is our
hope?
GOUR GOVINDA SWAMI: We should have full faith in guru-sadhu-

sastra and we must do our service. Some disturbance may come -
and it will come. It is the nature of this material plane, and at the
same time Kali-yuga is here. It is very, very horrible. But one should
have firm determination and patience.
You should not deviate in any circumstance. Always pray to guru and
Lord Chaitanya. They will help you. We are very weak, but caitya-
guru is in our heart. He will give inspiration. For a sincere soul who is
very eager to have this, Krishna makes arrangements. He knows,
"This soul wants this thing." So He makes arrangements for it to
happen. Is there anything impossible for Krishna? It is impossible for
us, but nothing is impossible for Krishna. Our business is to always
pray to Krishna, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and Guru Maharaja, "Just
help me!" You'll get help. Have full faith in this. Don't be desperate.
We should be very eager to get this mercy and to have association
of pure devotees who are more advanced than ourselves. Then you'll
benefit. Sadhu-sanga means you will associate with a person who is
more advanced than yourself. Then you will benefit. Otherwise, no
benefit will come. It may seem impossible to get such association.
Still, nothing is impossible for Krishna. Krishna will make
arrangement. Vani, instructions, are there. When nothing is available
we should associate with instructions and books, and with our
sincere prayers we will reach Krishna.
The day will come when you will meet such a person. It's impossible
for us, but it's not impossible for Krishna. But we should always be
praying, "Krishna, please help me!" Chanting hare krsna means the
soul is crying, hare krsna hare krsna krsna krsna hare hare - "O
Krishna's sakti Radharani! O Krishna! Please engage me in Your
service. I am fallen."
ayi nanda-tanuja kinkaram patitam mam visame bhavambudhau
krpaya tava pada-pankaja- sthita-dhuli-sadrsam vicintaya
"O Krishna! I am Your kinkara, Your servant! But somehow I've fallen
into the depths of this ocean of nescience. Please shower Your
mercy on me and accept me as a particle of dust at Your lotus feet."
(Siksastaka 5) If the soul is crying and crying by uttering this hari-
nama, "hare krsna hare krsna", if you chant in this way, then you'll
get the necessary association miraculously and unexpectedly. It is
impossible for us, but nothing is impossible for Krishna. Krishna
wants that thing. The only lacking is with us. Thank you very much.
- Paris 1987, at the home of Sripad Harivilas Prabhu
Sri Krishna Kathamrita Bindu is published every ekadasi in PDF

format, and is designed for those who want to go deep into the
pastimes, philosophy, literature and history of Gaudiya Vaishnavism.
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Viswanath Chakravarti, Rupa Goswami etc., as well as new
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Srila Gour Govinda
Maharaja Page
The Departure of Srila Gour Govinda
Swami
[Excerpted from the book Gopaljiu

the Beloved Deity of Srila Gour Govinda Swami]
In late January 1996, Gour Govinda Swami mentioned, “Srila

Bhaktisiddhanta said that this material world is not a fit place for any
gentleman. Therefore, because he was disgusted, he left this world
prematurely. I may also leave. I don’t know. Let me ask Gopal. I will
do whatever He wants.” The next day he went to Gadeigiri to see
Gopal. After returning, for the next four days he lectured before
thousands of people at the Prabhupada Centennial festival in
Bhubaneswar. Then he left for the annual ISKCON management
meetings in Sridham Mayapur.
Ghanashyam recalls his discussion with Gour Govinda Swami during

this last visit to Gadeigiri:
"We were talking about Gopal’s new temple and installing large
deities of Radha Gopal to go with the existing small ones. Suddenly
Gurudeva told me, 'I won’t see this deity installation. You will see it,
but I won’t.' I said, “How is that? You are ten years younger than I
am. If you won’t see it how will I?
"Gurudeva said, 'No, no. You will see the inauguration of the temple
and the deity because you have served Gopal so nicely. Uncle
[Gopinath Giri] died thirty years ago and you went through so much
difficulty to take care of Gopal. You continued all of the festivals,
sarat-rasa, vasanta-rasa, etc. That is why Gopal is kind to you. So
you will see Gopal’s new temple.' That was the last discussion I had
with Gurudeva. After that he went to Bhubaneswar for a few days
and then to Mayapur where he stayed forever."
In Mayapur on 9 February 1996, the holy appearance day of Srila

Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur, two senior ISKCON devotees
requested an appointment in the early evening to see Gour Govinda
Maharaja. They inquired, “Why did Chaitanya Mahaprabhu stay in
Jagannath Puri?” He enthusiastically began to explain the
confidential significance of Mahaprabhu’s pastimes in Puri. He
described the pains of separation felt by Radha and Krishna when
Krishna was away from Vrindavan. He gradually unfolded the
pastime to the point where Radha and Krishna were finally united
after Their long separation. He described how Krishna became so
ecstatic upon seeing Radharani that He manifested a form with big
round eyes and shrunken limbs, Lord Jagannath. At that time the
devotees noticed that tears had come to his eyes and his voice had
become choked up. Barely audibly, he said, “Then the eyes of
Krishna fell upon the eyes of Radharani. Eye-to-eye union.” Unable
to continue, he apologized with folded hands, “Please excuse me. I
cannot speak.” He then gave his final instruction: “Kirtan! Kirtan!”
The devotees present began to chant as he calmly lay back on his
bed, breathing slowly and deeply. Upon his request a servant placed
a picture of Gopal Jiu in his hand. Then, gazing lovingly at that
picture of his worshipable deity, Gour Govinda Swami said, “Gopal!”
Then his eyes closed and he lost external consciousness. One
devotee quickly ran to bring a doctor. Kaviraj Dr. D. K. Brahma M.D.
recalls:
"Just before sandhya arati a devotee came to my residence and told

me that Gour Govinda Swami was having some problem breathing
and could I come to see him. When I arrived, Maharaja was lying
down. Some doctors had come before me and had said that
Maharaja had already passed away. Others were saying that we
should take him to Krishnanagar and give him treatment in the
Government hospital. I took his pulse and found that he was still
alive.
"I told them, 'Just wait. Give me another twelve minutes time, then I
may tell you to take him.' If they would have taken him to the
Government hospital it means they would have been pumping his
chest, thinking it was a heart attack. However, according to his pulse
there was nothing wrong with him. His pulse only showed that he
was taking rest. The Ayurvedic science teaches how to diagnose a
patient by taking his pulse. If something is wrong we can feel it. But
I never found anything wrong with Maharaja. According to his pulse
everything was normal.
"By the second or third time I read Maharaja’s pulse it had become
clear that he had left. Some say that he had a heart attack, but if
someone dies from a heart attack generally we find that they suffer
a lot. They also generally have some previous history of a weak
heart. In Maharaja’s case, none of these things were there. Maharaja
had the symptoms of asta-sattvika-vikara, ecstatic transformations,
on his body. One kind of vikara is that one doesn’t want to stay here
any longer, they want to go back to the spiritual abode, back to
Krishna. Nothing in Maharaja’s body failed, he just left. I am 100%
sure of that. I’ve never seen this kind of death before."
Srila Gour Govinda Maharaja's birthplace in the small village of
Jagannathpur in the Jagatsingpur district of Orissa.
Srila Gour Govinda

Maharaja Page
Why the Feet of Sri Guru
One should understand what is sri-guru-carana-padma. The words
"sri-guru" are very significant. "Sri" means sobha, beauty; sampada,
transcendental wealth, or asset; and srestha, the topmost. "Sri-guru"
means that guru who is endowed with sri, with prema-bhakti. The
word "sri" is used because there is no question of Sri Guru
disappearing or not being manifest. It is only applicable to a guru
who is eternally manifest. Otherwise such a word would not be used.
The Only Wealth
In this world, Sri Guru is the only beauty or asset, wealth. There is
nothing else. Carana means feet. Sri-guru-carana-padma the feet of
Sri Guru are compared to the lotus. This is also very significant. Why
are his feet compared to the lotus and not to anything else? The
lotus flower looks very nice and beautiful, and it also provides very
sweet honey, madhu. The bumblebee collects honey from different
flowers, but especially from the lotus flower. So what sort of special
quality is there in the honey collected from the lotus flower that is
not present in the honey collected from other flowers? It is a special
type of honey known as padma-madhu. The disciple who is like a
bumblebee, who is very hungry and greedy for that honey, relishes
it.
Mellow of Bhakti
Although the lotus flower grows out of the water, it is not touched by
it. One of the synonyms for water is rasa, mellow. The feet of Sri
Guru are compared to a lotus, but this lotus grows in the
transcendental water of bhakti-rasa, the mellow of bhakti. Such are
the lotus feet of Sri Guru. His lotus feet are aprakrta, not material,
but transcendental. They are bhakati-sadma, the abode of
transcendental bhakti-rasa as well as all madhuri, beauty. The lotus
looks beautiful to the eye and is very attractive to the heart.
Similarly, the shining lotus feet of Sri Guru are very beautiful in the
eyes of the disciple and very attractive to his heart. All of the
activities, form, qualities, and pastimes of Sri Guru are very beautiful
in the eyes of the sadhaka-bhakta. Through the eye of meditation
the sadhaka-bhakta sees the beautiful lotus feet of Sri Guru. Upon
seeing those lotus feet he feels a soothing effect in his afflicted
heart. His heart is afflicted with the three tapas, sufferings:
adhyatmika, sufferings arising from one's own mind and body;
adhidaivika, sufferings arising from nature; and adhibhautika,
sufferings arising from other living entities. When the disciple
meditates on the beautiful lotus feet of Sri Guru he feels a soothing
effect and his affliction is cooled down. At the same time he also
smells the nice scent that is coming from the lotus feet of Sri Guru,
like the scent that comes from the lotus.
Cooling Shade
The bumblebee wanders everywhere, going to various types of

flowers. One type of flower is the ketaki flower. That flower is found
in India, but not in the West. The tree on which the ketaki flower
grows, like the rose plant, has thousands of thorns. The ketaki
flower has a nice scent, and a bumblebee that becomes attracted by
the scent from the ketaki flower goes there. But because of the
many thorns on the tree his wings become torn and he feels so
much pain and affliction.
The bumblebee thinks, "Where to go now? Can I get shelter in a

place where there is no pain and affliction? Where can I get peace?"
After wandering hither and thither, at last he comes to the lotus
flower and experiences the cooling, soothing effect there. He takes
shelter inside the lotus flower, sucks the sweet honey there, and
thus gets nourishment.
Similarly, the jiva who is wandering and wandering through the
innumerable universes and through the innumerable species of life
of this material world — brahmanda bhramite kona bhagyavan jiva
— gets only more and more suffering, misery, and torture. There is
no cooling effect in the material world, which is like a blazing forest
fire — samsara-davanala.
Nobody starts the forest fire, but automatically by the rubbing of two
pieces of wood, the whole forest is burned and the animals that live
in the forest are burned to ashes. They feel the burning heat, which
is very painful. Similarly, the conditioned souls in this material world
feel the burning sensation coming from the three tapas: adhyatmika,
adhibhautika, and adhidaivika. After wandering through innumerable
universes and innumerable species of life, at last the fortunate soul,
bhagyavan jiva, comes to the lotus feet of Sri Guru and takes shelter
in the cooling shade there. As the bumblebee sucks honey from the
lotus flower, similarly, the guru-.-padma, the lotus feet of Sri Guru,
allow that jiva, who is compared to the bumblebee, to suck the nice
honey whereby he gets real nourishment and also premananda,
loving happiness.
Special Type of Honey
Padma-madhu, the honey collected from the lotus flower, is a special

type of honey. The Ayurveda-sastra says that it is a good medicine
for the eye. If someone has some eye disease due to impurities in
the eye the kaviraj, ayurvedic doctor, will advise him to rub some
padma-madhu in his eyes. Because of these impurities one cannot
see clearly and feels pain. Applying some padma-madhu on the eyes
will clean out all the impurities and then one will be able to see
clearly. Similarly, the guru-.-padma-madhu, the honey emanating
from the lotus feet of Sri Guru, is so sweet and nectarean that if a
fortunate disciple gets it and relishes it then the disciple's eyes will
be cleansed of the material conception.
Eyes of Knowledge
om ajnana-timirandhasya
jnananjana-salakaya
caksur unmilitam yena
tasmai sri-gurave namah
I was born in the dense darkness of ignorance, blind, without

real vision. Sri Guru, by his causeless mercy, has opened my
eyes with the torchlight of knowledge.
For a person who has some painful eye disease, who cannot see
well, the kaviraj will advise him to apply some padma-madhu by
which the drsti-sakti, the power to see clearly, will develop. Then not
only will he get nice eyesight but also he will be able to see even
very subtle things that he would otherwise never have been able to
see. Similarly, when one takes shelter at the lotus feet of Sri Guru
and gets the guru's mercy, the guru allows the surrendered disciple
to taste that sweet honey emanating from the guru's lotus feet. That
is the medicine whereby his material eyes will be cleansed of all
material contamination. He develops transcendental vision.
He may have been blinded by the dense darkness of ignorance,

ajnana-andhakara, but that will all be gone now. The darkness is
dispelled and he receives the eyes of knowledge— divya-jnana-
caksu. Sri Guru imparts tattva-jnana, and by his mercy the disciple
develops transcendental vision. With that vision he will be able to
see the beautiful form of the Supreme Lord, Syamasundar. This is
the honey, or madhu, emanating from the lotus feet of Sri Guru; it
acts in such a wonderful way. Therefore the phrase, "sri-guru-
carana-padma" is very significant — the lotus feet of Sri Guru are
compared to a lotus. Why is this comparison made and how to
explain it?
Wonderful Characteristic
Padma-madhu cures eye disease and clears out all the impurities
from the eye, but it cannot clear the impurities from the heart.
However, the honey emanating from the lotus feet of Sri Guru,
guru-.-padma-madhu, has such a special and wonderful
characteristic that it cures both the eye and the heart. Sri-guru-
carana-padma-madhu cleanses and purifies the heart so that it will
become a suitable place for Govinda, Krishna, to reside.
tomara hrdoye sada govinda-visram

govinda kohena — mora vaisnava paran
Narottam Das Thakur sings, "O Vaisnava-thakura! Govinda, Krishna,

resides in your heart, which is like Vrindavan, the eternal abode of
Govinda. He stays there very blissfully and peacefully. He never
leaves your heart."
The guru makes the heart of his surrendered disciple a suitable

place for Krishna to reside. Because the guru gives the disciple
shelter at his lotus feet and allows him to suck that special type of
honey that has that wonderful characteristic, the heart of the
surrendered disciple is cleansed.
Wandering Hopelessly
The conditioned souls are like a diseased person suffering from

various kinds of material ills — bhava-rogi. Their disease is very
chronic. They have already taken many medicines — allopathic,
homeopathic, and Ayurvedic — but the disease is still not cured. The
disease is incurable and has become chronic. They have already lost
their vitality, jivana-sakti, and cannot digest any food. They have
taken so many medicines, and that has also produced a bad effect.
These days you will find so many strong drugs, but what is their
effect? They simply result in chronic incurable disease. People lose
their vitality, and they cannot even eat anything because their
digestive fire is very low. How can they survive? They are dying.
They cannot eat or digest anything.
The kaviraj will advise, "You should only eat one thing — madhu.
And especially padma-madhu, the special type of honey from the
lotus flower."
He prescribes padma-madhu, whereby they will regain their vitality.

This honey will give them life. Any other type of food cannot be
given; only padma-madhu is advised. Then they can regain their
vitality. Such jivas, wandering through innumerable universes and
experiencing the miseries of innumerable species of life, have
become completely hopeless. They are only getting suffering, so
many material ills — bhava-roga.
If such persons are fortunate, they will come to the lotus feet of Sri
Guru. That guru is like a physician, sadhu-vaidya. He knows the
perfect and unfailing medicine to cure the material disease, bhava-
roga. He knows the cause of the jiva's suffering. There is only one
medicine, the honey emanating from the lotus feet of Sri Guru —
guru-.-padma-madhu. So, as the lotus allows the bumblebee whose
wings are torn by the thorns of the ketaki flower to take shelter
inside the flower, similarly, the guru allows the disciple to take
shelter at his lotus feet.
The guru-.-padma, the lotus feet of Sri Guru, gives such hopeless
wandering souls shelter and allows them to suck honey, whereby
they regain their vitality. The suffering jiva gets nourishment and life
there. That is why we say, "sri-guru-carana-padma." The lotus feet
of Sri Guru are compared to a lotus, and not to anything else. This
phrase has great significance.
saksad-dharitvena samasta-sastrair
uktas tatha bhavyata eva sadbhih
kintu prabhor yah priya eva tasya
vande guroh sri-caranaravindam
The spiritual master is honored as much as the Supreme Lord

because he is the most confidential servitor of the Lord. This is
acknowledged in all revealed scriptures and is followed by all
authorities. Therefore I offer my respectful obeisances unto the
lotus feet of my spiritual master, who is a bona fide
representative of Sri Hari.
[Srila Viswanath Chakravarti Thakur, Gurv-astaka, verse 7 ]
Sri Guru is saksad-dharitvena, he is as good as Lord Hari. He does

not belong to this material world. He belongs to the spiritual world,
Krishna's world. He comes down here out of his causeless mercy,
either voluntarily to deliver the fallen souls or when the Lord sends
him. Whether he comes here voluntarily or by the will of the Lord,
that guru-.-padma descends here to shower his mercy on the
suffering conditioned souls who have been drowning in the dreadful
ocean of materialistic existence since time immemorial. That guru-.-
padma descends and stays here in the material world.
Someone may raise the question, "This material world is illusory,

mayika jagat. The three modes of material nature are here, sattva,
raja, and tama— goodness, passion, and ignorance. If the guru
comes and stays in this material world, will he not be affected by
those three modes? How can his transcendental nature remain
unaffected in this dreadful ocean of material existence? How does he
act here?"
This is very easy to understand from the example of the lotus flower.
The lotus flower lives in the water, but it is not affected. It remains
untouched. Similarly, although Sri Guru comes here to this material
world, he remains untouched. He is never affected by the three
modes of material nature. Therefore the feet of Sri Guru are
compared to a lotus. The bumblebee that comes to the lotus that is
in the water and takes shelter inside that lotus is also untouched by
the water. Similarly, the fortunate soul who has taken shelter at the
lotus feet of Sri Guru will never be afraid of this material world. Just
as the bumblebee takes shelter of the lotus and is protected from
being touched by the water, so the disciple who takes shelter at the
lotus feet of Sri Guru will not be affected by the material nature. This
is the lotus feet of Sri Guru.
Intense Desire
Another point is there. When the sun rises, the lotus blossoms, and
when the sun sets the petals of the lotus close. Similarly, the petals
of the guru-.-padma will open when it sees the intense desire and
crying in the heart of the suffering soul to go back to Godhead and
get Krishna. This crying for bhakti is like the rising of the sun.
When the sun sets, the petals of the lotus close. Similarly, a disciple
who has developed an intense and burning desire in his heart has
come to the guru and received shelter. But many times we see that
later on, that disciple loses his bhakti-vrtti, his devotional
engagement. Because of committing some offense like nama-
aparadha or vaisnava-aparadha he loses his bhakti-vrtti. His bhakti
becomes shrunken and he does not carry out the orders of the guru
or hear the guru's message. He is avoiding or disobeying his guru.
When the sun sets, the petals of the lotus close. Similarly, the guru
disappears from the vision of that disciple.
Always Manifest
Of course, for one who has made advancement and developed some
taste for this transcendental mellow, this is not applicable. It is only
applicable to neophytes who have not yet made much advancement
and who have not developed any taste for this mellow. If such a
devotee commits some aparadha and associates with offenders and
materialistic persons, if he does not do real sadhu-sanga, then the
sun will never rise. He will disobey the order of the guru and violate
his instructions. The guru-.-padma will disappear from such a
disciple who is acting according to his own whims.
This is not applicable for advanced devotees who have developed

taste for this transcendental mellow. They cannot leave it because it
has become their life and soul. They cannot survive without it. For
such a disciple the guru-.-padma will never disappear. He is always
with the guru and the guru is always with him. In all conditions he is
engaged in the loving service of guru-.-padma. He is a nisthapara-
bhakta, who has achieved at least the minimum stage of nistha.
For such a very advanced devotee who has developed a taste—

meaning he has come to the minimum stage of nistha, or beyond
that, like ruci, asakti, or bhava— for him there is no question of
disappearance of the guru. He is with guru. The guru never
disappears from him. He always sees and realizes the presence of
his guru. For that bhakta, the guru is always manifest. The guru will
never leave him. But for one who has not achieved the stage of
nistha, the apprehension is there that if he commits some aparadha
or violates the guru's instructions, the guru may disappear from his
vision. That means the sun will set and the petals of the lotus will
close.
Crying Is Required
The sisya or sadhaka should always cry for guru-krpa, the causeless
mercy of the guru. Unless you cry for it, you cannot get it. Nobody
can get that mercy without crying. For example, when the child
cries, the mother runs, thinking, "Oh, my child is crying." The child
cannot be pacified by anything without the mother's presence.
Because she is engaged in performing household duties the mother
may give the child a toy or a doll to play with, but the child will
throw down that toy or doll and cry and cry. So unless you cry, how
can you get that mercy? This crying is required— karuna na hoile,
kandiya kandiya, prana na rakhibo ara. Therefore we sing this song.
We must cry and cry for the mercy of guru. Unless you cry how can
you get it? Those who have cried have received the mercy.
gurudeva! krpa-bindu diya, koro' ei dase, trnapekha ati hina

sakala-sahane, bolo diya koro nija mane sprha-hina
sakale samman, korite sakati, deho' natha! Jathajatha
tabe to' gaibo, harinama-sukhe, aparadha ha'be hata
kabe heno krpa, lobhiya e jana, krtartha hoibe, natha!

sakti-buddhi-hin, ami ati din, koro' more atma-satha
jogyata-vicare, kichu nahi pai, tomara karuna sara

karuna na hoile, kandiya kandiya, prana na rakhibo ara
Gurudeva! By a drop of your mercy, make this servant of yours

more humble than a blade of grass. Give me strength to bear all
trials and troubles, and free me from all desires for personal
honor.
O lord and master! Invest me with the power to properly honor

all living beings. Only then will I sing the holy name in great
ecstasy and will all my offenses cease.
O lord and master! When will this person be blessed by

obtaining your mercy? I am low, fallen, and devoid of all
strength and intelligence. Please make me your beloved servant.
When I examine myself, I find nothing of good value. Your

mercy is therefore essential to me. If you are not merciful, I will
constantly weep, and I will not maintain my life any longer.
[Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur, Saranagati]
This is our prayer. This weeping or crying is required. Unless the

child cries the mother will not run and the child cannot get the
mother's breast. Similarly, unless you cry, how can you get the
darsana of Sri Guru? When the child cries, the mother runs to him.
Similarly, although the guru may be in some other part of the world,
when the disciple cries the guru runs there. Sri Guru is karuna-maya,
he is causelessly merciful. Thus whether he is manifest or
unmanifest he gives darsana to his disciple. He may also come in a
dream to give his darsana.
This guru-tattva is nitya-tattva— an eternal transcendental tattva. It
is eternally prakata, manifest. It is not aprakata, unmanifest. There
is no question of guru-tattva becoming unmanifest. This sri-guru-
carana is inconceivable. It cannot be understood through one's
material knowledge, intelligence, or merit.
Eternal Associate
Sri Guru is a nitya-parikara, an eternal associate of Sri Sri Radha and

Krishna. The last limit of guru-tattva is nityananda-tattva. Nityananda
Prabhu is gaura-parikara, an eternal associate of Gaura. Similarly, Sri
Guru is the eternal associate of both Gaura and Krishna, because in
tattva, Gaura and Krishna are one. There is no difference between
gaura-tattva and krsna-tattva.
Therefore we say saksad-dharitvena, Sri Guru is as good as Lord

Hari. That means that Sri Guru is asraya-tattva, the abode of love.
Lord Hari is the only visaya-tattva, the object of love, whereas Sri
Guru is asraya-tattva. The guru is called sevaka-bhagavan, the
servitor Personality of Godhead, whereas Krishna, Lord Hari, is
sevya-bhagavan, the Supreme Personality of Godhead who is to be
worshiped. Both are called bhagavan. That is visaya and asraya, the
object of worship and the abode of worship. Otherwise, in tattva
they are one.
guru krsna-rupa hana sastrera pramane guru-rupe krsna krpa

karena bhakta-gane
According to the deliberate opinion of all revealed scriptures,

the spiritual master is nondifferent from Krishna. Lord Krishna in
the form of the spiritual master delivers His devotees.
[Caitanya Caritamrta Adi 1.45.]
Krishna showers His mercy in the form of guru. Without that mercy,
one cannot understand or approach Krishna or go back to Godhead.
Krishna appears before us in the form of guru to help us and act as
our friend. Showering His causeless mercy through the guru, Krishna
delivers us from unlimited suffering in the material world. Krishna is
also in the heart in the form of Paramatma, the caitya-guru. From
within, Krishna will give us the intelligence to act in the correct way
and not make any mistakes or errors. This is the glory of the lotus
feet of Sri Guru. It is incomparable and indescribable.
Embodiment of Mercy
Both the siksa-guru and the diksa-guru are representatives of

Krishna. Their krpa, mercy, is unlimited. There is no difference
between the siksa-guru and the diksa-guru.
yadyapi amara guru--caitanyera dasa tathapi janiye ami tanhara

prakasa
Although I know that my spiritual master is a servitor of Sri

Chaitanya, I know him also as a plenary manifestation of the
Lord.
[Caitanya Caritamrta Adi 1.44]
This is the tattva. Therefore we say that Sri Gurudeva is krsna-krpa-

sri-murti— he is the embodiment of krsna-krpa, Krishna's mercy. If
Krishna's mercy assumes a body and appears before us, that is Sri
Guru.
Guru-Bhakti
If someone develops guru-bhakti he will get Krishna.
yasya deve para bhaktir

yatha deve tatha gurau
tasyaite kathita hy arthah
prakasante mahatmanah
Only unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the
Lord and the spiritual master are all the imports of Vedic
knowledge automatically revealed.
[Svetasvatara Upanisad, 6.23]
One who develops the same type of bhakti for the guru as he
develops for Krishna is a very fortunate soul. All transcendental
knowledge will be revealed or manifest to him because there is no
difference between guru-bhakti and krsna-bhakti. Without guru-
bhakti, transcendental knowledge will never manifest. Sri Guru is
krsna-priya-jana, a very dear associate of Krishna. He is also radha-
priya-sakhi, a very dear girl companion or maidservant of Srimati
Radharani, like Rupa Manjari, who is Rupa Goswami.
The mula guru-tattva, the original guru-tattva, is nityananda-tattva,

Sri Nityananda Prabhu. By gradually descending, Sri Guru, or
nityananda-tattva, has come to us. Nitaichand is both the diksa-guru
and the siksa-guru. The caitya-guru is His manifestation. This is
guru-tattva. They only differ in their activities or lilas. Therefore we
say, sri-guru-carana-padma. It is very significant that the lotus feet
of Sri Guru are compared to a lotus.
Body, Words and Mind
Bandon mui savadhana mate— one should offer prayers and

worship, vandana, with the utmost care. There are three types of
vandana: kaya, vakya, and mana— through our body, words, and
mind. With our body we fall flat on the ground and offer our
dandavat pranamas to gurudeva— kaya-vandana. Through our
words we offer prayers and glorify the guru— vacika-vandana. And
through our mind we always meditate on the beautiful and
transcendentally blissful lotus feet of the guru— manasika-vandana.
If one has money or some material opulence then he should render

service through that money. That is kayika, service through the
body. If one has some followers or if he is a family man with a wife,
son, daughter, friends, and servants, then with those followers or
subordinates he should give everything and render loving service to
the lotus feet of the guru. That is also kayika. One should serve with
all one's capacity, which is why it says bandon mui savadhana mate
— with the utmost care one should do vandana.
With one's words one should offer prayers and glorification to the
guru. One should also hear from the guru, sravana. Whatever one
has heard from the guru, one will speak to others, and in that way
others will also hear what he has heard. That is vacika. Pariprasna is
also there: If one has some doubts then he should humbly ask
questions and get them clarified. These are all types of seva.
In one's mind, manasika, one should put firm and unflinching faith in
the words of the guru. One should understand that the guru has
manifested before me in various forms to help me and shower his
mercy on me. This is how one serves the guru through one's mind.
That is the meaning of kayika, vacika, and manasika.
One should think, "Guru-krpa is my only asset, nothing else."

Therefore we say bandon mui savadhana mate— I do guru-vandana
with the utmost care. Always be careful and never be careless.
Krishna's Trick
Sri Guru tells me that I am an eternal servant of Krishna and thus I

should be engaged in His service. But where is Krishna and where
am I? How can I serve Him? Is Krishna in the material world? No,
Krishna is in the spiritual world, Vaikuntha. That is Krishna's world.
Krishna is the only enjoyer. The jiva can never be the enjoyer.
Gurudeva says, "Whatever you find in this world is all paraphernalia
for Krishna's enjoyment, not for your enjoyment." Krishna's world is
Vaikuntha, where there is an abundance of enjoyment.
Just as we want to be free from the clutches of maya, Bhagavan, the

Supreme Lord Krishna, also wants to take us out of maya's clutches
and engage us in His service. Krishna is the only enjoyer and His
desire for enjoyment is unlimited. Thus He wants to enjoy by taking
everyone into His domain. We are tiny jivas. We have no capacity to
enjoy, because the jiva is not the enjoyer. We have only developed
this purusa abhimana, the thought that I will enjoy and enjoy. It is
only our misconception, because the jiva has no capacity to enjoy.
Krishna has unlimited capacity to enjoy in unlimitedly different ways,
and the jiva is to be enjoyed, upabhogyam.
Krishna is there in His abode, vaikuntha-rajya, the spiritual world,

and we are here in the sakuntha-jagat, the miserable material world.
How then can we serve Him? Krishna has made a trick for us, and
that trick is Sri Gurudeva. Krishna has sent Sri Gurudeva to this
material world to spread here Krishna's samsara, His household or
family. It is Krishna's desire that His samsara be manifest in this
world. All sadhus and mahajanas are gurus, so Krishna has sent
them to manifest His samsara. So in this material world gurudeva
has opened Krishna's samsara.
The Supreme Lord has not said, "You go and make your own
samsara." Rather, Krishna has said, "Go there and do My samsara."
So by Krishna's desire, gurudeva has come here and opened
Krishna's samsara. Krishna is his eternal master, nitya-svami.
Gurudeva has completely surrendered and dedicated his life, kaya,
mana, vakya— body, mind and words, to Krishna. That is gurudeva.
Those who take shelter at the lotus feet of such a Sri Guru— he
takes them and makes them enter into Krishna's samsara. Gurudeva
says, "I am doing Krishna's samsara, giving everything for the
enjoyment of Krishna. You please come and enter into Krishna's
samsara. Then you will be free from the clutches of maya. You will
be free from all material sufferings."
Enter into Krishna's Family
Gurudeva may construct a cottage in a solitary place and engage

himself in bhajana by the side of Radhakund or Syamakund. Why
would he leave, especially to go to the Western world where maya is
very strong, where there are many gross materialists? He goes
because his heart bleeds, seeing the suffering of the jivas. He has
given up all these things to give us the opportunity to do hari-
bhajana, service to Krishna. He teaches us and gives us the
opportunity to serve Krishna. We have forgotten Krishna, so just to
revive our memory he has come here. He has opened Krishna's
samsara. He has opened a factory and we have become an
employee in that factory. Thereby we will enter into Krishna's
samsara.
Some people may say, "I am doing hari-nama, chanting, 'hare krsna
hare krsna krsna krsna hare hare hare rama hare rama rama rama
hare hare.’" You may be chanting, doing hari-bhajana, but unless
you enter into Krishna's samsara what value is there? Unless you
enter into Krishna's samsara there is no value to your chanting. And
in order to enter into Krishna's samsara you have to approach a Sri
Guru, a bonafide guru.
At that time gurudeva will call you, "Come, come. Enter into
Krishna's samsara, which I have opened here." Unless we enter into
Krishna's samsara, we cannot chant. It will only be offensive
chanting. You may be chanting lakhs and lakhs of nama, but it will
simply be offensive, nama-aparadha. Your anarthas cannot be
destroyed. Even if you chant lakhs of names offensively you cannot
make any advancement at all. Many people may chant, but what are
they getting? By that kind of chanting they may go up to Vaikuntha,
but gurudeva has come here to teach that you should enter into
guru's samsara, that is, Krishna's samsara. You are a servant so you
have to render service by entering into the guru-grha. Then you will
attain perfection. Otherwise one will never attain perfection.
Krsna-Seva-Yajna
What do we want from entering into the samsara of the guru? Shall
we take everything and not give anything? The guru has given you
so much, but unless you serve in the house of the guru there is no
benefit. Therefore the guru says, "Come and join, enter into my
samsara, that is, Krishna's samsara. Then all your anarthas will be
destroyed."
So, dedicate your body, mind, and speech, your soul and everything,
to the service of Sri Guru. You have come to the house of the guru.
That means he has opened a factory and you should be an
employee in that factory. Sri Guru will give you employment. Who
will give you employment otherwise? Will the government give you
employment? No. But the guru will give you employment in the
factory that he has opened. That employment is service to Krishna,
krsna-seva-yajna. Unless you join that seva-yajna, rendering service
in the guru-grha, guru's asrama, you cannot get the real benefit.
Obstacles
Gaurasundar Mahaprabhu speaks and teaches through Sri Guru. So,

dedicating everything, kaya, mana, vakya— one's body, mind, and
speech, one should serve Sri Guru. Then perfection is guaranteed.
That is definite, no matter what obstacles or impediments may
come. So many obstacles are there. In the material world there is
danger at every step. Great stumbling blocks are there, but if you
completely surrender through your body, mind, and speech then all
impediments and stumbling blocks will be destroyed within a
moment. In this very life you will attain perfection. There is no doubt
about it. Without the mercy of Sri Guru, without service to Sri Guru,
no one can approach Krishna, understand Krishna, or get Krishna.
Therefore, everyday we offer this prayer and worship the lotus feet
of Sri Guru.
sri-guru-carana-padma, kevala-bhakati-sadma,
bandon mui savadhana mate
— Originally From "The Worship of Sri Guru."

Srila Gour Govinda
Maharaja Page
How to Find a Sadhu?
Questions and Answers with
Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja
Devotee: How does one recognize a sadhu?
Gour Govinda Swami: Cry before Krishna. Only He can help you
to find a sadhu. You can’t recognize a sadhu. You have no vision to
see the sadhu. If you try by yourself to recognize sadhu, then you
will be cheated. If you are serious, then cry before Him. “O Krishna!
I am your servant!”
ay nanda-tanuja kinkaram
patitam mam visame bhavambudhau
krpaya tava pada-pankaja-
stita-dhuli-sadrsam vicintaya
Mahaprabhu has taught us this. This is crying before

Krishna. “O nanda-tanuja, son of Nanda Maharaja, I am your
kinkara, your sevant. Somehow or other I am fallen here in this
dreadful ocen of material existence and I have been drowning from
time immemorial. But I want to serve you. How can I serve you?
How can I become a speck of dust at Your lotus feet? Please help
me.” Just cry. Without the help of sadhu you cannot approach
Krishna. You can’t utter Krishna’s name. When you cry like that,
Krishna is there in your heart as paramatma. He will say, “Oh now he
is crying for Me.” Then he makes an arrangement.
This is the proper way. If by your own effort you try to

recognize a sadhu, you will be cheated. You can’t see a sadhu. You
have no vision at all. You see only all outward, external things. You
can’t see the real thing. There are many persons who are only
outwardly sadhus. You will be enchanted by their external activities:
“Oh, he is a great sadhu! Yes, he is producing gold!” You will be
cheated.
You can’t get a real sadhu [in this way]. A real sadhu is one
who is competely absorbed in Krishna, day and night, twenty-four
hours. He has gotten Krishna. He is with Krishna. He can give you
Krishna. You can’t see him. You have no vision. Only you can cry for
Krishna from the core of your heart. This is not an external cry. It is
internal. Then Krishna, who is in your heart, will see that you are
crying and he will help you. He will make arrangement for you to
meet such a sadhu. That is the arrangement of Krishna. When you
meet such a person you will feel some spontaneous attraction from
the core of your heart. That attraction is the proof.
Devotee: To meet a sadhu is so rare. How can one get the

opportunity?
Gour Govinda Swami: It’s a fact that it is rare, but if you are
really crying for it then Krishna can make an arrangement. It is
impossible for you, but nothing is impossible for Krishna.
--Home program in Vancouver, Canada: May 1993

Srila Gour Govinda
Maharaja Page
Crooked Disciples
Once a guru went to the house of one of his disciples. The disciple
prepared nice food, and after the guru had eaten, the disciple
wanted to show his guru-bhakti. In Ayurveda the haritaki fruit is
recommended for good digestion, so the disciple came with haritaki
for his guru. The guru said, "All right. Remove the unnecessary
things and give me the necessary part."
That disciple was a speculator, a crooked person. He thought, "Oh,

the outer portion of the haritaki is unnecessary and the inner portion
is necessary." So he threw away the outer skin and gave the inner
portion, the hard seed, to the guru. But with haritaki the outer skin
is necessary and the inner portion is thrown away. That disciple did
the opposite because he was a speculator— bharavahi, saragrahi
nahin— he always accepted the unnecessary things that are not the
essence.
His guru could not enjoy the haritaki. "You are such a unintelligent
fellow," he said. "Don't you know? The inner portion, the hard nut of
haritaki, is unnecessary. The outer portion, the skin, is necessary."
Incurable
The next day, after the guru had eaten, that so-called disciple
brought some cardamom. Remembering the previous day's event,
he thought, "Oh, the guru has taught that this inner portion is
unnecessary and this outer portion is necessary." So he threw away
the inner portion of the cardamom and offered the outer skin to the
guru. But with cardamom, the seed is necessary and the skin is
useless. That means that those who are kapati, crooked persons,
only speculate. They will not accept anything as it is.
Therefore the mahajanas have said that one who is very serious and
eager to achieve perfection in his human birth, that is krsna-bhakti,
should cultivate simplicity. Simplicity is Vaishnavism. Those who are
real vaisnavas are simple by nature. Kapatya, crookedness, is a great
hindrance on this path of perfection. It is a sort of disease. And
because a crooked person becomes envious towards the doctor who
has come to cure him, his disease is incurable.
In Bhakti-Sandarbha, Jiva Goswami has said that there are many

such persons who pretend to be devoted, but inside their heart there
is great crookedness. Outwardly they pay dandavats, falling down
like a rod from a great distance, as if they are very humble. Yet they
criticize sadhu, acarya, and gurus. They may even offer worship, but
actually they have no respect at all. They are very keen to find out
the faults of the sadhu.
Such persons take to karma, jnana, yoga, tapasya, tyaga, and niti—
fruitive activities, speculative knowledge, penance, renunciation, and
morality. Externally they practice these things and pose as if they are
of very high moral character, but actually their hearts are very hard.
Unreal Shelter
Those persons who leave the bona fide guru and go elsewhere due
to crookedness cannot be delivered. In Skanda Purana it is said,
bhumau skhalita-padanam, bhumir evavalambanam — "If your feet
slip up from the ground, only that same ground can give you
shelter." Similarly, if you have slipped up from the lotus feet of a
bona fide guru, only that guru can give you shelter. A crooked
person who pretends to be a humble follower of the guru will leave
that guru and go somewhere else to take shelter. But he should
understand that no one can give him shelter. It may seem that
someone may give him shelter, but that is not real shelter at all
because he cannot make any advancement there.
Rather, for his offense he will definitely fall down and go to hell. If
he does not come back to his guru and beg to be excused, his
offense cannot be destroyed or counteracted. If he is really an
intelligent, simple-hearted person, he will understand this and come
back. Unless he comes back, he must be entrapped by this
crookedness. In this way, Jiva Goswami has discussed kapatya in his
Bhakti-Sandarbha, and how it is a great stumbling block on the path
of devotional service.
Stool of a Hog
Sastra, sadhus, and mahajanas have all warned us about kapatya.

But still you will find this crookedness going on in the Vaisnava
community. Why is it that people do not become simple? It is
because they are running after name, fame, and prestige. Our
Vaisnava acaryas have said, vaisnava pratistha, sukarera vistha, such
fame is the stool of a hog. A real Vaisnava will never run after it. But
all are running after this by cultivating crookedness. "How can I get
labha, puja and pratistha? How can I get worship from others and
occupy a superior position?" Those who think in this way cannot
understand that an incurable disease has infected them. They have
given up kanaka and kamini, wealth and women, but they have not
given up this pratistha, the desire for worldly reputation.
Srila Gour Govinda
Maharaja Page
A Sadhu is Always Present
Devotee: Srila Prabhupada always emphasized that he was

eternally present in his books, instructions, tapes and letters. So
when you say we should take association of a sadhu, can we do that
through Srila Prabhupada’s books?
Gour Govinda Swami: If Prabhupada says he is there, then you

try to see him, to associate with him and listen from him. Do you
see Prabhupada? Do you hear from Prabhupada? Is he speaking to
you?
Devotee: Through his books.
Gour Govind Swami: Through his books, yes. All sadhus speak
through their books. Jiva Goswami, Rupa Goswami, Sanatana
Goswami, Bhaktivinode Thakura, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarswati and Srila
Prabhupada all say that they speak through their books. This is not
a new thing. This is our vaisnava procedure. But you should see him.
Can you see Bhaktivinoda Thakura? Can you see Jiva Goswami? You
may say, “Oh I have read their books; I have their asociation.” That
won’t help you. You cannot understand what they have said merely
by reading their books. Your consciousness is very low, so you
cannot understand their words. They are very, very merciful, but
you should follow the proper path. If you are intelligent you will
understand how they are still here, not only in the form of their
books but also they are here. You should see them. Why are you
thinking so foolishly? So many books were already there, so why
has Srila Prabhupada said this? You are thinking, “We need only to
read books. There is no need of associating with a sadhu who is
physically present. Is there any sadhu? No, there is no sadhu at all.”
Your motto is, “Seeing is believing.” You cannot see, so you cannot
believe. Because you are a conditioned soul, your vision is defective.
You cannot see a sadhu. Krishna is there, can you see Him? No, you
cannot, because you are not endowed with proper vision. First
develop the proper vision, and then you can see Krishna. Then you
can see how a sadhu is there. It is not a fact that sadhus are not
present. How is everything going on? How does the sun rise, the
wind blow, and Indra give rain? All these things are going on. No
sadhu? No Krishna? It’s nonsense, foolishness. We are so proud and
puffed up. We are identifying ourself as the body, mind and false
ego. We think we are very great. So we say, “Oh, there is no sadhu.”
We are in the category of identification with the body and mind.We
have not come to the beginning of the stage of purity. No!
Devotee: So we have to associate with a living sadhu? 1
Gour Govinda Swami: Definately. 2 There is always one there. But

he is not a cheap person. Such a person is very rare. If you can get
his mercy then you can see him. Otherwise, by your own effort and
perceptoin, you cannot see him. No, no, no.
You always think that you are drasta, the seer, and that the
sadhu is drsta, the one to be seen. Everyone is like this. They think
they are the seers. But it is just the reverse. You are to be seen and
they are the seer! Think this over very deeply. I think you cannot
completely understand what I say. We always think that we are the
seer and that they are to be seen, but this is not a fact. It is just the
reverse. They are the seers and we are to be seen.
Devotee: How are we seen by sadhu? By our service?
Gour Govinda Swami: Yes, the sadhu is the seer. If he showers

his mercy upon you, he sees you. If you receive that merciful glance
then you are very fortuntae. However, you are in the category of
bodily consciousness. How can you have it? Guru is the
manifestation of the Supersoul, caitya-guru in the heart. He
manifests a body and appears. He knows your heart.
Devotee: I don’t quite understand.
Gour Govinda Swami: Yes, try to understand. As I told you, just

hear patiently. A new bhakta cannot understand it because it is a
topic of the highest class. You are in pre-primary class, how can you
understand? You are not even in the primary class. How can you
understand this topic of the highest class? Just accept the bona fide
authorities. That will help you. The teacher says, “Two plus two is
four.” The primary student accepts it. If the teacher asks the child,
“What is two plus two?” The child will reply, “Two plus two is four.” “
Why is two plus two four?” “My teacher says.” He will answer like
this. That means he has accepted authority. This is the only principle
in the beginning. How is two plus two four? Why not three or five?
That will be explained in a higher mathematics class, not in the
beginning. You have to have patience and get a promotion. My guru
maharaja says in his purport that the beginning is purity of
consciousness. First come to this beginning stage, then gradually
other things will come up. You are not in the beginning stage, so
how will the higher topics come up? This is a very, very subtle and
very deep philosophy.
Putting full faith in the sadhu, you need only submissively

hear --- sravanam, sravanam, sravanam. In that way you can get the
mercy of that sadhu. That will help you. Only one thing is required,
nothing else --- sravanam, sravana, sravanam. Just hear. Serve that
sadhu, please him, hear submissively, surrender yourself at his lotus
feet and submissively ask questions. Out of mercy the sadhu will
impart this tattva jnana to you. This is the only process.
Unless you get association with a living sadhu, what can you
do? Will you put some question to Srila Prabhupada and Srila
Prabhupada will answer you? This process is a living thing. It is
always there, and it is always current. It is not that inquiry was done
a certain way in the past and now things are done differently. No! It
is an eternal process, pranipatena pariprasnena sevaya.
---The Process of Inquiry, Chapter Six. Gopal Jiu Publications.
APPENDIX
TEXT 53
bhattera hrdaye drdha abhimana jani'

bhangi kari' mahaprabhu kahe eta vani
SYNONYMS
bhattera hrdaye--in the heart of Vallabha Bhatta; drdha--fixed;

abhimana--pride; jani'--understanding; bhangi kari'--making a hint;
mahaprabhu--Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; kahe--spoke; eta vani--
these words.
TRANSLATION
Knowing that Vallabha Bhatta's heart was full of pride, Sri

Caitanya Mahaprabhu spoke these words, hinting at how
one can learn about devotional service.
PURPORT
Vallabha Bhatta was greatly proud of his knowledge in devotional

service, and therefore he wanted to speak about Lord Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu without understanding the Lord's position. The Lord
therefore hinted in many ways that if Vallabha Bhatta wanted to
know what devotional service actually is, he would have to learn
from all the devotees He mentioned, beginning with Advaita Acarya,
Lord Nityananda, Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya and Ramananda Raya.
As Svarupa Damodara has said, if one wants to learn the
meaning of Srimad-Bhagavatam, one must take lessons
from a realized soul. 2 One should not proudly think that
one can understand the transcendental loving service of the
Lord simply by reading books. One must become a servant
of a Vaisnava. As Narottama dasa Thakura has confirmed,
chadiya vaisnava-seva nistara payeche keba: one cannot be
in a transcendental position unless one very faithfully serves
a pure Vaisnava. One must accept a Vaisnava guru (adau
gurv-asrayam), and then by questions and answers one
should gradually learn what pure devotional service to
Krsna is. That is called the parampara system.
Cc. Antya lila, Ch. 7. Txt 53

Translation and Purport by
His Divine Grace Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
2
TEXT 131
"yaha, bhagavata pada vaisnavera sthane

ekanta asraya kara caitanya-carane
SYNONYMS
yaha--just go; bhagavata pada--read Srimad-Bhagavatam;

vaisnavera sthane--from a self-realized Vaisnava; ekanta asraya
kara--fully surrender; caitanya-carane--at the lotus feet of Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
TRANSLATION
"If you want to understand Srimad-Bhagavatam," he said,

"you must approach a self-realized Vaisnava and hear from
him. You can do this when you have completely taken shelter of the
lotus feet of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu."
PURPORT
Herein Svarupa Damodara Gosvami instructs the poet from Bengal

to hear Srimad-Bhagavatam from a pure Vaisnava and learn from
him. In India especially, there is now a class of professional
Bhagavatam readers whose means of livelihood is to go from village
to village, town to town, reading Bhagavatam and collecting daksina,
or rewards, in the form of money or goods, like umbrellas, cloth and
fruit. Thus there is now a system of Bhagavata business, with
recitations called Bhagavata-saptaha that continue for one week,
although this is not mentioned in Srimad-Bhagavatam. Nowhere
does Srimad-Bhagavatam say that the Bhagavatam should be heard
for one week from professionals. Rather, Srimad-Bhagavatam
(1.2.17) says: srnvatam sva-kathah krsnah punya-sravana-
kirtanah. One should regularly hear Srimad-Bhagavatam
from a self-realized Vaisnava. By such hearing, one becomes
pious. Hrdy antahstho hy abhadrani vidhunoti suhrt-satam. As one
thus hears the Bhagavatam regularly and sincerely, his heart is
purified of all material contamination.
nasta-prayesv abhadresu
nityam bhagavata-sevaya
bhagavaty uttama-sloke
bhaktir bhavati naisthiki
"As one regularly hears the Bhagavatam or renders service

unto the pure devotee, all that is troublesome to the heart is
practically destroyed, and loving service unto the glorious
Lord, who is praised with transcendental songs, is
established as an irrevocable fact." (Bhag. 1.2.18)
This is the proper process, but people are accustomed to being
misled by professional Bhagavatam reciters. Therefore Svarupa
Damodara Gosvami herein advises that one should not hear
Srimad-Bhagavatam from professional reciters. Instead, one
must hear and learn the Bhagavatam from a self-realized
Vaisnava. Sometimes it is seen that when a Mayavadi sannyasi
reads the Bhagavatam, flocks of men go to hear jugglery of words
that cannot awaken their dormant love for Krsna. Sometimes people
go to see professional dramas and offer food and money to the
players, who are expert at collecting these offerings very nicely. The
result is that the members of the audience remain in the same
position of grham andha-kupam, family affection, and do not
awaken their love for Krsna.
In the Bhagavatam (7.5.30), it is said, matir na krsne paratah
svato va mitho 'bhipadyeta grha-vratanam: the grhavratas, those
who are determined to continue following the materialistic way of
life, will never awaken their dormant love of Krsna, fur they hear the
Bhagavatam only to solidify their position in household life and to be
happy in family affairs and sex. Condemning this process of hearing
the Bhagavatam from professionals, Svarupa Damodara Gosvami
says, yaha, bhagavata pada vaisnavera sthane: "To
understand the Srimad-Bhagavatam, you must approach a
self-realized Vaisnava." One should rigidly avoid hearing the
Bhagavatam from a Mayavadi or other nondevotee who simply
performs a grammatical jugglery of words to twist some meaning
from the text, collect money from the innocent public, and thus keep
people in darkness.
Svarupa Damodara Gosvami strictly prohibits the behavior of the
materialistic so-called hearers of Srimad-Bhagavatam. Instead of
awakening real love for Krsna, such hearers of the Bhagavatam
become more and more attached to household affairs and sex life
(yan maithunadi-grhamedhi-sukham hi tuccham). One should hear
Srimad-Bhagavatam from a person who has no connection
with material activities, or, in other words, from a
paramahamsa Vaisnava, one who has achieved the highest
stage of sannyasa. This, of course, is not possible unless one
takes shelter of the lotus feet of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. The
Srimad-Bhagavatam is understandable only for one who can follow
in the footsteps of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
Cc. Antya lila, Ch. 5, Txt 131

Translation and Purport by
His Divine Grace Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Srila Gour Govinda

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with Srila Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja

Caitanya-Caritamarta Adi 17.16

tabe nityananda-gosanira vyasa-pujan

nityanandavese kaila musala dharana

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is svayam-bhagavan, the Original Personality of Godhead.

vrajendra-nandana yei, saci-suta haila sei,

yadi nigadita-minady-amsavad gauracandro

(Sri Caitanya-candramrta 141)

It is not an easy thing to understand Gauranga Mahaprabhu. He is a purna-avatara, not an

patrapatra-vicaranam na kurute na svam param viksyate

Go and approach a vaisnava-gaura-priya, a dear devotee of Gauranga Mahaprabhu. Study

Mahaprabhu is prema-purusottama, he gives Krsna-prema. That prema is like an

Three Crooked Persons

Sri Bhaktisiddanta Saraswati Goswami Prabhupada Maharaja introduced the ceremony of

In this bhaktivinode-dhara we find a mantra for vyasa-puja:

Best Type of Worship

Also, in Caitanya-bhagavata, Mahaprabhu said,

Amara bhaktera puja-ama haite bada

Anera ki katha, baladeva Masaya

Because He is Krishna's elder brother, Balaram's mood is suddha-sakya-vatsalya --- a

Bhakta-rupa is Chaitanya, and bhakta-svarupa is Nityananda. Mahaprabhu manifestad the

Vaisnavera pada-dhuli tahe mora snana Heli

(Srila Narottam Das Thakur,Prathana 35)

(Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati,Vaisnava-ke 11-13(from Mahajana-racita Gita)

Kirtane jahar, 'pratishta-sambhar.'

Testam pujadikam gandha-

(Padma-purana, karttika-mahatmya(quoted in Bhakti-sandarbha 269.12)

Krishna says to Uddhava

Yadyapyanya bhaktih kalau kartavya tada kirtanakhya bhakti- Samypgenaiva

The puja of the asraya-vigraha-acarya-guru-vaisnava is the topmost puja. Therefore vyasa-

Questions and Answers

Devotee #2: It doesn't descend through transmission of tape?

Gour Govinda Swami: Lila is always there:

adyapiha sei lila kare gaura-raya,

Devotee #3: That means that guru is always there?

Gour Govinda Swami:Yes. He is always there. His lila is going on.

Devotee #4: How can we see guru?

Devotee #4: Do you have to be a pure dovotee to see a pure devotee?

Devotee #5: Anarthas are like clouds in front of the eye?

Devotee #6: What are those kind of gurus?

Gour Govinda Swami: Yes.

Devotee #3: Guru is always present?

Gour Govinda Swami: Yes, always present.

Gour Govinda Swami: How can you understand sastra?

Gour Govinda Swami: For that reason it is said,

bhaktya bhagavatam grahyam

Devotee #7: Then what is the meaning of the brhad-mrdanga-sankirtana? Srila

Two Kinds of Maya

Two mayas are there. One is Maha-maya, that is to say, the

Viyoga-maya or Maha-maya is working in the material world. Her

Radharani is hladini sakti. She is Madana-mohana-Mohini, who

Krsna is now in a very humble mood. He said, "I am a great

ONLY ONE HOPE

Krsna says, "All right. I must do whatever you say. I cannot

srimate radhe bada abhimani

Krsna replied, "My Guru is Gandharvika (Radharani)."

"Oh, Your Guru is Gandharvika?"

"Oh yes, My Guru has taught me this very nice song."