The Spiritual Master – The Greatest Doctor 21st July 2024
21 July 2024
Guru Purnima Japa Talk – Pandharpur
The Spiritual Master – The Greatest Doctor
HH Lokanath Swami Maharaja
Jaya Gurudev! Guru is the Lord. Guru and Krsna are non different. All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga!
oṁ ajñāna-timirāndhasya
jñānāñjana-śalākayā
cakṣur unmīlitaṁ yena
tasmai śrī-gurave namaḥ
śrī-caitanya-mano-’bhīṣṭaṁ
sthāpitaṁ yena bhū-tale
svayaṁ rūpaḥ kadā mahyaṁ
dadāti sva-padāntikam
Translation:
I was born in the darkest ignorance, and my spiritual master opened my eyes with the torch of knowledge. I offer my respectful obeisances unto him. When will Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī Prabhupāda, who has established within this material world the mission to fulfill the desire of Lord Caitanya, give me shelter under His lotus feet?(Mangalacharan1)
The spiritual master is a doctor. He operates on our eyes and makes us capable of seeing the Lord.
sri-guru-charana-padma, kevala-bhakati-sadma
bando mui savadhana mate
jahara prasade bhai, e bhava toriya jai,
krsna-prapti hoy jaha ha’te
Translation:
The lotus feet of our spiritual master are the only way by which we can attain pure devotional service. I bow to his lotus feet with great awe and reverence. By his grace one can cross the ocean of material suffering and obtain the mercy of Krsna. (Guru Vandana 1)
yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādo
yasyāprasādān na gatiḥ kuto ‘pi
dhyāyan stuvaḿs tasya yaśas tri-sandhyaḿ
vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam
Translation:
By the mercy of the spiritual master one receives the benediction of Krsna. Without the grace of the spiritual master, one cannot make any advancement. Therefore, I should always remember and praise the spiritual master. At least three times a day I should offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of my spiritual master. (Sri Gurvastakam 8)
The spiritual master does a home delivery of Krsna’s causeless mercy. He is not delivering his mercy, instead he delivers Krsna’s mercy. There are different categories of gurus – Diksha Guru, Vartm-pradarshak Guru. You all are Gurus. Some of you are Vartm-pradarshak gurus, some are siksha gurus and then there is the diksha guru. Another guru is Caitya Guru (Krsna vande jagad gurum). Arjuna was confused and then Krsna narrated Srimad Bhagavad-Gita to him.
kārpaṇya-doṣhopahata-svabhāvaḥ
pṛichchhāmi tvāṁ dharma-sammūḍha-chetāḥ
yach-chhreyaḥ syānniśhchitaṁ brūhi tanme
śhiṣhyaste ’haṁ śhādhi māṁ tvāṁ prapannam
Translation:
I am confused about my duty, and am besieged with anxiety and faintheartedness. I am Your disciple, and am surrendered to You. Please instruct me for certain what is best for me.(BG 2.7)
Bhagavad Gita has Krsna’s words.
gita su-gita kartavya, kim anyaih shastra-vistaraih
ya svayam padmanabhasya, mukha-padmad vinihsrita
Translation:
Because Bhagavad-gita is spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one need not read any other Vedic literature. One need only attentively and regularly hear and read Bhagavad-gita. In the present age, people are so absorbed in mundane activities that it is not possible for them to read all the Vedic literatures. But this is not necessary. This one book, Bhagavad-gita, will suffice, because it is the essence of all Vedic literature and especially because it is spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. (Gita Mahatmya 4)
Krsna appeared in this world and He chose Arjuna to be an instrument to deliver a message to all of us. Krsna wrote a love letter to all of us.
man-manā bhava mad-bhakto
mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru
mām evaiṣyasi satyaṁ te
pratijāne priyo ’si me
Translation:
Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend. (BG. 18.65)
Krsna wants to see all of us with Him in His abode. Thus He has given us the manual and guide on how to reach there. The spiritual master acts like a messenger. Krsna wrote this letter, now it’s the time for its delivery. The spiritual master acts on behalf of Krsna, and he does not change or edit anything.
śrī-bhagavān uvāca
imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ
proktavān aham avyayam
vivasvān manave prāha
manur ikṣvākave ’bravīt
Translation:
The Personality of Godhead, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, said: “I instructed this imperishable science of yoga to the sun-god, Vivasvān, and Vivasvān instructed it to Manu, the father of mankind, and Manu in turn instructed it to Ikṣvāku.” (BG. 4.1)
evaṁ paramparā-prāptam
imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ
sa kāleneha mahatā
yogo naṣṭaḥ paran-tapa
Translation:
This supreme science was thus received through the chain of disciplic succession, and the saintly kings understood it in that way. But in course of time the succession was broken, and therefore the science as it is appears to be lost. (BG. 4.2)
Sometimes not all the postmen perform their duties properly. They make some changes. As a result the knowledge becomes contaminated. A non Vaisnava cannot act as a spiritual master. Only a Vaisnava, a devotee of Lord Vishnu can become a spiritual master. This world is full of gurus, but Krsna appoints the spiritual masters Himself. We also find some self appointed gurus – today’s Swami, tomorrow’s Narayana.
kṛṣṇa-bhakta — niṣkāma, ataeva ‘śānta’
bhukti-mukti-siddhi-kāmī — sakali ‘aśānta’
Translation:
Because a devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa is desire-less, he is peaceful. Fruitive workers desire material enjoyment, jñānīs desire liberation, and yogīs desire material opulence; therefore they are all lusty and cannot be peaceful. (CC Madhya 19.149)
If the Guru is a Vaisnava, then he will also make those he comes into contact with a Vaisnava.
yānti deva-vratā devān
pitṝn yānti pitṛ-vratāḥ
bhūtāni yānti bhūtejyā
yānti mad-yājino ’pi mām
Translation:
Those who worship the demigods will take birth among the demigods; those who worship the ancestors go to the ancestors; those who worship ghosts and spirits will take birth among such beings; and those who worship Me will live with Me. (BG. 9.25)
There are people who would send you to ghosts and spirits. Then there are bona-fide spiritual masters who give Krsna or Panduranga.
sampradāya-vihīnā ye mantrās te niṣphalā matāḥ
Translation:
If one wants to advance in spiritual power, one must receive his mantras from one of these bona fide sampradāyas; otherwise he will never successfully advance in spiritual life. (Padma Purana)
We cannot give any guarantees. The fruit of all endeavors is to attain Krsna. Attaining Krsna is the only success. Even Krsna accepted the disciplic succession. He accepted initiation and once He accepted the initiation, He said, “My spiritual master blessed Me with initiation. And then he asked Me to chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra.
harer nāma harer nāma
harer nāmaiva kevalam
kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva
nāsty eva gatir anyathā
Translation:
In this age of quarrel and hypocrisy, the only means of deliverance is the chanting of the holy names of the Lord. There is no other way. There is no other way. There is no other way. (CC Madhya 6.242)
He found Me to be a great fool. Others will make you realize the truth, once they are carrying your body to the cremation ground. Mandodari told Ravana that because of his lusty desires he became compelled to kidnap Mother Sita and as a result he would now perish and vultures would eat him up.
krtaisa vidhava lanka
vayam ca kula-nandana
dehah krto ‘nnam grdhranam
atma naraka-hetave
Translation:
O pleasure of the Raksasa dynasty, because of you the state of Lanka and also we ourselves now have no protector. By your deeds you have made your body fit to be eaten by vultures and your soul fit to go to hell. (SB 9.10.28)
Only a person who has accepted an acharya in his life, gets to know Krsna.
punarapi jananam punarapi maranam punarapi janani jathare sayanam,
iha samsare bahudusare krpaya’pare pahi murare
Translation:
Being born again, dying again, and again lying in the mother’s womb; this samsara is extremely difficult to cross over. Save me, O destroyer of Mura, through your infinite compassion. (Bhaja Govindam 21)
Anāvṛttiḥ śabdāt means “liberation by sound”. The words of Srimad Bhagavatam, Bhagavad Gita, etc can liberate us.
sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo
mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca
vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyo
vedānta-kṛd veda-vid eva cāham
Translation: I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas, I am to be known. Indeed, I am the compiler of Vedānta, and I am the knower of the Vedas. (BG 15.15)
All these Vedas were awarded to us and they are known as Shabda Brahma. We have 108 Upanishads, Puranas, Mahabharata, Bhagavad Gita, Srimad Bhagavatam. In total there are around 4 lakh verses. All these scriptures make up the Sastras. The origin of all this knowledge are these Sastras given to us by Srila Vyasadev.
ete cāṁśa-kalāḥ puṁsaḥ
kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam
indrāri-vyākulaṁ lokaṁ
mṛḍayanti yuge yuge
Translation:
All of the above-mentioned incarnations are either plenary portions or portions of the plenary portions of the Lord, but Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the original Personality of Godhead. All of them appear on planets whenever there is a disturbance created by the atheists. The Lord incarnates to protect the theists. (SB 1.3.28)
Krsna is Apaurusheya (not of a man). Similarly all these scriptures are Apaurusheya. The soul has no birth and no death. It is eternal and Krsna is eternal.
na jāyate mriyate vā kadāchin
nāyaṁ bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ
ajo nityaḥ śhāśhvato ’yaṁ purāṇo
na hanyate hanyamāne śharīre
Translation:
The soul is neither born, nor does it ever die; nor having once existed, does it ever cease to be. The soul is without birth, eternal, immortal, and ageless. It is not destroyed when the body is destroyed. (BG 2.20)
Knowledge regarding Krsna is eternal. The Bible says “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” It is a very beautiful statement. It’s similar to the question we generally ask, what came first – the hen or the egg. Similarly what appeared first, Krsna or the knowledge about Him. The spiritual master delivers such knowledge to us.
Hare Krsna.