Comments on: Diksa, Siksa, and Sri Guru

By: madan gopal das

madan gopal das — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:13:23 +0000

I like this simple, thorough and convincing summary of roles and relations of siksa/diksa gurus.
Your explanation of mantra as the seed of sambandha that doesn’t need to be planted more than once is direct and logical. “The seed is singular, and there is no need to plant it twice.”
However, I can foresee a conflict in the life of a devotee over Srila Sridhar Maharaj’s statement that “The one who delivers this, his will is there within.”
If a siksa guru becomes more prominent in a disciples life, won’t the disciple want the mantra from the siksa guru? If the siksa has bestowed some abhideya-jnana and possibly a glimpse of one’s prayojana, isn’t it possible that either more mantras will be bestowed or at least the principle sampradaya mantras that one received at diksa would take on more meaning from the siksa guru such that the disciple wants HIS/HER mantra?

By: KB das

KB das — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:52:59 +0000

I would never be one to say we don’t need a nose as long as we can breathe. Like Sridhar Maharaja said that actually life can be sustained without a nose as long as one can continue to get air. But, it is always much nicer and more beautiful to have a nice nose. If the nose is missing it is not a very pretty thing. However, Sridhar Maharaja did give that example and I see it for myself in that way.

We don’t want life without a nose. We all want that lovely nose which provides the breath of life with such beauty and purpose.

So, I am talking of essence, but I would be the last one to minimize the value of a more advanced devotee who can teach us all we need to know to attain perfection even if all the books in the world got destroyed.

However, we all know how important it is for the Vaishnavas to study very deeply, visualize and meditate upon all the great books like Bhagavad-gita, Bhagavat and Goswami literature.
We all know that there is a vast treasure house of spiritual gems there and that collecting those gems will make our hearts shine like millions of suns.

Everything has it’s purpose and Vaishnava gurus have a very important purpose. But, so does the Bhagavatam. We need both.
One without the other is unnecessary and therefore improper.

By: swami bv tripurari

swami bv tripurari — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:55:29 +0000

I believe you take this too far with regard to how to proceed. We should follow the example of BSST, SP, SSM. etc.. They accepted initiation and they gave initiation, even while stressing what it constitutes in essence. Find a guru of substance and accept diksa or be one and give diksa.

By: KB das

KB das — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:49:22 +0000

According to Pancharatra regulations only a grhasta brahmana can give diksha. This regulation was thus abandoned by Mahaprabhu who stated that a sannyasi or even a sudra can be guru if he knows the science of Krishna.
So, the “tradition” of Vaishnavism before Mahaprabhu was supposed to be following the Pancaratra regulations and as such grhasta brahmanas were the spiritual masters of society. This changed with Mahaprabhu, along with the whole concept of initiation which in essence requires no formal rite or ceremony if in fact a connection of substance has been established.

For example, Srila Prabhupada gives an example of how initiation actually works in the story of the Buddhist teacher who met Mahaprabhu in South India.

When the big bird came and snatched the plate and dropped it on the head of the Buddhist and was knocked-out, Mahaprabhu told his followers to chant Hare Krishna in his ears to bring him back.

Srila Prabhupada explains that when Mahaprabhu told these followers of the Buddhist to chant Hare Krishna in the ear of their teacher that he initiated them at that time and that when they in turn spoke the Holy Name into the ear of their teacher that THEY initiated him.

There are even mass initiations as Sankirtan parties traverse the universe performing Hari-nama Sankirtan.

Srila Prabhupada says “Dīkṣā actually means initiating a disciple with transcendental knowledge by which he becomes freed from all material contamination.”.

This alludes to the giving and receiving of knowledge which as we know can be done at a distance by reading the words or hearing the recordings of the spiritual master.

Many devotees today are still trying to pass off the old school Pancharatra regulations as the hard and fast rule, but Mahaprabhu superceded those external considerations in favor of a disciplic succession of substance over formality.