What happens when you follow and don’t follow guru?

Room Conversation — May 2, 1976, Fiji : 760502rc.fij :

Prabhupāda: Therefore he is not to be preached. Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, janma sārthaka kari’ kara para-upakāra: [Cc. Ādi 9.41] “Go to do good to others. First of all you do good to yourself.” First of all you become really preacher. Then go to preach. Caitanya Mahāprabhu never sent neophyte to go to preach. For neophyte the preaching is not their business. For neophyte, one should stick to the worship of Deity in the temple. And those who have understood the philosophy, applied the philosophy in his life, he should go for preaching. Otherwise he’ll preach wrongly, like…. What is that? Charan das Babaji. And it will stop. He wanted to preach, but he did not know how to preach, and therefore, after his life, it is finished. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu does not say like that, that “You remain a rascal and go to preach.” No. Janma sārthaka kari. “Your first business is that you make your life perfect. Then go to preach. Perfect means you learn how to obey My orders.” That is perfection. Āmāra ājñāya. So if you are actually, perfectly carrying out the orders of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, then you are preaching. Otherwise you will do wrongly, mislead. Don’t do that. Andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānāḥ [SB 7.5.31]. If you remain blind, don’t try to lead other blind men. That is misleading. First of all open your eyes. Everything is there. Nobody can do anything whimsically. If you do whimsically, concoctedly, that will be failure. It will not be effective.

Hare Krsna–This one conversation is so full of instructions. Let us go through it sentence by sentence.

1)..“Caitanya Mahāprabhu never sent neophyte to go to preach. For neophyte the preaching is not their business. For neophyte, one should stick to the worship of Deity in the temple.”

In this part Prabhupada is explaining that somebody who is very new, or cannot remain fixed in example, or doesnt understand the philosophy very well, he or she should just seriously do deity worship daily. There is nothing bad about just doing deity worship and in fact is glorious. Not only is it pleasing to the Lord, but it purifies everyone who does it, sees it, or hears about it.

2) ..”And those who have understood the philosophy, applied the philosophy in his life, he should go for preaching. Otherwise he’ll preach wrongly, like…. What is that? Charan das Babaji. And it will stop.”

In this sentence Prabhupda explains that if one doesn’t understand the philosophy of Krsna Consciousness properly then he, like Caran das babaji will make a mess of things and upset the the devotional community. This man concocted a new mantra– Hare Krsna Hare Ram NItai Gaura Radhe Shyam. He also thought that Lord NItyananda Ram was Srimati Radharani. One time, long ago, I was in Jagannatha Puri along with a Vrndavana brajabasi devotee and follower of Srila Prabhupada who told me as we listened to two old men chant the above concocted mantra, that the mantra was a concoction because it was not the Hare Krsna Mantra chanted by Caitanya Mahaprabhu. It wasnt until years later that I read what Srila Prabhupada said about Caran das babaji and his concocted mantra did I understand things properly. At that time when I first heard this chant, it sounded pretty good to me, after all these men were chanting Hare Krsna, and Nitai Gaura and also Radha Shyam-all names we of the Gaudiya Madhva sampradaya all chanted. But the way this so called mantra was presented was not bona fide and was not given by our Acaryas. Therefore the whole thing was useless. Prabhupada said this sahajiya movement has some momentum for a time as long as Caran das babaji lived because they chanted Nitai Gaura,it hatency, but when he died, so did this apa siddhanta movement. Therefore we have to be very careful to receive the fruits of our param para-intact.

3) …”Your first business is that you make your life perfect. Then go to preach. Perfect means you learn how to obey My orders.” That is perfection”

This is a great instruction by Srila Prabhupada, First make our lives perfect, then go for preaching. How do we become perfect? By completely obeying him by his instructions. This may seem simple, but it is not. It starts with following the 4 reg’s, doing daily mangol arotik,chanting 16 rounds daily, reading the books daily for 1-2 hours, etc etc.. So if we don’t do these basics, then it is highly likely we will be creating a disturbance in society by what we

misunderstand of the philosophy. Following these basic principles means we have become a human being capable of understanding God. Preaching about that God (Krsna), is an entirely different matter.

SB 8.12.10 : PURPORT :

“Devotional service of the Lord that ignores the authorized Vedic literatures like the Upaniṣads, purāṇas and Nārada-pañcarātra is simply an unnecessary disturbance in society.” (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.101) Those who are very advanced in knowledge and are situated in the mode of goodness follow the Vedic instructions of the śruti and smṛti and other religious scriptures, including thepāñcarātrikī-vidhi. Without understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead in this way, one only creates a disturbance. In this age of Kali, so many gurus have sprung up, and because they do not refer to the śruti–smṛti-purāṇādi-pañcarātrika-vidhi

śruti–smṛti-purāṇādi-
pañcarātra-vidhiṁ vinā
aikāntikī harer bhaktir
utpātāyaiva kalpate

4) …”If you do whimsically, concoctedly, that will be failure. It will not be effective.”
Again here another good instruction above.

a) Conversations : February, 1975 : Morning Walk — February 3, 1975, Hawaii :

Prabhupāda: So this is the process. That is the… You sing every day. Guru-mukha-padma-vākya, cittete koriyā aikya **. That is the process. Wherever you live, if you follow strictly the instruction of guru, then you remain perfect. But if we create, concoct ideasagainst the instruction of guru, then we are doomed, hell. Yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādo yasyāprasādān na gatiḥ kuto ‘pi **.There is no more shelter, finished. Yasya prasādāt. If guru thinks that “This person, I wanted to take him back to home, back to Godhead. Now he is going against me. He is not following,” aprasādāt, he is displeased, then everything is finished.

b) Books : Srimad-Bhagavatam : Canto 3: “The Status Quo” : SB 3.25: The Glories of Devotional Service : SB 3.25.14 : PURPORT :

The Lord does not manufacture a new system of yoga. Sometimes it is claimed that someone has become an incarnation of God and is expounding a new theological aspect of the Absolute Truth. But here we find that although Kapila Muni is the Lord Himself and is capable of manufacturing a new doctrine for His mother, He nevertheless says, “I shall just explain the ancient system which I once explained to the great sages because they were also anxious to hear about it.” When we have a superexcellent process already present in Vedic scriptures, there is no need to concoct a new system, to mislead the innocent public. At present it has become a fashion to reject the standard system and present something bogus in the name of a newly invented process of yoga.

c) Adi 7.168 : PURPORT :

The Pañca-tattva is a very important factor in understanding Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. There are sahajiyās who, not knowing the importance of the Pañca-tattva, concoct their own slogans, such as bhaja nitāi gaura, rādhe śyāma, japa hare kṛṣṇa hare rāma or śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda hare kṛṣṇa hare rāma śrī-rādhe govinda. Such chants may be good poetry, but they cannot help us to go forward in devotional service. In such chants there are also many discrepancies, which need not be discussed here. Strictly speaking, when chanting the names of the Pañca-tattva, one should fully offer his obeisances: śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda. By such chanting one is blessed with the competency to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇamahā-mantra without offense. When chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, one should also chant it fully: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. One should not foolishly adopt any of the slogansconcocted by imaginative devotees. If one actually wants to derive the effects of chanting, one must strictly follow the greatācāryas. This is confirmed in the Mahābhārata: mahā-jano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ. “The real path of progress is that which is traversed by great ācāryas and authorities.”

d) London, August 1, 1973 : 730801BG.LON : So you can violate the laws on the order of Kṛṣṇa. You cannot do. This is surrender.When Kṛṣṇa says that “You do this,” although it is wrong, you have to do it. There is no consideration. Just like in fight, the commander says to the soldiers, “Do this.” His duty is to do that. He should not think at that time what is right or wrong. Just like Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja, he was advised by Kṛṣṇa that “Yudhiṣṭhira, Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, you go to Droṇācārya and inform him that ‘Your son is dead.’ ” It was a false information. Because Droṇācārya would not die if he is not affected with some lamentation. SoKṛṣṇa asked Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira that “You go because you are recognized truthful, Dharmarāja. So when you will say, this is also false, he will believe.” But Yudhiṣṭhira hesitated, “How can I tell lie?” He disobeyed the order of Kṛṣṇa, and he wanted to become very truthful. For this reason he had to see hell. So in the mundane consideration there are so many things, right and wrong. So long you are on the mundane platform, you have to obey all these right and wrong. But in the spiritual platform, when it is ordered byKṛṣṇa… He is above all this duality. He is Absolute. So even if He says to do something wrong… Because He cannot say anything which is wrong. God is all-good. If you discriminate God’s order from the mundane platform, then you will be misguided. Anyone who has got firm and fixed up faith that whatever God does, whatever God orders, even from mundane calculation it may be wrong, that is right… That is absolute understanding. So those who are in the spiritual platform, for them, there is no such consideration, which is right and which is wrong. Their only consideration is whether Kṛṣṇa is pleased. That’s all. If Kṛṣṇa is pleased by inducing me to do something wrong, I will not hesitate to do it. I will do it because it is Kṛṣṇa‘s order. Tasmin tuṣṭe jagat tuṣṭam. My principle should be, “If Kṛṣṇa is satisfied, then everything is all right.” But while we are in the mundane platform, we should notconcoct the idea that “Kṛṣṇa is pleased; let me do that.” No. That you, cannot do. You have to follow the rules and regulations. But if you think that it is… You cannot think; neither you can manufacture. So either you should hear from Kṛṣṇa directly or… That is not possible because we are not in touch with Kṛṣṇa at the present moment. We are trying to see Kṛṣṇa through the transparent medium of spiritual master. So we cannot manufacture that “This is Kṛṣṇa‘s desire.” No. You have to get it confirmed from the transparent medium, spiritual master. These are the principles

e)Philadelphia, July 12, 1975 : 750712SB.PHI : Prabhupāda: Yes. This is the order. Guru-mukha-padma-vākya, cittete koriyā aikya **.Now citta means consciousness or heart. “I shall do this only, bas. My Guru Mahārāja told me; I shall do this.” Cittete koriyā aikya, ār nā koriho mane āśā. So it is not my pride, but I can say, for your instruction, I did it. Therefore whatever little success you see than my all my Godbrothers, it is due to this. I have no capacity, but I took it, the words of my guru, as life and soul. So this is fact.Guru-mukha-padma-vākya, cittete koriyā aikya **. Everyone should do that. But if he makes addition, alteration, then he is finished. No addition, alteration. You have to approach guru—guru means the faithful servant of God, Kṛṣṇa—and take his word how to serve Him. Then you are successful. If you concoct, “I am very intelligent than my guru, and I can make addition or alteration,” then you are finished.

f) March 27, 1968, San Francisco : 680327mw.sf :

Svanuṣṭhitasya dharmasya, everyone has got a specific duty. So one has to see that by his specific duty, entrusted with or discharging that duty, whether Kṛṣṇa is being satisfied. That’s all. Therefore one has to accept a bona fide spiritual master to knowwhether Kṛṣṇa is being satisfied by his work. Who will certify? You cannot concoct, “Oh, I am doing for satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa.” No, that is not possible. It must be accepted by the representative of Kṛṣṇa, “Yes, by your work, Kṛṣṇa is satisfied.” Then it is all right…

Hare Krsna
damaghosa das

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