Dear Srila Prabhupada
I offer my obeisances at your lotus feet
All Glories to you and your wonderful Krishna Consciousness Movement
Nama om Vishnu Padaya Krsna presthaya bhutale
Srimate Bhaktivedanta Swamin iti namine
Namaste sarasvate deve Gauravani pracarine
Nirvisesa sunyavadi pascatya Desa tarine
Bhakti siddhanta sishyaya Bhativedanta namine
Prasannaya prasantaya tasmai Sri gurave namah
You have warned in many places in your teachings about Guror avajna, or disobedience of the order of the spiritual master.
Greatest offense is Guror-avajna
Srila Prabhupāda: Dāsa. Not that name, but the name’s servant. Dāsa. When one is named Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa dāsa, he is servant of Kṛṣṇa. Not that Kṛṣṇa. If he thinks, “I have become Kṛṣṇa,” that is Māyāvāda. Kṛṣṇa dāsa. Go on.
Pradyumna: The next offense is guror avajñā, to neglect or disrespect the orders of the spiritual master. Because the spiritual master is the external representation of the internal Kṛṣṇa, whatever the spiritual master says is to be taken as exactly what Kṛṣṇa’s desire is. Kṛṣṇa is within all of us as Paramātmā, but because we cannot see Him, because He is adhokṣaja, or above our senses, therefore that same Kṛṣṇa within appears without as the spiritual master, and he gives us instructions, and these are taken to be the same as Kṛṣṇa’s instructions. So, to disrespect the orders of the guru is not to make any progress on the spiritual path. Na gatiḥ kuto ‘pi. There can be no gatiḥ, there can be no spiritual achievement without following the orders of the spiritual master. Because the order of the spiritual master is the same as Kṛṣṇa’s order….Srila Prabhupada conversation, New Delhi, India – August 31, 1976
If you please your spiritual master, then you know that “I have pleased Kṛṣṇa.” Yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādo yasyāprasādān na gatiḥ kuto ‘pi: ** “If you displease your spiritual master, then you are nowhere. Your position is lost.”
Therefore, yesterday we were explaining the ten kinds of offenses. Out of ten kinds of offenses, the serious offense is guror avajñā, disobedience of the order of guru. This is the verdict of the śāstra. Srila Prabhupada Srimad Bhagavatam lecture SB 1.8.48 – October 28, 1974
Srila Prabhupāda: (Ignoring question) Because that is offense. Guror avajñā. First offense is guror avajñā, defying the authority of guru. This is the first offense. So one who is offensive, how he can make advance in chanting? He cannot make. Then everything is finished in the beginning. Guror avajñā. Everything is there. If one is disobeying the spiritual master, he cannot remain in the pure status of life. He cannot be śikṣā–guru or anything else. He is finished, immediately. Guror avajñā śruti–śāstra-nindanam, nāmno balād yasya hi… You do not study all these things. You become initiated. There are ten kinds of offenses. Do you have any regard for these things or not? You must avoid these ten kinds of offenses. The first offense is to disobey the orders of guru. That is first offense. So, if you are offensive, how you can become advanced by chanting? That is also not possible.
Srila Prabhupada Bhagavad Gita lecture. Bg. 17. 1-3, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA – July 4, 1974
So this is the fact, that Krsna will never tolerate insult on a devotee.He will never tolerate. The devotee may excuse, trnad api sunicena taror api sahisnuna. He may suffer. Just like Prahlada Maharaja, he was suffering. His father was torturing him. He was suffering, .All right.’ But Krsna never tolerated. ‘ Oh, you have done so much. Now, it the time to kill him.’ This is the process. Krsna will tolerate. If you insult Krsna, He will tolerate, but if you insult His devotee, He will never toleraliforniae. Then you are finished. Then you are finished.” Srila Prabhupada lecture, Los Angeles, California, USA December 2, 1973
Adi 17.51 purport-We should note herein that all our sufferings in this material world, especially from disease, are due to our past sinful activities. And of all sinful activities, actions directed against a pure devotee out of sheer envy are considered extremely severe.
Unauthorized Adulterated Books
We now have a situation that the leaders of your society have deliberately changed and adulterated your books. They have obviously neglected your numerous warnings.
“So, in the parampara system in that disciplic succession, you will find no change…you cannot change anything.” Srila Prabhupada lecture, December 1, 1966, New York, NY, USA.
Srila Prabhupada: Śrī Sūta Gosvāmī, simply by his uttering yathādhītam and yathā-mati, and therefore he was very glad to congratulate him in ecstasy. No learned man should be willing to hear a person who does not represent the original ācārya. Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.4.1
Srilk Prabhupada: There was a poetry by Rabindranath Tagore. The purport of the poetry is that one who is mischievous, he is culprit. But one who tolerates mischievous activity, he is also culprit. If you are mischievous, you are criminal. But if you tolerate mischievous activities that is also criminal. Challenge these rascals. Srila Prabhupada Morning Walk, Los Angeles, California, USA –May 3, 1973
..We are therefore presenting, we do not change. Why should you change. What right you have to change? Bhagavad-Gita is a book of authority and if I make my own interpretation, then where is the authority? Can you change the lawbook according to your interpretation? Then what is the meaning of that lawbook? That is not lawbook. You cannot change. Similarly, if you accept Bhagavad-Gita as the book of authority, you cannot change the meaning. THAT IS NOT ALLOWED. What right? If you have got some opinion, if you have got some philosophy, you can write in your own book. Why you are, I mean to say, killing others and yourself by interpreting Bhagavad-Gita? You give your own thesis in a different way. But these people they take advantage of the popularity of Bhagavad-Gita and interpret in a different way according to their own whims. Srila Prabhupada lecture, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesha, India – April 27, 1974
“We cannot water down the philosophy to make it more palatable. Our books must remain as they are.” Srila Prabhupada letter, March 31, 1977
“One cannot change the words of the authority. If you believe in Lord Jesus Christ [in our case Srila Prabhupada] you cannot change to your convenience.” Srila Prabhupada lecture, Los Angeles, CA. USA- May 8, 1973
“In the words of God, there is no question of changing. You cannot change. As soon as you change immediately it is material. It has nothing to do with spiritual world. That is nowadays happening. Which edition of Christianity? There are so many. Therefore, it is, the purport of Christianity is lost. That is lost” Srila Prabhupada lecture, Paris, France – August 5, 1976
“If you concoct, ‘I am more intelligent than my Guru,’ ‘I can make additions and alterations,’ then you are finished.”(64) Srila Prabhupada lecture, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA – July 4, 1975
Srila Prabhupada, you have also given the uttama solution for many of these offenses, disobediences and deviations.
Uttama Solution
Srila Prabhupada: But one who tolerates mischievous activity, he is also culprit. If you are mischievous, you are criminal. But if you tolerate mischievous activities that is also criminal. Srila Prabhupada conversation – May 3, 1963
Srila Prabhupāda: Yes, that’s a fact. (laughter) So what the man says?
Devotee: They are being quiet. They are too afraid to say.
Srila Prabhupāda: That means they are accepting. When they are quiet... Quiet means… Maunaṁ śamyati rakṣaṇam. If there is some argument and you remain quiet that means indirectly you accept. Srila Prabhupada Room Conversation after Press Conference – Chicago, Illinois, USA – July 9, 1975
Devotee: I don’t think they have any argument.
Srila Prabhupāda: What argument? They are fools, rascals. What argument?
Devotee: Yesterday they did not know what to say.
Srila Prabhupāda: Yes. Nobody could say against me. (?) If they remain silent, that means they have accepted. I charge you that “You are thief,” and if you don’t protest, then you are thief. If you are not thief, immediately you will: “How you say? Why you have said?” There will be fight. But if you remain silent, that proves that you are thief. So, they could not give us any counterargument. Therefore, they accepted.
Devotee: Their biggest problem is that there isn’t any counterargument.
Srila Prabhupāda: Yes. As soon as I told them, “Who is there without father?” 1Srila Prabhupada Morning Walk Conversation – Perth, Australia – May 17, 1975
One should not at any time tolerate blasphemy and insults against Lord Viṣṇu or His devotees. A devotee is generally very humble and meek, and he is reluctant to pick a quarrel with anyone. Nor does he envy anyone. However, a pure devotee immediately becomes fiery with anger when he sees that Lord Viṣṇu or His devotee is insulted. This is the duty of a devotee. Although a devotee maintains an attitude of meekness and gentleness, it is a great fault on his part if he remains silent when the Lord or His devotee is blasphemed. Srimad-Bhagavatam “The Creation of the Fourth Order”The Story of King Vena” SB 4.14.32
Srila Prabhupada: Śrī Sūta Gosvāmī, simply by his uttering yathādhītam and yathā-mati, and therefore he was very glad to congratulate him in ecstasy. No learned man should be willing to hear a person who does not represent the original ācārya. Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.4.1
Srila Prabhupada: There was a poetry by Rabindranath Tagore. The purport of the poetry is that one who is mischievous, he is culprit. But one who tolerates mischievous activity, he is also culprit. If you are mischievous, you are criminal. But if you tolerate mischievous activities that is also criminal. Challenge these rascals. Srila Prabhupada Morning Walk, Los Angeles, California, USA –May 3, 1973
Srila Prabhupada: One should not at any time tolerate blasphemy and insults against Lord Viṣṇu or His devotees. A devotee is generally very humble and meek, and he is reluctant to pick a quarrel with anyone. Nor does he envy anyone. However, a pure devotee immediately becomes fiery with anger when he sees that Lord Viṣṇu or His devotee is insulted. This is the duty of a devotee. Although a devotee maintains an attitude of meekness and gentleness, it is a great fault on his part if he remains silent when the Lord or His devotee is blasphemed. Srimad-Bhagavatam “The Creation of the Fourth Order”The Story of King Vena SB 4.14.32
Lord Caitanya, therefore, advised that one be very careful not to offend Vaiṣṇavas. He compared offenses toward a Vaiṣṇava to a mad elephant. As a mad elephant can do anything horrible, so when a person offends a Vaiṣṇava he can perform any abominable action. Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.2.19
Srila Prabhupada, you have kindly warned about the potential for polluting the mantra given by you in bona fide disciplic succession.
Dont pollute the mantra.
So don’t spoil the movement by manufacturing ideas. Don’t do that. Go on in the standard way, keep yourself pure; then movement is sure to be successful. But if you want to spoil it by whimsical, then what can be done? It will be spoiled. If you manufacture whims and disagree and fight amongst yourself, then it will be another edition of these so-called movements. It will lose the spiritual strength. Always remember it. You cannot…. Now, actually, people are surprised: “What this Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra has got power that it is changing so quickly?” And on the other hand, it is to be admitted, unless it has got power, how it is changing? So, we have to keep that power. Don’t make it an ordinary musical vibration. It is a different thing, spiritual. Although it seems like musical vibration, but it is spiritual,
completely. Mantrauśadhi-vaśa. Even, by mantra, the snakes can be charmed. So mantra is not ordinary sound vibration. So, we have to keep the mantra in potency, potent, by offenseless chanting, by remaining pure. If you pollute the mantra, then it will lose its effect.” Srila Prabhupada’s Room Conversation — April 27, 1976, Auckland, New Zealand
Let us always take shelter at your divine lotus feet and original instructions.
Your servant
Yasoda nandana dasa