19800120 Straight From the Horse's Mouth

Straight From the Horse's Mouth

If he (our spiritual master) orders us to serve anyone then we serve simply by following his instructions. Then we become free from the danger of māyā. Then our service attitude remains perfect. But as soon as we try to do something which is beyond what our spiritual master actually wants us to do, then immediately we are in dangerous waters.

In India we see that everybody likes to take a guru as a fashion, simply to have a guru. Prabhupāda used the example just like in the medicine shop there is a big empty bottle, show bottle, just like you can see Boroline, such a big tube. But inside there is no Boroline, it is only for show. Like that they keep one guru, just for show. I have guru. So like that Prabhupāda, he did not appreciate if someone, even if he was very nice, paying so many obeisances, but the real test is whether that devotee will carry out the order of the spiritual master. That is the real test. So, just like the disciples of Śrīla Prabhupāda, they have a tremendous test because Prabhupāda says that according to how they can cooperate with each other in his absence, that will be the proof how much they really love him or not. So it is a test. Just like we see the Gauḍīya Maṭha, everybody wanted to be the head of their own institution. So they broke up into so many little pieces and have lost their enthusiasm or their big force to do anything. So māyā has increased and the Gauḍīya preaching has decreased. Because each leader wanted to have their own little institution, their own piece, rather than cooperate together. Definitely to work with other people is very difficult because everybody has a different personality, different likes, different dislikes. But where is the question of liking or disliking if we are all fixed at the lotus feet of Caitanya Mahāprabhu? Then everyone will have the same idea ultimately. That is why Śrīla Prabhupāda described that this Māyāpur, with our yearly festivals, this is the real United Nations! Because everyone is coming without any consideration that he is from this country, he is from that country, they are considering everybody as the true brother, as the servant of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Śrīla Prabhupāda. So here Vṛtrasura is chastising these demons, they came with a big show, they shot so many arrows, so many weapons but when it failed, then they all fled away. But Vṛtrasura, he did not flee, he depended on Kṛṣṇa.

If Kṛṣṇa wants him to live, he will live. If Kṛṣṇa wants him to die, he will die. But he would simply carry out the order that was given. In the same way the disciple has to be fixed up to carry out the order of his guru. The disciple may start off with a big show but somehow as soon as an obstacle is there if he flees away, then he is urine, mūtra, he is not a real disciple. So we should take the lessons from all these stories about great devotees and apply them in our life. Then we can taste the real nectar of Kṛṣṇa-bhakti and Kṛṣṇa-prema. And we can all chant together

Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare,
Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare

So this was only by giving Brahmavidyā... but Jīva Gosvāmī has expressed from the Purāṇas, what is the position of Brahma or one who knows the Brahma, in other words a brāhmaṇa. A brāhmaṇa means someone who knows Brahman, the impersonal aspect of Godhead. That brāhmaṇa who can do sacrifices is thousand times better than a brāhmaṇa who is just a brāhmaṇa and who doesn’t know how to do sacrifices. And that brāhmaṇa who knows the Vedānta, who knows the conclusion of śāstra, he is again a thousand times more advanced than the brāhmaṇa who just knows how to do sacrifices. And one million times more advanced than the vedantic brāhmaṇa is a devotee of Viṣṇu. And compared to the devotee of Viṣṇu, that person who is a pure devotee without any material desire, who is purely wanting to serve Kṛṣṇa, he is a thousand times more advanced. So what is the position of a devotee? If somebody asks what is the difference between a brāhmaṇa and a Vaiṣṇava, then what will you answer?

A Vaiṣṇava is like someone who has got a million dollars, so is it not that a thousand dollars is included within a million dollars? In the same way a brāhmaṇa is included in a Vaiṣṇava. Vaiṣṇava is the greater reality. So therefore anyone who practices devotional service purely under the instruction of the spiritual master, when he is expert in chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa and following regulative principles, he is eligible to get brāhmaṇa initiation, because it is already accepted that a Vaiṣṇava has to pass the level of a brāhmaṇa. One has to be fixed up in the devotional principles. Otherwise if simply one thinks he is a Vaiṣṇava but his ācāra, his behavior is not equivalent to a Vaiṣṇava, then he is not at the proper level, to be considered a Vaiṣṇava. He can be considered a saintly person or a materialistic Vaiṣṇava. So everybody should try to be a pure Vaiṣṇava and avoid all kinds of durācāra, bad activities.

Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has explained that everybody should accept a person according to his advancement in Kṛṣṇa consciousness – not see him according to his skin color, according to his birth, according to other things, but according to his advancement in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, according to his renunciation. That is the only means by which we give respect. Sometimes we respect guests and visitors and dignitaries, this is nothing spiritual. This is simply a social custom. We treat them so that they may be encouraged to serve Kṛṣṇa. So this is you see, to be understood. Those who are the godbrothers of the spiritual master, we respect. Those who have been awarded second initiation, those we also respect. This is nothing wrong. This is natural. But you see there is no jātibheda according to caste, creed, color, all these materialistic upādhīs or designations. But we respect people for their advancement in devotional service.

Just like here we see that the Aśvinī Kumāras and Lord Indra that they are respecting but because they wanted to get spiritual knowledge, they took all types of methods including trading Dadhīci's head for a horse’s head to get spiritual knowledge. This should show us that we should be eager to get Kṛṣṇa consciousness by any means, even if it comes from a horse’s head. If the knowledge is pure then we will accept it. This thing should be understood that it is not anything but whether the thing being said is being exactly repeated according to sādhu, śāstra and guru, that is what is important. Is it Kṛṣṇa’s version? Otherwise we should not hear. Has anybody seen a horse speak? That the muni is giving spiritual instructions from the horse’s mouth! This is what we say in English, getting it straight from the horse’s mouth. So we should take it like it is from the śāstras. Similarly, those who are here, whatever they are hearing, that is not for one to keeping to one’s self. Dadhīci was in such danger. If he gives spiritual knowledge, he will have his head cut off! In this way the Aśvinī Kumāras, they offered him that don’t worry we will trade your head and you will still survive. And then Dadhīci gave spiritual knowledge. What a great soul. How many people will take such a risk to have their heads taken off for giving something to another. How many people would give up their heads, just to help another and to wear a horse’s head? Taking the risk, whether the other person will replace my head or not. So we can understand that Dadhīci is a very great soul and broad minded.

But we see that even greater than Dadhīci are some of the Vaiṣṇavas, because they are not only trading their heads with the chance of getting back, but they are giving up their whole life, risking their life and even dying for spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Just like Haridāsa Ṭhākura, he was told to stop preaching or we will beat you in twenty one market places. Then did Haridāsa Ṭhākura stop? So in this way we should be fixed up to give what we receive and what we are receiving from our spiritual master, by Kṛṣṇa’s mercy. If somebody is a miser and he gets knowledge and keeps it, that knowledge will not fructify, that will gradually go out. But when he gives the knowledge to others, then that increases and becomes more brilliant. The first qualification of getting spiritual knowledge is enthusiasm or eagerness. So devotee is eager to receive Kṛṣṇa consciousness and eager to give out Kṛṣṇa consciousness to others. This is the quality.

So Prabhupāda has given so many information in his books, you have heard so many things in the class, these things should be distributed to everyone. Otherwise we will only be known as misers. Durātmā. Not mahātmā. Just like Lord Caitanya gave us the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, we always chant loudly for benefit of everyone. 

Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare
Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare

Mahāprabhu said,

tṛṇād api sunīcena
taror api sahiṣṇunā
amāninā mānadena
kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ
(Śikṣāṣṭakam 3) 

Amāninā mānadena – that we don’t ask for respect for ourselves but we give respect to others. According to time, place and circumstance, someone may be given respect. We don’t go out of our way to give a karmī respect. Although we go out of our way to give Mahā-bhāgavata devotees and pure Vaiṣṇavas respect because they are very much favored by Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa.