CHAPTER 1
The Glories of Sri Guru
Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami starts his Caitanya-caritÄmáčta with a discussion of guru-tattva. He tells us that Krishna, the source of all incarnations, the avatÄri and ultimate object of all service, the viáčŁaya-vigraha, appears as His own servant, the ÄĆraya-vigraha, in order to show His mercy to the devotees. This is the guru, who mercifully reveals Krishna to his disciples. Since the guru is the ÄĆraya-vigraha, he never claims to be the object of service; nor does he think of himself in this way. Rather, he presents himself as the eternal servant of the servant of the servants of Krishna or Sri Chaitanya, just as Mahaprabhu presented Himself while dancing in front of Lord Jagannathaâs chariot in Puri:
nÄhaáč vipro na ca narapatir nÄpi vaiĆyo na ĆĆ«dro
nÄhaáč varáčÄ« na ca gáčhapatir no vanastho yatir vÄ
kintu prodyan-nikhila-paramÄnanda-pĆ«ráčÄmáčtÄbdher
gopÄ«-bhartuáž„ pada-kamalayor dÄsa-dÄsÄnudÄsaáž„
I am not a brÄhmaáča, nor a káčŁatriya, nor a vaiĆya, nor a ĆĆ«dra. Neither am I a brahmacÄrÄ«, a householder, a retired man, or a renunciant monk. My real identity is that I am the most insignificant servant of the servant of the servant of the lotus feet of Krishna, the lover of the gopÄ«s and overflowing ocean of supreme and immortal joy. (Caitanya-caritÄmáčta 2.13.80, quoted in PadyÄvalÄ« 74)
Nevertheless, even though the spiritual master identifies himself as Krishnaâs servant, the disciple who wishes to receive the spiritual masterâs blessings will look on him with transcendental intelligence as a direct manifestation of Krishna or Sri Chaitanya. Since the spiritual master is Krishnaâs most beloved associate, he is not different from Him. Krishna gave this very instruction to Uddhava in ĆrÄ«mad BhÄgavatam 11.17.27.
ÄcÄryaáč mÄáč vijÄnÄ«yÄn
nÄvamanyeta karhicit
na martya buddhyÄsĆ«yeta
sarva deva mayo guruáž„
O Uddhava! You should consider the guru to be My very selfâthat is, the embodiment of love for Me and therefore nondifferent from Me. You should therefore never disrespect him by envying him or thinking him to be an ordinary man, for he is the sum total of all the demigods.
Krishna follows this verse by speaking two others (ĆB 11.17.28 and 29) that give essential information about how an exemplary disciple should serve the spiritual master:
sÄyaáč prÄtar upÄnÄ«ya
bhaikáčŁyaáč tasmai nivedayet
yac cÄnyad apy anujñÄtam
upayuñjÄ«ta saáčyataáž„
In the morning and evening one should go begging and bring whatever one gathers to the spiritual master. One should then take permission before one himself eats.
ĆuĆrĆ«áčŁamÄáča ÄcÄryaáč
sadopÄsÄ«ta nÄ«ca-vat
yÄna-ĆayyÄsana-sthÄnair
nÄti-dĆ«re káčtÄñjaliáž„
While engaged in serving the spiritual master one should take the attitude of a humble servant. When the guru is walking, the servant should humbly walk behind. When the guru lies down to sleep, the servant should also lie down nearby, and when the guru has awakened, the servant should sit near him, massaging his lotus feet and rendering other, similar services. When the guru is sitting down on his asana, the servant should stand nearby with folded hands, awaiting the guruâs order. In this way one should always worship the spiritual master.
Raghunatha Das Goswami writes in his Manaáž„-ĆikáčŁÄ that we should think of the guru as the dearest companion of the Lord (mukunda-preáčŁáčhatve smara). Sri Jiva Prabhu makes a similar statement in the Bhakti-sandarbha (213), âPure devotees, however, think of both the spiritual master and Lord Shiva as nondifferent from the Lord due to their being most dear to the Lordâ (Ćuddha-bhaktÄs tv eke ĆrÄ«-guroáž„ ĆrÄ«-Ćivasya ca bhagavatÄ sahÄbheda-dáčáčŁáčiáč tat-priyatamatvenaiva manyante).
Srila Vishwanatha Chakravarti takes up the same theme in the seventh verse of his Gurv-aáčŁáčakam:
sÄkáčŁÄd-dharitvena samasta-ĆÄstrair
uktas tathÄ bhÄvyata eva sadbhiáž„
kintu prabhor yaáž„ priya eva tasya
vande guroáž„ ĆrÄ«-caraáčÄravindam
I worship the lotus feet of my spiritual master, who is said by all scriptures to be Lord Hari himself, and is indeed thought of that way by all the saints. But this identity is due to his being very dear to the Lord.
Another way to think of the guru: as the direct manifestation of Srimati Radharani. Similarly, one can see him as Srimati Radharaniâs personal companion. My own dear spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur, identified himself as the servant of the beloved of Srimati Radharani, or Sri Varshabhanavi-dayita Das. He also revealed to his intimate associates that he was in fact Nayanamani Manjari, the companion of Sri Rupa Manjari in káčáčŁáča-lÄ«lÄ. Therefore, we pray to our spiritual master in his identity as Srimati Radharaniâs handmaiden:
tvaáč gopikÄ váčáčŁa-raves tanayÄntikeâsi
sevÄdhikÄriáči guro nija-pÄda-padme
dÄsyaáč pradÄya kuru mÄáč vraja-kÄnane ĆrÄ«-
rÄdhÄáčghri-sevana-rase sukhinÄ«áč sukhÄbdhe
O Sri Guru! You remain constantly by the lotus feet of the daughter of Vrishabhanu, where you have been given the right to render service. Please give me the joy of swimming in the ocean of service to Srimati Radharani.
There is also a prÄáčam-mantra to the guru in his sakhÄ« form:
rÄdhÄ-sammukha-saáčsaktiáč
sakhÄ«-saáčga-nivÄsinÄ«m
tvÄm ahaáč satataáč vande
mÄdhavÄĆraya-vigrahÄmI
I worship you, my spiritual master, in your form as a gopī living among the other sakhīs, always in the company of Srimati Radharani. You are the repository of love for Madhava.
One of the nine Yogendras, Kavi, spoke to King Nimi as follows:
The Supreme Lord has created a process whereby even the most ignorant and foolish people can attain Him. This process is known as bhÄgavata-dharma. Anyone who has faith in this process will never be bewildered. Even if he runs with his eyes closed, he will neither slip nor fall.
Those who are averse to the Lordâs service fall into the grips of His illusory energy and forget their eternal identity. This leads to identification with the material body and further disruption of the intelligence. As a consequence, one becomes absorbed in everything but Krishna, everything that is the nonself. And the result of this is fear.
Therefore an intelligent and discerning individual will make the spiritual master his personal Deity (guru-daivatÄtmÄ) and recognize him as his dearmost friend. Following him with this attitude, the disciple should embark on the path of exclusive devotion to the Supreme Lord. Such worship primarily takes the form of loudly glorifying the names of the Lord that are related to his birth and activities without any care for or attachment to what people might think. (ĆB 11.2.34â37)
In the following chapter of ĆrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam, Prabuddha, the next of the nine masters of yoga, continues the discourse on bhÄgavata-dharma. He begins, in 11.3.22, by saying that one must take initiation from a spiritual master who is situated in full knowledge of the scriptural form of the Lord, who has had direct experience of the Lord, and who is free from anger, lust, greed, and other base qualities, and then study bhÄgavata-dharma under him:
tatra bhÄgavatÄn dharmÄn
ĆikáčŁed gurv-Ätma-daivataáž„
amÄyayÄnuváčttyÄ yais
tuáčŁyed ÄtmÄtma-do hariáž„
Knowing the spiritual master to be oneâs ever well-wisher, dearest friend, and the manifestation of the supremely worshipable Lord Hari, one should serve him constantly, with sincerity, and with this attitude learn from him bhÄgavata-dharma, or the various religious activities that will please Krishna, the giver of the soul.
Our most worshipable spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur, writes in his Viváčti commentary on this verse:
Once one has taken shelter of the spiritual master, the jīva should serve him, taking the attitude that the guru is not a part of this illusory manifestatio...