The Spiritual Master Has Different Roles

transcribed by Yamuna Devi Dasi
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, Croatia, September 2010)

Spiritual master is having different roles.

One role is that he is the representative of Krsna.

He is receiving our service and our worship on behalf of Krsna.

We have to treat Him like that, the representative of Krsna - as good as Krsna.

The Spiritual master is representing the whole parampara.

So he is representing all the previous acaryas.

The Spiritual master takes charge of our life...



I was reading an offering of one of Srila Prabhupada's disciples named Koushalia. She become involved in Krsna Consciousness when she was sixteen years old. She was a hippy girl from the sixties. She was only sixteen years old, but she liked to take LSD. During the initiation Prabhupada asked her not only for the four regulative principles, He also asked her:
"What is the fifth regulative principle?"
And then he said: "No LSD!!!"
Then Prabhupad told her:
"You always looked in life for the smooth ocean; you always looked for the comfortable situation where life will be easier. But there is no such thing!
Sometimes the ocean is smooth but sometimes the ocean gets rough. That is the nature of ocean. There is no such thing as always having a smooth ocean.
But you don't have to worry because you have a very good captain! the captain will take you across!"

The Spiritual master is the captain of the boat of transcendental knowledge who will take us across this ocean of material existence.


So, whether it is smooth or whether it is rough - whatever maybe, we have that relationship with our spiritual master.

It is said that the relationship with spiritual master should also be personal.

He is not only the official representative of the Parampara of Krsna, he is not only the external manifestation of the Supersoul, but he is also our friend!
He is our friend!
Friendship means someone we can trust.
That is important - that we can trust our spiritual master – because then we can take shelter.
Otherwise we always smile. And whenever the spiritual master comes and asks:
"How are you?"
You say:
"Very nice, very nice."

But the truth of the matter is that we are struggling! Truth of the matter is: that is not so easy. Because it is not so easy therefore we must trust and we must take shelter. We must be honest.
Srila Prabhupada will also write his letters and write:
"My dear spiritual sons and daughters"
So, in one sense there is a parental relationship.
The spiritual master is like our father.

Father is always favourable, no matter what children do.

We should understand that the Spiritual master is always favourable.

transcribed by Yamuna Devi Dasi
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, Croatia, September 2010)

 

 

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The Spiritual Master Can Act In Different Ways

transcribed by Yamuna Devi Dasi
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, Croatia, September 2010)

In Bhagavatam there is the reference to three types of personalities. It is Srila Visnavath Chakravati Thakur whose commentary is making this point.
He is saying that just as the bird is taking care of it's young, the bird is flying up and down. It's really busy feeding the little birds- some spiritual masters are like that. They constantly feed their disciples.

Then there is the other spiritual master who is like the fish. A fish has very big eyes, as you noticed. So, that fish is watching, protecting and watching. And that is the second type of spiritual master.
The third type of spiritual master is like a turtle. She lays the eggs on the beach, digs them in the sand and the sun does the rest. But the turtle is always meditating on the well being of the eggs and the young.

So the spiritual master will act in all three ways...



Sometimes the spiritual master will be like a bird and will shower us with the mercy and attention.

Other times there's no bird flying and there is nothing coming, but then we know that the spiritual master is still there in our life. He is our authority, and we know and we ask Him when we make the change in our life of some significance- and He blesses us. So in this way we are under the supervision and under His protection.

And then of course:
"I have not heard from my spiritual master for three months.
I think I have problem in the relationship with my Spiritual master!"

"He does not answer my email! I am totally broken…"

No, He is still meditating, He is always meditating.

Sometimes the relationship will be like that because the spiritual master is just one person and there are more disciples.

transcribed by Yamuna Devi Dasi
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, Croatia, September 2010)

 

 

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(title unknown)

1968 September 20: "Just like a flock of birds - although very intimately related, everyone of them has to fly in the sky by individual strength. If one is less strong, the other cannot keep him in the sky. That is the law of nature."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968

 

 

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(title unknown)

1970 September 21: "Be fully engaged in Krishna's service. It does not matter what engagement; Krishna accepts equally the service of a little calf and that of Srimati Radharani. So always be very much appreciative of each other's service."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

 

 

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Wakefulness, Dreaming, Deep Sleep

(Quotes from the lecture this morning at Cape Town 23rd September 2010)

Kadamba Kanana Swami:


"In our present state many of us are not fully awake and therefore while walking around awake we are still dreaming, like in the middle of the night, you go to the bathroom after waking up from a big dream, and you are still half dreaming while you are walking - and then you go back to bed and you continue to dream where you left off" ...


More Quotes from the Lecture

"Thinking, feeling and willing are the functions of the soul which are temporarily taken over by the mind while we are in the conditioned state."

"Devotional service is touching the soul - it is in devotional service that the soul actually becomes enlivened and therefore devotional service goes very deep"

"Whatever pleasure we are experiencing in devotional service touches us on a very deep level, it is very difficult to walk away from Krishna - it doesn't quite work!"

"The living being is eternally a resident of the spiritual world but when the living being comes into this material world one becomes covered but by the process of devotional service his original consciousness becomes awakened."

"The consciousness has become covered by Krishna's illusory energy and we have forgotten Krishna"

"The benefit of devotional service is never lost"

"The only thing that is meaningful in our life is devotional service"

"At the end of our life, there are so many things that we have done and so many experiences, feelings - they have no meaning if they are not related to Krishna -nothing that we do, even if you take care of your mother and driving her up and down!"

"Our real progress is whatever we do for Krishna, gradually as we awaken we become aware of it:
' Yes , this is the only real thing that I am doing with my life'"
"We must invest in whatever is needed for Krishna"

"Wherever we may be in life in terms of an ashram, one chooses one that is comfortable and then one must engage in devotional service with great force and great vigour and with great input!"

"Sooner or later we all get to the same point where we say only Krishna and nothing for me - All for Him and nothing for me"

"When we think that something in the material energy is good, then we are drawn to the material energy"

"Krishna may repeatedly send us inspirations to surrender but then if we ignore it then..Krishna will help us forget:
'Ok you go and enjoy'
so then He will give us forgetfulness of Himself. Yes so, Krishna gives us rememberance and forgetfulness."

"Forgetfulness, He does not give with pleasure, it's painful for Him, He gives it with reluctance but 'what can He do?
He has gave us independence and if we want to misuse it, what can He do?:
'Then go do it'"

"no dad I have to do it, I'm not going to finish my education, I'm going"
"don't do it son, one day you will need it, listen to your father"
"yeah yeah yeah…old man, here we go again, the same old song, heard it so many times…yeah yeah yeah yea yeah, thank you"
Then we go and And then ten years don the line you then think after we have suffered in the material world and you think that:
'maybe the old man wasn't as crazy as I thought he was, may be he had a point after all, I have to admit it but maybe he did"

"Adolescent rebellion, not hearing good advice!"

"Krishna helps us forget…but not completely, while living in happiness in forgetfulness of Krishna,He makes arrangements for us to remember again"

"One of his (Hayagriva's) final words, before he gave up his body was:
'I wish I had only taken more advantage of what Prabhupada gave'"

"In our present state many of us are not fully awake and therefore while walking around awake we are still dreaming, like in the middle of the night, you go to the bathroom after waking up from a big dream, and you are still half dreaming while you are walking and then you go back to bed and you continue to dream where you left off"

"We are still dreaming, We are walking around like sleep walkers, we are still in maya – we've heard about Krishna, we like Krishna, we know Krishna is the Supreme Lord but we're still in maya at the same time… dreaming state."

"Krishna makes arrangements for our forgetfulness and our rememberance, so it is personal not just impersonal energies"

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, Cape Town 23rd September 2010)

 

 

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