DIKSHA: QUALIFICATION OR GENDER ISSUE?

 QUALIFICATION IS THE KEY

I want that all of my spiritual sons and daughters will inherit this title of Bhaktivedanta, so that the family transcendental diploma will continue through the generations. Those possessing the title of Bhaktivedanta will be allowed to initiate disciples.

 Maybe by 1975, all of my disciples will be allowed to initiate and increase the numbers of the generations. That is my program.” 

(Letter to Hamsaduta—Los Angeles 3 December, 1968)

We all have heard the contradictory inputs by different members of ISKCON, quoting and counter quoting ad infinitum. It can be read here. This article is not meant as a summary of these illustrious never ending discussions but rather my simple analysis and conclusion on the necessity for qualification.

Virtual visit to Nityananda Vamsa on the subject matter

I attempted to discuss this topic with gaudiya vaisnavas from another branch, also coming down from Jahnava Mata, the Nityananda Vamsa, the branch of Lord Nityananda coming down from Jahnava mata and her first disciple and step son, Virachandra prabhu. There was basically no discussion to be had since it was an obvious fact that qualification was the key, not gender as proven by their lineage.  I felt it may be relevant to share some of my findings as it is based on the same sastra, contemporary, and facing the same circumstances in regards to preaching etc....  Some have said female diksha gurus would never be accepted in India. It seems to not be a founded opinion. 

Following is an extract from Drops of Nectar from Srila Gurudeva, vol 1 a book published by the disciples of Sri Pran Krishna das Babaji Maharaj:

"The mothers in Nityananda vamsa play a very important role in conferring diksha mantras, and it is necessary to mention the reason of their position as initiating gurus. The family members are usually initiated by their mothers. It was by Nityananda Prabhu's instruction that Sri Jahnava Mata became the first initiating lady guru, even before HIs disappearance. He ordered her to initiate His daughter, Ganga when she was just a new born. From Then on it became the tradition in Nityananda Prabhu's lineage that all children would be initiated with the diksha mantra by their mothers. The reason for this is that the power of the diksha mantra combined with pur maternal love establishes a powerful bondage of spiritual love. After Jahnava Mata, there were other women like Sarada Sundari Goswamini and Gita Mata Goswamini who were strong and exalted in this lineage."

From left to right, Sri Sarada Sundari Mata Goswamini, Prabhupada Sri Pran
Gopal Goswami, Prabhupada Sri Yadu Gopal Goswami and Sri Gita Mata Goswamini

"The Diksha Guru Pranali Parampara in Nityananda Vamsa is separately given here:

• Sri Nityananda Prabhu
• Sri Jahnava Mata Goswamini
• Sri Narayani Mata Goswamini
• Sri Govinda Priya Mata Goswamini
• Sri Kadamba Mala Goswamini
• Sri Nava Kumari Mata Goswamini
• Sri Kalindi Mata Goswamini
• Sri Anna Purna Mata Goswamini
• Sri Taramani Mata Goswamini
• Sri Krishna Kishor Goswami Prabhu
• Sri Kishori Mata goswamini
• Sri Sarad Sundari Mata Goswamini
• Sri Pran Gopal Goswami Prabhu
• Sri Yadu Gopal Goswami Prabhu
• Sri Geeta Mata Goswamini
• Sri Madan Gopal Goswami Prabhu
• Sri Nitya Gopal Goswami Prabhu
• Sri Prema Gopal Goswami Prabhu

I have highlighted the matajis in the above lineage who accepted the role of diksha gurus on the order of Nityananda prabhu. Sri Geeta Mata Goswamini was trained by her husband Sri Yadu Gopal Goswami Prabhu. She and Sarada Sundari Mata
Goswamini, in particular, are remembered on account of their vast and detailed knowledge of sastra to the point of being consulted by others on sastric points, not unlike some of ISKCON's senior mataji disciples.

Directly from Srila Prabhupada's mouth.

Prof. O'Connell: "Is it possible, Swamiji, for a woman to be a guru in the line of disciplic

succession?"

Prabhupāda: "Yes. Jāhnavā Devī was – Nityānanda's wife. She became. If she is able to go to the highest perfection of life, why it is not possible to become guru? But, not so many. Actually one who has attained the perfection, she can become guru. But man or woman, unless one has attained
the perfection.... 

Yei kṛṣṇa-tattva-vetta sei guru haya.

The qualification of guru is that he must be fully cognisant of the science of Kṛṣṇa. Then he or she can become guru. Yei Kṛṣṇa-tattva-vetta, sei guru haya. In our material world, is it any prohibition that woman cannot become professor? If she is qualified, she can become professor. What is wrong there? She must be qualified. That is the position. So similarly, if the woman understands Kṛṣṇa consciousness perfectly, she can become guru."

More next time, as I slowly and happily take one step at a time towards Radha and Krishna's Love and pray for the mercy of the vaisnavas without whose mercy I am lost.

Begging to remain the servant of your servants.

MY PRABHUPADA

Who is My Prabhupada?

A star with so many smiles, the most heart melting smiles ever, and even a sweet missing front tooth? A great mystic who walked without touching the ground? 

A short man with the stature of a giant?

An aristocratic elderly gentleman?

OR... 

Are ALL these descriptions too mundane to describe the saviour of the whole world? the special envoy of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the faithful dedicated son of an illustrious Lion Guru, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur? 

Is my relationship with my guru shallow? do I revert to sentimentalism being unable to fulfil his desires for me? What exactly did he want from me, from all of us? Above the big temple constructions, above the establishment of schools, farm communities, above the distribution of transcendental literature. These were engagements to spread the mission of Lord Caitanya and they were also engagements for us so we don't become bored. What did he actually expect from us internally to please him the most. 

 

He wanted us to learn to love Krishna, above all. 

Our smiles, or tears will never repay our debt. We reciprocate his love by serving his mission.

More next time, as I slowly and happily take one step at a time towards Radha and Krishna's Love and pray for the mercy of the vaisnavas without whose mercy I am lost.

Begging to remain the servant of your servants.

GREATEST RESET

Just as the eagle doesn't fight the snake on land but carries him to the sky. Will we try to fight the advent and growth of Kali's influence or the anti-Christ, with ordinary weapons and technology or with the love and compassion exemplified by Gauranga Nityananda prabhus? I pray for their mercy as I, we try to become awake and astute in regards to the current revolution(s).

GREAT RESET VS GREATEST RESET

",,, it doesn't change what you are doing. It changes you through genetic editing..." Klaus Schwab WEF Chairman

There is a move towards global change, granting more and more power to a group of elites who plan to control the world via digital ID, digital currency digital everything and even genetic editing of our bodies.

They say: "you will own nothing and be happy". What they don't say is that they will own you, and choose for you what services you can have access to according to their materialistic and godless standards as controlled via digital ID. Since they are experts at presenting their views, they managed to educate a politically ambitious sector of society and strategically facilitate their empowerment in different governments of the world, in order to implement their ideology gradually within the next 10 years.

This reset implies a systematic eradication of both religious and spiritual lives, presenting God as an illusion for the uneducated gullible simple folks and replacing it with faith and trust in technology and economic elites. So called tangible things.

Dr Yuval Harari, transhumanist and top advisor to Klaus Schwab proudly declares: 

"...  neither the gestapo nor the KGB could hack millions of people 

but soon it will be possible to hack and engineer life for all people. 

Science is replacing a "god in the clouds". It is real..."

Such agenda can only be described as demoniac. It is therefore doom to utter failure, provided we take shelter in the Lord.

*****************************************

GREATEST RESET - LIVING THE GOLDEN AGE 

It will come from love instead of control, envy, hatred, oppression. It cannot take place in the midst of excessive illicit sex, gambling, intoxication, cruelty. It cannot even fare well where there is hoarding of gold. These need to be brought down to minimum for the greatest reset to occur in full magnitude.

Real love for human beings is to find a way to bring them closer to their eternal identity, without pride or false ego, just from pure love. It is the mission of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Real Love is spreading the chanting of Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare to every town and village. It is the recommended process for this age to unlock this potential, Harinam sankirtan. Constant chanting and glorification of the Lord's Name, Form, Quality, and Pastimes with or without music.

The snake is hard to defeat on the ground. But when taken out of its zone, as when the eagle picks him up and takes him to the sky, he can be easily defeated. It is futile to get involved in political debates and involvement with obvious non-believers. It is their territory, our territory is Bhakti, Seva, Kirtan, Bhajan... 

We can choose to strengthen our Sadhana, become honest, strong, deep in our practices, we can choose to love Krishna, choose to love that Lord who steals yogurt, the clothes of the gopis, their hearts and who even stole Radha's complexion and compassion in order to appear in this age of Kali as Gauranga Mahaprabhu. He cam with His associates to give us the key out of the cell of this material world of suffering. The golden key is Harinam Sankirtan. The more we give, share Krishna's love with others, the more love will manifest within us as this will please guru and Krishna.

Why not choose to love that Lord who steals yogurt,
clothes and heart of the gopis and
who even stole Radha's complexion and compassion
to appear in this age of Kali as Gauranga Mahaprabhu.

Consequently, I am stressing the importance of a REAL Nama Yagna. Not an extended concert attended by groupies of star kirtaniyas, but a united consortium of prayerful chanters. Such concert-kirtans will be there, let it be, better than nothing. However, we can each take the responsibility to bring a purer name to the "concert". This is where real taste is, this is where tangible purification takes place. 

Aparadh Naam, prathista Naam, are likened to trying to empty a room full of dirt, from floor to ceiling, using a teaspoon. Chanting of sort is going on, some cleaning takes place, no doubt. Namabhasa is emptying the dirt by bucketfuls but Suddha Naam will collapse the walls, releasing all the dirt in one instant. We can invite that Supreme Suddha Naam in our kirtan with prayer, humility and detachment.

The spreading of love and Compassion as that of Nityananda prabhu is what the world needs. The demons won't be defeated in their zone, they own it. They own governments, they own judges, they own law enforcement, they even own some university professors, many students and other professionals. 

Aindra Prabhu spoke of a grass root revolution, imagine what pure chanting could do. It can, it will usher in the golden age. It may not come from the top down, it is every devotee's responsibility.

Param Vijayate
Sri Krishna Sankirtanam!

More next time, as I slowly and happily take one step at a time towards Radha and Krishna's Love and pray for the mercy of the vaisnavas without whose mercy I am lost.

Begging to remain the servant of your servants.

AWAKENING - Dare to be DEEP

A few days ago, we celebrated the anniversary of Aindra prabhu. His appearance would prove to bring about the birth, or re-birth of our good fortune. It was his 70th avirbhava tithi. 

He has been on my mind, I frequently associate with his vani, his conversations, his lectures, kirtans etc. Instinctually I searched him out on google one day. What I found hit me like a thunderbolt, a knife through the  heart:

Aindra Das, Vocalist. 

Do we say Abhaya Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami, chemist or business man? Bimala Prasad Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, astronomer? Can a vocalist awaken the consciousness of the jiva? So many vocalists are there. Any competent musician can imitate his melodies, his singing. Can they awaken sleeping jivas to embrace the path of bhakti? He was so much more, he still is. I would have been somewhat satisfied if the caption was "transcendentalist" but really it should say Vaisnava saint.

“He reasons ill who tells that Vaisnavas die 

When thou art living still in sound! 

The Vaisnavas die to live, and living try 

To spread the holy name around!”

Of course he was a musical genius, spontaneously embracing the raga system and composing in raga or misra raga almost exclusively for the ultimate pleasure of Radha Syamasundar. However, he was a lot more than that. Almost thirteen years after his departure, his words and chanting are still changing hearts. 

This is our Aindra Prabhu. 

He dared to be different without ever deviating from Srila Prabhupada's instructions... and so can we. It is not about an upper cloth which is neither white nor saffron, or socks, not about the portable harmonium, it is about the consciousness. 

He dared to go deep in his bhakti, so can we. Everything is available in Prabhupada's books. While we chant "I have so many anarthas, anarthas, anarthas...." he chanted Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare, lakhs of holy names, daily. The holy name can give you prema, focusing on our anarthas is likely to bring us to nirvisesa vada, as stated by Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur. 

Meditating on anartha nivritti is not necessary. Giving up gross anarthas, four regulative principles is the equivalent of becoming human. Let's move on from there, other attachments will fall away as we chant regularly with open heart and mind, expecting miracles. Let us dare, have the courage to find out more and more about the Blue Cowherd Boy who steals yogurt, clothes and hearts. Let us dare to desire to serve the Goswamis of Vrndavan in their service to the Divine Couple. Let us develop a higher taste. Aindra Prabhu did, so can we. Srila Prabhupada gave us the recipe for success but we disregard his books favouring popular dictums and giving up on ourselves daily. "I am not so advanced, you know." And why not? what are we doing about it? No one is going to step out of our comfort zone for us, no one is going to chant that extra round for us. Let's assume our responsibility, make this birth our last birth as a conditioned soul, let's make our guru proud. Spontaneous devotional service is Srila Prabhupada's legacy, our inheritance, our privilege. It is our duty to guru to grow this spontaneous love through service.  

sei gopī-bhāvāmṛte yāṅra lobha haya
veda-dharma-loka tyaji’ se kṛṣṇe bhajaya

“One who is attracted by that ecstatic love of the gopīs does not care about popular opinion or the regulative principles of Vedic life. Rather, he completely surrenders unto Kṛṣṇa and renders service unto Him. CC Madhya 8.220

‘aṅghri-padma-sudhā’ya kahe ‘kṛṣṇa-saṅgānanda’
vidhi-mārge nā pāiye vraje kṛṣṇa-candra

“The word ‘aṅghri-padma-sudhā’ means ‘associating intimately with Kṛṣṇa.’   One can attain such perfection only by spontaneous love of God. One cannot obtain Kṛṣṇa in Goloka Vṛndāvana simply by serving the Lord according to regulative principles. CC Madhya 8.226

Let's dare to be DEEP in our bhakti, not because we are qualified but because we owe it to Srila Prabhupada. We want to gain qualification, taste, desire for Radha Krishna Prema. 

Aindra Prabhu ki Jaya!!!

More next time, as I slowly and happily take one step at a time towards Radha and Krishna's Love and pray for the mercy of the vaisnavas without whose mercy I am lost.

Begging to remain the servant of your servants.

THE GREATEST FESTIVAL

I pray Srila Prabhupada will empower me to say a few words worth your time.

Kadamba Kanana swami was, is, a friend to everyone. He made me, and all who knew him, feel like a friend. He was humble, no fancy air about him. While I served at Mayapur Kirtan Academy, he taught Siksastakam a couple years in a row. I appreciated his genuine authenticity. He inspired devotees to respect him, not by demanding but by his effortless Krishna consciousness. 

I am not sure if he knew how he was instrumental in my family moving to Mayapur in 1991. It was a life changing move for us. While he was part of the Mayapur management in years prior to our coming, there was an article published in the Mayapur magazine. Apparently he had set in motion a system by which grhasta who wanted to move to Mayapur would be given a cement floor, straw walls and thatched roof to start their Mayapur graha. We were enthusiastic about this romantic prospect. We also were more or less penniless. It would allow us to take up seva in the Dham and raise our family there. I saw myself pumping water, cooking on the floor of a cement veranda while singing some bhajans, living a life similar to Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu's associates in Caitanya Caritamrta. However, when we arrived both this project and Maharaj were gone and we took up residence in a normal Mayapur marble palace. In retrospect, it was probably closer to our ability in regards to renunciation. Krishna knows,  all is perfect according to His plan.

We cannot talk about Maharaj without mentioning his kirtans. So powerful. Sometimes mrdanga players had to replace one another, unable to continue at his speed and strength. As his illness progressed, I heard him say that it was these fast vigorous kirtan that gave him energy, life. 

Those who live in his shelter have a glorious life, and death ahead of them. He took the time to set the mood, to teach them how to live and how to leave. His life was organized, his activities scheduled, planned, orchestrated to please guru and Krishna. How he lived is how he died. This may be true for all of us, we may die how we live but how glorious would this be? We may need to prepare, mend our ways and follow in his footsteps. He set the way. 

From a kirtan warrior making everyone dance, he became a swan, gliding across his last days in a mystical and peaceful dance of slow mantras meditated upon. Although approaching death he seemed to shine more and more, becoming more beautiful as he let his soul truly shine through, In full optimism. 

"Soon, very soon, we will meet again and we will celebrate like never before, all together… 

Soon, soon… 

Miracles will happen. 

We will see love, we will see bliss, we will see fulfilment beyond our imagination, beyond our expectation… 

Stay on the path, don't get lost, come quickly, let us join this festival of Krishna, the festival of ever growing love." - Kadamba Kanana Swami Final words

May these words from a friend, guru, well wisher forever resonate in our citta. 

All we need to do is follow the program, fixed as Dhruva, and soon, very soon we will be back with Maharaj in kirtan. 

Let us live... in the way we want to die, 

Krishna dancing on our tongues and minds. 

More next time, as I slowly and happily take one step at a time towards Radha and Krishna's Love and pray for the mercy of the vaisnavas without whose mercy I am lost.

Begging to remain the servant of your servants.