ŚRĪLA PRABHUPĀDA IS NOT BOUND BY ŚĀSTRA
Posted by Tattvavit dāsa | May 6, 2020 |
Śrīla Prabhupāda is Not Bound by Śāstra
According to Śāstra, Śrīla Prabhupāda is beyond the rules of Śāstra:
A common argument of ISKCON concerning the Ṛtvik system of initiations goes something like this:
“There has never been a historical precedence wherein a Guru accepted disciples after his physical departure from this world. Since the Ṛtvik system essentially means this, how could Śrīla Prabhupāda setup a system that has no historical precedence and no mention in the scripture? Therefore, he did not intend to setup this system. His Ṛtvik arrangement was only a temporary measure until his physical absence.”
Posted by Tattvavit dāsa | May 6, 2020 |
Śrīla Prabhupāda is Not Bound by Śāstra
According to Śāstra, Śrīla Prabhupāda is beyond the rules of Śāstra:
A common argument of ISKCON concerning the Ṛtvik system of initiations goes something like this:
“There has never been a historical precedence wherein a Guru accepted disciples after his physical departure from this world. Since the Ṛtvik system essentially means this, how could Śrīla Prabhupāda setup a system that has no historical precedence and no mention in the scripture? Therefore, he did not intend to setup this system. His Ṛtvik arrangement was only a temporary measure until his physical absence.”
[PADA: Right, except then the GBC in 1978 ran off to the Gaudiya Matha, to take "advice" from the founder father of a 1936 sexual predator acharya's program than banned, beat, sued and killed Vaishnavas. Why would we follow that precedent? And where do we find ANY debauchees in the guru parampara?]
Firstly, Śrīla Prabhupāda did not go against Śāstra by instituting the Ṛtvik system for the future after his physical departure. We have covered this extensively in our well-known position paper IA77 (Initiations After 1977). Initiation is the transference of transcendental knowledge from the spiritual master to the disciple. There is no reference to physical proximity as being a binding condition for dīkṣā. Through his books, Śrīla Prabhupāda is already initiating millions. Moreover, the temple authorities are there to train up devotees just as it was happening at the time of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s physical presence.
But even if we consider the argument that Śrīla Prabhupāda would have transgressed Śāstra by introducing the Ṛtvik system after his physical departure, then according to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Śrīla Prabhupāda is beyond the rules of the Śāstra.
In the purport to Caitanya-caritāmṛta Madhya-līlā 10.136, Śrīla Prabhupāda writes:
“Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu replied that His spiritual master, Īśvara Purī, was so empowered that he was as good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As such, Īśvara Purī was the spiritual master of the whole world. He was not a servant of any mundane rule or regulation. An empowered spiritual master like Īśvara Purī can bestow his mercy upon anyone, irrespective of caste or creed. The conclusion is that a spiritual master who is authorized and empowered by Kṛṣṇa and his own guru should be considered as good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself.
Firstly, Śrīla Prabhupāda did not go against Śāstra by instituting the Ṛtvik system for the future after his physical departure. We have covered this extensively in our well-known position paper IA77 (Initiations After 1977). Initiation is the transference of transcendental knowledge from the spiritual master to the disciple. There is no reference to physical proximity as being a binding condition for dīkṣā. Through his books, Śrīla Prabhupāda is already initiating millions. Moreover, the temple authorities are there to train up devotees just as it was happening at the time of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s physical presence.
But even if we consider the argument that Śrīla Prabhupāda would have transgressed Śāstra by introducing the Ṛtvik system after his physical departure, then according to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Śrīla Prabhupāda is beyond the rules of the Śāstra.
In the purport to Caitanya-caritāmṛta Madhya-līlā 10.136, Śrīla Prabhupāda writes:
“Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu replied that His spiritual master, Īśvara Purī, was so empowered that he was as good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As such, Īśvara Purī was the spiritual master of the whole world. He was not a servant of any mundane rule or regulation. An empowered spiritual master like Īśvara Purī can bestow his mercy upon anyone, irrespective of caste or creed. The conclusion is that a spiritual master who is authorized and empowered by Kṛṣṇa and his own guru should be considered as good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself.
That is the verdict of Viśvanātha Cakravartī: sākṣād-dharitvenaśā. An authorized spiritual master is as good as Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As Hari is free to act as He likes, the empowered spiritual master is also free. As Hari is not subject to mundane rules and regulations, the spiritual master empowered by Him is also not subject. According to the Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Antya-līlā 7.11), kṛṣṇa-śakti vinā nahe tāra pravartana. An authorized spiritual master empowered by Kṛṣṇa can spread the glories of the holy name of the Lord, for he has power of attorney from the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
In the mundane world, anyone possessing his master’s power of attorney can act on behalf of his master. Similarly, a spiritual master empowered by Kṛṣṇa through his own bona fide spiritual master should be considered as good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. That is the meaning of sākṣād-dharitvena. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu therefore describes the activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the bona fide spiritual master as follows.”
Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, 10.137:
prabhu kahe, — īśvara haya parama svatantra
īśvarera kṛpā nahe veda-paratantra
Translation:
“Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, ‘Both the Supreme Personality of Godhead and My spiritual master, Īśvara Purī, are completely independent. Therefore neither the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead nor that of Īśvara Purī is subject to any Vedic rules or regulations.’”
In the purport to Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 10.139, Śrīla Prabhupāda writes:
“Īśvara Purī, an empowered spiritual master, could show mercy to anyone. […] In the Hari-bhakti-vilāsa, Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī states that one who is initiated by a bona fide spiritual master immediately becomes a brāhmaṇa. A pseudo spiritual master cannot transform a person into a brāhmaṇa, but an authorized spiritual master can do so. This is the verdict of śāstra, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and all the Gosvāmīs.”
How to follow an order (like the Ṛtvik system) of Śrīla Prabhupāda that had no precedence in the history of the disciplic succession?
Well, if we talk about precedence, then there has been no precedence of allowing only 16 rounds to chant per day. Śrīla Prabhupāda made that adjustment. It was unprecedented.
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.2.31 says:
svayaṁ samuttīrya sudustaraṁ dyuman
bhavārṇavaṁ bhīmam adabhra-sauhṛdāḥ
bhavat-padāmbhoruha-nāvam atra te
nidhāya yātāḥ sad-anugraho bhavān
Translation:
Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, 10.137:
prabhu kahe, — īśvara haya parama svatantra
īśvarera kṛpā nahe veda-paratantra
Translation:
“Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, ‘Both the Supreme Personality of Godhead and My spiritual master, Īśvara Purī, are completely independent. Therefore neither the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead nor that of Īśvara Purī is subject to any Vedic rules or regulations.’”
In the purport to Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 10.139, Śrīla Prabhupāda writes:
“Īśvara Purī, an empowered spiritual master, could show mercy to anyone. […] In the Hari-bhakti-vilāsa, Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī states that one who is initiated by a bona fide spiritual master immediately becomes a brāhmaṇa. A pseudo spiritual master cannot transform a person into a brāhmaṇa, but an authorized spiritual master can do so. This is the verdict of śāstra, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and all the Gosvāmīs.”
How to follow an order (like the Ṛtvik system) of Śrīla Prabhupāda that had no precedence in the history of the disciplic succession?
Well, if we talk about precedence, then there has been no precedence of allowing only 16 rounds to chant per day. Śrīla Prabhupāda made that adjustment. It was unprecedented.
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.2.31 says:
svayaṁ samuttīrya sudustaraṁ dyuman
bhavārṇavaṁ bhīmam adabhra-sauhṛdāḥ
bhavat-padāmbhoruha-nāvam atra te
nidhāya yātāḥ sad-anugraho bhavān
Translation:
“O Lord, who resemble the shining sun, […] When ācāryas completely take shelter under Your lotus feet in order to cross the fierce ocean of nescience, they leave behind on earth the method by which they cross, and because You are very merciful to Your other devotees, You accept this method to help them.”
In the purport to the above verse, Śrīla Prabhupāda writes:
“In our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, this same path is being prescribed and followed. Thus the devotees have been advised to refrain from four sinful activities—illicit sex, intoxication, meat-eating and gambling—and to chant sixteen rounds a day. These are bona fide instructions. […] Kṛṣṇa will accept a devotee who strictly follows the regulative principles and the method prescribed in the various books and literatures published by the authorities.
“In our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, this same path is being prescribed and followed. Thus the devotees have been advised to refrain from four sinful activities—illicit sex, intoxication, meat-eating and gambling—and to chant sixteen rounds a day. These are bona fide instructions. […] Kṛṣṇa will accept a devotee who strictly follows the regulative principles and the method prescribed in the various books and literatures published by the authorities.
The ācārya gives the suitable method for crossing the ocean of nescience by accepting the boat of the Lord’s lotus feet, and if this method is strictly followed, the followers will ultimately reach the destination, by the grace of the Lord. This method is called ācārya-sampradāya. […] The ācārya-sampradāya is strictly bona fide. Therefore one must accept the ācārya-sampradāya; otherwise one’s endeavor will be futile.”
So if we can accept the unprecedented 16-rounds-a-day regulation, why can’t we accept the unprecedented Ṛtvik system of initiation? Why such selective acceptance?
Further evidence is given as to the manner in which we should accept the order of the spiritual master.
In Caitanya-caritāmṛta Madhya-līlā, 10.144, we find:
bhaṭṭa kahe,— gurura ājñā haya balavān
guru-ājñā nā laṅghiye, śāstra-pramāṇa
Translation:
“Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya said, ‘The order of the spiritual master is very strong and cannot be disobeyed. That is the injunction of the śāstras, the revealed scriptures.’”
Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, 10.145 (Quoted from Raghu-vaṁśa 14.46):
sa śuśruvān mātari bhārgaveṇa
pitur niyogāt prahṛtaṁ dviṣad-vat
pratyagṛhīd agraja-śāsanaṁ tad
ājñā gurūṇāṁ hy avicāraṇīyā
“Being ordered by his father, Paraśurāma killed his mother, Reṇukā, just as if she were an enemy. When Lakṣmaṇa, the younger brother of Lord Rāmacandra, heard of this, He immediately engaged Himself in the service of His elder brother and accepted His orders. The order of the spiritual master must be obeyed without consideration.”
What were the orders of Lord Rāmacandra that Lakṣmaṇa accepted without consideration? We can understand the context of this verse if we look at the scripture Raghu-vaṁśa. It is an epic poem written by the famous poet Kālīdāsa about the pastimes of Lord Rāmacandra. We searched online and we found a very authoritative translation here. We are going to quote from there the verse that preceded this verse so that we understand the full context of the above-quoted verse.
Raghu-vaṁśa 14.45:
prajāvatī dohadaśaṁsinī te
tapovaneṣu spṛhayālureva
sa tvam rathī tadvyapadeśaneyām
prāpayya vālmīkipadam tyajainām
Translation:
Lord Rāmacandra ordered Lakṣmaṇa as follows: “Your sister-in-law (Sītā-devī) told me of Her longings during pregnancy that She has a yearning to visit the hermitages of saints. So you take a chariot and see that She reaches the hermitage of Vālmīki under that pretense of satisfying Her yearning for the penance-groves, and leave Her there.”
From this, we can understand that this particular incident was after the citizens of Ayodhyā had spoken ill of Mother Sītā’s character even after She passed the fire test of Lord Rāmacandra in Lanka. Lord Rāmacandra was preparing to banish Mother Sītā to the forest and He asked Lakṣmaṇa to execute His plan in this way.
While it is certainly against scriptural injunctions not to protect one’s wife, especially during her pregnancy, Lord Rāmacandra gave an order that seemingly contradicts scriptural injunctions. But then, Lakṣmaṇa remembered the incident of Paraśurāma where his father Jamadagni had asked Him to kill His own mother and He immediately beheaded her with His sword. Such an act is certainly unprecedented and seemingly against the injunctions of the scriptures wherein protection of women is very much stressed. But it was executed without consideration.
We have to similarly execute the instruction of the empowered spiritual master like Śrīla Prabhupāda without any consideration whether it is in accordance with the scriptures or not. This is further elucidated in the next verse of Caitanya-caritāmṛta as follows.
Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, 10.146 (quoted from Rāmāyaṇa, Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa 22.9):
nirvicāraṁ guror ājñā
mayā kāryā mahātmanaḥ
śreyo hy evaṁ bhavatyāś ca
mama caiva viśeṣataḥ
Translation:
“The order of a great personality like a father must be executed without consideration because there is good fortune in such an order for both of us. In particular, there is good fortune for Me.” Lord Rāmacandra spoke this to Mother Sita when He was banished from Ayodhyā by His father King Daśaratha.
We have a similar injunction in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.24.13:
etāvaty eva śuśrūṣā
kāryā pitari putrakaiḥ
bāḍham ity anumanyeta
gauraveṇa guror vacaḥ
Translation:
“Sons ought to render service to their father exactly to this extent. One should obey the command of his father or spiritual master with due deference, saying, ‘Yes, sir.’”
In the purport to the above verse, Śrīla Prabhupāda writes:
“Two words in this verse are very important; one word is pitari, and another word is guroḥ. The son or disciple should accept the words of his spiritual master and father without hesitation. Whatever the father and the spiritual master order should be taken without argument: “Yes.” There should be no instance in which the disciple or the son says, “This is not correct. I cannot carry it out.”
So if we can accept the unprecedented 16-rounds-a-day regulation, why can’t we accept the unprecedented Ṛtvik system of initiation? Why such selective acceptance?
Further evidence is given as to the manner in which we should accept the order of the spiritual master.
In Caitanya-caritāmṛta Madhya-līlā, 10.144, we find:
bhaṭṭa kahe,— gurura ājñā haya balavān
guru-ājñā nā laṅghiye, śāstra-pramāṇa
Translation:
“Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya said, ‘The order of the spiritual master is very strong and cannot be disobeyed. That is the injunction of the śāstras, the revealed scriptures.’”
Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, 10.145 (Quoted from Raghu-vaṁśa 14.46):
sa śuśruvān mātari bhārgaveṇa
pitur niyogāt prahṛtaṁ dviṣad-vat
pratyagṛhīd agraja-śāsanaṁ tad
ājñā gurūṇāṁ hy avicāraṇīyā
“Being ordered by his father, Paraśurāma killed his mother, Reṇukā, just as if she were an enemy. When Lakṣmaṇa, the younger brother of Lord Rāmacandra, heard of this, He immediately engaged Himself in the service of His elder brother and accepted His orders. The order of the spiritual master must be obeyed without consideration.”
What were the orders of Lord Rāmacandra that Lakṣmaṇa accepted without consideration? We can understand the context of this verse if we look at the scripture Raghu-vaṁśa. It is an epic poem written by the famous poet Kālīdāsa about the pastimes of Lord Rāmacandra. We searched online and we found a very authoritative translation here. We are going to quote from there the verse that preceded this verse so that we understand the full context of the above-quoted verse.
Raghu-vaṁśa 14.45:
prajāvatī dohadaśaṁsinī te
tapovaneṣu spṛhayālureva
sa tvam rathī tadvyapadeśaneyām
prāpayya vālmīkipadam tyajainām
Translation:
Lord Rāmacandra ordered Lakṣmaṇa as follows: “Your sister-in-law (Sītā-devī) told me of Her longings during pregnancy that She has a yearning to visit the hermitages of saints. So you take a chariot and see that She reaches the hermitage of Vālmīki under that pretense of satisfying Her yearning for the penance-groves, and leave Her there.”
From this, we can understand that this particular incident was after the citizens of Ayodhyā had spoken ill of Mother Sītā’s character even after She passed the fire test of Lord Rāmacandra in Lanka. Lord Rāmacandra was preparing to banish Mother Sītā to the forest and He asked Lakṣmaṇa to execute His plan in this way.
While it is certainly against scriptural injunctions not to protect one’s wife, especially during her pregnancy, Lord Rāmacandra gave an order that seemingly contradicts scriptural injunctions. But then, Lakṣmaṇa remembered the incident of Paraśurāma where his father Jamadagni had asked Him to kill His own mother and He immediately beheaded her with His sword. Such an act is certainly unprecedented and seemingly against the injunctions of the scriptures wherein protection of women is very much stressed. But it was executed without consideration.
We have to similarly execute the instruction of the empowered spiritual master like Śrīla Prabhupāda without any consideration whether it is in accordance with the scriptures or not. This is further elucidated in the next verse of Caitanya-caritāmṛta as follows.
Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, 10.146 (quoted from Rāmāyaṇa, Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa 22.9):
nirvicāraṁ guror ājñā
mayā kāryā mahātmanaḥ
śreyo hy evaṁ bhavatyāś ca
mama caiva viśeṣataḥ
Translation:
“The order of a great personality like a father must be executed without consideration because there is good fortune in such an order for both of us. In particular, there is good fortune for Me.” Lord Rāmacandra spoke this to Mother Sita when He was banished from Ayodhyā by His father King Daśaratha.
We have a similar injunction in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.24.13:
etāvaty eva śuśrūṣā
kāryā pitari putrakaiḥ
bāḍham ity anumanyeta
gauraveṇa guror vacaḥ
Translation:
“Sons ought to render service to their father exactly to this extent. One should obey the command of his father or spiritual master with due deference, saying, ‘Yes, sir.’”
In the purport to the above verse, Śrīla Prabhupāda writes:
“Two words in this verse are very important; one word is pitari, and another word is guroḥ. The son or disciple should accept the words of his spiritual master and father without hesitation. Whatever the father and the spiritual master order should be taken without argument: “Yes.” There should be no instance in which the disciple or the son says, “This is not correct. I cannot carry it out.”
When he says that, he is fallen. […] the order of the father or the order of the spiritual master must be carried out without hesitation, with an immediate yes. There should be no argument. That is real service to the father and to the spiritual master. Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura has stated that the order of the spiritual master is the life and soul of the disciples. As a man cannot separate his life from his body, a disciple cannot separate the order of the spiritual master from his life. If a disciple follows the instruction of the spiritual master in that way, he is sure to become perfect.”
So with these scriptural evidences, we have three instances wherein the order of an empowered spiritual master have been carried out despite seeming contradiction with scriptural rules. They are as follows:
Lord Paraśurāma obeyed His father Jamadagni’s orders without consideration;
Lord Lakṣmaṇa executed the order of His elder brother Lord Rāmacandra; and
Lord Caitanya executed the order of His spiritual master Īśvara Purī.
In all three instances, it is the Supreme Lord who set the example that the order of the empowered spiritual master cannot be disobeyed even if it may seemingly (according to our imperfect understanding) be against scriptural injunctions.
Therefore, according to the Śāstras, Śrīla Prabhupāda is beyond the jurisdiction of Śāstra in the matter of spreading the mercy to all conditioned souls of Kali-Yuga. The Ṛtvik system of initiations should, therefore, be accepted unequivocally by all devotees without any foolish considerations made with their tiny brains.
The current ISKCON devotees want to understand Śrīla Prabhupāda through the Śāstra. But they don’t understand that the opposite is true. They can understand the Śāstra only through Śrīla Prabhupāda’s mercy.
As it is declared in the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.23:
yasya deve parā bhaktir
yathā deve tathā gurau
tasyaite kathitā hy arthāḥ
prakāśante mahātmanaḥ
“Unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master, all the imports of Vedic knowledge are automatically revealed.”
But, as you can see from the above presentation, even if one wants to see it from the perspective of scripture, Śrīla Prabhupāda’s order is perfect and our solemn duty is to carry it out without argument.
So with these scriptural evidences, we have three instances wherein the order of an empowered spiritual master have been carried out despite seeming contradiction with scriptural rules. They are as follows:
Lord Paraśurāma obeyed His father Jamadagni’s orders without consideration;
Lord Lakṣmaṇa executed the order of His elder brother Lord Rāmacandra; and
Lord Caitanya executed the order of His spiritual master Īśvara Purī.
In all three instances, it is the Supreme Lord who set the example that the order of the empowered spiritual master cannot be disobeyed even if it may seemingly (according to our imperfect understanding) be against scriptural injunctions.
Therefore, according to the Śāstras, Śrīla Prabhupāda is beyond the jurisdiction of Śāstra in the matter of spreading the mercy to all conditioned souls of Kali-Yuga. The Ṛtvik system of initiations should, therefore, be accepted unequivocally by all devotees without any foolish considerations made with their tiny brains.
The current ISKCON devotees want to understand Śrīla Prabhupāda through the Śāstra. But they don’t understand that the opposite is true. They can understand the Śāstra only through Śrīla Prabhupāda’s mercy.
As it is declared in the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.23:
yasya deve parā bhaktir
yathā deve tathā gurau
tasyaite kathitā hy arthāḥ
prakāśante mahātmanaḥ
“Unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master, all the imports of Vedic knowledge are automatically revealed.”
But, as you can see from the above presentation, even if one wants to see it from the perspective of scripture, Śrīla Prabhupāda’s order is perfect and our solemn duty is to carry it out without argument.
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