Tape No.3.

86

18th July 1986

France

860718 The Vision We Should Develop When Guru Leaves

Devotee: What happens when. . . .

Gour Govinda Swami: His instructions are there, vapu rupa väëé rupa. Guru means pure
devotee, vaiñëava. Guru means very, very intimate associate of Lord Krishna. he is guru,
spiritual master. When he is physically present, that is his presence is here, but in aprakata lélä
when he disappears, at that time one should not think that guru is not there. He is always there.
Krishna is always there. If you have eye you can see Krishna, premanjana churita. . . . whole
verse. I have already spoke. If you have that eye bhakti-cakñu, eye of devotion and you have
developed kåñëa-prema, then you can see Krishna everywhere, yäìhä yäìhä netra paòe täìhä
kåñëa sphure ¾ You look at, and see Krishna or how could Prahlad maharaja see Krishna in a
stone pillar whereas his father couldn’t?

tasyähaà na praëaçyämi
sa ca me na praëaçyati
Bhagavad-gétä. 6.30

Krishna says. “He always see Me. I always see him. Spiritual master is always there. Don’t
think that he’s not physically present, that he’s not there. He’s there. He’s always there. If you
have developed love for the spiritual master, if you have developed that eye, you can see him,
you can talk to him and he is also present in this form (banging the book), väëé –rupa, his
instructions are there. Don’t think so, when he is away.

Another thing is there. Krishna is always there, Krishna is always saying, Krishna is always
teaching. But how He is there, how He is saying, how He is teaching? One may put this
question.

‘çästra-guru-ätma’-rüpe äpanäre jänäna

‘kåñëa mora prabhu, trätä’——jévera haya jïäna
Cc. madhya 20.123

How Krishna says, how Krishna speaks? ‘çästra-guru-ätma’, He speaks through çästra, Veda,
Vedic scripture because Vedas come out from Krishna. he is the source of Veda. What He says
in Veda, it is very difficult to understand. Especially it should be understood through tattva –
vicara, not apara-vicara, apparent consideration. It is absolute consideration. Mäyävädés do
apparent consideration, quoting çästra as Vedic truth. Then comes the question of guru. Guru
comes, the spiritual master comes who is the representative of Krishna, very dear devotee of
Krishna, who is as caitya-guru, who is seated in the heart of his body as Supersoul. He is known
as caitya-guru. He comes.

näyam ätmä pravacanena labhyo

na medhayä na bahudhä çrutena
yam evaiña våëute tena labhyas
tasyaiña ätmä vivåëute tanuà sväm

(Kaöha Upaniñad 1.2.23)

näyam ätmä pravacanena labhyo

na medhayä na bahudhä çrutena

You cannot know that paramätmä-tattva , éça-tattva , through your own mundane scholarship,
own mundane intelligence, medhayä, or listening tomany pravacanas of karmis, jïänés and
yogis. Those are not devotees, those who never come under bona fide disciplic succession. You
cannot know it. Kaöha Upaniñad says, näyam ätmä pravacanena labhyo na medhayä na
bahudhä çrutena. Then how can you know? yam evaiña våëute tena labhyas tasyaiña ätmä
vivåëute tanuà sväm ¾ ätmä here means paramätmä, Supersoul who is seated in everybody’s
heart. Assuming a body He comes as spiritual master, Himself, because He is caitya-guru, to
teach paramätmä-tattva . unless He says you cannot understand. Where does he appear? Who
meets him? That’s another question.
Ätmä here means paramätmä, Supersoul. So Krishna teaches like that. The soul or individual
person who is very, very inquisitive to know all these things, who is very eager to know,
paramätmä knows this, “Oh, now he is very eager to know Me so I must help him.” So he
comes assuming the body of guru.

brahmäëòa bhramite kona bhägyavän jéva

guru-kåñëa-prasäde päya bhakti-latä-béja
(Cc. Madhya 19.151)

He is most fortunate, bhägyavän. By wandering through so many planetary systems,

undergoing so many species of life, one who is fortuante enough meets a bona fide spiritual
master. It is Krishna’s mercy, kåñëa kåpäte guru mile guru kåpäte kåñëa mile ¾ it is Krishna’s
mercy that you will get the bona fide spiritual master. By the mercy of the spiritual master you
will get Krishna. so paramätmä arranges the meeting.
So this is Krishna’s mercy that you will meet the spiritual master, and by getting the mercy of
the spiritual master you will get Krishna. so we must be very eager to know, must be very
inquisitive as Dhruva Maharaja. He was very eqger how to get thr Lord. So Narada Muni
appeared before him. Paramätmä arranged it. “All right, he is very eager now. You go and show
him the path, help him.”
Similarly, “Oh my spiritual master has disappeared. How can I be helped? Who will teach me?.
When you’ll be very, very inquisitieve, how I can know? His väëé is there, instructions are
there, books are there, but I cannot understand the purport. It is very difficult on my part to
understand it, though väëé is there. çästra has its krpa,

sädhu çästra kåpäya jadi kåñëonmukha haya

sei jéva nistare mäyä tähäre chäòaya
Cc. madhya 20.120

Kaviraj Goswami has said this thing. Sädhu krpa, çästra krpa, krpa means mercy. The çästra is
also one of the incarnations of the Lord. kåñëa-tulya bhägavata——vibhu, sarväçraya,
Caitanya-bhägavata says this thing. Bhägavata-grantha, the scripture is like Krishna. he is
vibhu. Krishna is vibhu, Supreme Lord. Bhägavata is also vibhu. We take shelter of the lotus
feet of Krishna. we must take shelter of bhägavata , grantha also. Krishna showers His mercy,
grantha also showers his mercy. Sädhu showers his mercy. So sädhu-çästra-kåpä, sädhu’s krpa,
çästra’s krpa. Then we’ll be attracted towards Krishna, sädhu çästra kåpäya jadi kåñëonmukha
haya, sei jéva nistare mäyä tähäre chäòaya ¾ then you are free from the clutches of mäyä. So
grantha has its krpa, scripture has its krpa. This is one of the forms of the lord. And the
instructions of guru is also guru. You’ll get guru krpa through his instructions, väëé .
One who is very, very eager, very, very inquisitive, pray to spiritual master, pray to Krishna. “O
my spiritual master, you have departed. You are not physically present. I cannot understand. I
am such an ignorant fool. I have no qualification. Though your instructions are there I cannot
understand what you have said. Please help me.”
So guru he’ll also come. Not in that form. He should come in the form of a sädhu, a very dear
devotee, who is also very dear to your spiritual master also. He is very intimate your spiritual
master. He may come in that form. Through him this will be revealed. Doubts will be cleared.
You can understand tattva , purport. And one should think, Yes, yes, my guru is teaching, he is
saying in this form, sädhu or sastranka(?). Thereby you will be helped. Don’t think that “guru is
not there. He has departed. What shall I do?”Pray fervantly to your spiritual master. He must
help you. In this way we have been helped. This is my personal experience. And this is also the
other great mahäjanas, äcäryas, they have also said this thing. This is eternal process. Krishna
is eternal, nitya, sastrata, sanatana purusa, Krishna, His teachings are eternal. The process is also
eternal. It is always going on. But we should be very, very inquisitive. Inquisitiveness must be
there, that we must get. Everything is there. One should not feel desperate. There is nothing
pessimism in this process. It is all optimism.

Question: One may be very eager to get guru, then, once he has got guru, how can he maintain
his eagerness. He said, after all I was eager to have guru. Now I have got guru. Then he said,
how to maintain this constant eagerness.

Gour Govinda Swami: He must maintain it by thinking that out of Krishna’s mercy I met my
guru. But how I can get always the association of my guru? He should be very eager to have it,
always the association of his guru and listening to him. Unless you listen to your guru your
doubts cannot be dispelled. If you cannot get the mercy of guru y ou cannot get Krishna, so you
should be very, very eager, how can I best serve my guru and please him, yasya prasädäd
bhagavat-prasädo, yasyäprasädän na gatiù kuto ’pi ¾ If gurudeva is pleased then Krishna will
be pleased, I’ll get Krishna’s mercy. If gurudeva is displeased, where is my position, where is
my place, gatiù kuto ’pi. So my concern, my duty is to please the spiritual master, and how can I
do it?
guru-mukha-padma-väkya, cittete kariyä aikya,
ära nä kariha mane äçä

What gurudeva has said, what has come out from his lips, the instruction to you, to a specific
disciple, individual disciple, gurudeva has many instructions. Some are general, some are
specific. General instructions are for one and all. And specific instructions, individual
instructions, what gurudeva has said, told you, do this thing, go, do like this, one should:
Gurudeva has ordered me to do this thing. So he should be very, very eager how best I can do it,
how best I can please my spiritual master, how best I can serve him, and please him, thereby I
will get the mercy of Krishna. otherwise janama biphala, my life is finished, it is unsuccessful.
Always by thinking like that one can maintain. Oh, I can’t do anything. I cannot do any service.
I’m such a wretched fellow, unqualified fellow, unworthy person. I cannot render any service to
my guru. I cannot please him. Oh, what shall I do? I have not done anything. I have not got the
mercy of guru. How can I get it. Just always thinking like that. If you are satisfied, Oh no, I
have got. I have got guru, I have got his pleasure, I have got his mercy,” finished! I have not got
it.
Devotee: We must be eager to get always more and more of his association.
Gour Govinda Swami: Always thinking like that, “I have not got anything. I have not got the
mercy of my guru. I have not taken any advantage of meeting my guru. How I can get it? That’s
the process. Always think like that. If you think, I met guru so my problem is solved. I have not
got anything. I have not got the mercy of my guru. I have not pleased him. Vaiñëava krpa taha
sarva siddhi, if you get the krpa, mercy of a vaiñëava, pure devotee, or guru, then you can have
all perfections, sarva siddhi. But I have not got it. How can I get it? Very, very eager. If you
have this thought, “Yes, I have got it now, it is all finished. Whatever you have got, it is finished
also. No, I have not got anything. This is how you can maintain. Otherwise not possible.

Can I conclude now?

Jayanta Krid: You are the reservoir. We are very dry. So we need unlimited amount of water,
amåta.
Gour Govinda Swami: Yes, Mahaprabhu is most merciful incarnation. He must shower His
mercy. Because I have nothing. I have no qualification. I am an unworthy person. Nothing is
under my control. . . .entreat Mahaprabhu, so He will do it.

äçä-mätra jéva kore, tava icchä-phale

jéva bole,—`kori ämi’, se to’ satya noy

tumi na korile jéva kori thiba, one who says, I can do this thing, that’s not. Jéva, living entity
cannot do anything