flikar

Monday, October 12, 2015

Guru – Simultaneously Absolute and Relative (Srila Sridhar Maharaj)

There are two aspects of the guru – the absolute and the relative. On the "inspired" side, the guru is absolute, God, and within his own thinking he is a devotee of Krishna: relative, a spirit soul, part and parcel of Krishna (the Absolute). Srila B.R. Sridhar Maharaj, the sannyasa-guru of our gurudeva Srila B.A. Paramadvaiti Maharaj, explains.

 Srila B.R. Sridhar Maharaj


From Sri Guru and His Grace

By the special will of Krsna, gurudeva is a delegated power. If we look closely within the spiritual master, we will see the delegation of Krsna, and accordingly, we should accept him in that way. The spiritual master is a devotee of Krsna, and at the same time, the inspiration of Krsna is within him. These are the two aspects of gurudeva. He has his aspect as a Vaisnava, and the inspired side of a Vaisnava is the guru. On a fast day like ekadasi, he himself does not take any grains. He conducts himself as a Vaisnava, but his disciples offer grains to the picture of their guru on the altar. The disciple offers the spiritual master grains even on a fast day.

The disciple is concerned with the delegation of the Lord, the guru‘s inner self, his inspired side. The inspired side of a Vaisnava is acarya, or guru. The disciple marks only the special, inspired portion within the guru. He is more concerned with that part of his character. But gurudeva himself generally poses as a Vaisnava. So, his dealings towards his disciples and his dealings with other Vaisnavas will be different. This is acintya-bhedabheda, inconceivable unity and diversity.


No comments:

Post a Comment