NEEMA PATEL YOU MAKE SUCH AN IMPORTANT POINT IN THE NEXT TO LAST PARAGRAPH OF YOUR POST, THAT I COULD NOT RESIST COMMENTING ON IT.
Posted by Jagat guru Dasa on October 25, 2021 at 3:00
You say, “whatever so called OPINIONS we have either they are originated through the Guru and thus considered bonafide from the Shastric perspective because the Guru will not say anything that's not in the shastras already.... That’s a PERFECT assessment of guru, sadhu and sastra.
How can anyone KNOW whether his/her opinion is based on guru, sadhu and sastra? MAYBE KESAVA CAN TELL US. The guru does not speak anyone’s opinion, the sadhu and all the acharyas down the line of disciplic succession speak the same thing WITHOUT changing a single word, and the sastras originate from the Supreme Personality of Godhead and consist of Transcendental Knowledge, NOT anyone’s opinion. What can the OPINIONS and THOUGHTS of the fallen people of this age of Kali possibly have to do with guru, sadhu and sastra? After you hear from guru and sastra you may form your opinion and think whatever you like, but that’s NOT KRISHNA CONSCIOUSNESS.
Listen to what Srila Prabhupada has to say.
PRABHUPADA: Some persons are asking my Opinion on ''female gurus in iskcon''. The fact is we're NOT to have PERSONAL OPINIONS in KRISHNA CONSCIOUSNESS. We follow guru, shastra, sadhu [predesessor acharayas]. The real question is what are the QUALIFICATIONS for being a guru whether male or female.
Real guru would not talk differently. Some guru says that "In my Opinion, you should like this," and some guru will say, "In my Opinion you'll do this" -- they are NOT GURU; they are ALL RASCALS. Guru has NO "Own Opinion." Guru has got only ONE OPINION, the same opinion which was expressed by Krsna, Vyasadeva or Narada or Arjuna or Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu or the Gosvamis. You'll find the same thing. Five thousand years ago, Lord Sri Krsna spoke Bhagavad-gita and Vyasadeva wrote it, recorded it. Vyasadeva does not say that "It is MY OPINION." Vyasadeva writes, sri bhagavan uvaca: "Whatever is in writing, it is spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead." He's not giving his OWN OPINION. Sri bhagavan uvaca. Therefore, he is guru. He is not MISINTERPRETING the words of Krsna. He's giving as it is. Just like a bearer, peon. Somebody has written you a letter, the peon has got the letter. It does not mean he has to correct it or edit it or make addition. No. He'll present it as it is. That is his duty. Then HE IS GURU. He's honest. Similarly, guru CANNOT be TWO. REMEMBER THAT. The person may be DIFFERENT, but the message is the SAME. Therefore, guru is ONE.
Five thousand years or five millions of years, what was spoken by the Supreme God or Guru, the present Guru ALSO will say the SAME THING. That is Guru. That is BONAFIDE Guru. Otherwise, he's NOT Guru. Simple definition. Guru CANNOT CHANGE any word of the predecessor.
Ref. VedaBase => Lecture, "What is a Guru?" -- August 22, 1973, London
Replies
reply tdasa; Yes, the message is the same, it is Godhead speaking through those He blesses. On the other hand, no two living entities say exactly the same things, they emphasize what they find appropriate, and so never even in all of time will two living entities agree on everything always. That is because we are all unique. One and different, one can say.
Example; Srila Bhaktivinoda, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta, Srila Prabhupada; all say we fell from heaven. SNM and SGGS Swami say we came from tatastha, and were not yet in heaven. However, the same point is there, we are all meant to go back to Godhead, but some cannot comprehend infinite time and free will so much, so defer to a linear logic. Both are correct, one understanding is higher. We can also say neither is a bonafide Guru, if they contradict the others who are clearly acaryas. But it is on particulars, like legal points, not the main message, that there is some variety.
Similarly, reading translations of the same book by different acaryas, their moods can be quite different ! Iskcon books tend to minimize, for example, muslim disputes, whereas another's translation brings them out strongly. Some translations are rich in flavor, others more like codices of legal documents.
Mr Patel is speaking from a faithful but naive platform, kanistha bean counting platform, but it is spiritualized as it will grow into self-realized platform instead of intellectual in due course, by Grace, hare krsna. Uniformity is NOT a sign of spiritual advancement, but rather, tasteful variety and individualism.