What is a Vaishnava? Kali-cela devotees and pseudo gurus
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
From Suvarna Manjari dasi:
Hare Krsna, can someone please explain to me why it is bad for people to follow someone who may be a criminal if that person is telling them to chant Hare Krsna and to read Prabhupadas books? I am just trying to find out how that persons criminal past may or may not affect the “disciples” or followers. How does it affect the followers devotional creeper? Can that follower still achieve love of God?
Thank you, your servant Suvarna
False gurus – pseudo spiritual master
Srila Prabhupada describes the fate of disciples who follow false gurus - Going to hell without a doubt:
Prabhupada: As for your next question, can only a few pure devotees deliver others, anyone, if he is a pure devotee he can deliver others, he can become spiritual master. But unless he is on that platform he should not attempt it. Then both of them will to go to hell, like blind men leading the blind.” (Srila Prabhupada Letter, December 14th, 1972)”
Leaders who have fallen into ignorance and who mislead people by directing them to the path of destruction [as described in the previous verse] are, in effect, boarding a stone boat, and so too are those who blindly follow them. A stone boat would be unable to float and would sink in the water with its passengers. Similarly, those who mislead people go to hell, and their followers go with them.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.7.14)”
And the rascal, blind leaders are leading everyone to hell. They are simply misleaders. People do not like to accept any authority. Still, they have accepted these rascals as leaders and are being misled. In this way both the rascal leaders and their unfortunate followers remain bound up by the stringent laws of material nature.” (The Laws of Nature, chapter 1)”
Generally a fashionable materialist engages a so-called spiritual master without any profit. The pseudo spiritual master flatters the so-called disciple, and thereby both the master and his ward go to hell without a doubt.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.19.37, purport)
“The misguided conditioned soul also approaches so-called sadhus and swamis who preach against the principles of the Vedas. He does not receive benefit from them, either in the present or in the future.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.14.13)
“One cannot become happy by accepting a false guru. A guru should be accepted as advised in Srimad-Bhagavatam. Tasmad gurum prapadyeta jijnasuh sreya uttamam: One should approach a bona fide guru to inquire about the highest benefit of life. (…) If one is able to obtain the dust of the lotus feet of such a guru, his life becomes successful. Otherwise he is baffled both in this life and in the next.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.14.13, purport)
“So if you are misled, if you are cheated, whose fault it is? But if you want to be cheated, who can check? Even though somebody by mistake has gone to a rascal, the book is there. As soon as you find out, “Here is a rascal who does not know anything about Krsna, and I have come to him,” reject him.” (Srila Prabhupada Room Conversation, January 31st, 1977)
Comments: Srila Prabhupada clearly warns about the consequences of accepting unauthorised gurus. Hence, best to stay fixed with the only Guru that Srila Prabhupada recommended for ISKCON — himself !
july9th says: Quoting from Padma Purana, Sri Sanatana Gosvami has strictly forbidden us to hear about the activities of the Lord and His devotees from the mouths of nondevotees:
avaisnava-mukhodgirnam / putam hari-kathamrtam
sravanam naiva kartavyam / sarpocchistam yatha payah
“One should not hear anything about Krsna from a non-Vaisnava. Milk touched by the lips of a serpent has poisonous effects ; similarly, talks about Krsna given by a non-Vaisnava are also poisonous.” One must be a bona fide devotee, and then he can preach and impress devotional service upon his listeners. (SB 6.17.40p)
What is a Vaishnava?
Suvarna Manjari dasi writes: Can you please explain to me what a vaisnava is. It’s really difficult to see who is a vaisnava and who is not, especially if one does not even know what a vaisnava is. It’s not a cheap thing to be a vaisnava… hopefully one day I will become one.
But, please can you tell me what a vaisnava is. Radhanath Swami looks like one (maybe not when he dances like that…Bhava or acting?…I can’t know for sure), he follows a line of vaisnavas, so it’s easy for one to assume that he is a vaisnava.
We are so easily cheated and fooled in this age. I just watched a doco on Saibaba and watched how his followers totally believed who he was and worshipped him…now in Saibabas case…for us it is so obvious that he is a fake, but when it comes to people who are following in our own line of diciplic succession and appear to be followers of Prabhupada, it’s sometimes really difficult to make the distinction…especially if you are afraid of being offensive and don’t actually know what a vaisnava is meant to be.
Sometimes I just want to believe that everything is fine and try to only see the positive and all that, but one can’t help to see the cracks in the walls. And if you don’t get out of the cracked up room, the roof may fall on your head. I hope to receive some imput from other devotees. Your servant, Suvarna.
july9th says: Srila Prabhupada gives many definitions as to what a vaisnava is. Just like someone may ask, what does the word apple mean? It can mean many things, a fruit, a type of tree, a seed, a color etc. The meaning is taken from the context.
You are asking this question within the context of Radhanath Swami and by appearances he may fit a definition.
Another qualification of a Vaisnava is that he will obey the orders of his spiritual master. If one disobeys the orders of the spiritual master, then he cannot be a Vaisnava. Just like those who have usurped the seat of Srila Prabhupada as Radhanath Swami and his GBC buddies have been doing for the past 30+ years. It is clear that Prabhupada never authorized Radhanath Swami to be his successor.
“Our mission is to serve (…). Not that you take the place of the guru. That is nonsense, very dangerous. Then everything will be spoiled. As soon as you become ambitious to take the place of guru – gurusu nara-matih . That is the material disease.” (Srila Prabhupada Conversation, April 20, 1977)
“If one is disobeying the spiritual master, he cannot remain in the pure status of life. He cannot be siksa-guru or anything else. He is finished, immediately.” (Srila Prabhupada Lecture, July 4th, 1974)
Also, we know that Srila Prabhupada himself stated that there are many non- Vaisnavas in ISKCON who are posing as Vaisnavas:
“There are many jealous people in the dress of Vaisnavas in this Krishna consciousness movement, and they should be completely neglected. There is no need to serve a jealous person who is in the dress of a Vaisnava.” (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila, 1.218 purport)
Those who unauthorisedly “take the place of the guru” are these very same “jealous people in the dress of Vaisnavas”.
The six Goswamis of Vrindavan
What is the definition of a Vaishnava?
The word “Vaisnava” denotes a worshiper of Visnu and is derived from the Lord’s own name, Vishnu. The term Vaisnava refers to devotees of Vishnu in general as well as to devotees of Vishnu’s incarnation, like Rama and Krishna in particular. The heart of a Vaishnava is by nature softened due to the touch of the lotus feet of Lord Krishna. By nature a Vaishnava is Paraduhki-duhki, that is, he feels pain when he sees the suffering of others.
grhitaivisnudiksako visnu-pujaparo narah
vaisnavo ‘bhihito ‘bhijnairitaro ‘smadavaisnavah
“One who is initiated into the Vaishnava mantra and who is devoted to worshipping Lord Vishnu/ Krishna is a Vaishnava. One who is devoid of these practices is not a Vaishnava. (quote from Hari-bhakti-vilas,11, quoted from Padma Purana)
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu explains three kinds of Vaishnavas:
An Ordinary Vaishnava:
prabhu-kare, ‘yanra mukhe suni eka-bara
krsna-nama, sei pujya, srestha sabakara
“Who chants the holy name of Krishna just once may be considered a Vaishnava. Such a person is worshipable and is the topmost human being.” (CC. Mad.15.106)
A Superior Vaishnava:
krsna-nama nirantara yanhara vadane
se vaisnava-srestha, bhaja tanhara carane
“A person who is always chanting the holy name of the Krishna is a superior Vaishnava and your duty is to serve his lotus feet.” (CC. Mad.16.72)
The Topmost Vaishnava:
yanhara darsane mukhe aise krsna-nama
tanhare janiha tumi vaisnava-pradhana
“The topmost Vaishnava is he/she whose very presence makes others chant the holy name of Krishna. Such a Vaishnava is superior to all others!” (CC. Mad.16.74)
The Demoniac and Divine:
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 16, Verse 1-3.
The Blessed Lord said: Fearlessness, purification of one’s existence, cultivation of spiritual knowledge, charity, self-control, performance of sacrifice, study of the Vedas, austerity and simplicity; nonviolence, truthfulness, freedom from anger; renunciation, tranquility, aversion to faultfinding, compassion and freedom from covetousness; gentleness, modesty and steady determination; vigor, forgiveness, fortitude, cleanliness, freedom from envy and the passion for honor–these transcendental qualities, O son of Bharata, belong to godly men endowed with divine nature.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 16, Verse 4-24.
Arrogance, pride, anger, conceit, harshness and ignorance–these qualities belong to those of demoniac nature, O son of Prtha. The demoniac, taking shelter of insatiable lust, pride and false prestige, and being thus illusioned, are always sworn to unclean work, attracted by the impermanent. They believe that to gratify the senses unto the end of life is the prime necessity of human civilization. Thus there is no end to their anxiety. Being bound by hundreds and thousands of desires, by lust and anger, they secure money by illegal means for sense gratification.
The demoniac person thinks: “So much wealth do I have today, and I will gain more according to my schemes. So much is mine now, and it will increase in the future, more and more. He is my enemy, and I have killed him; and my other enemy will also be killed. I am the lord of everything. I am the enjoyer. I am perfect, powerful and happy. I am the richest man, surrounded by aristocratic relatives. There is none so powerful and happy as I am. I shall perform sacrifices, I shall give some charity, and thus I shall rejoice.” In this way, such persons are deluded by ignorance.
Self-complacent and always impudent, deluded by wealth and false prestige, they sometimes perform sacrifices in name only without following any rules or regulations. Thus perplexed by various anxieties and bound by a network of illusions, one becomes too strongly attached to sense enjoyment and falls down into hell.
There are persons who imitate the previous Acharyas without following them in principle in order to advertise oneself as a high grade Vaishnava. But such imitation devotees are condemned in the words of Srimad Bhagbatam as the ‘stone-hearted.’ And Srila Viswanath Chakrabarty Thakur has annotated on this ‘Stone Heartedness’ as follows: http://bhagavad-gitaasitis.com/?g=157743
Vaishnava and Kali-Chela:
Prabhupada: Then you can get rid of maya’s tricks. Otherwise, you may dress yourself like anything, but you are simply maya’s servant. Bhaktivinoda Thakura has sung one… Ei ota kalir chela: “Here is another disciple of Kali.” Nake tilaka galai mala. “He has got tilaka on the nose and mala, kanthi, also.” Sahaja bhajana kache mamu saìge lana pare bhalo: “And he’s, he has become a Vaisnava by illicit sex.” This is stated by Bhaktivinoda Thakura. “Here is a Kali’s chela. He has dressed like a Vaisnava, but he is doing his bhajan with illicit sex.” Sahaje bhajana kache mamu saìge lana pare bhalo. You know? There is a class of sahajiyas? (Morning Walk at Marine del Rey, July 13, 1974, Los Angeles)
What is a Devotee?
Prabhupada: Devotees… To become devotee is not so cheap thing. You don’t think that because you have got a tilaka you have become devotee. Why do you think like that?
Prabhupada: That Bhaktivinoda Thakura, eita eka kalira chela, nake tilaka, galaya mala: “Here is another follower of Kali. He has got tilaka and mala.” Sahaja bhajana kacen mamu, sanga laiya parera wala “He is worshiping, bhajana, taking another’s wife.” Sahaja bhajana kacen mamu, sanga laiya parera wala, ei ta eka kalira chela “Here is a servant of Kali. Simply he has changed his dress with tilaka and mala.” Bhaktivinoda Thakura says. If you take tilaka and mala and do all nonsense things, then you are not a devotee. You are Kali-chela. To become a devotee is not so easy thing.
Prabhupada: Devotee means sa gunan samatityaitan brahma-bhuyaya kalpate. He is above these material laws. That is devotee. Brahma-bhuyaya kalpate. He is in the Brahman stage. That is devotee. If you take…. That means sahajiya. “Because I have got a tilaka and mala, I have become devotee.” This kind of cheating will not do.
Pseudo-Devotees / Pseudo-Vaishnavas:
“Bhaktivinoda Thakura says, Kali-cela. He indicates that there are other Vaishnavas, pseudo-Vaishnavas, with tilaka on their nose and kunti beads around their neck. Such a pseudo-Vaishnava associates with money and women and is jealous of successful Vaishnavas. Although passing for a Vaishnava, his only business is earning money in the dress of a Vaishnava”. (CC.Madhy.,Ch.1, Text 218 / 220, purport)
“A mundane person in the dress of a Vaisnava should not be respected, but rejected. This is enjoined in the sastras (upeksa). the word upkesa means neglect. One should neglect an envious person. A preachers duty is to love the Supreme Personality of Godhead, make friendships with Vaisnavas, show mercy to the innocent and reject or neglect those who are envious or jealous. There are many jealous people in the dress of Vaisnavas in this Krishna Consciousness movement, and they should be completely neglected. There is no need to serve an envious person in the dress of a Vaisnava. When Narottama dasa Thakura says chadiya vaisnava seva nistara payeche keba, he is indicating an actual Vaisnava, not an envious or jealous person in the dress of a Vaisnava.”
“A jealous person in the dress of a Vaisnava is not at all happy to see the success of another Vaisnava in receiving the Lords mercy. Unfortunately in this age of Kali there are many mundane persons in the dress of Vaisnavas and Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura has described them a disciples of Kali. He says, Kali-cela, he indicates that there is another Vaisnava, a pseudo-Vaisnava with tilaka on his nose and kunti beads around his neck. Such a pseudo-Vaisnava associates with money and women and is jealous of successful Vaisnavas. Although passing for a Vaisnava, his only business is earning money in the dress of a Vaisnava. Bhaktivinoda Thakura therefore says that such a pseudo-Vaisnava is not a Vaisnava at all, but a disciple of Kali-yuga. A disciple of Kali cannot become an acarya by the decision of some high court. Mundane votes have no jurisdiction to elect a Vaisnava acarya. A Vaisnava acarya is self-effulgent, and there is no need for any court judgement. A false acarya my try to override a Vaisnava by a high-court decision, but Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that he is nothing but a disciple of Kali-yuga.” (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila, Ch 1, 218-219)
Pseudo-Gurus:
“We should be very careful before accepting a Guru The sastras enjoin that before we take a guru we study him carefully to find out whether we can surrender to him. We should not accept a guru suddenly, out of fanaticism. That is very dangerous.” (The Science of Self Realization, chapter 2, ‘Choosing a Spiritual Master’)
Prabhupada: “I am practically seeing that as soon as they, our students, begin to learn a little Sanskrit, they immediately feel they have become more than their guru. Then the policy is to kill their guru and become guru themselves”. “As soon as he learns that Guru Maharaj is dead, now I am so advanced I can kill guru and become guru. Then he is finished.” (Srila Prabhupada 1976).
Prabhupada: So-called gurus, they are so-called gurus. They are not gurus. That is already explained. If one does not speak what Krsna speaks, he is not guru. If you accept so-called guru, that is your misfortune. What can be done?
Prabhupada: “This is the function of the GBC, to see that one may not be taken away by maya. The GBC should all be the instructor gurus. I am the initiator guru, and you should be the instructor guru by teaching what I am teaching and doing what I am doing. This is not a title, but you must actually come to this platform. This is what I want.” (to Madhudvisa 4 Aug, 1975)
Beware of false, unauthorised Gurus
“By a false display of religious sentiments, they present a show of devotional service while indulging in all sorts of immoral activities. In this way they pass as spiritual masters and devotees of God. Such violators of religious principles have no respect for the authoritative acaryas, the holy teachers in the strict disciplic succession (…)Instead, to mislead the people in general, they themselves become so-called acaryas, but do not even follow the principles of the acaryas.” (Sri Isopanisad, mantra 12, purport)
“There are many jealous people in the dress of Vaishnavas in this Krishna Consciousness movement, and they should be completely neglected. A false acarya may try to override a vaishnava by a high-court decision, (2/3 hand vote) but Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that he is nothing but a disciple of Kali-yuga.” (CC.Madhy.,Ch.1, Text 218 / 220, purport)
PSEUDO GURUS IN THE GARB OF RELIGIOUS PROPAGANDISTS
The pseudo religionists have neither knowledge nor detachment from material affairs, for most of them want to live in the golden shackles of material bondage under the shadow of philanthropic activities disguised as religious principles. By a false display of religious sentiments, they present a show of devotional service while indulging in all sorts of immoral activities. In this way they pass as spiritual masters and devotees of God. Such violators of religious principles have no respect for the authoritative acaryas, the holy teachers in the strict disciplic succession.
THEY IGNORE THE VEDIC INJUNCTION ACARYOPASANA–”ONE MUST WORSHIP THE ACARYA”–and Krsna’s statement in the Bhagavad-gita (4.2) evam parampara-praptam, “This supreme science of God is received through the disciplic succession.” Instead, to mislead the people in general they themselves become so-called acaryas, but they do not even follow the principles of the acaryas. These rogues are the most dangerous elements in human society. Because there is no religious government, they escape punishment by the law of the state. They cannot, however, escape the law of the Supreme, who has clearly declared in the Bhagavad-gita that envious demons in the garb of religious propagandists shall be thrown into the darkest regions of hell (Isopanisad Text 12)
The fate of false Gurus:
“These rogues are the most dangerous elements in human society. Because there is no religious government, they escape punishment by the law of the state. They cannot, however, escape the law of the Supreme, who has clearly declared in Bhagavad gita (16.19-20) that envious demons in the garb of religious propagandists shall be thrown into the darkest regions of hell. Sri Isopanisad confirms that these pseudo religionists are heading toward the most obnoxious place in the universe after the completion of their spiritual master business, which they conduct simply for sense gratification.” (Sri Isopanisad, mantra 12, purport)
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