Devotees Initiating Before Their Guru's Physical Departure

2.2.1       Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura's View

Some of Srila Prabhupada's godbrothers were approached to find out what Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura's view was on this issue. All of them informed [us] that none of his disciples gave initiation when he was present. His Divine Grace did not instruct anyone to give initiation during his presence nor for that matter did he give any specific instructions about them initiating after his disappearance.

In the Gaudiya Matha, after Srila Om VisAupada Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura's disappearance, the etiquette of not initiating in the presence of the spiritual master has continued. In fact, if anyone breaks from this tradition, he is excommunicated from their mission.

2.2.1.1         Srila Bhaktisiddhanta's Instructions

Although apparently Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura did not specifically, in black and white, instruct anything about a disciple not giving initiation when the guru is present, it is quite clearly implied in the instructions below. The question of initiating in the presence of one's guru is inappropriate for a disciple who naturally is cultivating his service attitude to the guru. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura was very emphatic about the disciple's sincere dedication to his guru. The following quotes are from a Bengali book called Sri Srila Prabhupader Upadesamrta:

Q: Will I be able to accept disciples?

A: "Give up envy and show mercy to living entities-living entities who become averse to Krsna, make them Krsna conscious. Do not become a guru to become envious. Do not become a guru in order to drown yourself in sense gratification-do not become a guru just for show off. But if you can become a sincere servant of your guru and Krsna, if you can receive their mercy-potency, then there is nothing to fear. Otherwise there will be disaster." (p. 235)

"If one is not dedicated to his guru he can not be qualified to be a guru." (p. 337)

Q: What is the difference between guru and me?

A: I am lighter than the lightest; even lighter than that. But one who is serving the greatest constantly, that spiritual master is greater than the greatest; even greater than that. (p. 235)

Q: Is it true that without the mercy of the spiritual master nothing can be achieved?

A: Yes. I am blind, who will show me the way other than the guru? Everything is achieved by the mercy of the guru. We are laghu (light), our only shelter is the guru. He who serves the Lord all the time in all respects, he is the guru.

Q: Does one invite misfortune when he does not follow the orders of his spiritual master properly?

A: Of course! If one does not follow the orders of his spiritual master who is the personification of all auspiciousness, he will suffer misfortune-his material desires will increase, and after death he will go to hell. He who does not follow the order of his spiritual master, is a resident of hell. He is a materialist or a big sense enjoyer. One who disobeys the order of his spiritual master enters in the womb of a pig. Those who have strong desire for sense enjoyment, even after getting a bona fide spiritual master due to their good fortune, due to the inability to serve the spiritual master with heart and soul, do not derive any spiritual benefit. Due to their inability to appreciate the value of this priceless object, they consider this material nature to be real, and suffer life after life. (p. 506)

From these statements of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, it is clear that only a qualified disciple can become a bona fide spiritual master, and a true disciple simply depends upon the mercy of his spiritual master in order to do anything. The disciple's only desire is to satisfy the spiritual master. Whatever the guru orders, the disciple must carry out, including the order to give initiation and accept disciples, with a sense of duty as a service to his spiritual master. But he himself always feels unqualified to execute such a serious responsibility. The more one feels unqualified the more he receives the mercy of the guru; and that enables him to become qualified.

Vedic View

In the Vedic society a disciple does not usually give initiation when his spiritual master is present. A disciple naturally feels unqualified to take up such a serious responsibility, especially when his guru is present; and his natural tendency is to bring the fruits of his preaching to his guru. (Since one is not supposed to canvas for his guru in ISKCON, it is expected that one should direct the candidates for initiation to Srila Prabhupada and all those who are initiating now.)

There are instances when disciples gave initiation before their guru's physical                           departure:

1. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura mentioned in Jaiva-dharma how Paramahamsa Premadasa Babaji took his disciple Vaisnava Dasa to his spiritual master, Pradyumna Brahmacari.

2. Ramacandra Kaviraja, a disciple of Srinivasa Acarya, gave initiation when Srinivasa Acarya was present on the planet.

There are many such instances in the scriptures about disciples giving initiation in the presence of guru, but that was done only when the disciples were extremely qualified and spiritual masters ordered them to do so. Hari-bhakti-vilasa states:

gurorgurau sannihite guruvad vittimacaret

"If the spiritual master of the spiritual master is present, then he should be treated as the guru." (Hbv. 1.59)

This statement proves that acceptance of disciples in the presence of one's spiritual master has been approved by the scriptures.

In the scriptures there is no specific instruction about a disciple not giving initiation when his guru is present. About transgression of etiquette, we found only one verse in the Hari-bhakti-vilasa:

varAottame 'tha ca gurau sati ya visruto 'pa ca

svadesato 'tha vanyatra nedam karyam subharthina

"When a superior guru (with aforementioned qualities) is present at home or abroad, a person born in a lower caste should not try to bestow his mercy in the form of giving mantra if he desires his own good." (Hbv. 1.37)

But this initiation is based on the consideration of varna. Regarding this statement, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura mentioned in his Amrta-pravaha-bhasya of Caitanya-caritamrta:

"Knowledge about Krsna is the ultimate objective of all living entities. Regarding how one can become qualified to give that knowledge it has been concluded that irrespective of one's position as a brahmana or sudra, householder or sannyasi, one can become a guru as long as he is well conversant with the knowledge of Krsna. The consideration of Hari-bhakti-vilasa is for those Vaisnavas who are concerned about social customs; i.e. for those who want to make a little spiritual progress by following customary social regulations. But those who want to acquire pure devotion after understanding the significance of vaidhi and raganuga-bhakti, should accept a qualified spiritual master without considering his varna and asrama." (Cc. Madhya 8.127)

In Srila Prabhupada's teachings also it is clear that the main qualification of a guru is his Krsna consciousness. All Vaisnava acaryas have been very emphatic about this point.

Although not much has been said about this etiquette, yet it is known to everyone that transgression of etiquette, i.e. to disregard the position of a senior, is deemed to be a great offense. In Vedic culture the position of the spiritual master is considered to be the highest and transgression of etiquette in this relation was always considered to be extremely dangerous.

There are some unusual instances where disciples gave initiation in the presence of guru under some special circumstances. We did not research on what those special circumstances were.

2.2.3       Srila Prabhupada's Views

Srila Prabhupada was very emphatic that a disciple should not initiate in the presence of his guru. He told many of his disciples that even though they may be qualified, they should not give initiation as long as the spiritual master is present, because that is the etiquette. He emphatically told that to HH.Jayapataka Maharaja. The day Srila Prabhupada gave sannyasa to HH.Bhakti Caru Swami, he told him, "Now that you are a sannyasi, you can give initiation. But as long as the spiritual master is alive one doesn't give initiation. That is the etiquette."

He wrote to Tusta Krsna Swami,

"Keep trained up very rigidly and then you are bona fide guru, and you can accept disciples on the same principle. But as a matter of etiquette it is the custom that during the lifetime of your spiritual master you bring the prospective disciples to him, and in his absence or disappearance you can accept disciples without any limitation. This is the law of disciplic succession. I want to see my disciples become bona fide Spiritual Master and spread Krsna consciousness very widely, that will make me and Krsna very happy."

In other letters, Srila Prabhupada wrote:

The first thing, I warn Acyutananda, do not try to initiate. You are not in a proper position now to initiate anyone. Besides that, the etiquette is that so long the Spiritual Master is present, all prospective disciples should be brought to him. (Letter to Acyutananda and Jayagovinda, 08-21-1968)

Anyone following the order of Lord Caitanya under the guidance of His bonafide representative, can become a spiritual master and I wish that in my absence all my disciples become the bona fide spiritual master to spread Krsna Consciousness throughout the whole world. (Letter to Madhusudana, 11-02-1967)

So far as your taking initiation from Brahmananda Maharaja, I have no objection, but it is the etiquette that in the presence of one's Spiritual Master, one does not accept disciples. In this connection, Swami Brahmananda may write me and I will instruct him. (Letter to John Milner, 03-24-1971)

Siddhasvarupa does not want to take disciples, neither he should have disciples while I am alive. That is the process. (Letter to Sudevi, 09-15-1972)

From Madhavananda I have heard that there is some worship of yourself by the other devotees. Of course it is proper to offer obeisances to a Vaisnava, but not in the presence of the spiritual master. After the departure of the spiritual master, it will come to that stage, but now wait. Otherwise it will create factions. (Letter to Hamsaduta, 10-01-1974)

Don t become premature acarya. First of all follow the orders of acarya, and you become mature. Then it is better to become acarya. Because we are interested in preparing acarya, but the etiquette is, at least for the period the guru is present, one should not become acarya. Even if he is complete he should not, because the etiquette is, if somebody comes for becoming initiated, it is the duty of such person to bring that prospective candidate to his acarya. Not that "Now people are coming to me, so I can become acarya." That is avamanya. Navamanyeta karhicit. Don't transgress this etiquette. Navamanyeta. That will be falldown. Just like during the lifetime of our guru Maharaja, all our Godbrothers now who are acting as acarya, they did not do so. That is not etiquette. Acaryam mam vijaniyat na avaman... That is insult. So if you insult your acarya, then you are finished. Yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasado yasya aprasadat na gatiƒ kuto 'pi-finished. If you displease your acarya, then you are finished. (Cc. 1.13 Lecture, Mayapur, 04-06-1975)

From these quotations it is clear that Srila Prabhupada did not want his disciples to initiate, no matter how qualified they may be, as long as their spiritual master was present. One may question, however, whether these instructions are applicable only to founder-acaryas like Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura and Srila Prabhupada. It is a fact that the founder-acarya is the guru of all members of his institution, and no one gives initiation when he is present, and even after his disappearance the members of the institution become connected to him through siksa relationship. But here there is no reason to believe that these instructions of Srila Prabhupada were meant only for a founder-acarya. The etiquette he mentioned here is a common Vaisnava etiquette. It is prudent to assume that Srila Prabhupada was speaking as the Founder-acarya of ISKCON, and that he is restricting all disciples of all gurus in ISKCON from initiating in the presence of their spiritual masters.

Even though in the past spiritual masters have given disciples permission to initiate in their presence, Srila Prabhupada emphatically forbids it as a manner of general etiquette. We see only two places where Srila Prabhupada may have indicated otherwise.1

ISKCON is a unique institution in the history of Vaisnavism. We must assume that as Founder-acarya, Srila Prabhupada had the vision to set down a law-a law suitable for that unique institution, a law we would transgress at our peril.

A disciple's only duty is to worship and serve his spiritual master. His mind should not be agitated over how he may become a guru. A devotee who sincerely wants to make spiritual advancement should try to become a disciple, not a spiritual master.

Notes

By 1975, all of those who have passed all of the above examinations will be specifically empowered to initiate and increase the number of the Krsna Consciousness population. (Letter to Kirtanananda, 01-12-1969)

I want that all of my spiritual sons and daughters will inherit this title of Bhaktivedanta, so that the family transcendental diploma will continue through the generations. Those possessing the title of Bhaktivedanta will be allowed to initiate disciples. Maybe by 1975, all of my disciples will be allowed to initiate and increase the numbers of the generations. That is my program. (Letter to Hamsaduta, 3rd December, 1968)

These quotes raise further questions: In 1968, did Srila Prabhupada expect to leave the planet before 1975? Or was he thinking of creating rtvik-gurus who would initiate on his behalf by 1975? Whatever the answer may be, when 1975 arrived, Srila Prabhupada took no steps to give his disciples the responsibility of accepting their own disciples. Indeed, his statements on this issue in 1975 (Letter to Tusta Krsna and lecture in Mayapur) leave no doubt that His Divine Grace gave no authorization for disciples to initiate as long as he remained on the planet. In logic, later statements supersede earlier ones in importance.

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