23/02/2026
~WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DIKSHA GURU AND SHIKSHA GURU? WHY DO SOME PEOPLE NOT ADVANCE EVEN IF THEY SPEND SO MUCH TIME IN THE TEMPLE?~
~After Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja entered nitya-līlā, many of his disciples followed the instruction of their spiritual master and sought shelter from Śrīla Gurudeva (BV Narayana Goswami Mahārāja). Other ācāryas would give disciples of Śrīla Svāmī Mahārāja new dīkṣā, sannyāsa, or babaji-vesa mantras. Śrīla Gurudeva vehemently opposed this practice. He told those who came to him, “Never take new dīkṣā; follow Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja. Always remember his glories and develop an internal relationship with him by sincerely chanting and serving.”.~
~In some cases, the indirect disciple is superior to the direct disciple. If someone has offered everything to the lotus feet of a Vaiṣṇava, and the Vaiṣṇava has accepted one as his own, then mantra and dīkṣā are a formality. Our lineage is the bhāgavata-parampara—in which prominence is given to śikṣā, spiritual instruction. The śikṣā-guru increases faith in Gurudeva and Bhagavān and is as significant as the dīkṣā-guru. If one undergoes a formal dīkṣā ceremony yet never receives śikṣā, he will never be able to advance in bhakti. Śrīla Gurudeva told some of those who stayed with him, “You are my parakīya (indirect) disciples. This is a sweet relationship.”.~
1978-1996.
ŚRĪ GURU DARŚANA.
PART ONE 1.
Dīkṣā and Śikṣā-guru.
Srīla Gurudeva is the embodiment of mercy and his form is the very abode of pure love. According to the descriptions of a pure saint presented by scriptures, and according to the exemplification of such descriptions as seen in our disciplic succession, his character was a perfect example of detachment from material objects, owing to his absorption in the Absolute Truth.
Śrīla Gurudeva did not give dīkṣā initiations for more than two decades after Ācārya Kesarī’s disappearance. Nonetheless, he was widely revered as a spiritual master during this time. Many accepted Śrīla Gurudeva as a parakīya-guru and in turn he accepted them as parakīya disciples.
Devotees from ISKCON, other Gauḍīya Maṭhas, local brāhmaṇas and priests, and village people from different castes all respected and accepted Śrīla Gurudeva as their beloved teacher and guardian. Examples of parakīyaguru and disciples can also be seen in the lives of the Six Gosvāmīs and previous ācāryas.
In some cases, the indirect disciple is superior to the direct disciple. If someone has offered everything to the lotus feet of a Vaiṣṇava, and the Vaiṣṇava has accepted one as his own, then mantra and dīkṣā are a formality.
Our lineage is the bhāgavata-parampara—in which prominence is given to śikṣā, spiritual instruction. The śikṣā-guru increases faith in Gurudeva and Bhagavān and is as significant as the dīkṣā-guru. If one undergoes a formal dīkṣā ceremony yet never receives śikṣā, he will never be able to advance in bhakti. Śrīla Gurudeva told some of those who stayed with him, “You are my parakīya (indirect) disciples. This is a sweet relationship.”.
The dīkṣā-guru protects his disciples by sending them to high-class Vaiṣṇava association. The path of anugatya is illuminated by the disciplic succession: the mañjarīs serve under the guidance of the sakhīs, the Guruvarga serves under the guidance of the mañjarīs, and the Vaiṣṇavas serve under guidance of the Guru-varga.
For sādhakas it is thus essential to follow the footsteps of those Vaiṣṇavas who are intimately connected to the Guru-varga. Then one will not endeavor to cultivate worldly friendships and will certainly advance on the path of pure devotion for Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa.
Various ācāryas would send their brahmacārī disciples to Śrīla Gurudeva to learn how to practice strict sādhana. Also, followers of different spiritual masters would seek the guidance of Gurudeva after their own guru had departed.
Over the following years, in addition to the numerous disciples of Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja who trained under Śrīla Gurudeva, many disciples of Śrīla Bhakti Jīvana Janārdana Mahārāja, Śrīla Bhakti Śrīrupa Siddhāntī Mahārāja, Śrīla Bhakti Sāraṅga Gosvāmī Mahārāja, Śrīla Bhakti Pramoda Purī Mahārāja, Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja, Śrīla Gour Govinda Mahārāja, as well as other ācāryas, trained under Śrīla Gurudeva.
Gurudeva welcomed and cared for everyone. He always respected the spiritual masters of those who came to him and taught those disciples how to properly serve their own guru; he never encouraged them to neglect their guru.
He acted as śikṣā-guru without selfish motives.
Many disciples of different gurus dwelt there harmoniously, yet everyone worshiped their own spiritual master with the full support and encouragement of Śrīla Gurudeva.
When brahmacārīs of different gurus recited jaya-dhvani (names of spiritual masters and holy places declaimed before and after temple programs), Gurudeva instructed them to first praise the name of their own spiritual master. Such an ideal Vaiṣṇava is met only by great fortune.
Śrīla Gurudeva, Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Trivikrama Gosvāmī Mahārāja, and Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja were best of friends and closer than brothers.
Although Śrīla Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja was the official ācārya, he always collaborated with Śrīla Gurudeva and Śrīla Trivikrama Gosvāmī Mahārāja, and together they made all the decisions for the maintenance and development of the Gauḍīya Vedānta Samīti.
These three godbrothers, known as the three pillars of the Samīti, first discussed issues together, and later had open meetings with the other members of the society. For a spiritual organization to be successful and to prevent it from being derailed from the authorized ideology and lineage, self-realized souls must be in positions of authority. The ideas of ordinary people generally cause disharmony.
Before giving dīkṣā initiations during festivals such as Gaura-pūrṇimā, Śrīla Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja would offer Śrīla Gurudeva prostrated obeisance—Gurudeva naturally returned the respectful gesture.
Even though Śrīla Gurudeva was junior, Śrīla Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja would humbly say, “I am about to perform a sinful act, taking on the sins and offenses of these people. Please protect me.”.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja sent many of those he initiated—and who wished to be brahmacārīs—to study under the guidance of Śrīla Gurudeva at Keśavajī Gauḍīya Maṭha in Mathurā.
Śrīla Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja would instruct them, “Go stay under the guidance of Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja and learn from him. If you disrespect or disobey the Vaiṣṇavas, and they dismiss you, then I will also not give you any shelter.”.
Whenever Pūjyapāda Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja would come to Mathurā, he would bring many gifts like brooms, Bengali vegetables—banana flowers, jackfruit, parmal—cloth for the Deities and the Vaiṣṇavas, and sundries; he never came empty-handed.
Śrīla Gurudeva would occassionaly invite Śrīla Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja to Mathurā to give dīkṣā initiations to Mathurāvāsīs or brahmacārīs who were prepared. When these pure Vaiṣṇavas met, they offered praṇāma to each other and then spent many hours sitting side by side, engaged in conversation.
Śrīla Gurudeva would give all the donations he had received to Śrīla Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja, who would in turn give everything he had collected to Śrīla Gurudeva. These collections were then mutually entrusted with the treasurer of the Gauḍīya Vedānta Samīti, Kṛṣṇa-kṛpā Prabhu, and when funds were needed for festivals or for maintaining various temple projects, they withdrew and used them accordingly.
Śrīla Trivikrama Gosvāmī Mahārāja also reserved donations he received throughout the year during his collections in the area of Chunchura, from Uddhāraṇa Gauḍīya Maṭha, and he would deposit this with his godbrothers when they met four or five times annually. These three ideal godbrothers had complete trust in each other and they thus harmoniously served the cause of their divine master.
Sometimes godbrothers or their disciples came from other temples and stayed with Śrīla Gurudeva in Mathurā. He always taught them to respect and worship their own Gurudeva. Śrīla Gurudeva encouraged everyone to follow the appearance and disappearance days of all Vaiṣṇavaācāryas; indeed, Śrīla Gurudeva himself respected and followed their āvirbhāva and tirobhava festivals. Śrīla Gurudeva always taught how to properly follow Vaiṣṇava etiquette by his own example. Śrīla Gurudeva instructed the brahmacārīs, “Never think that other Vaiṣṇavas besides your guru should not be respected. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya 16.70):.
prabhu kahe,—“vaiṣṇava-sevā, nāma-saṅkīrtana dui kara, śīghra pābe śrī-kṛṣṇa-caraṇa”.
Serve Vaiṣṇavas and always chant the holy name of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. If you do these two things, you will very soon attain shelter at Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet.
“You must always chant harināma,” Śrīla Gurudeva instructed, “but never neglect vaiṣṇava-sevā.”.
Many senior sannyāsī disciples of Prabhupāda Sarasvatī Ṭhākura like Śrauti Mahārāja, Yāyāvara Mahārāja, Paramahaṁsa Mahārāja, Janārdana Mahārāja, Purī Mahārāja, and others would come and stay in Mathurā with Śrīla Gurudeva.
They had great affection for him and would come for one month or fifteen days. Śrīla Gurudeva arranged everything to serve them. He would also request them to speak and he listened to their hari-kathā.
In those days temple funds were quite limited. The brahmacārīs went daily on bhikṣā and collected enough to serve the devotees and Guru-varga. Many sannyāsīs and Vaiṣṇavas came and stayed with Śrīla Gurudeva because they knew he was honest, truthful, and always respected all Vaiṣṇavas appropriately. Hence, other ācāryas would send their disciples to stay and learn how to properly serve Vaiṣṇavas from Śrīla Gurudeva. Gurudeva always instructed his dependents to be loyal and faithful to their spiritual master.
After Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja entered nitya-līlā, many of his disciples followed the instruction of their spiritual master and sought shelter from Śrīla Gurudeva. Other ācāryas would give disciples of Śrīla Svāmī Mahārāja new dīkṣā, sannyāsa, or babaji-vesa mantras.
Śrīla Gurudeva vehemently opposed this practice. He told those who came to him, “Never take new dīkṣā; follow Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja. Always remember his glories and develop an internal relationship with him by sincerely chanting and serving.”.
Instructions to the Brahmacārīs.
Srīla Gurudeva was a perfect ācārya because he always personally practiced the tenets of bhakti and helped others to follow. Seeing anyone endeavor to practice bhakti, he would become very pleased, and his pleasure is the pleasure of God Himself.
In Keśavajī Gauḍīya Maṭha, Śrīla Gurudeva gave class to the brahmacārīs on different subjects between 4:00 and 6:00 p. m. Gurudeva strove to make the brahmacārīs strong in their devotion, and to this end he gave practical instructions on how to follow bhakti in daily life.
Self-Surrender.
Śrīla Gurudeva instructed the senior temple residents, “When a new devotee comes to the temple and serves and follows the rules and processes of bhakti, don’t think that he is junior and order him around like a servant. He could have been practicing bhakti for many lives, and as a result he has been adhering to the path of bhakti since his youth. Respect all new devotees; they are not junior, but senior. They are here to follow bhakti, not to worship and serve you.”.
Śrīla Gurudeva taught, “If you have had the good fortune of accepting a bona fide guru, you should never relinquish him for another. Bhagavān has arranged an appropriate guru for you. You should respect all mahābhāgavatas and Vaiṣṇavas, but not more than your own guru. Pray to the Vaiṣṇavas to teach you how to properly serve your Gurudeva. When Vaiṣṇavas and other ācāryas see your dedication and love for your guru, they will be overjoyed and will bestow mercy upon you. But if an apparent Vaiṣṇava tries to divert you from your own guru, then he is not a Vaiṣṇava. Anyone who tries to steal away the disciples of a bona fide guru is a thief and cheater.”.
Once, Śrīla Gurudeva asked the brahmacārīs what it means to become ātma-samarpaṇa (self-surrendered) at the time of dīkṣā. Many answered, but Gurudeva was not satisfied with anyone’s reply.
Śrīla Gurudeva then said, “Don’t think you will be liberated simply by accepting dīkṣā-mantras. You must surrender life and soul to Śrī Guru and also consider him to be your life and soul. If you harbor attraction for materialistic people and share your heart with them, you will never realize spiritual knowledge and thus will have no dīkṣā. True dīkṣā means transcendental knowledge and sambandha-jñāna—an understanding of who your real family and friends are.
“Transcendental knowledge will awaken when you have sincerely offered yourself to Śrī Guru and developed a spiritual relationship with him. And until realization dawns, it means you have maintained a wall blocking your relation with guru.
You can chant harināma and your dīkṣā-mantras in such a state for decades without progressing an inch in spiritual life. After many years of lifeless sādhana, some practitioners begin to think, ‘Have I been cheated?’ They have cheated themselves! Dryly reciting mantras without developing a personal relationship with Śrī guru and Vaiṣṇavas through a service tendency will never lead to spiritual perfection. Your sādhana will be lifeless unless you connect yourself to the spiritual source of power through Her emissaries, Śrī Guru and Vaiṣṇavas—just like an appliance must be plugged in to the mains in order to receive electricity from the power station.”.
Śrīla Gurudeva then said, “To have fully self-surrendered means that all your property has become that of Śrī Guru. But that does not mean you should expect the spiritual master to serve, feed, clothe, and shelter you. When you truly surrender you will naturally assume responsibilities to please your Gurudeva. And you will not serve as a required duty or an act of karma, like a company worker who does his job and then returns to wherever he has placed his love.
Guru and Bhagavān are not pleased by actions performed through material motivations. You must serve as a natural expression of your love for Bhagavān and Gurudeva. Then it can be considered bhakti.
“To truly surrender to the spiritual master the disciple must abide by all the recommendations and prohibitions taught and exemplified by his guru. If a student neglects to follow the teacher’s lessons despite encouragement to do so, then he will fail the class. So, you must adopt those activities that help sādhakas progress in bhakti and determinedly reject anything unfavorable, however attractive it may seem. You must adhere to a vow to stay away from anything adverse to your spiritual practice—then you will accept God’s ever-present mercy. Many obstacles will rise in your path, but if you are determined you can cross over them all.”.
Pitfalls.
Śrīla Gurudeva advised the brahmacārīs to always stay in the company of Guru and Vaiṣṇavas and warned them of various pitfalls. He said:.
ayur harati vai puṁsām udyann astaṁ ca yann asau tasyarte yat-kṣaṇo nīta uttama-śloka-vārtayā.
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 2.3.17.
“The rising and setting of the sun and moon decreases the lifespan of all beings. But the time spent in sat-saṅga, hearing topics of Kṛṣṇa, who is exalted with the highest praise of the scriptures, is never lost. The spiritual benefit from that time remains with you eternally. When you have the good fortune of staying with Vaiṣṇavas, your relationship with the Guru-varga gradually develops and you advance spiritually.”.
Śrīla Gurudeva cautioned, “After you have been practicing sādhana for some years in the temple, people will start to praise and honor you. If you then become proud and, disconnecting yourself from Guru and Vaiṣṇavas, go independently to preach, you will soon fall down and lose all progress you have made.
Also, when you become knowledgeable and start attracting followers, there is the grave danger that you begin to envy the position of your guru. To protect yourself from these pitfalls, you must remain in sādhu-saṅga at all times. Sādhu-saṅga means to have attachment for saintly devotees.
Saubari Ṛṣi underwent austerities for 10,000 years in the Yamunā, but he was more attached to the fish inside the river then to the associates of God. He cursed Garuḍa, the carrier of Lord Viṣṇu, and as a result of his offense, he left his practice of bhajana and enjoyed sensual pleasures for thousands of years.
When you become proud of your position and prestige, you are bound to make offenses to other Vaiṣṇavas who you perceive as a threat to your status, and then your downfall is inevitable. It is imperative that you cultivate deep respect and gratitude to your spiritual master and guardians, or else you cannot advance.
“Numerous brahmacārīs stay in the temple and try to follow bhakti,” Gurudeva said, “still, many seem not to progress, even after years of practice. In the purāṇas there are stories of how even animals achieved the highest perfection simply by a chance act of devotion. Once, there was a female mouse that tried to drink the oil from a burning lamp in a temple. The wick became stuck on its whiskers, and while trying to shake it off, the mouse performed ārati of the Deity before being engulfed in flames.
The mouse took birth next as a princess and received the chance to daily perform ārati, and after giving up her human life she achieved God’s transcendental abode. Once, a pigeon was shot by a hunter, and before leaving its body it circumambulated a Viṣṇu temple four times. This soul also gradually attained the highest destination.
“Why do so many fail to develop profound hari-
bhakti, even though they reside in the temple and follow the practices of devotion? The mouse performed ārati and the pigeon did parikramā, and through this they both achieved perfection; but many in the temple do ārati and parikramā daily with seemingly no advancement. Why?
Because of a lack of sincerity and spiritual greed. Some perform parikramā and ārati simply as a physical exercise or to attract materialists by their false sentiment. Real ārati is an endeavor to develop one’s rati, or attraction towards God. The mouse did not leave the Viṣṇu-mandira—offering ārati it gave up its life—but we do ārati for a few minutes, and then run to do the ārati of others. And we do parikramā in the temple, and then run to do parikramā of another.
Our consciousness is contaminated and not centered on God, therefore we move here and there. We have no faith that these temple activities are devotional service. If you do anything with faith, then this is bhakti. If, even after fifty years of sādhana, one does not become spiritually advanced, it is a sure sign he commits numerous offenses—to Vaiṣṇavas, to the dhāma, during services, and to the holy names.
This results in a hardening of his heart, which in turn leads him to fear no sin, such as lying, theft, embezzlement, illicit affairs, and violence. These negative results come from one possessing an independent mood and avoiding the guidance of a high-class Vaiṣṇava. Thus although one may be performing all prescribed activites there is no internal result.
Have faith in Guru and Vaiṣṇavas. By following them closely all potency and spiritual greed will manifest in your heart. Mahāprabhu taught this by placing Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī in the care and guidance of Śrīla Svarūpa Dāmodara and Śrīla Prabhupāda similarly situated Sajjana-Sevāka in the shelter of Vinoda-bihari Brahmacari. A spiritual relation with Vaiṣṇavas is paramount to spiritual progress and is the connection by which you will gain spiritual perfection.
“A person may attempt to conceal his sinful activities and wicked intentions while maintaining Vaiṣṇava decorum, but one cannot hide from God’s eyes, and He will not allow such a man to enter His kingdom without atonement.
“The question may arise, ‘Is it not better to stay at home, then, and do bhajana there? Wouldn’t one be less likely to commit offenses?’ At home, sense enjoyers and adverse company will likely surround the aspirant. As such, the home would then become disadvantageous to the cultivation of bhakti. And if family and friends are Vaiṣṇavas in truth, then it will be just as possible to offend them as with Vaiṣṇavas in the temple.”.
ŚRĪ GURU DARŚANA Revelation of the Divine Master Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja Sripad Seva Ratna Premananda Prabhuji Bhaktabandhav Radhe Kunj Vrindavana
