Krishna is form of Guru

By editor, 6.5 2015

Morning Walk with Srila Prabhupada – December 15, 1973, Los Angeles, USA (excerpt).

Guru Knows Everything Perfectly

Candanacarya: ...there must have been very many gurus. Were there many gurus then?

Srila Prabhupada: When? Guru or... First of all, try to understand: what is the meaning of guru? Guru means heavy. So one who knows more than you, or one who knows perfectly, that, he is guru. So if you know anything perfectly, then you are guru. But if you do not know anything perfectly, then you are not a guru. You are rascal.So, guru means one who knows perfectly. So if you find out somebody, that he knows everything perfectly, then he is guru.

That is the first prayer of Gurvashtaka. Samsara-davanala-lidha-loka-tranaya karunya-ghanaghanatvam **. Everyone is in the blazing fire of this material existence. It is just like forest fire. Just like if there is fire in the forest, all the inhabitants of forest, all the animals, they become so much in perturbed condition. So guru means to rescue from this forest fire. So therefore it is said, ghanaghanatvam. A forest fire can be reduced or can be extinguished... Fire, there must be water. But wherefrom the water will come? Your fire brigade, bucket full of water, will not save. The water must come from cloud. So therefore guru is the cloud. He has taken the mercy from the ocean, or from God, and he pours the mercy. Immediately the fire is extinguished, and you are saved. This is the samsara-davanala-lidha-loka-tranaya karunya-ghanaghanatvam, praptasya... **.

One who has received mercy from the Supreme, he can save. Nobody can save. Your so-called fire brigade bucket or bucket full of water will not save. That is not possible. So as these rascals are simply trying to extinguish the blazing fire of material existence by so-called bucketful of water, it will not save. It will be waste of time. If the cloud comes, then it will be saved. So guru is the cloud. That is... Samsara-davanala-lidha-loka-tranaya karunya-ghana... **. Ghanaghanatvam means cloud, dense cloud. As soon as there is dense cloud and pours water, finished, all blazing fire finished. That is guru. And Narottama dasa Thakura says, samsara-bishanale dibanisi hiya jvale: "My heart is burning by the fire of this material existence." Judaite na kainu upaya: "I did not make any arrangement for getting out of this fire." Golokera prema-dhana, hari-nama-sankirtana: "Now this hari-nama-sankirtana is coming from Goloka, from the spiritual world. I did not takes care of it." He is lamenting. So this is the fire extinguish instrument. Chant Hare Krishna in this age, and the fire will be extinguished. [break] ...prema-dhana hari-nama-sankirtana, rati na janmilo kene taya. [break]

Prajapati: ...saktyavesa-avatara?

Srila Prabhupada: Guru is the mercy incarnation of God, mercy incarnation. God is kind to everyone, so He is teaching everyone from within, but still, to make it still more explicit, He sends His mercy in the form of guru.

Prajapati: The saktyavesa-avatara means Krishna coming in a form of a living entity empowered by him for some special purpose.

Srila Prabhupada: Yes, yes.

Candanacarya: Guru is greater than saktyavesa-avatara.

Srila Prabhupada: No, guru is considered as Krishna Himself. Guru-rupa krishna hana avatara.*

(CC Adi 1.45 –
guru krishna-rupa hana sastrera pramane
guru-rupe krishna kripa karena bhakta-gane

According to the deliberate opinion of all revealed scriptures, the spiritual master is nondifferent from Krishna. Lord Krishna in the form of the spiritual master delivers His devotees.)

Just to teach the conditioned soul, guru comes himself, er, Krishna comes Himself in the form of guru. Therefore we sing in the Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura's prayer, sakshad-dharitvena samasta-sastraih: "In every sastra, guru is accepted as directly Krishna." Sakshat. Sakshat means directly. Sakshad-dharitvena: As Krishna, is accepted in every sastra, sakshad-dharitvena samasta-sastrair uktah **, it is said, uktas tatha bhavyata eva sadbhih **, and this statement is accepted by advanced devotees. It is not only statement, but it is accepted. But the next question is: "Does it mean that guru is Krishna? Therefore no more Krishna wanted?" No. Kintu prabhor yah priya eva tasya: "Guru is exalted because he is very confidential servant of Krishna." Here it is clear. Not that he is respected as Krishna, therefore he has become Krishna. This is Mayavada: "He has become Krishna." No. Kintu: "But don't think that there is no more Krishna, finished. Guru is here." Just like the Mayavadis say, just like this rascal Guruji, that "I am Krishna." Not that. Kintu prabhor yah priya eva tasya. He is the most confidential servant. Vande guroh sri-caranaravindam. This is clear explanation. Although he is respected as good as Krishna, but he never says that "I am Krishna." He says, "I am servant of Krishna." And actually he is the most confidential servant of Krishna. Therefore we distinguish in this line that sevya-bhagavan and sevaka-bhagavan: "worshipable God and worshiper God." You follow? God, but worshiper God.

Svarupa Damodara: Person Bhagavatam.

Srila Prabhupada: Yes. Both of them God, but one God is worshipable, and another God is worshiper. So for the disciple, both of them are worshipable because both of them are God. That is the distinction. Sevya-bhagavan, sevaka-bhagavan.

Prajapati: Therefore, when we hear the words of guru, we are actually hearing Krsna?

Srila Prabhupada: Yes. That is said, yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasadah **. If you please guru, then Krishna is pleased because he is saying the same thing. Just like we are... What we are doing? Krishna says, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg. 18.66]. We are saying that "You just surrender to Krishna." We are inventing nothing. Therefore I am guru. Because I am saying Krishna's words, not my words, therefore I am guru. As soon as I say my words, then I am not guru. This is the significance.

Rupanuga: You are the only one, Srila Prabhupada, who claims to be servant. The rest of them take Krishna's position.

Srila Prabhupada: Yes. Because they are not guru. They are not guru. That is the difficulty, that one who is not guru, he is taking the place of guru. Therefore people are misguided.

Rupanuga: One man who has written a book on these different so-called spiritual movements has remarked that Your Divine Grace is the only one of all... The big difference between our movement and the others is that you claim to be servant, and the others claim to be God.

Srila Prabhupada: He has written? Oh.

Rupanuga: It is in a book talking about different spiritual movements in this country.

Srila Prabhupada: So he has appreciated this?

Rupanuga: He has made that remark. He has noted that difference.

Srila Prabhupada: (laughing) Therefore I am unique. Yes. Then I can, become unique. Yes. I am not amongst the rascals.

Rupanuga: I tell the students... They ask me how they can distinguish between gurus. I tell them the real guru claims to be servant, and not God. I said only one guru says he is servant. That is Srila Prabhupada. And they can understand that.

Candanacarya: Sincere people will appreciate that.

Srila Prabhupada: Yes.

Prajapati: In the early days of this movement, Srila Prabhupada, in New York, devotees said they did not know how to treat Your Divine Grace. They did not know your exalted position. I think we are still very much offensive.

Srila Prabhupada: No, I am servant. I have no exalted position. Servant. Caitanya Mahaprabhu sat down in a place where people were washing their feet. Yes. [break] ...a representative of Krishna. I came to preach Krishna consciousness, and Krishna has sent so many representatives to help me. I consider like that. Without your help I could not do. So I wanted Krishna's help, so Krishna has sent you. Therefore you are representative of Krishna. That is my conception.

Prajapati: We're just dogs, Prabhupada.

Srila Prabhupada: No.

Prajapati: Barking at your feet, that's all.

Srila Prabhupada: That is your humbleness. That is nice.

Prajapati: Not humbleness. That's fact.

Srila Prabhupada: Hare Krishna. [break]

Candanacarya: ...that there are some things that the guru says that the disciple does not accept.

Srila Prabhupada: What is that?

Candanacarya: He says that there are some things that the guru says that the disciple will not accept.

Srila Prabhupada: Who says?

Candanacarya: Jayadvaita told me that in the sastra it says that. So when the guru says that the disciple is nice, he does not accept.

Srila Prabhupada: (laughing) That is very good quality. Oh, Jayadvaita has written like that?

Candanacarya: No, he was telling me that it was in one sastra.

Srila Prabhupada: No, it is very intelligent. Yes. Just like guru does not accept, although he is worshiped like Krishna, he never accepts that "I am Krishna." That is our parampara system. Sishya has to accept guru as Krishna, but guru will never accept that he is Krishna. This is our relationship.Sakshad-dharitvena samasta-sastraih. Samasta-sastraih, all revealed scripture.

Svarupa Damodara: This is the unique quality of Vaishnava.

Srila Prabhupada: Yes.

Svarupa Damodara: Nowhere we can find these things.

Candanacarya: One time, Srila Prabhupada, you said, "I will go to hell," but none of your disciples accepted that.

Prajapati: Actually, coming to this country, this is hell.

Srila Prabhupada: No, I am not in hell. I am with the devotees, so how can I say I am in hell? [break] Narottama dasa Thakura says, tandera carana sevi bhakta-sane vas: "My duty is to serve my guru and live with the devotees." That is Krishna's grace. "My mission is to serve my guru, but live with the devotees."

tandera carana sevi bhakta-sane vas
janame janame hoy ei abhilash

"This is my desire life after life." A guru or bhakta does not aspire that he is going to Vaikuntha, Krishna. "Never mind." But their only desire, his only desire, is that to serve the predecessor acarya and live with devotee. That's all. This is the only ambition. [break] ...says, tatra tishthami narada yatra gayanti mad-bhaktah. Where, the place where the devotees are glorifying the Lord, Krishna is there. So if Krishna is there with the devotees, then wherever devotees are there, that is Vaikuntha. That is Vaikuntha. Just like our temple. It is Vaikuntha. Because the devotees are chanting the glories of the Lord, so that is Vaikuntha. Vaikuntha is not limited. Vaikuntha, as Krishna can expand Himself, similarly, Vaikuntha can also be expand, Vrindavana can expand. So wherever there is Krishna, that is Vai... And where is not Krishna? And that is to be appreciated. Then if anyone appreciates Krishna everywhere, then he is living in the Vaikuntha. He is not living in hell or Los Angeles. [break]

Svarupa Damodara: ...where pure devotee goes, that place is immediately purified as soon as he is there.

Srila Prabhupada: Yes, because Krishna helps. As soon as the pure devotee sings, Krishna immediately comes there. So it becomes Vaikuntha.

Prajapati: We are more fortunate than gopis, Srila Prabhupada. Walking with you on the beach is better than dancing rasa dance in Vrindavana.

Srila Prabhupada: (laughing) It is not like that, but we can say, wherever Krishna topics are there, it is as good as Vaikuntha or Vrindavana. [break] ...prasangan mama virya-samvido bhavanti hrit-karna-rasayanah kathah. By association, bodhayantah parasparam. These things are there in the Bhagavad-gita. [break] ...enjoy and be satisfied in the association of devotees. [break]