Swami BG Narasingha: Writings

Recently, we came across a discussion on the internet regarding sraddha - the importance of faith. Is it essential or only a necessity for the beginner? It is an area of siddhanta that is little understood by a vast majority of the Gaudiya Vaishnavas residing in western countries.

The imitator is like a woman who enters the maternity ward and simply by producing the sounds of labor thinks that she can produce a child. Many things are required before that.

If all of you have been following his teachings for 25-30 years and you are not qualified, then why should I follow his teachings? It must mean that his teachings have no potency. That is what the ritviks are actually saying.

One evening as we sat at Srila Puri Maharaja's lotus feet hearing about what it means to be a genuine Vaisnava, we were astounded when suddenly Srila Puri Maharaja said, "There is a wave of sahajiyaism coming to the Western world and you must preach against this misconception."

There was a disciple of our Guru Maharaja in 1976, I believe his name was Ananta Dasa Sastri. He used to travel with Srila Prabhupada in India and he was in the Sanskrit department assisting Srila Prabhupada in translation work. That year he compiled five slokas which describe much of Srila Prabhupada's divine character and his divine mission also. Prabhupada very much liked these five slokas. We used to sing them every morning before Guru Puja by his vyasasana, so some of you may remember them.

The words 'Sri Caitanya Saraswata Parampara' indicate the disciplic succession (parampara) which was handed down from the time of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to that of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura. This parampara is a disciplic succession of divine knowledge (divya jnanam) also known as the 'Brahma-Madhva Gaudiya sampradaya' or the 'Bhagavata-parampara'.

Study, learning, discourse on philosophy so many things are possible prior to initiation (diksha), but unless one gets this ashraya one does not gain admission to the descending flow of bhakti-rasa.

Om, the supreme combination of letters denotes the Supreme Entities Sri Radha Krishna and indicates the acme of spiritual tendency inherent in all jiva souls.

Question: I have heard people say that your guru, Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, taught his disciples Vaidhi-bhakti, the path based on scriptural injunctions, and not Raganuga-Bhakti, the path of spontaneous love of God. Is that true?

Kirtan, book publishing, and thus distribution also have been accepted by Saraswati Thakura and other great acharyas as service in the line of raganuga (also rupanuga ). To write about the Lord is also kirtan and similarly to preach (to assert and convert others) is also kirtan (when our preaching is performed for the pleasure of Krishna and His pure devotees it is kirtan ).

A Vaishnava is fearless in all circumstances because he knows that Krishna will always protect him. Yet, if we examine the mood of the great souls, the sadhus and the acharyas, we can detect that a Vaishnava is fearful of only one thing ­­ vaishnava-aparadha.

To a neophyte disciple there may appear to be contradictions between guru, sadhu, and sastra but such contradictions are only apparent not real. Seeing an apparent contradiction between guru, sadhu, and sastra a neophyte devotee sometimes rejects either the guru, the sadhu, orthe sastra.