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Imported quote 12993 Here in this verse Narada Muni has described Dhruva Maharaja as prabhu. This word is applicable to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Sometimes the spiritual master is addressed as Prabhupada. Prabhu means the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and pada means post. According to Vaisnava philosophy the spiritual master occupies the post of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, or in other words he is the bona fide representative of the Supreme Lord. Dhruva Maharaja is also described here as prabhu because he is an acarya of the Vaisnava school. Another meaning of prabhu is "master of the senses," just like the word svami. Another significant word is suduskaram, "very difficult to perform." What was the task that Dhruva Maharaja undertook? The most difficult task in life is to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and Dhruva Maharaja would be able to do that. We must remember that Dhruva Maharaja was not fickle; he was determined to execute his service and then come back. Every devotee, therefore, should be determined that in this life he will be able to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead and by that process go back home, back to Godhead. That is the perfection of the highest mission of life.
(More...) Imported quote 13887 In this verse the word prabhu is also significant. As stated before, when one is completely self-realized and acts according to that position, he can be called prabhu. The spiritual master is addressed as "Prabhupada" because he is a completely self-realized soul. The word pada means "position," and Prabhupada indicates that he is given the position of prabhu, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for he acts on behalf of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Unless one is a prabhu, or controller of the senses, he cannot act as spiritual master. He is authorized by the Supreme Prabhu, or Lord Krsna. In his verses praising the spiritual master, Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura writes:
(More...) Imported quote 15944 "Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear." (Bg. 18.66) Someone may argue, "Where is Krsna? I shall surrender to Him." But no, the process is that we first surrender to Krsna's representative; then we surrender to Krsna. Therefore it is said, saksad-dharitvena samasta-sastraih: the guru is as good as God. When we offer respects to the guru, we are offering respects to God. Because we are trying to be God conscious, it is required that we learn how to offer respects to God through God's representative. In all the sastras, the guru is described to be as good as God, but the guru never says, "I am God." The disciple's duty is to offer respect to the guru just as he offers respect to God, but the guru never thinks, "My disciples are offering me the same respect they offer to God; therefore I have become God." As soon as he thinks like this, he becomes a dog instead of God. Therefore Visvanatha Cakravarti says, kintu prabhor yaḥ priya eva tasya. Because he is the most confidential servitor of God, the guru is offered the same respect that we offer God. God is always God, guru is always guru. As a matter of etiquette, God is the worshipable God, and guru is the, worshiper God (seva-bhagavan). Therefore the guru is addressed as prabhupada. The word prabhu means "lord," and pada means "position." Thus prabhupada means "he who has taken the position of the Lord." This is the same as saksad-dharitvena samasta-sastraiḥ.
(More...) Imported quote 19199 So this dictation of Krsna comes through the disciplic succession, and if we follow the instruction of acarya, or spiritual master, then we are directly following the orders of Krsna, and thus I become a bhagavad-dūta. No more I am the dūta or the follower of the dictation of my senses. And one who is bhagavad-dūta, he is called gosvami, just like Rūpa Gosvami, Sanatana Gosvami. Those life is dedicated to follow the dictation of Krsna, they are gosvami.
(More...) The pure devotees whose only business is serving are honored by the names Prabhupāda and Viṣṇupāda, which indicate such devotees to be representatives of the lotus feet of the Lord. Pure devotees of the Lord are more powerful than the waters of the sacred river Ganges. One can derive spiritual benefit out of prolonged use of the Ganges waters. But one can be sanctified at once by the mercy of a pure devotee of the Lord. In Bhagavad-gita it is said that any person, regardless of birth as sūdra, woman, or merchant, can take shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord and by so doing can return to Godhead. To take shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord means to take shelter of the pure devotees. The pure devotees whose only business is serving are honored by the names Prabhupada and Visnupada, which indicate such devotees to be representatives of the lotus feet of the Lord. Anyone, therefore, who takes shelter of the lotus feet of a pure devotee by accepting the pure devotee as his spiritual master can be at once purified. Such devotees of the Lord are honored equally with the Lord because they are engaged in the most confidential service of the Lord, for they deliver out of the material world the fallen souls whom the Lord wants to return home, back to Godhead. Such pure devotees are better known as vice-lords according to revealed scriptures. The sincere disciple of the pure devotee considers the spiritual master equal to the Lord, but always considers himself to be a humble servant of the servant of the Lord. This is the pure devotional path.
(More...) Link to this page: https://prabhupadabooks.com/?qg=819
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