Baton Rouge

BATON ROUGE
svayam samuttirya sudustaram dyuman
bhavarnavam bhimam adabhra-sauhrdaḥ
bhavat-padambhoruha-navam atra te
nidhaya yataḥ sad-anugraho bhavan
"O Lord, who resemble the shining sun, you are always ready to fulfill the desire of Your devotee, and therefore You are known as a desire tree (vancha-kalpa-taru). When acaryas completely take shelter under Your lotus feet in order to cross the fierce ocean of nescience, they leave behind on earth the method by which they cross, and because You are very merciful to Your other devotees, You accept this method to help them." (Bhag. 10.2.31)
Dear Srila Prabhupada,
The above verse perfectly describes your divine appearance on this unfortunate planet. Although you have crossed completely over the ocean of nescience, leaving us to burn in the fire of separation, you have mercifully left behind the boat of your crossing-this International Society for Krsna Consciousness. With its many worldwide centers, programs, devotees, books, Deities, and even acaryas to carry on your mission, it is a perfectly sound vehicle for crossing the vicious ocean of material life and approaching the shelter of Lord Krsna's safe lotus feet. By your transcendental arrangement, you have provided your disciples with complete facility for peaceful life even in this turbulent world; all that remains is for us to take it up in full measure, so that those who follow us in their turn may find the boat of transcendental knowledge intact and seaworthy.
This vitally important responsibility includes the duty of glorifying your most auspicious appearance in this world, Vyasa-pūja; and although due to our many sinful activities and our deep-rooted envious nature we have absolutely no qualification for such work, nevertheless we have faith that we can successfully execute this task, like so many others you have given us, simply by taking shelter of your merciful instructions. As you once very kindly wrote to us, "Just study very carefully our books and then simply repeat whatever you have learned in your own words. This will automatically make you a very successful preacher." So be it.
Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami states in the famous opening verse of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta:
vande gurūn isa-bhaktan isam isavatarakan
tat-prakasams ca tac-chaktiḥ krsna-caitanya-samjnakam
"I offer my respectful obeisances unto the spiritual masters, the devotees of the Lord, the Lord's incarnations, His plenary expansions, His energies, and the primeval Lord Himself, Sri Krsna Caitanya." (Cc. Adi 1.1)
Here, along with the panca-tattva, or fivefold manifestation of the Caitanya avatara, obeisances are first offered to the spiritual masters. The word gurūn is significant here, indicating by its plural form the guru-parampara, or disciplic succession of authorized teachers coming from the Lord Himself. Thus Krsnadasa indicates the importance of the guru. Why? Because the guru is identical to the other five manifestations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and one cannot know Krsna without approaching the guru:
guru krsna-rūpa hana sastrera pramane
guru-rūpe krsna krpa karena bhakta-gane
"According to the deliberate opinion of the revealed scriptures, the spiritual master is identical with Lord Krsna. Lord Krsna in the form of the spiritual master delivers his own devotees." (Cc. Adi 1.45) This describes how the Supreme Lord appears as the bona fide guru. How the guru represents Krsna's energies is revealed by Krsna Himself to Uddhava in Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.17.27):
acaryam mam vijaniyan navamanyeta karhicit
na martya-buddhyasūyeta sarva-devamayo guruḥ
"One should know the acarya as Myself and never disrespect him in any way. One should not envy him, thinking him to be an ordinary man, for he is the representative of all the demigods." And in the words of Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami:
yadyapi amara guru-caitanyera dasa
thatapi janiye ami tahhara prakasa
"Although I know that my spiritual master is a servant of Sri Caitanya, I know him also as a plenary manifestation of the Lord." (Cc. Adi 1.44) There is no contradiction here, because Nityananda Prabhu, the original spiritual master in the line of Sri Caitanya, is nondifferent from Sri Balarama, the first plenary expansion of Lord Krsna. The spiritual master is an expansion of Nityananda's potency. Thus the spiritual master is known as both the energy and the plenary portion of the Supreme Lord. The Lord is present in the form of the acarya in so many ways. Just consider the following statement made by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu Himself:
jnana-sakty-adi-kalaya yatravisto janardanaḥ
ta avesa nigadyante jiva eva mahattamaḥ
"Whenever the Lord is present in someone by portions of His various potencies, the living entity representing the Lord is called saktyavesa-avatara-that is, an incarnation invested with special power." This verse appears in Laghu-bhagavatamrta by Srila Rūpa Gosvami, and also in Caitanya-caritamrta (Madhya 20.373).
Finally, the following verses establish the absolute necessity of the association of pure devotees in order to approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead:
tato duḥashgam utsrjya satsu sajjeta buddhiman
anta evasya chindanti mano-vyasahga-muktibhiḥ
"One should therefore avoid bad company and associate only with devotees. With their realized instructions, such saints can cut the knot connecting one with activities unfavorable to devotional service." (Bhag. 11.26.26)
satam prasahgan mama virya-samvido
bhavanti hrt-karna-rasayanaḥ kathaḥ
"The spiritually powerful message of Godhead can be properly discussed only in the association of devotees, and it is greatly pleasing to hear in that association. (Bhag. 3.25.25)
Therefore, Srila Prabhupada, as a bona fide spiritual master, you are all of these-pure devotee, incarnation and plenary portion of the Lord, the Lord's powerful potency, and the Lord Himself. Who, then can fully understand or properly glorify you? We can but apply ourselves diligently to the great task you have set before us, dedicating ourselves to the realization of your fond hopes for the spiritual welfare of all beings through the worldwide propagation of the sahkirtana movement, and endeavoring with great determination to worship you by following your profound and timeless instructions. Then by Krsna's grace, we may deserve the intelligence to know you as you are, for certainly no ordinary man can understand a pure devotee by his own endeavor. No, our position is to sincerely try to install you as the great-grand guru of all the peoples of the world by just repeating your message without adulteration. That alone will make a suitable glorification of Your Divine Grace to be a Vyasa-pūja offering to your lotus feet.
O Gurudeva, my only wish is to have my heart purified by the words emanating from your lotus mouth. Attachment to your lotus feet is the perfection that fulfills all desires. The Vedic scriptures sing of your character. Your fame is spread all over the three worlds. I take shelter of your lotus feet, Srila Prabhupada.
Your worthless servants, ISKCON Baton Rouge
Dasanudasa dasa brahmacari / Candrasekhara dasa adhikari / Jaya Radha-devi dasi / Mr. & Mrs. Surinder Paul
 

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