09/08/1998 - 2172

Vyasa Puja Offering by Jayapataka Swami

India (VNN) - by Jayapataka Swami

(1998-AD) (512 Gaura-abda) (102 Bhaktivedanta-abda)

My Dear Srila Prabhupada,

Please accept my respectful prostrated obeisance's and puspanjali offeredagain and again and again at Your Divine Lotus Feet. All glories to YourDivine Grace! I wanted to write this offering for your Vyasa-Puja books,but instead I am writing in the very day of your Vyasa Puja which in someways seems more appropriate.

Your Divine Grace has instructed that the first qualification of a spiritualmaster is to be a disciple. You have always instructed us on the importanceof following the guru parampara system and how ISKCON is a part of theBrahma-Madhva-Gaudiya Sampradaya. The significance of being a disciplicsuccession mentioned in the Padma Purana is that we are to always follow theVedic injunctions and guide our every act by the Vedic Literatures. You havealways done that balancing mukhya (main instructions) with gauna (detailedinstructions) and coming up with the prescription authorized by sadhu,sastra and guru most suited to ISKCON and tuned for the "time, place andcircumstances" we are in. In my humble way I have been trying to implementyour desires and instructions in all my services including my service as aspiritual master (both siksa-guru and diksa-guru) in ISKCON.

In many ways you have instructed me that I am to initiate disciples andguide them. On some occasions you told me that since you gave me sannyas Ihad the mandate to accept disciples, but that the etiquette was not toinitiate in the presence of the guru. That after the guru was not physicallypresent the sannyasi disciple could initiate without restriction [accordingto whatever guidelines the spiritual master gave for the management of hissociety]. This you told me on more than one occasion. I never understood whyyou mentioned that since accepting disciples wasn't on my mind. I took itas a test you were putting me through. Now it comes as more of aconfirmation of your desire for continuing the guru parampara according tothe tradition of our disciplic succession. In your transcendentalliteratures you repeatedly mention how you hope for the day when all yourfollowers will be initiating spiritual masters initiating even 10,000 ormore disciples into the guru parampara.

On May 28th , 1977 you called meand the other GBC members to tell us you would be going back to Lord SriKrishna and we should ask you any questions pertinent to the situation. Oneof the questions we asked you was how the future initiations would go on.You instructed that you would recommend some officiating spiritual masterswho would initiate disciples into the disciplic succession in the future,but as a formality they would initiate on your behalf in your presence.Later on July 9th, 1977 your secretary wrote a letter with your approvalstating that I was one of the disciples recommended as per your May 28th,1977 discussion. I was hoping you would recover and we could go on makingdisciples for Your Divine Grace, but Lord Sri Krishna had another plan.After your departure from this visible world there have been many trials.The 4th canto Srimad Bhagavatam informs that after the departure of theAcarya there are many disturbances that occur in this world. We haveexperienced that in ISKCON. When the GBC met in 1978 and discussed what wasto be done it was advised that you had expressed we could go to yourgodbrother HH B.R. Sridhar Maharaj for any technical questions. There wassome confusion about how to implement the instructions on spiritual masterso it was decided to ask your Godbrother. He certainly had good intentions,but his vision wasn't your vision. He advised that each spiritual mastershould have his own private area which he termed "private room" where hecould be alone with his disciples. Somehow this created the "Zonal Acarya"concept where everyone in a particular zone was more or less compelled toaccept initiation from the local Zonal Guru. This created more problems andoffenses. Also the idea that by Your Divine Grace recommending us to bespiritual masters and initiate we were by definition "uttam adhikary" orsomething created false impressions and enhanced the false ego. I was aparticipant in these situations and knowingly or unknowingly I committedmany offenses to my godbrothers and godsisters and other devotees.

I beggedfor forgiveness countless times, but still I haven't been forgiven by many. I am afraid of the reactions of these offenses impeding my spiritualprogress. Later in ISKCON the GBC tried to resolve all these problems andthe "Zonal Acarya" concept was abolished in ISKCON. I personally tried toshow how these concepts weren't your idea, but came from outside of ISKCON.In all of these circumstances I was always thinking that the only way I canassure any disciple to get back to Godhead was by representing you andfollowing your instructions. I never thought I had the personal ability todo so without Your Divine Grace's causeless mercy. You have told that anyonewho follows the 4 regulative principles, chants 16 rounds daily andsurrenders to a bona fide spiritual master will get back to Lord SriKrishna. Therefore, I have felt confident that I can liberate my disciplessimply on the strength of Your Divine Grace's causeless mercy andinstructions. Without your mercy I don't see any hope. Therefore I am fullydepending on Your Divine Grace's causeless mercy to be upon my initiateddisciples, my siksa disciples and those who aspire or depend upon me for anycare and help. Only by your mercy will it be possible to help, guide andget them back to Godhead. Since you are a liberated spiritual master and Iam following in Your Divine Grace's footsteps then by your mercy I can alsofully deliver the message and mercy of Lord Sri Krishna to them. So I amfully depending on your mercy and shelter to continue.

Last year I expressed to you my how I began to realize more deeply howspecial and dear and wonderful are all the souls who have surrendered toLord Caitanya Mahaprabhu through Your Divine Grace and taken shelter of yourKrishna Consciousness Movement. During this year I tried to make myselfavailable to ISKCON devotees and to increase my care and attention to them.Many have expressed appreciation for this, but some are there who I have notyet been able to satisfy. In order to protect and care for your followers Ineed your special mercy that I can be a transparent medium for your mercy toflow to all of them. I know Your Divine Grace loves all of them and wantseveryone to feel happy in the Krishna Consciousness Movement. Please giveyour mercy to enable me and all ISKCON leaders to become truerepresentatives of your love for the devotees.

Today in ISKCON again many new tests are there on the faith of the devotees.Some persons are there who claim that you wanted to be the last diksa guruin ISKCON for the next 10,000 years although you have never said such athing. Although you have always expressed your desire for the guru paramparasystem and that your disciples accept disciples, they use complicated wordjugglery to prove their point and incessantly and ruthlessly criticizeISKCON spiritual masters. It seems their goal is to undermine faith in allof your followers in the present diksa gurus thinking this will by defaultforce devotees to accept their speculations that you should be the onlydiksa guru. We need your mercy to properly establish your position asFounder-Acarya of ISKCON for the next 10,000 years. Simultaneously we needyour mercy to properly establish the role of diksa-guru and siksa-guru inISKCON so that Your Divine Grace's desires to continue the disciplicsuccession will be fulfilled. We have to be more sensitive to the variousconcerns and need of all the devotees.

You taught how the whole world is burning due to the lack of the mercy ofthe Vaisnavas. Now, by your causeless mercy, we have written a manual forNama Hatta small groups and a training course for training leadesr in thispreaching. This provides the opportunity to engage everyone inside andoutside of your temples in devotional service through the Nama Hatta andcongregational preaching programs. We look forward to a world filled withdevotees practicing pure devotional service under the shelter of yourtranscendental movement. You ordered me to "increase the [Krishna conscious]propagation unlimitedly" and I again and again beg for your mercy to achievethis soon. The world is really on fire and the need to empower and engagethe congregationally based devotees in preaching Krishna consciousness isfelt now more than ever.

I take this opportunity to pray to Your Divine Grace for the quick and fullrecovery of the health of my dear god-brother Harikesa Maharaja who hassuffered various ailments to his health, if it so please Your Divine Grace.I pray for your mercy on all ISKCON devotees to overcome the obstacles indevotional service and to quickly achieve pure Love of Godhead. We needyour special mercy for the successful completion of the Temple for VedicPlanetarium in Sri Mayapur and the development of ISKCON's Krishnaconsciousness township there. I need Your Divine Grace's mercy to help mefulfill all the instructions you have given me.

Having made these offerings and meditations I beg to remain steadfastlyunder the shelter of Your Divine lotus feet eternally.

Your eternal servant,
Jayapataka Swami