Lokanātha: …five thousand years back, until now, there’s only thirty ācāryas…
Prabhupada:Chain is broken when there are false spiritual masters. Otherwise it is not broken. Chain is broken if a so-called spiritual master speaks something manufactured. Then the chain is broken. Otherwise chain is not broken.
Morning Walk — September 2, 1976, New Delhi
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Srila Prabhupada says, ”One must behave that “I belong to this disciplic succession. I must keep myself fit for the post. Keeps that tradition.”…………
Prabhupada: Well, everyone is in a bona fide disciplic succession provided he keeps that tradition. Keeps that tradition. One must behave that “I belong to this disciplic succession. I must keep myself fit for the post.” Then it is all right. If he deviates, then he deviates the disciplic succession. Caitanya Mahaprabhu says frankly that… This is disciplic succession: “Just carry out My order.” Then you are in disciplic succession. If you do not keep yourself in the order of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, then simply by becoming disciple you are not in the disciplic succession. This is disciplic succession. Caitanya Mahaprabhu said this clearly, “Whomever you meet, you only speak what Krsna has instructed.” Then you are disciplic succession. It doesn’t matter what you are and where you are. It doesn’t matter. This is disciplic succession. And if you think, “Now I am initiated, I am now liberated. I have no other business,” then you are not in the disciplic succession. You must preach. That is disciplic succession.
— March 9, 1974, Mayapur
“When someone heard the chanting of the holy name from the mouth of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and someone else heard this chanting from that second person, and someone again heard this chanting from the third person, everyone in all countries became a Vaishnava through such disciplic succession. Thus everyone chanted the holy name of Krishna and Hari, and they danced, cried and smiled.” “…If one is a pure devotee, hundreds and thousands of men can be purified by this vibration. When a pure devotee chants offenselessly, another person will become a Vaisnava, and from him another Vaishnava will emerge. This is the parampara system.” (Cc. Madhya, 17.48-49)
Feb 16 1971 Gorakpur
When you hear about Kṛṣṇa, that is also Kṛṣṇa. Actually, when you are reading Kṛṣṇa book, Kṛṣṇa is fighting with demons, that is also His pastime. So Kṛṣṇa is present. So you should be very attentive and worship this hearing. Unless we come to this point, there is lack of realization what is Kṛṣṇa.
Aug 1967 letter Satsvarupa Hansadutta
….Your appreciation of my Spiritual Master is very commendable. One who understands and appreciates the disciplic succession is certainly advanced, and we should always be very careful to give full respect to those who have so carefully handled this Divine Fruit of transcendental knowledge before us. Even a slight change will spoil it. That is why I have always been so careful to give you only those things which I have heard from my Guru Maharaja
July 4 1974 Honolulu
Sudāmā: The question also is there: the authority is the spiritual master, but the via media to the spiritual master… The difference between, like we were discussing in the automobile of śikṣā and dīkṣā-guru.
Prabhupāda: Then so śikṣā and dīkṣā-guru… A śikṣā-guru who instructs against the instruction of spiritual, he is not a śikṣā guru. He is a demon. Śikṣā-guru, dīkṣā-guru means… Sometimes a dīkṣā-guru is not present always. Therefore one can take learning, instruction, from an advanced devotee. That is called the śikṣā-guru. Śikṣā-guru does not mean he is speaking something against the teachings of the dīkṣā-guru. He is not a śikṣā-guru. He is a rascal.
Woman Devotee: People are instructing with these sessions?
Prabhupāda: (Ignoring question) Because that is offense. Guror avajñā. First offense is guror avajñā, defying the authority of guru. This is the first offense. So one who is offensive, how he can make advance in chanting? He cannot make. Then everything is finished in the beginning. Guror avajñā. Everything is there. If one is disobeying the spiritual master, he cannot remain in the pure status of life. He cannot be śikṣā-guru or anything else. He is finished, immediately. Guror avajñā śruti-śāstra-nindanam, nāmno balād yasya hi... You do not study all these things. You become initiated. There are ten kinds of offenses. Do you have any regard for these things or not? You must avoid these ten kinds of offenses. The first offense is to disobey the orders of guru. That is first offense. So if you are offensive, how you can become advanced by chanting? That is also not possible.
Some Conclusions--We can clearly see from the above few quotes that one must NOT deviate one inch from what the param para system says. Prabhupada has said he only gave to us what he heard from his own guru. No alterations no concoctions, no speculations no subractions. As it is-thats all.
Otherwise when you hand down a fruit from a tree and it gets mishandled and mangled along the way-how is this praam para? No sane man will buy a mangled fruit.
Hare Krsna
damaghosa das
LET US HUMBLY FOLLOW IN HIS DIVINE FOOTSTEPS
