May 11 1975 Perth
Devotee (1): So if we as devotees in Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement are transcendental to these modes, does that mean that we can…
Prabhupāda: You are not transcendental. You are trying to be transcendental. You should always remember that “We are trying to be transcendental.” When you are actually on transcendental state, you will not be affected by any modes of material nature. Therefore you should be very cautious and careful. Just like on the sea, you are in the boat. You are transcendental. But the boat may can merge into the water any moment unless you are very carefully plying it. At any moment. You are not in the water, you are safe on the boat, but if you do not carefully ply your boat, then you can fall down at any moment. The comparison is given, nṛ-deham ādyam sulabhaṁ sudurlabhaṁ. Sulabhaṁ. This human form of body is just like a very nice boat to cross over this ocean of ignorance, and the guru is the pilot or the captain. And the śāstras are favorable wind. Just like if you are going this direction, if the wind is blowing this…, then automatically your boat is pushed. And behind the boat, what is called, the boat, that thing? He takes the…
Amogha: The oar, rudder…
Srutakirti: The oarsman. Oarsmen.
Prabhupāda: Oarsman, all of them are. Chief?
Amogha: The steersman or the pilot?
Prabhupāda: Yes, the chief man. So the guru is there. He is the chief man, giving direction, or the captain. And others are plying, and the boat is also strong, and the wind is also favorable. In this circumstances, if you cannot cross, then you make suicide. The śāstras are there. That is favorable wind. You get the way. And the spiritual master is directing, “Do like this.” And you have got a nice boat and you are plying. Now cross over. Very big ocean in the material world. Just see the sky, how big it is. So we have to cross this material sky, penetrate the covering, then go to the spiritual sky. Then you are safe. Paras tasmāt tu bhāvaḥ anyaḥ ‘vyakto ‘vyaktāt sanātanaḥ [Bg. 8.20]. That place, even after destruction of this whole material world, that is safe. So we have to go there, plying the boat. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, “You rascal, give up everything. Surrender unto Me. And surrender unto Me. Follow My instruction as I have given. Then you are safe.” But that they will not do. They will try to cheat Kṛṣṇa by interpretation, “This means this. This means that.” That they will do, these rascals, big, big rascals. Kṛṣṇa says something, and they will misinterpret. Kṛṣṇa says, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto, and Dr. Radhakrishnan says, “No, no, it is not to the Kṛṣṇa person.” Just see how misleading these rascals. Why you should interpret upon Kṛṣṇa’s word? If you have got your own philosophy, you write another book. Why do you touch Bhagavad-gītā? This is their cheating. Bhagavad-gītā is a popular book. Gandhi also took Bhagavad-gītā for his political diplomacy. This is going on. And they’ll never agree to accept Bhagavad-gītā as it is. They’ll never agree. The other day I was there in Kurukṣetra. They have got their own plan-mānava-dharma, this dharma, that dharma. Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya: [Bg. 18.66] “You give up all these. Kick out all this so-called rascaldom. You just surrender unto Me.” That they will not do. Except this, everything which is going on in the name of religion, that is cheating. Everyone is misinterpret… Just like Christians, they have misinterpreted: “Kill means murder. It is meant for man.” That means they are making their own lusty desires fulfilled in the name of Bible, that’s all. Everyone is doing like that. They are changing. Mass opinion is now homosex. They are passing abortion. They are passing… What is this? This is their business. For fulfillment of their lusty desires and greediness, they are bringing the authority of Bible, Bhagavad-gītā. This is going on in the name of religion.
Dec 7 1973 LA
Here is a rascal
Prabhupāda: Therefore they are rascals. Rascal means that however kick him on his face, still, he’ll insist. That is rascal. Rascal means that.
They’ll never take good lesson. That is rascal. And sensible means he takes good lesson. Na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ [Bg. 7.15]. And why they remain rascal? Because they are duṣkṛtinaḥ, very, very sinful. Very, very sinful. Don’t you see? They are maintaining slaughterhouse. They are maintaining brothel. They are ruining everyone’s life by sense gratification. These are all sinful activities. Therefore they remain rascal forever. They cannot improve. Because they are so sinful, they have to suffer, go to the darkest region. They’ll have to become worms of the stool. That is awaiting them. But they do not know how things are going on. They are thinking, “We are now safe. We are safe.” That is foolishness. That is rascaldom.
… Rascal means that… You know the story, that Kālidāsa, a great poet, he was a great rascal. So… It is a long story. So he was sitting on the branch of a tree and cutting. So some gentleman: “Why you are cutting? You’ll fall down.” “No, no, I’ll not fall down.” But when he fell down, then he went to that gentleman, “How did you know, sir, that I shall fall down?” Then they concluded, “Here is a rascal number one.” (laughter) “Here is a rascal number one.” They do not know that they are going to hell. That is rascaldom. By their so-called scientific advancement, philosophy, education, they are going to hell. That they do not know. Therefore they are rascals. Therefore they are rascals. This is the definition of rascaldom: one who does not know where he is going. If somebody goes in this way straight, and you say “Don’t go!” “No! Why shall I not go?” He’s rascal. (laughter) He’s rascal. And the another rascal, “Yes, yes, you can go, it is all right.” Yata mata tata patha. “As many ways you manufacture, it is all right. You can go this way.” He’s another rascal. This is going on.
July 4 1974 Honolulu
Sudāmā: There also is the position of or some question is raised as to how to actually follow the authority. What is the authority between…?
Prabhupāda: Authority is your spiritual master. You do not know who is authority? Why this question is there? If one is initiated, then he accepted the authority. And if he does not follow the instruction of spiritual master, he is a rascal. He is defying the authority. That’s all.
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. First offense is guror avajnā, 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. 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. 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—The reason I wrote this small piece was because last night I read the first conversations above where the devotee was saying because “we are transcendental” and Prabhupada immediately corrected him and he hopefully accepted it. This episode reminded of one I had some years back when I questioned in a nice way, one so called iskcon guru while we were sitting and having prasadam. I asked him if he was a liberated soul to which he immediately replied-”Yes I am liberated”.
I was shocked and immediately asked him to tell me the qualifications of such a liberate person. No answer. So finally I rattled off about 8 or 10 reasons given in Prabhupadas books. His answer then was, “You know Damaghosa you are the most envious person I have ever met.” And that is pretty much verbatim, word for word. This same person later wrote a book called The Ritvik heresy.
So my reply today is, one given long time ago by Canakya pandit.
“If one does not take good advice ,he perishes soon.”
Hare Krsna
damaghosa das
