Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Shrila Gaura Kishora Dasa and Parampara
Q. I have heard from Gaudiya historians besides the ones from Gaudiya Math that GauraKishora das babaji Maharaj was a part of the Advaita parivaar. I was wondering if you had any insights on this.
Answer by Swami Gaurangapada: There is no authentic information about the Naam Diksha Guru of Shrila Gaura Kishora Dasa Babaji Maharaja. Though it was claimed by Sundarananda after he left Gaudiya Math that his Naam Guru was from Advaita Parivara and his name was Nandakishora Gosvami, there is concrete proof or witness to backup this statement. It is authentically accepted in all circles that he accepted Shiksha and Vesha from Shrila Bhagavata Dasa Babaji Maharaja who in turn is considered a staunch disciple of Paramhansa Shrila Jagannatha Dasa Babaji Maharaja.
Irrespective of that fact, we accept his prominent Shiksha connection with Shrila Sacchidananda Bhaktivinoda Thakura (constantly hear Shrimad Bhagavatam from Shrila Bhaktivinoda in Godruma and gave Vesha to Shrila Bhaktivinoda) and his Naam Diksha connection with Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada as an irrevocable fact. And that is why he is the most respected part of our Bhagavata Shiksha Parampara of Gaudiya Math which respects and worships the Diksha connection as mandatory but gives even more importance to the Shiksha connection received from the most prominent Shiksha Guru (which may be the Diksha Guru himself also) in one’s Naam bhajana as the Shiksha Guru is an equal manifestion of Shri Shri Radha Govindadeva just like the Diksha Guru is a considered an external manifestion of Shri Shri Radha Madana Mohana according to Shrila Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami.
Please understand that the Bhagavata Shiksha Parampara of Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada in no way belittles the Diksha Gurus of the Acharyas who may not be listed in the broad outline of this Parampara. We certainly accept that every Acharya had a (living) Diksha Guru who may also be his Shiksha Guru or the Acharya may also have had another prominent (living) Shiksha Guru for his bhajana. By giving equal importance to Diksha and Shiksha, one can actually have unlimited branches of Gaudiya Vaishnava disciplic succession and none of those branches should be rejected in favor of only Diksha lineages. Naam Shiksha is also a bonafide means of transferring realization and knowledge and is considered as important as Naam Diksha by the authorities. Shrila Krishnadasa Kaviraja gave equal respect and worship to his Shiksha Gurus Shrila Rupa and Shrila Sanatana Goswami as he gave to his Diksha Guru.
According to Shrila Narahari Sarkara Thakura in Shri Krishna Bhajanamrita, Gurus can have different potencies and levels of advancement and it is a fact that Diksha Gurus may not always be 100% realized or vice versa. So in the case when the Shiksha Guru is spiritually more potent and powerful than one’s Diksha Guru or vice versa, the Guru who is more realized is considered the prominent connection to the Parampara for the disciple because a more realized Guru can impart more realization to the disciple. This is the basis of the Shiksha Parampara system which considers the qualification and advancement as more important than simply just the Diksha connection. Those who only believe in the Diksha lineages and don’t accept the Bhagavata Shiksha lineage of Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada should try to understand this principle.
Lastly, to explain a little about some apparent gaps in the Shiksha Parampara given by Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada. For a devotee, Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada always accepted the mandatory requirement of a living Diksha Guru and a living Shiksha Guru if Shiksha is not fully given by the Diksha Guru himself. He always respected, worshiped and glorified such bonafide living Diksha and Shiksha Gurus of each Acharya even though they may not be officially listed in the broad outline of the Vinoda Sarasvata Parampara. But in the Parampara, he sometimes listed Shiksha Gurus who never met their disciples after that disciple’s name in the Parampara. Like for example Shrila Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami’s name is mentioned as the Shiksha Guru of Shrila Narottama Dasa Thakura even though they never personally met and there is gap of many years between them. This is philosophically correct because all Acharyas are our Shiksha Gurus. But the main thing is that this makes it even more obligatory that there was also a Diksha or Shiksha connection line of Gurus from Shrila Narottama Dasa Babaji to Shrila Krishnadasa Kaviraja otherwise Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta would not have mentioned this connection. So he does not reject the intermediate Gurus which are not mentioned, nor does this imply in anyway that the spiritual potency of these Gurus not mentioned is lower than those mentioned and so on. It would be speculation to think like that. Infact he accepts their authority by stating this broader connection because without the proper individual Diksha and Shiksha connection, the broader connection would never exist. He just wanted to give the Parampara Acharyas’ list as a broader outline and all the great Acharyas in between the lines whose names are not mentioned are certainly accepted by him and certainly are an integral part of our Parampara. By his mercy, I have tried to give a more detailed list of our Parampara with the Diksha and Shiksha connections and it can be found at here. Thanks again for your question.
Daaso’smi, Swami Gaurangapada.
