Re: Srila Bhaktisiddhanta on the importance of chanting Gauraanga

Dear devotees,

           Nityananda Gauranga Hare Krishna! Pranams!

           Good question. You see, the acharyas are more powerful than what we imagine -- time and time again I have repeatedly witnessed this for myself. That is also why preaching requires that much spiritual qualification and is not so simple. There are many complicated issues that you will see in real life that you won't find in a book. Some cases are so tricky that unless you actually know what people's inner thoughts are, you can never really know for sure.

            When an acharya preaches, it is never done alone. The Lord is always with his devotees. While someone can hide one's cheating from people like us or the society, no one can fool the Lord. The Lord knows fully well who is a cheater and who is not, and since His devotees are always with Him, they too know this. Externally one may look like some great Vaishnava, but what is within one's heart is really what matters. I do not know how far anyone may believe this, but logic alone can't answer trick questions regarding other people's hearts. But from my experience I can tell you, no one can fool a real devotee. One who knows real bhakti automatically knows what's fake too. That is why in spirituality, we HAVE to believe the true guru, even if it doesn't fit in with our level of experience or qualification.

          Either I can choose admit my limitations, trust the Lord, believe the scriptures and believe the guru, or else I can question everything and try to figure out everything on my own.

           The scriptures very clearly ask us to see the spiritual master as not different from the Lord, for some very good reasons. It is the Lord who speaks through the mouth of the guru, so it has to be given the importance it is due.

            Regarding proper worship, the Lord has given all the instructions on how one must be worshipped and how one must not. They are found in all the scriptures. No one can just say, "I'll do this my way..." and expect the Lord to be pleased. Unfortunately those who have preached those ideas have done great harm to real devotion over the years.

            So we accept any method of worship that is accepted by the Lord. If the Lord is happy with that type of worship, so are we. That is the criteria. Yes if someone thinks of Radha Krishna and chants their names, it is very good.  But when someone starts doing things like coming up with all the imaginations like what the Sahajiyas, mayavadis and others do...I am sorry, but anyone who claims oneself to be the Lord's follower has to stand up and speak the truth and say, "This is wrong and it is against what the Lord said."  Failure to follow the Lord's instructions can result in big offenses being committed against His devotees. It is not simply that the Lord has told us the right way to do things.

           So next you may choose to ask me, "Alright Mr. Smarts. How do YOU know that? Can you read minds and hearts?" The answer is I am NOT qualified, and I certainly have ZERO power to read what people think. I wouldn't be able to identify who's pure or not. But I prayed to Lord Nitaai to give me a real guru, and eventually He not only led me to one, but also gave me the eyes to recognise him too. I wasn't in proper company before I came here, but now I know, thanks to the devotees.

         That is where faith is required. And in my experience this is always the hardest part in dealing with people who have some interest in spirituality. Either one believes everyone is right or one believes everyone is wrong.  Both of them are not correct.  If you really want to know if the Lord approves of what some people do, just open your heart to Him and ask. Sooner or later an answer is bound to come. A sincere plea to the Lord always gets an answer. I got mine. And from my experience I've learned a bit about who's genuine and who's not. And if someday the Lord is pleased with whatever qualification I've got, I am sure He'll show me more light through the fog. Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krishna!

Daaso'smi,
Speaking from my personal experiences,
Srinath

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