“Indeed, You alone know Yourself by Your own potencies, O origin of all, Lord of all beings, God of gods, O Supreme Person, Lord of the universe!” (Arjuna, Bhagavad-gita, 10.15)

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स्वयमेवात्मनात्मानं वेत्थ त्वं पुरुषोत्तम
भूतभावन भूतेश देवदेव जगत्पते

svayam evātmanātmānaṁ
vettha tvaṁ puruṣottama
bhūta-bhāvana bhūteśa
deva-deva jagat-pate

1. Old and antiquated

“Not only was he very old when he wrote his books, but he is from a bygone era. Those people were not very smart. It was not their fault. They simply lacked access to the rest of the world. They held onto these crazy traditions that no sane person would ever dream of following. He brought those misconceptions with him when travelling. You can’t expect us to take any of his words seriously.”

2. Misogynistic

“Oh my goodness, your guru obviously hates women. He says that their nature is to serve, that if they chase independence, they will only get exploited. Well, more than fifty years have passed since he posited that theory, published in his books. Women won. We fought for our independence. We screamed and yelled, I mean persuaded, and hardly anyone is stuck at home anymore.

“Just look at the population now. We can judge for ourselves to see who is correct. Are women today generally happier? Are they not feeling better about themselves? Or are people perpetually miserable and addicted to anti-anxiety medications? Are adult women carefree, blissful, and rarely in anxiety? You tell me. And don’t you dare bring up that march that took place where they wore those funny looking hats. I think the proof is out there, if anyone cares to notice.”

3. Racist

“Some of the things your guru has said about other races is so offensive that I cannot repeat them. Why would he behave that way? He is supposed to be realized in the self. If so, then he should know that we are all spirit soul. Yes, I realize that many people belonging to those races took initiation from him and are now preaching the same culture to others. Makes no sense to me. Why are they happy? How could they agree with those horrible sentiments?”

4. Homophobe

“I’m sorry, but these people are not demons. They are not bad just because of their preference in enjoying. It is a good thing that such bigotry is being slowly removed from the world. Okay, in certain places the government will kill you if you even mention such topics, but I am talking about the modernized places. It is being accepted more and more. If your guru were around today and saying the same things, he would be cancelled immediately. He even made fun of the idea of a priest marrying one man to another man. How crazy.”

5. From a backwards part of the world

“Oh my goodness, the things your guru has said about women and the type of men they prefer are so ridiculous. Yes, I acknowledge that women have told me similar things. In confidence, asking me to keep quiet about it. There have been countless scientific studies, ever since the field of psychology came into being, researching into why good women tend to be attracted to bad men. They go after the so-called ‘ladies man’, while the husband-types get ignored.

“But anyway, don’t take me off topic. The words of your guru are so ridiculous that we need to immediately denounce them. Hopefully, in the next round of revisions, of which there appear to be no end, the published books of your guru will no longer carry such offensive language.

…

If there is one test to pass in our desired ascension to a higher way of thinking, to always remembering the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then it is showing proper respect to the one who taught us everything. To the one who brought us out of the darkness and into the light. To the one who practically dragged us out of the worst possible slum and set us down in the safest place. Do we honor their presence, their intention, their sacrifice, and their intervention?

Or do we behave like the worst kind of snake? We read their books on a daily basis. We live within a culture that they singlehandedly created. The guru did not choose the safe route. Taking the greatest risk. Leaving the comforts of home at an advanced age. Not knowing if there would be any success. Travelling to a foreign land and adapting on the fly, in the manner of Shri Hanuman changing to the size of a cat in order to successfully search through the city of Lanka for the missing princess of Videha, Sita Devi.

सूर्ये चास्तं गते रात्रौ देहं सङ्क्षिप्य मारुतिः
पृषदंशकमात्रः सन् बभूवाद्भुतदर्शनः

sūrye cāstaṃ gate rātrau dehaṃ saṅkṣipya mārutiḥ
pṛṣadaṃśakamātraḥ san babhūvādbhutadarśanaḥ

“At night, on the sun having set, Maruti [Hanuman] contracted his body. Becoming the size of a cat, he was a wonderful sight to behold.” (Valmiki Ramayana, Sundara Kand, 2.49)

Can we pass the test? Do we look to exploit the teachings for our personal gain? Are we only interested in rising to prominence within the institution personally established by the spiritual guide? Do we try to deceive the public by selectively editing books that the guru personally authored? Do we resemble squatters in illegally usurping business entities that he personally created, to protect the copyrights of the works originally published?

An honest person would be aghast at the mere mention of any of these atrocities, but this is the material world, after all. Everyone here has the vulnerability to choose in favor of maya, which is illusion. As Goswami Tulsidas describes, before haughtily referring to the Almighty as alakh, or invisible, we should at least know our true identity. We should first see that we are spirit soul, Brahman, and understand that the illusory energy of maya is standing between our conditioned state at present and our full realization of Brahman.

हम लखि लखहि हमार लखि हम हमार के बीच
तुलसी अलखहि का लखहि राम नाम जप नीच

hama lakhi lakhahi hamāra lakhi hama hamāra ke bīca
tulasī alakhahi kā lakhahi rāma nāma japa nīca

“[O mystic] First know yourself, then realize the Supreme Absolute Truth, and then see the material nature standing in between. O wretch, without seeing these how can you understand what the unmanifested [invisible] feature of the Absolute Truth [alakh] actually is? Chant Shri Rama’s holy name instead, says Tulsi.” (Dohavali, 19)

In previous periods of time, there were safeguards against Vedic wisdom falling into the wrong hands. This is the reason we might come across warnings against selling the Vedas. It is sinful to use the knowledge for profit. We can think of it like giving cooking instructions to a young child. To someone who has never set foot in a kitchen before, who does not know how to work a gas stove. The instructions could become dangerous. Not only for the child, but also anyone potentially impacted by an accident involving fire in the home.

There is a similar risk with Vedic wisdom. If it falls into the wrong hands, there is the potential for misuse. The cheaters will exploit the information for their personal gain. They will toss aside Shri Krishna Himself, who repeatedly reveals that He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There is no ambiguity in this area, as Arjuna clearly declares Krishna to be the deva deva, or the God of the gods.

Due to the time and circumstance, the prescient acharya might decide on a change to the standard protocol. In the modern age, for instance, the text of Bhagavad-gita is widely available. The information is already out there, so why not add to the list by offering a genuine presentation? Give people a published version of Bhagavad-gita, in a mood reflecting the way it was originally passed on to Arjuna. As it is, instead of how some speculator interprets it to be.

यस्य प्रसादाद् भगवत् प्रसादो यस्या प्रसादान् न गातिः कुतोऽपि
ध्यायन् स्तुवंस् तस्य यशस् त्रि – सन्ध्यं वन्दे गुरोः श्रीचरणारविन्दम्

yasya prasādād bhagavat prasādo yasyā prasādān na gātiḥ kuto’pi
dhyāyan stuvaṃs tasya yaśas tri – sandhyaṃ vande guroḥ śrīcaraṇāravindam

“By satisfaction of the spiritual master, the Supreme Personality of Godhead becomes satisfied. And by not satisfying the spiritual master, there is no chance of being promoted to the plane of Krishna consciousness. I should, therefore, meditate and pray for his mercy three times a day, and offer my respectful obeisances unto him, my spiritual master.” (Gurvashtaka, 8)

By accepting Bhagavad-gita in such a mood, there is the potential for advancement. Otherwise, there is no hope. It is like watching a foreign film without subtitles. It is like reading a book from a language that we do not know. To the one who humbly sits to hear such wisdom, who tries to process the information without envy, there is the chance for advancement.

All the nuances, all the subtleties, all the supposed contradictions, all the controversial remarks – these will be understood in due course. The guru is like someone sent directly from the Vaikuntha realm to save us. They are doing more for liberation of the oppressed classes than any person we can think of. Their very presence is more powerful and effective than all the voted on government policies combined. The guru is offering true liberation, in release from the cycle of death. They are liberating us from the consequences to fruitive activity, karma. They are teaching us how to transform the nature of our work, from binding to transcending.

गतसङ्गस्य मुक्तस्य ज्ञानावस्थितचेतसः
यज्ञायाचरतः कर्म समग्रं प्रविलीयते

gata-saṅgasya muktasya
jñānāvasthita-cetasaḥ
yajñāyācarataḥ karma
samagraṁ pravilīyate

“The work of a man who is unattached to the modes of material nature and who is fully situated in transcendental knowledge merges entirely into transcendence.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 4.23)

In Closing:

Work ordinarily bound,
With karma results found.

Whether pious or sinful,
Whether pleasing or painful.

But guru revealing something new,
That action but transcending too.

Some humility first to their teaching,
Only then to Vaikuntha reaching.

Categories: the five

Tags: bhakti, dailyprompt, guru, hare krishna, poem, poems, poetry, yoga