DEAR VAISNAVIS, BE SIKSA GURUS

To stop all the confusion around the definition of vaisnavis acting as gurus, may I present to you an excerpt from Sri Caitanya Caritamrita which puts an end to all these confusions and discussions around the issue. It sheds light upon what is the whole “restriction” in regards to ladies acting as diksa gurus, why is it “special case, very rare, no declare and so on”.

It is true that if you search Srila Prabhupada’s books back and forth you will find that “even women are allowed to take pancaratriki initiation” but you will never find “even women are allowed to initiate”. But this excerpt that I’m about to present explains that the whole idea of diksa means “according to the regulations of the sastras”.

No made-up culture of how to address, treat, adore, and worship a lady-guru. No made-up restrictions as to how fantastic vaisnavis can preach to their hearts content and spread the Holy Names around. There are no restrictions when it comes to being a guru. There are restrictions when it comes to being a diksa-guru, that’s all.

So this is from Sri Caitanya Caritamrita Madhya 8.128:

“The spiritual master who first gives information about spiritual life is called the vartma-pradarśaka-guru, the spiritual master who initiates according to the regulations of the śāstras is called the dīkṣā-guru, and the spiritual master who gives instructions for elevation is called the śikṣā-guru. Factually the qualifications of a spiritual master depend on his knowledge of the science of Kṛṣṇa. It does not matter whether he is a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, sannyāsī or śūdra. This injunction given by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is not at all against the injunctions of the śāstras. In the Padma Purāṇa it is said…”

We can clearly observe that Srila Prabhupada is very particular about adherence to sastras. Without it… diksa has no standing.

“Sometimes a Vaiṣṇava who is a bhajanānandī does not take the sāvitra-saṁskāra (sacred thread initiation), but this does not mean that this system should be used for preaching work. There are two kinds of Vaiṣṇavas — bhajanānandī and goṣṭhy-ānandī. A bhajanānandī is not interested in preaching work, but a goṣṭhy-ānandī is interested in spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness to benefit the people and increase the number of Vaiṣṇavas. A Vaiṣṇava is understood to be above the position of a brāhmaṇa. As a preacher, he should be recognized as a brāhmaṇa; otherwise there may be a misunderstanding of his position as a Vaiṣṇava. However, a Vaiṣṇava brāhmaṇa is not selected on the basis of his birth but according to his qualities. Unfortunately, those who are unintelligent do not know the difference between a brāhmaṇa and a Vaiṣṇava. They are under the impression that unless one is a brāhmaṇa he cannot be a spiritual master. For this reason only, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu makes the statement in this verse:

kibā vipra, kibā nyāsī, śūdra kene naya
yei kṛṣṇa-tattva-vettā, sei ‘guru’ haya

If one becomes a guru, he is automatically a brāhmaṇa. Sometimes a caste guru says that ye kṛṣṇa-tattva-vettā, sei guru haya means that one who is not a brāhmaṇa may become a śikṣā-guru or a vartma-pradarśaka-guru but not an initiator guru. According to such caste gurus, birth and family ties are considered foremost. However, the hereditary consideration is not acceptable to Vaiṣṇavas. The word guru is equally applicable to the vartma-pradarśaka-guru, śikṣā-guru and dīkṣā-guru. Unless we accept the principle enunciated by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement cannot spread all over the world. According to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s intentions, pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi-grāma sarvatra pracāra haibe mora nāma. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s cult must be preached all over the world. This does not mean that people should take to His teachings and remain śūdras or caṇḍālas. As soon as one is trained as a pure Vaiṣṇava, he must be accepted as a bona fide brāhmaṇa. This is the essence of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s instructions in this verse.”

There we go! The word guru is equally applicable to all three types: vartma-pradarśaka-guru, śikṣā-guru and dīkṣā-guru! Moreover there is no difference between shiksa-guru and diksa-guru, so there is no problem in that regard. Vaisnavis, with a peaceful heart, may act as siksa guru to their hearts content.

As far as I understand, one of the major reasons in the present issue was an incident of a dying lady, who was aspiring to take initiation before passing away from one vaisnavi and didn’t want to take initiation from anyone else. The whole idea of initiation is to get rid of the material bodily identification (tapa, pundra), take up chanting (nama) and engage in Deity Worship (mantra, yaga). When someone is at the edge of death it is obvious that she is already freed from the gross bodily illusion. Undoubtedly she was already chanting. And there was absolutely no necessity in “formal initiation”. At last resort… just like Maharajas give child names, she could receive a child name “Haridasi” and pass away with a strong meditation.

“In other words, the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra is so powerful that it does not depend on official initiation, but if one is initiated and engages in pañcarātra-vidhi (Deity worship), his Kṛṣṇa consciousness will awaken very soon, and his identification with the material world will be vanquished. The more one is freed from material identification, the more one can realize that the spirit soul is qualitatively as good as the Supreme Soul. At such a time, when one is situated on the absolute platform, one can understand that the holy name of the Lord and the Lord Himself are identical. At that stage of realization, the holy name of the Lord, the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, cannot be identified with any material sound. If one accepts the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra as a material vibration, he falls down. One should worship and chant the holy name of the Lord by accepting it as the Lord Himself. One should therefore be initiated properly according to revealed scriptures under the direction of a bona fide spiritual master. Although chanting the holy name is good for both the conditioned and liberated soul, it is especially beneficial to the conditioned soul because by chanting it one is liberated. When a person who chants the holy name is liberated, he attains the ultimate perfection by returning home, back to Godhead.” Sri Caitanya Caritamrita Madhya 15.108

In this way we need to understand that initiation, diksha, mantras are not just games that each one of us wants to have equal opportunities to play. We have responsibility before Srila Prabhupada and our acharyas to continue Their legacy. We better keep it as pure and as strictly exact as They have given to us. It is not our right or our position to establish or question or introduce something that we have no authority over.

“Chanting the holy name does not depend on initiation, pious activities or the puraścaryā regulative principles generally observed before initiation. The holy name does not wait for any of these activities. It is self-sufficient.” (CC Madhya 15.110) “Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura comments that serving Vaiṣṇavas is most important for householders. Whether a Vaiṣṇava is properly initiated or not is not a subject for consideration. One may be initiated and yet contaminated by the Māyāvāda philosophy, but a person who chants the holy name of the Lord offenselessly will not be so contaminated. A properly initiated Vaiṣṇava may be imperfect, but one who chants the holy name of the Lord offenselessly is all-perfect. Although he may apparently be a neophyte, he still has to be considered a pure, unalloyed Vaiṣṇava. It is the duty of the householder to offer respects to such an unalloyed Vaiṣṇava. This is Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s instruction. (CC Madhya 15.111p)

Your servant,
Arati devi dasi