Q. How to understand the mercy which descends from Sri Guru? How can/do we recognize such mercy? Must we endeavor to receive such mercy?
Answer by Romapada Swami: To address this question, I would like to quote this very nice purport from Caitanya Caritamrta, Madhya Lila 19.152 which talks about the word Guru- prasada or spiritual master’s mercy.
“The word guru-prasada indicates that the spiritual master is very merciful in bestowing the boon of devotional service upon the disciple. That is the best possible gift the spiritual master has to offer. Those with a background of pious life are eligible to receive life’s supreme benefit, and to bestow this benefit, the Supreme Personality of Godhead sends His representative to impart His mercy. Endowed with the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the spiritual master distributes the mercy to those who are elevated and pious. Thus the spiritual master trains his disciples to render devotional service unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is called guru-krpa. It is krsna-prasada, Krsna’s mercy that He sends a bona fide spiritual master to the deserving disciple. By the mercy of Krsna, one meets the bona fide spiritual master, and by the mercy of the spiritual master, the disciple is fully trained in the devotional service of the Lord. Bhakti-latä-bija means “the seed of devotional service.” Everything has an original cause, or seed. For any idea, program, plan or device, there is first of all the contemplation of the plan, and that is called the bija, or seed. The methods, rules and regulations by which one is perfectly trained in devotional service constitute the bhakti-lata-bija, or seed of devotional service. This bhakti-lata-bija is received from the spiritual master by the grace of Krsna. If one is not fortunate enough to receive the bhakti-lata-bija from the spiritual master, he instead cultivates such seeds as karma-bija, jnana-bija, or political, social or philanthropic bijas. However, the bhakti-lata-bija is different from these other bijas. The bhakti-lata-bija can be received only through the mercy of the spiritual master. Therefore one has to satisfy the spiritual master to get the bhakti-lata-bija (yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasado **). The bhakti-latä-bija is the origin of devotional service. Unless one satisfies the spiritual master, he gets the bija, or root cause, of karma, jnana and yoga without the benefit of devotional service. But one who is faithful to his spiritual master gets the bhakti-latä-bija. This bhakti-latä-bija is received when one is initiated by the bona fide spiritual master. After receiving the spiritual master’s mercy, one must repeat his instructions, and this is called sravana-kirtana-hearing and chanting. One who has not properly heard from the spiritual master or who does not follow the regulative principles is not fit for chanting (kirtana). This is explained in the Bhagavad-gitä (2.41): vyavasäyätmikä buddhir ekeha kuru-nandana. One who has not listened carefully to the instructions of the spiritual master is unfit for chanting or for preaching the cult of devotional service. One has to water the bhakti-latä-bija after receiving instructions from the spiritual master.”
Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura states in the Gurv astaka prayers:
yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasado
yasyaprasadan na gatir kuto ‘pi
“By the mercy of the spiritual master one is benedicted by the mercy of Krsna. Without the grace of the spiritual master, one cannot make any advancement.”
The spiritual master is compared to a cloud. Just as there are torrents of rain from a cloud, so the spiritual master brings mercy from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. A cloud takes water from the sea. It doesn’t have its own water but takes water from the sea. Similarly, the spiritual master brings mercy from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He has no mercy of his own, but he carries the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is the qualification of the spiritual master.
So how can we practically understand and recognize spiritual master’s mercy in our lives?
Actually the moment we contact a bona fide spiritual master the worst is over and we begin to experience reciprocation from Krsna in the form of desire to become purified, give up sinful life and to become free from miseries. This is the seed that we have received.
Here is a wonderful example from our scriptures of how Narada Muni received that seed – In his former life as the son of a maidservant, Narada Muni received the association of the sages, or the bhakti-vedantas, while they were in residence at the inn where he and his mother were residing. He had the opportunity to serve those bhaktivedantas, and through that service rendered — the way that Narada conducted himself, they were pleased with him. He says to Vyasa, ‘They were so pleased with me that they benedicted me with an eagerness for hearing their messages.’ And Prabhupada’s comment is that that is the gift — very significant — that’s the gift of the pure devotee to those who associate with the pure devotee; it is the gift of attraction for messages of transcendence, or Krsna-katha. So many other things may also be what one thinks of when one is getting some merciful association of a saintly personality, but really that’s the transcendental gift: attraction for Krsna-katha. Because it is through that
attraction for the messages of transcendence that one comes fully to the transcendental position.”
This naturally brings us to your next question – how can we attract spiritual master’s mercy or in your own words must we endeavor to receive such mercy?
We can attract spiritual master’s mercy by our eagerness to hear, submissive inquiries, service attitude, warm regard we carry for him and by our gentleness.
What does eagerness to hear really mean? One cannot really be eager to hear if one is full of preconceptions and attachments. We have to want to hear to get free of all preconceptions and when we hear like this all our preconceptions will go and this is what submissive hearing really means. And the proof that our conceptions have been cleared is that our actions, speech etc will change. These preconceptions come from our millions of lifetimes of conditioning. Spiritual master becomes very happy when we are willing to change our conceptions.
Gentleness means very gratefully and happily receiving whatever the spiritual master gives. This quality of gentleness attracts the blessings of the spiritual master. Our qualification to receive blessings is having very warm regard for the person who is representing the Absolute Truth. Warm regard means that, “I am willing to give up my misconceptions and accept the conceptions of the spiritual master.” One small blessing of a saintly personality cannot match years and years of self study!
Actually just by hearing one Srimad Bhagavatam class we can give up so many misconceptions when we hear submissively. For e.g. Srila Prabhupada met his spiritual master Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur only once but all his misconceptions were gone in one meeting.
Spiritual master’s mercy is always there in our lives but in order to perceive it we have to make our hearts a suitable receptacle to hold that mercy. Just like when rain falls it falls everywhere but if one is under the umbrella and he will still stay dry. Similarly in order to get wet and soaked by the mercy of the spiritual master we have to receive it with an open heart and remove the umbrella in the form of our preconceptions, attachments, aversions etc.
