Question: Why is the mangala arati offered to Radha Krishna when in fact we are glorifying Guru Tattva by singing Guruvastaka prayers? Whereas in ISKCON Vrndavan temple, while the morning arati is offered to Their Lordships, “Vibhavari sesa” is sung and Guruvastaka is sung to Srila Prabhupada. Could you comment?
Answer by Romapada Swami:
This question has two parts.
As our Founder-acarya, Srila Prabhupada deliberately took steps which would hold his fledgeling disciples on the path of bhakti by securing deeply within their hearts the all-saving power of guru-nistha. The early stages of ISKCON were simply an explosion of enthusiasm to assist Srila Prabhupada in carrying out his mission.
Lesson: Our approach to Radha Krishna was ONLY possible by the profound mercy of our spiritual master.
To support and firmly establish guru-nistha within our hearts and lives, MANY special features of our daily lives highlighted this ever-present reality. For example, Srila Prabhupada allowed and eventually encouraged us to conduct daily guru puja for him DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF THE DEITIES, despite explicit warnings to the contrary in Nectar of Devotion (which he provided us with!).
This was his mercy upon us. As our uttama-adhikari Founder-acarya, he made this specific arrangement, namely firmly fixing guru-nistha in our hearts.
A second reason was to establish for posterity his unique position as Founder-acarya. Thus, his daily guru puja should continue forever in all ISKCON temples!
The second question has to do with the unique-in-ISKCON procedure found in Vrndavan, as described in your question.
During Srila Prabhupada’s physical presence, the same practice as you find in all ISKCON Temples was conducted. After his disappearance in November 1977, when his Samadhi was completed, the practice shifted to what we have today. Since there were * TWO* morning arotikes, the first was conducted with prayers to the Spiritual Master, the second with prayer honoring and remebering Krishna.
