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Dhyana Shlokas
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oṁ ajnāna-timirāndhasya // jnānāñjana-śalākayā
cakṣur unmīlitaṁ yena // tasmai śrī-gurave namaḥ

I was born in the darkest ignorance, and my spiritual master opened my eyes with the torch
of knowledge. I offer my respectful obeisances unto him.

śrī-caitanya-mano-’bhīṣṭaṁ // sthāpitaṁ yena bhū-tale

svayaṁ rūpaḥ kadā mahyaṁ // dadāti sva-padāntikam

When will Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī Prabhupāda, who has established within this material
world the mission to fulfill the desire of Lord Caitanya, give me shelter under his lotus
feet?
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vande ’haṁ śrī-guroḥ śrī-yuta-pada- // kamalaṁ śrī-gurūn vaiṣṇavāṁś ca

śrī-rūpaṁ sāgrajātaṁ saha-gaṇa- // raghunāthānvitaṁ taṁ sa-jīvam
sādvaitaṁ sāvadhūtaṁ parijana- // sahitaṁ kṛṣṇa-caitanya-devaṁ
śrī-rādhā-kṛṣṇa-pādān saha-gaṇa- // lalitā-śrī-viśākhānvitāṁś ca

I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of my spiritual master and unto the feet
of all Vaiṣṇavas. I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī
along with his elder brother Sanātana Gosvāmī, as well as Raghunātha Dāsa and
Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa, Gopāla Bhaṭṭa and Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī. I offer my respectful
obeisances to Lord Kṛṣṇa Caitanya and Lord Nityānanda along with Advaita Ācārya,
Gadādhara, Śrīvāsa and other associates. I offer my respectful obeisances to Śrīmatī
Rādhārāṇī and Śrī Kṛṣṇa along with Their associates Śrī Lalitā and Viśākhā.
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he kṛṣṇa karuṇā-sindho // dīna-bandho jagat-pate
gopeśa gopikā-kānta // rādhā-kānta namo ’stu te

O my dear Kṛṣṇa, You are the friend of the distressed and the source of creation. You are the master of the gopīs and the
lover of Rādhārāṇī. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.

tapta-kāñcana-gaurāṅgi // rādhe vṛndāvaneśvari

vṛṣabhānu-sute devi // praṇamāmi hari-priye

I offer my respects to Rādhārāṇī, whose bodily complexion is like molten gold and who is the Queen of Vṛndāvana. You
are the daughter of King Vṛṣabhānu, and You are very dear to Lord Kṛṣṇa.

vāñchā-kalpa-tarubhyaś ca // kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca

patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo // vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ

I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaiṣṇava devotees of the Lord. They can fulfill the desires of everyone, just
like desire trees, and they are full of compassion for the fallen souls.

śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda
śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda

hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare // hare rāma hare rāma rāma rāma hare hare
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“Being initiated, Prabhupada said, is a

glorious thing. It means one is going back
to Godhead in this lifetime. Of course, they
have to follow the vows that they have
taken and at the same time it means they
are being accepted by the disciplic
succession. The guru is acting as an
agent. So that is the responsibility also to
see that the parampara is carried forward.
Just as we read today in the Bhagavatam
how the Manus are protecting the world,
Prabhupada wanted that the ISKCON
movement would be known as the savior
of the world.”

His Holiness Srila Jayapataka Swami

Gurumaharaj
26th August, 2008
Madurai, India
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“Taking of initiation is not only taking vows, doing personal

practices, but also to dedicate and try to do the service to Lord
Caitanya as much as possible. We are very fortunate that we have
Prabhupada to serve and he was sent by Krishna to spread this
message all over the world. So we are coming in the line of
Prabhupada and previous acharyas and we want to try to do
something so that Prabhupada will be proud of us.”

His Holiness Srila Jayapataka Swami Gurumaharaj

6th April, 2014
Tirupati, India
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Importance of Guru
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yasya deve parä bhaktir

yathä deve tathä gurau
tasyaite kathitä hy arthäù
prakäçante mahätmanaù

Unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the
spiritual master, all the imports of Vedic knowledge are automatically
revealed.

Çvetäçvatara Upaniñad 6.23

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Types of Guru
Dékñä-guru (One)
• Gives instruction
• Initiates & officiates connection to Paramparä
• Gives spiritual name
• Gives mantra (mantra-guru)
• Accepts disciples vows
• Removes disciples sinful reactions (at initiation)
 
Çikñä-guru (Many…)
• Gives instruction
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Dékñä

Di
▫ divya-jïänam - transcendental knowledge
 
kñä
▫ ikñä - to see
▫ kñapayati - explain
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siksa-guru-brnda // krpa koriya apar

sadhake sikhan // sadhaner anga-sar

Çré Çré Kalyäëa Kalpa-taru

Çréla Bhaktivinode Öhäkura

A devotee must have only one initiating spiritual master

because in the scriptures acceptance of more than one is
always forbidden. There is no limit however, to the number of
instructing spiritual masters one may accept. Generally a
spiritual master who constantly instructs a disciple in spiritual
science becomes his initiating spiritual master later on.
Purport Çré Caitanya-caritämåta Ädi 1.35
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Guru Tattva
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Guru-tattva
Guru kåñëa-rüpa hana çästrera pramäëe
guru-rüpe kåñëa kåpä karena bhakta-gaëe
 

The guru is offered first the respectful prayers, vande gurün. And
gurün, bahu-vacana, plural number, that many gurus. But they
are not many; they are one, guru-tattva…

Lecture, Çré Caitanya-caritämåta,

Ädi-lélä 1.1
Mäyäpur, March 25, 1975
 
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Guru-tattva
According to the deliberate opinion of all revealed scriptures,
the spiritual master is nondifferent from Kåñëa. Lord Kåñëa in
the form of the spiritual master delivers His devotees.
Çré Caitanya-caritämåta Ädi-lélä 1.4 

The relationship of a disciple with his spiritual master is as

good as his relationship with the Supreme Lord. A spiritual
master always represents himself as the humblest servitor of
the Personality of Godhead, but the disciple must look upon
him as the manifested representation of Godhead.
Çré Caitanya-caritämåta
Pur[ort, Ädi-lélä 1.4
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Guru-tattva
Säkñäd dharitvena samasta-çästraiù. This is
enjoined in every scripture. Äcäryaà mäà
vijänéyät [SB 11.17.27]. One should consider the
äcärya to be as good as the Supreme Personality
of Godhead. In spite of all these instructions, if
one considers the spiritual master an ordinary
human being, one is doomed.

Çrémad-Bhägavatam
Purport7.15.26

 
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The Guru is One

The guru is one because he comes in disciplic
succession. What Vyäsadeva and Kåñëa
taught five thousand years ago is also being
taught now. There is no difference between
the two instructions. Although hundreds and
thousands of äcäryas have come and gone, the
message is one. The real guru cannot be two,
for the real guru does not speak differently
from his predecessors.
Science of Self Realization 2a:
Choosing a Spiritual Master What Is a Guru?
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Paramapara System
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The Guru-paramparä System

evaṁ paramparā-prāptam // imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ
sa kāleneha mahatā // yogo naṣṭaḥ paran-tapa

“This supreme science was thus received through the chain of

disciplic succession, and the saintly kings understood it in that way.
But in course of time the succession was broken, and therefore the
science as it is appears to be lost” Bhagavad-gétä
BG As It Is, 4.2
So if you want to understand Bhagavad-gétä, then we must understand in the
same way as the person who directly heard from. This is called paramparä
  Suppose I have heard something from my spiritual master, so I speak to
system.
you the same thing. So this is paramparä system
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Initiation Vows
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tapaḥ śaucaṁ dayā satyam //  iti pādāḥ kṛte kṛtāḥ

adharmāṁśais trayo bhagnāḥ //  smaya-saṅga-madais tava (SB 1.17.24)
SYNONYMS: 
tapaḥ — austerity; śaucam — cleanliness; dayā — mercy; satyam — truthfulness; iti —
thus; pādāḥ — legs; kṛte — in the age of Satya; kṛtāḥ — established; adharma —
irreligiosity; aṁśaiḥ — by the parts; trayaḥ — three combined; bhagnāḥ — broken; smaya
 — pride; saṅga — too much association with women; madaiḥ — intoxication; tava —
your.
TRANSLATION: 
In the age of Satya [truthfulness] your four legs were established by the four principles
of austerity, cleanliness, mercy and truthfulness. But it appears that three of your legs
are broken due to rampant irreligion in the form of pride, lust for women, and
intoxication
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Regulative Principles…
Çrémad-Bhägavatam1.17.24

No Meat Dayä
Eating

No Tapaù
Intoxication

No Illicit Çaucaà
Sex

No Gambling Satyam
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Following Initiation Vows

It is not very difficult to follow the four regulative
principles…These things should be stopped if
you'll want to be serious; otherwise make a farce
and do whatever you like. I cannot give you
protection. That is not possible. So you must have
to follow these rules and regulation if you are
serious. Then take initiation. Otherwise don't
make farce, don't make farce. That is my request.

Lecture Çrémad-Bhägavatam 1.16.35

Hawaii, January 28, 1974
 
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If still you are unable to fulfill that promise

to your spiritual master, then what is the use
of calling yourself devotee and disciple?
That is simply pretending. So you should
think like this, that I have promised my
spiritual master this, now I must obey him
without any exception, otherwise I have no
business calling myself his disciple.
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That will be your austerity or tapasya for

forcing you to make very rapid advancement
in Krsna conscious understanding. Without
tapasya there is no question of making
advancement. … But if you want to call
yourself devotee and serve Krsna in that
capacity, then you must avoid these four
basic principle restrictions under all
circumstances, without any exceptions.
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Of course once, twice, Krsna may excuse,

that is not very difficult, but more than that
it will become very difficult for Krsna to
excuse you and there is great risk that
everything will be lost despite all of your
time and effort spent.
Letter to: Sankarasana
Bombay, December 31, 1972

 
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Vani and Vapu Seva

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Guru Vapuù and Väëé-sevä

Vapuù
Physical body

Väëé
Words or instructions
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sädhu-saìga’, ‘sädhu-saìga’sarva-çästre kaya

lava-mätra sädhu-saìge sarva-siddhi haya
The verdict of all revealed scriptures is that by even a
moment’s association with a pure devotee, one can attain
all success.

Sri Caitanya-caritämåta,
Madhya 22.54
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Inquiring from Guru

tad viddhi praëipätena paripraçnena sevayä
upadekñyanti te jïänaà jïäninas tattva-darçinaù

Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master.

Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him.
The self-realized souls can impart knowledge unto you
because they have seen the truth.
Bhagavad-gétä 4.34
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How one initiated devotee can connect to spiritual master in the

physical absence of the spiritual master?

Guru maharaj: Guru has gone back to Vaikuntha or is not in Guwahati

and gone to another place? (The devotee said: Not in Guwahati). I am
trying to start a ‘E Care’ for my disciples. This class is being broadcast
on Facebook. I have Facebook in English, Bengali and other languages. I
don’t have in Assamese. We need volunteers to be responsible for the
Assamese page. We have Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Italian,
Portuguese, Spanish, Bengali, English, Russian. Now we need Assamese.
Anyone wants to volunteer? Anyway now we have Facebook, Twitter,
email. So disciples can write to me and get a reply. Sometimes I delay
but that is why I want to establish the E Care system so that there is no
delay. A number of devotees from Bengaluru, Chennai and England are
working on this project.

HH JAYAPATAKA SWAMI
5th June 2019
ISKCON Guwahati, Assam, India
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Importance of Guru-väëé-sevä
There are two ways of association-by väëé
and by vapuù. Väëé means words, and vapuù
means physical presence. Physical presence is
sometimes appreciable and sometimes not,
but väëé continues to exist eternally.
Therefore we must take advantage of the
väëé, not the physical presence.
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Importance of Guru-väëé-sevä
The Bhagavad-gétä, for example, is the väëé
of Lord Kåñëa. Although Kåñëa was
personally present five thousand years ago
and is no longer physically present from the
materialistic point of view, the Bhagavad-
gétä continues.

Caitanya-caritämåta, Antya Lila

Concluding Words