based on lecture by Bhanu Swami
In ISKCON, the topic of guru has been discussed by many people with different ideas, and throughout its history, it has grown only more complex. Kaviraja Maharaja explains in the Chaitanya Charitamrita, Adi Lila Chapter 1 called “the spiritual masters”. Vers 35 states that there are two different types of gurus: the Mantra guru, also known as the diksa guru, and the siksa guru: mantra-guru āra yata śikṣā-guru-gaṇa tāṅhāra caraṇa āge kariye vandana “I first offer my respectful obeisances at the lotus feet of my initiating spiritual master and all my instructing spiritual masters.”
The diksa guru or initiating spiritual master and the siksa guru or the instructing spiritual master are equal and identical manifestations of Krishna, although they have different dealings. Therefore, both should be treated like God and worshipped with the same respect as God. Srila Prabhupada specifies in the Chaitanya Charitamrita A. L.1. in the purport of vers 47 that they are manifestations of the deities Srila Madana-mohana vigraha and Srila Govindadeva vigraha. One should respect both the siksa and the diksa guru equally and equally to the supreme lord otherwise one commits an offense in devotional service: ”The initiating spiritual master is a personal manifestation of Srila Madana-mohana vigraha, whereas the instructing spiritual master is a personal representative of Srila Govindadeva vigraha.” And “There is no difference between the shelter-giving Supreme Lord and the initiating and instructing spiritual masters”.
If one foolishly discriminates between them, he commits an offense in the discharge of devotional service.” And “There are two kinds of instructing spiritual masters. One is the liberated person fully absorbed in meditation in devotional service, and the other is he who invokes the disciple’s spiritual consciousness by means of relevant instructions.” One person is completely focused on meditation and religious worship. The other person has a spiritual mindset, which means he’s not completely free. He’s not at the highest level of spiritual experience. However, he’s still advanced enough to guide you and motivate you to practice devotional service., the siksa guru can be at different levels, and it’s not always necessary for him to be at the highest level of spiritual experience.
Narada Muni gave Dhruva a mantra — om namo bhagavata vasudevaya — therefore he was the diksa guru but Suniti was his Vartma-pradaksaka guru.
The first one to give instructions is the Vartma-pradaksaka guru, also known as the siksa guru. Prabhupada explains in the Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 4, Chapter 12, purport to the verse 32: “Patha-pradarsaka-guru means “the guru, or the spiritual master, who shows the way.” Such a guru is sometimes called siksa-guru. Although Narada Muni was his diksa-guru (initiating spiritual master), Suniti, his mother, was the first who gave him instruction on how to achieve the favor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead”.
Therefore, there are two types of guru: the siksa guru and the diksa guru. The siksa guru is responsible for teaching the disciple the right way, and the disciple is responsible for following the process according to the Sastra. There’s no difference between the siksa guru and the diksa guru. Usually, the siksa guru later becomes the diksa guru. However, there could also be other siksa guru besides the diksa guru. Prabhupada clarifies the different type of guru in the Chaitanya Charitamrita, Madhya 8, purport to the verse 128: “The spiritual master who first gives information about spiritual life is called the vartma-pradarsaka-guru, the spiritual master who initiates according to the regulations of the sastras is called the diksa-guru, and the spiritual master who gives instructions for elevation is called the siksa-guru.”
In the Bhakti Sandarba, when Jiva Goswani is talking about arcana, he brings up the topic of diksa, or initiation: “One accepts a guru who teaches (siksa-guru) the method of worship (bhajana-vidhi), who was the previous sravana guru, since one has already obtained such a qualified person in the form of the sravana guru. If one had many sravana gurus, among them one may accept one of them as a siksa guru to whom one has great attraction. Similarly, selecting a person to whom one is attracted, a person takes only one as a mantra guru, since many mantra gurus are forbidden. The sravana-guru (from who one gets faith either with vicara or ruci) and the bhajana-siksa-guru (from whom one learns worship) are generally the same person.”
In that relationship, he describes different types of gurus. One guru type is the ‘bhajanaj siksa guru’, previously a ‘sravana guru’. This means they are the ones who taught you. If you have a lot of Sravana gurus, you can choose one as a siksa guru. Similarly, there may be many Mantra or diksa gurus but you can only choose one. Similarly, choosing the right person to whom you are attracted is important. A person can only take on one Mantra guru or a diksa guru. This means you cannot take different mantra from different gurus. The Sravana guru and the Bhajana siksa guru are generally the same person.
There are many Vedic instructions regarding the siksa guru and quite a few of the slokas that are quoted about respecting the guru refer to siksa gurus, even though in ISKCON they usually apply them to diksa gurus. For example from the Mundaka Upanisad 1.2.12 and 13:
parīkṣya lokān karma-citān brāhmaṇo nirvedam āyān nāsty akṛtaḥ kṛtena
tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet samit-pāṇiḥ śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham
“When a brahmana recognizes that elevation to the heavenly planets is merely another accumulation of karma, he becomes renounced and is no longer corrupted by his actions. To understand these things properly, one must humbly approach, with firewood in hand, a spiritual master who is learned in the Vedas and firmly devoted to the Absolute Truth.”
Tasmai sa vidvān upasannāya samyak praśānta-cittāya śamānvitāya, yenākṣaram puruṣaṁ veda satyam provāca tāṁ tattvato brahma-vidyam
“The guru will teach brahma-vidya in truth to the student who has completely surrendered, who has controlled his mind and has controlled his senses. By that knowledge he will know the eternal indestructible Lord.”
When we say that we have to worship the guru as God, and then we quote from the Upanishads, like the Mundaka Upanishad or the Svetasvatara Upanishad. But, if you look in the Upanishads, it’s not the diksa guru that’s being applied to, but the siksa guru. Ultimately we have to show equal respect to both the diksa and siksa gurus. Many instructions in the Upanishads tell us to show proper respect to the guru, and often these refer to the siksa guru. One of the most famous is from the Mundaka Uanisad 1.2.12: “tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet‘”, which is in the Bhagavad Gita, Bhagavatam and Chaitanya Charitamrita purports. This verse says that we have to accept a guru and many times it’s referred to as a diksa guru, but actually, it is more about needing a siksa guru. This is what the Upanishad is talking about here. For example, from Svetasvatara Upanisad 6.12:
yasya deve parā bhaktiryathā deve tathā gurautasyaite kathitā gunaprakāśante mahātmanaḥ
“To the great soul who has great bhakti for the lord and guru the meaning of what was spoken are revealed”
You should have the same devotion for your teacher as God. Then you will understand the meaning of the scriptures. This is also a siksa guru in its original context. Another example is from the Chandogya Upanisad 6.14.2:
ācāryavān puruṣo veda
“A person who has an acharya knows that the Lord is here“.
This person has a teacher (called an acharya) and knows the Vedas or has realised the truth. The acharya is also known as a siksa guru.
Srimad Bhagavatam C. 7 Ch. 15. Vers 26:
yasya sākṣād bhagavata jñāna-dīpa-prade gurau
martyāsad-dhīḥ śrutaṁ tasya sarvaṁ kuñjara-śaucavat
“The spiritual master should be considered to be directly the Supreme Lord because he gives transcendental knowledge for enlightenment. Consequently, for one who maintains the material conception that the spiritual master is an ordinary human being, everything is frustrated. His enlightenment and his Vedic studies and knowledge are like the bathing of an elephant.”
This verse is about a guru who gives knowledge. He is called Prade guru, the guru who gives the lamp of knowledge, and he is directly Saksat Bhagavati. This means he is also directly the Supreme Lord. The spiritual master should be considered the Supreme Lord because he gives transcendental knowledge for enlightenment. This is because he gives the knowledge of the Supreme Lord.
There is another very famous verse often quoted from Srimad Bhagavatam C. 11. Ch. 17 verse 27:
ācāryaṁ māṁ vijānīyān navamanyeta karhicit
na martya-buddhyāsūyeta sarva-deva-mayo guruḥ
“One should know the ācārya as Myself and never disrespect him in any way. One should not envy him, thinking him an ordinary man, for he is the representative of all the demigods.”
another very famous verse which is often quoted and again we usually take it as diksa guru but this is an instruction to the brahmachari in the asrama respecting his teacher who probably isn’t his diksa
Guru because in the Vedic system the guru was the father because he gave you the Gayatri Mantra at upanayas samskara when you’re 5 years old that’s your Mantra and therefore he’s your Vedic diksa guru. Then he sends you off to the gurukula to learn the Vedas from your gurukula teachers. Prabhupada explains in the Chaitanya Charitamrita A. L. 1. purport of the verse 46:
“This is a verse from Srimad Bhagavatam (11.17.27) spoken by Lord Krishna when He was questioned by Uddhava regarding the four social and spiritual orders of society. He was specifically instructing how a brahmacārī should behave under the care of a spiritual master.”
Jiva goswami says in his commentary on this vers:
“Even those practicing karma(varnasrama) should see the guru as the Lord”
It is about a brahmachari and how he has to behave in front of his siksa guru or gurukula teacher and he says this is from varnasrama sastra, Karma, Yoga, etc. it’s not from bhakti so even in karma yoga you have to give proper respect to your teachers because this guru may not be teaching about Bhakti at all may be teaching you Karma kanda but you have to give proper respect to him
It’s stated in the Hari-bhakti-vilasa 2.10:
ato guruṁ praṇamyaivaṁ sarva-svaṁ vinivedya ca
gṛhṇīyād vaiṣṇavaṁ mantraṁ dīkṣā-pūrvaṁ vidhānataḥ
“ ‘Every human being has to surrender to a bona fide spiritual master. Giving him everything — body, mind, and intelligence — one must take Vaishnava initiation from him.’ ”
it says that you should offer respect to the guru, give everything to him, and surrender to him, svaṁ vinivedya ca. After that, you receive the Vaishnava Mantra. This is the process of diksa, which is explained by Jiva Goswami. You get the Vaishnava Mantra from the guru, and this Mantra gives you transcendental knowledge and destroys your sins. The bestowing of the Mantra is not Hare Krishna. This is what we get in our second initiation, the 18th syllable Krishna Mantra. If you read Chaitanya Charitamrita, you’ll see that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu received a diksa mantra, a 10-syllable mantra, from his guru in Gaya. Similarly, Nityananda received a 10-syllable mantra from his guru, which is not a Hare Krishna mantra. These are diksa mantras, which are not kirtan mantras. Disciples should not reveal them to anyone, as they are given personally by the guru. If you reveal them, they will have no power. They are for personal use, for meditation, and chanting. This is your diksa mantra. When we talk about diksa guru in scripture, the one who gives you the mantra is your diksa guru. that is the function of the diksa guru he may give teachings he may not give teachings For example, We see in the Brihad Bhagavatamrta that Gopu Kumar got a 10-syllable mantra, which is the same mantra that Lord Chaitanya got from his guru. Gopa Kumar even though he didn’t receive any teachings from his guru. He received a 10-syllable mantra from his guru and this made him his diksa guru. We also see this in the associates of Lord Chaitanya. The wife of Nityananda, Janava, initiated people and gave them the mantra.
Dīkṣā, or spiritual initiation, is explained in the Bhakti-sandarbha (283) by Srila Jiva Gosvami:
divyaṁ jñānaṁ yato dadyāt
kuryāt pāpasya saṅkṣayam
tasmād dīkṣeti sā proktā
deśikais tattva-kovidaiḥ
“By diksa one gradually becomes disinterested in material enjoyment and gradually becomes interested in spiritual life.”
This verse is quoted by Srila Prabhupada in the purport of vers 5 of the Upandesamrta, which talks about respecting a person who has received diksha. It is also quoted in Chaitanya Charitamrita in several places. The definition of ‘diksa’ is “divyam jñānaṁ yato dadyāt “. Diksa, means ‘the process of getting transcendental knowledge and destroying sin’.
This is the basic definition of diksa, and why it’s called diksa. The two parts of the definition are Di is for divyaṁ jñānaṁ yato dadyāt or giver of knowledge and Ksa is for kuryāt pāpasya saṅkṣayam or destruction of sin; diksa like in mamsa mam means me and sa means he. I kill him he kills me in the future which means you get your karma for eating or killing an animal
Srila Jiva Goswami explains in his commentary on this verse from the Bhakti-sandarbha(283): “Divya jnanam is knowledge of the form of the Lord and knowledge of ones particular relationship with the lord in that sacred mantra”
This means when you get the Mantra from your guru then you get your Divyam jnanam you know who you’re supposed to worship. In our case that’s Krishna. What is our relationship with Him? We show him respect and are his servants.
He also says that this process is mainly for rich householders who worship a Deity. One of the functions of this mantra is meditation.Like for example Gopa Kumara who was meditating on the mantra. In ISKCON We don’t actually use it the 18-syllable mantra for that much. We may chant it three times a day and forget about it, but we do chant ‘Hare Krishna’ much more, 16 rounds or whatever. However, we do use that ‘Diksa’ mantra for deity worship, which qualifies us for ‘Arcana’. Thus, we say that you can’t worship the deity unless you have the second initiation. Why? Because you need the mantras to offer the flowers and the lamps. You should offer food to the deity and say your mantra. Not saying the mantra is not considered worship. Therefore the arcana and the diksa are connected. Why, when Jiva Goswami says it’s mainly for rich people, important? Because if you have a deity and money, you should spend it on feeding and decorating your deity, not on your house. In other words, you should use your money to serve Krishna, rather than spending it on worldly things or on satisfying your senses. If you want to worship, you should offer food to the deity and recite your mantra. People who are not so rich they could have very simple worship or even do no worship at all. They could just chant “Hare Krishna” and still be successful. This is Lord Chaitanya’s teaching: “Hari nam eva kevalam” is better than anything else. Just chant the holy name.
We also find statements in Hari Bhakti Vilasa and other places in Chaitanya Charitamrita, which are a little confusing. Hari-bhakti-vilasa 2.3-4 and in the Bhakti-sandarbha (283) quoted in the purport to Chaitanya Charitamrita M 15.108:
dvijānām anupetānāṁ svakarmādhyayanādiṣu
yathādhikāro nāstīha syāc copanayanād anu
tathātrādīkṣitānāṁ tu mantra-devārcanādiṣu
nādhikāro ’sty ataḥ kuryād ātmānaṁ śiva-saṁstutam
“Even though born in a brahmana family, one cannot engage in Vedic rituals without being initiated and having a sacred thread. Although born in a brahmana family, one becomes a brahmana only after initiation and the sacred thread ceremony. Unless one is initiated as a brahmana, one cannot worship the holy name properly.”
Here it says you have to take diksa, but Jiva Goswami was saying that not everyone is rich enough householder to do that. If you’re not a rich householder, you wouldn’t have to take it according to the statement, but we have other quotations that say you have to take diksa
adīkṣitasya vāmoru kṛtaṁ sarvaṁ nirarthakam
paśu-yonim avāpnoti dīkṣā-virahito janaḥ
“ ‘Unless one is initiated by a bona fide spiritual master, all his devotional activities are useless. A person who is not properly initiated can descend again into the animal species.’ ”
Hari-bhakti-vilasa (2.6) quotes the following injunction from the Visnu-yamala quoted in the purport to Chaitanya Charitamrita M 15.108
If you haven’t taken diksa, you can’t say the mantra or worship the deity. Diksa and deity worship are connected, but we have statements like this: unless a Bonafide spiritual master has initiated you, all your devotional service is useless. A person who hasn’t been properly initiated can become an animal again.. If you don’t take diksa, all your devotional service is useless unless you have a diksa guru, which is contradictory because he says it’s only for rich householders. This is not Jiva Goswami speaking, but scripture speaking, about tantric rules. We do have a distinction between Pancaratrika and other scriptures and Harinam. Of course, Lord Chaitanya never rejects deity worship. He never rejects diksa, but he has introduced Harinam as the main process for us, which does not require diksa. That’s why Jiva Goswami says, take diksa if you’re a rich householder, because it may not be for everybody. You can take diksa and do deity worship, otherwise you chant Hare Krishna. For Lord Chaitanya, such statements as this are not really relevant. They come from the Pancaratrika scriptures. If we go to the Karma Kanda, they say all sorts of things you should do for Karma Kanda, and that if you don’t do it, you go to hell. Every scripture glorifies particular things. If you don’t do yoga in the Patanjali scripture, you go to hell. Every scripture glorifies a particular process, like yoga or diksa, because without it, you can’t perform Archana. In our other sampradayas, before this time, Archana was the main process, and if you didn’t perform Archana, you couldn’t do anything. Therefore, if you want to be a Vaisnava, you have to take diksa and worship the deity. but with Lord Chaitanya one chants the Holy Name which does not require diksa so there is a little bit of a shift there.
diksa – Deity mantra eg. Klim krishnaya etc.
Siksa – Teachings
diksa is when one gets deity mantras for performing Archana. One also receives siksa or teachings. We’ve got two things here: diksa for deity worship, and siksa teachings in general. And of course, the diksa guru can also give teachings. Diksha is important, and Archana is the main process in bhakti. To qualify for Archana, you need to have received the diksa.
Before Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Archana was a major part of bhakti. Therefore diksa was important. diksa is important if Archana is the main process of bhakti, which it is in many other sampradayas like Sri Sampradaya or Madhva Sampradaya. They don’t do Harinam, they don’t chant the holy name, they don’t chant Hare Krishna. It’s very important to worship the deity, therefore they need their diksa. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu made Nama Sankirtana the main process. Thus, Archana and diksa becomes less important. After taking diksa, Lord Chaitanya started his Sankirtan movement. After that, he doesn’t mention diksa much. Most of the time, he just says, ‘Chant the holy name’.
It’s stated in the Chaitanya Charitamrita Antya L. 4.192-193:
dīkṣā-kāle bhakta kare ātma-samarpaṇa
sei-kāle kṛṣṇa tāre kare ātma-sama
“When a person becomes a devotee and gives their whole life to serving the Lord, Krishna accepts them as being as good as He is.”
sei deha kare tāra cid-ānanda-maya
aprākṛta-dehe tāṅra caraṇa bhajaya
“When the devotee’s body is thus transformed into spiritual existence, the devotee, in that transcendental body, renders service to the lotus feet of the Lord.”
It says Diksa-Kale or at the time of initiation, when a devotee fully surrenders to the service of the Lord, Krishna accepts them as good as he is. This is a praise of the diksa. Then when a devotee’s body is thus transformed into spiritual existence, the devotee, in that transcendental body, renders service to the lotus feet of the Lord. This is not a false statement, because the deity mantra, or the diksa mantra, is also non-different from Krishna. By chanting that mantra, Gopa-kumar achieved perfection. However, we also have the holy name, and this is our main process. It’s stated in the Chaitanya Charitamrita A. L. 7.76;
harer nāma harer nāma
harer nāmaiva kevalam
kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva
nāsty eva gatir anyathā
“ ‘For spiritual progress in this Age of Kali, there is no alternative, there is no alternative, there is no alternative to the holy name, the holy name, the holy name of the Lord.’
We focus on this over and over again. Lord Chaitanya repeats this in many of his works, including Chaitanya Charitamrita and Chaitanya Bhagavat. Srila Prabhupada quotes in his purport to the Chaitanya Charitamrita M. L . 15.108 from the Ramarcana-candrika:
vinaiva dīkṣāṁ viprendra puraścaryāṁ vinaiva hi
vinaiva nyāsa-vidhinā japa-mātreṇa siddhi-dā
“O best of the brahmanas, even without initiation, preliminary purification or acceptance of the renounced order, one can attain perfection in devotional service simply by chanting the Lord’s holy name.”
Chanting is not only the most important part, it’s also clearly stated in the Chaitanya Charitamrita that it’s separate from diksa. We can achieve perfection just by chanting the holy name, even if we don’t have diksa. Most people say that to become a member of ISKCON, you have to take diksa. However, it’s stated in the Chaitanya Charitamrita that you don’t have to do that. It simply says, “Just chant Hare Krishna.” This might be a bit surprising for some people but that’s exactly what it’s stated in the Chaitanya Charitamrita M. L. 15.107:
eka kṛṣṇa-nāme kare sarva-pāpa kṣaya
nava-vidhā bhakti pūrṇa nāma haite haya
“Simply by chanting the holy name of Krishna once, a person is relieved from all the reactions of a sinful life. One can complete the nine processes of devotional service simply by chanting the holy name.”
The chanting of the holy name is independent of everything else and if one says well that’s an exaggeration then that’s offense to the Holy Name. Another statement from the Chaitanya Charitamrita M. L. 15.108:
dīkṣā-puraścaryā-vidhi apekṣā nā kare
jihvā-sparśe ā-caṇḍāla sabāre uddhāre
“One does not have to undergo initiation or execute the activities required before initiation. One simply has to vibrate the holy name with his lips. Thus even a man in the lowest class [candala] can be delivered.”
This means you don’t have to go through any kind of initiation or do any special activities before you start. All you have to do is repeat the Holy Name, just by vibrating it with your lips. This is something that anyone can do, no matter what their background.
–For diksa you need: mantra, sambandha jnana, arcana (Pancaratrika marga)
–For Nama you need: no diksha, sambandha jnana, yuga dharma (Bhagavata marga)
We need to understand that there are two processes: diksa with a mantra and arati, which is part of the Pancaratrika vidhi. Hare Krishna does not require diksa, and this is called Bhagavat Marga. Which is the more important one of the two processes. We do both, but chanting the holy name is more important. It’s the Yuga Dharma. In both cases, we need some knowledge so that we can understand what is happening. Why does it say that the diksa guru usually also gives siksa? If we’re chanting the holy name, we do not need knowledge. Ajamila did not know, yet he destroyed all of his karmas. However, if we want prema, we do need knowledge. The holy name is independent, but if we want prema, we do need some Bhagavat jnana, not impersonal jnana. This means knowledge of Bhagavatam, knowledge of Krishna, and knowledge of Krishna katha In other words, we do need some guru siksa guru, but we don’t need a diksa guru for Nama.
PANCARATRA MARGA: diksa / Mantra / Archana
BHAGAVATA MARGA: siksa / Nama / Kirtana
We have two different processes. Prabhupada says in the Chaitanya Charitamrita A. L. 7.in the purport to vers 76:
“the worship of the Deity in the temple is essential to reduce one’s restlessness due to the contaminations of conditioned life.”
If we look at the five powerful processes in Nectar Devotion, one of them is Arcana. Along with chanting the holy name and Sravana, and associating with devotees and living in the holy place, five elements are there. One of these is Arcana. We never reject Arcana and consequently, we never reject diksa. But again, the emphasis should be on the holy Nama.
– Lord Caitanya was given the ‘diksha’.
– His followers, including Advaitacarya, Gadadhara Pandit, Nityananda, Srinivasacarya, Syamananda, and Narottama, also received the sacred initiation.
– These followers often came from families of brahmins (the ‘goswami lines’).
– Esoteric practices related to the holy mysticism of Raganuga were passed down through these lines.
Lord Chaitanya took diksa, as did Nityananda, Advaitacarya, Gadadhara, Srinivasacarya, and Narottama. All of these prominent figures took diksa. Most of the associates of Lord Caitanya took diksa. Haridas Thakura, Rupa goswami and Sanatan goswami did not take diksa, and they never received mantras. They got names from the Lord, but never received mantras or initiated anyone. Most of the acharyas took diksa, not all, but most. One reason is that if you’re in a sampradaya, you should follow its tradition, and all the other sampradayas have diksa, therefore gaudiya sampradaya should have it too. The diksa tradition continued in many families because it was passed down through the generations. This is one reason why there are so many of them. After Lord Chaitanya’s disappearance, many of these families were hereditary, and Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur criticised them. However, this is not a fault in one sense, because we see that even in the Shri Ramanujas, 90% of the lines are hereditary, with the father passing on the diksa to his son. Raganuga practices were also passed down through these families. There was some emphasis on Diksa, but it may have become more prominent later on for other reasons. Perhaps it was seen as a way to gain prestige, and so on.
Diksa guru – diksa mantra + siksa
Siksa guru – siksa
Within the present-day ISKCON it’s a little more complicated because there’s not just one diksa guru, but many. In the Gaudiya Math they appoint one diksa guru as the head of the Math, and then he appoints someone new as diksa guru. Most organizations only have one diksa guru at a time who is also the head of the organisation. However, in ISKCON, there are many diksa gurus. This is a unique feature for ISKCON. The diksa guru gives diksa mantras during the second initiation. We have shiksa gurus, but this is not emphasized as much. The scripture says they’re equal and should be given equal respect, but this isn’t generally true. There’s not much attention paid to the siksa guru, and it’s the diksa guru that gets everything, even though many devotees give more siksa than the diksa guru gives. This is because the diksa guru doesn’t see the disciple very often. If the diksa guru has 10,000 or more disciples, it’s very difficult to give personal siksa to all of them, other people who were like siksa gurus are given the responsibility instead. Many people give shiksa, but they don’t have the same position as the diksa guru. These traditional lines became more important for diksa, but Bhaktisiddhanta did something remarkable. When he traced our Parampara, he did not find a diksa Parampara at all; he found a siksa Parampara. In short, he focused more on siksa than diksa. He did give diksa, but he wanted to focus on siksa. He also made some interesting statements by tracing a line of siksa. Indeed to some disciples he never awarded diksa, deeming harinama alone sufficient for their spiritual progress.
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura: Statements on Harinama:
-“The success of diksa is inclination for Harinama. Whoever remains fixed in chanting inoffensively should be understood to have undergone diksa and all other proceedings.”
-The diksas are inferior to the harinama-asritas
-“For those who don’t believe that the holy name and the named are nondifferent. For them deity worship (diksa) is required.”
(From Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Vaibhava)
He didn’t give the second initiation, which in ISKCON one calls diksa, to some disciples. He didn’t do this, The Holy Name is enough. Just chant the Holy Name. The success of diksa is the inclination for harinam, therefore if you do harinam, it’s equivalent to diksa. He says that anyone who remains fixed in chanting inoffensively should be understood to have undergone diksa and all of the other proceedings. By emphasizing chanting the Holy Name over diksa He also says that a diksa disciple is inferior to a harinam devotee. A harinam devotee is superior to a diksa disciple. For those who don’t believe in the name and the named that they are non-different deity worship is required. He emphasizes siksa and harinam. However, in Gaudiya Matha and ISKCON at present, one emphasizes diksa over siksa. In ISKCON, the ceremony for the diksa is more elaborate than in the Gaudiya tradition. If you look at Gopa Kumar, he just got a mantra. If we look at Lord Chaitanya, he got a mantra from him, and that was it. There was no ceremony, nothing. The initiation was a very simple ceremony, but in ISKCON it becomes a huge affair, a very public social affair, which is quite different. This, of course, emphasizes the idea of taking diksa again. In ISKCON one also added some elements that weren’t even in the Gaudiya-math, like fire sacrifices and formal vows
ISKCON additional elements
–Fire sacrifice
-Vows
What is the traditional Gaudiya diksa procedure?
–In contrast the diksa ceremony in many Gaudiya lines is most simple: simply give the secret mantras in private to the disciple.
-This emphasizes the real function of diksa.
Prabhupada said in a conversation with Mr. Paul Valliere, an instructor of religion at Columbia University in New York:
“If you have understood this Krishna philosophy and if you have decided that you will take Krishnaconsciousness seriously and preach the philosophy to others, that is your initiation. My touch is simply a formality.”
Prabhupada here is not emphasizing the diksa. Prabhupada writes in a letter to Tamal Krishna, 19th August, 1968:
“The chanting of Hare Krishna is our main business: that is the real initiation. And as you are all following my instruction in the matter the initiator is already there.”
“Now the next initiation will be performed as a ceremony officially, of course that ceremony has value because the Name, holy name, will be delivered to the student from the disciplic succession, it has got value.”
Initiation is not useless, but internal acceptance is more important. But now there might be confusion in ISKCON because there are two initiations when you are only supposed to have one diksa, technically. But now there are two diksa: the first and second. Which is the real one?
Prabhupada writes in a letter to Satsvarupa, 1977:
“Why do we believe in rumors, that first initiation is not so important as second? I have already said that it is equally important, but you say rumor. Actually first initiation is more important. You can go without second initiation”
“if the first initiation is executed very thoroughly that is sufficient. First initiation stands strong.”
In this letter Prabhupada writes that the first initiation is more important than the second and in a letter to Jadurani, 4th September, 1972 he writes:
“Regarding your questions, second initiation is real initiation. First initiation is the preliminary, just to make him prepared, just like primary and secondary education”
We have two different statements here. This can make things a little confusing. But, there was no confusion before because there was only one initiation. If you got the Mantra, that was the initiation. However, now we have these two initiations, the first and the second. Prabhupada said:” first initiation is more important. You can go without second initiation if the first initiation is executed very thoroughly that is sufficient. The first initiation stands strong.”
This statement is true because getting the holy name and seriously chanting it is more important in our additional mantras. In that sense, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati said, “Actually, you just chant the holy name, and that’s sufficient.” Prabhupada is also saying, “Chant the holy name. You don’t need the other mantras.” But he also says that the second initiation is the real one, while the first is just a preparation and that’s also true because the mantra is the essence of your Diksa. In the second initiation, we receive those mantras, therefore in that sense, it’s the real one.
Brahmana diksha / siksa / diksa / Second diksa / First Harinama diksha
There’s a bit of confusion here. We have the first and second initiations and something called the Brahmana initiation.
-Internal acceptance of guru (siksa)
-Chanting Hare Krishna (siksa)
-First initiation (siksa)
-Second initiation (vaisnava diksa)
-Brahmana initiation (vedic diksa)
Prabhupada says that the most important part of initiation is the internal acceptance. Which happens when you chant “Hare Krishna”.
–Simply give Krishna mantra, as in example of Gopa Kumara in Brihad bhagavatamrita
-Pancaratrika Panca samskara (samarayana):
-tilaka
-branding with conch and cakra symbols
-name like Krishna dasa
-deity mantra like 18 syllable Krishna mantra or Visnu mantra
-teaching deity worship
In traditional diksa, you simply get the Krishna Mantra, not Hare Krishna, but the ten-syllable mantra. There was also a procedure called the five Samskaras, or Panca Samskara, which is still practised by the followers of Ramanuja and the Shri Sampradaya. They still do this, but not very often. Jiva Goswami says that this is a system, but he only mentions it a few times in the bhakti sandarba. He doesn’t go into detail. However, Bhaktivinoda Thakur emphasizes this a little more and has written several articles on the panca samskara initiation. This means five ceremonies or five purificatory rites.
Modification: addition of vaidic diksa in Gaudiya Matha
-Tilaka + Name ex Krishna dasa/Radha dasi (Nama dana)
-Krishna mantra + Archana (Vaishnava initiation)
-Vedic Gayatri= upanaya fire sacrifice + Qualification as brahmana because he/she is a vaisnava/vaisnavi (Vedic initiation)
Elements of the five purificatory rites are putting tilak, getting a name like Krishna Das, Chaitanya Das, Yamuna devi dasi, or Radharani devi dasi, and getting the Deity Mantra, which has 18 syllables. We also get teachings about the qualifications for Archana. That’s the Pancha Samskara, which we divide into two parts: the first and second initiation. The Brahma Gayatri, or Vedic Mantra, also added with the Krishna mantra, which is not part of the traditional set. Lord Chaitanya did not receive that mantra when he received his diksa.He received it at the age of five from his father, therefore it was never included in that. However, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati added it to the diksa, the Vedic Gayatri mantra. Besides the vaisnava diksa we’re getting another diksa, the Vedic diksa. You only get that mantra by doing the upanaya samskar, which involves a fire sacrifice. In the Gaudiya Matha, they would do a fire sacrifice for the second initiation to get your Gayatri mantra. We’re not trying to be Brahmanas. The whole idea of getting that thread and that mantra was not to raise you to become a Brahmana because we’re not supposed to become Brahmanas. We’re supposed to become Vaisnavas, which is a higher status. This was very evident in Chaitanya Charitamrita, therefore we’re not trying to be Brahmanas, we’re trying to be Vaisnavas. The whole goal of giving the mantra etc. was to show the critics that we are superior to the brahmanas. The brahmanas were criticising the gaudis and saying that you shouldn’t worship the deity unless you are a brahmana. Then he said, “No, we’re vaisnavas. We’re superior to you, we get our vaisnava mantra.” The point was to prove that we are better than the brahmanas. That’s the reason he gave those mantras.In ISKCON we’ve got this whole ceremony with the fire sacrifice and so on, and it’s all about this idea of diksa and the diksa guru, even though the main point of diksa is the mantras. If you’re not doing deity worship, we don’t use them that much, and our main focus is on chanting the holy name. The second initiation is also important. Most people will focus on the first initiation, of course. Prabhupada says that it is more important, and it becomes very prominent. This is the diksa for us, even though it is not real diksa in the literal sense. It is much more important, it is the more important ceremony. We call it Harinama diksa.
Are Srila Prabhupada’s actions and rites regarding diksa to be preserved and carried on exactly for all future generations? Or are his actions and rites reserved for his particular status and case?
–For instance Srila Prabhupada sat on a huge vyasasana. Do his disciples who become gurus follow do the same? With ISKCON unity?
-Experience has showed us it is better not to follow this exactly.
-What about diksa rituals? Do we follow the same or modify if they interfere
Prabhupada did appoint some diksa gurus but he never really gave details about what happens after that how they should be worshiped Etc one thought to just do exactly the same as prabhupada did but then that works in some cases but not in other cases therefore after they did that then okay we do whatever Prabhupada did so then they had equal worship of Prabhupada but then that turned out to be a miserable failure and then 10 years later they had to revise everything and stopped that completely. Therefore not everything that Prabhupada did we shouldn’t do still of course we’re doing all the ceremonies the same and whatever so maybe we continue maybe we shouldn’t maybe we could alter them because there’s another problem and that is the diksa guru becomes very prominent
Diksa guru does everything: Harinama / Vows / Ritual / Siksa / Deity mantra / Brahmana diksa
A spiritual teacher is called a ‘siksa guru’ and a more practical teacher is called a ‘diksa guru’. They are supposed to be equal, but the diksa guru has become very important. Some people still don’t like this. The tendency is that everybody gets diksa and suddenly they all disappear here and you don’t see them in the temple anymore once they have their diksa guru. It became a social status symbol, or a goal and a name. As if you get a Certificate:
Once I get the certificate, I pass the exam. Then, you’re free. You don’t have to do any service anymore. It becomes more of a materialistic goal to achieve. Once you get it, you’re fixed for life, or something like that. It’s like being baptized into the Catholic Church and being saved. The emphasis is on getting diksa and having a diksa guru, etc.
What is wrong with diksa guru being more prominent?
-“Often most of the siksa and training is done by other devotees.”
-“Siksa is a major factor in the development of bhakti”
-“Credit should be given to siksa gurus where applicable”
-“Founder-acharya His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada’s position becomes secondary”
Srila Prabhupada – Disciples – Grand Disciples – Great Grand Disciples / Diksa guru – Disciples
Siksa + Diksa = Prema
Guru should be treated like God. We have to follow scripture, etc. But it’s siksa and diksa guru that’s one thing. They should be treated equally but that doesn’t seem to happen. However, the diksa guru is treated like God. The problem is that many people receive the siksa from one or more devotees, but once they get the Diksa, they disappear and don’t respect those who gave them the siksa . There’s another problem too, which is not proper. diksa is the sense of receiving the mantra or name is fine, as that’s part of Pancaratrika. But more important for us is chanting the holy name and siksa. Because by siksa someone is chanting the holy name. Therefore the siksa guru should get proper credit if they inspire people to chant the holy name. But then, the other problem is that the guru becomes more prominent when they give diksa. The influence of the diksa guru becomes greater than that of Srila Prabhupada. This creates another problem because we have many diksa gurus in ISKCON, not just one. This means that we will have many followers of different gurus, which will create problems. However, because of the importance of guru worship, we will see groups dedicated to different gurus emerge. This will create guru groupism, which will divide the movement and Srila Prabhupada didn’t want this. He didn’t want a divided movement. He wanted one movement. Therefore one way of preserving it is to emphasize that Srila Prabhupada is the founder-acharya and main siksa-guru but by the emphasis on diksa guru that interrupts that and it starts minimizing Srila Prabhupada’s position and also making divisions. Therefore this is something we have to be a little bit careful of how to balance the respect giving to diksa guru and the respect for srila prabhupada and keeping the unity within ISKCON and it’s something that all disciples of present guru should think about how to give prominence to Srila Prabhupada for the unity of ISKCON even though it says okay you worship guru as God or whatever but you worship the siksa guru and the diksa guru like God and the quotes about treating your guru as God are referring to the siksa guru in the scriptures Therefore worship the diksa guru give respect but the siksa guru is also there and Prabhupada is the main siksa guru. We have to give respect where respect is due.
The GBC realized this was a problem, therefore they made some resolutions and statements. One of those GBC resolutions/statements were: “ISKCON members shall be trained to place their faith, trust and allegiance first and foremost in the Founder-Acharya who is the pre-eminent siksa guru for every member of ISKCON” and “Srila Prabhupada is to be worshiped through his words, his murti, his picture and his devotees”. It was an attempt to put Srila Prabhupada at the center. They also set up a committee to research this. They wrote a short paper about lines of authority. The lines of authority go from the guru to Srila Prabhupada and so on. They also set up a disciple course, which is like a training program for new followers. In the Disciple Course, where they taught that you can worship your guru, but you also have to worship Srila Prabhupada and put him in a more important position. The Disciple Course is also compulsory for taking initiation. These are some of the steps taken to give Prabhupada the highest position within the movement.
RESPECT FOR GURU IN ISKCON
-Diksa guru: gives deity mantra and arcana + gives teaching
-Siksa guru: Gives instructions on scripture, chanting
-Prabhupada: Gives teachings through his written works, fundamental to ISKCON
Although the diksa gurus are there now, and the siksa gurus are there to some extent, we still have to focus on Srila Prabhupada to keep the movement together.
All members of ISKCON, for all generations, are encouraged to seek shelter of Srila Prabhupada. All members of ISKCON are entitled and encouraged to have a personal relationship with Srila Prabhupada through his books, teachings, service, and his ISKCON society.
(GBC statement 2013)
In 2013, another statement was released. It said that all members of ISKCON should try to have a personal relationship with Srila Prabhupada. This can be done through his books, teachings, service and ISKCON Society. You do not have to go through your diksa guru to have this relationship.
How can one surrender to more than one guru?
The question is, of course, how can I worship more than one person? “Well, I can only surrender to one person, therefore how is it possible for me to surrender to so many people?”
This is a false argument. We worship Krishna. You cannot say I am worshipping Krishna, but I have to worship my guru, so I can’t worship Krishna. Nobody can make that argument. We worship many people, including Krishna, Lord Chaitanya, Nityananda, and Radha. Therefore it’s strange to say I can only worship one guru.
Yatha pita gurus tatha tasya bhratagrajo ‘nujah pitur adhika-
Pujyo va pitus ced atmiya eva va tathapi pituh pita gurur api
Guruh tasya puja dviguniteti saili loka prasiddha
“The father is like the guru. His older and younger brothers are also gurus. But the father of one’s father, or a great relative worthy of greater respect, is also guru but his worship should be double that of the father. This is well known among the virtuous people.”
(Krishna-bhajanamrta by Narahari Sarakara Thakura)
In Krishna Bhajanamrta Narahari Sarakara Thakura makes this statement that the father is like the guru and the older and younger brothers of the father are also guru so the child the son has to respect them all. He respects the father he respects his uncles but the father of one’s father who worthy of Greater respect is also guru and his worship should be doubled out of the father so the grandfather gets double the worship of the father and the uncles Therefore we’re worshiping many people but we also have grades of worship and the senior one gets more worship therefore we worship gurus like God but then more worship double worship triple worship goes to Prabhupada this is natural even in the material world. We can’t use that excuse that I can only worship one person. There are grades of respect even though we worship guru as God then there are levels of worship. We have to give proper respect to all the members of the sampradaya
We must show respect to Srila Prabhupada and our current guru. We should also pay respect to our other spiritual teachers or siksa gurus. But we must pay more attention to Srila Prabhupada. Krishna is the ultimate Supreme Lord, and Prabhupada was empowered by him. He set up ISKCON and gave us his books and teachings. He also passed on the diksa mantras to us, and gave us Hare Krishna. He also gave us the ceremonies and so many other things.
He is the Founder of all elements of siksa and diksa. But personal presence of siksa or diksa guru is often the most prominent influence on a disciple
- Bhakti is powerfully conveyed through living persons.
Diksa mantra / Teachings / Hare Krishna / Ceremonies
Person
Srila Prabhupada founded all of our siksa and diksa, which influence us now and will continue to do so in the future. In the present system, the diksa guru has a very prominent influence on the disciple. But Srila Prabhupada is the main person, and his influence should continue to be felt by everyone, even though he’s not personally present. We have present-day devotees living who are carrying on the teachings of Krishna, performing the ceremonies, giving diksa and siksa, but we have to deal with the problem of how to keep Prabhupada in the most prominent position.
How do we make Srila Prabhupada prominent as personal presence in the life of all future disciples of future gurus
- We accept him as our primary shelter: main source of bhakti shakti
- Have some ceremony accepting him as our asraya
- All later gurus are his mediums
We have to show respect to everyone, not just now, but for future generations as well. Each generation is more distant from Srila Prabhupada. How do we keep remembering him? We have to find a way to keep ISKCON united. We have to think about how to do that. In the future, everyone will relate to Srila Prabhupada and keep him in the center. It is stated in the Srimad Bhagavatam 7.15.26:
“The spiritual master should be considered to be directly the Supreme Lord because he gives transcendental knowledge for enlightenment.” And it’s also stated in the Srimad Bhagavatam 11.17.27:
“One should know the ācārya as Myself and never disrespect him in any way. One should not envy him, thinking him an ordinary man, for he is the representative of all the demigods.”
We can ask ourselves: “Do these descriptions apply to Srila Prabhupada or diksa guru or both”? Or one may question; “how the relationship with siksa guru is established?”
In ISKCON we have a formal ceremony for the diksa guru, but not for the siksa guru. There isn’t a formal ceremony for the siksa guru in the scriptures either. The diksa ceremony was perhaps formal in one way, but not very elaborate. It was just a mantra, that was the formality. It was not an elaborate ceremony. Now, it’s a very elaborate ceremony, therefore it’s quite different. When Prabhupada did it, it was much simpler. Bhaktisiddhanta did it even simpler. Should ISKCON cut down the pump or make it simpler? We should think about this. People say, “You can’t change anything,” but they are changing it or making it more complicated. Maybe they should simplify things to keep the importance of the diksa guru to Srila Prabhupada more balanced.
One may question: “what about the danger of ritviksm Not having a relation with diksa guru but only with Srila Prabhupada?”
We need to choose a guru. You have to choose a diksa guru, but if we follow Chaitanya Charitamrita, you should have a diksa and a siksa guru equally. But we have to decide which guru is the main one. We believe you should have a special relationship with your diksa guru, but Chaitanya Charitamrita says you should have an equal relationship with both your diksa and siksa gurus. Therefore, you’re not following the scripture if you’re ignoring the siksa guru. You should worship the siksa guru equally. That’s what the scripture says. You worship the diksa guru, and you worship the siksa guru. As stated in Krishna bhajanamrita you can worship your brothers, your father, and your father’s brothers equally. There shouldn’t be any contradiction. The scripture says you should worship the diksa guru, and you should also worship your brothers, your father, and your grandfather. Therefore, you can worship all of these people equally. There is no reason to think that this will make your relationship with the diksa guru weaker. You could say that you should not worship Krishna anymore, because this will interrupt your relationship with your diksa guru. But the scriptures do not say that.
One may question:” to get liberation by chanting you don’t need knowledge only to get to prema one needs knowledge with the chanting. For liberation only chanting is sufficient but what about jnana yoga mentioned in the Bhagavad gita?”
Jnana is not the same as the knowledge we are talking about here. It is impersonal jnana, Bhagavat jnana and sravanam, which is hearing Bhagavatam. This is the knowledge we want, so sravana is part of our bhakti process. We also have sravanam, kirtanam and sravana, which means hearing. This is not to be confused with the knowledge of jnana. The discussion is about impersonal jnana, Bhagavat jnana and sravanam, which is hearing Bhagavatam. This is the knowledge we want. Sravanam is part of our bhakti. We also have sravanam kirtanam. Sravanam means hearing. Lord Chaitanya chanted Hare Krishna, but he also read and heard Bhagavatam every day in Puri. We also have discussions about Krishna every day. Lord Chaitanya asked how you can talk about Krishna unless you know something about Krishna’s pastimes. Lord Chaitanya said that to talk about Krishna, you need to know about Krishna’s pastimes, his form, and so on. And of course, we also need philosophical knowledge, which is why Srila Prabhupada wrote the Bhagavad Gita and the introduction to the Bhagavad Gita. So, we can understand that God is not impersonal. We need to understand that God is personal. God does exist, but He is not the jiva, nor does He become God. The devatas are not God. We practice pure bhakti, not impure bhakti, mixed bhakti or anything else. If we have the wrong idea about God, we will end up somewhere else.
One may question: “when diksa guru gives instruction then this we have to follow otherwise it’s an offense but what about different instructions coming from other sources?”
There are two types of instructions: one is the teaching of scriptural teachings, and the other is teaching something else, such as teaching someone to be God. If someone does this, they are not a proper Sikha guru. All gurus should follow the same teachings, but they can give different practical instructions, particularly during services. The diksa guru should only teach spiritual life, not make managerial decisions. For example, if you are serving in one temple and the guru says you should serve in another temple, that is not proper because the guru is interfering with the manager’s decisions. The guru should give spiritual instructions on how to advance spiritually, not managerial instructions on where to serve. If he wants to give managerial instructions, he should consult with the temple manager. There are two types of authority: the manager of your temple and the spiritual authority of your guru. However, even the manager of your temple could also be a spiritual guide. The structure should provide spiritual guidance on spiritual development, but not on things like management of the temple or how to serve. If he wants to do that, he should talk to the temple managers.