Haribol!
I have some questions.
1. Is Guru above Sastras?
2. Is it possible for Guru to say something to his/her dicples without refer to sastras?
3. Is it possible for a Vaishnava Guru to become a prophet? For example telling his/ her deciples that she has got an revelation from Krishna without refer to sastras?
WOW! I'd like to know too!
Here's a brief answer:
From the Ramananda-samvada we hear that what Mahaprabhu was really interested in and absorbed in tasting lies beyond the scriptures. The manjaris are involved in that very secret affair and yet when they come here as the Goswamis they rely heavily on the scripture to explain bhakti. And this was a point that Prabhupada emphasized: that the guru always adheres to the standard books of knowledge--the sastras--and if one deviates from the siddhanta as found in the sastras then their "realization" may be brought into question.
Srila Sridhara Maharaja said that the guru is the active agent of Divinity and the sastra is the passive agent of Divinity. They work together; we cannot have one without the other. In the Caitanya-caritamrta we learn that there are two Bhagavatas: the book Bhagavata and the person Bhagavata. Since the book Bhagavata is the passive agent we need the person Bhagavata to understand the book properly.
While I would hesitate to say that the guru is above the sastra, the guru is definitely more important to the practitioner than the sastra, since from the guru we can hear the sastra in a living way that pertains to where we are in our journey toward prema. Reading the sastra and learning the theory is a very different thing than living with the guru and seeing the theory played out in daily life. In the person of the guru the theory we find in the sastra comes to life, and if we serve such a person we will make progress. Conversely, we could easily read the sastra and be very learned in them and yet be making no real progress at all.
In answer to question #3 I would say that any genuine Vaisnava guru is a prophet in the sense that revelation is ongoing within his or her heart.
That's a nice, comprehensive answer, Cittahariji! :Rolling Eyes:
Yes, Thank you Citta Hari.
But if the Guru himself says that Guru is above Sastras? Can a Guru really say something like that? to me it sounds like he says, my words are more important than Krishnas words.
What is your opinion about this?
Answer #3 Do you mean that a Guru don´t tell his revelation to others? It´s just between him & Krishna?
Haribol!
But if the Guru himself says that Guru is above Sastras? Can a Guru really say something like that? to me it sounds like he says, my words are more important than Krishnas words.
What is your opinion about this?
It would noit be very constructive to comment on such a hypothetical without more detail. Undoubtedly such a statement would have a context and could only be properly analyzed by looking closely at that.
With regard to the Guru saying he/she received a revelation from Krsna and sharing that without referring to sastra - what exactly do you mean by that? Do you mean to say that the revelation is not in sastra? Or do you mean that the revelation contradicts sastra? I am having a hard time understanding what it is you are asking.
A genuine spiritual masters words will always be consistent with sastra. Even if he/she doesn't provide the reference, if you look carefully you will find backing for his or her words in sastra.
Without details it is very difficult to give you a comprehensive answer. May I suggest that you present the details of the incident (if such an incident occurred) to a vaishnava who you respect and who you consider worthy of receiving instruction from personally? Such a vaishnava may be spoken to confidentially and you will be able to resolve the conflict you are feeling.
We discussed Sri Guru on the conference call with Guru Maharaja the past two weeks. One question that he addressed was whether or not it is correct to view Guru tattva as a kind of avesa that can be withdrawn at some point. Guru Maharaja said that while some devotees are empowered in specific ways a Guru is able to guide others based on their development in bhakti. A devotee who has love for Krsna will never have it withdrawn except under the rare occasion of offense (which Guru Maharaja pointed out really doesn't happen because a devotee who is relishing genuine love for Krsna will not commit offense). He pointed out that there have been many 'gurus' who on appearance have fallen down and even left devotional service all together. He said that these individuals were posing as something they weren't. In other words, they were never qualified to act as Guru so there is no question of an empowerment being withdrawn in their regard.