Does accepting our emotions mean that our getting angry is not a matter of concern?
So how do we understand the humanity? That we don't ascribe omniscience to them and think that they just know everything. And they will tell us if we are doing something wrong in a dream or by some other means.
The Mahabharata says and Prabhupada would often quote that mahajano yena gatah sa pantha that we have to follow the path laid out by the mahajanas. And if you look at Srila Prabhupada, he never operated on the platform of cleaving omniscience. He asked, he wrote letters, inquired from devotees and based on the information that he got he chose courses of action.
And in some cases Prabhupada was misinformed. So when the devotees were distributing books, one devotee wrote to Prabhupada and said that the devotees are now going back to their karmi ways in the name of distributing books. Then Prabhupada said that they should always hear devotee closely.
They cannot wear shirt pant. But then some other leaders told Prabhupada if you start wearing dhoti kurta and sarees, 50% of our book distribution will go down because people will not allow us to approach them only. And he said no we are not wearing hippie clothes.
We are wearing respectable civil clothes. Oh Prabhupada said then that is okay. So there are many examples like this of those who lived with Prabhupada.
He acted based on the information that he had. There could be a few occasions when Prabhupada read some devotee's mind and told them exactly what they wanted and we do not deny the capacity of the spiritual master to exhibit paranormal knowing capacity. But that is not the normal operating level of the spiritual master.
That is not how the spiritual Prabhupada operated and that is not the way we expect our spiritual master to operate also. So Prabhupada would periodically ask for reports from devotees and based on that he would give them guidance. So for us also, we understand that the pure devotees intention is pure.
Pure is intention is always to glorify Krishna. But in the translation of their intention into action, the fact that they are in a human body, that will come under the picture. When one Hindu Mahasabha leader met Prabhupada in Mumbai and he said, Giriraj Maharaj, when I last met him in Carpentica, he told me this past time.
He said that Prabhupada, this Hindu leader, Mahasanghal leader, he said that Swamiji, you pronounce Sanskrit verses in a very Bengali way. He was from South India and South Indians have a very clear, very elegant way of pronouncing Sanskrit verses. So Prabhupada said, what can I do? I am a Bengali.
What do you expect from me? So, yes, it is not so much how the verses are pronounced, but how much the verses are realized. It is with how much we are living the verses. So the intent, the transcendence of a pure devotee is that the intent is always to serve Krishna.
But in the translation of the intention into action, the fact that they are in a human body will come into the picture. So a pure devotee will always want us to grow spiritually. But exactly how we will grow spiritually, what we need to do for that, we may have to give them information for that.
And Prabhupada did not tell anyone or did not write anywhere in his books that I will come in anyone's dream and give them instructions. He said, what I wanted to give, I have given in my books. Now, it is possible that Prabhupada can come in our dreams, spiritual master can come in our dreams.
But if you see Prabhupada also, it was not just because his spiritual master came in his dream that he took sannyas. He went and consulted his senior godbrothers. And then he got the approval of senior godbrother and then he took sannyas.
So, we cannot say that the spiritual master cannot come in our dreams. But at the same time, to think that that is the way he will come to give me instruction. To expect that or to demand that, that is not to follow the example of the spiritualist.
If we have some issue, we need to consult them. And if we need to give them some information, based on which they can give us some guidance, it is for us to give them that. If we start ascribing omniscience to the spiritual master in the name of reverence, I respect my spiritual master, but then we also have to understand that Prabhupada many times said that spiritual master is not Krishna.
Only Krishna is omniscient. Spiritual master is servant of Krishna. And in that sense, the spiritual master is, because he is purely devoted to Krishna, the spiritual master is empowered to serve Krishna.
Empowered to infuse Krishna in the hearts of others. But understanding that Prabhupada is not Krishna and the guru is not Krishna is very important. Now, we will never go into Mayavad by saying our guru is Krishna.
Actually Mayavad will go further and they say everyone is Krishna. So, that is unlikely to happen in Vaishnavism, that you say that everyone is Krishna. But saying that the guru is Krishna, that is a contamination that has happened many times in Vaishnavism.
The Swaminarayans, they are actually very pure lives, they are Vaishnavas, but they have put Swaminarayan into the center. There is Ramanandis, who are North Indian branches, North Indian followers of Ramavacharya. They divided into two groups because one of them said that Ramanand is Ram himself.
Other said no, he is a great devotee of Ram. So, in Vaishnavism, Mayavad creeps in by making Vaishnavas believe that their guru is Krishna. So, we have to be careful about that also.