"Your question, 'When one has become pure enough, Krishna conscious, does one take regular dictation from one's Guru Maharaja? I know you to confirm yes, but how is this so? Understanding that each individual has a certain particular rasa with Krishna, how would one relate with another soul of a different rasa? Especially between that of the Guru and disciple?' That doesn't matter. The Spiritual Master's position is to train the disciples. Just like a teacher, he may be a very expert mathematician, but in the lower class he is teaching English. The Spiritual Master's duty is to train him, but when he comes to the perfectional stage of training, then he realizes his position. That is not a gift of the Spiritual Master, the Spiritual Master helps him to realize his relationship with the Lord. Just like the student in lower stages has to study so many things as preliminary education, English, history, math, etc., but in higher stage of education, he has got a particular taste for a special subject, so he specializes as a mathematician or a historian, etc. So that special qualification reveals in the higher stage. So these topics are not to be discussed in the conditioned stage, and when we come to the liberated stage we can understand. This is useless talks in the preliminary stage. In the beginning let us do the preliminary routine work very nicely, and be cured of the disease (out of maya), then we can know what taste you have for what particular type of food. So these things are not to be discussed at the present moment."
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, November 13, 1968)
"Regarding your question, Sayamrupa means the Original Form. Sayamprakash means Balarama. And Tadekatmarupa is the purusa, just like Mahavisnu. It is not necessary to remember or fully understand all these different forms, at the present, but it is like if you simply stick to the master faithfully that is very good, but if you know that my master is so great, and so rich, and great in this way and rich in this way, and that way, then your veneration for your master will increase. To know Krishna is great, how He is expanded into different forms, that enhances our attachment to Krishna more rigidly."
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, November 13, 1968)
"You have asked me the meaning of the word 'non-manifest' as it appears in the Bhagavad-gita, and the answer is that it means 'impersonal,' or that which is not personal. Just like the sun has its personal and impersonal feature. The sun can be located as the sun disc, yet it also has its impersonal, all-pervading aspect, or the sunshine. So the sun is manifest, and the sunshine is non-manifest. Manifest means where there is variety and non-manifest means where there is only one. When you go to a planet within the sunshine there are many varieties found, but in the sunshine itself there is simply one—the sunlight.
Regarding your question about time, time is eternal, but in the spiritual world, there is no influence of time. In the material world there is the influence of past, present and future, and this past, present and future is a relative truth. This is because the past of one man is not the past of another; past, present and future are relative to the person, and there are different grades of persons. For example, Brahma's day is calculated as thousands of our years. In one day of Brahma there are millions of our pasts, presents, and futures. So this is all relativity, whereas in the spiritual world, there is no such relativity. Therefore, time has no such influence in the spiritual world."
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, February 12, 1969)
"Regarding your question about Govinda Ganamrita, Govinda is Krishna, and ganamrta means the nectar of songs. That means anything sung about the activities of Govinda is nectar. You have mentioned that Srila Rupa Goswami has introduced this. Srila Rupa Goswami, assisted by all other Goswamis have left immense literature for singing about the glories of Govinda. Whatever literature we are presenting, following the footsteps of Rupa Goswami and the others, they are also Govinda Ganamrita. So the more Govinda Ganamrita or the glories of Govinda will be spread the more the nonsense of impersonalism and monism will be defeated. It is said kaivalya nistaraka. This means the Goswamis deliver us from the danger of being lost in the philosophy of monism. As I wrote in my prayers to my Spiritual Master, 'impersonal calamity Thou hast moved'. So this impersonalism is a calamity for the spiritualist."
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, October 13, 1969)
"Regarding the disciplic succession coming from Arjuna, disciplic succession does not always mean that one has to be initiated officially. Disciplic succession means to accept the disciplic conclusion. Arjuna was a disciple of Krishna and Brahma was also a disciple of Krishna. Thus there is no disagreement between the conclusions of Brahma and Arjuna. Vyasadev is in the disciplic succession of Brahma. The teachings to Arjuna was recorded by Vyasadev verbatim. So according to the axiomatic truth, things equal to one another are equal to each other. We are not exactly directly from Vyasadev, but our Gurudev is a representative of Vyasadev. Because Vyasadev and Arjuna are of equal status, being students of Krishna, therefore we are in the disciplic succession of Arjuna. Things equal to the same thing are equal to one another.
Regarding your second question about Sanjaya, he was a student of Vyasadev, and by the mercy of Vyasadev he was able to receive the message of the conversation of Krishna-Arjuna. Thus Sanjava was able to speak to Dhritarashtra about the conversation on the Battlefield of Kuruksetra. Regarding your final question, the marginal potency means internal potency. But because the marginal potency sometimes comes within the external position, therefore, in spite of its being internal potency it is turned to marginal potency. This is stated in Visnu Purana: Any potency of Krishna is spiritual energy, but due to varieties of actions a section is called marginal potency or external potency."
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, October 31, 1969)
"Regarding your question about items being used in Krishna's service becoming spiritual, you should understand it that anything which will remind one of Krishna is spiritual, and anything which will make one forget Krishna is material. Actually, everything is of spiritual nature because everything is coming from the Ultimate Source, Krishna. But when something is offered to the Lord or when it is used in His service, then it resumes its spiritual quality because it will remind one of Krishna. Therefore, even though such object may not have consciousness, it will act as spiritual. It is just like when an iron rod is put into the fire: the rod has not actually become fire, but it will act in just the same way as fire.
Regarding your question about the Brahmajyoti, it is explained in Bhagavad Gita that the impersonal Brahman effulgence is emanating from Bhagavan, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The brahmajyoti is just like the sunlight, which emanates from the Sun God: Because the sunlight has no personal form, this does not mean that the Sun God has become impersonal. You have seen in pictures of Lord Krishna that there is a nice effulgence coming forth from His body. This effulgence is the Brahmajyoti, and it is pervading throughout the entire spiritual and material manifestation. But above this Brahmajyoti is the Supreme Source of everything, Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. I hope this important point is clear to you now."
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, December 2, 1969)
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