Those who have taken initiation from Parama-pujyapada Srila Svami Maharaja but are not following his teachings, are not truly disciples. Those who are not following or practicing may have been outwardly initiated by him, but they are not real disciples. On the other hand, those who have not taken initiation from him but are totally following – they deserve the qualities to be true devotees.
There are two kinds of lines of disciplic gurus: bhagavata-parampara and guru-parampara. We should know what is bhagavata-parampara and what is guru-parampara. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura followed bhagavata-parampara. Guru-parampara is included in bhagavata-parampara.
Those disciples who are fully following Gurudeva’s mood and teachings are in the bhagavata-parampara. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura was not formally initiated by Srila Jagannatha dasa Babaji Maharaja, Sri Baladeva Vidyabhusana was not initiated by Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura and Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura was not initiated by Sri Narottama dasa Thakura. Sri Svarupa Damodara Gosvami was initiated by a mayavadi. Srila Haridasa Thakura was not initiated by anyone – so how did Srila Haridasa Thakura come into our line? He is in our line because he accepted Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu as his Guru, and Sri Advaita Acarya as his Guru, and he followed totally. We will have to reconcile this by understanding bhagavata-parampara. All the above mentioned associates of the Lord are in the bhagavata-parampara.
We are in the line of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, so we should know what is bhagavata-parampara. Srinivasa Acarya had a disciple named Ramacandra Kaviraja, who was always associating with Narottama dasa Thakura. Did he ever say that he was not the disciple of Srinivasa Acarya? Was he not serving him? We cannot say this. Rather, he considered Narottama dasa Thakura to be his siksa-guru. Between Srila Srinivasa Acarya and Srila Narottama dasa Thakura, who was superior? Both were the same; this is bhagavata-parampara.
Try to follow the teachings and actions of Srila Svami Maharaja – not following blindly and not imitating. Simply copying will not do. We should try to deeply follow his siddhanta, behavior and moods.
A disciple cannot fall down. If one falls down, he was not a real disciple and he has not actually taken initiation. Initiation is a matter of heart and mood. It is not simply the whispering of a mantra into an ear.
Varsana – November 11, 1996