HH KADAMBA KANANA SWAMI MAHARAJA- “CHASTITY OF A DISCIPLE”, MELBOURNE 2004 (ADAPTED)
"...This chastity is very essential, it is very important; and not only for a woman, but also for a disciple. It is said that both women and disciples should be totally chaste, totally dedicated and focused on the spiritual master. So rather than taking the angle of chastity of women and say a lot about that, I’ll put that on the shelf and rather open up the topic of chastity of the disciple; because both men and women are disciples after all and therefore it’s maybe more relevant to us to look at chastity as a disciple. And it means that a disciple must try to understand that the spiritual master is a person who is functioning on a very elevated, exalted platform and that therefore the considerations of the spiritual master are taking place on a much more refined and elevated level than our own. So our own thinking is happening on the gross platform; just as I gave descriptions of expressing sexuality in different levels and different kind of modes and moods. In the same way our thinking also takes place in different moods and modes.
So the sentiments of the spiritual master, the thoughts of the spiritual master, the considerations of the spiritual master are of a much higher level of refinement than ours and therefore we should try to as much as possible capture/ penetrate into the mood of the spiritual master. The mood is that sum total of his way of thinking, his way of dealing. It's not just the way in what he says, but in how he says it, in how he does it, in what he does. One must not only hear the words but one must also see how the spiritual master is acting- this is very important. Sometimes when we are watching the videos of Srila Prabhupada, we may encounter a particular episode, which we’ve already about. It may happen; that you’ve read something about a particular episode in Prabhupada’s life or a particular interview or a particular discussion. But when you see the expressions with it as well, it adds a whole different dimension; because you can see. Like in one particular interview, Prabhupada is saying very heavy things. He is speaking about women and how they’re less intelligent, and he’s saying that in Chicago. But he’s not saying that with a very serious face, he’s laughing and chuckling at the same time when he says it. When you see him, he says it sought of like grandfather, you know, “well, yes yes, what can I do!” like that. And if you read the text, it may not get across like that. If you read the text it comes across like BANG! BANG! BANG! But if you see the facial expressions and the mood with it, then it is totally different.
So a disciple who is chaste is trying to absorb the mood of the spiritual master and try to himself act in a similar mood. He's trying to take on this mood. The mood, of course, not by imitating but trying to understand the nature of that mood and trying to understand how the spiritual master is expressing trnad api sunicena, how he's fully expressing humility, how he's expressing tolerance, how he's giving respect to others, how he's manifesting vaisnava qualities. We can learn a lot from that; how someone is manifesting vaisnava qualities. So chastity of a disciple means that; it means that the instructions of the spiritual master are siromani, are like jewels on the head, they are carried like a jewel, like a great treasure. Whatever the spiritual master said is siromani; it is not a casual thing at all. It is never to be taken as light thing. It is always to be taken as something very important- everything that the spiritual master says! So every moment with the spiritual master is a precious moment even nothing much transpires, even if no big dramatic statements are made. Still it is a precious moment. And one has to contemplate, one can think: 'did I have the right attitude within this moment? Did I really take the proper position of a disciple?' and so on, this is all symptoms of the chastity of the disciple who is really deeply thinking what it means to be a disciple and to fully make himself available as the servant of the spiritual master. And that must be such a meditation, such a meditation...
So a chaste disciple is always thinking of his spiritual master. And there is no question that his spiritual master is far away. His spiritual master is always there, the spiritual master is always looking over our shoulder, every moment, every moment our spiritual master is looking over our shoulder and will he like what he will see? Something to consider! So in this way the chaste disciple is in every situation thinking: ' what would my spiritual master think about what I’m doing now? Would he approve of this? ', And if there is serious doubt, then we will inquire, we will save it and ask a question about that. We will bring that before the spiritual master and if we think that we know, because we have seen again and again what he likes and what he does not like, and we remember and apply that in other situations and so on. In this way we are disciple, always living with the spiritual master and the spiritual master in this way will always be with the disciple.
Sometimes the question is raised that: ' how can the spiritual master know what is actually happening in the life of the disciple when he hardly sees him. Maybe 3,5 months passed, maybe 6 months he hasn't seen his disciple for all this time. He has so many disciples, now he will see his disciple after 6 months, how can he really know what goes on with his disciple? How much is he involved in the life of his disciple? Is it actually a real relationship? Or is it something superficial or maybe something more a formality and so on. But how real is the relationship?" but when we are cooking in the kitchen and we are cooking rice, Kurma taught us…he taught me here in Melbourne how to cook rice, you know, and one rule was: okay, fry the rice in a little ghee until it’s hot. Okay, the water’s already hot in another pot. Put the water in the pot with the rice, put the lid, turn it down- turn down the flame low, wait 20 minutes- don’t lift that lid! Under no condition, don’t dare to lift the lid! You will be shot if you lift that lid! Absolutely forbidden! Don’t look, keep that lid on there under all conditions and only after 20 minutes completed, you can lift it! That’s how it was, I still remember! With 11000 volts, it was an instruction given! Super intense! Because when Kurma is in the kitchen, it’s intense! Everything has to be just right.
But it’s a fact. Then the rice is cooked. So it’s not that one has to watch the whole cooking process: how the rice is being cooked. So the disciple is also being cooked in the process of Bhakti. These are the instructions, “Now you follow this, now you do this…” then come back after 6 months you can see: 'uh uh he didn't turn the flame low. Uh, uh overcooked, soggy rice. Uh uh too much water ' - you see all the mistakes come out because the rice is just not right; the result is just not there. So in this way, one can judge by the result and this is the system and this is how the spiritual master is judging the progress of the disciple. He doesn't need to have the full story about every detail...
' And then 3 days after you left, i tried to live with this instructions but then I got mental problems. I wrote it down in my diary so that when you would come back I could share this with you because I thought that if you didn't know all these details about my life that maybe your instructions might not completely relate to my needs. And by the way, i have here also my biography which is only 777 pages, which I thought you might want to read just so that you get a deeper understanding of the trauma's etc that I have so that, that part gets totally purified in the process in the guru/disciple relationship'...- All not required!
It's not psychotherapy, it's not psychoanalysis, it's not psychology- it's simply BHAKTI! And it seems like the instructions is very, very basic: chant 16 rounds, 4 regulative principles.
' But is there no special instruction? ' No! No special instructions. This is pretty special- 16 rounds and 4 regulative principles. ' I mean, anyone could have given that instruction'. Yes. But you follow it now. This difference is that now you will really follow it. I know that it’s not the first time you hear these instructions, but now you will commit yourself to really do it and avoid the ten offences- by the way! That was a little extra spin in the end added on to make it just a little more difficult!
So, in this way it works and the chaste disciple is trying his level best to follow and as he's doing more, more and more instructions will come. Also more refined and personal instructions are coming. The more we follow, the more detailed the instructions are coming. But when we are not following the instructions will stay general: ' follow 4 regulative principles, 4 not three and a half- 4; 1,2,3,4; don’t try to count anymore, just 4 and 16 rounds and avid the 10 offences. So in this way a chaste disciple is always living with the spiritual master and for the spiritual master.
I could go on and on and on with this topic obviously because when you open up guru/disciple relationship, you are opening up a huge topic on which you can also do a one week or a one month seminar, and everyday touch a different angle. We don’t have time for all of that. I just wanted to raise the point that chastity is not only there for the wife, but also there for the disciple and in the same mood, the disciple submits himself to the will of his spiritual master and even that what is not expressed but is trying to live according to the desire of the spiritual master and himself, with his own intelligence is applying the ideas and instructions about general things that he's heard before in other situations and in that way he becomes a chaste disciple..."
(ADAPTED, HH KKS, MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA 2004)
