| Disciplic Succession |
| Parampara Sampradaya |
| evam parampara-praptam imam rajarsayo viduh sa kaleneha mahata yogo nastah parantapa "This supreme science was thus received through the chain of disciplic succession, and the saintly kings understood it in that way. But in course of time the succession was broken, and therefore the science as it is appears to be lost." Bhagavad-gita 4:2 Parampara, or disciplic succession, is the method by which perfect transcendental knowledge is given directly by the Lord, to be passed down without deviation. When the Lord spoke the Bhagavad-gita to his disciple, Arjuna, on the Battlefield of Kuruksetra, he established himself as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord informed Arjuna that Bhagavad-gita is a system of yoga that was first spoken by the Lord to the sun-god. The sun-god explained it to Manu, and Manu explained it to Iksvaku. In that way, by disciplic succession, one speaker after another, this system of yoga has been coming down since time immemorial. The Supreme Lord appeared 5,000 years ago to speak Bhagavad-gita to Arjuna because in the course of time, the absolute truth had become lost. The Lord appears periodically to re-establish the truth when the line of succession has been broken. In the case of Bhagavad-gita, the Lord is speaking it to Arjuna on the battlefield, thus making him the first to receive in a new parampara (disciplic succession). The Lord appears on one planet after another in innumerable universes. The last time He appeared as Krsna was on this planet, five thousand years ago. Five hundred years ago he appeared as Lord Caitanya, and established the chanting of the maha-mantra, Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare | Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. Krsna is the same Lord who is worshipped as Jehovah, Allah, Buddha, and so on. Many religions have appeared, and many branches have grown from the pure disciplic succession periodically established by the Lord Himself. Today, the Vaisnava sampradayas carry forward the absolute truth in its topmost conclusion, as given by Lord Caitanya. The Vaisnavas emphasize bhakti yoga, the yoga of devotional service, which was established by Lord Krsna in Bhagavad-gita as being far superior to other yoga systems, particularly in this age of Kaliyuga. "Vedic knowledge is infallible because it comes down through the perfect disciplic succession of spiritual masters, beginning with the Lord Himself. Since He spoke the first word of Vedic knowledge, the source of this knowledge is transcendental. The words spoken by the Lord are called apauruseya, which indicates that they are not delivered by any mundane person. A living being who lives in the mundane world has four defects: (1) he is certain to commit mistakes; (2) he is subject to illusion; (3) he has a propensity to cheat others; and (4) his senses are imperfect. No one with these four imperfections can deliver perfect knowledge. The Vedas are not produced by such an imperfect creature. Vedic knowledge was originally imparted by the Lord into the heart of Brahma, the first created living being, and Brahma in his turn disseminated this knowledge to his sons and disciples, who have handed it down through history." Sri Isopanisad, Mantra One Purport "Perfect knowledge is called parampara, or deductive knowledge coming down from the authority to the submissive aural receiver who is bona fide by service and surrender. One cannot challenge the authority of the Supreme and know Him also at the same time. He reserves the right of not being exposed to such a challenging spirit of an insignificant spark of the whole, a spark subjected to the control of illusory energy. The devotees are submissive, and therefore the transcendental knowledge descends from the Personality of Godhead to Brahma and from Brahma to his sons and disciples in succession. This process is helped by the Supersoul within such devotees. That is the perfect way of learning transcendental knowledge." Srimad-Bhagavatam 1:2:21 It is mentioned in the Padma Purana : sampradaya-vihina ye mantras te nisphala mantah atah kalau bhavisyanti chatvarah sampradayinah sri-brahma-rudra-sanaka vaisnava ksiti pavana chatvaras te kalau bhavya hy utkale purusottama ramanujam-srihi-svichakre madhavacaryam-chaturmuhash sri vishnuswamino-rudro nimbadityam chatuksanaha The above verses explain that if one is not connected with a bonafide disciplic succession namely Sri Sampradaya, Brahma Sampradaya, Rudra Sampradaya, Kumara Sampradaya ; whatever mantras he chants will not bring the desired result. Originally the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna, delivered the message of Vedas to Sri (Devi Laksmi), Brahma (Lord Brahma), Rudra (Lord Siva), Kumara (Sanatkumar, Sanatana, Sanaka, Sananda) and this message in Kali Yuga (present age) was carried on by Ramanujacarya (Sri Sampradaya), Madhvacarya (Brahma Sampradaya), Vishnuswami (Rudra Sampradaya), and Nimbarka Swami (Kumara Sampradaya). These four Sampradayas are the authoritative institutions which deliver the pure un-adulterated message of the Vedas, because the source of this knowledge is Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Himself, who is free from all defects or imperfections. So any spiritual masters coming in any of these four sampradayas is called as BONAFIDE SPIRITUAL MASTER. One should therefore hear BhagavadGita from such a bonafide spiritual master. We may notice there are hundreds of Hindu organisations & thousands of gurus claiming to help us with our spiritual life. Some even does miracles or simple tricks which attracts us. Anyone may learn yoga siddhi powers & perform miracles but such organisations or gurus are not authorised by the vedas. Because they do not descend from any of the above mentioned sampradaya. We can see by practical that each of their philosophies & ideas about God differs. These itself a proof to show their philosophy is not based on vedic scriptures & merely a speculation. Lord Krishna has given us the information in the vedas to choose an authorised guru but how many is aware of this ? |
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