The meaning of diksha and guru-parampara:
Human beings in this world act on the basis of their selfish desires. In bhakti, however, one’s independent desires are given up and one’s desires fall in line with those of the Supreme Lord Himself. This happens when the seeker of bhakti takes shelter of a pure devotee (the Guru) for achieving bhakti. The process of taking shelter is called diksha (initiation). Diksha is not merely a formal ceremony. The essential spirit behind the ceremony of diksha is that of surrendering (samarpan) to the Guru. Therefore, one can say that diksha means samarpan. Samarpan implies that the disciple ceases to have independent desires, mentality, mood, etc. He takes up the desires, the mentality, the mood, etc. of his guru. This is called ekata. When ekata occurs in the mind, all activities of the disciple are in anukulata. Anukulata means:
- The disciple is pleased when the guru is pleased
- The disciple is displeased when the guru is displeased
- The disciple is not elated when he achieves personal happiness
- The disciple is not distressed when he receives personal pain
In this state the disciple acts ONLY for pleasing the guru, and that alone gives him happiness because his own pleasures and the guru’s pleasures have become one. This is called aanukulya or anukulata of the guru. Acting in anukulata is called seva. Thus seva is action done in a particular state of the mind. The action itself does not determine whether it is seva or not. It is the state of the mind that determines whether it is seva. Only they who have achieved ekata in mind and anukulata in action perform seva. As the disciple achieves ekata and anukulata towards the guru, he automatically achieves ekata and anukulata with Lord Sri Krishna. This is because the guru has already achieved ekata and anukulata with the Lord through his guru parampara. Every individual in the parampara, therefore, are one in heart and mind with Lord Sri Krishna and each one of them is engaged in seva. In other words the Bhav which started with the original person gets transmitted to the descendant disciples and thus the Gyan-dhara gets preserved.
The crux of bhakti is ekata and anukulata towards the guru.
Once Maharaj ji was asked about his gurudev. His reply was simple, “Know me and you will know about my gurudev and the whole parampara.” Due to ekata with guru and his previous predecessors, the characteristic qualities of all the individuals in the guru-parampara are the same as those of the Lord Himself. Therefore, Sri Vishwanath Chakravarty Thakur, the great saint and scholar in Sri Chaitanya’s tradition has said,
sakshat-haritvena samasta shastraih ukatah tatha bhavyata-eva sadbhih
“It is declared by all scriptures that the guru is Lord Sri Hari Himself. The saints also think thus”.
The puranas also declare,
guruh sakshat param brahma, tasmai sri gurave namah
“Obeisance to the guru who is the Supreme Lord Himself”.
Lord Sri Hari Himself is the Guru! So when one understands the Guru, he understands the whole lineage to its primordial source, Sri Hari.
It is important to note that one gets connected to Sri Krishna Himself only when he surrenders to the Guru and does not commit any Guru-aparadh. The chief Guru-aparadh is to consider the Guru as an ordinary human being and to analyse his words and actions by means of mundane logic. The Guru is Lord Sri Hari Himself. Similarly, one must not claim to be a disciple, and yet act independent of the wishes of the Guru.
Sri Maharaj ji used to say, “jaan lo ki guru mil gaye to bhagavan mil gaye” (“Understand that if one gets a Guru, he gets God.”)