Dhaka, 23 Agrahāraṇa, 1329
(8 December 1922)
To the Honorable Editor of 'Gauḍīya' —
Respected Sir,
I am a student at a high school in Dhaka and have recently appeared for my Class VIII examination. Your magazine ‘Gauḍīya’ is regularly delivered to our school, and I read with great attentiveness the various topics that you propagate. I hold profound reverence for the Vaiṣṇava-dharma, and I am firmly convinced that no other religion is as pure and untainted as this. I have listened to Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta and Śrī Caitanya-bhāgavata many times, and now I am reading them on my own. From reading and hearing these scriptures, I had long believed that Śrīman Mahāprabhu propagated an immaculate and pristine religious path. However, having personally witnessed a certain incident, my faith in the present self-proclaimed Vaiṣṇava ācāryas has become somewhat shaken. I am especially eager to learn your esteemed opinion on this matter. I sincerely hope that through your renowned ‘Gauḍīya’ magazine, I shall receive a satisfactory answer to dispel my doubts and further solidify my faith in Vaiṣṇava-dharma.
A certain Gosvāmī, who claims lineage from Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu, recently initiated a courtesan (prostitute) who was the kept woman of a wealthy landlord. This initiation ceremony took place with great pomp and grandeur in the second week of the past Kārtika month. This courtesan is extremely affluent. However, even after receiving the sacred mantra, she continues to engage freely in drinking alcohol, consuming meat, smoking cigarettes, and engaging in debauchery. Furthermore, I have personally observed that this Gosvāmī regularly visits the courtesan, accepts betel leaves and tobacco from her, and even smokes cannabis in her presence. I have witnessed this with my own eyes, and I assure you that I am not exaggerating in the slightest. Is such conduct appropriate? I write to you in search of the truth. One of my acquaintances, a young boy born into a Gosvāmī lineage, upon hearing this from me, responded:
yadyapi āmāra guru śuṇḍi-bāḍi yāya, tathāpi āmāra guru nityānanda rāya.
[Although my guru visits taverns, still, my guru is none other than the manifestation of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu.]
This response has not brought any peace to my heart. What is the true meaning of this statement? I have heard from Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta that Mahāprabhu renounced the association of Choṭa Haridāsa simply because he collected some rice from an elderly Mādhavī-mātā. Even after Choṭa Haridāsa drowned himself in repentance, Mahāprabhu did not bestow His mercy upon him. Mahāprabhu had declared:
prakṛti darśana kaile ei prāyaścitta.
[This is indeed the atonement for seeing a woman.]
Moreover, I have read that Rāmacandra Khān, an adversary of Śrī Haridāsa Ṭhākura (Brahma Haridāsa), once sent a courtesan to test him. The courtesan tried various means to lure Haridāsa Ṭhākura into temptation, but after hearing the pure chanting of the holy name from his lips, her heart melted. Eventually, she surrendered at his feet and begged for his mercy. Haridāsa Ṭhākura then instructed her, "From this day forward, you must renounce all your previous habits." He further directed her to distribute all her wealth among the brāhmaṇas, without keeping anything for herself and thus leaving everything she must reside in a small hut where she’ll worship Tulasī-devī and chant the holy name incessantly. Only after she had done this did Haridāsa Ṭhākura initiate her. Following his instructions, the courtesan donated all her wealth to the brāhmaṇas, shaved her head, wore a simple cloth, and thereafter spent her days and nights chanting three hundred thousand names of Hari daily.
tabe sei veśyā gurura ājñā laila, gṛha vitta yebā chila brāhmaṇera dila.
māthā muḍi eka vastre rahilā sei ghare, rātridina tinalakṣa nāma grahaṇa kare.
tulasī sevana kare carvaṇa upavāsa, indriya damana haila premera prakāśa.
prasiddha vaiṣṇavī haila parama mahāntī, baḍa baḍa vaiṣṇava tāra darśanete yānti.
[Then that courtesan accepted the command of her guru. She gave all the wealth and property she had to the brāhmaṇas. She shaved her head, wore a single piece of cloth, and remained in that hut. Day and night, she chanted three hundred thousand holy names. She worshiped Tulasī-devī, chewed only dry food, and observed fasting. Her senses became subdued, and divine love manifested within her. She became a renowned Vaiṣṇavī, a great saintly personality. Even the most exalted Vaiṣṇavas would come to have her darśana.]
Therefore, what I have read and heard does not align with the conduct of this so-called Gosvāmī. Can a guru act in such a manner?
I have read the biographies of the great Gosvāmīs, and from them, I understood that all Gosvāmīs were great men who had conquered their senses. Then why do the present-day individuals, who bear the title of "Gosvāmī," act in such a way? Being inquisitive, I have written many things. I pray that in doing so, if I have committed any offense, then you’ll forgive me. If, considering me to be just an ordinary schoolboy, you choose not to answer my questions, then it will leave great doubt in my heart. I shall be most grateful if you kindly respond. Here are my questions:
Is there any scriptural sanction for giving initiation (mantra) to a courtesan while allowing her to remain in her profession?
Can a guru accept money from a courtesan?
A courtesan prepares betel leaves, tobacco, and food, and her paramour consumes it, and if a guru, especially one from a brāhmaṇa lineage, accepts such things, then doesn’t he fall from his brāhminical status?
Is it allowed to give initiation in exchange for money?
If a guru visits a courtesan, accepts betel leaves and tobacco from her, and speaks with her in private, is there not a possibility of his mind becoming disturbed?
A guru is known as patita-pāvana (the savior of the fallen). If he bestows mercy upon a courtesan, will her sinful habits not be relinquished? Even after initiation, will her old propensities of a courtesan remain? Can such an act be truly called dīkṣā (initiation)?
Can a guru ask for money from a disciple for the marriage of his daughter? A Gosvāmī once visited our village, and upon being denied money, he cursed the disciple.
What is the true meaning of the statement: "yadyapi āmāra guru śuṁḍibāḍi yāya, tathāpi āmāra guru nityānanda rāya." ?
I hope you will not take any offense at my inquiries. Thus —
The questioning student.
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Answers to the Questions!
In the previous issue, a student posed eight questions. Here, a concise response to those questions is presented:
The meaning of the word mantra has been explained by Śrī Raghunandana Bhaṭṭācārya in Āhnika-tattva: "mananāt trāyate yasmāt tasmān mantraḥ prakīrtitaḥ." This means that the utterance of a word which liberates the jīva from materialistic knowledge and grants divine wisdom is called mantra-dāna (giving a mantra). Upon receiving the mantra, the jīva’s roaming in the realm of karma, along with its tendency for material enjoyment ceases. Therefore, a mantra is never given while allowing a courtesan to remain in her profession. Due to the potency of the mantra the sins are completely destroyed. Where sin has not been eradicated, it should be understood that there the transmission of a mantra has not truly occurred. In such instances, hypocrisy (kapaṭatā) infiltrates the process, and what takes place is merely an enactment (abhinaya) of mantra-dāna. If a guru bestows a mantra upon a courtesan while she remains in her sinful state, the guru himself becomes fallen and assumes the degraded status of a courtesan. However, if he successfully delivers the courtesan and transforms her into the same elevated status as himself, then only does he truly fulfill his role as patita-pāvana (the savior of the fallen). If one rescues a drowning person from water, that is called deliverance; but if instead of saving the drowning person, one himself drowns, then no good result is obtained.
Śrī Gurudeva never deceives his disciple by appropriating the disciple’s wealth for himself. If he misuses a disciple’s wealth for his own material enjoyment, then all the afflictions associated with that wealth befall him, leading to his downfall. If a guru takes money from a courtesan for his own purposes, then he is not fulfilling his duty of engaging in the service of Śrī Hari. In other words, he essentially becomes like a pet animal (pālita paśu) maintained by the courtesan. However, the money of a courtesan — or of any other person — can certainly be utilized for the service of the Lord. Once something is offered to Bhagavān, it no longer belongs to the donor but becomes the property of Bhagavān Himself. There is no form of disqualification in a substance that belongs to Bhagavān.
Those who are vṛśala (one who has lost his varṇa by the omission of prescribed duties) accept betel leaves, tobacco smoke, and food items touched by a courtesan, considering them objects of enjoyment. If a so-called guru partakes of these things, he ceases to be a true guru and instead becomes a sinful vṛśalīpati (the paramour of a fallen woman). Such a vṛśalīpati inevitably incurs the sin of losing his varṇa.
If one gives mantra while simultaneously accepting money or other material offerings, such a person earns the designation of a mantra-jīvī (one who makes a livelihood from giving mantras). A sinful mantra-jīvī falls into various excruciating hells as described in the Fifth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. A disciple should consider Śrī Gurudeva to be the dearmost of Śrī Bhagavān and should offer everything unto him. The guru, in turn, should consider the disciple’s wealth to be the property of Bhagavān and should inform the disciple that he is the trustee of such wealth which is an instrument in the service of the Lord. The guru cannot accept any wealth that is not utilized in the service of Śrī Hari. If he accepts wealth and uses it for maintaining his materialistic body, or for the sustenance of his dependents in either lawful or unlawful ways, then he himself becomes a mantra-jīvī and drowns in sin.
For a weak-minded person, consuming betel leaves and other intoxicating items from a woman outside of marriage (parastrī), as well as engaging in intimate conversations with her, inevitably leads to downfall. Such conduct is worthy of being renounced for even those who are strong and knowledgeable. Associating with immoral persons should never be considered a duty; rather, satsaṅga (association with saintly persons) is what the jīva truly aspires for. Restlessness is inherent in the nature of the mind. Those who are unrestrained or improperly disciplined often experience obstructions on the path of bhajana due to kāma (lust), krodha (anger), and other such lower tendencies.
By the potency of dīkṣā (initiation), a female disciple who is inclined towards sin must inevitably be purified of sinful inclinations. If such purification does not occur, it must be understood that no actual dīkṣā has taken place; rather, only illicit association has occurred. The immediate and inseparable result of dīkṣā is the destruction of sin and complete renunciation of all material enjoyment. If such a result is not observed, then the cause behind it (i.e. dīkṣā) cannot be accepted as perfect and complete in all respects.
It is not the duty of a guru to become greedy for the wealth of his disciple. A greedy person can never be a brāhmaṇa or a guru. Greed alone leads them to hell. A guru should sustain himself by means of bhikṣā (alms) and similar humble sources of income, and he should also arrange the marriage of his daughter and other dependents in a rightful manner. If a guru, due to his insatiable greed, becomes angry and consequently curses his disciple, that curse is merely an indication of the guru’s own downfall.
Śrī Gurudeva never engages in wrongful activities. If any misconduct appears to be perceived in the actions of Śrī Gurudeva by the disciple, the disciple should not consider it an act worthy of imitation. At the same time, he should not assume that such actions of the ‘genuine’ guru are improper. This is because, through such conduct, Śrī Gurudeva is accepting what is favorable for bhajana (devotional practice). However, beyond acts of Hari-sevā, a guru should never abandon his exclusive bhajana and become absorbed in other activities of material enjoyment. Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu never engaged in any wrongful activity. If one assumes that He did so, it is merely a sign of the disciple’s own misfortune. Such misunderstanding will cause a disciple of weak faith (komala-śraddha) to deviate from the right path. Those who unlawfully occupy the seat of a guru and, abandoning the purpose of bhajana, become engrossed in immoral activities, there can be no auspiciousness for them. yo vyakti nyāyarahitaṁ anyāyena śṛṇoti yaḥ, tābubhau narakaṁ ghoraṁ vrajataḥ kālamakṣayam. ["A person who listens to wrongful statements devoid of righteousness, and one who narrates them — both go to the dreadful hell and remain there for an indefinite period of time."]
