Week 5 - Guru-pranali as the channel of grace -

In the first paragraph of of the final section of the book, Baba writes about the importance of a bhakta-praNAlI as the medium through which grace descends. pra-nAlI translates literally into special drain, channel.

In the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition, since the days of Mahaprabhu's companions, the grace of devotional worship has been handed down through unbroken diksha-successions over generations of gurus and disciples.

With regards to the question on why this praNAlI is traced according to diksha, I addressed this in a recent post of mine, a post those of you who have been wading through that thread may have already read.

Perhaps we can also explore questions concerning the concept of guru-praNAlI here in a more peaceful environment free of constant argumentation?

Great idea!

(I hope this post is not off topic as it is about siddha pranali rather than guru pranali - but I suppose the two are related.)

I feel I have something of a phobia about the concept of siddha pranali, gained from my IGM years. Jagat said in a post that it was a routine event in the traditional line, but I still feel somehow it would be an immense demonstration of hubris for me to ever even conceive of practicing in that way.

I'd like to hear how devotees with similar backgrounds managed to get over this mental block to even consider it as a possiblity for them?

I just tend to think of it as the natural extension of hearing about the forms, qualities and so forth of Radha, Krishna, sakhis and the other Vrajavasis. Naturally, the question then awakens: "Who, then, am I? What's my relationship with them all?"

Anyone who's been hearing for ages, "You are not this body!" should come to wonder, "Then, which body am I?" You need to have an identity, for heaven's sake. Otherwise, where will you go, merge with Brahman, merge with Krishna or merge with his companions you think of? You need a relationship, and relationship comes from an identity.

You need to have something to aspire for. If you are hungry for gopI-bhAva, the Lord himself has promised that you'll be given a suitable gopI-deha (CC 2.8.220-222):



As we have just read from Baladeva, the mercy of the Lord descends to this world through the bhakta-praNAlI, flowing through the divine channel of loving devotees. Especially for the sAdhakas, the Lord bestows his gifts of grace through his dear devotees.

Regarding this quote from Advaitaji in another thread, does that mean that the particular parivar in which you take diksa determines the range of potential moods or siddha identities which one might be eligible for? That is, for example, if you were given diksa and siddha pranali in Nitai's line then the manjari identity would have to be one in Lalita devi's camp, but not Visakha devi's camp?

If this is so, it seems problematic, because how can you know which parivar to join when you have not yet been given details of one's siddha deha? A sort of "chicken and egg - which came first" dilemma.

I'd appreciate your thoughts on this topic.

This is the common trend, yes, though exceptions do exist, so I've heard.

At any rate, I cannot really see your dilemma - why would you have to know this in advance? I believe the dilemma arises from the idea that you have a particular predetermined svarUpa, which as you may recall is an idea that has often been brought into question, since the common view is that the svarUpa is assigned to you.

Now, of course we then face the pertinent question, "If you've already received siddha-prANAlI in your previous life, what then?" In that case, the situation is identical with those who believe that the svarUpa is inherent. In such a case, since the Lord has promised in the Gita that on this path no effort goes in vain, and that one gets to pick up where he left off, by the will of destiny one will naturally come to a situation in which he will receive instructions that are in harmony with the practices of his previous lives. One's previous bhakti-saMskAras guide one a long way in this regard.

I think I am under the illusion that I am "seeking" or will ultimately "choose" a diksa guru in a traditional line, and am worried I will "choose" wrongly in some way! Of course this is a materialistic and egotistic way of seeing the whole situation.

But I found some nice quotes in a post from this January of your notes from one of Ananta das Babaji's talks which helped reinforce your reply.

In any case, the Gita (6.44) says purvabhyasena tenaiva hriyate hyavasho'pi sah - "On the strength of his previous life's practise the sadhaka will automatically be attracted to the path again." I am pretty confident that this means 'to his previous practise in all minute details'