Sanatan Goswami | The Hare Krishna Movement

This is probably one of my most favorite songs from the “Songs of the Vaisnava Acaryas” songbook. I try to sing it every day as part of my morning program. And I like to recite the English as well.

I offer my respectful obeisances unto the six Gosvāmīs, who were chanting very loudly everywhere in Vṛndāvana, shouting, “Queen of Vṛndāvana, Rādhārāṇī! O Lalita! O son of Nanda Mahārāja! Where are you all now? Are you just on the hill of Govardhana, or are you under the trees on the bank of the Yamunā? Where are you?” These were their moods in executing Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Śrī Śrī Ṣaḍ-gosvāmy-aṣṭaka
Eight Prayers to the Six Gosvamis
by Śrīnivāsa Ācārya

Characteristics of the Bona Fide Guru

Recently there has been some discussion on the internet about Jayadvaita Swami’s remarks on kirtana standards in his Kirtan Seminar lectures. I cannot repeat here, what he said on the YouTube Lecture, finding it offensive and not worthy of repeating. Rather than dwell on the negetive statements of Jayadvaita Swami, we thought it better to repeat the words of the bona fide spiritual master Srila Prabhupada, who so nicely describes the characteristics of the “Bona Fide Guru” in the pages of the Sri Caitanya-caritmrta.

…The guru must be situated on the topmost platform of devotional service. There are three classes of devotees, and the guru must be accepted from the topmost class. The first-class devotee is the spiritual master for all kinds of people. It is said: gurur nṛṇām. The word nṛṇām means “of all human beings.” The guru is not limited to a particular group. It is stated in the Upadeśāmṛta of Rūpa Gosvāmī that a guru is a gosvāmī, a controller of the senses and the mind. Such a guru can accept disciples from all over the world. Pṛthivīṁ sa śiṣyāt. This is the test of the guru.

…When one has attained the topmost position of mahā-bhāgavata, he is to be accepted as a guru and worshiped exactly like Hari, the Personality of Godhead. Only such a person is eligible to occupy the post of a guru. (purport Madhya 24.330)

Full text and purport More