We have to follow the spirit; otherwise after Jahnava Devi, the wife of Lord Nityananda, up to Vipin Goswami, from whom Bhakti Vinod Thakur took initiation, there are so many unknown lady gurus. Through them, the mantra came to Vipin Goswami, and from him Bhakti Vinod Thakur received the mantra. We accept Bhakti Vinod Thakur, but should we count all those ladies in our disciplic succession? What was their realisation?
Srila B. R. Sridhar Maharaja
It is not always clear in our sampradaya who is the Guru of many of even the great Acaryas. Who was the Guru of Rupa Goswami? Who was the Guru of Raghunath Dāsa Goswami, of Gopal Bhatta Goswami, of Prabodhananda Saraswati, etc.? It is known but it is not always readily evident in the Scriptures; this is because our Guru-parampara comes through the line of Siksa-gurus. The Mantra-guru is therefore sometimes little known and even the name of the Mantra-guru of a great Acarya may not be mentioned anywhere in the Scriptures. Who is the Mantra-guru of Baladeva Vidyabhusana?... However, we can readily see that Baladeva VidyabhUsana follows Visvanath Chakravarti and therefore it is accepted that Visvanath Chakravarti is his Guru—this is the Siksa-guru line.
Srila B. S. Govinda Maharaja
Everybody calls themselves disciples, but Srila Prabhupad says that it is not necessarily so—not everybody is actually a disciple because instead of becoming a disciple we pretend to be disciples—we cannot become real disciples. One does not become a disciple just by taking a mantra and initiation from a Guru—if you can serve your Guru, if you can please your Guru, then you can be recognised as a true disciple. There are so many gurus in this world, but the number of disciples in this world is very, very small. One does not become a real Guru without first becoming a real disciple. First it is necessary to be a disciple, then you can become a guru.
Srila B. N. Acharya Maharaja
We are not followers of the outward show of devotion that we often find in the camp of the sahajiyas. A real devotion must have a satisfaction of living agent of Absolute attached to all the endeavours. Our own satisfaction or the satisfaction of many people cannot be seen as devotion towards Supreme Absolute Lord Sri Krishna. Lord Sri Krishna can only be pleased by offering our energy to satisfy a devotee who is serving representative of bonafide line of authentic Guru Parampara. When that serving spirit is about to diminish in a bonafide line of Guru Parampara, the Supreme Absolute Sri Hari Himself comes or sends one of His powerful representatives to reestablish that spirit.
Srila B. N. Shanta Maharaja
