Sri Govinda Parivar

Śrī Chaitanya Sāraswat Maṭh Philippines – Śrī Nāma Hāééa Center
Śrī Govinda Parivar
June 24, 2018,
2018
By Om Viṣṇupād Śrīla Bhakti Nirmal Āchārya Mahārāj
Subject: Sri Govinda Parivar 1

All glory to Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga
Dear ***,
Please accept my humble obeisance.
I have received your letter and I appreciate your submitting your enquiry
regarding the role of initiating Gurus in our Mission. The manner in which
you have made this enquiry, however, contains statements and conclusions
that are inappropriate and disruptive to our Mission.
In the future, should you feel that some uncertainty exists about proper
conduct in our Mission or the conduct of leading Vaisnavas representing
our Mission, then I request you not to jump to negative conclusions and
speak criticism of them which may be detrimental to the faith of those
serving in their care and which certainly is destructive to your own
cultivation of bhakti. Srila Gurudev has warned us countless times about
the danger of criticising and offending Vaisnavas, and the scriptures
provide numerous examples of the negative consequences of doing so. I
pray you will be more careful about this in the future for your own benefit,
the peace of our Mission, and the satisfaction of Srila Gurudev, Srila Guru
Maharaj, and Sriman Mahaprabhu.
The proper etiquette in regard to having publicly criticised Vaisnavas is to
withdraw your criticisms, seek the forgiveness of those whom you have
criticised, and express something in glorification of those Vaisnavas, and to
do all of this in the same degree of detail and public visibility that your
initial inappropriate statements were made. By doing this sincerely, your
heart will be purified of the negative effects of aparadha.
To help you and others understand why the conclusions you have made
and the manner in which you have expressed them are inappropriate, I will
make a few important points that I hope everyone within our Mission will
pay heed to.
Subject: Sri Govinda Parivar 2

Sri Govinda Parivar
Our Gurudev, Om Visnupad Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami
Maharaj, preached widely all over the world to fulfil the desires of Srila
Guru Maharaj, Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj, and
Srila Swami Maharaj Prabhupad. Over the course of 18 years, he went on
twenty-four world tours, established numerous centres on six continents,
and multiplied the size of our Mission many times over. As this took place,
Srila Gurudev's vision was that in the future after his presence in this
world many Acharyas would lead the Mission in its development in
different quarters of the world while maintaining a respectful, affectionate,
and supportive relationship with the central Math in Sri Nabadwip Dham
and the Acharya appointed to lead the Mission there.
We are all fond of saying that everyone in our Mission in the time of Srila
Gurudev and into the present are members of the Sri Govinda Parivar, the
family of Srila Govinda Maharaj, just as Srila Saraswati Thakur strived to
instill in his disciples the feeling that they were members of the Bhakti
Vinod Parivar and Gaudiya Vaisnavas of an earlier era identified
themselves as members of the Narottam Parivar in honour of Srila
Narottam Das Thakur. We want everyone in our Mission, regardless of
whether they are a disciple of Srila Gurudev or one of the current
Acharyas, to feel that they are all welcome members of the Sri Govinda
Parivar, Srila Gurudev's family, and that they have ideals and values in
common with all other members of the Mission on the basis of which they
can collaborate in service with harmony, respect, and affection.
Seeing deeply into the Mission during his time and on into the future, Srila
Gurudev laid paramount stress on Sriman Mahaprabhu's teachings of
humility, tolerance, and giving honour to others. These values are essential
both to maintain the peace and harmony of the Sri Govinda Parivar and to
satisfy the heart of Srila Gurudev. I feel it to be my greatest duty to practise
and inspire others to practise these teachings, and I humbly appeal to you
to do this to the best of your ability.
Subject: Sri Govinda Parivar 3

Gotram nu vardhatam iti: "May our family grow!"
It was Sriman Mahaprabhu's desire that His Name be chanted in every
town and village on the earth, and it was the desire of Prabhupad Srila
Saraswati Thakur to establish a Temple of Sriman Mahaprabhu in the heart
of every living being. Srila Gurudev endeavoured greatly to fulfil these
ends according to the deep and exclusive teachings of our Param Gurudev.
We are all very happy to see the growth of our Mission dedicated to these
ideals as it spreads all over the world, and as our Mission grows, the scale
of responsibility for it and its members also grows. Thus it is natural that as
the Mission grows, so too will the number of leaders needed to maintain
and develop it.
It is a general rule within the Mission that no one will take the role of an
initiating Guru within the Mission without being appointed to that role.
Srila Gurudev appointed a number of Acharyas to serve in this capacity
after his passing, and they similarly have the right to pass this
responsibility on to their disciples upon their passing. They also have the
right during their lifetime to extend this responsibility to their godbrothers.
The criterion for doing this is that the godbrother must have the necessary
qualifications of an Acharya and there must be a clear necessity for such
extension of responsibility to them.
Over the recent years as our Mission has grown and some of the Mission's
leading Acharyas have at times faced restrictions, legal and otherwise,
regarding the places they have been able to visit, they have elected to
extend the responsibility of serving as an initiating Guru to some of their
godbrothers whom they have considered qualified to do this in response to
the present necessity.
This is something that is approved of and explained in detail by our Guruvarga,
and persons who have taken on this service responsibility in this
way should not be rashly judged to be deviant, subversive, offensive, or of
Subject: Sri Govinda Parivar 4

detrimental association for others. Rather, they should be respected as
exalted Vaisnavas, and their service efforts should be supported.
Our lives are short and the challenges we face in cultivating pure Krishna
consciousness are already numerous, so I strongly urge everyone to spend
their energy fighting with maya rather than with Vaisnavas who seek only
to serve. In particular, I request you and others do not spend time engaging
in criticism and debate on social media and rather spend your precious
time engaged in service under the guidance of a higher Vaisnava.
As I have consulted with devotees on this subject, a lecture by our Param
Gurudev has been brought to my attention which I feel is most pertinent to
this situation. It explains the necessary qualifications of initiating Gurus,
the manner in which initiating Gurus may be appointed, the relationship
between Gurus within the Mission, and many other essential points
everyone in the Mission should understand in order to serve in harmony. I
feel this lecture serves as a perfect guideline for our Mission, and I will
include a transcript of it below for everyone's reference.
I have made all the above comments with the hope of unifying our
Mission, showing due respect to all its members, and providing some
vision for its health and growth.
If you or others have any further enquiries on this subject or other related
subjects, please take the time to consult with senior Vaisnavas or ask me
directly before expressing unfounded opinions on social media.
Your ever well-wisher,
Swami B. N. Acharya
Subject: Sri Govinda Parivar 5