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Philosophy: Understanding guru, sadhu and sastra

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      CommentAuthorabhiram
    • CommentTimeAug 29th 2007
     
    Are they on the same level? Which one is more important? I would like to hear an explanation on this and your realizations if possible.
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      CommentAuthorVEDA
    • CommentTimeAug 29th 2007 edited
     
    Sruti sastra is an eternal apauruseya sabda so guru and sandhu have to refer to it when they write smriti and derived works. In this way Vedas constitute the pramana for all Vedic (astika) philosophies.

    Manu 2.13-14:
    The knowledge of the sacred law is prescribed for those who are not given to the acquisition of wealth and to the gratification of their desires; to those who seek the knowledge of the sacred law the supreme authority is the revelation (Sruti).
    But when two sacred texts (Sruti) are conflicting, both are held to be law; for both are pronounced by the wise (to be) valid law.
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      CommentAuthorsitapati
    • CommentTimeAug 29th 2007 edited
     
    Sastra gives us the bigger picture, especially the cosmological context, within which we can identify the helping elements in our local environment, guru and sadhu, according to the standards described there.

    Guru means an advanced practitioner who helps us personally. There are three types, vartma-pradarsaka - the first person to help us and introduce us to the process; siksa-guru - someone who gives you guidance; and diksa-guru, the person with whom you establish a strong connection that develops into a formal relationship.

    Sadhu means fellow practitioners, including those more advanced, who help to give us a more balanced picture of reality. Otherwise we are filtering everything through our own consciousness, which introduces bias due to our individual perspective.

    It is a process of triangulation in order to make a precise measurement of reality. All three are necessary. If one of them is off then the other two identify the deviation.
    Thankful People: Servant Krsna, ccd
    • CommentAuthorPriya
    • CommentTimeOct 10th 2007
     
    well put prabhu. I agree. your servant, Priya
    • CommentAuthorPriya
    • CommentTimeOct 10th 2007
     
    regarding Sitapati's comment.
    • CommentAuthordeena
    • CommentTimeOct 10th 2007
     
    Sitapati prabhu, I understand the triangulation picture you present but I'm not sure it's completely accurate. For example, in the purport to CC Madhya 20.352, Prabhupada twice repeats "The actual centre is the sastra..." This conclusion doesn't really lend itself to triangle imagery. (unless sastra is the top point in the triangle, or is this what you meant?)

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