Begging Two Boons from Srimati Tulasi Devi

23 January 2010--This morning at 4:20am in the temple room of our ISKCON New Dwarka temple in Los Angeles while chanting Hare Krishna on my japa beads I was circumambulating Srimati Tulasi devi, Krishna's pure devotee, who has so mercifully appeared before us in the form of a plant. Then after watering her and offering her my respectful obeisances I begged that she kindly bestow upon me the ultimate boon of pure devotional service. I must beg Krishna's pure devotees in this way because, being such a spiritual misfit, this is my only hope for attaining spiritual perfection. And then after begging for pure bhakti I begged Tulasi devi that I can be a pure channel for distributing her ultimate boon of pure devotional service to the suffering souls of this planet so that they can also be swimming in this ocean of nectarean mercy millions and millions of light years away from the miseries of material existence.

Beautiful, All-Merciful Pure Devotee, Srimati Tulasi devi

Beautiful, All-Merciful Pure Devotee, Srimati Tulasi devi

Answers According to the Vedic Version

Question: Kumaras and Sukadeva Goswami Were Impersonalists?

My Dearest Srila Gurudeva,

Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

In our Sunday class we had discussion about Mayavadis and impersonalists. I heard that the four Kumaras and Sukadeva Goswami were Impersonalists. I do not know whether I have understood correctly.

Srila Gurudeva, please enlighten me. Did the four Kumaras and Sukadeva Goswami teach impersonalism? Did they worship Supreme Personality of Godhead only after getting the association of the devotees? If so, why?

Your insignificant servant,

Guru Vandana dasi

Answer: Yes, But They Were Not Mayavadis.

The four Kumaras and Sukadeva Goswami had advanced to the point of impersonal Brahman realization, but they were not antagonistic to the idea of God's being a person like the Mayavadis are. There is a distinction between Mayavadis and impersonalists. Mayavadi means one who says that the form of the Lord is maya. There are impersonalists who are not Mayavadis. Such impersonalists have advanced to the point of Brahman realization, but they are not inimical towards the personality of Godhead. They are sincere, open-minded seekers of truth. So the Kumaras and Sukadeva were in this category. They were sincere seekers of truth who had not yet been exposed to the Vaisnava conception of reality. As soon as they were exposed to Vaisnavism they immediately transcended impersonal Brahman realization and came to the platform of Bhagavan realization, full surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

I have never read anywhere that they taught impersonalism before becoming Vaisnavas.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

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