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In the path of devotional service taught by the Esoteric Teaching, association with devotees of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is essential.

Kṛṣṇa-bhakti-janma-mula haya ‘sadhu-sanga’
Kṛṣṇa-prema janme, tenho punah mukhya anga

“The root cause of devotional service to Lord Kṛṣṇa is association with advanced devotees. Even when one’s dormant love for Kṛṣṇa awakens, association with devotees is still most essential.” [Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila 22.83]

In this fallen age of Kali-yuga, no one can become self-realized without a spiritual support system. Therefore the Esoteric Teaching recommends that students of spiritual life form communities for spiritual association. Like the Esoteric Teaching itself, these communities are structured around the disciplic lineage of the Teaching.

evam parampara-praptam
imam rajarsayo viduh

“This supreme science was thus received through the chain of disciplic succession, and the saintly kings understood it in that way.” [Bhagavad-gita 4.2]

The spiritual strength of the Esoteric Teaching community is derived from the process of handing down the original Vedic teachings from Master Teacher to student without any change. One might infer from this that the structure of the Esoteric Teaching community is also hierarchical, but the tradition of the Teaching makes a distinction between the inner spiritual process and its manifestation in society and the world.

The lineage of the Esoteric Teaching coming down from Lord Kṛṣṇa through Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is described in the Vedic scriptures as “the desire tree of bhakti.” One can get whatever fruit he wants from this tree. Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the incarnation of Kṛṣṇa in the Kali-yuga, is known as Visvambhara, the maintainer of everyone. He is the gardener of this tree because He is the main personality who has taken charge of it.

nijacintya-saktye mali hana skandha haya
sakala sakhara sei skandha mulasraya

“By His inconceivable powers, the Lord became the gardener, the trunk and the branches simultaneously.” [Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila 9.12]

As the supreme enjoyer, He enjoyed the fruits Himself and distributed them as well. Both the tree itself and the trunk of the tree are Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Paramananda Puri and eight other great predecessors of Lord Caitanya are like the spreading roots of the tree. From the main trunk there extend two special branches, Advaita Prabhu and Sri Nityananda Prabhu, and from those branches grow many other branches and twigs.

We are fortunate to be situated in the tree of Lord Caitanya on the branch of Lord Nityananda. In other words, we trace our disciplic lineage back through the chain of self-realized spiritual masters to Lord Nityananda, then to Lord Caitanya and back to Kṛṣṇa Himself. The tree of Lord Caitanya surrounds the entire world, and the fruits of the tree are to be distributed to everyone. In this way the tree of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu intoxicates the entire world with love of Godhead in five different flavors: neutrality, servitorship, friendship, parenthood and conjugal love.

maha-madaka prema-phala peta bhari’ khaya
matila sakala loka——hase, nace, gaya

“The fruit of love of Godhead distributed by Caitanya Mahaprabhu is such a great intoxicant that anyone who eats it, filling his belly, immediately becomes maddened by it, and automatically he chants, dances, laughs and enjoys.” [Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila 9.49]

Now just like a gardener cares for his trees by cutting back weeds, he also prunes the tree. That way the life energy of the tree can flow into the productive branches that yield good quality fruit, and it will give forth more abundantly in its season. Similarly, Lord Caitanya periodically trims from His tree the branches that become useless or that produce spoiled fruit.

The spiritual lineage of the Esoteric Teaching is like a tree, with many branches and sub-branches, twigs and leaves. Our Esoteric Teaching community is one of the branches of the Caitanya tree, and there are many others, especially in India. There is room for an unlimited number of these branches to exist, and they all will flourish as long as they are properly connected to the original root, Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

What happens when a branch of this tree becomes disconnected from the original source? This can happen if the teaching or the mood of a spiritual school becomes distorted. When this happens, the disconnected branch gradually dries up, and sometimes it is pruned by the gardener, cut back so that it may grow again a healthy way.

acaryera mata yei, sei mata sara
tanra ajna langhi’ cale, sei ta’ asara

“The order of the spiritual master is the active principle in spiritual life. Anyone who disobeys the order of the spiritual master immediately becomes useless.” [Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila 12.10]

We saw this happen in our own school. While our spiritual Master Teacher was present, everything was flourishing and expanding very nicely. But as soon as he left this world, the head disciples changed everything because of a tragic misunderstanding. They thought that because the spiritual essence of the Esoteric Teaching is passed down in a hierarchical manner, the practical management of the community ought to be done in a similar way. Disobeying our Master Teacher’s instructions to the contrary, they centralized the management, and took over our Master Teacher’s school as if it were their own.

This egregious error, compounded by their conceit and arrogance, effectively disconnected the branch from the tree of Lord Caitanya. Due to this mistake, gradually everything has withered, and the organization that was flourishing so nicely has almost dried up, especially in this part of the world. Just like when a beautiful tree is injured in a storm, the leaves fall away and the branches gradually become dessicated. The fruit that were ripening in the sun never reach maturity, but instead are eaten by insects and other scavengers as they rot uselessly on the branches.

To save a damaged tree, a gardener sometimes has to prune it radically, removing the diseased branches so the tree as a whole may survive, and grow other healthy branches that will produce much fruit. Of course, this is a tragedy for the fruit and leaves on the affected branch, because they all lose their connection with the root of the tree and dry up. But it is also an extraordinary opportunity to advance in spiritual life for those who remain connected. They can sprout into a whole new branch, which will be well-nourished because of pruning the diseased one and will bring forth much good fruit.

In our Esoteric Teaching community, we must avoid making the same mistake. Therefore I want to go on record now, even at this early stage of our community’s growth, and give instructions for the future, when I will leave this mortal world. At that time, God willing, many of you will be ready to assume the responsibility of Master Teacher. If so, very good; but you must found your own branch, start your own community and collect your own group of disciples.

If you do so, then you will be successful and happy. If you fight with the other disciples over the material organization that I will leave behind, then you will ruin everything. I will not pick a successor, but the successors will be known by their ability to go out into the world and start their own teaching mission. This is the test.

Remember the old TV series, Kung-fu? When their training was complete, the monks had to leave the Shaolin Monastery and test their skills, make it in the real world. Nothing has changed since then.

So from the very beginning, our organization will consist of decentralized, mostly autonomous groups. I will inspire, but not control these groups. You yourselves will manage them and be responsible for their success or failure. Spiritually, we are connected to the tree of Lord Caitanya and Kṛṣṇa through the disciplic lineage of the Esoteric Teaching; but materially, the more decentralized and flexible we can be, the stronger and more resilient our community will be.

It is easier to have a strong central organization to make all the decisions. But that will not make you strong. We need challenges to build leadership and initiative. If I do everything for you, you will remain in the cradle. So the hierarchical aspect of the Esoteric Teaching is the spiritual teaching; the community should be as flat and decentralized as possible. Your future is in your hands. I can advise, I can be your spiritual father—but I am not your mother.

Those of you who are interested in becoming a group facilitator can visit our Group Facilitator conference.

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