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Sadhu means pious, religious, honest person. Sadhu, whose character is spotless, he's called sadhu

Expressions researched:
"Sadhu means pious, religious, honest person. Sadhu, whose character is spotless, he's called sadhu"

Lectures

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures

For real knowledge, we have to consult the scriptures, śāstra. Sādhu-śāstra-guru. Sādhu means pious, religious, honest person. Sādhu, whose character is spotless, he's called sādhu. Śāstra means scripture, and guru, guru means spiritual master. They are on the equal level. Why? Because the medium is scripture. Guru is considered to be liberated because he follows the scripture. Sādhu is considered to be honest and saintly because he follows scripture.
Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.353-354 -- New York, December 26, 1966:

We should always think that we are in the modes of ignorance. We are just trying to make progress from ignorance to goodness and then transcend. This is the process of spiritual realization. Nobody should think that we are perfect. We cannot be. God is... Only God is perfect, and we are all imperfect. Even our so-called liberated stage, we are still imperfect. Therefore one has to take shelter of authority because, constitutionally, we are imperfect. Lord Caitanya says, āmā-sabā jīvera haya śāstra-dvārā 'jñāna'. So therefore, for real knowledge, we have to consult the scriptures, śāstra. Sādhu-śāstra-guru. Sādhu means pious, religious, honest person. Sādhu, whose character is spotless, he's called sādhu. Śāstra means scripture, and guru, guru means spiritual master. They are on the equal level. Why? Because the medium is scripture. Guru is considered to be liberated because he follows the scripture. Sādhu is considered to be honest and saintly because he follows scripture. Sādhu-śāstra-guru-vākya. Nobody can become a sādhu if he does not accept the principles of scripture. Nobody can be accepted as guru, or spiritual master, if he does not follow the principles of scripture. This is the test.

tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum eva abhigacchet
samit-pāṇiḥ śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham
(MU 1.2.12)

Śrotriyam, śrotriyam means one who has accepted the Vedic literature, the śāstra, scripture, as the guidance, he can be... Not a extravagant upstart, he makes some group and religious principle of his own and become a guru. No, no, he'll not be...

So Lord Caitanya advises... Sanātana Gosvāmī's inquiry is how to know that he, here is a avatāra. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu says the medium is śāstra, and direction is the guru. Śāstra also we cannot understand any book, what to speak of the scripture. Sometimes we find contradiction in the scripture. That is not contradiction; that is my poor fund of knowledge. I cannot understand; therefore assistance of guru, a spiritual master, is required. So far incarnation is concerned, here Lord Caitanya says that we have to see through the śāstra whether a person is incarnation or not. We should not blindly accept anybody as incarnation because there are, nowadays, numberless incarnations.

avatāra nāhi kahe-'āmi avatāra'
muni saba jāni' kare lakṣaṇa-vicāra

This is another significance of incarnation. Incarnation never says that "I am incarnation of God." I have read one book about a big avatāra in India. He was canvassing his students, "Do you now accept me as incarnation? Do you now accept me as incarnation?" And the... Perhaps you know. (laughs) And the disciple was denying, "No." Then, at a time the disciple said, "Yes, I accept you." So this is not avatāra. Here Caitanya Mahāprabhu says avatāra does not canvass that "I am..." Guru does not canvass. Sādhu does not canvass. He automatically, by his qualities, he becomes accepted. Yes.

So here Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, avatāra nāhi kahe-'āmi avatāra'. Actually who is avatāra, incarnation, he'll never say that "I am avatāra." Muni saba jāni' kare lakṣaṇa-vicāra. Muni, those who are thinkers, they are actually in the line, they see the symptoms and, with symptoms, they specify, "Yes, here is a avatāra." The symptoms... How the symptoms are analyzed of avatāra? The symptom is, first symptom is that there is reference in the śāstra, scripture, that in such and such time, such and such personality will come. He will be incarnation of God. Even his father's name, his birthplace, everything is written in the scripture. So we have to identify, lakṣaṇa. Then he'll act like this. He'll come like this, and he'll act like this. So these things we analyze, whether he is actually avatāra. Now, even there are characteristics, somebody does not accept also. Just like Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He never said that "I am avatāra." But from His symptoms, from His characteristics, later on great sages, great philosophers, they decided that He's avatāra. Just like here. Sanātana Gosvāmī's stressed Him, testing, and he's trying to confirm it by Lord Caitanya. Because Lord Caitanya described here that in this Kali-yuga the avatāra, His symptoms are like this: kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇaṁ sāṅgopāṅgāstra pārṣadam (SB 11.5.32). He is in the category of Kṛṣṇa; by His complexion, He's non-black. Akṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇam. And He's always followed by confidential associates. And people who are intelligent, they worship Him by the process of saṅkīrtana. Saṅkīrtanair yajñaiḥ kalau yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ. Su-medhasaḥ means those persons who are, who have got good brain substance. Not foolish persons. Su-medhasaḥ, a man of great brain substance, they can understand, "Oh, here is..." That is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, in Mahābhārata, in Upaniṣad, in Purāṇas, about Lord Caitanya's appearance. There are many symptomatic explanation. But still there are many fools, they do not accept.

Page Title:Sadhu means pious, religious, honest person. Sadhu, whose character is spotless, he's called sadhu
Compiler:Visnu Murti
Created:30 of Dec, 2010
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=1, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:1