Question: If you could please elaborate the journey of the soul when we leave this material body and we attain our spiritual body. I remember reading somewhere Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur saying the holy name carries the soul to the spiritual world and there is very descriptive details of how the soul is finally engaged in the service of Lord Krsna eventually. Of course there are a lot of stages of training and so on and so forth. I always wondered where does the spiritual master, where does he fit in, when we depart this world and we are on our journey to Goloka Vrndavana?

Jayapataka Swami:   You see, it is said that there are five principle rasas – santa, dasya, sakya, vatsalya and madurya. The neutral, servitude, friendship, parental and conjugal. So depending on what our relationship is, the guru introduces us to some expert in that particular rasa or relationship. If we are in dasya rasa, he may introduce us to Bhakta Hanuman or depending. If we are sakya, he may introduce us to Sridham or one of the sakas, and they will train us or assign us to someone appropriate, and thus we will be trained. So similarly in each of the rasas, there is some persons who we are entrusted to and the guru’s direct role is complete. But it says that he could always be called, and he like an old friend, at that time, he acts as an old friend. Because we are already in our eternal relationship with Krsna, but we have to get trained up. So we will be under the care of some particular associate of Lord Krsna who has that relationship with Krsna. Then the devotees of Lord Caitanya are simultaneously in Gaura lila and Krsna lila. This is a special facility to be a devotee of Lord Caitanya. Haribol! So until you get back, the guru has to help and get you entrusted to some associate of the Lord after that you need him, he is there!
23-NOVEMBER-2019 NEW PANIHATI DHAM, ATLANTA, USA