We, the fallen servants of His Divine Grace; beseech all of our Masters—Please give Srila Prabhupada more time! Time to insure the strength of this movement. Time to finish the Srimad-Bhagavatam. And a little more time for us to spend at the lotus feet of His Divine Grace.
A genuine guru must not only speak the truth; he must also live it. His character must be perfect and his behavior exemplary.
Who will say which religion is false and which genuine, which harmful and which beneficial? What we need is not someone’s self-interested opinion but a reliable, nonsectarian standard for separating the bogus religions from the bona fide.
Many times, when people inquiring about Krsna consciousness hear from us about the importance of disciplic succession, they are not able to grasp what we are talking about. We say, “Krsna consciousness is coming down in disciplic succession.”
I want to talk of the real guide, the pure devotee of God who showers unlimited love and mercy upon all living entities because he is the dearmost representative of God.
I’ve relinquished my position as spiritual master and offered myself, my disciples, and all our wealth at the feet of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
How can one know that the spiritual master is bona fide? What is the duty of the spiritual master? What are his symptoms? These and other questions concerning the spiritual master and Krsna are discussed herein by way of authoritative evidence.
The true guru is the person who says that Krsna, God, is our true friend. He does not pose himself as God or tell us that we can become God.
Whether the guru is a genuine avatara must be determined through the sastras. An incarnation never says, “I am an incarnation.” Nor does an avatara canvass for students. Because of his superior qualities, he is automatically accepted.
The foremost qualification of a guru is not that the guru establish his superiority (whether by magic tricks or whatever) but that he establish the superiority of God and be able to arouse the dormant love for God in the hearts of others.
The most important celebration for a devotee to take part in is his own acceptance of initiation from the Spiritual Master. The fire sacrifice marks the climax of the initiation ceremony, and is followed by joyous singing and ecstatic dancing before the deities.
Abhay considered Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura his spiritual master from the time of their first meeting in 1922, but business and family commitments kept Abhay from participating full-time in Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati’s mission to spread Krsna consciousness.
Most people think they have no need for a spiritual master. In a sense, they are right. People interested only in an animal-like existence do not need a spiritual master. A spiritual master is required for a person who is inquisitive about transcendental knowledge.
If you want a cheap guru there will be many cheater gurus. But if you are sincere, you will have a sincere guru. Because people want everything very cheaply, they are cheated.
Some personal recollections by his disciples. In January or February of 1971, Srila Prabhupada wrote us from India. He said that in April he would be coming back to America and would visit our Boston temple, where I was president. So we booked a beautiful suite for him in the Sheraton-Boston Hotel and cleaned the […]
How many times have we recently been asked, “Who will succeed Srila Prabhupada as the spiritual leader of the Hare Krsna movement?” And how often have we been confronted with the ominous inquiry, “Will the Hare Krsna movement be able to survive without His Divine Grace?”
Although we do not want unhappiness, by our dealings we create enemies, and there is fighting and war. This forest fire of material existence goes on perpetually, and the authorized person who can deliver you from this fire is called guru, the spiritual master.
You have to surrender to the guru, but not blindly or sentimentally. First you should study him carefully to find out whether he has the qualifications spelled out in the Vedic literature.
Srila Prabhupada you are fulfilling Lord Gauranga’s wish. Without discrimination you distribute the contents of the storehouse of transcendental love.
If you want to be cheated, you will find cheating gurus. But if you are sincere, you will find a sincere guru. The genuine guru is God’s representative, and he speaks about God and nothing else.