The Real Guru

Lord Caitanya says that a teacher should behave properly even before beginning to teach others, and one who teaches in that way is called acarya or ideal teacher. There is a Sanskrit phrase, guru, sadhu, sastra, which means that the real teacher or guru is one who does not deviate from that which has been taught by other sadhus (holy men) or by scripture. These three, guru, sadhu and sastra, form the standard of truth and are always in agreement. Therefore one need not be in ignorance as to whether he is following a bona fide system. Does the guru follow in the line of the great acaryas and is his teaching in accord with the scriptures? Is the scripture and scriptural understanding confirmed by the guru and all other sadhus? In this way one can check the truth, and no one need be led astray or cheated by a pretender.

Krsna Himself, for our example, is following in the line of Vedic instructions, and instructing His disciple, "Just do your duty for My sake." Krsna is urging Arjuna to do his duty, not because He needs it, but because this is the path of spiritual advancement-for everyone: "As the ignorant perform their duties with attachment to results, similarly, the learned may also act, but without attachment, for the sake of leading people on the right path." (3.25). That means that the wise man and the so-called ignorant man are asked to perform similar duties, but we should not assume that they are on the same platform. The consciousness is different. The ignorant is acting because he thinks that he is going to get something. He goes to church or gives some charity, but in the hope of getting something back, either material or spiritual. But the wise man is doing these same things for a different reason-because it is the desire of Krsna. That is called devotional service. Therefore, the action is the culmination of surrender. Verse thirty says: "Therefore, O Arjuna, surrendering all your works unto Me, with mind intent on Me, and without desire for gain and free from egoism and lethargy-fight."

Sacrifice is not meant for satisfying anyone less than the Supreme, and when the Supreme is satisfied, all the part and parcel subordinates like the demigods and living entities are automatically satisfied. The leaves of a tree are watered when the root is watered, and all the limbs of the body are nourished when the stomach is fed. Krsna is in need of nothing, but as long as we are disconnected from the service of the Supreme, something is out of joint. So actually, sacrifice or surrender is simply for our own good. Therefore Krsna is emphasizing the necessity for surrendering all work to "Me," for keeping the mind intent on "Me." Finally He tells him to fight enthusiastically without desire for gain and free from possessiveness. Everything belongs to Krsna, including the result of the battle; therefore Arjuna must simply fight for the sake of fighting because Krsna has requested it. That is the meaning of surrender and the real import of Bhagavad-gita. Krsna doesn't tell Arjuna to surrender preaching work or to surrender teaching work or charity or humanitarianism or so many other things. No, Krsna says, "Surrender all your work to Me."

In the Vedic system there are so many occupations. Some of them are not very pleasant. Arjuna's was not very pleasant; he was a warrior, and he was being asked to kill his friends and relatives. If we, like Arjuna, surrender all work to Krsna, certainly the next part will follow: the mind will be intent on Him. When the mind is intent upon the lover, the lover is never out of mind. There is always longing for the lover, always the feeling, "When can I see my beloved again?" or, "What is my lover doing now?" or, "How can I do something for my love?" Everything is revolving about the lover, and in such a state of mind the next stage automatically follows: freedom from desire for gain, from false egoism and from lethargy. If one is actually intent on Krsna, he is always thinking of Krsna, about His pastimes, about His devotees, His beauty, etc. Who can be thinking of anything so gross as material gain, some business calculation? If Krsna is in mind, what loss could make one lament? Krsna is full, absolute, so if Krsna is in the mind, the mind must be full. That is fact. Therefore with great enthusiasm one can fight or do anything else Krsna desires. One can fight anyone-father, mother, son, daughter. What are father and mother but the accidental circumstance for the appearance of the body? Krsna is the real father and the real mother, and by love and service He will become one's child and lover. We owe everything to Krsna, so if Krsna is bidding us to fight, how can we refuse?

For the person surrendering to Krsna, Krsna promises all good fortune: "One who executes his duties according to My injunctions and who follows this teaching faithfully becomes free from the bondage of fruitive actions. But those who, out of envy, disregard these teachings and do not practice them regularly, are to be considered bereft of all knowledge, befooled, and doomed to ignorance and bondage" (Bg. 3.31-32). For one who surrenders to the feet of Lord Krsna there is all good fortune; nothing can touch him, for he is protected by the Almighty Himself. But for the soul who refuses to take shelter of Mukunda, Krsna, the giver of liberation, everything is inauspicious.