The Functions Of The Spiritual Master

What is the position of the bona fide spiritual master in relation to Lord Sri Krsna? This position is hinted at by Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakur in his Sri Gurvastakam:

"The spiritual master is very much expert in assisting the gopis who are engaged in the perfection of Radha-Krsna conjugal love affairs. At different times they make different tasteful arrangements for such spiritual exchanges, and the spiritual master is there to assist in the affairs. I offer my most humble obeisances unto his lotus feet." The Gurvastakam gives further reason why the spiritual master should be worshiped and honored as much as the Supreme Lord:

"The spiritual master is honored as much as the Supreme Lord because he is the most confidential servitor of the Lord. This is acknowledged in all revealed scriptures and is followed by all authorities. Therefore I offer my respectful obeisances unto my spiritual master, who is a bona fide representative of Lord Sri Krsna."

So the function of the spiritual master should be clearly understood. The spiritual master serves the Supreme Lord directly in the spiritual sky and is a most confidential servitor of the Supreme Lord. The conditioned soul cannot approach the Supreme Lord directly, for the Supreme Lord cannot be perceived by the blunt material senses. "Vyasa was the spiritual master of Sanjaya, and he admits that it was by his mercy that he could understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This means that one has to understand Krsna directly, but through the medium of the spiritual master. The spiritual master is the transparent medium, although it is true the experience is still direct. This is the mystery of disciplic succession." (Bg., p. 316)

Out of mercy for the conditioned souls, the Supreme Lord sends His representative, the spiritual master, who is His external manifestation in the material world, and the conditioned soul is thus enabled to serve the Supreme Lord by serving and worshiping the spiritual master. As mentioned before, although called the "external manifestation," the spiritual master is a purely transcendental person in the spiritual universe, and thus he represents the internal potency of the Lord.

What is the specific function of these emissaries in the material world? "These servants of God come with the mission of life to propagate God consciousness in human society. Intelligent persons should cooperate with them in every respect. By serving the servant of God, one can please God more than directly serving the Lord. The Lord is more pleased when He sees that His servants are properly respected because such servants of God who risk everything for the service of the Lord are very, very dear to the Lord. The Lord declares in Bhagavad-gita that no one is dearer to Him than those who risk everything for the preaching work of God's glory. By serving the servants of the Lord, gradually one gets the quality of such servants, and this particular qualification of serving the servant of God makes one qualified with the urge for hearing the glorification of God. This eagerness for hearing about God is the first qualification of a devotee eligible for entering into the kingdom of God." (Bhag., Canto I, p. 124)