Śrīla Prabhupāda

Now, let's apply these six criteria to the Founder-Acarya of the Krsna consciousness movement, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, so that we can see whether he is in fact a bona fide spiritual master.

First, are Srila Prabhupada's teachings purely spiritual-free of any material tinge-and can they liberate one from the misery of repeated birth and death? Yes. Srila Prabhupada bases all of his teachings on the Bhagavad-gita, and throughout the Bhagavad-gita Krsna declares that His devotee attains the highest perfection: "Devotional service is the highest activity… Only by devotional service can one achieve transcendental knowledge… One engaged in devotional service is already liberated from birth and death…" Again and again Lord Krsna declares that bhakti, devotional service, is the best method for spiritual realization. Although the Vedas teach many other paths besides bhakti (such paths as knowledge, severe austerities, karma-yoga, and mystic yoga) the Srimad-Bhagavatam, the final word in Vedic literature, refers to all these as kaitava-dharma, or "cheating religion." In truth only unalloyed devotional service (bhakti) can give satisfaction to the soul; other practices are of value only insofar as they lead to bhakti. Thus, at the conclusion of the Bhagavad-gita Lord Krsna declares, sarva-dharman parityajya: "Give up all other so-called religious activities and surrender unto Me alone" (Bg. 18.66). On Krsna's authority, Srila Prabhupada is teaching only bhakti-yoga, love of God.

Second, has Srila Prabhupada realized the Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead, and is he imparting that realization to his disciples? Yes. It is said that one can recognize the fully God-conscious spiritual master by his ability to raise many fallen souls to the level of god consciousness. Unquestionably, Srila Prabhupada exhibits this strength to a remarkable degree. Simply by coming into contact with Srila Prabhupada, thousands of people have devoted their lives to Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Srila Prabhupada's disciples are popularly known as "Krsnas" and "Hare Krsna people"-evidence of how totally dedicated to God they have actually become. Also, Srila Prabhupada's disciples strictly avoid the four sinful activities: meat eating, illicit sex, intoxication, and gambling. These four activities, the pillars of sinful life, are an integral part of our modern society. That so many young people have given them up so unreservedly is certainly revolutionary, and is but another tribute to the bona fide guru.

Third, has Srila Prabhupada received his knowledge from a bona fide spiritual master through the authorized process of disciplic succession? Yes. Srila Prabhupada is the present representative of the most authorized disciplic succession, the Brahma-Madhva-Gauḍiya-sampradaya. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krsna, has blessed this disciplic succession by appearing first as its original preceptor and again, only five hundred years ago, as Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. In the beginning of creation, Lord Krsna taught the Vedas to Brahma, the "cosmic engineer," who in turn instructed his son and chief disciple, Narada Muni. Narada then passed down the transcendental knowledge to Vyasadeva (the literary incarnation of God), who compiled all the Vedic literature, including the Upanisads, Vedanta-sūtra, Puranas, and Mahabharata (which contains the Bhagavad-gita). During the twelfth century the great Madhvacarya, who defeated both Buddha's voidist philosophy and Sahkara's impersonalist philosophy, also appeared in this disciplic succession. Srila Rūpa Gosvami, the most renowned authority on krsna-bhakti, and Jiva Gosvami, India's greatest scholar, are two more links in this unbroken chain of spiritual masters. And today Srila Prabhupada represents the entire line as the disciple of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. Certainly no other genuine guru has such credentials-what to speak of the cheaters who concoct their own philosophies and deceive the public for their personal aggrandizement.

This brings us to the fourth point: the extraordinary purity of Srila Prabhupada's character. Unlike those pseudo-gurus who preach one thing and practice another, Srila Prabhupada exemplifies all the qualities of a mahatma (great soul) described in the scriptures. He is peaceful, tolerant, merciful, austere, totally self-controlled, humble, perfectly clean (externally and within his heart), and friendly to everyone. Above all, he has perfect, unshakable faith in Lord Krsna. Anyone who has met him can testify that, without question, he is a modern saint in the most profound sense.

Fifth, does Srila Prabhupada teach glorification of God as the only means for self-realization, and does he shun materially motivated welfare work? Yes. In perfect accord with the scriptures and the preceding spiritual masters, Srila Prabhupada is exclusively propagating the sahkirtana movement-the congregational chanting of God's names and engagement in His devotional service. Many parts of the Vedic literature proclaim that of all spiritual practices, sahkirtana is the most effective for this materialistic age: the Brhan-naradiya Purana explains that no other method of God-realization is possible for the people of this age, the Kali-santarana Upanisad declares that the holy name will cure the chanter of the poisonous effects of the present materialistic Age of Kali; and the Narada Pancaratra says that the Hare Krsna mantra (composed entirely of God's names) is equal to all other mantras and sacrifices combined. Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu also taught glorification of God through sahkirtana, and He particularly stressed the Hare Krsna maha-mantra: Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. As for material well-being, Lord Caitanya explains in the Caitanya-caritamrta (Madhya 22.62) that anyone who glorifies Lord Krsna through devotional service automatically performs all subsidiary activities. In other words, he attains both spiritual and material fulfillment. So what need is there for materialistic philanthropy?

Since Srila Prabhupada is teaching the conclusion of the scriptures and is supported by the past authorities, the knowledge he is giving is the purest and most authorized. None of today's gurus is even nearly as qualified in this respect. If a would-be guru is not teaching the message of the disciplic succession from Krsna, and if he does not put forward the philosophy of the Bhagavad-gita, and if he does not stress the glorification of God by chanting His holy names-then he cannot be accepted as genuine.

Finally, the conclusive evidence that Srila Prabhupada is the only real guru today is that he is effectively spreading God (Krsna) consciousness throughout the world. Some persons object when we praise Srila Prabhupada so highly. They think we are saying no one can become a guru except our guru. But actually Lord Caitanya says that everyone-especially those born in India-should make his life perfect by practicing Krsna consciousness and then teach Krsna consciousness to others. Only Srila Prabhupada, however, has taken up the Lord's order with so much determination and so much success. Twelve years ago, while living in Vrndavana, the land of Krsna, Srila Prabhupada saw that his elder Godbrothers were not carrying out the order of Lord Caitanya and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura to spread the message of Krsna consciousness. Now that Srila Prabhupada has taken up that order, he deserves not criticism but praise. Indeed, the entire world should cooperate with such a selfless universal teacher.