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Imported quote 12932 The process of bhakti-yoga is simultaneously very difficult and very easy to perform. Sri Narada Muni, the supreme spiritual master, is testing Dhruva Maharaja to see how determined he is to prosecute devotional service. This is the process of accepting a disciple. The great sage Narada Muni has come to Dhruva under the direction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead just to initiate him, yet he is testing his determination to execute the process. It is a fact, however, that for a sincere person devotional service is very easy. But for one who is not determined and sincere, this process is very difficult.
(More...) Imported quote 15307 "One who is inquisitive to understand the highest goal and benefit of life must approach a bona fide spiritual master and surrender unto him." A serious disciple must be alert when selecting a bona fide spiritual master. He must be sure that the spiritual master can deliver all the transcendental necessities. The spiritual master must observe how inquisitive the disciple is and how eager he is to understand the transcendental subject matter. The spiritual master should study the disciple's inquisitiveness for no less than six months or a year. A spiritual master should not be very anxious to accept a disciple because of his material opulences. Sometimes a big businessman or landlord may approach a spiritual master for initiation. Those who are materially interested are called visayis (karmis), which indicates that they are very fond of sense gratification. Such visayis sometimes approach a famous guru and ask to become a disciple just as a matter of fashion. Sometimes visayis pose as disciples of a reputed spiritual master just to cover their activities and advertise themselves as advanced in spiritual knowledge. In other words, they want to attain material success. A spiritual master must be very careful in this regard. Such business is going on all over the world. The spiritual master does not accept a materially opulent disciple just to advertise the fact that he has such a big disciple. He knows that by associating with such visayi disciples, he may fall down. One who accepts a visayi disciple is not a bona fide spiritual master. Even if he is, his position may be damaged due to association with an unscrupulous visayi. If a so-called spiritual master accepts a disciple for his personal benefit or for material gain, the relationship between the spiritual master and the disciple turns into a material affair, and the spiritual master becomes like a smarta-guru. There are many caste gosvamis who professionally create some disciples who do not care for them or their instructions. Such spiritual masters are satisfied simply to get some material benefits from their disciples. Such a relationship is condemned by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, who calls such spiritual masters and disciples a society of cheaters and cheated. They are also called baulas or prakrta-sahajiyas. Their aim is to make the connection between the spiritual master and the disciple into a very cheap thing. They are not serious in wanting to understand spiritual life.
(More...) Imported quote 15612 In the Visnu Purana, as well as in the Mahabharata, both Krsna and Baladeva are mentioned as having beautiful black hair, even in Their advanced age. The Lord is called anupalaksya-margaḥ or, in still more technical Vedic terms, avah-manasa gocara: one who is never to be seen or realized by the limited sense perception of the people in general. In the Bhagavad-gita it is said by the Lord, naham prakasaḥ sarvasya yogamaya samavrtaḥ (Bg. 7.25). In other words, He reserves the right of not being exposed to anyone and everyone. Only the bona fide devotees can know Him by His specific symptoms, and out of such many, many symptoms, one symptom is mentioned here in this verse, that the Lord is sita-krsna-kesaḥ, or one who is observed always with beautiful black hair. Both Lord Krsna and Lord Baladeva have such hair on Their heads, and thus even in advanced age They appeared like young boys sixteen years old. That is the particular symptom of the Personality of Godhead. In the Brahma-samhita it is stated that although He is the oldest personality among all the living entities, still He always looks like a new, youthful boy. That is the characteristic of a spiritual body. The material body is symptomized by birth, death, old age and diseases, but the spiritual body is conspicuous by the absence of those symptoms. Living entities who reside in the Vaikunthalokas in eternal life and bliss have the same type of spiritual body, without being affected by any signs of old age. It is described in the Bhagavatam (Canto Six) that the party of Visnudūtas who came to deliver Ajamila from the clutches of the party of Yamaraja appeared like youthful boys, corroborating the description in this verse. It is ascertained thus that the spiritual bodies in the Vaikunthalokas, either of the Lord or of the other inhabitants, are completely distinct from the material bodies of this world. Therefore, when the Lord descends from that world to this world, He descends in His spiritual body of Atma-maya or internal potency, without any touch of the bahirahga-maya or external material energy. The allegation that the impersonal Brahman appears in this material world by accepting a material body is quite absurd. Therefore the Lord, when He comes here, has not a material body, but a spiritual body. The impersonal brahmajyoti is only the glaring effulgence of the body of the Lord, and there is no difference in quality between the body of the Lord and the impersonal ray of the Lord, called brahmajyoti.
(More...) Imported quote 16026 Once Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, "You must at least have enough sense to test to find out who is a spiritual master and who is not." For instance, if we want to purchase something, we must at least have some idea of what that thing is, otherwise we will be cheated. If we want to purchase a mango from the market, we must at least know what type of food a mango is and what it looks like. Similarly, we must have some preliminary knowledge of the qualifications for a bona fide spiritual master. Bhagavad-gita itself gives some information about the succession of spiritual masters. Lord Sri Krsna says:
(More...) Imported quote 16981 This is the first condition. First of all find out such person whom..., upon whom you have full faith that whatever he will say, you will accept. That is guru. If you think that you know better than your guru, then there is no use. First of all you find out the person that one who is better than you. Then you submit. Therefore the rules and regulation are that nobody should accept blindly any guru, and nobody should blindly accept any disciple. They must behave, one another, at least for one year so that the prospective disciple can also understand, "Whether I can accept this person as my guru," and the prospective guru also can understand, "Whether this person can become my disciple." This is the instruction by Sanatana Gosvami in his Hari-bhakti-vilasa.
(More...) Imported quote 17432 The guru must be mahatma and muni. Muni means thoughtful, philosopher. Not foolish rascal, manufacturing some philosophy. And mahatmabhiḥ: not only self-realized, but by his character, by his behavior, by his understanding, he must be a mahatma. What is that mahatma? There are so many mahatmas simply by changing the dress. No. Not that kind of mahatma. Our Bhaktivinoda Thakura has sung a song, eo ta' eka kalira cela: "Here is a disciple of Kali." What is that? Nake tilaka galaya mala. "He has got tilaka..." Matha neḍa nake tilaka galaya mala. He sings that sahaja-bhajana karachena mamu, sahge la'ye parera bala. Bhaktivinoda Thakura sings that "He's dressed like a babaji. He has shaven his head, and has got tilaka and kanthi. But he has got at least half a dozen women, and that is his bhajana." So not that... That is not mahatma. That is duratma, a cheating... Of course, in this Kali-yuga... Therefore Bhaktivinoda Thakura says, eo ta' eka kalira cela. Kalira cela means the disciple of Kali. Dressed like a sadhu or Vaisnava, but within, all rubbish things. That will not help us. He must be mahatma, real mahatma. We want guru like that. Then it will be a... We must be also qualified, and guru also qualified. Therefore it is said in the Hari-bhakti-vilasa that one year should be taken to study one another, the guru and the disciple. The guru also will see whether the person is fit to become a disciple, and the disciple also will see, "Whether this gentleman can become my guru."
(More...) Imported quote 19067 Surrender means you first of all be convinced that "Here is a person who can give me actual knowledge." Therefore before selecting guru one has to convince himself that "The person whom I am going to accept as guru, whether he actually can give me the knowledge?" That is wanted. Therefore before making guru, the system is, for one year the prospective disciple should hear from the person and then decide. And similarly, the guru also see a person who is actually submissive or not. That is Vaisnava injunction, Hari-bhakti-vilasa, not that to make a guru as a fashion. No. Not guru. Don't keep a guru, order-supplying guru. No. Just like if somebody keeps a dog and the master orders him, "Do this," and he does, fashion. No. It is not fashion. You must approach guru who..., where you can surrender. Otherwise don't make guru. And the guru also should not accept such rascal as guru. First of all, the thing is surrender. Tad viddhi pranipatena [Bg 4.34].
(More...) Imported quote 19474 So this mentality should be sacrificed first, before going to a spiritual master. First of all you have to select who can be your spiritual master. That requires some knowledge. Or you have to behave with a person to understand, "Whether he is fit to become my spiritual master?" Then you should offer yourself to be a student. That is the process, not that all of a sudden you shall go to a person, "Oh, please accept me as my [your] student." No. You should first of all try to understand whether he is actually fit. Then offer yourself.
(More...) Imported quote 19494 Prabhupada: Poetic, expert and silent. One who is too much talkative, that means he's lacking in devotion. He should simply talk about Krsna, nothing more. And when he, when one is actually absorbed in Krsna thought, he cannot talk nonsense. He has no time. He does not waste time.
(More...) Imported quote 19759 So you have to learn from guru by three process. What is that? First process is you must surrender. Tasmad gurum prapadyeta [SB 11.3.21]. Surrender. You have to find out such a exalted person where you can willingly surrender: "Yes." Therefore it is enjoined in the sastras, before making a guru, try to study him, whether you can surrender there. Don't accept any guru all of a sudden, as fanatic. No, don't do that. That is the injunction. And guru also must study the disciple who wants to become a disciple; must study him, whether he's fit for becoming a disciple. This is the way of making relationship between guru and disciple. Everything is there, provided we take them seriously. Then we can train up how to become bona fide disciple, how to find out bona fide guru, how to establish our relationship with guru and act accordingly and make our life successful.
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