Guru / Spiritual Master / Acharya
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A leader cannot teach the public to stop smoking if he himself smokes. Lord Caitanya said that a teacher should behave properly even before he begins teaching. One who teaches in that way is called ācārya, or the ideal teacher. "Whatever action is performed by a great man, common men follow in his footsteps. And whatever standards he sets by exemplary acts, all the world pursues." But we need spoon feeding and you take your precious time to do this like a caring mother dropping nectar in our yearning beaks. So we follow in your footsteps and follow your exemplary acts. Now let the whole world pursue.
(More...) Anyone from any part of the world who becomes well conversant in the science of Kṛṣṇa becomes a pure devotee and a spiritual master for the general mass of people and may reclaim them by purification of heart. According to the cult of devotion, generally known as the Vaisnava cult, there is no bar for anyone to advance in the matter of God realization. A Vaisnava is powerful enough to turn into a Vaisnava even the Kirata, etc., as above mentioned. In the Bhagavad-gita also it is said by the Lord (Bg. 9.32) that there is no bar to becoming a devotee of the Lord (even for those who are low-born, or women, sūdras or vaisyas), and by becoming a devotee everyone is eligible to return home, back to Godhead. The only qualification is that one take shelter of a pure devotee of the Lord who has thorough knowledge in the transcendental science of Krsna (Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam). Anyone from any part of the world who becomes well conversant in the science of Krsna becomes a pure devotee and a spiritual master for the general mass of people and may reclaim them by purification of heart. A person, though he be even the most sinful man, can at once be purified by systematic contact with a pure Vaisnava. A Vaisnava, therefore, can accept a bona fide disciple from any part of the world without any consideration of caste and creed and promote him by regulative principles to the status of a pure Vaisnava who is transcendental to brahminical culture. The system of caste, or varnasrama-dharma, is no longer regular even amongst the so-called followers of the system. Nor is it now possible to reestablish the institutional function in the present context of social, political and economic revolution. Without any reference to the particular custom of a country, one can be accepted to the Vaisnava cult spiritually, and there is no hindrance in the transcendental process. So by the order of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the cult of Srimad-Bhagavatam or the Bhagavad-gita can be preached all over the world, reclaiming all persons willing to accept the transcendental cult. Such cultural propaganda by the devotees will certainly be accepted by all persons who are reasonable and inquisitive, without any particular bias for the custom of the country. The Vaisnava never accepts another Vaisnava on the basis of birthright, just as he never thinks of the Deity of the Lord in a temple as idol worship. And to remove all doubts in this connection, Srila Sukadeva Gosvami has invoked the blessings of the Lord, who is all-powerful (prabhavisnave namah). As the all-powerful Lord accepts the humble service of His devotee in devotional activities of the arcana, His form as the worshipable Deity in the temple, similarly the body of a pure Vaisnava changes transcendentally at once by giving himself up to the service of the Lord and training by a qualified Vaisnava. The injunction of Vaisnava regulation in this connection runs as follows: (arcye visnau siladhir gurusu nara-matir vaisnave jati-buddhiḥ sri-visnor namni sabda-samanya-buddhiḥ, etc) "One should not consider the Deity of the Lord as worshiped in the temple to be an idol, nor should one consider the authorized spiritual master as an ordinary man. Nor should one consider a pure Vaisnava to belong to a particular caste, etc."
(More...) Imported quote 15259 The puzzled people who visited Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu were actually seeing Lord Krsna, but they were mistaken in thinking that Lord Krsna had come to Kaliya Lake. They all said that they had seen Krsna directly performing His pastimes on the hood of the serpent Kaliya and that the jewels on Kaliya's hoods were blazing brilliantly. Because they were speculating with their imperfect knowledge, they saw Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu as an ordinary human being and a boatman's light in the lake as Krsna. One must see things as they are through the mercy of a spiritual master; otherwise if one tries to see Krsna directly, he may mistake an ordinary man for Krsna or Krsna for an ordinary man. Everyone has to see Krsna according to the verdict of Vedic literatures presented by the self-realized spiritual master. A sincere person is able to see Krsna through the transparent via medium of Sri Gurudeva, the spiritual master. Unless one is enlightened by the knowledge given by the spiritual master, he cannot see things as they are, even though he remains constantly with the spiritual master. This incident at Kaliya-daha is very instructive for those eager to advance in Krsna consciousness.
(More...) Imported quote 16772 If I want to enter into the kingdom of God, or Krsna, if we want to be Krsna consciousness, there is no impediment. There is no impediment. Ahaituky apratihata [SB 1.2.6]. In the Bhagavata says that if one wants to cultivate the Krsna consciousness, it is without any cause and without any impediment. Because it is transcendental subject matter. It does not depend on any material condition. On any material condition. There is no consideration of material impediment. So it is open for everyone. Catur-varnyam maya srstam [Bg 4.13]. That is a chance given, that you can become a brahmana, you can become a great devotee of Lord Krsna, and you can become the spiritual master of the world. That is the...
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