rejecting
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A teacher who engages in an abominable action and has lost his sense of discrimination is fit to be abandoned. According to scriptural codes, a teacher who engages in an abominable action and has lost his sense of discrimination is fit to be abandoned. Bhisma and Drona were obliged to take the side of Duryodhana because of his financial assistance, although they should not have accepted such a position simply on financial considerations. Under the circumstances, they have lost the respectability of teachers. But Arjuna thinks that nevertheless they remain his superiors, and therefore to enjoy material profits after killing them would mean to enjoy spoils tainted with blood.
(More...) According to revealed scriptures, a teacher or spiritual master is liable to be rejected if he proves himself unworthy of the position of a guru or spiritual master. Arjuna arrested Asvatthama knowing perfectly well that he was the son of Dronacarya. Krsna also knew him to be so, but both of them condemned the murderer without consideration of his being the son of a brahmana. According to revealed scriptures, a teacher or spiritual master is liable to be rejected if he proves himself unworthy of the position of a guru or spiritual master. A guru is called also an acarya, or a person who has personally assimilated all the essence of sastras and has helped his disciples to adopt the ways. Asvatthama failed to discharge the duties of a brahmana or teacher, and therefore he was liable to be rejected from the exalted position of a brahmana. On this consideration, both Lord Sri Krsna and Arjuna were right in condemning Asvatthama. But to a good lady like Draupadi, the matter was considered not from the angle of sastric vision, but as a matter of custom. By custom, Asvatthama was offered the same respect as was offered to his father. It was so because generally the people accept the son of a brahmana as a real brahmana, by sentiment only. Factually the matter is different. A brahmana is accepted on the merit of qualification and not on the merit of simply being the son of a brahmana.
(More...) Imported quote 14979 We have many instances in history illustrating Rsabhadeva's instructions. Sukracarya was rejected by Bali Maharaja due to his inability to save Bali Maharaja from the path of repeated birth and death. Sukracarya was not a pure devotee, he was more or less inclined to fruitive activity, and he objected when Bali Maharaja promised to give everything to Lord Visnu. Actually one is supposed to give everything to the Lord because everything belongs to the Lord. Consequently, the Supreme Lord advises in Bhagavad-gita (9.27):
(More...) Imported quote 16742 So gurūn ahatva. A devotee of Krsna, if need be, if he's unqualified guru... Unqualified guru means who does not know how to guide the disciple. Guru's duty is to guide. So such kind of guru can be at least rejected. That is Jiva Gosvami's... Karya-karyam ajanataḥ. A guru who does not know what to do and what not to do, but by mistake, by mistakenly I have accepted somebody as guru, he can be rejected. By rejecting him, you can accept a actual bona fide guru. So guru is not killed, but he can be rejected. That is the injunction of the sastra. So Bhismadeva or Dronacarya, certainly they were gurus, but Krsna indirectly giving indication to Arjuna that "Although they are in the position of guru, you can reject them." Karya-karyam ajanataḥ. "They do not know factually."
(More...) Imported quote 17887 So there are many instances. Bali Maharaja. Bali Maharaja, he rejected his spiritual master: "Oh, you are nonsense. You cannot become my spiritual master." Because why? That Sukracarya, when Bali Maharaja was going to promise, so Sukracarya advised, "Don't promise anything. He is Visnu. He has come as dwarf to take everything from you." Then Bali Maharaja found that "This is a foolish man." This Sukracarya... Sukracarya means jata-gosai: by semina they become acarya. The semina. That is the, in India, guru-vamsa. Guru-vamsa, guru meaning spiritual master, the spiritual master, vamsa. That is disciplic succession. Evam parampara, that is guru-vamsa, not by semina. But that is going on. The Sukracarya: "This is my guru's family." Guru's family... "He has begotten a child, so something must be given. His credit is he's begotten child. Therefore something must be given." So this is going on, Sukracarya.
(More...) Imported quote 20220 Question 3, answer: Why Bali Maharaja is considered a Mahajana: Bali Maharaja is Mahajana because he wanted to serve Visnu by disobeying his non-bona fide spiritual master. As explained above, Sukracarya was hereditary spiritual master by seminic succession. But Bali Maharaja first revolted against this stereotyped seminic succession spiritual master, and therefore he is Mahajana. Srila Jiva Goswami has described in his Karamasandharvha that one should be anxious to accept a spiritual master who is bona fide in spiritual knowledge. And if need be one should relinquish the connection of hereditary spiritual master and accept a real bona fide spiritual master. So when Sukaracharya advised him contrary to his previous instructions, specifically, he checked Bali Maharaja in the matter of worshiping Visnu, and thus Sukaracharya became at once fallen down from the position of becoming a spiritual master. Nobody can become a spiritual master who is not a devotee of Visnu. A brahmana may be very expert in the matter of performing Vedic rituals, accepting charities, and distributing wealth-all these are exalted qualifications of the brahmanas, but the Vedic injunction is, in spite of possessing all these qualities, if somebody is against Lord Visnu, he cannot be a spiritual master. So when Sukaracharya advised Bali Maharaja against Visnu, he at once became unqualified for becoming a spiritual master. Bali Maharaja disobeyed such unqualified spiritual master, and therefore, he is accepted as Mahajana. Mahajana means a personality whose footprints should be followed. So, his exemplary behavior in rejecting a non-Vaisnava spiritual master being ideal to the bona fide students, he is considered a Mahajana.
(More...) Imported quote 23721 That is mahatma. Mahatmanas tu mam partha daivim prakrtim asritaḥ, bhajanty ananya-manasaḥ [Bg 9.13]. Sadhur... Api cet suduracaro bhajate mam ananya-bhak [Bg 9.30]. He's mahatma. He's sadhu. We shall go to him. Why shall we go to a rascal? Simple directions. So if you are misled, if you are cheated, whose fault it is? But if you want to be cheated, who can check? Even though somebody by mistake has gone to a rascal, the book is there. As soon as you find out, "Here is a rascal who does not know anything about Krsna, and I have come to him," reject him. That is stated in the sastra. Gurur apy avaliptasya karyakaryam ajanantaḥ parityago vidhiyate [Mahabharata 12.57.7].
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