disciplic succesion / param para

Brahmā, on being questioned by Nārada, told Nārada exactly what he had heard directly from the Lord. Nārada again told exactly the same thing to Vyāsa, and Vyāsa also told Śukadeva exactly what he heard from Nārada.

My dear King, Brahma, the first-born, on being questioned by Narada, exactly apprised him on this subject, as it was directly spoken by the Lord to His own son, who is impregnated with Vedic knowledge from his very birth. (More...)

As soon as Brahma was born out of the abdomenal lotus petals of Visnu, he was impregnated with Vedic knowledge, and therefore he is known as veda-garbha, or a Vedantist from the embryo. Without Vedic knowledge, or perfect infallible knowledge, no one can create anything. All scientific knowledge and perfect knowledge are Vedic. One can get all types of information from the Vedas, and as such, Brahma was impregnated with all-perfect knowledge so that it was possible for him to create. Thus Brahma knew the perfect description of creation, as it was exactly apprised to him by the Supreme Lord Hari. Brahma, on being questioned by Narada, told Narada exactly what he had heard directly from the Lord. Narada again exactly told the same thing to Vyasa, and Vyasa also told Sukadeva exactly what he heard from Narada. And Sukadeva was going to repeat the same statements as he heard them from Vyasa. That is the way of Vedic understanding. The language of the Vedas can be revealed only by the above-mentioned disciplic succession, and not otherwise. (More...)

There is no use in theories. Knowledge must be factual. There are many things that are complicated, and no one can understand them unless they are explained by one who knows. The Vedic knowledge is also very difficult to know and must be learned by the above-mentioned system, otherwise it is not at all understood. (More...)

Sukadeva Gosvami, therefore, prayed for the mercy of the Lord so that he might be able to repeat the very same message that was spoken directly by the Lord to Brahma, or what was directly spoken by Brahma to Narada. Therefore the statements of creation, which were explained by Sukadeva Gosvami, are not at all, as the mundaners suggest, theoretical, but they are perfectly correct. One who hears these messages and tries to assimilate them gets perfect information of the material creation. (More...)

Devarṣi Nārada was directly instructed by Brahmājī, who was also directly instructed by the Supreme Lord; therefore the instructions imparted by Nārada to his various disciples are as good as those of the Supreme Lord.

King Pariksit inquired from Sukadeva Gosvami: How did Narada Muni, whose hearers are as fortunate as those instructed by Lord Brahma, explain the transcendental qualities of the Lord, who is without material qualities, and before whom did he speak? (More...)

Devarsi Narada was directly instructed by Brahmaji, who was also directly instructed by the Supreme Lord; therefore the instructions imparted by Narada to his various disciples are as good as those of the Supreme Lord. That is the way of understanding Vedic knowledge. It comes down from the Lord by disciplic succession, and this transcendental knowledge is distributed to the world by this descending process. There is no chance, however, to receive the Vedic knowledge from mental speculators. Therefore, wherever Narada Muni goes, he represents himself as authorized by the Lord, and his appearance is as good as that of the Supreme Lord. Similarly, the disciplic succession which strictly follows the transcendental instruction is the bona fide chain of disciplic succession, and the test for such bona fide spiritual masters is that there should be no difference between the instruction of the Lord originally imparted to His devotee and that which is imparted by the authority in the line of disciplic succession. How Narada Muni distributed the transcendental knowledge of the Lord will be explained in later cantos. (More...)

He did not manufacture anything or add interpretation, but explained whatever he had heard from his spiritual master. Thus he accepted as bona fide the system of paramparā.

Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, I have explained to you the Personality of Godhead's coming down as the first boar incarnation and killing in a great fight a demon of unprecedented prowess as if he were just a plaything. This has been narrated by me as I heard it from my predecessor spiritual master. (More...)

Here the sage Maitreya admits that he explained the incident of the killing of Hiranyaksa by the Supreme Personality of Godhead as a straight narration; he did not manufacture anything or add interpretation, but explained whatever he had heard from his spiritual master. Thus he accepted as bona fide the system of parampara, or receiving the transcendental message in disciplic succession. Unless received by this bona fide process of hearing from a spiritual master, the statement of an acarya or preceptor cannot be valid. (More...)

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One who offers prayers to the Lord to fulfill his different desires must know that the highest perfectional fulfillment of desire is to go back home, back to Godhead. In this verse it is indicated that those who remember the activities of the Pracetas, the sons of King Pracinabarhisat, will be delivered and benedicted. So what to speak of the sons of King Pracinabarhisat, who are directly connected with the Supreme Personality of Godhead? This is the way of the parampara system. If we follow the acaryas, we attain the same benefit as our predecessors. If one follows the decisions of Arjuna, he should be considered to be directly hearing Bhagavad-gita from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There is no difference between hearing Bhagavad-gita directly from the Supreme Lord and following a personality like Arjuna, who formerly heard Bhagavad-gita directly from the Lord. Sometimes foolish people argue that since Krsna is not present at the moment, one cannot take direct instructions from Him. Such foolish people do not know that there is no difference between directly hearing Bhagavad-gita and reading it, as long as one accepts Bhagavad-gita as it is, spoken by the Lord. However, if one wants to understand Bhagavad-gita by his imperfect interpretations, one cannot possibly understand the mysteries of Bhagavad-gita, even though one may be a great scholar according to mundane estimation. (More...)

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This is the method of parampara, or disciplic succession. Similarly, in Srimad-Bhagavatam Krsna imparted knowledge into the heart of Brahma, the first created creature within the universe. Brahma imparted those lessons to his disciple, Narada, and Narada imparted that knowledge to his disciple, Vyasadeva. Vyasadeva imparted it to Madhvacarya, and from Madhvacarya the knowledge comes down to Madhavendra Puri, to Īsvara Puri and from him to Caitanya Mahaprabhu. (More...)

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The Vedas are considered to be the mother and Brahma is called the grandfather, the forefather, because he was the first to be instructed in the Vedic knowledge. In the beginning the first living creature was Brahma. He received this Vedic knowledge and imparted it to Narada and other disciples and sons, and they also distributed it to their disciples. In this way, the Vedic knowledge comes down by disciplic succession. It is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita, that Vedic knowledge is understood in this way. If you make experimental endeavor, you come to the same conclusion, but just to save time you should accept. If you want to know who your father is and if you accept your mother as authority, then whatever she says can be accepted without argument. There are three kinds of evidences: pratyaksa, anumana and sabda. Pratyaksa means direct. Direct evidence is not so good because our senses are not perfect. We are seeing the sun daily, and it appears to us just like a small disc, but it is actually far, far larger than many planets. Of what value is this seeing? Therefore we have to read books, then we can understand about the sun. So direct experience is not perfect. Then there is inductive knowledge: "It may be like this," hypothesis. For instance, Darwin's theory says it may be like this, it may be like that, but that is not science. That is a suggestion, and it is also not perfect. But if you receive the knowledge from the authoritative sources, that is perfect. If you receive a program guide from the radio station authorities, you accept it. You don't deny it; you don't have to make an experiment because it is received from the authoritative sources. (More...)

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But if we receive information from the perfect source, Krsna, and if we repeat that information, then what we are speaking can also be accepted as perfect and authoritative. This process of parampara, or disciplic succession, means hearing from Krsna, or from authorities who have accepted Krsna, and repeating exactly what they have said. In Bhagavad-gita Krsna recommends this process of knowledge: evam parampara-praptam imam rajarsayo viduḥ. "This supreme science was thus received through the chain of disciplic succession, and the saintly kings understood it in that way" (Bg. 4.2). (More...)

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So Rūpa Gosvami says how this asakti can be increased. He gives formula, mad-asrayaḥ. Krsna said, "Either you take shelter of Me directly or to a person who has taken shelter of Me." Just like electric power. Electric house, powerhouse, may be long away, but if the electricity is coming through some wire, and if you touch, immediately you will..., immediately in touch with the powerhouse. So either you touch the powerhouse or an wire, insig..., who is empowered by the powerhouse, you touch, you get the electricity. This is called parampara system. Mad-asrayaḥ. Evam parampara-praptam imam rajarsayo viduḥ, yogo nastaḥ paran... [Bg 4.2]. (More...)

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India has always been known as a holy land long before the advent of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who originated the Hare Krsna movement 500 years ago. Lord Ramacandra, who was the incarnation of the Supreme Lord in the role of the perfect king, actually walked on this land millions of years ago when it extended as the kingdom of the whole world. His activities are recounted in the Ramayana, which is accepted by all transcendental authorities as authentic scripture. The most pious and learned devotees of the Lord have resided in India and taught there. The appearance of the incarnation of Lord Buddha was foretold in the First Canto of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, Chapter Three, verse 24, written 2,000 years before Buddha's birth: "In the beginning of the Kali-yuga, the Lord will appear as Lord Buddha, the son of Anjana, in the province of Gaya, for the purpose of deluding persons envious of the faithful theist." India is therefore the land where the religion of Buddhism sprang forth. For his special mission, Lord Buddha rejected the Vedas, and therefore the authority of the scriptures had to be reaffirmed. This was done by the great spiritual master Sahkaracarya, who drove Buddhism from the land of India by his brilliant explanations based on the Vedic literature. According to Srimad-Bhagavatam Lord Krsna is Himself the source of all the incarnations. The self-same Lord Krsna appeared in His original form, also on Indian soil, 5,000 years ago when He exhibited full-fledged activities as the Personality of Godhead in the provinces of Vrndavana and Mathura. As it is said, God is great. The true vision of His pastimes and His greatness was then displayed to all living entities on this planet, and it is all recorded in the book Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. It is even stated in a recent book called the Aquarian Gospel that Lord Jesus Christ declared by the New Testament of the Holy Bible to be the son of God, also spent some time in India and worshiped in Jagannatha Puri. India is naturally pious, and throughout the villages of India the people still remain God conscious. But this present age is an impious age. It can be checked only by dependence on the Lord and His devotees and by following the benediction of this age. The leaders of India have in recent history rejected the transcendental culture of the Vedas, which points out that everything is actually spiritual. This material world is simply temporary and is inherently miserable, due to birth, death, disease and old age. The human form of life is therefore meant for realizing God, even by working at one's occupation; the whole society has to aim at realization of God through its activities. Instead of following this path, called varnasrama-dharma, the Indians, influenced by the attraction of foreign city life, have rejected their original culture and tried to be happy by following the materialistic ways of the great countries of the West such as the United States. The danger in their rejecting this Krsna consciousness while in the human form of life is expressed in the Bhagavad-gita. One may slip down to the lower forms of life in the future births. We are all spiritual by nature, but we have become covered, like a mirror becomes covered by dust. Especially for this age, Lord Caitanya, the incarnation of Krsna who is appearing as a devotee in order to teach, has given a very simple method. Everyone should chant the holy name of God, and everyone can do it in any position of life. He has especially stated that anyone born in India has the responsibility to take up this chanting and spread it, and He has quoted scripture to state that there is no alternative for spiritual realization in this age than chanting the holy name of God. It is therefore concluded that spiritual life is urgently needed, and this method should be taken. It is very easy and is being taught by Krsna Himself, yet it has been rejected in India. By the line of disciplic succession, the Brahma-sampradaya has passed down this information; despite the corruption of the present age, it remains pure and intact. Since the incarnation of Lord Caitanya, the spiritual masters in this line are Rūpa Gosvami, Raghunatha, Jiva, Krsnadasa, Narottama, Visvanatha, Jagannatha, Bhaktivinode, Gaura Kisora, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati and now His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Although the teachings are intact, unfortunately the philosophers of the impersonal school have misinterpreted the Vedic philosophy to deny the existence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They have given all attention to the impersonal aspect and thus have wreaked havoc. This is not a theoretical disagreement on theology, but it concerns all humanity. If there is no understanding that God is the Supreme Person, then people in general are led to believe that there is no God, or they are told that if there is any spiritual existence at all, then this implies that every man is God, and that he can do as he likes, without worshiping the supreme authority of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In the impersonal philosophy of the Absolute Truth there is no ultimate love. There is no reason to stay on the spiritual platform; therefore intoxication and sex life enter and take over, and both the impersonalist teachers and their students glide to the hellish path. There are real spiritual individualities and spiritual activities according to the Bhagavad-gita, but if one does not take to them then one must take to material individuality, which is temporary and leads to lower births. Seeking to become one with the Supreme in nirvana is not a substitute for the permanent positive happiness which the spirit soul is seeking. One has to engage in spiritual life in service of the Supreme Lord under the direction of a spiritual master, or else he must return to the material platform. Thus it is stated that in order to wipe out impersonalism and to present an easy to perform process of devotional service to the people in this age, Lord Caitanya appeared. In Bhagavad-gita Lord Krsna states, "Just surrender to Me," but Lord Caitanya was even more merciful. His movement is simply joyful. His program is listening to Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam, chanting Hare Krsna and feasting on prasadam (spiritual food). The Krsna consciousness movement is not a Hindu or national culture, but it is the worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead who is the father of all living entities. The attainment of the eternal, peaceful, happy state of loving service taught by Lord Caitanya can bring the solution to all the problems of life that has not been attained by technology, politics or modern science. Srila Prabhupada, on the order of his spiritual master, and due to the solid teachings of the order of his spiritual master, came to the United States in 1966 to teach this message. Due to Srila Prabhupada's all-attractive transcendental nature as spiritual master and due to the solid teachings of scriptures and the cleansing experience of chanting the mahamantra, and eating prasadam, spiritual foodstuffs, this message quickly gained support. Temples began opening here in the United States in 1966, and now, in 1970, with 50 temples open, when Srila Prabhupada returned to India his reception was overwhelmingly favorable. (More...)

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So the same principle is being followed at the present moment. And by the grace of Krsna and Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the result is also same, because Jagai-Madhai was delivered by Them. By the same Hare Krsna maha-mantra, thousands of Jagai-Madhai are coming to be purified. The process is the same. This is called parampara system. If we follow the parampara system strictly, then the effect will be the same. As it was five thousand years ago, five hundred years ago, the same effect will be now also. (More...)

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Please accept my blessings. I thank you very much for your letter dated June 22, 1968, and I have noted the contents. The suggestion of constructing New Vrindaban as I've suggested in Hayagriva's letter is the only method by which we can become successful in constructing the New Vrindaban scheme. But if you have got impediments in the matter, as you say that the proprietor of the land is of different views, then I do not know how you'll be able to construct it freely according to our idea. Mr. Rose may be very good man, but he does not know what is sectarian and what is non-sectarian. But at least you should know that Krishna is non-sectarian. Krishna claims that He is the seed-giving Father of all the 8,400,000 species of life visible within the material creation. They may be of different forms-some of them are aquatics, some of them are vegetables, plants, some of them are worms, some of them are birds, some of them are beasts, some of them are human beings. Krishna claims that all of them are His begotten sons. Neither Krishna claims Himself that He is an Indian or a Ksatriya, or a Brahmin, or white or black; He claims that He is the Enjoyer of everything that be, He is the Proprietor of all the planets and the creation, and He is the intimate friend of all living entities. He never claims that one should offer Him very valuable things to satisfy Him; or very delicious foodstuffs should be offered to Him-but He says that even a little bit of leaf, a little bit of fruit, and water, you offer to Him with devotion and love, and He accepts and eats such things. So it is a fact that Krishna is universal. Krishna is non-sectarian, and therefore if Mr. Rose actually wants to have some institution, he must know how that non-sectarian institution is possible. So factually, Krishna Consciousness is non-sectarian movement. There is no sectarian question. But if somebody without understanding this non-sectarian philosophy thinks otherwise, he himself becomes immediately sectarian. I therefore think that you should try to convince Mr. Rose about our philosophy of Krishna Consciousness, and let him become actually non-sectarian. Without understanding Krishna everyone is sectarian, and combination of such non-Krishna Consciousness persons will never create any institution of non-sectarian nature. That is not possible. If Mr. Rose is serious to give facility for a non-sectarian institution in that part of the country, he should understand Krishna and this philosophy thoroughly. Our Krishna Consciousness movement is no religious movement as it is generally understood. Our propaganda is to make people feel for Krishna or God, and become engaged in His transcendental loving service. Anyone who has a concept of God will agree to this philosophy. There are many sectarian religions where acceptance of God is there, but there is no love for God. So we are teaching love for God. That means Krishna Consciousness is the post-graduate class for all religious sects. We do not protest the Christians, or Mohammedans, or Jews, or any other religious sect, that there is no idea of God conception in their religions. More or less in every religion the God conception is there. But, nobody tries to love God. Just like in Christian religion, they go to church everyday and tries to exact bread from God, but they never try how to please God. And because this love of God, and the process is not thoroughly instructed, therefore they have come to the stage of understanding that God is dead. At the present moment in many Christian churches, this philosophy is being taught, that God is dead. But so far we are concerned, we cannot accept this philosophy, that God is dead. But we preach on the other hand, that God is not only not dead, but He can be approached finally face to face. And the method is very simple, chanting the Holy Name of God-Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare. Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. This process is standard, and tested. So far it's test is concerned, you know very well about it because in this part of the world, all my disciples are non-Hindu, and non-Indians. But still they have taken to this mantra, Mahamantra, very seriously and they are deriving good result out of it. So there is no question about its genuine presentation. We should therefore push on this movement in the same simple manner as we are doing. That everyone should come and sit together and chant this Holy Name Hare Krishna. If this system is taken as sectarian, then I am sure your attempt for organizing New Vrindaban under the care of Mr. Rose will not be successful. The best thing will be to chant Hare Krishna, call all the neighbors in that part of the state, and gradually develop their taste for it. Then try to endeavor to do something for developing New Vrindaban. For the present, live as simply as possible, without any endeavor to develop that part into New Vrindaban, or do it peacefully as you have mentioned, but you must continue to chant Hare Krishna, at least you and Hayagriva, and ask everybody to join you. At least Mr. Rose cannot object to this performance of Kirtana because he wants to give facility to all sects. So even if he takes it that our Krishna Consciousness movement is also a particular type of sect, certainly he will not have any objection. Therefore, the conclusion is that you must regularly hold Krishna Kirtana, now, and even as in our other centers they are doing. And live peacefully without any exaggeration, and try to convince people about the non-sectarian nature of Krishna Consciousness. I think that will make you successful in this great adventure. Before the advent of Lord Caitanya, nobody had exhibited the practical way of developing love of Godhead, and the process is open to everyone, therefore this is simple, non-sectarian, and sublime. (More...)

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Guru is very confidential servant of Krsna. Why confidential servant? Because he is canvassing door to door, "Please become Krsna conscious. Please surrender to Krsna." Krsna says to Arjuna, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg 18.66], and guru takes that very mission, but does not say like Krsna, that "You surrender to me." He says, "Surrender to Krsna." One has to surrender to Krsna through the via media of guru, not directly. This is the process. Therefore guru accepts respects from the disciple not for his personal self, but conveying the respect to Krsna. This is the process. Yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasado yasyaprasadan na gatiḥ kuto 'pi. If you cannot get the mercy of guru, then it is very difficult to approach Krsna. We cannot approach Krsna directly. Evam parampara-praptam imam rajarsayo viduḥ [Bg 4.2]. (More...)

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We have to accept a positive party. Just like in political activities you accept some party, Congress party or this party or that party. That is the system, even in politics. Similarly, you have to accept a party of devotee. There are not different parties; they are of the same party. Just like the political parties may be different, but their aim is how to improve the condition of the country or the people. The aim is the same, but they may be a little different in their ways. Similarly, there are four amnaya party. Amnaya means disciplic succession. One party is coming from Lord Brahma, and one party is coming from Laksmi, goddess of fortune, or the consort of Narayana, Visnu. That is called Brahma-sampradaya and the Sri-sampradaya. Sri. Sri means Laksmi. Sri means beauty. Sri means fortune. Therefore, according to Vedic system, the "sri" word is added before anyone's name, sri. So there is Sri-sampradaya, and there is Kumara-sampradaya and there is Rudra-sampradaya. There are four sampradayas of Visnu, er, Vaisnava. So Brahma-sampradaya, Sri-sampradaya, Rudra-sampradaya and Kumara-sampradaya-they are called amnaya. If you want to know the truth, then you have to accept. Tattva amnayam. Tattva amnayam yat pravadanti sahkhyam. This is Sahkhya philosophy. You try to understand the Absolute Truth through the disciplic succession of amnaya. Amnaya. (More...)

So in the Vaisnava sampradaya these four sampradaya, this Brahma is Brahma-sampradaya and Sri-sampradaya. The Brahma-sampradaya is, at the present moment, is represented by the Madhva-sampradaya. Just like we are belonging to the Madhva-gauḍiya-sampradaya, our original sampradaya from the Madhvacarya. So in that sampradaya, disciplic succession, there was Madhavendra Puri. From Madhavendra Puri, his disciple is Īsvara Puri, and Īsvara Puri's disciple is Lord Caitanya. And we are coming through the disciplic succession of Lord Caitanya. Therefore our sampradaya is called Madhva-gauḍiya-sampradaya. But we are in the amnaya-sampradaya. We are not upstart. We have not manufactured a sampradaya. It is coming from Lord Brahma. Similarly, there is Ramanuja-sampradaya. They are coming from Sri-sampradaya. Similarly, there is Visnu Svami. They are coming from Lord Siva, Rudra-sampradaya. And there is Kumara-sampradaya, Nimbaditya-sampradaya. So sastra says, sampradaya-vihinas te mantras te viphala mataḥ [Padma Purana]: "If you do not belong to any sampradaya, party of bhakta or devotees, then viphala mataḥ, your verdict or conclusion is viphalanisphala, without any fruit." It is not acceptable. (More...)

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Therefore we have seen, because sastra-caksusa. You should see through the sastra. Otherwise what can you see with your teeny eyes? You cannot see, say, three yards more than that. Imperfect. Every senses, all sense, they are imperfect. You cannot see. You are seeing the sun, but what you are seeing? You are seeing just like a disc. But it is fourteen thousand times bigger than this planet. So your this naked sense perception has no value. Don't try to gather knowledge through these naked senses. Try to gather knowledge just like how creation is made. And that is stated here by the authorities, Kapiladeva. And if you take it, then your knowledge is perfect. And if you imagine, "Perhaps there was a chunk, and there was this, there was that, there was that"-all nonsense. At least we, Krsna conscious men, we don't accept this nonsensical proposition. Our knowledge is derived-tad-vijnanartham sa gurum eva abhigacchet [Munḍaka Upanisad ]. (More...)

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Therefore the preaching of the Bhagavad-gita must be in the line of its parampara system as it is described in the 4th chapter of the book. If it is not done so, then such preaching of the Bhagavad-gita, even if it is done by the erudite scholars, will be a sheer waste of time, energy and money. (More...)

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The Lord does not manufacture a new system of yoga. Sometimes it is claimed that someone has become an incarnation of God and is expounding a new theological aspect of the Absolute Truth. But here we find that although Kapila Muni is the Lord Himself and is capable of manufacturing a new doctrine for His mother, He nevertheless says, "I shall just explain the ancient system which I once explained to the great sages because they were also anxious to hear about it." When we have a superexcellent process already present in Vedic scriptures, there is no need to concoct a new system to mislead the innocent public. At present it has become a fashion to reject the standard system and present something bogus in the name of a newly invented process of yoga. (More...)

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One may ask that if Caitanya Mahaprabhu is Krsna Himself, then why did He need a spiritual master? Of course He did not need a spiritual master, but because He was playing the role of acarya (one who teaches by example), He accepted a spiritual master. Even Krsna Himself accepted a spiritual master, for that is the system. In this way the Lord sets the example for men. We should not think, however, that the Lord takes a spiritual master because He is in want of knowledge. He is simply stressing the importance of accepting the disciplic succession. The knowledge of that disciplic succession actually comes from the Lord Himself, and if the knowledge descends unbroken, it is perfect. Although we may not be in touch with the original personality who first imparted the knowledge, we may receive the same knowledge through this process of transmission. In Srimad-Bhagavatam, it is stated that Krsna, the Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead, transmitted transcendental knowledge into the heart of Brahma. This, then, is one way knowledge is received-through the heart. Thus there are two processes by which one may receive knowledge: One depends upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is situated as the Supersoul within the heart of all living entities, and the other depends upon the guru or spiritual master, who is an expansion of Krsna. Thus Krsna transmits information both from within and from without. We simply have to receive it. If knowledge is received in this way, it doesn't matter whether it is inconceivable or not. (More...)

The paramparā system of disciplic succession is very important as a means of spiritual success. One becomes a mahat by the grace of his mahat spiritual master.

The parampara system of disciplic succession is very important as a means of spiritual success. One becomes a mahat by the grace of his mahat spiritual master. If one takes shelter of the lotus feet of a great soul, there is every possibility of his also becoming a great soul. When Maharaja Rahūgana asked Jaḍa Bharata about his wonderful achievement of spiritual success, he replied to the King that spiritual success is not possible simply by following the rituals of religion or simply by converting oneself into a sannyasi or offering sacrifices as recommended in the scriptures. These methods are undoubtedly helpful for spiritual realization, but the real effect is brought about by the grace of a mahatma. In Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura's eight stanzas of prayer to the spiritual master, it is clearly stated that simply by satisfying the spiritual master one can achieve the supreme success in life, and in spite of executing all ritualistic performances, if one cannot satisfy the spiritual master, he has no access to spiritual perfection. Here the word akrtatmanam is very significant. Atma means body, soul, or mind, and akrtatma means the common man, who cannot control the senses or the mind. Because the common man is unable to control the senses and the mind, it is therefore his duty to seek the shelter of a great soul or a great devotee of the Lord and just try to please him. That will make his life perfect. A common man cannot rise to the topmost stage of spiritual perfection simply by following the rituals and religious principles. He has to take shelter of a bona fide spiritual master and work under his direction faithfully and sincerely; then he becomes perfect, without a doubt. (More...)

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