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In the beginning, no one can be elevated to the highest stage of devotional service. Here bhakta means one who does not hesitate to accept the reformatory processes for becoming a bhakta. In order to become a devotee of the Lord one has to accept a spiritual master and inquire from him about how to progress in devotional service. To serve a devotee, to chant the holy name according to a certain counting method, to worship the Deity, to hear Srimad-Bhagavatam or Bhagavad-gita from a realized person and to live in a sacred place where devotional service is not disturbed are the first out of sixty-four devotional activities for making progress in devotional service. One who has accepted these five chief activities is called a devotee. (More...)

The Supreme Godhead is unconquerable; no one can conquer the Lord. But He voluntarily accepts subordination to the devotional qualities of His devotees. For example, Lord Krsna accepted subordination to the control of mother Yasoda because she was a great devotee. The Lord likes to be under the control of His devotees. In the Caitanya-caritamrta it is said that everyone comes before the Lord and offers Him exalted prayers, but the Lord does not feel as pleased when offered such prayers as He does when a devotee, out of pure love, chastises Him as a subordinate. The Lord forgets His exalted position and willingly submits to His pure devotee. Dhruva Maharaja conquered the Supreme Lord because at a very tender age, only five years old, he underwent all the austerities of devotional service. This devotional service was of course executed under the direction of a great sage, Narada. This is the first principle of devotional service-adau gurv-asrayam. In the beginning one must accept a bona fide spiritual master, and if a devotee follows strictly the direction of the spiritual master, as Dhruva Maharaja followed the instruction of Narada Muni, then it is not difficult for him to achieve the favor of the Lord. (More...)

The Supreme Personality of Godhead constantly lives with the individual soul as Paramatma. The individual soul has awareness in accord with his material body, which he attains by virtue of prakrti or material nature. The material ingredients are activated by force of time, and thus the three material modes of nature are manifested. According to his association with the three modes of nature, the living entity develops a particular type of body. In animal life, the material mode of ignorance is so prominent that there is very little chance of realizing the Paramatma, who is also present within the heart of the animal; but in the human form of life, because of developed consciousness (cetanam), one can be transferred from ignorance and passion to goodness by the results of his activities (kriya-phalatvena). A human being is therefore advised to associate with spiritually advanced personalities. The Vedas give the direction tad-vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet: in order to reach the perfection of life or to understand the real constitutional position of the living entity, one must approach the spiritual master. (Mundaka Up. 1.2.12) Gurum evabhigacchet-one must; it is not optional. It is imperative that one approach the spiritual master, for by such association one proportionately develops his consciousness toward the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The highest perfection of such consciousness is called Krsna consciousness. According to the body given by prakrti, or nature, one's consciousness is present; according to the development of consciousness, one's activities are performed; and according to the purity of such activities, one realizes the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is present in everyone's heart. The example given herein is very appropriate. Fire is always the same, but according to the size of the fuel or burning wood, the fire appears to be straight, curved, small, big, etc. (More...)

To become fixed in devotional service one has to become completely cleansed from the contamination of the material modes of nature. For work in devotional service the first item is adau gurvasrayam: one should accept a bona fide spiritual master, and from the bona fide spiritual master (sad-dharma-prccha) inquire about his transcendental occupational duties (sadhu-marga-anugamanam) and follow in the footsteps of great saintly persons, devotees. These are the instructions given in Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu by Rupa Gosvami. (More...)

The conclusion is that to increase attachment for the Supreme Personality of Godhead one has to accept a bona fide spiritual master and learn from him the methods of devotional service and hear from him about the transcendental message and glorification of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In this way one has to increase his conviction about devotional service. Then it will be very easy to increase attachment for the Supreme Personality of Godhead. (More...)

King Pracinabarhisat admitted this fact and frankly asked Narada Muni how he could get out of this karma-bandha-phaṅsa, entanglement in fruitive activities. This is actually the stage of knowledge indicated in the first verse of Vedanta-sutra: athato brahma-jijnasa (Vs. ). When one actually reaches the platform of frustration in an attempt to discharge karma-bandha-phaṅsa, he inquires about the real value of life, which is called brahma jijnasa. In order to inquire about the ultimate goal of life, the Vedas enjoin, tad-vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet (Mundaka Up. 1.2.12). "In order to understand the transcendental science, one must approach a bona fide spiritual master." (More...)

King Puranjana's coming home, taking bath and having an appropriate dinner indicate that a materialistic person must retire from sinful activities and become purified by accepting a spiritual master and hearing from him about the values of life. If one would do this, he would feel completely refreshed, just as one feels after taking a bath. After receiving initiation from a bona fide spiritual master, one must abandon all kinds of sinful activities, namely illicit sex, intoxication, gambling and meat-eating. (More...)

One has to awaken his Krsna consciousness by first regretting his past deeds. Just as King Puranjana began to flatter his Queen, one should, by deliberate consideration, raise himself to the platform of Krsna consciousness. To attain such an end, one must touch the lotus feet of the spiritual master. Krsna consciousness cannot be achieved by self-endeavor. One must therefore approach a self-realized Krsna conscious person and touch his lotus feet. Prahlada Maharaja therefore said: (More...)

One cannot come to the precincts of Krsna consciousness unless he touches the dust of the lotus feet of a person who has become a mahatma, a great devotee. This is the beginning of the surrendering process. Lord Krsna wants everyone to surrender unto Him, and this surrendering process begins when one touches the lotus feet of a bona fide spiritual master. By sincerely rendering service to a bona fide spiritual master, one begins his spiritual life in Krsna consciousness. Touching the lotus feet of a spiritual master means giving up one's false prestige and unnecessarily puffed-up position in the material world. Those who remain in the darkness of material existence due to their falsely prestigious positions-so-called scientists and philosophers-are actually atheists. They do not know the ultimate cause of everything. Although bewildered, they are not ready to surrender themselves to the lotus feet of a person who knows things in their proper perspective. In other words, one cannot arouse Krsna consciousness simply by his own mental speculation. One must surrender to a bona fide spiritual master. Only this process will help one. (More...)

In these four verses, Rsabhadeva tells His sons how they can be freed from the false identification arising from false ego and material conditional life. One gradually becomes liberated by practicing as mentioned above. All these prescribed methods enable one to give up the material body (liṅgam vyapohet) and be situated in his original spiritual body. First of all one has to accept a bona fide spiritual master. This is advocated by Srila Rupa Gosvami in his Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu: sri-guru-padasrayah. To be freed from the entanglement of the material world, one has to approach a spiritual master. Tad-vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet. By questioning the spiritual master and by serving him, one can advance in spiritual life. When one engages in devotional service, naturally the attraction for personal comfort-for eating, sleeping and dressing-is reduced. By associating with the devotee, a spiritual standard is maintained. The word mad-deva-saṅgat is very important. There are many so-called religions devoted to the worship of various demigods, but here good association means association with one who simply accepts Krsna as his worshipable Deity. (More...)

The Vedic literature instructs: tasmad gurum prapadyeta jijnasuh sreya uttamam. An intelligent man must be very inquisitive to know the transcendental science deeply. Therefore one must approach a guru, a spiritual master. Although Jada Bharata explained everything to Maharaja Rahugana, it appears that his intelligence was not perfect enough to understand clearly. He therefore requested a further explanation. As stated in Bhagavad-gita (4.34): tad viddhi pranipatena pariprasnena sevaya. The student must approach a spiritual master and surrender unto him fully (pranipatena). He must also question him in order to understand his instructions (pariprasnena). One should not only surrender to the spiritual master but also render loving service unto him (sevaya) so that the spiritual master will be pleased with the student and explain the transcendental subject matter more clearly. A challenging spirit before the spiritual master should be avoided if one is at all interested in learning the Vedic instructions in depth. (More...)

The Lord then blessed him, saying, "Whatever you write, by the grace of Krishna, everything will come out of your heart to be accepted as you have asked. I'll give you some notes that you can take down: The first and foremost thing is that one should accept a bona fide Spiritual Master. That is the beginning of spiritual life." (More...)

Krsna is the first spiritual master, and when we become more interested, then we have to go to a physical spiritual master. That is enjoined in the next verse: (More...)

This is the sast..., Vedic injunction, that in order to learn that art, how to transfer your attachment to Krsna, you must approach to guru. He will teach you. So this Krsna consciousness movement means that we are teaching people how to give up this material attachment and become attached to Krsna. Attachment cannot be given up. That is not possible. Attachment should be purified. That is wanted. That is... Therefore the bhakti definition is given by Narada Muni, (More...)

So one must approach a proper guru. The guru's qualification is, in every sastra, that... Just like in the Srimad-Bhagavatam it is said, tad viddhi..., er, tasmad gurum prapadyeta jijnasuh sreya uttamam [SB 11.3.21]. One does not require to accept a guru unless he is inquisitive to understand the ultimate goal or benefit of life. Ordinary man who is interested with the bodily comforts of life, he doesn't require a guru. But generally, the, at the present moment, guru means who can give you some bodily medicine. Approaches some saintly person, "Mahatmaji, I am suffering from this disease." "Yes, I have mantra. Take this..." That sort of guru is accepted. So same bodily. Or some bodily wealth, bodily... No. (More...)

So one has to become submissive. That submissiveness Krsna..., Arjuna is teaching us, sisyas te 'ham sadhi mam prapannam. "I am now submitting myself to You, not that equal position with You, friend and friend equal position. That I am giving up. I am becoming Your disciple, submissive," sisyas te 'ham sadhi mam prapannam [Bg 2.7]. Prapannam means submissive. And that is the way. You cannot speculate. Your speculation has no value. Athapi te deva ciram vicinvan [SB 10.14.29]. Ciram vicinvan, you can go on speculating for many births, many years, still you will not be able to understand the ultimate goal of your life. It is not possible. Therefore all the sastras, they advise that you go to a guru. Guru means weighty, one who has got more weight, one who can teach you. Because everyone thinks that "I am learned. I am all-learned. Who can teach me?" No. Nobody is like that. Everyone requires instruction; therefore the Vedic system is adau gurvasrayam: to make one's life fruitful, one must approach guru. (More...)

Formerly, especially in India, the catur-varnyam, the brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya, sudra, so at least the most intelligent class of men, the brahmanas, they were interested to understand brahma-jijnasa. Athato brahma-jijnasa. But at the present moment they are all sudras. They are not interested about brahma-jijnasa. They are interested how to get more money, where is the cinema, where..., what picture is going... They are interested in that, not about brahma-jijnasa. But the human life is meant for that purpose only. Therefore we learn from Bhagavad-gita. Arjuna is personally teaching us. He is accepting Krsna as guru, sisyas te 'ham [Bg 2.7], "Krsna, now I become Your disciple, not that I remain as Your friend. Friend-to-friend talk is not very serious. Now I want to talk with serious. You become my spiritual master, You teach me, and I will take Your lesson." This should be the... It is not meant for only Arjuna. It is meant for everyone, that if you..., you must find out a guru. The first guru is Krsna, and anyone who is Krsna's representative, he is guru. Guru is Krsna, the original guru, and if Krsna representative is found, is available, then he is also guru. (More...)

So this kind of guru is going on. But you should know, guru means who carries the order of the Supreme Lord. That is guru. Any rascal who manufactures some idea is not guru. Immediately kick him out, immediately, that "This is a rascal. This is not a guru." Guru is here, as Caitanya Mahaprabhu says, amara ajnaya guru hana [Cc Madhya 7.128]. Guru means the faithful servant of God. That is guru. So you have to first of all test that "Are you faithful servant of God?" If he says, "No, I am God," oh, kick him on his face immediately. [laughter] Kick him immediately, that "You are rascal. You have come to cheat us." Because test is there that guru means faithful servant of God, simple. You don't require large definition what is guru. So Vedic knowledge gives you indication that tad-vijnanartham. If you want to know the science of spiritual life, tad-vijnanartham sa gurum eva abhigacchet [Mundaka Upanisad ], you must approach guru. And who is guru? Guru means who is the faithful servant of God. Very simple thing. (More...)

So we should utilize this time to make solution of the life that we are repeatedly dying and again accepting another body. So how they will understand unless they come to the proper guru? Therefore sastra says, tad-vijnanartham: "If you want to know the real problem of your life and if you want to be enlightened how to become Krsna conscious, how to become eternal, go back to home, back to Godhead, then you must approach the guru." And who is guru? That is explained, very simple thing. Guru never manufactures idea that "You do this and give me money, and you'll become happy." That is not guru. That is another process of earning money. So here it is said, mudha, everyone who is simply living in the fool's paradise, manufacturing his own ideas like Ajamila... Somebody has taken, "This is my duty," somebody has... He is a fool. You must know what is your duty from guru. You are singing every day, guru-mukha-padma-vakya, cittete kariya aikya, ara na kariha mane asa. [Sri Prema-bhakti-candrika 1. 2] This is life. This is life. Guru-mukha-pad... You accept the bona fide guru, and what he orders you, carry out. Then your life is successful. Ara na kariha mane asa. You rascal, you do not desire anything else. Are you not singing daily? But do you understand the meaning? Or you are singing only? What is the meaning? Who will explain? Huh? Nobody knows? Yes, what is the meaning? (More...)

In the Katha Upanisad it is ordered that one must approach the bona fide Guru who is not only well versed in all the scriptures of the world but is also the realized soul in Brahman the Absolute-in order to learn the science of Absolute Truth. So also it is instructed in the Bhagavad-gita as follows:-

tad viddhi pranipatena
pariprasnena sevaya
upadeksyanti tad jnanam
jnaninas tattvadarsinah
(Bg. 4.34)

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Prabhupada: How do you think like that? Is there anything within this world which can be learned without guru? Even if you become an ordinary carpenter, you have to learn from an expert carpenter. So how you can imagine to learn the topmost subject matter without guru? This is... The Vedic injunction is, therefore, tad-vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet srotriyam brahma-nistham, samit-panih [Mundaka Upanisad ], like that. (More...)

"On the path of regulative devotional service, one must observe the following items: (1) One must accept a bona fide spiritual master. (2) Accept initiation from him. (3) Serve him. (4) Receive instructions from the spiritual master and make inquiries in order to learn devotional service. (5) Follow in the footsteps of the previous acaryas and follow the directions given by the spiritual master. (More...)

A person who is puffed up by so-called education and who has no humility does not seek the protection of a bona fide spiritual master. He thinks that he does not require a spiritual master and that he can achieve the highest perfection by his own efforts.

The path shown by Lord Chaitanya in the matter of studying Vedanta philosophy, as explained in this connection, should be followed by all. A person who is puffed up over his so-called education, has no humility and therefore does not seek after the protection of a bona fide Spiritual Master, thinks that he does not require a bona fide Spiritual Master, and, rather by his own effort, he can achieve the highest perfection. Such persons are not eligible for the study of Vedanta Sutra. Those who are under the spell of the material energy, instead of following the instructions of the disciplic succession, try to manufacture something of their own, and thereby step outside the sphere of Vedanta study. A bona fide Spiritual Master must always condemn such independent mental speculators. If the bona fide Spiritual Master directly points out the foolishness of a disciple, that should not be taken otherwise. In other words, a person who is completely innocent in the Science of God is actually not learned. And, more or less, everyone who is not in Krishna Consciousness is subject to that foolishness. (More...)

Approaching a spiritual master is not just a fashion but is a necessity for one who is seriously conscious of the material miseries and who wants to be free of them.

The necessity of approaching a spiritual master is not a fashion, but is for him who is seriously conscious of the material miseries and who wants to get out of them; it is the duty of such a person to approach the spiritual master. We find similar circumstances in the Bhagavad-gita. When Arjuna was perplexed by so many problems, whether to fight or not to fight, he accepted Lord Krishna as his spiritual master. There also it was a case of the Supreme Spiritual Master instructing Arjuna about the constitutional position of the individual entity. In the Bhagavad-gita we are informed that the constitutional position of the individual entity is spirit soul; he is not matter, therefore as a spirit soul he is part and parcel of the Supreme Soul, Absolute Truth, Personality of Godhead. We also learn that it is the duty of the spirit soul to surrender, for only then can he be happy. The last instruction of the Bhagavad-gita is that the spirit soul is to surrender completely unto the Supreme Soul, Krishna, and in that way realize happiness. Here also, Lord Chaitanya in answering the questions of Sanatan is repeating the same truth, but without giving him information of the spirit soul which is described in the Gita. He begins from the point where Krishna ended his instruction. It is calculated by great devotees that Lord Chaitanya is Krishna Himself. And as He ended His instruction in the Gita, from that point he begins His instruction again, to Sanatan. The Lord said to Sanatan, "Your constitutional position is that you are pure living soul. This material body is not the identity of your real self, neither is your mind your real identity, nor your intelligence, nor is false ego the real identity for self. Your identity is that you are eternal servitor of the Supreme Lord, Krishna. Your position is that you are transcendental. Superior energy of Krishna is spiritual in constitution, and inferior external energy is material. In other words, you are between the material energy and the spiritual energy, therefore your position is marginal. In other words, you belong to the marginal potency of Krishna. You are simultaneously one with and different from Krishna because in a sense you are spirit, therefore you are not different from Krishna; but because you are only a minute particle of Krishna, you are therefore different from Krishna." (More...)

One should therefore approach a bona fide spiritual master-irrespective of caste, creed, color, country, etc.-and hear from him everything about devotional service.

One should, therefore, approach a bona fide Spiritual Master, irrespective of caste, creed, color, country and place, and he must hear from that bona fide Spiritual Master everything about devotional service. The real purpose of life is to revive our dormant love of God. That is our ultimate necessity. How that love of God can be achieved is explained in the Srimad Bhagwatam. There is theoretical knowledge and specific, or realized knowledge. The perfect, realized knowledge, is obtained in realization of the teaching received from the Spiritual Master. (More...)