orders of guru, must follow

The significance of this particular verse is that Dhruva Maharaja acted exactly according to the advice of his spiritual master, the great sage Narada Muni. Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti also advises that if we want to be successful in our attempt to go back to Godhead, we must very seriously act according to the instruction of the spiritual master. That is the way of perfection. There need be no anxiety over attaining perfection because if one follows the instruction given by the spiritual master he is sure to attain perfection. Our only concern should be how to execute the order of the spiritual master. A spiritual master is expert in giving special instructions to each of his disciples, and if the disciple executes the order of the spiritual master, that is the way of his perfection. (More...)

Madireksana. Madireksana refers to one whose eyes are so attractive that one who observes them becomes maddened by her. In other words, madireksana means a very beautiful young girl. According to Jiva Gosvami, madireksana means the personified deity of bhakti. If one is attracted by the bhakti cult, he becomes engaged in the service of the Lord and the spiritual master, and thus his life becomes successful. Vaidarbhi, the woman, became a follower of her husband. As she left her comfortable home for the service of her husband, so a serious student of spiritual understanding must give up everything for the service of the spiritual master. As stated by Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasadah: if one wants actual success in life, he must strictly follow the instructions of the spiritual master. By following such instructions, one is sure to make rapid progress in spiritual life. This statement by Visvanatha Cakravarti is in pursuance of the following injunction from the Svetasvatara Upanisad: (More...)

These are Vedic instructions. One must have full faith in the words of the spiritual master and similar faith in the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then the real knowledge of atma and Paramatma and the distinction between matter and spirit will be automatically revealed. This atma-tattva, or spiritual knowledge, will be revealed within the core of a devotee's heart because of his having taken shelter of the lotus feet of a mahajana such as Prahlada Maharaja.6.23]: yasya deve para bhaktir yatha deve tatha gurau tasyaite kathita hy arthah prakasante mahatmanah"Only unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master are all the imports of Vedic knowledge automatically revealed." In the Chandogya Upanisad it is said, acaryavan puruso veda: "One who approaches a bona fide spiritual master can understand everything about spiritual realization." (More...)

The unflinching execution of devotional service is in itself brahma-bhuta. Another important feature in this connection is anena yogena yathopadesam. The instructions received from the spiritual master must be followed immediately. One should not deviate from or surpass the instructions of the spiritual master. One should not be simply intent on consulting books but should simultaneously execute the spiritual master's order (yathopadesam). Mystic power should be achieved to enable one to give up the material conception, but when one actually engages in devotional service, one does not need to practice the mystic yoga system. The point is that one can give up the practice of yoga, but devotional service cannot be given up. As stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.7.10): (More...)

So we should have firm faith, niscaya. Niscayat..., utsahad, dhairyat, niscayat. But niscayat; at the same time, you should not sit idly. You should work according to the direction of the spiritual master. Tat-tat-karma-pravartanat. "Now Krsna has given me assurance. Now let me sleep. Everything will come automatically." No. Tat-tat-karma-pravartanat . The spiritual master says, "You must do this," you must do that. That is called tat-tat-karma-pravartanat. Not that "Now I am initiated and..." That is going on in so many places. The guru says, "You think of me. Everything will be all right." I do not wish to name, but a very big asrama, they simply sit idly, and the guru has advised that "Think of me," that's all. This is not Vaisnava principle. Vaisnava principle is you must act according to the order of spiritual master. That is also an order. But the Vaisnava spiritual master orders according to the sastra. Sadhu-sastra-guru-vakya. Guru-mukha-padma-vakya, cittete koriya aikya, ar na koriho mane asa. This is the instruction of our acarya. (More...)