duty
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Narada Muni is referred to here as Bhagavan because he can bless any person just as the Supreme Personality of Godhead can. He was very pleased with Dhruva Maharaja, and he could have at once personally given whatever he wanted, but that is not the duty of the spiritual master. His duty is to engage the disciple in proper devotional service as prescribed in the sastras. Krsna was similarly present before Arjuna, and even though He could have given him all facilities for victory over the opposing party without a fight, He did not do so; He asked him to fight. In the same way, Narada Muni asked Dhruva Maharaja to undergo devotional discipline in order to achieve the desired result.
(More...) Whenever an acarya comes, following the superior orders of the Supreme Personality of Godhead or His representative, he establishes the principles of religion, as enunciated in Bhagavad-gita. Religion means abiding by the orders of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Religious principles begin from the time one surrenders to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is the acarya's duty to spread a bona fide religious system and induce everyone to bow down before the Supreme Lord. One executes the religious principles by rendering devotional service, specifically the nine items like hearing, chanting and remembering. Unfortunately, when the acarya disappears, rogues and nondevotees take advantage and immediately begin to introduce unauthorized principles in the name of so-called svamis, yogis, philanthropists, welfare workers and so on. Actually human life is meant for executing the orders of the Supreme Lord, and this is stated in Bhagavad-gita:
(More...) One can achieve the seed of bhakti-lata, devotional service, by the mercy of guru and Krsna. The duty of the guru is to find the means, according to the time, the circumstances and the candidate, by which one can be induced to render devotional service, which Krsna accepts from a candidate who wants to be successful in going back home, back to Godhead. After wandering throughout the universe, a fortunate person within this material world seeks shelter of such a guru, or acarya, who trains the devotee in the suitable ways to render service according to the circumstances so that the Supreme Personality of Godhead will accept the service. This makes it easier for the candidate to reach the ultimate destination. The acarya's duty, therefore, is to find the means by which devotees may render service according to references from sastra. Rupa Gosvami, for example, in order to help subsequent devotees, published such devotional books as Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu. Thus it is the duty of the acarya to publish books that will help future candidates take up the method of service and become eligible to return home, back to Godhead, by the mercy of the Lord. In our Krsna consciousness movement, this same path is being prescribed and followed. Thus the devotees have been advised to refrain from four sinful activities-illicit sex, intoxication, meat-eating and gambling-and to chant sixteen rounds a day. These are bona fide instructions. Because in the Western countries constant chanting is not possible, one should not artificially imitate Haridasa Thakura, but should follow this method. Krsna will accept a devotee who strictly follows the regulative principles and the method prescribed in the various books and literatures published by the authorities. The acarya gives the suitable method for crossing the ocean of nescience by accepting the boat of the Lord's lotus feet, and if this method is strictly followed, the followers will ultimately reach the destination, by the grace of the Lord. This method is called acarya-sampradaya. It is therefore said, sampradaya-vihina ye mantras te nisphala matah (Padma Purana). The acarya-sampradaya is strictly bona fide. Therefore one must accept the acarya-sampradaya; otherwise one's endeavor will be futile. Srila Narottama dasa Thakura therefore sings:
(More...) "I offer my respectful obeisances unto my spiritual master, who with the torchlight of knowledge has opened my eyes, which were blinded by the darkness of ignorance." (Gautamiya Tantra) The guru's task is to open the disciple's eyes of knowledge. When the disciple is awakened from ignorance to knowledge, he can see the Supreme Personality of Godhead everywhere because the Lord actually is everywhere. Andantara-stha-paramanu-cayantara-stham. The Lord resides within this universe, He resides within the hearts of all living entities, and He resides even within the atom. Because we lack perfect knowledge, we cannot see God, but a little deliberation can help us to see God everywhere. This requires training. With a little deliberation, even the most degraded person can perceive the presence of God. If we take into account whose property is the vast ocean, whose property is the vast land, how the sky exists, how the numberless millions of stars and planets are set in the sky, who has made this universe and whose property it is, we should certainly come to the conclusion that there is a proprietor of everything. When we claim proprietorship over a certain piece of land, whether individually or for our families or nations, we should also consider how we became the proprietors. The land was there before our birth, before we came to the land. How did it become our property? Such deliberation will help us understand that there is a supreme proprietor of everything-the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
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