Nameless

The above instruction was given by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna, in the Adi Purana to His dear friend and disciple Arjuna. Accepting a spiritual master is instructed by the Lord to Arjuna in the Bhagavad-gita also.

Advancement on the path of self-realization means to unconditionally surrender unto the lotus feet of a bona fide spiritual master and offer unconditional service at the lotus feet of such a spiritual master. Without surrender and service unto the spiritual master, there is no chance of progress in spiritual life because the spiritual master is the representative of the Lord and is empowered by the Lord to release the conditioned souls from material contamination and reestablish us in our eternal constitutional positions as servants of God. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam.

This is further enunciated by the great Vedic authority and acarya Srila Visvanatha Cakravati Thakur. He states:

Therefore when one accepts a spiritual master he must make it his life and soul to surrender and offer service to his spiritual master. Advancement in spiritual life depends on whether the spiritual master is satisfied with one's service and surrender. This is the test. In a recent lecture delivered in the Los Angeles Temple, His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada stated that transcendental subject matters are understood only through surrendering. His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada goes on to say, "Just as we offer danḍabatas, we fall down straight in front of the Deities, similarly, the first thing is that one must fall down straight before the spiritual master. If you don't find such a spiritual master, then don't accept him. When you accept a spiritual master, you surrender unto him fully. If you think he is not worth surrendering to, then don't accept a spiritual master. This is the Vedic process. Just like Arjuna. Arjuna was talking with Krsna as a friend, but when he saw this friendly talking would not solve the problem, at that time he surrendered to Krsna. Although he was His friend, still he accepted Krsna as his spiritual master." This example is specifically mentioned in the Bhagavad-gita.

So Arjuna offers himself to Krsna as a disciple; he wants to stop friendly talks. Talks between the spiritual master and disciple are serious, and now Arjuna wants to talk very seriously before the recognized spiritual master.

His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada continues

This transcendental literature, the Bhagavad-gita, has been presented by the Lord just to give relief to the conditioned souls desiring to become free of material contaminations. Therefore Krsna is the original spiritual master in the science of the Bhagavad-gita, and Arjuna is the original disciple in understanding the Bhagavad-gita. Therefore it behooves the desiring student to follow in the footsteps of arjuna and surrender unto the bona fide spiritual master.

The reason so much emphasis is placed on acceptance of a bona fide spiritual master is that the bona fide spiritual is the representative of the Supreme Lord and thereby is empowered by the Lord to relieve the fallen conditioned souls of materialistic misery, namely the hellish cycle of birth, death, disease, and old age. In the Eleventh Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, Sage Prabuddha instructs Maharaja Nimi as follows:

This is also confirmed by Srila Visvanatha Cakravati Thakūr in the following verse:

The spiritual master is honored as much as the Supreme Lord because of his being the most confidential servitor of the Lord. This is acknowledged in all the revealed scriptures and is followed by all authorities. Therefore I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of such a spiritual master, who is a bona fide representative of Sri Hari.

It is further confirmed by His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada, These servants of God come with a mission of life to propagate God consciousness in human society, and intelligent persons should cooperate with them in every respect.

The qualifications of a bona fide spiritual master are mentioned in the Eleventh Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, with Sage Prabuddha addressing Maharaja Nimi:

Specific qualifications of a bona fide spiritual master are as follows: He follows scriptural injunctions very rigidly. His character is perfect. (He follows the twenty-six qualifications of a devotee mentioned in the Vedic scripture Caitanya-caritamrta) He follows the principles of devotional service. He is fully conversant with the Vedic scriptures. He has conquered the six sense gratifying agents, namely the tongue, belly, genitals, anger, mind, and words.

According to the Nectar of Devotion, anyone who is practicing control of the six sense-gratifying agents may make disciples all over the world.

According to sastra, one is very fortunate to come in contact with a bona fide spiritual master. After many, many lifetimes of pious activity one comes to the platform of Krsna consciousness and is blessed by the Lord with a spiritual master to guide oneself on that path of pure devotional service. In the Caitanya-caritamrta it is stated, guru krsna krpaya paya bhakti-lata bija:

Therefore Krsna consciousness and advancement in spiritual life means staunch faith in both guru and Krsna. One minus the other is not good for the devotee. One should never try to approach Krsna directly. Anyone who talks of Krsna without service to guru will not be successful on the path of pure devotional service. These above statements are confirmed by the Vedic sastra, authorized acaryas in the disciplic succession, by the supreme authority, the knower of all the Vedas, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krsna.

My dear Partha, one who claims to be My devotee is not so. Only a person who claims to be the devotee of My devotee is actually My devotee.

So in conclusion of this worthless attempt to offer my appreciations to His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, I would like to take the opportunity of offering my worthless obeisances at the lotus feet of my spiritual master, who has been directly empowered by the Lord to relieve the miserable fallen conditioned souls such as myself from the ocean of nescience. And therefore I am always praying at the lotus feet of His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada for his merciful assistance in dragging my doglike self up the spiritual platform of fulfilling the essence of human life-surrender to guru. Unfortunately I do not have sufficient strength, nor do I have proper intelligence to surrender, and therefore my position is very shaky. Consequently my only recourse is to take protective shelter at the lotus feet of my spiritual master and fervently pray that the day may come when I may begin to faithfully serve my spiritual master's instructions.

[No name given]