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re: Cultivating a relationship with the spiritual master




>Hare Krsna Prabhu,

>

>Please accept my humble obeisances. 

>All glories to Srila Prabhupada. 

>All glories to Sri Sri Radha Krishna.

>

>Thanks a lot for this e-mail. I was looking forward to receive this e-mail. I

>am very inrested in Krsna conciousness. My parents made me a devotee. I'm in

>the movement fo 7 years now. I'm a student from the university. Infact, I

>am from ........ but I am studying here.

>

>I like to know how I can improve my chanting. I chant my rounds in the morning

>and during the day. I want to wake up early at 4.00 a.m but I always find it

>hard. I always feel sleepy as I study late at night and can't wake up in the

>morning. Ca you please give me some advice on how I can improve? On this I

>noticed since I chanting my sixteen rounds is that i feel happy while chanting

>and i don't get angry like i was before. I feel that my life has improved.

>

>I would also know how to serve a Guru Maharaj. Today ...... Maharaj is coming

>to ........ I like him a lot and has accepted him as my Guru. My parents are

>telling me to take all my time to think about which Guru to choose. I am

>hesitating and don't know if I have to tell Maharaj that i want to aspire from

>him. May be I have to wait and know more about ....... Maharaj. Can you please

>help me and tell me what I must do?

>

>Please forgive me if I have comitted any offenses in this letter.

>

>Hari Bol



Dear Mataji



Hare Krishna. Please accept my humble obeisances, all glories to Srila 

Prabhupada!



Thanks for the letter and your questions. It's fantastic your parents trained 

you in Krishna consciousness. That's the real business of parents, to bring 

nice Krishna conscious children into the world and train them as devotees. 



   "I have been informed by Devananda that your wife has borne you one nice 

son. So this is very good news. You may give him the name Nirmala Candra. 

Nirmala means without any flaws or without contamination and Candra means moon. 

So the name Nirmala Candra refers specifically to Lord Caitanya who is known as 

the Spotless Moon of Gauda. Now you husband and wife must work together 

combinedly with great responsibility for raising your new child in ideal Krsna 

consciousness. Children learn by imitation of their parents, so if you both set 

Krsna conscious example the child will very naturally and easily become 

advanced in Krsna consciousness by following. Please offer my blessings to your 

good wife, Laksmimoni, and your son." (From Srila Prabhupada's letter to 

Jagadisa 9 July 1970)



As for getting up early in the morning it's difficult if we go to bed late at 

night. We have to arrange our life so we can get up early in the morning, 

before 4:00am, as Srila Prabhupada has instructed us to. Of course it's 

sometimes difficult and sometimes we may feel tired but it is one of the 

important aspects of Krishna consciousness. As soon as you start chanting Hare 

Krishna you won't feel tired anymore. You say already you feel happy when you 

chant and don't get angry like before, so it is already working, the happiness 

will increase and you will become more advanced in Krishna consciousness as you 

chant more. That is the sign of a devotee -- someone who is happy while 

chanting Hare Krishna, someone who wants to chant Hare Krishna always. 



Your studies will be easier and take less time when you're getting up early in 

the morning, you will also be able to chant most of your 16 rounds in the 

morning and that will mean you have more time during the day and so you will be 

able to take rest at a reasonable time. 



The early morning time, 1.5 hours before the sun rises is called the "brahma 

muhurta" and it's a very auspicious time. Spiritual activities performed during 

this time have more effect that at any other time, so if we want to advance in 

Krishna consciousness we have to do whatever is necessary to rise early in the 

morning. 



"The great souls are always chanting about Krsna. Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna 

Krsna, Hare Hare. Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. They are also 

endeavoring with great determination in their devotional service. For instance, 

in the Krsna consciousness temples the devotees rise early in the morning, at 

4:00 A.M., and they immediately bathe. Then they go to mangala-arati at 4:30, 

and after mangala-arati they study the Vedic literatures. These are the 

processes by which we can awaken our dormant love for Krsna. Because we are 

part and parcel of Krsna--just as a son is part and parcel of his father--there 

is a natural love between us. However, somehow or other the son leaves home and 

forgets his father. The father, of course, never forgets his son. He thinks, 

"Oh, my son has left. If he would only come back!" Krsna thinks in this way. We 

are all sons of Krsna, and Krsna is more anxious to get us back home, back to 

Godhead, than we are to go. Therefore Krsna comes and says, "You rascal! Give 

up all this nonsensical material engagement. You have manufactured so many 

religions and dharmas. Just give them all up and simply surrender unto Me." 

("Teachings of Lord Kapila" -- Text 14)



To improve our chanting of Hare Krishna we just have to keep chanting at least 

16 rounds a day and following the four regulative principles (no illicit sex, 

no meat eating, no gambling and no intoxication) and try to chant attentively, 

try to pronounce and hear every word nicely. Sometimes our mind may wander but 

if we always bring it back to concentrating on the transcendental vibration of:



      Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare

        Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare



then our chanting will improve. Krishna consciousness is so nice that there is 

no time when it won't get better, we can improve our chanting unlimitedly and 

there will still be room for an unlimited amount of improvement... Krishna is 

unlimited and He has descended in the form of His holy name. The Hare Krishna 

maha-mantra is Krishna and has all the potencies of Krishna personally present. 

Krishna is personally present in the form of His holy name, we just have to 

realize it:



                         nama cintamanih krsnas

                         caitanya-rasa-vigrahah

                       purnah suddho nitya-mukto

                        'bhinnatvan nama-naminoh



   " 'The holy name of Krsna is transcendentally blissful. It bestows all 

spiritual benedictions, for it is Krsna Himself, the reservoir of all pleasure. 

Krsna's name is complete, and it is the form of all transcendental mellows. It 

is not a material name under any condition, and it is no less powerful than 

Krsna Himself. Since Krsna's name is not contaminated by the material 

qualities, there is no question of its being involved with maya. Krsna's name 

is always liberated and spiritual; it is never conditioned by the laws of 

material nature. This is because the name of Krsna and Krsna Himself are 

identical.'" (Padma Purana)



You have been very fortunate to have such nice Krishna conscious parents. You 

should listen to them now also when they are advising you to wait before taking 

initiation from a spiritual master, it's not a cheep thing, it means 

surrendering to someone and worshipping him on the same level as Krishna. So it 

is a very serious thing. Taking initiation from an unqualified "spiritual 

master" can destroy your spiritual life. It has done that for many thousands of 

ISKCON devotees already. So many bogus gurus have cheated so many ISKCON 

devotees and the cheating is still going on now. They have a regular program of 

advertising ordinary men as "gurus". But the guru is not an ordinary man, he is 

"saksad hari", directly Krishna. Not that he is actually Krishna, but he is to 

be worshipped on the same level as Krishna as he is Krishna's representative. A 

real spiritual master will never say anything that Krishna does not say as it 

has come to him through the bona-fide disciplic succession. A real guru doesn't 

have his own ideas, he presents Krishna's ideas...



"To understand these subjects, we should be careful to approach Krsna's 

representative. We should not approach a bogus guru, who is like a blind man 

trying to lead other blind men. We must go to one who has open eyes, to one who 

has seen the Absolute Truth. The Absolute Truth is there, just as the sun is 

there for everyone to see. The sun does not hide, but a person can try to hide 

from the sun by closing his door. One must open the door in order to see the 

sun. Similarly, Krsna is there, God is there, and we have to come to Krsna and 

take the lessons of Bhagavad-gita to learn who and what God is. Rascals will 

not do this, but will simply manufacture some philosophy or other. 



"There is actually no difficulty because Krsna's instructions are there, and 

Krsna Himself is there. Krsna is so kind that He says, "All right, if you 

cannot understand Me in this way, just see Me in water. Come on, if you do not 

understand Me in that way, just see Me in the sunshine." Is this very 

difficult? There is nothing difficult about it, but we are very obstinate. Maya 

is also very strong, and as soon as we try to accept Krsna as the Supreme Lord, 

maya will whisper in our ear, "No, no. There are many gods. Why are you 

accepting Krsna?" However, the sastras say, krsnas tu bhagavan svayam... 

isvarah paramah krsnah. "Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead." We 

should take our lessons from the acaryas and the sastras. At least in India 

there are many great acaryas--Ramanujacarya, Madhvacarya, Visnusvami, and even 

Sankaracarya and Guru Nanak. All of these have accepted Krsna as the Supreme 

Personality of Godhead. Why, then, should we reject Him? Why should we accept a 

competitor? We should not simply engage in mental speculation but should accept 

Krsna in full consciousness and be happy. This is made possible by the help of 

the guru." (From the "Teachings of Lord Kapila" Verse 20)



I would very strongly advise you to wait and in the meantime become very 

fixed-up in Krishna consciousness by rising early, continuing to chant at least 

16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily and following the four regulative 

principles. You should take advantage of Srila Prabhupada's association, he is 

living in sound and you can take advantage of that. You can read Srila 

Prabhupada's books; you can go with him on his morning walks; listen in on his 

conversations with scientists, business-men, devotees, priests, and so many 

others; you can sit down in his Bhagavad-gita classes and Srimad-Bhagavatam 

classes and you can read his letters. So why not take full advantage of Srila 

Prabhupada's association? PERHAPS IN YOUR HOUSE YOUR PARENTS MIGHT LIKE TO 

ARRANGE A REGULAR PROGRAM FOR HEARING FROM SRILA PRABHUPADA. You can have a 

program every morning and evening, chant Hare Krishna, offer Aroti and hear 

something from Srila Prabhupada and read something from his books. Then you can 

talk about what Srila Prabhupada said. It is such a nice program and will 

enliven all the members of the family.



ISKCON is in a difficult position at the moment, they have so many "gurus" now 

(100+) but they are not like Srila Prabhupada. But guru is one, real gurus are 

like Srila Prabhupada, there are not two types of guru.



   "In this verse Srila Rupa Gosvami advises the devotee to be intelligent 

enough to distinguish between the kanistha-adhikari, madhyama-adhikari and 

uttama-adhikari. The devotee should also know his own position and should not 

try to imitate a devotee situated on a higher platform. Srila Bhaktivinoda 

Thakura has given some practical hints to the effect that an uttama-adhikari 

Vaisnava can be recognized by his ability to convert many fallen souls to 

Vaisnavism. One should not become a spiritual master unless he has attained the 

platform of uttama-adhikari. A neophyte Vaisnava or a Vaisnava situated on the 

intermediate platform can also accept disciples, but such disciples must be on 

the same platform, and it should be understood that they cannot advance very 

well toward the ultimate goal of life under his insufficient guidance. 

Therefore a disciple should be careful to accept an uttama-adhikari as a 

spiritual master." (From Srila Prabhupada's purport to Text 5 of "Nectar of 

Instruction")



So you have to take an uttama-adhikari (devotee on the topmost platform) as 

your spiritual master, otherwise you cannot advance very well toward the 

ultimate goal of life under a lesser-qualified spiritual masters insufficient 

guidance.



"The guru must be situated on the topmost platform of devotional service. There 

are three classes of devotees, and the guru must be accepted from the topmost 

class. The first-class devotee is the spiritual master for all kinds of people. 

It is said: gurur nrnam. The word nrnam means "of all human beings." The guru 

is not limited to a particular group. It is stated in the Upadesamrta of Rupa 

Gosvami that a guru is a gosvami, a controller of the senses and the mind. Such 

a guru can accept disciples from all over the world. Prthivim sa sisyat. This 

is the test of the guru." (From Caitanya-caritamrta Madhya-Lila 24.328)



"Srila Prabhupada: Yes, the spiritual master is one who solves all confusion. 

If the spiritual master cannot save his disciple from confusion, he is not a 

spiritual master. That is the test.



                      samsara-davanala-lidha-loka-

                     tranaya karunya-ghanaghanatvam

                     praptasya kalyana-gunarnavasya

                     vande guroh sri-caranaravindam



"This whole confused world is just like a blazing forest fire. In a forest fire 

all the animals are confused. They do not know where to go to save their lives. 

In the blazing fire of the material world, everyone is confused. How can that 

blazing forest fire be extinguished? It is not possible to utilize your 

man-made fire brigade, nor is it possible to simply pour buckets of water. The 

solution comes when rain from the clouds falls on the forest fire. Only then 

can the fire be extinguished. That ability is not in your hands, but is in the 

mercy of God. So, human society is in a confused state, and it cannot find a 

solution. The spiritual master is one who has received the mercy of God, and he 

can deliver the solution to the confused man. One who has received the mercy of 

God can become a spiritual master and deliver that mercy to others.



Mr. O'Grady: The problem is to find this spiritual master.



"Srila Prabhupada: That is not the problem. The problem is whether you are 

sincere. You have problems, but God is within your heart. Isvarah 

sarva-bhutanam. God is not far away. If you are sincere, God sends you a 

spiritual master. Therefore God is also called caitya-guru, the spiritual 

master within the heart. God helps from within and from without. Everything is 

thus described in the Bhagavad-gita. This material body is like a machine, but 

within the heart is the soul, and with the soul is the Supersoul, Krsna, who 

gives directions. The Lord says, "You wanted to do this; now here is the 

chance. Go and do it." If you are sincere, you say, "Now, God, I want You." 

Then He will give you directions. "Yes, now you come and get Me like this." 

This is His kindness. However, if we want something else, that is all right. We 

can have it. God is very kind. When I want something, He is in my heart 

directing me and telling me how to have it. So why should He not give 

directions on how to have a spiritual master? First of all we must again be 

eager to revive our God consciousness. Then God will give us a spiritual 

master."



And you have to test your intending spiritual master. It is no good taking 

initiation from someone because "you like him", "he seems nice"... or "all the 

devotees say he's a pure devotee..." You have to test for yourself. 



"Once Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, "You must at least have enough sense to 

test to find out who is a spiritual master and who is not." For instance, if we 

want to purchase something, we must at least have some idea of what that thing 

is, otherwise we will be cheated. If we want to purchase a mango from the 

market, we must at least know what type of food a mango is and what it looks 

like. Similarly, we must have some preliminary knowledge of the qualifications 

for a bona fide spiritual master. Bhagavad-gita itself gives some information 

about the succession of spiritual masters. Lord Sri Krsna says:



                          imam vivasvate yogam

                         proktavan aham avyayam

                         vivasvan manave praha

                        manur iksvakave 'bravit



                         evam parampara-praptam

                          imam rajarsayo viduh

                           sa kaleneha mahata

                         yogo nastah parantapa



                         sa evayam maya te 'dya

                        yogah proktah puratanah

                        bhakto 'si me sakha ceti

                        rahasyam hy etad uttamam



"I instructed this imperishable science of yoga to the sun-god Vivasvan, and 

Vivasvan instructed it to Manu, the father of mankind, and Manu in turn 

instructed it to Iksvaku. This supreme science was thus received through the 

chain of disciplic succession, and the saintly kings understood it in that way. 

But in course of time the succession was broken, and therefore the science as 

it is appears to be lost. That very ancient science of the relationship with 

the Supreme is today told by Me to you because you are My devotee as well as My 

friend; therefore, you can understand the transcendental mystery of this 

science." (Bg. 4.1-3)



"That original spiritual disciplic succession was broken, but now we can 

receive the same message by studying Bhagavad-gita. In Bhagavad-gita Krsna 

speaks to Arjuna just as in a far distant time He spoke to the sun-god. If we 

accept the words of Arjuna and Krsna, it may be possible for us to understand 

Bhagavad-gita, but if we want to interpret it in our own way, the results will 

be nonsensical. The best way to understand Bhagavad-gita is to accept a bona 

fide spiritual master. This is not very difficult.



"Arjuna says that he accepts all that Krsna has said to him because Krsna is 

the Supreme personality of Godhead:



                       nasto mohah smrtir labdha

                        tvat prasadan mayacyuta

                       sthito 'smi gata-sandehah

                          karisye vacanam tava



"Arjuna said, My dear Krsna, O infallible one, my illusion is now gone. I have 

regained my memory by Your mercy, and now I am fixed without any doubt, 

prepared to act according to Your instructions." (Bg. 18.73)



"As Arjuna, we should accept Krsna as the Supreme personality of Godhead and do 

as He says:



                         yat karosi yad asnasi

                         yaj juhosi dadasi yat

                         yat tapasyasi kaunteya

                        tat kurusva mad-arpanam



"O son of Kunti, all that you do, all that you eat, all that you offer and give 

away, as well as all austerities that you may perform, should be done as an 

offering unto Me." (Bg. 9.27)



"By accepting Krsna in this spirit, we can attain complete knowledge. If, 

however, we do not accept Krsna and interpret Bhagavad-gita in our own way, 

then everything will be spoiled.



"If we are sincere, we will get a sincere spiritual master by the grace of 

Krsna. If, however, we want to be cheated, Krsna will send us a cheater, and we 

will be cheated throughout our lives. That is actually going on. For those who 

do not want to understand Krsna as He is but want to understand by dint of 

their own imperfect vision, Krsna, God, remains unknown." (Form "Elevation to 

Krishna Consciousness" Chapter 5)



So I would strongly suggest you take shelter of Srila Prabhupada and READ HIS 

BOOKS. Most "devotees" are not reading his books... That is the problem...



Thanks for the letter. Keep chanting Hare Krishna and be happy!



Your servant 



Madhudvisa dasa







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Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! All glories to His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada!