The Absolute Necessity of a Bona Fide Spiritual Master
November 16, 2011 by Madhudvisa dasa
Filed under Devotees, Guru, Philosophy
“Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth.” (Bhagavad Gita 4.34)
For one who actually wants to make advancement in spiritual life having a bona fide spiritual master to instruct him and show him the path is not optional, it is essential. Without a bona fide spiritual master we have no strength or power ourselves to escape from the clutches of maya. We can not become free from this prison of maya without the help of a bona fide spiritual master.
If you simply look at Krishna’s words here in this verse you will see that the whole principle of the guru disciple relationship is that the disciple wants to become self-realized, he wants to become liberated, he wants to develop pure love for Krishna and go back home back to Godhead and the spiritual master has to be able to guide his disciples in such a way that they can achieve these benefits by following his instructions. It is of course simple logic that if you want to learn something you have to find a teacher who knows that subject perfectly. He can teach it to you because he knows it himself. If you want to learn to become a carpenter there is no point in going to a baker and asking him to teach you how to be a carpenter. No. The baker does not know anything about carpentry. If you want to learn that art you have to find a teacher who has perfected that art himself. Otherwise he may bluff you and charge you some big fees for teaching you but he can not teach you actually because he does not know the art himself.
Therefore naturally if one wants to advance in spiritual life he has to find a teacher who is advanced in spiritual life. But of course we don’t want to just advance in spiritual life, we want to become liberated from the material concept of life and we want to uncover our original constitutional positions as eternal servants of Krishna and we want to engage in in pure devotional service. So Krishna is clearly giving the qualifications of such a bona fide guru in this verse. Krishna is stressing that the qualifications of the guru we are looking for is that he is self-realized and that he has seen the truth. Otherwise, if he is not himself self-realized and if he has not seen the truth himself he is not capable of guiding you in such a way that you will become self-realized and see the truth. No. If you have a guru who is not himself a liberated soul he can not help you become a liberated soul. So we have to be very careful to accept only a pure devotee of Krishna as our guru.
Another very important qualification of the spiritual master is he must be following the bona fide disciplic succession. No one can be a bona fide spiritual master without this principle of disciplic succession. The Lord is the original spiritual master and a person in the disciplic succession can convey the message of the Lord as it is to his disciples. No one can become spiritually relized by manufacturing his own process as we see so many modern so-called gurus are doing. The Srimad Bhagavatam says that the path of religion is directly enunciated by the Lord. Mental speculation and dry arguments can not help one progress in spiritual life.
One must approach a bona fide spiritual master to receive the knowledge. Such a spiritual master should be accepted in full surrender, and one should serve the spiritual master like a menial servant, without false prestige. Satisfaction of the self-realized spiritual master is the secret of advancement in spiritual life. Inquiries and submission constitute the proper combination for spiritual understanding. Unless there is submission and service, inquiries from the leaned spiritual master will not be effective. One must be able to pass the test of the spiritual master, and when he sees the genuine desire of the disciple, he automatically blesses the disciple with genuine spiritual understanding.
So one can not get transcendental knowledge without surrendering to, and serving in a humble and submissive way a self-realized spiritual master who has himself “seen the truth.”
It is not that one should only hear from the spiritual master but he must actually get a clear understanding from him and this is only possible by genuine submission, service and inquiries.
A bona fide spiritual master is by nature very kind towards his disciples, therefore when the student is submissive and always ready to render service, the reciprocation of knowledge and inquiries becomes perfect.
One has to be very, very careful when selecting a spiritual master as there are so many bogus so-called spiritual masters who take advantage of the sincere seekers of the truth and convince them to become their disciples but such bogus spiritual masters have no potency, no power to give you Krishna, and will simply exploit you for their own material purposes.
Guruji,
I understand a devotee cannot find a spiritual Guru by merely searchng for one. When the time is ripe, the Master will find the student and not vice versa.Is that true?
Achutha
The master will preach Krishna consciousness and the student will hear it and be attracted by it. The bona fide spiritual master wants to give Krishna consciousness to everyone and tries to give it to everyone but most people won’t take it. So both the spiritual master and the disciple have to be qualified. The spiritual master has to be a pure devotee of Krishna, a liberated soul, so he has the actual substance to give, and the disciple has to be prepared to surrender to the spiritual master, serve him, offer obeisances to him, hear from him and follow his instructions. Then the transmission of spiritual knowledge can take place.
The problem is that most people can not recognize a bona fide spiritual master and instead they accept a cheating guru who will tell them what they want to hear and both the guru and the disciple goes to hell.
But you have to wake up and realize that we have already found a bona fide spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, and now we simply have to surrender to him and serve him and then the transcendental knowledge will flow from Srila Prabhupada to us. It is this surrender that the disciple has to do and it is very rare to find anyone who will actually surrender to a bona fide spiritual master.
So that is the problem. We have already got a bona fide spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, but we do not want to surrender to him…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna pamho agtsp…love your emails
Dear Madhudvisa Prabhu,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Thank you so much for making available to all this most important instruction, and reminder. Today it is in vogue that so many people are thinking that there is no need for a via media between oneself and spiritual realization. This is partly a result of the abusive behavior of the clergy in the various classical western religions. And partly it is due to the teachings of so many rascals from the east who are teaching nonsense for fulfilling personal ambitions.
Even the concept of the Trinity in Catholicism, wherein Christ is postulated as God-the-Son, is only a misunderstanding of the Vedic version that instructs us that the spiritual master must be honored as much as the Supreme Lord on account of his being a confidential servant and representative of the Supreme. The son is not the father. But because it is his sole purpose in life to serve the mission of his Divine Father, therefore he has been empowered (shakshad-Hari)to accept and bless those who desire to rekindle their relationship with God. Therefore he must be honored as good as God. But even the clergy has misunderstood and mistakenly take Christ as the Father, when in fact he is confidential servant of the Father, the son in whom the Father is well pleased.
My only suggestion regarding your writing is that the passages that have been taken more or less verbatim from Srila Prabhupada’s Gita purport (Bg 4/34) be placed in quotation marks. And this, only so that people will understand that these are not simply your ideas, but are actually the messaage of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the empowered guru who has come in disciplic succesion of the Brahma-Gaudiya sampradaya and who has been empowered by Krishna to spread the teaching of Lord Caitanya all over the world, in the short period of only 10 years. His instructions are bonafide and therefore should be accepted as good as coming directly from Krishna. So if people understand the source of these words, they may take them more to heart.
Again, please accept my humble obeisances. I deeply appreciate this great service that you are providing to everyone, on behalf of Srila Prabhupada.
YOur servant,
Ishan das
Hare Krishna Ishan Prabhu
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
I do not write anything that is my idea Prabhu. Everything that I write is from Srila Prabhupada.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krsna prabu.Please accept my humble obeisances.All Glories to srila prabhupad ! im appreciate all your newsletters helps me alot in Krsna Consciousness.
can you please tell me that serving srila prabhupada when physically present if srila prabhupada was not physically presents. if i serve his instructions sincerly will prabhupada bless me.
Hare Krishan Sathya
Physical presence of Srila Prabhupada is immaterial. It does not matter at all. The important thing is to follow his instructions and you can follow his instructions if he is physically present or if he is not physically present. It makes no difference at all.
Even when Prabhupada was ‘physically present’ he was only physically present in one place in the world at any given time. But he had devotees all over the world serving him and they did not find any difficulty because he was not physically present in their country. In fact many, many Prabhupada disciples were NEVER in the physical presence of Srila Prabhupada. He set up a system when he was physically present to accept disciples from all over the world through ritvik priests and they initiated disciples on his behalf.
So physical presence is not at all important. The important thing is that you surrender to Srila Prabhupada and follow his instructions and he will bless you for sure. There is absolutely no doubt about this at all.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna ! Madhudvisa Prabhu !
PAMHO !
I wanted to surrender my life unto a bona fide spiritual master but I didn’t find anyone except Prabhupada. Some devotees told me that since Srila Prabhupada is not physically present so we cannot take initiation from him but we can take initiation from present Gurus authorized by Prabhupada but i didn’t fell satisfaction by approaching theme. So what should I do. please prabhu give some guidance
Hare Krishna !!
Hare Krishna Hrishikes
That is the problem Prabhu. ISKCON have presented so many men who they openly admit are conditioned souls, not pure devotees, and demand that we should all surrender to them and serve them. But I think we all have the same realization as you, we don’t feel any satisfaction by approaching them. This is particularly true if you have read some of Prabhupada’s books and in this way become attracted to Srila Prabhupada and felt so much satisfaction flowing out of Srila Prabhupada.
It is amazing. We can just pick up any one of Prabhupada’s books and read it for a while and all of our problems and anxieties just fade away and we have been transported into the spiritual world. Prabhupada has so much spiritual potency and he is with us now and he is living in his books, we simply have to take full advantage of Srila Prabhupada by really associating with him regularly on a daily basis by reading his books, listening to his classes and actually putting into practice in our lives the instructions that Srila Prabhupada gives us. And the more we do this the more we will see or real personal relationship with Srila Prabhupada grow and flourish.
Of course the ISKCON line which they push on everyone is “Prabhupada is dead, you need a living guru.” But this is so far from the truth. Prabhupada is so alive and if these “devotees” can not realize that they are not devotees at all… How can you read even one of Prabhupada’s books and think that Prabhupada is dead? So you should not listen to or take any notice of such envious people. The reason they are saying Prabhupada is dead and gone is they want you to surrender to them and not Prabhupada. But the ISKCON gurus are not pure devotees and ISKCON openly admit this and claim that there is no need for a guru to be a pure devotee but this completely contradicts Krishna’s direct words in this verse [4.34] of Bhagavad-gita. So who are we to believe ISKCON or Krishna? Of course we have to believe Krishna and follow His instruction and He says we must approach a self-realized soul who has seen the truth. A pure devotee.
So Krishna says we need to surrender to a pure devotee but ISKCON says guru doesn’t have to be a pure devotee. It is crazy. I think you can see this. Maybe if you don’t want to be a pure devotee then you can get a guru who is not a pure devotee. But if you want to be a pure devotee then it is pointless surrendering to someone who is not a pure devotee because he can not help you become something that he is not himself…
I wonder why I even have to explain this. It is so obvious and so simple…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Please visit Krsna.org to know about bonafide gurus.Dont just blindly accept anyone as guru.Experience is the best teacher , i hv had two already.
Hare Krishna!
Pranam Swamyji,
I humbly request you to clear my doubts. If a person is following spiritual path ie worshipping Krishna with utmost devotion in his life, without approaching a guru not because he/she does not want to approach it is difficult to find such a a Bona Guru like Sri Prabhupatha now a days. If it is the case, will his effort will be in vain? Can you tell me the fate of such person who do not have/find any guru?
I have heard from Satsang(spiritual lecture) God will send a Guru to his sincere devotee in appropriate time. Is it true? How to Identify the real Guru now a days?
Hare Krishna!
Uma Sridhar
Hare Krishna Uma
Krishna has sent you Srila Prabhupada, he is a bona fide guru, you simply have to surrender to him, serve him, hear from him and then you will have the best bona fide guru. It is very true, apart from Srila Prabhupada it is very, very, very difficult to find a bona fide guru these days. But we have to realize that we have a bona fide guru: His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
If you just continue following Srila Prabhupada’s instructions, reading his books and try to surrender to his instructions more and more then you will also feel very real and personal reciprocation from Srila Prabhupada. Prabhupada is actually with his sincere followers and can be experienced in a real tangible way. So if you stick to Prabhupada then your endeavors will be all successful. But if you give up Prabhupada and accept some conditioned soul as your guru you will be lost because only one who is already with Krishna in His pastimes can guide you out of this material world and into the spiritual world. If one is not already in the spiritual world and he advertises himself as a guru and canvases for students and gives them the idea that he can guide them back home, back to Godhead he is a cheater, not a guru…
So best thing is to stick to Srila Prabhupada and chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Chanting Maha Mantra can liberate one even if one has not taken inititaion. Please check Chaitanya Charitamirtha.
Its not only about chanting..we should know
1.how to chant
2.how to avoid offenses
3.what to do and what not at every step of our life
Without the above our chanting will take several births to come to the pure stage, and hence delay our liberation.
Hence, it is important that we take shelter of a bona-fide Spiritual Master to be able to chant properly. Also in the absence of the disciplic succession we may not get the ripe fruit from the tree intact.
ys
Vrindavan Nath das
Yes Prabhu, one has to have a pure devotee of Krishna, an uttama-adhakri, a devotee on the topmost platform, as his spiritual master. And one has to surrender to such a qualified spiritual master and make the mission of his bona fide spiritual master his mission in life. One can have a bona fide spiritual master but without surrendering to him he can not get the spiritual benefit.
In this world full of bogus gurus and with ISKCON offering 100% bogus gurus the only hope for us at this point in time is to take shelter of Srila Prabhupada. A pure devotee of Krishna, an uttama adhakri, a devotee on the topmost platform. He is completely capable and qualified to guide us all back home back to Godhead. But we have to actually surrender to him. We have to make his mission our mission in life.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Prabhju Ji,
Hara Krishan
I see in above email, you say that ISKCON offering 100% bogus gurus, so if the main center of Krishna consciousness is doing that where the person is going to find the true guru, and also, if that guru’s is giving a wrong way to person in their spiritual life they will never succeeded in his own spiritual life to, As i am going regularly ISKCON in a weekend and attend the Kirtan and also Bhagwad Class from the Guru’s of ISKCON, So is i am in a wrong way and just takes Shree Prbhupada books and Chant Hara Krishan Mantar and that’s it, But in my mind i am always help the people to solve their material world problem with the help of God Krishna and so i tell him to do some things and also visit ISKCON and pray and Chant Hara Krishna Maha Mantra, So if i will tell him that ISKCON offering 100% bogus guru, no body going to their temple and trust the all above things to, so i thing if we will pure devotee Lord Krishna always with you and help him and u never in the hand of bogus guru, but as the word ISKCON offering 100% bogus guru is wrong.
If i say anything wrong kindly say sorry for that things.
Hara Krishna
Hare Krishna Aman
The Guru of ISKCON is Srila Prabhupada. And the problem is ISKCON does not accept this. They constantly try to replace Prabhupada with someone else and these replacements constantly end up being demons and fall down from the spiritual platform.
So I agree with you this has created a very difficult situation for new people. The people will be OK if they accept Srila Prabhupada as their guru, but they will not be OK if they accept the bogus ISKCON gurus as their guru.
What can I say. I have not created this mess, they have.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
I am wondering after reading the letter on gurus I am not sure how to be initiated. I prescribe to the principals I chant my rounds I listen to kirtans only . I watch movies of prabhupada and I live and work in pittsburgh. I read the bhagavad gita weekly with a devotee of prabhupads but hes not a guru. Any suggestions? I have been at this fr over twenty five years. hare krishna!
Hare Krishna Susan
Prabhupada is your spiritual master. You can not make advancement in spiritual life unless you have a bona fide spiritual master and you have been following Srila Prabhupada and hearing from him for 25 years so he is your spiritual master. Over the years other devotees have surely helped you but ultimately for you your spiritual authority is Srila Prabhupada.
And the thing is we need to have a pure devotee as our spiritual master and they are actually very rare. Many other devotees can help us also as siksha gurus and the person who initially introduces us to Krishna consciousness is also a type of guru. But if we want to actually become pure devotees of Krishna, if we want to enter into Krishna’s transcendental pastimes, then we have to be guided by someone who is already engaged in Krishna’s pastimes. And we know for sure that Srila Prabhupada is…
So my suggestion is try to add reading Srila Prabhupada’s books also on a regular daily basis. At least if you read one Srimad-Bhagavatam verse and purport in the morning and something else in the evening on a regular daily basis I am sure you will find that very inspiring. It is important to read Srila Prabhupada’s books regularly and if we can not read a lot then we can just read one verse and purport in the morning and one verse and purport in the evening, and maybe a story from Krsna book.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hara Krishan Prabju Ji,
I have so many question, as u say for spiritual life u have a bona fide spiritual master, So who is the Guru of MEERA who seen Krishna all in his heart all times and also their is to many people who is in spiritual life without any guru as i know, So i things i we will accept Krishna only is our Guru and doing all things which he says in Maha Bagwat Puran as Kapil munee tell his mother in Bhakti Yog u never need any guru at all.
If i am wrong kindly clear me..
Hara Krishna
It is nonsense, accepting Krishna as guru. It is against Krishna’s instructions. Krishna says in Bhagavad-gita (4.34) that one MUST approach a bona fide spiritual master, surrender to him, serve him, inquire from him, offer him obeisances, etc. So people who are in spiritual life without guru are not in spiritual life at all. There is no spiritual life without surrender to and service of a bona fide spiritual master. So you are wrong and if you just read Bhagavad-gita 4.34 Krishna will clear this up for you.
Dosent it say in chaitanya charitamrita that maha mantra so powerful the on can get liberated even wothout taking initation?
You can not chant the Hare Krishna mantra without getting it from a bona fide spiritual master.
What Cc. says is the formal initiation is not required. But you must have a bona fide spiritual master. And you have to surrender to him and get initiated by him. But that may not be a formal initiation ceremony. So having a bona fide spiritual master is absolutely essential. You can not chant Hare Krishna without getting the mantra from a bona fide spiritual master.
hare krsna prabhu
can you please create a website just like bhagavad gita as it is original with art gallery create art gallery for prabhupada’s original srimad bhagavatam.
Hare Krishna Sathya
It is a very good idea and I will try to do this as soon as I can.
Madhudvisa dasa
hare krsna prabhu
can you please tell me that srila prabhupada had got personal darshan of lord krishna and all the acharyas, the six goswami.can you share with me what srila prabhupada had told about krsna personal darshan, and all the acharyas.
You can find everything in Prabhupada’s books directly yourself. Prabhupada did not share any confidential information with any of his disciples that he did not put in his books for you to read yourself. So the thing is if you want to find out about Prabhupada it is best to find it out directly from him by reading his books…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna,
Madhudvisa dasa,
Sir Prabhupada left the best materials for us to read and he is our guru. However, You are the magnificient spiritual master who is constantly giving and interpreting our guru’s materials to help us to become the best devotees of Lord Krishna. In almost all of our guru books mentioned that Lord Krishna will accept us only if we work with our guru and accept only the bona fide guru and see him as Lord Krishn. Madhudvisa dasa is our spiritual master along with our guru Sri Prabhupada – Thank you very much for the beautiful work that you doing. I hope all of us will follow your path.
Hare Krishna,
Sara
Hare Krishna Sara
Maybe I am spiritual master of sorts but if that is the case then my instruction is that you must accept Srila Prabhupada as your spiritual master, surrender to him, serve him, read his books, follow the four regulative principles, chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily, etc. If you do this you will not go wrong.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
The best site to give advice on Bonafide gurus is Krishna.org.
Hare Krishna Everyone!
I have a friend that is interested in Krishna Consciousness and I dont want to see him make a mistake by possible getting influenced by some Ritvik or some other rascal.
My concern is that he stated that he had a teacher and I thought that was very nice to hear he has been relinquishing the Vashinava Philosophy and yearning to learn more about Krishna and he told me that the teacher charges money for classes and it made me feel a little weary..
Does anyone know anything about Satya Narayana Dasa? He has some You tube videos that I have not watched and I hope he is a first class Devotee but was kindly asking if this person is authorized and could deliver my dear friend back to Godhead.
My humble apologizes if I have offended anyone. I just wanted to make sure my friend isn’t getting cheated and that his instructor is Genuine.
Your Servant,
Ryan Lay
Hare Krishna Ryan
Like I said in this article we have to be very careful about who we accept as a spiritual master. Because most people who are presenting themselves as spiritual masters are not doing it for the right reasons. It is a big problem because this position of Guru is very attractive for demoniac persons. Because the disciples surrender to, serve and worship the spiritual master on the same level that they would worship the Supreme Lord. The disciple considers his spiritual master is not different from Krishna. So when the bona fide spiritual mater speaks it is Krishna speaking actually, because Krishna speaks through the bona fide spiritual master.
A real spiritual master has no ideas and opinions of his own. He simply hears from his spiritual master and from the Vedic literatures and repeats it. Actually this sounds simple, and it is simple, anyone can do it, but in reality hardly anyone wants to do this. Most people want to add their own twist to the philosophy. So as soon as they do that everything is lost, the disciplic succession is broken.
In Kali-yuga it is safe to assume that anyone who is advertising himself as a bona fide spiritual master is an unqualified rascal. The real Vaisnava acharya is a different thing. He rises like the sun in the morning and the whole world sees his shining effulgence. Like Srila Prabhupada. If your friend had met Srila Prabhupada you wouldn’t be writing to me like this with doubts. No. Everyone knows that Prabhupada is a pure devotee of Krishna, even the demons know. Everyone knows. And that is the way.
So if one is a Vaisnava Acharya there are many symptoms and he will perform many wonderful and uncommon activities. He will be empowered by Krishna in ways that are not ordinary. Vaisnava Achara is a very special and a very rare person. And you will know if you meet a bona fide Vaisnava Acharya. It is like if the sun is shining in the sky you know the sun is there. Even if you are inside your house you can see the sunlight coming in through the windows.
As far as Satya Narayana he does not accept Srila Prabhupada, he has his own ideas and is preaching them. So he thinks he is better than Prabhupada. Which makes him disqualified. Of course he will present so many nice words and probably convince some fools to surrender to him and give him their money. But he is not surrendered to Srila Prabhupada. So their money will be lost and their service will be lost and this will be a great stumbling block for their spiritual advancement.
The problem is that one can not become Krishna conscious without surrender. And if one is so unfortunate to surrender to a cheating guru then when he discovers he has been cheated that cracks his heart in such a severe way that he can never surrender again. “Once bitten, twice shy.” This is what has happened to practically everyone in ISKCON who have accepted the gurus ISKCON have been promoting since 1977 when Srila Prabhupada disappeared from our material vision. They have practically all ended up being demons and cheaters exploiting the disciples for some personal benefit. And that is what a conditioned soul will do. If he has some disciple he will try use that disciple for his own benefit. But a pure devotee of Krishna has no interest in anything for himself. He is only interested in serving Krishna, so he will instruct his disciples in such a way that they will be engaged in the service of Krishna. He doesn’t want anything personally from the disciples. He wants to see them engaged in the service of Krishna.
It is very, very, very dangerous for one to accept a spiritual master if he does not know in great detail what are the qualities of a bona fide spiritual master. Srila Prabhupada gives the example of someone who wants to purchase gold but he does now know what gold is and does not know where you can get gold from. So he goes to a grocers store and asks him if he can buy some gold. So the grocer immediately knows that this man is a fool. He doesn’t know what gold is and he doesn’t know where to get it — otherwise he would not be asking for it at a grocers shop. He would be asking at a jewelers shop where gold is available. So the grocer can just give this man any rubbish thing and tell him it is gold and take his money. Because he does not know what gold is.
Similarly if we don’t know how to recognize a pure devotee of Krishna, a bona fide spiritual master, then there are so many ‘spiritual looking’ bogus gurus out there who will be very happy to accept us as their disciples. But they will not be able to give us Krishna. They are not really interested in that. They want us to worship them, to serve them…
So this is the subtle point. We do have to worship and serve the bona fide spiritual master, we do have to accept him as being non-different from Krishna. But we have to find the real thing, a real bona fide pure devotee spiritual master, otherwise like tens of thousands in ISKCON have already discovered, if we accept an unqualified person as our guru it will be a disaster ultimately for both us and our so-called spiritual master.
So before accepting anyone as spiritual master we have to very carefully study all of Srila Prabhupada’s books so we know what a bona fide spiritual master is. Otherwise, like tens of thousands of ISKCON devotees before us, we will get cheated. We will get a guru who has no power to take us back home back to Godhead and who is interested in using our energy in some way in his service, not Krishna’s service….
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna,
I wanted to know which activities exactly qualifies for a disciple to serve menially to his spiritual master.
How can we serve our master for him to decide if a disciple is really interested in knowing about the truth ?
Sincerely,
Deepak.
Hare Krishna Deepak
Serving the spiritual master means you have to follow his orders. And his orders for one disciple may be different to his orders to another disciple. So the perfection is like Arjuna in the Bhagavad-gita. First of all Arjuna wanted to do his own thing. He was thinking it would not be good to kill his friends and family members in the battle like this and it would be better from him to go off to the forrest. But that was his own idea, his own speculation, and that is not good. After discussing for some time with his friend Krishna he realized that he had to accept Krishna as his spiritual master and surrender to Krishna. So his surrendering to Krishna meant he said to Krishna: “I am a soul surrendered unto you, please instruct me.” So that is the point. When we surrender to the bona fide spiritual master he will instruct us and we have to follow those instructions. It is that simple.
So Krishna instructed Arjuna to fight and Arjuna immediately followed those instructions although personally he was thinking the fighting was not a good idea. But he had come to the realization that his ideas are of no value and that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and He is the one to be followed.
So we have to come to that point, realize that our ideas have no value and surrender to the bona fide spiritual master and follow his orders… It is simple. But we don’t want to surrender… That is the problem.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna prabhu ji !
How one can work without expecting any result/fruit?
Hare Krishna Dr Mohit
It is not exactly working without expecting any result/fruit.
Many times we will work and be expecting some result/fruit. For example you may have a job and you will be working there expecting a pay check at the end of the week. Otherwise why would you go to work. So the devotee may also go to work and also be expecting the paycheck, but the difference is the devotee is not attached to the paycheck.
Normally people work with attachment for the result. They work for the result. The devotee, as Krishna instructs Arjuna in the Gita, performs his duty without any attachment for the result. It is not that he gives up the work, he gives up the attachment to the results of his work.
So in practice this means that instead of going to work and getting the pay check at the end of the week and using that for something for his own personal benefit he has no personal attachment to that money and instead uses that money in the service of Krishna. That is the secret of performing one’s duty and not being attached to the results.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna Prabhuji!
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Thank you very much for this post. The necessity of finding a spiritual master is so important, and yet it is such a complicated topic! I’m a humble neophyte and I find this particular point very difficult to grasp. On one hand, many writings say you have to look for a spiritual master, and at the same time, many others say, no no, when you are ready inside, the spiritual master will find you. So for a neophyte eager to progress in Krishna Consciousness, it’s all very confusing
Can you clarify this for me? I chant 8 rounds a day (I’m a wife and a mom and I work so I’m very busy), I read Srila Prabhupada’s books, I go to morning programs everyday. And I feel the limitations of my own spiritual endeavors. The mind is such a flickering place, full of doubts and questions, and while I am certain that the goal of life is to go back to Godhead, I find it so hard to develop that absolute love for Krishna. I have utmost respect for Krishna, and he is on my mind all the time, but I don’t know how to develop that loving devotion and I am sure that I won’t until I have a spiritual master. Although I often feel that Srila Prabhupada is my spiritual master…
Thank you very much.
Hare Krishna!
Your servant,
Claire
Hare Krishan Claire
Prabhupada is your spiritual master but he says his disciples have to chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily. This is his most essential instruction to his disciples and we have to follow this otherwise how we will make much spiritual advancement?
We just have to make time to chant our rounds somehow or other. So I think that is the first thing you should do, adjust things so you can chant at least 16 rounds a day and we also need to have a regular program of hearing from Srila Prabhupada. If Prabhupada is our guru then we have to hear from him otherwise how will we know what he wants us to do? So we need to be reading Prabhupada’s books daily and listening to his classes.
We have to take the maximum opportunity of associating with Srila Prabhupada because we know he is a pure devotee of Krishna and we know he has all the answers we are looking for and we know he has the power and potency to take us back home back to Godhead. We know he is a pure devotee of Krishna and a bona fide spiritual master. We do not know this of the unlimited numbers of other so-called gurus who would like to count us among their disciples and count our guru daksina in their collections…
The loving devotion to Krishna you hanker for can only be developed by the mercy of a spiritual master who has that loving devotion to Krishna himself. And Prabhupada is such a qualified spiritual master. Honestly I do not know any other spiritual master who has developed pure love for Krishna. This love for Krishna only comes when one has no more attachment to the material world and the reactions of all his sinful activities in the past are eliminated. Krishna says this in the Bhagavad-gita.
So do not make the mistake that tens of thousands of unfortunate sincere souls have made before you and accept as your guru someone who is himself not a pure devotee of Krishna. Because he will not be able to help you to become a pure devotee of Krishna.
You should know it for sure that Prabhupada is with us and will recropricate with us to the degree that we surrender to him and hear from him and read his books and follow his instructions. So my humble suggestion is that you must work on this most basic instruction of Srila Prabhupada and chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily. You just have to make the time to do it. Get up a bit earlier in the morning and just chant eight rounds in the morning and eight rounds in the evening. It is not difficult. And that is the life of the devotees. Chanting Hare Krishna. For devotees chanting Hare Krishna is like breathing. If we stop breathing our body will quickly die, similarly if we stop chanting Hare Krishna we will quickly loose our Krishna consciousness. It is not lost actually, it is covered by maya, it can be uncovered again, but still we do not want to be covered by maya…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Haribol
Dandevats
What does one do if they feel that they have mistakenly chosen the wrong guru? Can another more bona fide master be chosen.
Hare Krishna
Hare Krishna Gopi
There is noting stopping you from accepting other siksha gurus [instructing gurus]. My suggestion would be that you accept Srila Prabhupada as your principle siksha guru and actually then, if you really do this, you will be a Prabhupada disciple. It doesn’t really matter who is your diksha [initiating] guru. It matters who is your principle guru. And that can be your diksha guru or it can be one of your siksha gurus. And this Gaudiya Vaisnava Sampradaya is a siksha sampradaya. So that means when the line to the disciplic succession is drawn for you it will go through your most prominent siksha guru. So if that is Prabhupada then you are a Prabhupada disciple.
So I think generally speaking there is no need to reject the diksha guru unless he is really absolutely not bona fide. But rather you take full shelter of Srila Prabhupada as your primary siksha guru and then you will be very firmly situated in Krishna consciousness.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Thank you for your reply Prabhu
Hare Krishna
Hare Krishna, Prabhu Madhudvisa Das,
Please accept my humble obeisances.All Glories to Srila Prabhupada.
Thank you so much Prabhu for your kindness,I realized that You’ve spent your most important time helping me ‘the fallen soul’by sending me emails every weeks, those are the greatest and the sweetest information for me.once again thank you so much Prabhu.
Just for information Prabhu, I am a moslem and I’m just wondering about the statement in my religion,it’s mentioned that the first entity in the universe is Adam,but in The Srimad Bhagavatam The First Entity is Brahma, if you don’t mind please give me explanation about this Prabhu.
Thank you so much Prabhu Madhudvisa Dasa
Hare Krishna
Hare Krishna Sadtya
The spiritual knowledge revealed in the Vedic literature is very complete and very extensive. If you are only studying the details of the creation there are so many details in the Vedas that could fill up many Bibles on the creation story alone. So the thing is the presentation of spiritual knowledge in the Bible and Koran is very much summarized. There is no way the people of that time could have assimilated the extensive knowledge in the Vedas so the prophets have summarized the Vedic knowledge and presented it in stories and parables to get the ideas across in a language and style which is understandable and practical for the people of the time to understand. So the creation story in the Bible is very much summarized and very much ‘down to earth’ so to speak. But it gets all the basic principles across to the people and that is the point of it.
So the Adam and Eve is a symbolic story. It is not really contradictory to the Vedic evidence but it is presented in a much more ‘down to earth’ and simplified way.
I think the people of the time could not conceive of Lord Vishnu lying on Sesa-Naga on the ocean at the bottom of this universe and a lotus stem growing from His navel and on the top of the lotus flower that sprouted on that stem Lord Brahma with four heads took birth and he was the first person in the universe and he was given the job of creating and populating the universe. It is a fabulous story. But the writers of the Bible have gone with something much simpler.
What is written in the Vedas is the absolute truth. It never changes. But Krishna appears and sends His sons and prophets and representatives time and time again to reestablish the religious principles and they explain things according to the culture and customs of the people they are speaking to and present things in a way that they are practical to be followed by a particular group of people at a particular time. So the teachings of the Bible are like that. The Bible has a beginning and there will come a time also when it is not so relevant. But the Vedas do not have a beginning and will always be relevant.
So that is the difference. The purpose of the human form of life is to follow some religious principles so that we can elevate our consciousness and ultimately escape from the cycle of birth and death and go back home, back to Godhead. So you will find some system of religion and worship of God or nature or something supreme everywhere, in every country and every culture. And it appears differently depending on the people and depending on their culture. But in every religious or spiritual system you will see many common points.
But the bottom line is the Vedas is the source of all knowledge and whatever knowledge you are seeking after you can find it there the Vedas in its most complete and perfect form. That is particularly true about spiritual knowledge. The depth and scientific detail of the creation of this universe that we have from the Vedas is quite stunning. Everything is there scientifically explained right down to the most minute detail. Compared to a very short description in the Bible with practically no scientific details which is really a symbolic story used to illustrate the basic principles of the creation without going into the full details which the people of that time most probably could not relate to even if they were explained to the.
Of course as a Muslim I do not know if you accept the teachings of Jesus but he said, “There are so many things I have not yet told you because if I tell you them you could not bear them.” So Jesus is clearly indicating that he knows a lot more but can only speak what he knows to a certain point with these people. It is like that generally, the representative of God comes and speaks about God to the extent that the audience can appreciate and understand and not beyond that.
That is not the case with the Vedas, however. The Vedic knowledge is complete. Also some thing of course can not be described actually completely. For example the spiritual world and God, Krishna Himself, for example. They are unlimited and beyond any description that can be made. But as far as possible everything is fully described in the Vedas without any limitation.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Being in kaliyaga, I am being forced to do many compromises. I am being forced to do what I think to be false from inside. What should I do? Should I stop compromising with obvious things which do not suit my ‘swadharma’? Or should I surrender all the deviations which are painful to my soul’s ‘swadharma’ to my beloved One and continue compromising? Please guide me, or else my soul will be broken.
I have no idea what you are doing.
We have to follow the four regulative principles [no illicit sex life, no meat eating, no gambling and no intoxication] and we have to find the time to chant at least 16 rounds a day of the Hare Krishna mantra. So if any of the things you are being forced to do that you think are false mean you can not follow these four regulative principles and chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily and read Prabhupada’s books on a regular basis then you have to adjust your life so you can do these things. This is essential.
However sometimes we have to accept some occupation or some work where there may be many imperfections and Krishna clearly speaks about this in the Gita. So even if some aspects of your occupation may not be very perfect that does not mean that you should give it up.
If you actually seriously read all of Prabhupada’s books and follow the regulative principles and chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily and read Prabhupada’s books then Krishna will give you intelligence from within and you will be able to clearly understand what you should be doing.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna,Prabhu Madhudvisa Dasa.
Please accept my humble obeisances.All Glories to Srila Prabhupada
Thank you so much Prabhu for your great explanations.
Hare Krishna Pravu. You have rightly said. These deviations are related to my profession. I will try to do what you have said. If I face any problem in doing so I will contact you again. Hare Krishna.
hare krsna guru ji!
what am tryin to ask this time is,
if HE is the lord of the entire universe then he should be the lord to each n every person born on this planet!
that which includes each n every religion too!
then why he created all these religions instead establishin the hinduism only?
if you gonna say that all these religions were created by this bloody man himself,
then why he didnt stopped man doin all these things which was against to HIM!!!!?????
please answer me sir!!!!
Krishna and His representatives have established many seemingly different religious systems in different places, different countries, different times. But actually they all have the same purpose. To elevate the living entities to a higher spiritual platform. It is because people are different, their cultures and languages and climate is different. So Krishna and His representatives explain spiritual knowledge to the local people in the local language in a practical way that they can understand. When we look at these apparently different systems of religion we may become confused. But Krishna has a purpose.
Actually there is only one religion and that is to develop love for God and to surrender to Him and serve Him.
But you are right in a sense because man has created so many of these religions himself. You can see it that for example the original Christianity has now thousands of different branches all claiming to be the one true religion. In India also there are thousands… So it all gets spoiled over time.
Anyhow if you really want real spiritual knowledge read Srila Prabhupada’s books and chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Does one need to worship his spiritual master,while following his intructions,if he wants to succeed? Is it important to have an attachment for your spiritual master?
Yes Prabhu, of course one has to worship his spiritual master. That is the whole point of spiritual master. Real spiritual master, bona fide spiritual master is non-different from Krishna. He is simply purely presenting the message of Krishna as he has received it via the bona fide disciplic succession. As such the bona fide spiritual master is worshiped by the disciples on the same level as Krishna. Not because he is Krishna, but because he is Krishna’s pure devotee, he is the representative of Krishna. So whatever offerings and worship we make to the bona fide spiritual master he passes that on to Krishna via the disciplic succession.
The whole point of taking initiation from a bona fide spiritual master is to surrender to him and serve him so obviously that means following his instructions… These are rather strange questions…
Why would you accept anyone as your spiritual master if you didn’t have any attachment for him? These are very strange questions…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna,Madhudvisa dasa ji, I apologize for asking silly questions. I am completely blind when it comes to Krishna consciousness. I never take my spiritual master’s (prabhupadaji) words seriously. You are doing a great service, to lord, by helping fallen souls like me in Krishna Consciousness. You have greatly helped me in realizing the importance of disciplic succession and importance of worshiping spiritual master.I always tried to push away attachment for my spiritual master because I thought we should only be attached to Lord Radhakrisha ji (or Balaramaji, Laxminarayanaji..etc). I used to love my spiritual master but without attachment..haha
I am 18 years old, I started reading prabhupada ji books in 2009, and they have helped me immensely. I am still practicing on chanting 16 rounds daily, and also waking up 4 o’clock in the morning(which is the hardest part). I am also trying to steer away from sentimentalism because of which, I think, most people create their own methods of worshiping disregarding spiritual master teachings.
I am not reading Shrimad Bhagavatam yet, because it is above my level of intelligence right now. I am sticking with Bhagavad Gita because I need to get my basics right first.
I took this quote from “Friends of lord Krishna” Facebook page, which I think summarize what you said above.
SRI CHAITANYA CARITAMRTA – MADHYA LILA – (19-157):
“Unless One follows spritual master’s instructions and the regulative principles governing Chanting and hearing the Name of the Lord, One can not become a pure devotee!”
It is hard to become a Krishna Conscious person, but I guess it is easier than getting into an ivy league school since all applicants are accepted. The result is infinite times greater,transcendental and blissful also.
Thank you Madhudvisa dasa ji, for your time and help!
Hare Krishna Tushar
Lord Caitanya is patita pavana gaura hari, He is the deliverer of the most fallen. So it is not actually difficult really to become Krishna consciousness. If we just surrender to Srila Prabhupada and follow his instructions then we will become Krishna conscious for sure. But the key word to note in this regard is “SURRENDER”. That is where most of us fail. We have to surrender to a pure devotee of Krishna. The problem with the FOLK people and their quote from Sri-Caitanya-caritamrta is that they are using that quote to try and convince people to surrender to ISKCON gurus who are not at all pure devotees of Krishna. So if you go to those people and let them convince you to surrender to a conditioned soul like this then your spiritual life will be spoiled.
You need to surrender to a pure devotee and the only pure devotee we know of who is ready to accept our surrender and guide us how to advance in Krishna consciousness is Srila Prabhupada. So you need to actually surrender to Srila Prabhupada and that means seriously reading ALL of his books, not just the Gita. You have been in Krishna consciousness for over 2 years so we should always be reading Bhagavad-gita of course but you must read more of Prabhupada’s books also. He has written about 80 books. And we have to read them all. Otherwise why did he bother writing them if his followers are not going to read them. So if you want to get Srila Prabhupada’s mercy, if you want to please Srila Prabhupada then make a very serious effort to read all of his books. It doesn’t matter if you think you can’t understand them. Just read them. Read them aloud is best so you can hear them. Spiritual life is awakened by hearing, it is not an intellectual process that goes on in the brain, it is something that happens through the vibration and reception of transcendental sound vibrations…. So real all of Prabhupada’s books aloud and hear them and Prabhupada will be happy with you for this and will bless you for this and because of his blessings you will develop a real taste for chanting Hare Krishna and that is the great gift we are all searching for.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
I was going to quit Krishna consciousness and go back to ordinary
yoga but reading some of the comments above briefly , I have thought
how could I get a bona fide guru ?. There are too many charlatons about . Prabphupada is the guru for me , for advice all I have to do is read his books . For being a yogi you need a guru and chanting the
maha mantra is easier . As Arjuna said yoga is too hard .
By the way is the maha- mantra mentioned in the Srimad , the words by
Vyasa ? . That would answer my question . I know it’s in the Kala
Upanishad but that is later than the Gita . The Gita was towards the end
of the last age . Please help. Hari Bol.
Hare Krishna Peter
Nothing will help you except surrender to Krishna’s pure devotee. Krishna says in the Gita that for the doubting soul there is no happiness in this world or in the next. So you need to surrender to Srila Prabhupada and accept what he says. So he is saying to chant Hare Krishna, if you do not have enough faith in Srila Prabhupada to accept this, his most basic instruction, then you can not make any advancement.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Prabhu, All glories to Prabhupad. My sashtanga pranams to you.I am 74 years old.During last 30 years when I became life member of Iskcon and participated in chanting occasionally, I never thought of becoming a disciple.My progress is nil. I continued sinning. Though I made pilgrimages to Mayapur and Vrindavan my thoughts are not purified,though not my actions.I am having physical disabilities and emotional starvation.Can I be redeemed.Who is fit for Krishnas causeless mercy. With the said limitations please suggest ways to relieve me from anxieties and ways to develop Krishna prem.Iam moved by your saying “Chanting is breathing”.I try to make a slogan of it.
Yes. Chanting is as necessary as breathing. But you can not chant actually unless you have a bona fide spiritual master. That is the point. So I suggest that you really seriously read Srila Prabhupada’s books and try to develop a real relationship with him and surrender to him and serve him and accept him as your spiritual master. Spiritual advancement is only possible by pleasing a bona fide pure devotee spiritual master. There is no other way.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Dear Tirupati,
Hare Krishna! I am 6 years behind you at age 68. I was initiatied by Srila Prabhupada in 1968. After Srila Prabhupada left us in 1977, the management and leadership in ISKCON took many unfortunate shapes, and being discouraged, I left ISKCON.
Over the years, I have managed to keep the 4 regulative principles of no illicit sex, no intoxication, no meat eating and no gambling.
I have no feeling of attraction for meat or intoxication. These things would have to be forced upon me. Gambling in its various forms is so unsettling to the mind, and so I avoid it like one would avaoid a deadly disease. And although the thought of sex sometimes comes to mind, such thoughts cause me to feel so degraded that I push them away and take shelter of the holy name.
I have promised Srila Prabhupada that I would avoid these things. This connection with Srila Prabhupada provides so much protection, simply because we require his blessings to make any advancement in our Krishna Consciousness, and we never want to loose his association.
So by reading Srila Prabhupada’s books, and by obtaining and watching the DVD’s of Srila Prabhupada, on a regular basis, in a reverential mood, and offering some simple prayers to Srila Prabhupada as they are given in our Hare Krishna song book, with sincere feeling, gradually a feeling of loving relationship with Srila Prabhupada will develope.
Once that feeling of relationship is in place, you can make your heartfelt promises to Srila Prabhupada, in terms of your japa, kirtan before your home altar, offering all of your cooking to Srila Prabhupada, things of that nature, and strive to maintain a daily standard of spiritual activities, all as a way of serving Srila Prabhupada.
This relationship must be the agency through which your Krishna conscious connection and advancement will be made and experienced.
Now, even though I am 6 years younger than you, I am feeling that any day can be my last. This body also is loosing its strength, the enjoyment of physical activity and accomplishment is steadily decreasing, and no one is very interested in having the association of an old man.
So we have an advantage over those who are younger in the sense that we have very little to distract us from our practice of Krishna Consciousness, and the reality of death at any moment is always before us.
Krishna and His pure devotee, Srila Prabhupada, are very kind and as you are sincere you will feel their reciprocation.
Simply begin by adding the activities of Krishna Consiousness to your life, and this will automatically replace the scope for mental nonsense.
Now you are fighting for your life, to procure for yourself your next birth in a Krishna Conscious family, so that you can continue to make advancement towards Krishna. We are all unique, and no two people will live exactly the same. Also, you should consider that if you die in the holy Dhama of Mayapur or Vrindavan the spiritual benefit is extremely great, and the availability of Krishna conscious association is so much greater.
So you should think these things over, and make a plan of attack. Use your last days to your greatest advantage. It is never too late to make progress. You are not alone. Death is certain. And you are already in India. The Dhama is so close, and you belong with others who are serious.
Hare Krishna! Ishan das
hare krishna thank you for sending
Hare Krsna Prabhuji
Grateful if you could give verses from SB & CC describing the qualities of a bona-fide Spiritual Master
ys
VNd
Hare Krishna,
Its a great lesson for humane beings. We are hankering after earthly desire rather than trying to know our self. To know self, self realised Guru is important. “Bin Guru kabahu bhakati, mukuti, rakati nuhi”. Thanks for the lesson.
Hare Krishna Madhudvisa Dasa
I offer my humble obeisances and request you forgive my ignorence. I have accepted Srila Prabhupada as my spiritual master. His teachings in Life comes from life are difficult to ignore. It has brought me great joy and happiness . I have since read the Gita ands have been chanting Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare 16 rounds as you advised according to the teachings of the spiritual masters.
I have visited the ISKON temple in cape town south africa. Thet said my master has to be alive and I would have needed to have met him. This has left me with doubts. Even though I know the truth, that this is nonsense.
How do I accept or receive my spiritual name as you have if my Spiritual master is not physically present.
in loving service of Krishna
Darryn
Hare Krishna Darryn
Spiritual name is not so important. Main thing is to have a pure devotee like Srila Prabhupada as your spiritual master.
Right no I can not recommend any way to get spiritual name. But if you just become a pure devotee of Krishna by following everything Srila Prabhupada is teaching us Krishna will make some arrangement for you.
I took initiation from one of Srila Prabhupada’s disciples who gave me initiation on behalf of Srila Prabhupada way back in 1989. But there is nothing organized now because it is not that one can just set himself up as giving initiation on behalf of Prabhupada and Prabhupada’s system is that his disciples have to, generally speaking, live in one of his temples and be trained up under the direction of his authorized disciples for at least 6-12 months a when they are actually very fixed-up in following the four regulative principles and chanting at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily and engaged in serving Srila Prabhupada and Krishna nicely then he can be recommended for getting initiation from Srila Prabhupada.
So training is required but these days that training is no longer available. So it is something of a difficult situation at the moment…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
hare krishna sir my question is what is four rules meaning and 16 round chanting
Hare Krishna Sunil
You should read Srila Prabhupada’s books Prabhu.
The meaning of chanting 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra is one mantra is:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
And if you repeat this mantra 108 times that is one round. And you probably know we have japa beads that have 108 beads plus one extra bigger bead we call the ‘Krishna bead’ so you know as you are chanting on the beads when you come to this big bead you have finished the round. Then you do not chant on the Krishna bead or cross over it, you reverse direction and start chanting the next round and when you get to the ‘Krishna bead’ again you have chanted another round and you reverse again and chant another round and you keep on doing this until you have chanted 16 rounds. We also have ‘counter beads’ which is generally 20 small beads on a string and as we chant each round we move one of the counting beads down so we can keep track of how many rounds we have chanted.
As far as the four regulative principles. That is no illicit sex. Sex is only for having children in marriage, no other reason at all. No eating of meat, fish or eggs. No gambling or unnecessary sports. And no intoxication including no smoking of cigarettes, drinking alcohol, tea or coffee, or any other non-medical drugs etc… It is fairly straghtforward. And you should also read Prabhupada’s books at least 1-2 hours a day because that will give you the philosophical understand as to why you should do these things and give you the strength and inspiration to go on…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Geetings Prabhu, I have been searching for guru for years.Since the passing of Prabhupada the devotee numbers have declined to the state that street Kirtana is non existant.To find a spiritual mentor is beyond hope.I chant and keep moral principals and follow the sastras to the best of my limited capacity and pray for divine mercy….Where prashad is available,the dairy products used have come from a murderous industry that turn these poor creatures into cannibuls by feeding them meatmeal and blood and bone in the saltlick,then slaughter them.When I tell the devotees they don’t care at all.How then can I find a spiritual guru?
FIND PRABHUPADA!!!
Hare Krishna Prabhu,
I am on visit in Australia. Back home in Mauritius I was regularly attending Harinam. Being in Australia I was very nostalgic missing those activities, was feeling very hopeless, as if have lost something very precious. You make me feel that Srila Prabhupada and my Krishna are helping me through you, Prabhu. Reading your comments and replies have elevated my consciousness. I go through the Gita almost everyday online and other Prabhupada’s books. I chant mahamantra but at times I cannot complete the 16 rounds. Prabhu, is it an offense?
My obeisance to you and Prabhupada’s.
Haribol.
Hare Krishna
Yes. In Australia there is no Hari-Nama and we have lost the only worthwhile thing in life… We will have to find some real devotees and reintroduce it… Real devotees, their life is Hari-Nama…
It does seem hopeless and we have lost something very precious. But you know I chant Hare Nama myself for many hours every day. It is not as good as in the association of many devotees, but it is very good, and it gives me hope, that at least in my heart I am keeping the flame of Hari-nama burning… I am sure it will expand again in the future.
As far as chanting at least 16 rounds every day we must do it. If we chant less on one day then we must make up those rounds on the next day. But we should not chant less. We have to make the time every day to chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra. Sometimes it may be difficult, but this little tapasya, austerity, we must accept.
If we don’t do it that is disobeying the orders of Srila Prabhupada and that is an offense. Of course if we really can’t do it, chanting something is better than chanting nothing, but really there is no reason why any sincere devotee can not find 2-3 hours out of 24 hours to chant 16 rounds…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa