Spiritual Master / Guru

Published on February 18th, 2023 | by HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

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“All of you can become Guru” — Srila Prabhupada [MP3 Audio]

So anyone of you, you can become guru. It is not that I am an extraordinary man, an extraordinary god coming from some mysterious place. It is not that–it is very simple thing. Caitanya Mahaprabhu says yare dekha tare kaha krsna’-upadesa. So I request you follow the Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s instruction that you also, you become a guru at your home.

(Srila Prabhupada’s lecture is preceded by several speeches in Hindi and one in English by a disciple.)

Prabhupada: Sripada Sampatkumar Bhattacarya, ladies and gentlemen: I must thank you for your kindly coming here during this Vyasa-puja ceremony. Vyasa-puja…This asana where they have seated me, it is called vyasasana. The guru is the representative of Vyasadeva. Everyone of you have heard the name of Vyasadeva, Veda Vyasa. So anyone who represents the great acarya, Vyasadeva, he is allowed to sit on the vyasasana. So Vyasa-puja… Guru is representative of Vyasadeva, therefore his birthday is accepted as Vyasa-puja.

Now I must explain my position because in these days, a person being worshiped as most exalted personality is something revolution. Because they like democracy, by vote somebody should be elevated however rascal he may be. But our this system, guru- parampara system, is different. Our system, if you do not accept the Vedic knowledge through guru-parampara system, it is useless. You cannot manufacture an interpretation of the Vedic language. Just like cow dung. Cow dung is the stool of an animal. Vedic injunction is that if you touch cow dung…, any stool of an animal, you have to take immediately bath and purify yourself. But the Vedic injunction is also that cow dung can purify any impure place. Especially we Hindus, we accept it. Now by reason it is contradictory. The stool of an animal is impure, and the Vedic injunction is cow dung is pure. Actually we accept cow dung as pure to purify any place.

Out of panca-gavya the cow dung is there, cow urine is there.

So it appears contradictory, the Vedic injunction. But still we accept because it is Vedic order. That is… That is the acceptance of Vedas. Just like Bhagavad-gita. Bhagavad-gita, there are so many rascals, they cut short: “I like this; I do not like this.” No. Arjuna says sarvam etad rtam manye. That is understanding of Vedas. If a rascal makes cut, cutting, “I do not like this, I interpret” this is not Bhagavad-gita. Bhagavad-gita means you have to accept as it is. That is Bhagavad-gita. We are presenting therefore Bhagavad-gita As It Is. Krishna says, the speaker of the Bhagavad-gita, He says sa kaleneha yogo nastah parantapa. “My dear Arjuna, this Bhagavad-gita science,” imam vivasvate yogam proktavan aham avyayam, “I spoke first of all to the sun-god, and he spoke to his son,” vivasvan manave praha. To Vaivasvata Manu. Manur iksvakave ‘bravit. Evam parampara-praptam imam rajarsayo viduh. This is the process. Sa kaleneha yogo nastah parantapa. Anyone who does not come through this parampara system, if he presents any interpretation of Vedic literature, it is useless. It is useless. It has no meaning. Yogo nastah parantapa. So that is going on. It has no meaning. You cannot interpret on the words of God. That is not possible. And dharma means dharmam tu saksad bhagavat- pranitam. You cannot manufacture at your home a kind of religious system. That is rascaldom, that is useless. Dharma means saksad bhagavat-pranitam. Just like the law. Law means what is given by the government. You cannot manufacture law at your home. Suppose in the street, common sense, the government law is keep to the right or keep to the left. You cannot say “What is the wrong there if I go to the right or left?” No, that you cannot. Then you’ll be criminal. Similarly nowadays… Not nowadays–from time immemorial there are so many religious systems. So many. But real religious system is what God says or Krsna says. Sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja. This is religion. Simple. You cannot manufacture.

Therefore in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, the beginning is dharmah projjhita-kaitavo ‘tra paramo nirmatsaranam. So the… Somebody may envy that this person has sophisticated some disciples and they are offering prayers and puja. No, it is the system. Don’t envy the… Acaryam mam vijaniyan navamanyeta karhicit. Acarya is the representative of God. Yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasado. If you offer prayers, honor to the acarya, then Krsna the Supreme Personality of Godhead is pleased. To please Him you have to please His representative. “If you love me, love my dog.” And in the Bhagavad-gita it is said acaryopasanam. Acaryopasanam. We have to worship the acarya.

yasya deve para bhaktir yatha deve tatha gurau
tasyaite kathita hy arthah
prakasante mahatmanah

This is the Vedic mantra. Tad-vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet.

tasmad gurum prapadyeta jijnasuh sreya uttamam
sabde pare ca nisnatam
brahmany upasamasrayam

Tad viddhi pranipatena pariprasnena sevaya. So these are the injunction. The guru must come through the parampara system. Then he is bona fide. Otherwise he is a rascal. Must come through the parampara system, and in order to understand tad-vijnanam, transcendental science, you have to approach guru. You cannot say that “I can understand at home.” No. That is not possible. That is the injunction of the all sastra. Tasmad gurum prapad… Who requires a guru? Guru is not a fashion just like you keep a dog as a fashion, modern civilization, similarly we keep a guru. No, not like that. Who requires a guru? Tasmad gurum prapadyeta jijnasuh sreya uttamam–one who is actually serious to understand the science of spirit soul. Tad vijnanam. Om tat sat. He requires a guru. Guru is not a fashion.

So Krsna says that acaryam mam vijaniyan: “You accept acarya as I am.” Why? I see that he is a man. His sons call him father, or he looks like a man, so why he should be as good as God? Because he speaks as God speaks, that’s all. Therefore. He does not make any change. Just like God says, Krsna says, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja. The guru says that you surrender to Krsna or God. The same word. God says man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru. Guru says that you always think of Krsna, you surrender unto Him, you offer Him prayer, you become His devotee. There is no change. Because he says as the Supreme Personality says, therefore he is guru. Even though you see that he is materially born, his behavior is like other men. But because he says the same truth as it is spoken in the Vedas or by the Personality of Godhead, therefore he is guru. Because he does not make any change whimsically, therefore he is guru.

That is the definition. It is very simple. Caitanya Mahaprabhu has asked everyone to become guru. Everyone. Because there is need of guru. The world is full of rascals, therefore there is need of so many gurus to teach them. But what is that qualification of the guru? How everyone can become guru? This may be the question, next question. Because Caitanya Mahaprabhu says, amara ajnaya guru hana tara ei desa. Ei desa means wherever you are living you become a guru and deliver them. Suppose you are living in a small neighborhood, you can become a guru of that neighborhood and deliver them. “How it is possible? I have no education, I have no knowledge. How I can become guru and deliver them?” Caitanya Mahaprabhu said it is not at all difficult. Yare dekha tare kaha ‘krsna’-upadesa. This is your qualification. If you simply deliver the message given by Krsna you become guru. Krsna said, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja. You preach, you request everyone, “Sir, you surrender to Krsna.” You become guru. Very simple thing. Krsna said, man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru. You say that “You become a devotee of Krsna, you offer obeisances. Here is a temple; here is Krsna. Please come here. You offer your obeisances, and if you can you offer patram puspam phalam toyam. You don’t offer… But it is very simple thing. Anyone can secure a little flower, a little fruit, a little water. It is not at all difficult.”

So this is the guru’s qualification. Guru does not show any magic or produce some wonderful things then he becomes guru. So practically I have done this. People are giving me credit that I have done miracles, but my miracle is that I carried the message of Caitanya Mahaprabhu: yare dekha tare kaha ‘krsna’-upadesa. So this is the secrecy. So anyone of you, you can become guru. It is not that I am an extraordinary man, an extraordinary god coming from some mysterious place. It is not that–it is very simple thing. Caitanya Mahaprabhu says that yare dekha tare kaha krsna’-upadesa. So I request you follow the Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s instruction that you also, you become a guru at your home. It is not that you have to make a gigantic show of becoming guru. The father has to become guru, the mother has to become guru. Actually, in the sastra it is said one should not become father, one should not become mother if he does not become a guru to his children. Na mocayed yah samupeta-mrtyum. If a person is unable to save his child from the clutches of birth and death, he should not become a father. This is real contraceptive method. Not that have sex like cats and dogs and when the child is there kill it and abortion. No. That is greatest sinful activity. Real contraceptive method is that if you are unable to deliver your son from the clutches of birth and death, do not become a father. That is wanted. Pita na sa syaj janani na sa syat guru na sa syat na mocayed yah samupeta-mrtyum. If you cannot save your children from the clutches of birth…

This is whole Vedic literature. Punar janma jayayah. How to conquer over next birth, next material birth, they do not know. Foolish persons they have forgotten Vedic culture, what is the Vedic culture. Vedic culture is to conquer over the next birth, that’s all. But they do not believe in the next birth. Ninety-nine percent people, they have gone so down from the Vedic culture. The Bhagavad-gita also the same philosophy is there. Tyaktva deham punar janma naiti mam eti kaunteya. This is Vedic culture. Vedic culture means by the evolutionary process we come to this human form of life. Here is the chance of stopping transmigration of the soul from one body to another. Tatha dehantara praptir, and you do not know what kind of body I am going to get next. This body may be prime minister and next body may be dog by the laws of nature.

prakrteh kriyamanani gunaih karmani sarvasah
ahankara-vimudhatma
kartaham (iti manyate)

They do not know. They have forgotten this culture. Misusing this human form of body like animals, eating, sleeping, mating and defending.

This is not civilization. The civilization is punar janma jayayah, how to conquer over next material birth. That is Krsna consciousness movement. Therefore we are presenting so many literatures. It is being accepted all over the world, learned circle. Take advantage of this movement. We have tried to open, our humble attempt to open a center here. Do not be envious upon us. Kindly take mercy upon us. We are…, our humble attempt. And take advantage of it. That is our request.

Thank you very much. (end)

[760819VP.HYD] Sri Vyasa-puja Hyderabad, August 19, 1976

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Tags: Bhagavad Gita, Bhaktivedanta Swami, Hare Krishna, Prabhupada, Spiritual Master / Guru

About the Author

HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Founded the Hare Krishna Movement in 1966 in New York. In only 11 years he spread the movement all over the world. He wrote more than 80 books including Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Srimad-Bhagavatam, Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Sri Isopanisad. Prabhupada's books constitute a complete library of Vedic philosophy, religion, literature and culture.

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