Hare Krsna to all

Pranams

All glories to Srila Prabhupada

Below we have summarized a few lectures by Srila Prabhupada where he nicely  explains

who will find a real guru, and how to determine who is a real guru.

He says-

1. accept a guru who is infallible

2.If you dont get a qualified guru, then everything is bogus

3.if you dont find such a guru, that means Krsna is not pleased or your not  serious

4.guru must be accepted from highest order- paramahamsa

5.who has been cheated by bogus gurus? He says-“Practically everyone”

Hare Krsna

Damaghosa das

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761003SB.VRN                    Lectures                  … Sisyas te ‘ham sadhi mam prapannam: “Now, Krsna, I accept You as my  guru. Not as friend.” Because friendly talking is useless waste of time. He  accepted Him as guru. When guru speaks, you cannot argue. That is not the  process. You should accept a guru who is infallible. Otherwise it  is useless. He accepted guru Krsna because Krsna is infallible. If we accept guru, a bogus guru, then it is no benefit. Guru means  Krsna’s representative. Not that everyone can be  guru.  

720911rc.arl                 Conversations                Prabhupada:  Just like Dhruva Maharaja. He was advised by his mother  that “If you go to the forest you can see God.” So he went there. But when he  was very serious, then Krsna sent him Narada Muni. So if you are actually  serious about Krsna, then Krsna will send you some of His representative and  he will take charge of you. That is the process. If you do not  find a guru, that means Krsna is not yet pleased, either you are not  serious.

720629rc.sd                  Conversations                Devotee: What determines, Srila Prabhupada, if one is serious or  one is not serious? What makes one… Prabhupada: Well, this seriousness  comes after many, many births. It is also not so easy. Rupa Gosvami says,  tatra laulyam api mulyam ekalam janma-koti-sukrtair na labhyate. He wrote a  verse, krsna-bhakti-rasa-bhavita matih kriyatam yadi kuto ‘pi labhyate:  “The krsna-bhakti, Krsna consciousness, this thing, if you can  purchase somewhere, just immediately purchase it.”  Krsna-bhakti-rasa-bhavita matih kriyatam: “Just purchase.” Yadi kuto ‘pi  labhyate. First of all, if you want to purchase, the things must be  available. Yadi kuto. Therefore kuto ‘pi, “If it is available, immediately  purchase.” Then next question is, “What is the value? What is the price I  have to pay?” Then he said, tatra laulyam ekalam mulyam, “Simply your  serious eagerness to have it. That is the price.” “Oh, that I can have  very easily.” “No.” Janma-koti-sukrtair na labhyate: “That laulyam,  that seriousness, is not obtained after thousands of years’  pious activities.” It is so difficult. Janma-koti-sukrtair na  labhyate. People are acting piously, but that kind of seriousness is  not available even after executing pious activities for thousands  of lives. So that seriousness is also very difficult, to become  very serious that “In this life I shall finish my business and go  home, back to home, back to Godhead.” Bahunam janmanam ante jnanavan  mam prapadyate. Krsna says, “After many, many births, when actually  one becomes in knowledge, he surrenders unto Me.”

761101SB.VRN                    Lectures                     So for that there are so many practices, regulative principles, mentioned  here. The first thing is hamse gurau mayi bhaktyanuvrtya. This is  religion. Adau gurvasrayam. If you do not get a  qualified guru, then everything is bogus. If  you, by good fortune, if you get the association of a guru, qualified hamsa,  paramahamsa… Paramahamsa guru means sannyasi’s last stage is  paramahamsa. Kuticaka, bahudaka, parivrajakacarya, and  paramahamsa, these are the different stages.

When one takes sannyasa, he lives outside the village in a kuti, in  a cottage, and the family members goes and delivers him the food, because  he is not practiced. So in the beginning, he keeps up this association of  neighborhood or family, but he is not practiced. He therefore lives outside  the village, and if somebody gives some food, he eats. Then when he becomes  experienced, then he does not accept food from one, either his own home or  one home. He takes foodstuff from many homes: “Give me a little piece of  capati.” So somebody gives half, because they are also not overburdened. If  they have to deliver, so many sannyasis come, and sumptuous food, then how  the grhastha will provide? Therefore though… They do not overburden. There  may be other sannyasis, therefore little only. Madhupuri. The  Gosvamis practiced this madhupuri in Vrndavana. They lived, but they would  take little only from the house. This is called bahudaka. Then when he  has practiced more, he travels all over the world, parivrajakacarya.  And when he is fully experienced, then, in spiritual life and  everything, then he is paramahamsa. So one must find out  a guru who is paramahamsa. Neither kuticaka, nor bahudaka, nor  parivrajakacarya Paramahamsa.

So in the Caitanya-caritamrta  also, Lord Caitanya says, guru-krsna-krpaya paya bhakti-lata-bija. This  bhakti-lata-bija can be obtained through the mercy of guru and Krsna. Here  Rsabhadeva, who is incarnation of Krsna, therefore He says mayi, hamse gurau  mayi. You cannot jump over Krsna. “Well, I know Krsna. I shall go to  Krsna directly, without guru.” There are many rascals, they say like  that. No, that is not possible. First of all guru, then Krsna. Hamse  gurau mayi, bhaktyanuvrtya.    So these are description, this is  the beginning. If we actually practice the description of the prescription  given in the sastra, then it will be possible that, as it is said,  karmanubaddho drdha aslatheta. Then our strong desire to enjoy this  material world in different way, that will be slackened. That is  wanted.    Thank you very much. Devotees: Jaya! (end)

SSR  2                  Choosing a Spiritual Master

Reporter: Have the real gurus like yourself ever tried to put a stop to  the false gurus–that is, put pressure on them to put them out of business,  so to speak?

Srila Prabhupada: No, that is not my purpose. I started my  movement simply by chanting Hare Krsna. I chanted in New York in a place  called Tompkins Square Park, and soon people began to come to me. In  this way, the Krsna consciousness movement gradually developed. Many accepted, and many did not accept. Those who are fortunate  have accepted.

Reporter: Don’t you feel that people are suspicious  because of their experience with fake gurus? If you went to a quack  dentist and he broke your tooth, you might be suspicious about going to  another dentist.

Srila Prabhupada: Yes. Naturally, if you are cheated, you  become suspicious. But this does not mean that if you are cheated once,  you will always be cheated. You should find someone genuine. But to  come to Krsna consciousness, you must be either very fortunate or  well aware of this science. From the Bhagavad-gita we understand that  the genuine seekers are very few: manusyanam sahasresu kascid  yatati siddhaye. Out of many millions of people, there may be only one who  is interested in spiritual life. Generally, people are interested  in eating, sleeping, mating, and defending. So how can we expect to  find many followers? It is not difficult to notice that people have  lost their spiritual interest. And almost all those who are  actually interested are being cheated by so-called spiritualists. You  cannot judge a movement simply by the number of its followers. If one man  is genuine, then the movement is successful. It is not a question  of quantity, but quality.

Reporter: I wondered how many people you  think might have been taken in by fake gurus.

Srila Prabhupada: Practically everyone. [Laughter.] There is no question of counting.  Everyone.

Reporter: This would mean thousands of people, wouldn’t  it?

Srila Prabhupada: Millions. Millions have been cheated, because they want to be cheated. God is omniscient. He can understand your  desires. He is within your heart, and if you want to be cheated, God  sends you a cheater.