The process of accepting a bona fide guru-SP

December 19, 2012 in Articles, Damaghosa Dasa

**newrule

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
————————–
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.