The process of accepting a bona fide guru-SP
December 19, 2012 in Articles, Damaghosa Dasa
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.
