His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada - Founder Acarya International Society for
Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)
Picture Copyright Bhaktivedanta Book
Trust
What is a guru?
A GURU IS A TEACHER. In most serious fields of endeavor,
when we become serious about learning we will naturally seek
out a teacher.
Spirituality is no exception. The timeless Vedic
literature of ancient India informs us that one must
approach a spiritual master in order to be successful in
aquiring spiritual knowledge.
But just what is a genuine spiritual master and how
should such a master be approached? That is explained in
following verses from the Vedic literatures: "Just try to
learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire
from him submissively and render service unto him. The
self-realized souls can impart knowledge unto you because
they have seen the truth." In order to learn transcendental
science, it is essential that one approach the bona fide
spiritual master (guru) in disclipic succession, who is
fixed in the Absolute Truth.
Transcendental knowledge derives from the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna. It descends in an
unbroken chain called the disciplic succesion.
A genuine spiritual master has absorbed fully what his
spiritual master, or guru, has taught. A genuine guru is
part of a historical succession of teachers, and his
teachings should not deviate from the teachings of his
predecessors. Further a genuine guru's teachings must be
confirmed by the teachings of the great sages as well by the
holy scriptures. This is a three-way check-and-balance
system known in Sanskrit as guru, sadhu and sastra.
A guru must also be fixed in transcendence, be fully
conversant with scriptual knowledge, and be a completely
devoted, selfless servant of God.
One might question whether or not a line of teachers can
accurately pass-on a spiritual message from one person to
another over a long period of time without change or
addition. The answer is that it is possible, in the same way
a mailman delivers mesages unchanged and untampered with.
Transcendental knowledge is transmitted only by a thoroughly
honest spiritual master, and one whose teachings are
confirmed by sadhu and sastra.
Further qualifications of the bona fide spiritual master
have been detailed in the books of great Vedic scholars,
which enable us to easily determine who is a spiritual
master and who is not.
Pure Vedic knowledge in the line of disciplic succession
is transmitted the same way one might receive a mango from a
number of men sitting on the branches of a mango tree: The
man at the top picks the fruit and it is passed down
carefully from one man to the next until it reaches the man
on the ground, unchanged and intact. Similarly, pure
spiritual knowledge is thus imparted to us through the bona
fide line of disciplic succession.
Srila Prabhupada was the greatest spiritual master in
this millennium. In 1965, at age 69 he traveled alone to
America on a freighter to begin spreading Krishna
Conciousness worldwide. With the help of his young devotees
and his unyielding faith in Lord Krishna he fulfilled the
five hundred year old prophecy of Lord Chaitanya that the
name of Krishna would be heard worlwide.
He will be remembered as the most important personality
of the twentieth century. He opened hundreds of temples and
intiated thousands of devotees. To learn more about Srila
Praphupada click
here to go to the
Bhktivedanta Book Trust homepage. They have all of his books
available and some very good biographies of him as well.
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