The Spiritual Master
How to Find Him … How to Honor Him … How to Follow Him
From the Vyāsa-Pūjā addresses of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder-Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
Garlanded with roses and gardenias, surrounded by devoted followers, Śrīla Prabhupāda sits upon a magnificent throne. Disciple after disciple prostrates himself on the ground at Śrīla Prabhupāda’s feet. The disciples praise him. Śrīla Prabhupāda sits gravely and says nothing. Finally he begins to speak.
“Vyāsa-pūjā,” he says, “means that one day in a year, on the birthday of the spiritual master, he is offered respect.” Why? “Because he is the representative of Vyāsa [here Śrīla Prabhupāda refers to the ancient compiler of the Vedic wisdom] and is delivering without any change the same knowledge which has come down by disciplic succession.”**
Śrīla Prabhupāda’s birthday comes the day after Janmāṣṭamī, the appearance festival of Lord Kṛṣṅa. These days fall at the beginning of September this year.
Here we select from what Śrīla Prabhupāda said about the meaning of the Vyāsa-pūjā ceremony. Let us listen as he continues to speak.
The Original Guru
“Vyāsa is the original guru because from his literature we understand spiritual knowledge. All these literatures, whatever we have produced, are originally from Vyāsadeva.”**
“This āsana [throne] where they have seated me is called the vyāsāsana. The guru is the representative of Vyāsadeva.… So anyone who represents the great ācārya [spiritual master] Vyāsadeva is allowed to sit on the vyāsāsana.”
Disciplic Succession
As an orthodox representative of an ancient tradition, Śrīla Prabhupāda follows the system of Vyāsa-pūjā out of respect for the practices and philosophy of that tradition.
“This Vyāsa-pūjā ceremony,” he says, “means to offer our thanks to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, because He is the original guru. We receive this message through the paramparā system: from Kṛṣṅa to Brahmā, Brahmā to Nārada, Nārada to Vyāsadeva …”
Śrīla Prabhupāda continues to name the illustrious teachers in the paramparā, the disciplic chain: “Mādhavendra Purī, then Īśvara Purī, then Caitanya Mahāprabhu, then the Six Gosvāmīs, then others—Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, Jagannātha dāsa Bābājī, Gaura Kiśora dāsa Bābājī, Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī …” It is in this paramparā, Śrīla Prabhupāda says, that he himself comes next.
“So we come to Kṛṣṅa conscious understanding through this long paramparā. Similarly, in the Vyāsa-pūjā ceremony, whatever respect, honor, and presentations you give go to Kṛṣṅa through that paramparā system.”**
The Lord’s Viceroy
“The spiritual master,” Śrīla Prabhupāda explains, “receives all honor, all contributions, on behalf of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, not for himself. For example, in our country when there was British rule there was a viceroy, a king’s representative. So naturally when the viceroy used to go to some meeting, many people used to present valuable jewels just to honor him. But the law was that the viceroy could not touch a single jewel or contribution. It was going to the royal treasury. On behalf of the king the viceroy could accept all contributions, but they went to the king.
“Similarly, on Vyāsa-pūjā day whatever honor, contributions, and feelings are being offered to the spiritual master go to Kṛṣṅa. As we have received the knowledge from upwards, this respect goes upwards.”**
“Don’t jump over to God, crossing the spiritual master. Then it will be a failure. You must go through the spiritual master. We are observing the Vyāsa-pūjā ceremony, the birth anniversary of our Guru Mahārāja [spiritual master]. Why? We cannot understand Kṛṣṅa without a spiritual master.
“If anyone wants to understand Kṛṣṅa by jumping over the spiritual master, then immediately he becomes bogus. Nobody can understand Kṛṣṅa without going through His most confidential servant.
“If you think that you have become very learned and very advanced and can now avoid the spiritual master and understand Kṛṣṅa, that is bogus.…
We should always pray, yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādaḥ: only by the grace of the spiritual master can we achieve the grace or mercy of Kṛṣṅa. This is the meaning of Vyāsa-pūjā.”**
A Revolutionary Practice
Śrīla Prabhupāda is very much aware that some people may misconstrue the Vyāsa-pūjā ceremony.
“Of course,” he says, “those who are my students know what is this ceremony. … But an outsider may ask, ’Why is a person being worshiped like God?’ There may be some doubt.”**
“Now I must explain my position, because in these days a person’s being worshiped as a most exalted personality is something revolutionary.”**8
“It is not that I am training my disciples to worship me—man worship—or that I’m getting some honor from them for nothing. No. It is not that. Whatever honor, whatever respect, whatever presentation you are giving to your spiritual master, it will go to Kṛṣṅa by the paramparā system.”
“An outsider may think, ’This man is being flattered, and he is hearing his own eulogy.’ But this is not the fact. The disciples are receiving the message sincerely, and they are expressing their feeling. So that feeling is going to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And as the message has come through the channel of disciplic succession, all these praises will also reach Kṛṣṅa through that disciplic succession.”**
“If you offer prayers to the ācārya, then Kṛṣṅa, 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-gītā it is said, ācāryopāsanam: we have to worship the ācārya.”**
“Kṛṣṅa says, ācāryaṁ māṁ vijāniyān: ’You accept the ācārya as Myself.’ Why? I see that he is a man. His sons call him father, he looks like a man, so why should he be as good as God?
“Because he speaks as God speaks, that’s all.… He says as the Supreme Personality of Godhead says; therefore he is guru. Even though you see that he is materially born, that his behavior is like that of other men, he says the same truth spoken in the Vedas or by the Personality of Godhead; therefore he is guru. He does not make any whimsical change; therefore he is guru. That is the definition. It is very simple.”**
The Humility Of the Pure Devotee
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that he himself is but a servant of his spiritual master. “Of course, my students offer me so much respect, but all these respects are due to my spiritual master.
“I am nothing. I am just like a peon. When a peon delivers a letter, he is not responsible for what is written in that He simply delivers.”**
Śrīla Prabhupāda feels indebted, he says, not only to his spiritual master, from whom he received the message of Kṛṣṅa, but also to his disciples, who are helping him spread it.
“Anyone who is coming to Kṛṣṅa consciousness is not an ordinary living being.
Actually, he’s a liberated soul. And I am very much hopeful that, even if I die, my disciples who are now participating today will continue my movement.…
“Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura wanted European and American people to understand the philosophy of the Caitanya cult and take part in it. That was his desire. My Guru Mahārāja, His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Prabhupāda, also attempted to send his disciples to preach the Caitanya cult in the Western world.…
“At our first meeting, perhaps you know, he asked me to preach. So at that time I was a young man, only twenty-five years old, and I was also a house-holder. I should have joined and executed his desire immediately, but due to my ill luck I could not immediately execute his order. But it was in my heart: ’It is to be done.’
“So anyway, although I began very late, at the age of seventy years, by the help of my disciples this movement is gaining ground and is spreading all over the world. Therefore I have to thank you. It is all due to you. It is not my credit. It is your credit that you are helping me execute the order of my Guru Mahārāja.”**
How Does One Meet A Spiritual Master?
“Kṛṣṅa is within everyone.… So He is called caitya-guru, the guru within the heart. … And when Kṛṣṅa sees that a living entity is very anxious to understand Him or to revive his Kṛṣṅa consciousness, then Kṛṣṅa gives him all opportunity, especially by manifesting Himself as the spiritual master. … The spiritual master is therefore Kṛṣṅa’s manifestation—Kṛṣṅa’s mercy manifestation to help a person develop his Kṛṣṅa consciousness.”**
“The whole world is in the blaze of the threefold miseries, and a person who is authorized to deliver people from those material pangs is called a spiritual master.”**
Continuing the Disciplic Succession
Śrīla Prabhupāda tells his disciples that they too should become spiritual masters.
“Spiritual master is not a new invention. So all my students present here who are feeling so much obliged … I am obliged to them because they are helping me in this missionary work. At the same time, I shall request them all to become spiritual masters. Every one of you should become spiritual masters next.
“And what is your duty? Whatever you are hearing from me, whatever you are learning from me, you have to distribute the same in toto, without any addition or alteration. Then all of you will become spiritual masters.…
“To become a spiritual master is not a very wonderful thing. One simply has to become a sincere soul.”**
“It is not difficult. It is difficult when you manufacture something. But if you simply present whatever you have heard from your spiritual master, it is very easy.
“If you want to become overintelligent, to present something, to interpret something, over what you have heard from your spiritual master, then you’ll spoil the whole thing. Don’t make any addition or alteration. Simply present it as it is. … Remain always a servant of your spiritual master and present the thing as you have heard it. You will be a spiritual master. This is the secret.”**
“One should not think, ’I am not qualified to become a guru.’ No, you are qualified if you follow strictly the paramparā system.”**
“If you simply preach this cult—’My dear friend, my dear brother, you surrender to Kṛṣṅa’—you become a spiritual master.”**
There Is a Need
“Caitanya Mahāprabhu has asked everyone to become a guru. Everyone. Because there is need of gurus. The world is full of rascals; therefore there is need of so many gurus to teach them.…
“Caitanya Mahāprabhu says: āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāra’ ei deśa: Wherever you are living, 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 is it possible? I have no education. I have no knowledge. How can I become guru and deliver them?
“Caitanya Mahāprabhu said: It is not at all difficult. Yāre dekha, tāre kaha ’kṛṣṅa’-upadeśa. This is your qualification. If you simply deliver the message given by Kṛṣṅa, you become guru.… “Kṛṣṅa said, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṅaṁ vraja. [Give up all other engagements and surrender to Me.] You preach. You request everyone, ’Sir, you surrender to Kṛṣṅa.’ Then you become a guru. It is a very simple thing. Kṛṣṅa said, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru. [Think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me, and offer obeisances to Me.] You say, ’You become a devotee of Kṛṣṅa. You offer obeisances. Here is a temple. Here is Kṛṣṅa. Please come here.…’
“So this is the guru’s qualification. The guru does not show some magic or produce some wonderful things to become guru …
“People are giving me credit that I have done miracles. But my miracle is that I carried the message of Caitanya Mahāprabhu: yāre dekha, tāre kaha ’kṛṣṅa’-upadeśa.
“So this is the secret. Any one of you can become a guru. It is not that I am an extraordinary man, an extraordinary god coming from some mysterious place. It is not that—it is a very simple thing.
“Caitanya Mahāprabhu says: yāre dekha, tāre kaha ’kṛṣṅa’-upadeśa. So I request you to follow Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s instruction that you also be-come a guru at your home. It is not that you have to make a gigantic show of becoming a guru. The father has to become a guru; the mother has to become a guru. Actually, in the śāstra it is said one should not become a father, one should not become mother, if he does not become a guru to his children.”**
Become Kṛṣṅa’s Favorite
“So I hope that all of you—men, women, boys, and girls—become spiritual masters and follow this principle. Simply sincerely follow the principles and speak to the general public. Then you become Kṛṣṅa’s favorite. Kṛṣṅa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, na ca tasmān manuṣyeṣu kaścin me priya-kṛttamaḥ: ’One who is doing this humble service of preaching work, Kṛṣṅa consciousness—nobody is dearer to Me than him.’ So if you want to become recognized by Kṛṣṅa very quickly, take up this process of becoming a spiritual master. Present the Bhagavad-gītā as it is. Then your life is perfect.”