Gita key verses course 15 – Do I need a guru? How can I find my guru? Gita 4.34

So, today we discuss 4.34 in the Bhagavad Gita. The topic will be about the spiritual master, the Guru. And here we will be focusing on 4.34 in the Gita.
Tadviddhi pranipaten pariprasnena sevaya upadekshanti te jnaninastatvadarshinaha
So, Tadviddhi pranipaten. Krishna is telling us to know that truth, pranipaten. Go and approach the spiritual master. Tadviddhi pranipaten pariprasnena.
So, Krishna is describing Tadviddhi, to know that. Pranipata, offer your respects, humble submission; praniprasnena, ask questions; and sevaya, render service.
Then by this upadekshanti te jnanam, you will be able to gain knowledge.
Jnaninastatvadarshinah, those great souls, jnaninas, are seers of the truth and they can help you to also understand the truth.
So, till now, the Bhagavad Gita’s flow, the way it is going, is in the fourth chapter, Krishna has been talking about the knowledge that enables us to overcome sensuality and come to spirituality.
So, the first chapter talks about Arjuna’s confusion.
The second chapter talks about Krishna teaching Arjuna his identity and then acting in accordance with that identity.
Then in the third chapter, we discussed how Arjuna understood various levels for functioning.
As we had the third chapter conclude with, the selfish desires for sensuality can sabotage our spirituality.
And then the knowledge in the fourth chapter is called transcendental knowledge by Srila Prabhupada. It is also traditionally called Jnana Karma Sanyasa Yoga.
So, Jnana, that is, the knowledge that enables us to work with renunciation.
So, what is that knowledge that prevents entanglements? We have discussed various aspects of that knowledge till now.
We discussed the principle of revelation in 4.1 and 4.2.
Then we discussed the principle of the divine descent for giving this knowledge.
Then we talked about how there is one purpose, although there can be many different paths toward that purpose in 4.11.
Then in the previous session, we discussed the principle of Karma, more in terms of responsibly choosing our actions.
And then, now in this session, we are going to discuss about if we are going to choose wisely, if we are going to act responsibly.
That was the word we discussed last time.
So, to understand what our Karma is, how do we come to know that? That is with the guidance of the spiritual master.
So, can you go ahead? Next slide.
We will discuss four questions:

1. Do we need a Guru?
2. Why can’t we have a direct relationship with God? Does the Guru come between us and God?
3. How do we know which Guru is right for us?
4. How do we approach this Guru?
   So, let’s begin with the first question: Do I need a Guru?
   Firstly, the word Guru has become very generalized in today’s world.
   Can you go to the next slide?
   So, the Guru refers, in today’s world, to any kind of teacher.
   So, we can have a computer Guru, I can have a music Guru, somebody can say that I have an athletics Guru. The word Guru is used not just for a teacher; the Guru is also used in general for an expert.
   So, Guru, as it is used in the Bhagavad Gita, is somewhat different. In fact, the Gita uses different words to refer to spiritually realized people. It is not limited to the word Guru alone.
   In this context, it uses the word Tattva Darshanaha. Because words can have different meanings. And what is being specifically said can be understood by using different words, which point to that concept.
   So, the concept is a person who is going to guide us in life. And that is the word Guru. It is not just a teacher, but an exemplar—one who lives the truth, not just who teaches the truth. One who demonstrates through their living what is the truth.
   So, another word is Acharya.
   So, here the focus is on the seer. Arjuna’s confusion was caused by seeing. He saw the two armies assembled and he felt that he could not fight.

So, Tattva Darshanaha. Arjuna was not seeing the truth; he was seeing only the material level of reality. Krishna is telling us that the Gurus are those who are seers of the truth. Once there is right seeing, then there can be right doing also. The word Tattva Darshanaha is used here in this verse. The idea is that the Guru sees and then the Guru acts accordingly and helps us to act accordingly. Now, what does the exemplar mean? The next slide illustrates this. There is knowing, doing, and being. Knowing is more informational.

Okay, I know how to drive a car. I know how smoking ruins your lungs. I know what the ingredients are in cooking this. Now, all this information is important. Without knowing, we can’t move forward. But knowing alone is not enough. Knowing is more about taking in information from the outer world. Doing is how we implement it. So, that is the skill to do it well. Knowing is important, but beyond that, doing is also important. And beyond doing, there is also being. Being means that we focus primarily on embodying that way of living.

So, the teaching of the Bhagavad Gita is how we can live without being entangled in this world. How can we live responsibly without getting entangled? And for that purpose, the Gita teaches various things. Its most important teaching is that we work with spiritual consciousness, not with material consciousness. So, the Guru knows the material and spiritual levels of reality. The Guru acts spiritually and doesn’t just act spiritually occasionally, but embodies that. That is what the Bhagavad Gita talks about as Tatvadarshinaha. Once somebody has seen the truth in truth, Tatva means truth, then they will mold themselves accordingly.

The same word Tatva was used earlier in 4.9 in the Bhagavad Gita when Krishna talks about knowing Him in truth. If somebody knows the Lord in truth, then what happens? They become so attracted to Him. They become attracted to Him and they attain Him. They don’t return to this world. That is devotion to the transcendental; devotion to the Lord becomes the defining, integrating, driving feature, virtue, and core of the spiritual master. They can teach us to do the same thing.

Now let’s move forward. In today’s world, there is a lot of suspicion about authority figures. In fact, the postmodern worldview is that we need to reject all authorities because all authorities are exploitative. They are manipulative, they are power-hungry, and that’s why rejecting all authority is talked about. Does the Guru come between us and God? The idea here is that some people feel that in the spiritual domain, what is the need for any authority? I can have a relationship with God, I can approach God, and why should there be any kind of middleman? While there are many people who are atheistic and explicitly reject God, there are many others who are not atheistic but are suspicious about religious people or religious authorities. And there is, of course, reason for such suspicion.

We have, like in any area of life, ultimately human nature that is prone to vice. There are religious authorities who sometimes behave in less than exemplary ways, sometimes in regrettably wrong ways. So then, because of that, suspicion is understandable. Some people feel, why have this middleman? Just let me remove it, I’ll just approach God directly. Or if somebody is not directly theistic, they say, I want to be spiritual, I’ll be spiritual myself. Why do I need someone? That person comes between me and God. Actually, the Guru doesn’t come between us and God. Rather, there is already a lot that is there between us and God. Between us and God, there is a big wall. That wall is two things: bodily impurities and misconceptions. Within our mind, there are many impure desires. Within our intelligence, there are many wrong conceptions or less-than-right conceptions. These act as a block and prevent us from perceiving or connecting with the divine.

What the spiritual master does is help us to remove what comes between us and God. The spiritual master doesn’t come between us and God. Rather, what is already there between us and God, the spiritual master helps us to remove that. Ultimately, yes, we all have a personal relationship with the divine. That personal relationship with Krishna is something we all can relish. The spiritual master doesn’t block, monopolize, restrict, or remove access to God. Rather, the very things that restrict and remove access to God for us, those things are removed by the guidance of the spiritual master.

So why do we need a spiritual master? At one level, we need a teacher in any walk of life. Even for something, even those who say they don’t accept any authority, what are they doing? They may say, “Don’t accept any authority,” but then they are asking us to accept their authority when they are telling such a thing. So we have to accept on their authority that all authority should be rejected. This postmodern rejection of all authority collapses as a self-contradictory assertion. We do follow some authority or the other always.

Now, if we understand clearly what we are doing when we are following the spiritual master: The spiritual master is meant to help us perceive life’s deeper realities, perceive Krishna, and ultimately realize Krishna in our own hearts, relish Krishna’s presence in our hearts. So then we see the guidance of the spiritual master in those terms: how that guidance helps us to remove our various impurities and misconceptions within us. The Tattva Darshinaha, if you see, the spiritual master is seeing the truth and enabling us to see the truth. It is not that the spiritual master says, “I am the truth.” It is not that in that way they come in the way; rather, they help us to remove what is in the way.

And those who reject all authority, what happens to them? One who thinks that they will be their own guru soon has fools as their disciples. He who thinks that he will be his own guru has a fool as his disciple. Why? Because if we think, “I will be my own guru,” then I end up staying in illusion, staying under the control of the impurities and misconceptions that I have. Both the guru and the disciple end up staying as fools.

So now that brings us to the next question: How do we know? How can we find a guru? Here, it is a very important principle to understand that ultimately it is the Lord who is the spiritual master for all of us. It is He who manifests through various mediums. God is present in our hearts. When He rules the hearts of others, then through them, He can guide us. Even if they are not completely devoted, the Lord can use various instruments to guide us toward Him.

So if we understand that whenever we are putting faith in the spiritual master, we are not just putting faith in that person. We are putting faith in Krishna, and Krishna is recommending that we follow a guru. So we follow the spiritual master as an expression of our faith in Krishna. Gradually, the spiritual master deepens our faith in Krishna, and our faith in the spiritual master deepens by that practice of bhakti. Thus, it goes forward. So God is high up in the spiritual world. We are here in the material world. Now it’s very difficult for us to access God directly. When we can’t access God directly, then what happens? We need to access God indirectly. Indirectly means through His spiritual master. So, when we access God through His representative, the spiritual master, the spiritual master is the way we could say God is extending His grace downward to reach out to us, and to help us rise.

So, that is the underlying principle of the spiritual master. Now moving on, the guru is both one and many. “One and many” means that Krishna uses the word jnaninas tattvadarshinah. The word jnaninas is plural. It is not singular. Often, the word gurun is used in many prayers. Gurun is plural. So, the guru is not one; the guru is multiple. There is one in principle and many in manifestation. The idea is that whoever is connected with Krishna and helps us connect with Krishna, that is our guru, that is our spiritual master.

When we approach the spiritual master in this integrated sense, then we understand that the person is important, but ultimately Krishna is also most important. We are connecting with Krishna through the spiritual master. Now, what is the reason for these tattvadarshinah, multiple spiritual masters? The idea is that Krishna is the one who is guiding us through various channels. Of course, we need to have one channel as the primary channel. At the same time, the primary channel is not the exclusive channel. We talked earlier about parampara or tradition. Let’s see this in that light. Can we go to the next slide?

Here, the idea is that when we are working, there is the guru, sadhu, and shastra. Just like a stool can have three feet on which it stands balanced, similarly, the structure of the system for sharing spiritual knowledge is like a tripod. There is a spiritual master, the saintly teachers (sadhus), and shastra, the scripture that gives us knowledge of ultimate reality. Guru, sadhu, and shastra, these three work together, and the guru is the one who teaches shastra primarily to us.

There are different kinds of gurus. Within the Gaudiya tradition, we talk about Diksha guru, Shiksha guru, and Patha Pradarsha guru. The Patha Pradarsha guru is the one who gives us the mantra and the rite of initiation. The Shiksha gurus are those who give us instructions, and the Patha Pradarsha gurus are those who show us the way. Now, beyond the specific technicalities of the nomenclature, the important thing is to understand the principle. The principle is that there is God who is guiding us.

Earlier, I talked about how people today are suspicious about following any authority, or if not suspicious, then at least hesitant about submitting to any authority. It is important to be cautious, and within the tradition itself, there is an awareness. There is a self-critical awareness that wherever there is a role of guidance, there is also the possibility for misguidance. And there is the check-and-balance system through guru, sadhu, and shastra. If we focus only on the guru, then it becomes a personality cult.

Now, there can be some teachers who may themselves be very charismatic and spiritually advanced. But when everything is centered on one personality, the problem with that is it is not sustainable. What if that personality, that person, whoever it is, is mortal in the sense that they live for a finite number of years? What happens after them? Often, any group started by a charismatic founder, unless there is some system to transmit that charisma or authority to subsequent generations, collapses after that. When a guru is made into almost a God for all practical purposes, it can very easily become a personality cult.

The guru represents God, the sadhus represent God, and the shastra represents God. That is how we all can move toward Krishna through these channels. To understand this, let’s consider an example of a university. In a university, if someone decides to do their PhD in particle physics, they need to get admission to the university. There is the principal, head of the department, or dean of the university, who sanctions, stamps, authorizes, and grants entry. This is important.

After that, the PhD candidate might sometimes work directly with the admitting authority, or the PhD guide might be someone different. The student might work a lot more with that particular PhD guide. If a student wants to get a PhD, the Patha Pradarsha guru is the one who tells them, “This is a good university, you can go and learn there.” That is showing the path, Patha Pradarsha. The Diksha guru is like the admitting authority, the one through whom entry is granted. Then, there are the Shiksha gurus who actually teach the student.

What is taught? There are textbooks. Now, the guru, sadhu, and shastra—all of these must work together. There must be harmony among these three, and all three teach together harmoniously. That is how this system of knowledge moves forward. While we often use the term guru in the singular to refer to the one spiritual master, if we look at the scripture itself, there is a far greater emphasis on the process of learning by going to various spiritual teachers and learning from them. We see when Ram was in exile or when the Pandavas were in exile, they were learning from many teachers. The idea is that they would meet saintly people, sit, and discuss.

And we have Yudhishthira often asking questions, sometimes difficult questions he asks. And the saintly people give answers. And it’s not that everybody is parroting the same answer. If we look at the Mahabharata itself, what Markandeya Rishi says or what Vyasa says, it is similar in essence, but there is a different emphasis, a different mood. And the idea is that we all need all the inspiration that we can get to move forward in the spiritual journey. We need wisdom, we need inspiration. So, from wherever we get it, we take it. And if it is helping us move closer to Krishna, we understand that this is the spiritual knowledge.

Just like a student is in a university, the purpose of the university is to learn knowledge. Now, in bhakti, it’s not just intellectual learning, it is transformational learning. It is not just knowing or doing; it is being. So, the personal connection with the spiritual master is also extremely important.

When I give the example of a university, it is, at one level, to contextualize the connection with the spiritual master in terms of the purpose of that connection. The purpose is to help us grow in spiritual knowledge. At the same time, we can go to another example. No example exhaustively covers any spiritual truth. Spiritual truths are themselves, sometimes, transcendental. And every metaphor that we use is meant to help us develop an understanding of that which is beyond all metaphors.

So, the standard metaphor for illustrating the role of metaphors is what is called a shakha chandranyaya. Shakha is branches, chandra is the moon. So, a child who is often habituated to looking around, the mother wants to show that child the moon. Suddenly, it’s not very habitual for the child to look up. So, the mother says, “Do you see the tree?” “Yeah.” “Now, do you see the trunk going up? Do you see that branch going left? Almost horizontal, yes.” “Now, do you see another branch going slightly vertically up?” “Yeah.” “Now, what do you see in between those two branches?” “Oh, okay. I see a shining object.” “Yeah, that’s the moon.” “Oh, okay.”

So, what happens is that the moon is not between the branches, but by pointing to the two branches, the moon can be indicated. Similarly, various metaphors help us to understand the spiritual truths which actually exist often beyond all metaphors.

One metaphor where the focus is on education is the university metaphor. Now, we could go to another metaphor, and that is the understanding that when we are trying to connect with the Lord, that connection is not like a mechanical connection. It is not that we take a screw and put it into a particular socket. It is more of a personal connection. It is an investment of our emotions. It is a redirection of our heart. It is ultimately a matter of love. And we learn to love Krishna by associating with those who love Krishna.

We have not talked elaborately about bhakti till now and the principle of loving the Lord in this course, and we’ll come to that, especially in the ninth chapter. From the sixth chapter, we’ll start discussing that subject elaborately. But at this stage, we need to develop an attraction for the spiritual, develop a connection with the spiritual where there is pure spiritual emotion invested in that connection. And for that connection to be developed, it is important for each one of us to have a means by which that redirection of emotions happens. And we love Krishna by loving those who love Krishna.

So, quite often, it is a gradual step-by-step process. It’s not very easy to suddenly love the Lord. It is that we love those who love the Lord, and gradually by that, we develop love for Him. Our spiritual journey is not like a sudden helicopter zoom, we just rise up. It’s more like an airplane that gradually takes off. So, we need to learn to love those who are devoted to God, who are accessible to us in the world around us. And that gives momentum, momentum, momentum. And then, as the momentum builds, then the plane takes off.

Similarly, loving Krishna is something that happens gradually as we move forward in our spiritual journey by loving those who love Him. And among those who love Krishna, the spiritual master is the one who inspires us to love Krishna the most and who loves Krishna deeply also.

In the Bhagavatam, it is said that we are all bound in this world, prasangam. We are bound by attachments. Ajara is that this is an attachment that never gets old. Jara is age. So, our bodies grow old, but our attachments don’t grow old. We still have the same strength and vigor, the same irresistible grip on us as they had when we were younger. They are very difficult to give up—that’s what wise people know. But if we can direct that affection, if we direct that same attachment towards the divine, towards those who are devoted to the Lord, to sadhu, the saintly people, to the spiritual master and the saintly people, then that very attachment which binds us can also help us move toward liberation, toward spiritual understanding, and towards spiritual liberation ultimately.

So, one is that we develop a very personal one-to-one connection with the spiritual master and that connection kindles and inspires us to love the Lord. So, in this knowing, we talked about knowing, doing, and being earlier. The spiritual master gives us knowledge, and by that knowledge, we start practicing bhakti. And by practicing bhakti, we become permeated with love for Krishna. So, this is what knowing, being, and doing are all about.

The spiritual master is the primary engine who initiates the various processes: the process of gaining knowledge, the process of living according to that knowledge, and the process of becoming permeated with love for God. All of that is initiated by the spiritual master. This is the idea that we all need a spiritual master, but we don’t just need a spiritual master. We need a proper understanding of what the spiritual master is and what the spiritual master does.

So, can we go ahead?

Now, if we consider, what is the proper understanding for approaching the spiritual master? The proper understanding is that when we are choosing, how do I know who is the right guru? Well, don’t worry so much about whether the guru is genuine; work on making yourself genuine.

What do we mean by making ourselves genuine? It means that we focus on trying to make sure that we ourselves are seriously and sincerely seeking spiritual knowledge. Ultimately, Krishna is in our heart, and He will guide us. So, if we focus too much on, “Oh, is my spiritual master, should I follow this authority or that authority, that authority?” then we might stay perpetually in doubt, and doubt can paralyze us.

Earlier, we discussed how on any journey, if you are driving, say, the driving requires an accelerator and a brake. So, in the journey of life, in the journey of developing a relationship, faith is the accelerator and doubt is the brake. And both of them are required; accelerator and brake, gas and brake—both are required. Similarly, faith and doubt both are required. But what is most important is that we should want to drive, we should want to get to the destination. Once we want to get to the destination, we will know, “Okay, now I should press the brake; now I should press the accelerator.”

So, working on making yourself genuine means, “Do I really want to know the ultimate reality? Do I want to love God?” Once we focus on that, often this whole religion business is very confusing. This whole spirituality business, there are so many different people with so many different opinions. How do I know who is right? It is a genuine concern, but it is not that that concern should paralyze us forever.

Just like when we are sick, now something as common as the common cold, there can be very, within allopathy itself, there can be many different treatments for it. And beyond allopathy, there is naturopathy, there is ayurveda, there is homeopathy, and they all have their own treatments also. So, now which treatment should I follow? It is not that when we want to take a treatment, we let ourselves wait till we have done an exhaustive study of all the various treatment options available. We do a working study: “This is the treatment that is required. How much commitment does it require? Can I do it? Let me try it out.”

So, if we really want to be cured, we do not wait till we have studied all the possible medications before we adopt a cure. No, we just start off and gradually we learn how best to move forward. Similarly, for us, when we are striving to grow spiritually, it is important that we do not wait forever to go on the spiritual path. It is important that we move forward gradually, but not that we wait forever. Just like we do take due caution before taking a treatment, but it is not that we wait forever.

So, working on making yourself genuine means, “Am I really serious about growing spiritually?” If I am, then it is Krishna who will guide me. Can you go ahead?

So, quite a bit that comes over here is, one is that we do not seek a Guru at all, because how will I know who is the right Guru? Another way we can have a shortcut is that I just look for a Guru who tells me, “Oh, you are doing the right thing; you are a good person.” We just want to do something, and the Guru ratifies what we are doing. Then the Guru almost becomes like a fashion choice in certain spiritual circles. It might be trendy to have a Guru. So, people often treat the Guru in that sense that if somebody comes to my house, I show them, “This is my sofa, this is my television, this is my dog, and this is my Guru.”

So, the Guru is expected to just sit in a sweet serene pose and smile and speak soothing words and make me feel good about myself. Well, that is not what a Guru is meant to do. We need a Guru to show us the way, not to sanction our way.

So, to work on ourselves becoming sincere means we avoid both these extremes: one extreme that, because I cannot know who is the genuine Guru, so I will not explore this at all; or I will just follow whoever makes me feel good about myself and my life. Not that feeling good is bad, but feeling good is not the sole parameter. We have to not just feel good but become good. We have to purify ourselves. We discussed earlier how spirituality is not just a state of mind; it is a level of reality. And we need to attain that level of reality by transforming ourselves.

So, to find a Guru, we ourselves need to be genuine. And then after that, see basically we start from where we are. In our lives, there are certain things which we know we should do, there are certain things which we know we should not do, and there are maybe many things which we are not sure whether we should do or not do. So, if we start doing well what we know we should be doing and we try to stop doing those things which we know we should not be doing, then by that action itself, we are showing that we want to be guided.

There is a manifestation of God within us—that is our conscience. And we will talk about conscience elaborately in a future session. But broadly, with the knowledge that we have of what is right and what is wrong, we start moving forward, doing as much right as we can, avoiding as much wrong as we can. And if we do that, we show that we want to be guided. If we show that we want to be guided, then we will be guided externally and internally.

So externally means that we will be guided to a place where we can find a spiritual master. Internally means when we are approaching someone, when we are connecting with someone, at that time we will get the guidance to understand, “Is this the right thing for me? Should I move forward in this direction?” And that way, we can move ahead in our lives. And this is again the theme of, don’t worry about whether my spiritual master is genuine; work on making yourself genuine.

And one way to make ourselves genuine is to start doing what we know we should be doing and start avoiding what we know we should be avoiding. So, to the extent we take guidance, to that extent, we will be given more guidance. And then, how do we approach a spiritual master? Can we go ahead?

So, this is the concluding part of this class. So, Krishna says that, as I said, the spiritual master is up here; the spiritual master is here. And Krishna’s grace comes to us through the spiritual master. So, how do we access His grace? There are three principles Krishna talks about over here.

So, paripaata is humility, with humble submissiveness. Not that we think that we know everything and we are here to test this person’s knowledge. Certainly, we have to use our intelligence to understand how much they know. And that brings us to the next part—that is inquisitiveness. Inquisitiveness means we are eager to learn and we also use our intelligence to ask questions. And then there is service. Service-mindedness is that actually, service-mindedness is basically the idea that each of us, we have to, as I talked about, knowing, doing, and being.

So, spirituality is not just a means or mode of knowing. We have to do some seva, some contribution. And that enables the knowledge to become realization. So, when we approach the spiritual master with humility, with the desire to know, and with a service attitude, then we will be propelled forward in our spiritual journey by that divine guidance.

So, I will summarize. I spoke today on the topic of the spiritual master. We started by discussing five broad things. We discussed five broad things. One was, do we need a Guru? Guru is not just a specialist in a particular field or a teacher. Guru is an exemplar. Not just knowing, but not just doing also, but knowing, doing, and being. So, Guru lives spiritually and enables all of us to live spiritually.

Then, I discussed how the spiritual master… how do we approach a spiritual master in the sense of that is the whole class. We, first of all, understand what a spiritual master is. The spiritual master is both one and many. It is Krishna who is our ultimate guide. And He manifests in various ways to give us guidance. And the guru is one and many. One means there is one person with whom we connect, but at the same time, there are many people through whom we connect also. And both of these go together, one and many.

And then, after that, I discussed how best we can move forward in our spiritual journey by understanding that when we go to a spiritual master, we avoid the two extremes of doubt: cynicism and sentimentalism. Cynicism is that I don’t accept any authority. Why do I need someone between me and God? The guru doesn’t come between us and God. The guru removes the impurity and misconceptions that are between us and God. And sentimentalism is that anyone who makes me feel good about myself, that is my guru.

The purpose is we want to gain spiritual knowledge and grow spiritually. And sometimes that makes us feel good. Sometimes it may not make us feel that good, but we persevere. And for such perseverance, there is the system of guru-sadhu-shastra, which is an internal check-and-balance system.

1. Approaching the Spiritual Master: We approach the spiritual master with three core principles: humility, inquisitiveness, and service-mindedness. The focus should not be on questioning the guru’s genuineness but on our own sincerity. When we are genuine in our spiritual journey, Krishna will guide us.
2. Guru in Different Traditions: While some traditions emphasize the role of a guru more than others, guidance is essential in any spiritual journey. The specific form of guidance may vary, but the principle remains the same: we need guidance to progress on our spiritual path.
3. Bhakti (Love for God): Bhakti is independent and doesn’t rely on rituals or a guru. However, associating with others who are genuinely seeking to develop love for God (bhaktas) is important. This guidance can come from formal or informal sources, such as teachers or other practitioners.
4. Love for the Guru and Surrender: The question of whether love for the guru comes first or surrender comes first is less important than the idea of starting from where we are. We begin with whatever connection or devotion we have, and over time, Krishna will guide us.
5. The Role of the Spiritual Master: The guru brings something beyond books and teachers, as spiritual knowledge is experiential. The process of initiation formalizes one’s entry into the spiritual path. A formal initiation is like being admitted into a university—it provides access to a community and an organized structure that supports spiritual growth.
6. Guru, Sadhu, and Shastra: These three elements—guru, sadhu (holy people), and shastra (scripture)—form a tripod. All three are required for a balanced spiritual practice. Focusing on only one aspect can lead to imbalances, such as personality cults.
7. Initiation: The process of initiation may vary, but it generally serves as the formal start of one’s spiritual journey. It can be through a mendicant, a traveling teacher, or a local priest. The initiation formalizes the commitment and provides the disciple with spiritual tools and community.

In essence, while the specifics of the spiritual master’s role can vary, guidance from a genuine source is crucial to our spiritual development.

The important thing is that there was a whole community, and within that community, depending on individual nature and inspiration, people would take initiation either from a local priest or from a traveling teacher.

When Srila Prabhupada started the Krishna Consciousness Movement in America, the culture was very different from what was traditionally there in India. Prabhupada’s first disciples were culturally, linguistically, intellectually, educationally, and theologically very different from the traditional situation. In that sense, Prabhupada was practically the sole guide, although he emphasized Shastra and connected people with it. He also wanted his godbrothers to be involved. He invited them, but somehow they didn’t come. The point is, Prabhupada became the guiding authority in a significant way because that was contextually what was required.

As a result, the position of the spiritual master is sometimes emphasized a lot in our tradition. However, this does not mean that the spiritual master’s position is not important at all; it just means we need to consider the context. Depending on one’s individual spiritual master, one’s nature, the master’s nature, and whether the teacher is locally based or a traveling teacher, how much difference the spiritual master makes will vary in lived experience. But the need for initiation remains the same. Beyond that, things can vary.

So, how can we develop a spiritual connection with the spiritual master when the spiritual master is not easily available? There are four ways:

1. Personal association of the spiritual master.
2. The instruction of the spiritual master, which means hearing the classes.
3. The association created by the spiritual master, such as the God family.
4. The mission of the spiritual master.

Every spiritual teacher has a particular mood for serving, and we need to engage with all four aspects—personal association, instruction, created association, and mission. Whichever aspect works best for us, we should align with that, and through it, the connection will happen. The connection doesn’t have to happen solely through personal association. If we are aligned with the mission and feel inspired by it, we will move forward in our lives.

Now, how do we find a bona fide guru? The principle here is that if we want to love Krishna, we should seek guidance from someone who loves Krishna. The primary characteristic of a genuine guru, as I mentioned earlier, is that the top of the mountain represents spiritual consciousness, and the bottom represents material consciousness. A genuine guru is one who is focused on spiritual attachment and detached from material concerns. These qualities define a true spiritual master.

If we keep the metaphor of climbing a mountain in mind, it can help us find a spiritual master. The guru needs to be well-versed in scripture and know the path of the mountain, as scripture shows us the way. Not only should they know the path, but they should also have walked it themselves so they can guide us.

Now, I’ll answer two more questions before we conclude:

• Are books by Srila Prabhupada, such as the Gita and Delhi articles, considered teachings from the guru? Yes, there are different kinds of gurus. Prabhupada is the founder acharya and the prominent representative of Krishna for us. Krishna can have many other representatives based on Prabhupada’s teachings. To the extent that any message helps us move closer to Krishna, we can see that as coming from the guru.
• Do we need to choose a bona fide sampradaya before selecting a guru? I discussed sampradaya in the previous session, so I won’t repeat everything here. However, the principle is that we want to go up the mountain and develop love for God. We must use our intelligence to evaluate if a spiritual message makes sense. Once we understand it, we should live it and observe if it transforms us. Intelligence and experience are key in making a choice. When we want to climb the mountain, we may follow paths that have been tread by many in the past. These paths, like the four sampradayas, provide guidance and make the journey easier. The focus should be on the principle: we should be growing spiritually, with increasing attachment to Krishna and decreasing material attachment. If this is happening, we are progressing in our spiritual journey.

Thank you very much. Hare Krishna. Any further questions can be discussed in a future session. Hare Krishna.