Why accepting a living guru is recommended? Evidences!
A devotee (Name hidden) asked like this:
“Hare Krishna, A very important question. Must the guru be one of the guru’s in Iskcon or can the Guru be also from another Brahma Sampradaya or some other vaisnava sampradaya?
Is taking Diksha from a living guru a condition (but not a guarantee) to get liberation and go back to Krishna loka? If i serve Prabhupada as my guru and follow all the rules and regulations that Prabhupada told us to follow and I do not take Diksha from a living guru now, can i get then liberation or is it completely impossible to get libeartion without taking a living guru.
I am waiting for your answers. Hare Krishna”
REPLY:
This is not a new advice. Krishna has strongly recommended accepting a living guru. This is 100% true. Read the full Post. You can read His words in the middle of the Post.
The MAJOR REASON for the success of this Preaching service is the Blessing of the Guru Parampara. This is the immediate proof of the power of bonafide living gurus. So, I never advice violating Guru, Sadhu and sastra and also my conscience.
(Who gives us God realization – Guru or God? READ HERE!)
Though there are many articles by many in many forums, I like to give a balanced suggestion in this matter of accepting a living guru as diksha guru or from a previous acharya or a deceased guru. Though this reply is common for all sampradhayas and sanathana dharma, let me take the path of Krishna Consciousness as the example.
First of all, accepting a living guru is necessary for the following reasons:
(1) To take the responsibility for our elevation in devotion.
(2) To guide us to cross the hurdles in our path of devotion and make us successful in achieving the mercy of Lord Krishna.
(3) To purify us from our karma and thus make us pure to be eligible to be accepted by Krishna.
(TYPES OF GURUS (SPIRITUAL MASTERS) FROM THE SCRIPTURES! READ HERE!)
(4) To receive a manthra to recite and get the mercy of Lord Krishna.
(5) To get linked in a Guru Parampara and a Sampradhaya that has a certain sets of rules and recommendations.
To get the above things, we need a living guru.
Let us see why, we need a Living Guru as our Diksha Guru (Please Read entirely):
(1) Of course, Srila Prabhupada has said that he is living in his books. No doubt in this. However, the humans have a tendency. They will find it difficult to follow the advice given in the books. As far as devotion is concerned, we are all like just elementary school students. Can an elementary school student study his class 2 or 3 studies through a correspondence course just by reading some books? They need a school to make admissions and a teacher to personally guide them by knowing his strengths and weaknesses. So, accepting a living guru is recommended.
(Will accepting a Guru alone elevate a devotee to attain perfection? READ HERE!)
(2) Studying through books alone is practically impossible for children. We too must consider ourselves as children in devotion. This humbleness and state of mind are the prerequisites in devotional practices. If a guru helps us to follow the books and also gives a support of trouble shooting in our devotional practices, we can advance in devotion fast. Therefore, to fasten our devotional practices effectively without hurdles, a guru can help us.
Since the deceased gurus or acharyas can’t personally hear our queries and customize the advices based on our request, we can take the writings of the deceased guru or acharya as a base and follow the customized advice of a living guru.
Therefore, in the above aspect, we need a living guru.
(How to prevent some bogus gurus spoiling girl followers in the name of God? READ HERE!)
(3) To purify ourselves from the contamination of karma, we need the system of diksha from a living guru. Of course, We personally may not like to hand over our karma to a guru and make him to suffer. A devotee is very MERCIFUL TOWARDS EVERY ONE and he may be very careful not to make others to suffer because of me.
A devotee may think that only he has to face the reactions for his karma that was willfully done by him in the past.
But, a devotee should get convinced that the guru is empowered by Krishna Himself to bear the karma of his disciples. We should leave everything to Krishna’s discretion without making any demands from Him.
Therefore, I too finally took diksha some years after accepting the shelter from my Guru Maharaja in ISKCON to be a blessed preacher. This online preaching service is effective in making changes in the minds of the devotees because of the blessings of this powerful Guru Parampara only. I am just a zero. When numbers are added before this zero, the zero too gets some value. That’s all.
(Original Guru Parampara of Mahabharatha & Bhagavatham! READ HERE!)
The power of our living Guru is that he can connect us with the previous acharyas also. Do not forget this fact.
A disciple should feel and cry for his guru because he has entrusted his karma to that guru. Being a guru is not an easy thing. It is really a tough job of taking care of the elevation of hundreds of disciples.
However, this is the system. If you need the blessings of the whole guru parampara of a bonafide sampradhaya, you should get diksha from a living guru.
Scriptures recommend a devotee to accept diksha from a guru if both that guru and the disciple mutually wish to accept each other.
(4) Next point is receiving the manthra from a guru. This is a valid point. It is the unanimous verdict of the scriptures that though a manthra itself is effective in purifying the devotees, it will be more effective if it is received from a guru. Because, in this kaliyuga, we are diverted from our devotion through many attractions arranged by maya. Therefore, following a manthra independently may have more disturbances. When we accept the same manthra from a guru directly, we are personally given that manthra by that guru that makes it more effective.
(Is initiation (diksha) compulsory to get the love of Krishna? READ HERE!)
(5) KRISHNA WANTS YOU TO ACCEPT A LIVING GURU
Krishna too advice in Bhagavad Gita to surrender to a guru and humbly enquire him.
In the Ch-4, text-1 & 2, He says that this Bhagavad Gita itself came from Himself to many centuries through (Living) Guru Parampara.
- “I instructed this imperishable science of yoga to the sun-god, Vivasvan, and Vivasvan instructed it to Manu, the father of mankind, and Manu in turn instructed it to Iksvaku.”
- “This supreme science was thus received through the chain of disciplic succession”
- (WHAT IF A DISCIPLE IS UNABLE TO SURRENDER TO GURU? READ HERE!)
NEXT, KRISHNA ORDERS US TO SURRENDER TO A LIVING GURU:
- B.G: 4-34:
- “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.”
- Next, Krishna says what will be the benefit of surrendering to such a living guru:
- B.G: 4-35:
- “Having obtained real knowledge from a self-realized soul, you will never fall again into such illusion, for by this knowledge you will see that all living beings are but part of the Supreme, or, in other words, that they are Mine.”
- Thus, Krishna says that Guru protects us from fall down in the hands of maya.
- Not only that. Krishna further encourages us that even the MOST SERIOUS SINNERS can get liberated if he travels on the boat of Guru (transcendental knowledge)
- (Why should the devotees and gurus be affected by Pandemic like Covid-19? READ HERE!)
- B.G: 4-36:
- Even if you are considered to be the most sinful of all sinners, when you are situated in the boat of transcendental knowledge you will be able to cross over the ocean of miseries.
- What else we need further?
- Whatever Krishna says is the vedic advice for us.
- He tells us to surrender to a LIVING GURU only.
- Hence, be 100% confident that you are on right track if you accept a living guru from a bonafide sampradhaya.
Therefore, be sure, the concept of surrendering to a guru is recommended by Krishna Himself in Bhagavad Gita.
(KRISHNA’s GURU DAKSHINA TO HIS GURU SANDIPANI – STORY! READ HERE!)
The ritual of DIKSHA is just making the surrender in OFFICIAL records like getting officially admitted in a school. Nothing else. If we accept a guru in a formal ceremony, it gives a seriousness in following the instructions from that guru and Krishna.
(5) Next point is getting connected in a lineage. When we follow the devotion without accepting a guru, we are depending only on our efforts. Whereas, when we get connected in a sampradhaya of a guru – disciple lineage, we get the blessings and support of the entire lineage of gurus and acharyas. This will make our devotional advancement fast. We always need the blessings of senior Vaishnavas to get elevated in devotion. We can get the same when we get connected in a guru-disciple lineage.
SRILA PRABHUPADA SUPPORTED ACCEPTING A LIVING GURU
Let us read some more quotes of Srila Prabhupada on this matter of following a Living guru:
Teachings of Lord Kapila, Chapter 13:
The guru does not accept respect from his disciple for his personal self but conveys this respect to Krishna…. it is stated in Bhagavad-gita that knowledge of Krishna is received through the paramparä, the disciplic succession. Evaà parampara-praptam [Bg. 4.2]. The guru offers
the same respects to his guru, and his guru offers respects to his, and so it goes all the way to Krishna. Thus the mercy of Krishna comes down through the parampara system, and the respect offered to Krishna is offered up through the parampara system. One has to learn to approach the
Supreme Personality of Godhead in this way…
Srimad-Bhägavatam 2.9.7:
One should approach the current link ..the message of Srimad-Bhagavatam is coming down by disciplic succession, and in order to receive the real message of Çrémad-Bhägavatam one should approach the current link, or
spiritual master, in the chain of disciplic succession.
(What are the types of Diksha / initiation? Is Diksha in Dream valid? READ HERE!)
Lecture Srimad-Bhägavatam 1.15.30 — Los Angeles, December 8, 1973:
So if you want to understand Bhagavad-gita, then we must understand in the same way as the person who directly heard from. This is called parampara system. Suppose I have heard something from my spiritual master, so I speak to you the same thing. So this is parampara system. You cannot imagine what my spiritual master said. Or even if you read some books, you cannot understand unless you understand it from me. This is called paramparä system. You cannot jump over to the superior guru, neglecting the next acarya, immediate next acarya.
Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.4 — Rome, May 28, 1974:
First of all, your spiritual master, then his spiritual master, then his spiritual master, his spiritual master, his spiritual master-ultimately Krishna. This is the process. Don’t try to approach Krishna directly, jump over. That is useless.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Antya-lila 7.53, purport:
One must accept a Vaisnava guru … Not simply by reading books.. One should not proudly think that one can understand the transcendental loving service of the Lord simply by reading books… One must accept a Vaisnava guru (adau gurv-asrayam), and then by questions and answers one should gradually learn what pure devotional service to Krsna is. That is called the parampara system.”
Room Conversation Detroit, July 18, 1971:
These students, who are initiated from me, all of them will act as I am doing. Just like I have got many God brothers, they are all acting. Similarly, all these disciples which I am making, initiating, they are being trained to become future spiritual masters.
Letter to Tusta Krsna, December 2, 1975:
I want to see my disciples become bona fide Spiritual Master and spread Krishna consciousness very widely, that will make me and Krishna very happy… Keep trained up very rigidly and then you are bonafide Guru, and you can accept disciples on the same principle. But as a matter of etiquette it is the custom that during the lifetime of your Spiritual master you bring the prospective disciples to him, and in his absence or disappearance you can accept disciples without any limitation. This is the law of disciplic succession.
Letter to: Madhusudana – Navadvipa 2 November, 1967:
I wish that in my absence all my disciples become the bona fide spiritual master. Anyone following the order of Lord Caitanya under the guidance of His bona fide representative can become a spiritual master and I wish that in my absence all my disciples become the bonafide spiritual master to spread Krishna Consciousness throughout the whole world.
Lecture Bhagavad-Gita 2.2 — London, August 3, 1973:
This is called paramparä system. You have to learn how to become servant of the servant of Krsna. The more you become in the lower position—servant, servant, servant, servant, servant, hundreds times servant, servant—then more you are advanced.
(WHAT IS THE REASON FOR GETTING CHEATED BY BOGUS GURUS AND ORGANIZATIONS?– A RESEARCH! READ HERE!)
Hope this exhaustive article about accepting a living guru will help you.