How to develop faith in gurus if you find it difficult?
A Girl devotee (Name hidden) asked like this:
Hare Krishna Prabhu. Thank you for guiding us in our spiritual journey.
I have a question that I trust and love Krishna , if anything wrong happens , I try to accept it as his mercy though I haven’t passed through any tough situation but still I know that whatever happens I am not going to stop worshiping him.
But for me trusting Vaishnava is getting difficult even sometimes I feel that trusting our Siksha guru is getting difficult. I feel sometimes they don’t see our efforts , our dedication, so on. What should I do? I know that by thinking this I’m doing offence but still this comes in my mind. Pls pls pls hide my name. Hare Krishna.
REPLY:
Why this issue comes?
You and He is not personal friends or relatives. He is not your family member.
He is a Siksha guru who teaches about Krishna and scriptures to you. He and you are devotionally connected. Nothing else.
Then, How can a Siksha guru affect one’s life?
First of all, a devotee should discuss only about devotion and scriptures to the siksha guru and other devotees.
Many discuss nonsense things with him and then cry that he misbehaved with you.
The siksha guru too should discuss only about devotion and scriptures to the devotees.
If a siksha guru asks a devotee about personal issues, the devotee should become alert about his motives and avoid his association.
Similarly, if a devotee discusses the very personal things with the siksha guru, or generally, any devotee, that siksha guru or devotee should gently avoid that topic.
A preacher or spiritual teachers should be away from materialistic discussions with the devotees.
Even if one asks about a personal problem, he should guide him/ her only spiritually, ie, like reminding them about karma and the effect of devotion in reducing the karma, like that.
Being a Spiritual teacher is a spiritual status, not a material status.
So, he should preach spiritual aspects only. The devotees also should ask spiritual questions from their teachers/ preachers.
(How to select, serve and please guru? READ HERE!)
He can not speak about the scenes in movies with the devotees.
If a devotee speaks about such mundane things, he is not qualified to be a guide for others.
Why should a woman devotee share her personal problems with others? It is to be finished between the husband and wife. An experienced devotee or siksha guru can give general guidelines about managing devotion and family life. He can not enter his nose into the family of every devotee.
If such issues come to the ears of a siksha guru from devotees, he should advise them to face the karma patiently and we can not avoid problems in this material world and facing problems clears one’s karma.
This is the limit for a preacher and siksha guru.
A devotee should follow a certain regulations with other devotees.
Is a siksha guru (generally a guru) Krishna to be 100% pure and honest?
Not so. He is also human.
So, you should follow all the disciplinary rules to him also.
Let me now come to your case of how to develop faith in gurus.
(DOES A DIKSHA GURU OR SIKSHA GURU ACCEPT THE KARMA OF DISCIPLES? HOW? READ HERE!)
Why should you develop faith in him?
If your expectation from your siksha guru is devotion, how can you fail to get it from him?
Just hear what he preaches. Come back.
Read the books of acharyas. If you feel that the preaching of that siksha guru is violating the instructions given by Krishna in Bhagavad Gita, that is the only reason for you to lose faith in a siksha guru.
Until a siksha guru is speaking in resonance with the scriptures, particularly, Bhagavad Gita, he is to be trusted.
FAITH has importance only if you go close to him personally.
The only scale for the estimate of the spiritually faithful status of a siksha guru is to evaluate that he does not violate what Krishna advised in Bhagavad Gita.
If he preaches what Krishna said, Just hear what he preaches and go back to home and follow.
(Can a devotee take diksha (Initiation) from two gurus? READ HERE!)
Do not develop any personal relationship with any preachers and siksha gurus.
Always keep in mind that your relation with your siksha and diksha gurus are SPIRITUAL, not material.
If you follow this, you can gain substantial spiritual development through your diksha and siksha gurus.
What is the difficulty for you to get convinced about How to develop faith in gurus?
So, my concluding advice is: Accept a siksha or diksha guru after thorough evaluation of his performance. If you are convinced, accept him. Once you accept him, follow all the disciplinary rules with him as well as outside. Then, do not doubt a guru after accepting.
(How to take Diksha (Initiation) and become a disciple of a guru (spiritual master) in ISKCON? READ HERE!)