View source for If you have got a bona fide spiritual master and if you simply follow the instruction, the perfection is guaranteed. Just like a perfect engineer and a neophyte working under his instruction, however foolish he may be, all his work is perfect

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"If you have got a bona fide spiritual master and if you simply follow the instruction, the perfection is guaranteed. Just like a perfect engineer and a neophyte working under his instruction, however foolish he may be, all his work is perfect"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Krsnadas}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|22Oct12}}
{{last|22Oct12}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=1|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:If You Have Got]]
[[Category:Bona Fide Spiritual Master]]
[[Category:if You]]
[[Category:simply]]
[[Category:Follow The Instruction]]
[[Category:perfection]]
[[Category:Guarantee]]
[[Category:just Like]]
[[Category:like A]]
[[Category:perfect]]
[[Category:Engineer]]
[[Category:Neophyte]]
[[Category:work]]
[[Category:under]]
[[Category:his]]
[[Category:instruction]]
[[Category:however]]
[[Category:foolish]]
[[Category:may Be]]
[[Category:all]]
[[Category:his]]
[[Category:work]]
[[Category:perfect]]
[[Category:Prabhupada's Analogies]]
</div>
<div id="Lectures" class="section" sec_index="4" parent="compilation" text="Lectures"><h2>Lectures</h2>
</div>
<div id="Initiation_Lectures" class="sub_section" sec_index="8" parent="Lectures" text="Initiation Lectures"><h3>Initiation Lectures</h3>
</div>
<div id="GayatriMantraInitiationBostonMay91968_0" class="quote" parent="Initiation_Lectures" book="Lec" index="22" link="Gayatri Mantra Initiation -- Boston, May 9, 1968" link_text="Gayatri Mantra Initiation -- Boston, May 9, 1968">
<div class="heading">If you have got a bona fide spiritual master and if you simply follow the instruction, the perfection is guaranteed. Just like a perfect engineer and a neophyte working under his instruction, however foolish he may be, all his work is perfect. Because following the instruction of the qualified man.
</div>
<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Gayatri Mantra Initiation -- Boston, May 9, 1968|Gayatri Mantra Initiation -- Boston, May 9, 1968]]: </span><div class="text"><p style="display: inline;">Student: The first mantra, Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, that's for, you say, that's to clean the mind of the material contam...</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Yes, that is the basic, that is the first principle. Lord Caitanya says, ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam: ([[Vanisource:CC Antya 20.12|CC Antya 20.12]]) "By chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, one becomes cleansed of the dirty things, material contamination."</p>
<p>Student: And this mantra. What's the purpose?</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: This mantra is secondary. Of course, one who has purified himself by Hare Kṛṣṇa, this mantra is not very important. But, according to the tradition of Vaiṣṇava smṛti, it is offered better, better, to make the position still confirmed and better. But even this mantra is not given, simply by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, everything is done. This is extraordinary so that... In the other, other feature of this sacred ceremony, is that one may not commit offense at the feet of a Vaiṣṇava by thinking him, "Oh, he's a mleccha, he's a yavana, or he's lower class, he's higher class," like that. Therefore this is offered. No, he's brāhmaṇa. He's brāhmaṇa. Otherwise, still in India, a person born in a brāhmaṇa family, the most wretched condition and most abominable habits, and he claims to be a brāhmaṇa. And a person who is highly elevated in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he's not accepted. So in order to save one from the injustice, this ceremony is required that it is bona fide. He's a bona fide brāhmaṇa. As it is prescribed and ordered in the Nārada-pañcarātra or Vaiṣṇava smṛti. So my Guru Mahārāja, His Holiness Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Mahārāja, he introduced this, and we are following. So there is no question. Mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ ([[Vanisource:CC Madhya 17.186|CC Madhya 17.186]]). Follow the principles of a spiritual master who has come down in disciplic succession. That is very nice thing. If you have got a bona fide spiritual master and if you simply follow the instruction, the perfection is guaranteed. Just like a perfect engineer and a neophyte working under his instruction, however foolish he may be, all his work is perfect. Because following the instruction of the qualified man. Therefore it is said,</p>
:yasya deve parā bhaktir
:yathā deva tathā gurau
:tasyaite kathitā hy arthāḥ
:prakāśante mahātmanaḥ
:(ŚU 6.23)
<p>This is Upaniṣads' injunction. So if anyone who has got implicit faith in the spiritual master and also in God, to him all the imports of Vedic literature becomes revealed, becomes revealed. That is spiritual way of understanding. So, if one has a bona fide spiritual master to guide, then his life is guaranteed to be perfect. This is the way. Yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādo: ** "By the mercy of the spiritual master, one gets immediately the mercy of the Lord." Yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādo yasyāprasādān na gatiḥ kuto 'pi: ** "And if one dissatisfies the spiritual master, then he has no other way of perfection." So we have to follow. That's all. It doesn't matter that I'm not qualified. But if I follow the instruction of the superior, then automatically I become qualified. All right, let us go ahead. Oh, it is... Just everyone do like this. (sips water). You can now stop this (tape recorder?).</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>