View source for Self-made

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[[Category:Self-made|1]]
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<div id="Srimad-Bhagavatam" class="section" sec_index="1" parent="compilation" text="Srimad-Bhagavatam"><h2>Srimad-Bhagavatam</h2>
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<div id="SB_Canto_1" class="sub_section" sec_index="1" parent="Srimad-Bhagavatam" text="SB Canto 1"><h3>SB Canto 1</h3>
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<div id="SB11357_0" class="quote" parent="SB_Canto_1" book="SB" index="527" link="SB 1.13.57" link_text="SB 1.13.57">
<div class="heading">The yogī is able to quit his body by his own choice of time and can attain any planet he desires by turning the present body into ashes by self-made fire.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:SB 1.13.57|SB 1.13.57, Purport]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="purport text"><p style="display: inline;">Nārada Muni's prophecy prohibited Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja from going to the place where his uncle was staying because even after quitting the body by his own mystic power, Dhṛtarāṣṭra would not be in need of any funeral ceremony; Nārada Muni indicated that his body by itself would burn to ashes. The perfection of the yoga system is attained by such mystic power. The yogī is able to quit his body by his own choice of time and can attain any planet he desires by turning the present body into ashes by self-made fire.</p>
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<div id="SB_Canto_2" class="sub_section" sec_index="2" parent="Srimad-Bhagavatam" text="SB Canto 2"><h3>SB Canto 2</h3>
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<div id="SB252_0" class="quote" parent="SB_Canto_2" book="SB" index="123" link="SB 2.5.2" link_text="SB 2.5.2">
<div class="heading">The atheists, however, put forward many self-made theories without any touch of cause and effect.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:SB 2.5.2|SB 2.5.2, Purport]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="purport text"><p style="display: inline;">The inquiries by Nārada Muni on the basis of factual cause and effect appear very reasonable. The atheists, however, put forward many self-made theories without any touch of cause and effect. The manifested world, as well as the spirit soul, is still unexplained by the godless atheists through the medium of experimental knowledge, although they have put forward many theories manufactured by their fertile brains. Contrary to such mental speculative theories of creation, however, Nārada Muni wanted to know all the facts of creation in truth, and not by theories.</p>
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<div id="SB_Canto_3" class="sub_section" sec_index="3" parent="Srimad-Bhagavatam" text="SB Canto 3"><h3>SB Canto 3</h3>
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<div id="SB3217_0" class="quote" parent="SB_Canto_3" book="SB" index="823" link="SB 3.21.7" link_text="SB 3.21.7">
<div class="heading">Rascals of self-made authority, being puffed up by illegally collected money, perform yoga without following the authoritative books.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:SB 3.21.7|SB 3.21.7, Purport]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="purport text"><p style="display: inline;">Where there is no meditation upon the Personality of Godhead, where is the yoga practice? Unfortunately, people in this age, especially persons who are of a demoniac nature, want to be cheated. Thus the Supreme Personality of Godhead sends great cheaters who mislead them in the name of yoga and render their lives useless and doomed. In Bhagavad-gītā, therefore, it is clearly stated, in the Sixteenth Chapter, verse 17, that rascals of self-made authority, being puffed up by illegally collected money, perform yoga without following the authoritative books. They are very proud of the money they have plundered from innocent persons who wanted to be cheated.</p>
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<div id="SB_Canto_4" class="sub_section" sec_index="4" parent="Srimad-Bhagavatam" text="SB Canto 4"><h3>SB Canto 4</h3>
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<div id="SB41910_0" class="quote" parent="SB_Canto_4" book="SB" index="762" link="SB 4.19.10" link_text="SB 4.19.10">
<div class="heading">In Kali-yuga there are many self-made incarnations, rascals, who declare themselves to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:SB 4.19.10|SB 4.19.10, Purport]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="purport text"><p style="display: inline;">Mahārāja Pṛthu is an incarnation of Viṣṇu, yet he is a great devotee of Lord Viṣṇu. Although an empowered incarnation of Lord Viṣṇu, he is nonetheless a living entity. As such, he must be a devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Although one is empowered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead and is an incarnation, he should not forget his eternal relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In Kali-yuga there are many self-made incarnations, rascals, who declare themselves to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead.</p>
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<div id="Other_Books_by_Srila_Prabhupada" class="section" sec_index="3" parent="compilation" text="Other Books by Srila Prabhupada"><h2>Other Books by Srila Prabhupada</h2>
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<div id="Renunciation_Through_Wisdom" class="sub_section" sec_index="5" parent="Other_Books_by_Srila_Prabhupada" text="Renunciation Through Wisdom"><h3>Renunciation Through Wisdom</h3>
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<div id="RTW27_0" class="quote" parent="Renunciation_Through_Wisdom" book="OB" index="19" link="RTW 2.7" link_text="Renunciation Through Wisdom 2.7">
<div class="heading">Although we may try hard through yoga or empirical speculation to overcome our limitations, no matter how erudite we are it is impossible to reach beyond the limitations of our self-made well.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:RTW 2.7|Renunciation Through Wisdom 2.7]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">No matter how big a thinker a tiny living entity may be, all his activities are limited by mundane boundaries, just as a frog in the well can never comprehend that such a thing as an ocean exists outside his little domain. He refuses to acknowledge that a mass of water infinitely bigger than his tiny puddle can at all be possible. Similarly, we are trapped in the dark well of our body and mind. And although we may try hard through yoga or empirical speculation to overcome our limitations, no matter how erudite we are it is impossible to reach beyond the limitations of our self-made well.</p>
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<div id="Light_of_the_Bhagavata" class="sub_section" sec_index="7" parent="Other_Books_by_Srila_Prabhupada" text="Light of the Bhagavata"><h3>Light of the Bhagavata</h3>
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<div id="LOB5_0" class="quote" parent="Light_of_the_Bhagavata" book="OB" index="6" link="LOB 5" link_text="Light of the Bhagavata 5">
<div class="heading">There are now a number of self-made incarnations people follow without authority from the Vedic literatures.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:LOB 5|Light of the Bhagavata 5, Purport]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="purport text"><p style="display: inline;">In the godless civilization of the age of quarrel there are countless religious societies, them trying to banish God from religion. Glowworms want to be prominent in the absence of the sun and the stars, and these small groups following various religious conceptions are like glowworms trying to be prominent before the eyes of the ignorant mass of people. There are now a number of self-made incarnations people follow without authority from the Vedic literatures, and there is regular competition between one incarnation's group and another's.</p>
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<div id="Sri_Isopanisad" class="sub_section" sec_index="8" parent="Other_Books_by_Srila_Prabhupada" text="Sri Isopanisad"><h3>Sri Isopanisad</h3>
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<div id="ISO9_0" class="quote" parent="Sri_Isopanisad" book="OB" index="11" link="ISO 9" link_text="Sri Isopanisad 9">
<div class="heading">These self-made "Gods" cannot answer all these questions very clearly; they are simply satisfied to have become "God" themselves.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:ISO 9|Sri Isopanisad 9, Purport]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="purport text"><p style="display: inline;">The māyayāpahṛta-jñāna class of men are self-made "Gods." Such men think that they themselves are God and that there is no need of worshiping any other God. They will agree to worship an ordinary man if he happens to be rich, but they will never worship the Personality of Godhead. Such men, unable to recognize their own foolishness, never consider how it is that God can be entrapped by māyā, His own illusory energy. If God were ever entrapped by māyā, māyā would be more powerful than God. Such men say that God is all-powerful, but they do not consider that if He is all-powerful there is no possibility of His being overpowered by māyā. These self-made "Gods" cannot answer all these questions very clearly; they are simply satisfied to have become "God" themselves.</p>
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<div id="ISO13_1" class="quote" parent="Sri_Isopanisad" book="OB" index="15" link="ISO 13" link_text="Sri Isopanisad 13">
<div class="heading">Nowhere in authentic scriptures is it said that one will ultimately reach the same goal by doing anything or worshiping anyone. Such foolish theories are offered by self-made "spiritual masters".
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:ISO 13|Sri Isopanisad 13, Purport]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="purport text"><p style="display: inline;">Nowhere in authentic scriptures is it said that one will ultimately reach the same goal by doing anything or worshiping anyone. Such foolish theories are offered by self-made "spiritual masters" who have no connection with the paramparā, the bona fide system of disciplic succession. The bona fide spiritual master cannot say that all paths lead to the same goal and that anyone can attain this goal by his own mode of worship of the demigods or of the Supreme or whatever.</p>
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<div id="Lectures" class="section" sec_index="4" parent="compilation" text="Lectures"><h2>Lectures</h2>
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<div id="Bhagavad-gita_As_It_Is_Lectures" class="sub_section" sec_index="0" parent="Lectures" text="Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures"><h3>Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures</h3>
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<div id="LectureonBG71DurbanOctober91975_0" class="quote" parent="Bhagavad-gita_As_It_Is_Lectures" book="Lec" index="245" link="Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Durban, October 9, 1975" link_text="Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Durban, October 9, 1975">
<div class="heading">Our process of accepting one authority means he is also accepting his previous authority. One cannot be authority self-made.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Durban, October 9, 1975|Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Durban, October 9, 1975]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">This is the definition of Kṛṣṇa given by Lord Brahmā in his book known as Brahma-saṁhitā, very authorized book. This book was collected by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu from southern India, and He presented it to His devotees when He came back from southern India tour. Therefore we accept this book, Brahma-saṁhitā, as very authoritative. This is our process of knowledge. We receive knowledge from the authority. Everyone receives knowledge from the authority, but general authority, and our process of accepting authority is little different. Our process of accepting one authority means he is also accepting his previous authority. One cannot be authority self-made. That is not possible.</p>
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<div id="LectureonBG13812BombayOctober51973_1" class="quote" parent="Bhagavad-gita_As_It_Is_Lectures" book="Lec" index="360" link="Lecture on BG 13.8-12 -- Bombay, October 5, 1973" link_text="Lecture on BG 13.8-12 -- Bombay, October 5, 1973">
<div class="heading">Ācārya cannot be manufactured, self-made. No. He must come down from the disciplic succession.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Lecture on BG 13.8-12 -- Bombay, October 5, 1973|Lecture on BG 13.8-12 -- Bombay, October 5, 1973]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">But who is ācārya? Ācārya means one who has received the Vedic knowledge through the paramparā system. Evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ ([[Vanisource:BG 4.2 (1972)|BG 4.2]]). He is ācārya. Ācārya cannot be manufactured, self-made. No. He must come down from the disciplic succession. He is ācārya. You have to approach such ācārya who is coming in disciplic succession. ācāryavan puruṣo veda. One who is under the shelter of ācārya, he knows things. So Kṛṣṇa recommends also here that if you actually want to become in knowledge, if you want to have real knowledge, then you must worship ācārya. Ācāryopāsanam. This is Vedic system.</p>
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<div id="Srimad-Bhagavatam_Lectures" class="sub_section" sec_index="1" parent="Lectures" text="Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures"><h3>Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures</h3>
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<div id="LectureonSB32632BombayJanuary91975_0" class="quote" parent="Srimad-Bhagavatam_Lectures" book="Lec" index="492" link="Lecture on SB 3.26.32 -- Bombay, January 9, 1975" link_text="Lecture on SB 3.26.32 -- Bombay, January 9, 1975">
<div class="heading">Ācārya means one who knows the śāstra and practically uses in his life, and the same thing, he teaches to his disciple. Ācārya is not a self-made man.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Lecture on SB 3.26.32 -- Bombay, January 9, 1975|Lecture on SB 3.26.32 -- Bombay, January 9, 1975]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">If you want perfect knowledge, you must approach guru. And who is guru? Guru means the representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Ācāryaṁ māṁ vijānīyān nāvamanyeta karhicit ([[Vanisource:SB 11.17.27|SB 11.17.27]]). "Ācārya," Kṛṣṇa says, māṁ vijānīyāt: "he is Myself. I am. Because he is My perfect representative—he won't speak anything nonsense; he will speak something or everything which he has heard from Me—therefore he is ācārya." Ācārya means one who knows the śāstra and practically uses in his life, and the same thing, he teaches to his disciple. That is called ācārya. Ācārya is not a self-made man. No. Ācārya means ācinoti yaḥ śāstrāṇi. One who understand the śāstra, the Vedic śāstra, and practices in life and teaches the same thing to his student—that is called ācārya.</p>
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<div id="LectureonSB553VrndavanaOctober251976_1" class="quote" parent="Srimad-Bhagavatam_Lectures" book="Lec" index="535" link="Lecture on SB 5.5.3 -- Vrndavana, October 25, 1976" link_text="Lecture on SB 5.5.3 -- Vrndavana, October 25, 1976">
<div class="heading">I do not go out side Vṛndāvana, I do not go outside India. I'm self-made jagat-guru.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Lecture on SB 5.5.3 -- Vrndavana, October 25, 1976|Lecture on SB 5.5.3 -- Vrndavana, October 25, 1976]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">Who will induce people, even though he's born in low-grade family... Māṁ hi pārtha..., ye 'pi syuḥ pāpa-yoni. Pāpa-yoni means one who is born in pāpa-yoni, in low-grade family. They say caṇḍāla yavana mleccha in the, there... But Kṛṣṇa is giving liberty to everyone. Ye 'pi syuḥ pāpa-yonayaḥ. Ye 'nye ca pāpa, Śukadeva Gosvāmī said. Then who will do it? You are a big sādhu, very learned sādhu, and if you sit down, "No, no. I shall not go out of India. As soon as I cross the sea, immediately I'll become fallen." Then who will do this business? Kṛṣṇa wants that te 'pi yānti parāṁ gatim, ye 'pi syuḥ pāpa-yonayaḥ. Then who will deliver these pāpa-yoni? If "I am a big sannyāsī and big devotee, I do not go out side Vṛndāvana, I do not go outside India. I am jagat-guru..." "Have you seen jagat?" "No. I'm self-made jagat-guru." This is going on. Cheating. This cheating is going on.</p>
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<div id="LectureonSB761MadrasJanuary21976_2" class="quote" parent="Srimad-Bhagavatam_Lectures" book="Lec" index="743" link="Lecture on SB 7.6.1 -- Madras, January 2, 1976" link_text="Lecture on SB 7.6.1 -- Madras, January 2, 1976">
<div class="heading">So we have to learn from the ācāryas, not any common man or any self-made ācārya.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Lecture on SB 7.6.1 -- Madras, January 2, 1976|Lecture on SB 7.6.1 -- Madras, January 2, 1976]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">So we have to learn from the ācāryas, not any common man or any self-made ācārya. No. That will not do. Just like we... Sometimes in the court we give some judgment from the other court and that is taken very seriously because it is authority. We cannot manufacture judgment. Similarly, ācāryopāsanaṁ, in the Bhagavad-gītā it is recommended. We have to go to the ācāryas. Ācāryavān puruṣo veda: "One who has accepted ācārya in the disciplic succession, he knows the things." So all the ācāryas, they accept Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.</p>
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<div id="LectureonSB797MayapurFebruary271977_3" class="quote" parent="Srimad-Bhagavatam_Lectures" book="Lec" index="794" link="Lecture on SB 7.9.7 -- Mayapur, February 27, 1977" link_text="Lecture on SB 7.9.7 -- Mayapur, February 27, 1977">
<div class="heading">Guru cannot be self-made. No. There is no such single instance throughout the whole Vedic literature.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Lecture on SB 7.9.7 -- Mayapur, February 27, 1977|Lecture on SB 7.9.7 -- Mayapur, February 27, 1977]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">Just like Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāra' ei deśa ([[Vanisource:CC Madhya 7.128|CC Madhya 7.128]]). Guru cannot be self-made. No. There is no such single instance throughout the whole Vedic literature. And nowadays, so many rascals, they are becoming guru without any authority. That is not guru. You must be authorized. Evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rā... ([[Vanisource:BG 4.2 (1972)|BG 4.2]]). As soon as the paramparā is lost, sa kālena yoga naṣṭo parantapa, immediately finished. The spiritual potency finished. You can dress like a guru, you can talk big, big words, but it will never be effective.</p>
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<div id="Nectar_of_Devotion_Lectures" class="sub_section" sec_index="2" parent="Lectures" text="Nectar of Devotion Lectures"><h3>Nectar of Devotion Lectures</h3>
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<div id="TheNectarofDevotionVrndavanaOctober311972_0" class="quote" parent="Nectar_of_Devotion_Lectures" book="Lec" index="28" link="The Nectar of Devotion -- Vrndavana, October 31, 1972" link_text="The Nectar of Devotion -- Vrndavana, October 31, 1972">
<div class="heading">Self-made guru cannot be guru. He must be authorized by the bona fide guru.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:The Nectar of Devotion -- Vrndavana, October 31, 1972|The Nectar of Devotion -- Vrndavana, October 31, 1972]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">If one does not come in the disciplic succession, he'll spoil the teaching. That is being done. So-called commentator, teacher of Bhagavad-gītā, he does not come in the disciplic succession. He is self-made guru. Therefore he's not guru. Self-made guru cannot be guru. He must be authorized by the bona fide guru. Then he's guru. This is the fact. Here... Nobody can be self-made anything. A medical practitioner, he cannot become self-made, that "I have studied all the medical books in my home." No. "Have you ever gone to the medical college and taken instruction from the bona fide teachers?" Then, if you have got the certificate, then you are medical practitioner. Similarly, bona fide guru means he must be authorized by the superior guru. Just like Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāra' ei deśa ([[Vanisource:CC Madhya 7.128|CC Madhya 7.128]]). He must receive the order from the superior. And the superior must be bona fide. Then he's bona fide, not self-made. Tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam ([[Vanisource:SB 11.3.21|SB 11.3.21]]). The direction is that one must go to a guru. But who is guru? Śābde ca pare ca niṣṇātaṁ brahmaṇy upaśamāśrayam. These are the descriptions.</p>
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<div id="Sri_Caitanya-caritamrta_Lectures" class="sub_section" sec_index="3" parent="Lectures" text="Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures"><h3>Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures</h3>
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<div id="LectureonCCMadhyalila20105NewYorkJuly111976_0" class="quote" parent="Sri_Caitanya-caritamrta_Lectures" book="Lec" index="59" link="Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.105 -- New York, July 11, 1976" link_text="Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.105 -- New York, July 11, 1976">
<div class="heading">Nobody can become guru all of a sudden. Self-made guru, that is not guru.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.105 -- New York, July 11, 1976|Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.105 -- New York, July 11, 1976]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">So Sanātana Gosvāmī is guru. Caitanya Mahāprabhu is authorizing him to become guru. This is paramparā system. Nobody can become guru all of a sudden. Self-made guru, that is not guru. Here Caitanya, er, Sanātana Gosvāmī is presented as the disciple, ideal disciple. He is asking, ke āmi kene āmāya jāre tāpa-traya, process how to approach guru, how to ask him question. Tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena ([[Vanisource:BG 4.34 (1972)|BG 4.34]]). Paripraśna means question. That is also required. But Caitanya Mahāprabhu is authorizing him. Therefore He says, kṛṣṇa-śakti dhara tumi ([[Vanisource:CC Madhya 20.105|CC Madhya 20.105]]). Here Kṛṣṇa, Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He is authorizing Sanātana Gosvāmī.</p>
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<div id="Arrival_Addresses_and_Talks" class="sub_section" sec_index="7" parent="Lectures" text="Arrival Addresses and Talks"><h3>Arrival Addresses and Talks</h3>
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<div id="ArrivalLectureSanFranciscoJuly151975_0" class="quote" parent="Arrival_Addresses_and_Talks" book="Lec" index="30" link="Arrival Lecture -- San Francisco, July 15, 1975" link_text="Arrival Lecture -- San Francisco, July 15, 1975">
<div class="heading">So guru means who is carrying out the order of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, not a self-made guru.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Arrival Lecture -- San Francisco, July 15, 1975|Arrival Lecture -- San Francisco, July 15, 1975]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">Everyone will say, "I am a representative of Kṛṣṇa. I am guru." No. That is enunciated by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāra ei deśa: ([[Vanisource:CC Madhya 7.128|CC Madhya 7.128]]) "You just become guru on My order." So guru means who is carrying out the order of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, not a self-made guru. Guru means the most confidential servant of Kṛṣṇa or Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the same thing. He is guru.</p>
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<div id="Philosophy_Discussions" class="sub_section" sec_index="13" parent="Lectures" text="Philosophy Discussions"><h3>Philosophy Discussions</h3>
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<div id="PhilosophyDiscussiononArthurSchopenhauer_0" class="quote" parent="Philosophy_Discussions" book="Lec" index="12" link="Philosophy Discussion on Arthur Schopenhauer" link_text="Philosophy Discussion on Arthur Schopenhauer">
<div class="heading">He will become self-made philosopher. He will not accept guru.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Philosophy Discussion on Arthur Schopenhauer|Philosophy Discussion on Arthur Schopenhauer]]: </span><div class="text"><p style="display: inline;">Śyāmasundara: He says that because there is no end to our striving...</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: There is end, provided... We can end everything, all these miscalculations, provided he goes to the right person. But that he will not go. He will become self-made philosopher. He will not accept guru.</p>
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<div id="Purports_to_Songs" class="sub_section" sec_index="14" parent="Lectures" text="Purports to Songs"><h3>Purports to Songs</h3>
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<div id="PurporttoSriSriGurvastakamLosAngelesJanuary21969_0" class="quote" parent="Purports_to_Songs" book="Lec" index="13" link="Purport to Sri-Sri-Gurv-astakam -- Los Angeles, January 2, 1969" link_text="Purport to Sri-Sri-Gurv-astakam -- Los Angeles, January 2, 1969">
<div class="heading">So the spiritual master is not self-made. It is not that if anyone comes before you and bluffs you that I have attained spiritual perfection.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Purport to Sri-Sri-Gurv-astakam -- Los Angeles, January 2, 1969|Purport to Sri-Sri-Gurv-astakam -- Los Angeles, January 2, 1969]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">One has to take shelter of spiritual means. Just like the blazing fire in the forest has to wait for the cloud in the sky, similarly, one has to wait for the merciful cloud as the spiritual master. That is described. Trāṇāya kāruṇya-ghanāghanatvam, prāptasya kalyāṇa-guṇārṇavasya **. So the spiritual master is not self-made. It is not that if anyone comes before you and bluffs you that "I have attained spiritual perfection, and I have realized something by some method." No. The spiritual master, bona fide spiritual, means he has to receive the power from authority. Otherwise it is useless.</p>
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<div id="Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" class="section" sec_index="5" parent="compilation" text="Conversations and Morning Walks"><h2>Conversations and Morning Walks</h2>
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<div id="1976_Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" class="sub_section" sec_index="9" parent="Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" text="1976 Conversations and Morning Walks"><h3>1976 Conversations and Morning Walks</h3>
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<div id="PressInterviewDecember311976Bombay_0" class="quote" parent="1976_Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" book="Con" index="364" link="Press Interview -- December 31, 1976, Bombay" link_text="Press Interview -- December 31, 1976, Bombay">
<div class="heading">Everyone becoming self-made guru, self-made avatāra, self-made saint. That is the difficulty.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Press Interview -- December 31, 1976, Bombay|Press Interview -- December 31, 1976, Bombay]]: </span><div class="text"><p style="display: inline;">Indian man: You don't agree with what has been preached...</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Why shall I agree? Because there is no such thing in the śāstra. Is there word, any word, in the whole Bhagavad-gītā, daridra-nārāyaṇa-sevā?</p>
<p>Indian man: No, but what Ramakrishna Paramahaṁsa...</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Ramakrishna, how he become paramahaṁsa if he does not know the śāstra? That is the difficulty. Everyone becoming self-made guru, self-made avatāra, self-made saint. That is the difficulty. Without any reference to the authentic śāstra.</p>
<p>Indian man: So it's a very revealing thing, you deny Ramakrishna Paramahaṁsa...</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: I don't deny. You accept, you accept. My point is unless it is authoritatively mentioned in the śāstra, we reject.</p>
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<div id="1977_Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" class="sub_section" sec_index="10" parent="Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" text="1977 Conversations and Morning Walks"><h3>1977 Conversations and Morning Walks</h3>
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<div id="ConversationwithYogiAmritDesaiofKripaluAshramPAUSAJanuary21977Bombay_0" class="quote" parent="1977_Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" book="Con" index="2" link="Conversation with Yogi Amrit Desai of Kripalu Ashram (PA USA) -- January 2, 1977, Bombay" link_text="Conversation with Yogi Amrit Desai of Kripalu Ashram (PA USA) -- January 2, 1977, Bombay">
<div class="heading">But these yogis, jñānīs, karmīs, they have no ācārya. They are self-made.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Conversation with Yogi Amrit Desai of Kripalu Ashram (PA USA) -- January 2, 1977, Bombay|Conversation with Yogi Amrit Desai of Kripalu Ashram (PA USA) -- January 2, 1977, Bombay]]: </span><div class="text"><p style="display: inline;">Prabhupāda: Yes. So this is ācāryopāsanam. That is required. But these yogis, jñānīs, karmīs, they have no ācārya. They are self-made. Just like Dr. Russer.(?). He's self-made. So what he will do? Now he's caught up. He's in the trap. He's not a scientific man, but he presented himself as very scientific, so now he's caught up.</p>
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<div id="EveningDarsanaMay121977Hrishikesh_1" class="quote" parent="1977_Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" book="Con" index="168" link="Evening Darsana -- May 12, 1977, Hrishikesh" link_text="Evening Darsana -- May 12, 1977, Hrishikesh">
<div class="heading">Without any learning, how to become a guru? That is going on. Everyone is self-made guru.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Evening Darsana -- May 12, 1977, Hrishikesh|Evening Darsana -- May 12, 1977, Hrishikesh]]: </span><div class="text"><p style="display: inline;">Indian man (5): You can't have that in authoritarianism. You get that in Delhi, where they feel that they are authority.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: So become authority. That is... We said that. You become guru, authority. But you learn first of all as celā from the guru. And then you become guru. And without any learning, without any..., how become a guru? That is going on. Everyone is self-made guru. That has to be stopped.</p>
<p>Indian man (5): I feel, in this country at least, the young generation, the present generation, absolutely has got no base, religious base. And...</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Religious base is there. There is scriptures. But they are not being trained up.</p>
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