Category:Accepted as a Spiritual Master
Theme Analysis
This category defines the strict scriptural criteria required for a person to be accepted as a spiritual master. The essential qualification is not high birth, social status, or material erudition, but a profound realization of the science of Kṛṣṇa. Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes that anyone who knows this science can be a guru, while even a highly qualified brāhmaṇa must be rejected if they are not a Vaiṣṇava. Furthermore, the relationship between guru and disciple requires mutual examination; one should not blindly accept a spiritual master without verifying their bona fides.
- Knowledge of Kṛṣṇa as the Sole Qualification: Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu established the universal rule that anyone who knows the science of Kṛṣṇa (kṛṣṇa-tattva) is eligible to be accepted as a spiritual master, regardless of whether they are a brāhmaṇa, a śūdra, or a sannyāsī.
- Rejection of Hereditary and Non-Vaiṣṇava Gurus: The practice of accepting a family priest or a person from a high caste as a guru is rejected if they lack devotion to Viṣṇu. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī advises that such incompetent or non-Vaiṣṇava gurus must be abandoned in favor of a bona fide spiritual master.
- The Necessity of Mutual Testing: Acceptance is a two-way street. Before a formal relationship is established, both the prospective disciple and the spiritual master must test each other to ensure that the disciple is sincere and the guru is fully conversant with the Absolute Truth.
- The Guru as the Representative of God: Once accepted, the spiritual master is to be respected as the representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Scripture enjoins that the guru should never be considered an ordinary human being, as he delivers the message of Godhead without adulteration.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: The Qualifications for Being Accepted as a Spiritual Master.
Subcategories
This category has only the following subcategory.
Pages in category "Accepted as a Spiritual Master"
The following 23 pages are in this category, out of 23 total.
G
- Gaurakisora dasa Babaji Maharaja was so great that he was accepted as the spiritual master of such a great personality as His Divine Grace Om Visnupada Sri Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja
- Gurun is plural in number because anyone who gives spiritual instructions based on the revealed scriptures is accepted as a spiritual master
I
- I shall be very glad to accept an educated and intelligent disciple like you, but first of all we must meet and you should know whether you can accept me as your Spiritual Master, or I can accept you as my disciple. This is preliminary necessity
- If a Godbrother is more enlightened and advanced in Krsna consciousness, one should accept him as almost equal to the spiritual master, and one should be happy to see such Godbrothers advance in Krsna consciousness
- If one has falsely accepted such a guru (who goes against the principle of visnu-bhakti), one should reject him. Such a guru is described in Mahabharata Udyoga 179.25
- If one is highly qualified but is not a Vaisnava, he cannot be accepted as a guru. One cannot be a brahmana unless one is a Vaisnava. If one is a Vaisnava, he is already a brahmana
- In the disciplic succession of Gaudiya sampradaya, there are 2 great acaryas (Thakura Narottama & Syamananda Gosvami) who were not born in brahmana families but were accepted as spiritual masters by many brahmanas including Ganganarayana, Ramakrsna, etc
- Indeed, the advanced uttama-adhikari Vaisnava devotee should be accepted as a spiritual master. Everything one possesses should be offered to him, for it is enjoined that one should deliver whatever he has to the spiritual master
- It is stated by Lord Krsna, "My dear Uddhava, the spiritual master must be accepted not only as My representative but as My very self. He must never be considered on the same level with an ordinary human being"
S
- Srila Jiva Gosvami has advised that such a useless guru (one who goes against the principle of visnu-bhakti), a family priest acting as guru, should be given up, and that the proper, bona-fide guru should be accepted
- Srila Jiva Gosvami strictly followed his predecessor gurus and Vaisnavas, Srila Rupa Gosvami and Sanatana Gosvami, and Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami accepted him as one of his instructor gurus
T
- The bona fide spiritual master who happens to meet the sincere devotee should be accepted as the most confidential and beloved representative of the Lord
- Their (the initiating and instructing spiritual masters') function is to guide the conditioned souls back home, back to Godhead. Therefore Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami accepted Nityananda Prabhu and the six Gosvamis in the category of guru