Category:Students of a Spiritual Master
Theme Analysis
This category elucidates the sacred and foundational relationship between a bona fide spiritual master and a sincere student within the traditional Vedic educational system. It highlights that transcendental knowledge descends not through independent empirical endeavor, but through humble submission, diligent service, and strict regulation. A true student traditionally lives as a celibate brahmacārī in the guru-kula, dedicating his life entirely to the guru's benefit and obeying orders implicitly—even fasting if not explicitly called to take prasāda. Furthermore, the student is obligated to offer guru-dakṣiṇā to satisfy the teacher. Through this rigorous, affectionate training, the student is gradually freed from materialistic conceptions and becomes firmly established in absolute knowledge and pure devotion to the Supreme Lord.
- The Descending Process of Knowledge: Vedic knowledge is śruti (that which is heard); it must be received descending from a superior source, the spiritual master, rather than through ascending mental speculation.
- Strict Discipline and Submissiveness: A genuine student must control his senses, practice absolute obedience, and approach the guru with submissive inquiries and dedicated service.
- The Principle of Guru-dakṣiṇā: It is an essential duty of the student to satisfy the spiritual master by offering a requested reward or service before transitioning to the next āśrama.
- Freedom from the Material Concept: The ultimate goal of this training is to rescue the student from bodily identification and fix their consciousness on their eternal relationship with God.
Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: Duties of Students of a Spiritual Master.
Pages in category "Students of a Spiritual Master"
The following 30 pages are in this category, out of 30 total.
A
- A bona fide spiritual master is by nature very kind toward the disciple. Therefore when the student is submissive and is always ready to render service, the reciprocation of knowledge and inquiries becomes perfect. BG 1972 purports
- A spiritual master teaches his students to get free from the material concept of life by various instructions. For instance, in Bhagavad-gita we find Krsna instructing Arjuna to free him from materialistic considerations. BG 1972 purports
- A student should practice completely controlling his senses. He should be submissive and should have an attitude of firm friendship for the spiritual master. With a great vow, the brahmacari should live at the guru-kula, only for the benefit of the guru
B
- Being called by the spiritual master, the student should study the Vedic mantras regularly. Every day, before beginning his studies and at the end of his studies, the disciple should respectfully offer obeisances unto the spiritual master
- By ascending knowledge, one tries to elevate himself by his own effort, but by descending knowledge one receives the knowledge from a superior source. In the Vedic tradition, knowledge is imparted to the student from the spiritual master, as in BG
- By following the instructions of the bona fide spiritual master in conjunction with the principles of revealed scriptures, the student will rise to the plane of complete knowledge
F
- First the student must be able to repeat exactly the words of the guru and then after some time he may be qualified to apply the principles he has learned word-for-word to personal situations
- Formerly, the Vedas were heard by the student from the spiritual master, and thus the Vedas became known as sruti, meaning - that which is heard
I
- If by chance the spiritual master forgets to call a disciple to partake of the prasada, it is enjoined in the scriptures that the student should fast on that day rather than accept food on his own initiative
- If possible, the student or disciple should reward the spiritual master with the remuneration the spiritual master requests, and then, following the master's order, the disciple should leave and accept one of the other asramas, namely the grhastha-asrama
- In the Vedic system of knowledge, students, from the very beginning, are taught to vibrate om and learn of the ultimate impersonal Brahman by living with the spiritual master in complete celibacy. BG 1972 purports
- In this way (BG 4.1) the message is transmitted in the bona fide spiritual disciplic succession from bona fide spiritual master to bona fide student
L
- Lord Caitanya clearly showed that a sincere student never cares whether his spiritual master is born in a high brahmana family or ksatriya family, or whether he is a sannyasi, brahmacari or whatever
- Lord Rsabhadeva for a while became a student in the gurukula, and after returning, He followed the orders of His guru and accepted a wife named Jayanti, who had been given to Him by the King of heaven, Indra. He begot a hundred sons in the womb of Jayanti
T
- The inquisitive student must approach a qualified spiritual master to receive transcendental knowledge by surrender, submissive inquiries and service. Knowledge received by submissive inquiries and service is more effective than in exchange for money
- The Lord is not to be found simply by education or by a good fertile brain, but surely He can be found by the sincere student through the transparent medium of the bona fide spiritual master
- The spiritual master delivered the Vedic hymns and their explanations to the student, who would then remember them forever, without consulting books - before the beginning of Kali-yuga
- The spiritual master knows how to regulate the habits of a neophyte disciple, and therefore a serious student must learn the science in all its aspects from him
- The student submissively prays to the spiritual master, "Train me in such a way that I will be able to give up all other processes of self-realization and simply engage in Krsna consciousness, devotional service"
- The Vedic knowledge is mother, and the spiritual master is the father. So samskarad bhaved dvijah. The spiritual master trains the student gradually. That is called initiation. That is called dvija
- The words buddhim ekanta-samsthitam indicate that as an effect of Prahlada Maharaja's preaching, the students who listened to him became fixed in the conclusion that Krsna consciousness is the only object of human life
- This art (of mrta-sanjivani) was known to Sukracarya and many others, and Kaca, the son of Brhaspati, became Sukracarya's student to learn it
- Transcendental students are those who undergo great penance in being trained by hearing the Vedas from a bona fide spiritual master
W
- What is the use in becoming a scientist or a philosopher if we cannot say what our next life will be? A realized student of KC can very easily say what his next life is, what God is, what the living entity is and what his relationship with God is
- When a bona fide student approaches a bona fide spiritual master, he submissively prays to the spiritual master, "My dear lord, kindly accept me as your student"