Identifying The Divine Guide
- 1. Essence of Bhagavad-Gita Identifying the Divine Guide
- 2. “ Now I am confused about my duty and have lost all composure because of miserly weakness. In this condition I am asking You to tell me for certain what is best for me. Now I am Your disciple, and a soul surrendered unto You. Please instruct me.” BG 2.7
- 3. Blind Attachment leads to Misery Bodily conception, i.e., “I am this body” and “things related to this body are mine”, is foundation of attachment. Attachment to the body and things related to it results in duality. Duality gives rise to hatred, envy, selfishness, exploitation, etc. Love implies hate for anything in discord with the object of love. Like implies dislike, attraction implies repulsion, and so on. Attachment gives rise to fear, hankering, lamentation, anger, envy, lust, and ultimately dejection
- 4. Expectation Reality Proportionate the degree of attachment to specific expectations, and how big the gap is between expectation and reality, to that degree attachment produces fear, anger, lust, envy, greed, dejection, etc. -------
- 5. Identity Fragmentation Identity with the body cause identity fragmentation, i.e, “I am…the son, the employee, the student, the manager, the husband, the wife, etc. One thus develops a multitude of attachments corresponding a particular identity. Attachments springing from different identities sometime opposes one another causing the ego to be pulled in serveral directions at one, i.e. the identity crisis.
- 6. The Krpana and the Brahmana Krpana is one, who due to bodily attachment ignores spiritual life. Spends time trying to make temporary arrangement for right the wrongs of the world. Remains attached to flickering happiness, not considering death will finish everything. Brahmana chooses the path of spiritual progression, acting within the world, but keeping the ultimate spiritual goal in mind.
- 7. Synthesis of Ego Although physically powerful, Arjuna’s attachments reduced him to utter weakness. In such a condition, he placed himself humbly before His spiritual master, Krishna, and submitted humble questions.
- 8. Absolute Necessity of Spiritual Master “ Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized souls can impart knowledge unto you because they have seen the truth.” BG 4.34
- 9. The Logic of a Spiritual Master Intelligence is cultivated by the authorities we accept in our lives. Doctor Teachers Parents Textbooks Even Krishna Himself accepts a spiritual master. Krishna communicates through the parampara system he establishes.
- 10. Identifying the Genuine and the Cheating Guru Who is not guru: Charge fee to give secret mantras Teach against the Vedic austerities in the name of “time, place, circumstance” or “a more natural approach” Teaches yoga but not as a means of connecting to God Maintain purpose of yoga is more material happiness Teach that “I God” or “Everyone is God”
- 11. The Guru must have heard the absolute truth in disciplic succession: Disciplic succession comprises of spiritual masters and disciples, coming from God Himself. The guru does not concoct some theory or philosophy of his own to promote himself in the public. He repeats what he has heard from his guru in disciplic succession. Qualifications of the Real Guru
- 12. The guru must have realized the conclusions of the scriptures by deliberation. He has heard, understood, practiced, and realized the Absolute Truth, thus he is fixed in devotional service to the Supreme. Should be able to confirm the authencity of the message he is presenting by support of the scriptures and teachers of the great authorities of the past.
- 13. The guru knows the essence of the scriptures, not simply a scholar. The essence of the scriptures described in BG 15.15, and it is to know Krishna. He knows AND lives according to this principle he is an authorized guru.
- 14. The guru must have sense control . “A sober person who can tolerate the urge to speak, the mind's demands, the actions of anger and the urges of the tongue, belly and genitals is qualified to make disciples all over the world.” NOI 1
- 15. Guru should be decorated with all the saintly qualities. Krishna gives a list of 35 qualities in Ch.12: Not envious, kind friend to everyone, doesn’t think himself a proprietor, free from false ego, equal in both happiness and distress, tolerant, always satisfied, self controlled, engage in devotional service with determination, mind and intelligence fixed on Krishna, he whom nobody is put into difficulty, who is not disturbed by anyone, equipoise in fear and anxiety, pure, expert, not dependent on the ordinary course of activites, free from all pains, not striving for some result, without cares, does not rejoice or grieve, lament or desire, renounces auspicious and inauspicious things, always free from contaminating association, silent, satisfied with anything, fixed in knowledge, engaged in devotional service, etc.
- 16. Guru should preach by example. “ Whatever action a great man performs, common men follow. And whatever standards he sets by exemplary acts, all the world pursues.” BG 3.21
- 17. Thus, Real Guru is the Mercy of Krishna “ By the mercy of Krishna a fortunate soul is guided by the Supersoul within and from the guru without.” Cc Mad. 22.47 “ O my Lord! Transcendental poets and experts in spiritual science cannot fully express their indebtedness to you…for you appear in to features externally as the acharya and internally as the Supersoul-to deliver the conditioned soul…” SB 11.29.6
- 18. Guru is beyond caste-creed-color-nationality and other superficial differences. “ Being situated in his original Krishna conscious position, a pure devotee does not identify with the body. Such a devotee should not be seen from a materialistic point of view. Indeed, one should overlook a devotee's having a body born in a low family, a body with a bad complexion, a deformed body, or a diseased or infirm body. According to ordinary vision, such imperfections may seem prominent in the body of a pure devotee, but despite such seeming defects, the body of a pure devotee cannot be polluted. It is exactly like the waters of the Ganges, which sometimes during the rainy season are full of bubbles, foam and mud. The Ganges waters do not become polluted. Those who are advanced in spiritual understanding will bathe in the Ganges without considering the condition of the water.” NOI 6
- 19. Benedictions of the Guru Guru gives transcendental knowledge by which one is freed from illusory perplexities of life: “ Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized souls can impart knowledge unto you because they have seen the truth.” BG 4.34 “ Having obtained real knowledge from a self-realized soul, you will never fall again into such illusion, for by this knowledge you will see that all living beings are but part of the Supreme, or, in other words, that they are Mine.” BG 4.35
- 20. Check and Balance Vedic Method has check and balance system called guru-sastra-sadhu. Teaching of guru should correspond with teachings of the sadhus (past and present spritual masters of disciplic line), which all should correspond with the direct meaning of scriptures. It a so-called guru doesn’t pass the check and balance system, he should be rejected.