What is the meaning of initiation?
Prabhupada Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Sarasvati ThakurGranth upadeshamrit
In the beginning, we have to know our relationship with the Supreme Lord. Initiation is another name for the kind of knowledge we gain when we come to understand our relationship with the Supreme Lord. Merely receiving instructions regarding how to chant mantras is not initiation. Initiation is that act by which we attain transcendental knowledge. The living entities cannot benefit themselves even after studying hundreds of pieces of literature...
Is it important to take shelter at the feet of vaishnvas?
Prabhupada Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Sarasvati ThakurGranth upadeshamrit
If we do not take shelter of a devotee's lotus feet, we cannot take shelter of Krsna's lotus feet. Without the association and shelter of the Lord's devotees, we can never obtain the Lord's service. We are all fallen souls and are therefore unable to benefit ourselves. Since we are fallen, we cannot be delivered until we take shelter of the lotus feet of the deliverer of fallen souls. There...
Does Krsna appear in the form of a spiritual master to teach His own service?
Prabhupada Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Sarasvati ThakurGranth upadeshamrit
The Supreme Personality of Godhead has hands and He is scratching His body with His hands. There is no difference between His body and His hands. He is serving Himself. In the same way, in order to teach devotional service, the lord personally appears in the form of a spiritual master. My spiritual master is nondifferent from the Lord. The Lord is the predominating subject, and the spiritual master is...
Is the spiritual master's mercy Krsna's mercy?
Prabhupada Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Sarasvati ThakurGranth upadeshamrit
Lord Krsna bestows mercy upon us and gives all living entities shelter in the form of the spiritual master. The spiritual master's mercy and the mercy of Krsna are not two separate things. The spiritual master does not teach anything other than to worship Krsna. Lord Krsna also does not accept any service that has not been rendered by His devotee.
Who is a spiritual master and how should he be served?
Prabhupada Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Sarasvati ThakurGranth upadeshamrit
The guru and Vaishnavas are the transcendental home of the Supreme Lord. The Lord does not manifest just anywhere. He appears and remains in the hearts of guru and the vaishnavas. Many people want to see the Lord, but they do not know that the Lord's *darshan* can be had only through the spiritual master's *darshan*. It is not possible to begin devotional service without a spiritual master. The Spiritual...
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Only in the heart of that great soul in whom there is pure bhakti to Śrī Bhagavān, and similarly, pure bhakti to Śrī Gurudeva, are all the confidential purports of the Śrutis self-manifest (prakāśa).
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