# Following the Instructions of the Guru *The disciple must strictly follow the instructions of the spiritual master.* ← Back to [[wiki/compile/spiritual-master-disciple|The Spiritual Master and the Disciple]] --- ## The Order of the Spiritual Master Is One's Life and Soul ### The disciple should be prepared to lay down his life to execute the will of the spiritual master ![[sb/4/28/50#purport|to execute the will of the spiritual master, the disciple should be prepared to lay down his life and abandon all personal considerations]] —SB [[sb/4/28/50|4.28.50]] Purport --- ### The disciple must take up the order of his spiritual master as the sustenance of life ![[sb/2/8/6#purport|Pure devotees like Nārada and Nityānanda Prabhu take up the order of the spiritual master as the sustenance of life]] —SB [[sb/2/8/6|2.8.6]] Purport --- ### The disciple should consider the execution of the instruction as his life and soul ![[sb/3/22/7#purport|The faithful execution of the instruction which he receives from the spiritual master is the only duty of a disciple, and that will bring him perfection]] —SB [[sb/3/22/7|3.22.7]] Purport --- ## The Secret of Success ### The secret of success—hear from the bona fide spiritual master and act on his instructions ![[sb/2/9/8#purport|The secret of success is to receive the sound from the right source of a bona fide spiritual master...The disciple, however, must be ready to execute the order of the bona fide spiritual master]] —SB [[sb/2/9/8|2.9.8]] Purport --- ### One who executes the order of the spiritual master, however painstaking, achieves the Lord's mercy ![[sb/2/9/24#purport|One who follows the principle rigidly is sure to achieve success in attaining the Lord's mercy]] —SB [[sb/2/9/24|2.9.24]] Purport --- ### The way of perfection is to act according to the instruction of the spiritual master ![[sb/4/8/71#purport|Our only concern should be how to execute the order of the spiritual master]] —SB [[sb/4/8/71|4.8.71]] Purport --- ### Kṛṣṇa's order comes through the spiritual master; the guru's orders should be taken as the prime duty of life ![[bg/18/57#purport|That order of Kṛṣṇa comes through disciplic succession from the bona fide spiritual master. Therefore the spiritual master's order should be taken as the prime duty of life]] —Bg. [[bg/18/57|18.57]] Purport --- ## Executing the Order Without Deviation ### The disciple should execute the instructions without deviating or surpassing them ![[sb/5/5/14#purport|The instructions received from the spiritual master must be followed immediately. One should not deviate from or surpass the instructions of the spiritual master]] —SB [[sb/5/5/14|5.5.14]] Purport --- ### The disciple should always meditate upon and execute the order of the spiritual master ![[sb/4/24/15#purport|The order of the spiritual master is the life substance of the disciple. The disciple shouldn't consider whether he is going back home, back to Godhead; his first business should be to execute the order of the spiritual master]] —SB [[sb/4/24/15|4.24.15]] Purport --- ### Those who love Kṛṣṇa are determined to execute the order, not caring for personal inconvenience > It is natural for those who have developed intense love of Kṛṣṇa not to care for personal inconvenience and impediments. Such devotees are simply determined to execute the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead or His representative, the spiritual master. —Cc. [[cc/madhya/4/186|Madhya 4.186]] Purport --- ## Surrender Means Accepting the Guru's Words ### Surrender to a guru means to accept whatever he says > Surrender means that one will accept whatever the *guru* says. It is not that one thinks, "I do not care for my *guru's* order. Still I am a disciple." That is not actually accepting a *guru.* —Teachings of Lord Kapila, the Son of Devahūti --- ### A disciple who takes the order of his spiritual master as his life and soul becomes perfect ![[sb/3/24/13#purport|As a man cannot separate his life from his body, so a disciple cannot separate the order of the spiritual master from his life]] —SB [[sb/3/24/13|3.24.13]] Purport --- ## The Order Must Be Obeyed ### The order of the spiritual master must be obeyed > Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya said, "The order of the spiritual master is very strong and cannot be disobeyed. That is the injunction of the *śāstras,* the revealed scriptures." —Cc. [[cc/madhya/10/144|Madhya 10.144]] --- ### If the disciple strictly follows the instructions, he will see the Supreme Personality of Godhead ![[sb/4/28/51#purport|if one sticks to the principles enunciated by the spiritual master, somehow or other he is in association with the Supreme Personality of Godhead]] —SB [[sb/4/28/51|4.28.51]] Purport --- ### How the disciple can remain in a liberated position—by abiding by the order of the spiritual master ![[sb/4/20/13#purport|If one sticks to the principle of abiding by the order of the spiritual master, he will always remain in a liberated position]] —SB [[sb/4/20/13|4.20.13]] Purport