# Other Instructions on the Spiritual Master *Additional important characteristics and teachings about the guru.* ← Back to [[wiki/compile/spiritual-master-disciple|The Spiritual Master and the Disciple]] --- ## The Spiritual Master's Body Is Spiritual ### The body of the spiritual master is spiritual, not material ![[sb/8/3/2#purport|a devotee who engages in the service of the Supreme Lord and who constantly thinks of Him should never be considered to have a material body]] —SB [[sb/8/3/2|8.3.2]] Purport --- ### The guru's body is spiritual and unaffected by material conditions ![[sb/10/4/20#purport|One is forbidden to regard the guru as an ordinary human being...The spiritual master, or ācārya, is always situated in the spiritual status of life]] —SB [[sb/10/4/20|10.4.20]] Purport --- ## The Ecstasy of the Spiritual Master ### The spiritual master feels ecstasy by relishing the mellows of pure devotion > *mahāprabhoḥ kīrtana-nṛtya-gīta* > *vāditra-mādyan-manaso rasena* > *romāñca-kampāśru-taraṅga-bhājo* > *vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam* > > "Chanting the holy name, dancing in ecstasy, singing, and playing musical instruments, the spiritual master is always gladdened by the *saṅkīrtana* movement of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Because he is relishing the mellows of pure devotion within his mind, sometimes his hair stands on end, he feels quivering in his body, and tears flow from his eyes like waves. I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of such a spiritual master." —Śrī Śrī-gurv-aṣṭaka, Verse 2 (Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura) --- ## How to Recognize a Genuine Guru ### A genuine guru speaks only about God and tries to get others to become devotees > The genuine *guru* is God's representative, and he speaks about God and nothing else. The genuine *guru* is he who has no interest in materialistic life. He is after God, and God only. That is one of the tests of a genuine *guru*: *brahma-niṣṭham.* He is absorbed in the Absolute Truth. —The Science of Self-Realization --- ### A guru cannot be "bad"—one is either genuine or not a guru at all > Well, if he is bad, how can he become a *guru*? How can iron become gold? Actually, a *guru* cannot be bad, for if someone is bad, he cannot be a *guru*. You cannot say "bad *guru*." That is a contradiction. What you have to do is simply try to understand what a genuine *guru* is. The definition of a genuine *guru* is that he is simply talking about God—that's all. If he's talking about some other nonsense, then he is not a *guru*. —The Science of Self-Realization --- ### Whoever teaches how to know and love God is a spiritual master > Whoever teaches how to know God and how to love Him—he is a spiritual master. Sometimes bogus rascals mislead people. "I am God," they claim, and people who do not know what God is believe them. You must be a serious student to understand who God is and how to love Him. —The Science of Self-Realization --- ## Additional Qualifications ### A devotee perfectly qualified in chanting is fit to become a spiritual master > When a devotee is perfectly qualified in chanting the transcendental vibration of the holy name, he is quite fit to become a spiritual master and to deliver all the people of the world. —Teachings of Lord Caitanya --- ### One should not accept a spiritual master by hereditary or social conventions > It is imperative that a serious person accept a bona fide spiritual master in terms of the śāstric injunctions. Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī advises that one not accept a spiritual master in terms of hereditary or customary social and ecclesiastical conventions. One should simply try to find a genuinely qualified spiritual master for actual advancement in spiritual understanding. —Cc. [[cc/adi/1/35|Ādi 1.35]] Purport --- ### Disqualifications for a bona fide spiritual master > One should not accept as a spiritual master someone who is Fool Number One, who has no direction according to the scriptural injunctions, whose character is doubtful, who does not follow the principles of devotional service, or who has not conquered the influence of the six sense gratifying agents. The six agents of sense gratification are the tongue, the genitals, the belly, anger, the mind and words. Anyone who has practiced controlling these six is permitted to make disciples all over the world. —The Nectar of Devotion --- ### The spiritual master need not be older than the disciple ![[sb/6/7/33#purport|one may offer respectful obeisances even to a younger person who is advanced in chanting Vedic mantras]] —SB [[sb/6/7/33|6.7.33]] Purport --- ## Becoming a Spiritual Master ### One can become a spiritual master at home by preaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness > Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu replied, "Don't speak like that again. Better to remain at home and chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa always. Instruct everyone to follow the orders of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa as they are given in *Bhagavad-gītā* and *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.* In this way become a spiritual master and try to liberate everyone in this land." —Cc. [[cc/madhya/7/128|Madhya 7.128]] --- ### The bona fide spiritual master as jagad-guru ![[cc/madhya/24/330#purport|The guru must be situated on the topmost platform of devotional service...a guru can accept disciples from all over the world]] —Cc. [[cc/madhya/24/330|Madhya 24.330]] Purport --- ## The Relationship Between Guru and Disciple ### The relationship between guru and disciple is spiritual > In the material world, a servant serves the master as long as the servant is pleased and as long as the master is pleased. The servant is pleased as long as the master pays, and the master is pleased as long as the servant renders good service. However, in the spiritual world, if the servant cannot serve under certain conditions, the master is still pleased. And if the master does not pay, the servant is also pleased. That is called oneness, absolute. A *guru* may have hundreds of disciples, hundreds of servants, but he doesn't have to pay them. They are serving out of spiritual love, and the *guru* is teaching without receiving a salary. This is a spiritual relationship. —Teachings of Lord Kapila, the Son of Devahūti --- ### A spiritual master is recognized by the change in his disciples ![[cc/antya/3/143#purport|A spiritual master is recognized as an actual guru when it is seen that he has changed the character of his disciples]] —Cc. [[cc/antya/3/143|Antya 3.143]] Purport --- ### If a guru cannot free his disciples from sin, he becomes responsible ![[sb/4/20/14#purport|if a spiritual master cannot direct his disciple to become free of sinful activities, he becomes responsible for their sinful acts]] —SB [[sb/4/20/14|4.20.14]] Purport --- ## The Spiritual Master's Meditation ### The spiritual master is always thinking of Kṛṣṇa's pastimes > *śrī-rādhikā-mādhavayor apāra* > *mādhurya-līlā-guṇa-rūpa-nāmnām* > *prati-kṣaṇāsvādana-lolupasya* > *vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam* > > The spiritual master is always thinking of the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa with His consort Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī and the *gopīs.* Sometimes he is thinking about Kṛṣṇa's pastimes with the cowherd boys. This means he is always thinking of Kṛṣṇa engaged in some kind of pastime. *Prati-kṣaṇa* means he is thinking that way twenty-four hours a day. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. —"The Qualifications of the Spiritual Master," Back to Godhead magazine (Vol. 13, No. 1-2) --- ### The spiritual master has unlimited intelligence in guiding the disciple ![[sb/6/7/15#purport|The ācārya is a perfect brāhmaṇa and has unlimited intelligence in guiding the activities of his disciple]] —SB [[sb/6/7/15|6.7.15]] Purport --- ## The Spiritual Master Is Liberated ### The spiritual master is a liberated soul ![[sb/3/33/10#purport|The point of liberation, however, is not to see the bodily symptoms of the spiritual master. Jīvan-mukta means that even though one is in the material body...because one is fully situated in the service of the Lord, he is to be understood to be liberated.]] —SB [[sb/3/33/10|3.33.10]] Purport --- ### Unless one has contact with a spiritual master, one cannot be a spiritual master ![[sb/3/9/26#purport|Unless one has contact with such bona fide representations, one cannot claim to be a spiritual master]] —SB [[sb/3/9/26|3.9.26]] Purport