# Even the Lord Accepts a Spiritual Master To set an example for all humanity, even the Supreme Lord and His incarnations accept spiritual masters. Kṛṣṇa, Balarāma, Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and Vyāsadeva all followed this principle. --- ## Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Kṛṣṇa Accepted Gurus **To set an example, even Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Lord Kṛṣṇa accepted spiritual masters:** One may ask that if Caitanya Mahāprabhu is Kṛṣṇa Himself, then why did He need a spiritual master? Of course **He did not need a spiritual master, but because He was playing the role of *ācārya* (one who teaches by example), He accepted a spiritual master.** Even Kṛṣṇa Himself accepted a spiritual master, for that is the system. In this way the Lord sets the example for men. We should not think, however, that the Lord takes a spiritual master because He is in want of knowledge. **He is simply stressing the importance of accepting the disciplic succession.** —Cc. Ādi-līlā Introduction --- **To set an example, God Himself accepts a spiritual master:** ![[sb/1/5/21#purport|Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Lord Śrī Rāma and Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, all incarnations of Godhead, accepted formal spiritual masters, although by Their transcendental nature They were cognizant of all knowledge]] —SB [[sb/1/5/21|1.5.21]] Purport --- ## Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma's Example **To set an example for ordinary men, Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma accepted a spiritual master and strictly followed the regulative principles of brahmacarya:** Vasudeva had his son initiated by sacred thread as the token of second birth, which is essential for the higher castes of human society... **According to Vedic culture, every respectable person has an *ācārya*, or spiritual master. One is not considered to be a perfectly cultured man without being initiated and trained by an *ācārya*.** It is said, therefore, that one who has approached an *ācārya* is actually in perfect knowledge. Lord Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma were the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master of all education and knowledge. There was no need for Them to accept a spiritual master or *ācārya*, yet **for the instruction of ordinary men, They also accepted a spiritual master for advancement in spiritual knowledge.** It is customary, after being initiated in the Gāyatrī *mantra*, for one to live away from home for some time under the care of the *ācārya* in order to be trained in spiritual life... **both Lord Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma strictly followed those regulative principles while living under the instruction of their spiritual master, Sāndīpani Muni**... According to scriptural injunctions, **a spiritual master should be respected and be regarded on an equal level with the Supreme Personality of Godhead.** Both Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma exactly followed those principles with great devotion... **Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, are the source of all kinds of knowledge, but because They were playing like ordinary human boys, They set the example so that everyone would receive knowledge from the right source.** Thus They agreed to take knowledge from a spiritual master. —*Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead* --- ## The Absolute Necessity **The absolute necessity of accepting a bona fide spiritual master:** ![[sb/3/7/39#purport|There are many inexperienced persons who advocate self-realization without the help of a spiritual master. They decry the necessity of the spiritual master and try themselves to take his place by propagating the theory that a spiritual master is not necessary]] —SB [[sb/3/7/39|3.7.39]] Purport Even the great transcendental scholar Vyāsadeva had need of a spiritual master, and under the instruction of his spiritual master, Nārada, he prepared this sublime literature, *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.* Even Lord Caitanya, although He is Kṛṣṇa Himself, accepted a spiritual master; even Lord Kṛṣṇa accepted a spiritual master, Sāndīpani Muni, in order to be enlightened; and all the *ācāryas* and saints of the world had spiritual masters. In *Bhagavad-gītā* Arjuna accepted Kṛṣṇa as his spiritual master, although there was no question about the necessity of accepting a spiritual master. **The only stipulation is that the spiritual master should be bona fide; i.e., the spiritual master must be in the proper chain of disciplic succession, called the *paramparā* system.** —SB [[sb/3/7/39|3.7.39]] Purport --- **[← Back to Spiritual Master and Disciple](wiki/compile/spiritual-master-disciple)**