Do You Want Stool or Homemade Mango Ice Cream?

Enjoying material sense gratification is like eating stool, while enjoying Krishna consciousness is like relishing homemade organic mango ice cream. So why would anybody want to go on eating the stool of material sense gratification when they could be constantly relishing the unlimited mango ice cream nectar of devotion to Lord Krishna?

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Answering the Question of a Disciple
Harmony Park, Lithuania--25 July 2014Sankarshan Das Answering the Question of a Disciple

Answers by Citing the Vedic Version:

Question: Can I Reach God Without a Spiritual Master?

Can I reach to God without a guru, a spiritual master? Can I instead choose the Bhagavad-gita as my guru?

Rabindra K.

Answer: God Orders You to Accept a Guru

The first point is: If the Bhagavad-gita is the only guru you need, why are you inquiring from me?

Yes, one can certainly directly approach Krishna or God through the instructions He gives in the Bhagavad-gita. But when doing so what does Krishna tell you? He tells you that you need a spiritual master. So one can indeed accept Bhagavad-gita as one’s guru, but when one does so he must dutifully carry out all the instructions given in the Bhagavad-gita. He must obey this instruction:

tad viddhi pranipatena
pariprasnena sevaya
upadekáı£yanti te jnanam
jnaninas tattva-darsinah

"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.”—Bhagavad-gita 4.34

The Bhagavad-gita instructs you to approach, inquire from, and render service to the spiritual master. So if you truly accept Gita as your guru, which is the most wonderful thing to do, you must also seek out a bona fide spiritual master and surrender at his lotus feet. Otherwise you are not a true follower of the Bhagavad-gita.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

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