You Must Please Your Spiritual Master
The most essential requirement to be happy and make progress in spiritual life is to please your spiritual master. In this connection Srila Prabhupada has written:
"The spiritual master is described in the scriptures as good as Krishna because he is the most confidential servitor of Krishna. To please the spiritual master is to please Krishna. On this principle we must advance our Krishna Consciousness, and there is no danger."
"The key to success in spiritual life is to always endeavor to please the spiritual master, and follow his instructions. One who is determined in this effort will advance very quickly in Krishna consciousness."
"Presently our consciousness is clouded just like a mirror becomes covered with dust So the cleansing process is this chanting and hearing and doing some service and trying to please the spiritual master. By this process our consciousness becomes clear and we are able to understand everything."
"One should always be sincere to please the spiritual master by following his instructions, then life is very easy."
From these above quotes from Srila Prabhupada we can understand that if we do not please our spiritual master, we will be in spiritual difficulty, we will not be happy, and we will not make any progress of the pathway of spiritual awakening. The bottom line is that without pleasing our spiritual master we are nowhere. Therefore we should always try to please our spiritual master with our every thought, word, and deed in all times, places, and circumstances. In this way our steady advancement in Krishna consciousness is sure and certain. Otherwise, we are doomed.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
Disciples Become Happy By Pleasing Their Spiritual Master
I offer my respects to you. Even though I am trying my level best to chant daily and I also pray to Krishna to give me strength to overcome my material obstacles so that I can fully concentrate on my chanting, I have not gotten any relief from my material suffering. I am really worried what will happen to me in due course of time because I am unable to bear the suffering.
Thanks,
G. Rao
(1) To blaspheme the devotees who have dedicated their lives for propagating
the holy name of the Lord.
(2) To consider the names of demigods like Lord Siva or Lord Brahma to be equal to, or independent of, the name of Lord Vishnu. (Sometimes the atheistic class of men take it that any demigod is as good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vishnu. But one who is a devotee knows that no demigod, however great he may be, is independently as good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore, if someone thinks that he can chant "Kali, Kali!" or "Durga, Durga!"and it is the same as Hare Krishna, that is the greatest offense.)
(3) To disobey the orders of the spiritual master. (This means you must be fully surrendered to the spiritual master.)
(4) To blaspheme the Vedic literature or literature in pursuance of the Vedic version.
(5) To consider the glories of chanting Hare Krishna to be imagination.
(6) To give some interpretation on the holy name of the Lord.
(7) To commit sinful activities on the strength of the holy name of the Lord. (It should not be taken that because by chanting the holy name of the Lord one can be freed from all kinds of sinful reaction, one may continue to act sinfully and after that chant Hare Krishna to neutralize his sins. Such a dangerous mentality is very offensive and should be avoided.)
(8) To consider the chanting of Hare Krishna one of the auspicious ritualistic activities offered in the Vedas as fruitive activities (karma-kanda).
(9) To instruct a faithless person about the glories of the holy name. (Anyone can take part in chanting the holy name of the Lord, but in the beginning one should not be instructed about the transcendental potency of the Lord. Those who are too sinful cannot appreciate the transcendental glories of the Lord, and therefore it is better not to instruct them in this matter.)
(10) To not have complete faith in the chanting of the holy names and to maintain material attachments, even after understanding so many instructions on this matter. It's also offensive to be inattentive while chanting.
It is understood from the third offense that one must accept a spiritual master and be fully obedient to his instructions. Under the expert guidance of the spiritual master one's chanting will become in due course of time completely free from all offenses and one will fully realize God. Even in the intermediate stage in which one's offenses are being gradually cleared away one becomes filled with transcendental happiness. So, this is what you need to do now to make your chanting perfect and bring yourself out of your suffering. You need to fully surrender yourself to the bona fide spiritual master.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
"The spiritual master is described in the scriptures as good as Krishna because he is the most confidential servitor of Krishna. To please the spiritual master is to please Krishna. On this principle we must advance our Krishna Consciousness, and there is no danger."
"The key to success in spiritual life is to always endeavor to please the spiritual master, and follow his instructions. One who is determined in this effort will advance very quickly in Krishna consciousness."
"Presently our consciousness is clouded just like a mirror becomes covered with dust So the cleansing process is this chanting and hearing and doing some service and trying to please the spiritual master. By this process our consciousness becomes clear and we are able to understand everything."
"One should always be sincere to please the spiritual master by following his instructions, then life is very easy."
From these above quotes from Srila Prabhupada we can understand that if we do not please our spiritual master, we will be in spiritual difficulty, we will not be happy, and we will not make any progress of the pathway of spiritual awakening. The bottom line is that without pleasing our spiritual master we are nowhere. Therefore we should always try to please our spiritual master with our every thought, word, and deed in all times, places, and circumstances. In this way our steady advancement in Krishna consciousness is sure and certain. Otherwise, we are doomed.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
Disciples Become Happy By Pleasing Their Spiritual Master
Answers by Citing the Vedic Version:
Question: Why I Am Endlessly Suffering?
Respected Sir,I offer my respects to you. Even though I am trying my level best to chant daily and I also pray to Krishna to give me strength to overcome my material obstacles so that I can fully concentrate on my chanting, I have not gotten any relief from my material suffering. I am really worried what will happen to me in due course of time because I am unable to bear the suffering.
Thanks,
G. Rao
Answer: We Suffer Due to Our Offenses Against the Holy Names
If in spite of chanting we are still in a state of suffering, this means that our chanting is not pure, that we are committing offenses. Therefore we have to carefully and thoughtfully study the ten offenses to see how we can avoid them. The offenses against the holy names of the Lord are as follows:(1) To blaspheme the devotees who have dedicated their lives for propagating
the holy name of the Lord.
(2) To consider the names of demigods like Lord Siva or Lord Brahma to be equal to, or independent of, the name of Lord Vishnu. (Sometimes the atheistic class of men take it that any demigod is as good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vishnu. But one who is a devotee knows that no demigod, however great he may be, is independently as good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore, if someone thinks that he can chant "Kali, Kali!" or "Durga, Durga!"and it is the same as Hare Krishna, that is the greatest offense.)
(3) To disobey the orders of the spiritual master. (This means you must be fully surrendered to the spiritual master.)
(4) To blaspheme the Vedic literature or literature in pursuance of the Vedic version.
(5) To consider the glories of chanting Hare Krishna to be imagination.
(6) To give some interpretation on the holy name of the Lord.
(7) To commit sinful activities on the strength of the holy name of the Lord. (It should not be taken that because by chanting the holy name of the Lord one can be freed from all kinds of sinful reaction, one may continue to act sinfully and after that chant Hare Krishna to neutralize his sins. Such a dangerous mentality is very offensive and should be avoided.)
(8) To consider the chanting of Hare Krishna one of the auspicious ritualistic activities offered in the Vedas as fruitive activities (karma-kanda).
(9) To instruct a faithless person about the glories of the holy name. (Anyone can take part in chanting the holy name of the Lord, but in the beginning one should not be instructed about the transcendental potency of the Lord. Those who are too sinful cannot appreciate the transcendental glories of the Lord, and therefore it is better not to instruct them in this matter.)
(10) To not have complete faith in the chanting of the holy names and to maintain material attachments, even after understanding so many instructions on this matter. It's also offensive to be inattentive while chanting.
It is understood from the third offense that one must accept a spiritual master and be fully obedient to his instructions. Under the expert guidance of the spiritual master one's chanting will become in due course of time completely free from all offenses and one will fully realize God. Even in the intermediate stage in which one's offenses are being gradually cleared away one becomes filled with transcendental happiness. So, this is what you need to do now to make your chanting perfect and bring yourself out of your suffering. You need to fully surrender yourself to the bona fide spiritual master.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
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