Street Dog or Dog with a Master?

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami explains that a person who does not have a spiritual master is like a dog without a master and that a person who does have a spiritual master is like a dog with a master. I have personally witnessed the graphic contrast between the pitiful, lean and thin, diseased, under-nourished street dogs in Vrindavan and the jolly, healthy, stout and strong well-fed, well-cared for dogs who walk with their masters on Mumbai's Juhu beach. It is indeed quite a striking contrast. When you have a bona fide spiritual master you have the guidance and the blessings you need for a wonderful, blissful eternal existence. But when you don't have a bona fide spiritual master you are lost in the cycle of repeated birth and death with no hope of ever escaping the miseries of material existence. Therefore all those who are seeking real happiness in life must take shelter of a bona fide spiritiual master.

Srila Prabhupada Instructs His Disciples

Answers by Citing the Vedic Version:

Question: How Can the Pure Soul Fall Down?

I am confused about when and where we have taken birth as a soul. We are minute parts of the Supreme, so is it possible that we may have taken birth in Lord's abode? Krishna says in the Bhagavad-gita that whoever comes to His abode never comes back to the material world. So then how did we come here?

A pure soul never aspires for anything material. So how can we who must have been pure in our initial birth stage aspire for material enjoyment? Why did we want material enjoyment and get completely entangled here even though we are pure souls? Why is it difficult to cultivate Krishna consciousness into our hearts or love Krishna even though emotions with human relations are automatic?

Please help me and enlighten me with your grace.

Your servant
A. Sharma

Answer: Misuse of Minute Independence

The soul never takes birth. He is unborn. He is an eternal emanation from Krishna. Krishna eternally manifests the living beings from His very self to enjoy loving relationships with them.

Because Krishna is supremely independent and because we are part of Him we share a minute degree of His absolute independence. When we misuse that independence we fall into this material existence. And when we properly use that independence we go back to home, back to Godhead and remain there eternally to serve Him. We can fall once, but having learned our lesson, we will never fall again.

At the present time because we are contaminated by this material nature our natural tendency to serve Krishna is covered by a tendency for material sense gratification. But when we rid ourselves of this contamination by the purificatory process of Krishna consciousness our original natural automatic tendency will be revived to serve Lord Krishna twenty four hours daily with love and devotion, and we will remain with Him forever in a state of unlimited transcendental bliss.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari