Never Stop Chanting

We must never stop chanting Hare Krishna because this chanting is our only hope for becoming free from the miseries of material existence. The following video is a "must watch" for anyone who wants to appreciate the great liberating power of the Hare Krishna mahamantra:

https://filmfest.musicbed.com/submissions/never-stop-chanting/681

Please watch the video and give it your vote. We want it to win the number one spot in the film festival.

BB Govinda Maharaja Leads Ecstatic Hare Krishna Kirtan
(This is a scene from the above mentioned video.)

Sankarshan Das Adhikari - BB Govinda Maharaja Leads Ecstatic Hare Krishna Kirtan

Answers by Citing the Vedic Version:

Question: Can I Be My Own Guru?

I came across a verse from Krishna to Uddhava in Bhagavatam 11.7.20. "ātmano gurur ātmaiva--One can indeed become one's own guru." I saw this on a wall near my place and kept thinking about the meaning.

Can you please make me understand what does "ātmano gurur ātmaiva" means? Does it mean a soul can be his own teacher.

Thanks,
Vivek

Answer: If You Tell Yourself to Find a Bona Fide Guru

The entire verse is as follows:

ātmano gurur ātmaiva
puruṣasya viśeṣataḥ
yat pratyakṣānumānābhyāṁ
śreyo 'sāv anuvindate

"An intelligent person, expert in perceiving the world around him and in applying sound logic, can achieve real benefit through his own intelligence. Thus sometimes one acts as one's own instructing spiritual master."

This means by carefully understanding the world around him a thoughtful person can understand that he needs to seek out an initiating spiritual master who can take him back to Godhead. It does not mean that he can be his own initiating guru. He acts as his own instructing guru if he tells himself to find a bona fide spiritual master who can initiate him and liberate him from material existence.

Srila Prabhupada stresses that one must hear from a bona fide guru if he desires to become knowledgeable in spiritual life. He condemns charlatan gurus who misrepresent the process of self realization and tell people that one can be one's own guru simply by "looking within."

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

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