The Necessity of Having a Guru

If we want to awaken the divine consciousness within us, escape the cycle of birth and death, and regain our original position and identity in the spiritual world, we must surrender fully unto Lord Sri Krishna. There is no other option. And to master this art of surrendering fully to Krishna requires expert guidance. This is why Lord Sri Krishna orders us to accept a spiritual master. Therefore taking complete shelter of the bona fide spiritual is an absolute necessity. It is not an option for anyone who is serious about going back to Godhead.

Questions and Answers in Copenhagen-2 April 2017

Sankarshan Das Questions and Answers Session in Copenhagen

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Answers by Citing the Vedic Version

Question: Subtle Body Identification?

Dear Srila Gurudeva,

Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

What is better for a fallen soul or someone who hasn't yet reached self realization in Krishna consciousness, to be more identified with the gross body with with the subtle body?

Is being more identified to one or the other body more conducive to progressing in spiritual life and following the regulative principals in general?

Sincerely,

Joe

Answer: Better Than Gross Body Identification

Srila Prabhupada has answered your question as follows:

"As long as we have a bodily concept of life, our understanding is sense gratification, because the body is made of senses. When we progress from the bodily platform and we see the mind as the center of sense activity, we take the mind as the final stage of realization. That is the mental platform. From the mental platform we may come to the intellectual platform, and from the intellectual platform we can rise to the transcendental platform. Finally we can rise above even the transcendental platform and come to the mature, spiritual platform. These are the stages of God realization."

So to identify with the subtle body, composed of mind, intelligence, and false ego, is a more advanced position than identifying with the gross material body.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

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