My soul needs help. I
have read many books but these only satisfy my intellect. I practice yoga but
this spiritual awakening is transitory. I meditate but this is not close enough.
I cannot quicken my soul without the help of another soul. I need that human
guidance. The guidance of a guru. A truly extraordinary guru.
For many years I played with
spirituality, standing on the side-lines with just a seed of awakening. It is
not that I didn’t want to commit, I didn’t know how. My quest was, at the
beginning to fill in the gaps, to try spirituality out, to see if it
fitted. But as much as I played I was
still disengaged and unauthentic.
It was
not until I experienced real yearning for spiritual awakening that I knew with
absolute certainty that I could not continue without a guru. It is said that
when the student is ready, Krishna will send a Guru and the Guru will send
Krishna. I am deeply moved to have been sent an extrodinary Guru. I am also happy to share the
beginning of my journey with you. Stay
in touch.
Bhagavad-gita 4.34
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.
Purport:
The path of spiritual realization is undoubtedly difficult. The Lord
therefore advises us to approach a bona fide spiritual master in the line of
disciplic succession from the Lord Himself. No one can be a bona fide spiritual
master without following this principle of disciplic succession. The Lord is
the original spiritual master, and a person in the disciplic succession can
convey the message of the Lord as it is to his disciple. No one can be
spiritually realized by manufacturing his own process, as is the fashion of the
foolish pretenders. The Bhāgavatam (6.3.19) says, dharmaṁ tu sākṣād
bhagavat-praṇītam: the path of religion is directly enunciated by the Lord.
Therefore, mental speculation or dry arguments cannot help lead one to the
right path. Nor by independent study of books of knowledge can one progress in
spiritual life. One has to approach a bona fide spiritual master to receive the
knowledge. Such a spiritual master should be accepted in full surrender, and
one should serve the spiritual master like a menial servant, without false
prestige. Satisfaction of the self-realized spiritual master is the secret of
advancement in spiritual life. Inquiries and submission constitute the proper
combination for spiritual understanding. Unless there is submission and
service, inquiries from the learned spiritual master will not be effective. One
must be able to pass the test of the spiritual master, and when he sees the
genuine desire of the disciple, he automatically blesses the disciple with
genuine spiritual understanding. In this verse, both blind following and absurd
inquiries are condemned. Not only should one hear submissively from the
spiritual master, but one must also get a clear understanding from him, in
submission and service and inquiries. A bona fide spiritual master is by nature
very kind toward the disciple. Therefore when the student is submissive and is
always ready to render service, the reciprocation of knowledge and inquiries
becomes perfect.
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