The Spiritual Master
The Vedas tell us that if one wants to make advancement in spiritual
life it is imperative toaccept a spiritual master.' In any discipline
we need a teacher. Book learning is not sufficient. For example, a
surgeon must study under an expert experienced surgeon. He cannot
confine his learning to books. One who does not accept a bonafide.
spiritual master as his guide is sure to be bewildered in his attempts
at self-realization.
One must be extremely careful in choosing a spiritual master, as there
are many pretenders who simply wish to cheat innocent persons. There
are standards mentioned in the Vedic
literature that one should use when picking one'seternal guide: 1. The
spiritual master must come in an unbroken chain of disciplic
succession from God Himself, 2. The spiritual master must be a
perfect disciple of his spiritual master; a first class servant
rendering humble service, 3. The spiritual master must be fixed in the
regulative principles and practices of Krishna consciousness, never
falling down, 4. The spiritual master must haveheard nicely from his
spiritual master so that he is simply repeating in his own words the
teachings given to him.
The spiritual master teaches by example as wellas precept. By
observing his behavior, the prospective disciple can verify that the
spiritual master is not deviating from the teachings that he
received from his own spiritual master and is, in turn, passing along
to his disciples. In this way,the disciple can understand how to apply
the teachings to his own life.
1. Mundaka Upanisad 1.2.12
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