Hare Krsna_I have just finished reading SB canto 8 this morning, and it is interesting to note how many times Srila Prabhupada mentions bogus gurus, so called swamis and others like that. One should take serious caution when accepting someone as their “spiritual guide” for life. Granted there are actual holy men in every religion, but as the SB predicts and warns us-be careful who you accept !!
Or as the wonderful devotee Jayananda prabhu once told us-he accepted Srila Prabhupada and gave him his life and his life savings because he knew— “this man would not cheat me”
damaghosa das
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SB 8.24.49-Neither all the demigods, nor the so-called gurus nor all other people, either independently or together, can offer mercy that equals even one ten-thousandth of Yours. Therefore I wish to take shelter of Your lotus feet.
PURPORT… One should not, therefore, try to obtain benedictions from the demigods or false gurus. One should aspire only for the benediction offered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
SB 8.24.50-As a blind man, being unable to see, accepts another blind man as his leader, people who do not know the goal of life accept someone as a guru who is a rascal and a fool. But we are interested in self-realization. Therefore we accept You, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as our spiritual master, for You are able to see in all directions and are omniscient like the sun.
PURPORT-The conditioned soul, being wrapped in ignorance and therefore not knowing the goal of life, accepts a guru who can juggle words and make some display of magic that is wonderful to a fool.
SB 8.24.53 purport-Sometimes it is argued that people do not know who is a spiritual master and that finding a spiritual master from whom to get enlightenment in regard to the destination of life is very difficult. …It is difficult, however, to understand Bhagavad-gītā without the help of the guru. Therefore the guru appears in the paramparā system. In Bhagavad-gītā (4.34) the Supreme Personality of Godhead recommends:tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ “Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth.” … Where, then, is the difficulty in finding a guru? If one is sincere he can find the guru and learn everything.
SB 8.24.56-While sitting in the boat, King Satyavrata, accompanied by the great saintly persons, listened to the instructions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in regard to self-realization. These instructions were all from the eternal Vedic literature [brahma]. Thus the King and sages had no doubt about the Absolute Truth.
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Srimad-Bhagavatam warns of kali-yuga panditas
Translation-
A person’s spiritual position will be ascertained merely according to external symbols, and on that same basis people will change from one spiritual order to the next. A person’s propriety will be seriously questioned if he does not earn a good living. And one who is very clever at juggling words will be considered a learned scholar. SB 12.2.4
Srimad-Bhagavatam precicts the situation of greedy sannyasis in kali yuga
TRANSLATION-
The brahmacārīs will fail to execute their vows and become generally unclean, the householders will become beggars, the vānaprasthas will live in the villages, and the sannyāsīs will become greedy for wealth SB 12. 2. 33
Srimad-Bhagavatam predicts the appearance of bogus gurus, swamis etc.
TRANSLATION-
Uncultured men will accept charity on behalf of the Lord and will earn their livelihood by making a show of austerity and wearing a mendicant’s dress. Those who know nothing about religion will mount a high seat and presume to speak on religious principles.
PURPORT-The epidemic of bogus gurus, swamis, priests and so forth is explicitly described here
SB 12.3.38
Srila Prabhupada explains about the position of bogus gurus
Jayatīrtha: Yesterday Nitāi found a quote from the Purāṇas that says, “There are many gurus who will take away your money, but rare is the one who will take away your miseries.
Srila Prabhupāda: Guravo bahavaḥ santi vittāpahārakaḥ
Devotee: Yes, right.
Srila Prabhupada: guravo bahavaḥ santi vittāpahārakaḥ taṁ tu guruṁ na paśyāmi śiṣya-santā-paharakah
There are many gurus. They are very expert in plundering disciples’ money, but it is very difficult to find out a guru who can take out all the anxieties of the disciple.” Śiṣya santa-pahārakāḥ. Guru is meant for taking away the santāpa. Saṁsāra-dāvānala-līḍha-loka-trāṇāya kārunya-ghanāghanatvam **. “The śiṣya will be peaceful”—objective of life—that is the business of guru, not to take away his money
Morning Walk Conversation with His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda February 4, 1975
Acyutānanda:: If a man says, “I am giving you this donation because it is a spiritual organization,” but if the money is misused, does that man benefit.
Srila Prabhupāda: If money is misused, then both of them become implicated. If it is not used for Kṛṣṇa, then both of them becomes under the laws of karma
Srila Prabhupad warns about so-called acaryas of the age of kali
Translation-
Seeing the activities of the world, the Ācārya felt compassion and began to ponder how He could act for the people’s.
Purport-
This sort of serious interest in the welfare of the public makes one a bona fide ācārya. An ācārya does not exploit his followers. Since the ācārya is a confidential servitor of the Lord, his heart is always full of compassion for humanity in its suffering. He knows that all suffering is due to the absence of devotional service to the Lord, and therefore he always tries to find ways to change people’s activities, making them favorable for the attainment of devotion. That is the qualification of an ācārya. Although Śrī Advaita Prabhu Himself was powerful enough to do the work, as a submissive servitor He thought that without the personal appearance of the Lord, no one could improve the fallen condition of society…
The so-called ācāryas of the Age of Kali are more concerned with exploiting the resources of their followers than mitigating their miseries; but Śrī Advaita Prabhu, as an ideal ācārya, was concerned with improving the condition of the world situation CC Adi lilA 3.98
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SB 6.2.5-6-People in general are not very advanced in knowledge by which to discriminate between religion and irreligion. The innocent, unenlightened citizen is like an ignorant animal sleeping in peace with its head on the lap of its master, faithfully believing in the master’s protection. If a leader is actually kindhearted and deserves to be the object of a living entity’s faith, how can he punish or kill a foolish person who has fully surrendered in good faith and friendship?
PURPORT-The Sanskrit word viśvasta-ghāta refers to one who breaks faith or causes a breach of trust. The mass of people should always feel security because of the government’s protection. Therefore, how regrettable it is for the government itself to cause a breach of trust and put the citizens in difficulty for political reasons. We actually saw during the partition days in India that although Hindus and Muslims were living together peacefully, manipulation by politicians suddenly aroused feelings of hatred between them, and thus the Hindus and Muslims killed one another over politics. This is a sign of Kali-yuga. In this age, animals are kept nicely sheltered, completely confident that their masters will protect them, but unfortunately as soon as the animals are fat, they are immediately sent for slaughter. Such cruelty is condemned by Vaiṣṇavas like the Viṣṇudūtas. Indeed, the hellish conditions already described await the sinful men responsible for such suffering. One who betrays the confidence of a living entity who takes shelter of him in good faith, whether that living entity be a human being or an animal, is extremely sinful. Because such betrayals now go unpunished by the government, all of human society is terribly contaminated. The people of this age are therefore described as mandāḥ sumanda-matayo manda-bhāgyā hy upadrutāḥ [SB 1.1.10]. As a consequence of such sinfulness, men are condemned (mandāḥ), their intelligence is unclear (sumanda-matayaḥ), they are unfortunate (manda-bhāgyāḥ), and therefore they are always disturbed by many problems (upadrutāḥ). This is their situation in this life, and after death they are punished in hellish conditions.
SB 2.8.7 purport…In the process of devotional service, the first step is to take shelter of the spiritual master and then inquire from the spiritual master all about the process. This inquiry is essential for immunity to all kinds of offenses on the path of devotional service. Even if one is fixed in devotional service like Mahārāja Parīkṣit, he must still inquire from the realized spiritual master all about this. In other words, the spiritual master must also be well versed and learned so that he may be able to answer all these inquiries from the devotees. Thus one who is not well versed in the authorized scriptures and not able to answer all such relevant inquiries should not pose as a spiritual master for the matter of material gain. It is illegal to become a spiritual master if one is unable to deliver the disciple.
From above quote (SB 6.2 5-6)… One who betrays the confidence of a living entity who takes shelter of him in good faith, whether that living entity be a human being or an animal, is extremely sinful.
And..
“ It is illegal to become a spiritual master if one is unable to deliver the disciple”
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Follow bogus guru-you go to hell
SB 1.19.37 P The Appearance of Sukadeva Gosvami Unless one is perfectly anxious to inquire about the way of perfection, there is no necessity of approaching a spiritual master. A spiritual master is not a kind of decoration for a householder. Generally a fashionable materialist engages a so-called spiritual master without any profit. The pseudo spiritual master flatters the so-called disciple, and thereby both the master and his ward go to hell without a doubt.
72-12-14.Letter: Tusta Krsna As for your next question, can only a few pure devotees deliver others, anyone, if he is a pure devotee he can deliver others, he can become spiritual master. But unless he on that platform he should not attempt it. Then both of them will to go to hell, like blind men leading the blind.
SB 6.7.14 Indra Offends His Spiritual Master, Brhaspati. Leaders who have fallen into ignorance and who mislead people by directing them to the path of destruction [as described in the previous verse] are, in effect, boarding a stone boat, and so too are those who blindly follow them. A stone boat would be unable to float and would sink in the water with its passengers. Similarly, those who mislead people go to hell, and their followers go with them.
Srila Prabhupada…”So there must be faith, faith in the right person. Then it is all right…. Faith is required, but to the right person. Then it will be all right. You know that one barber is honest: then you can make your neck like this and he is with a sharpened razor. But you have faith that “He will not cut my throat; he will shave me.” This is faith. And if you do not know him and if you put your neck like this and if he is a rogue, he will cut your throat. That’s all. The same faith, if you put it to the right person, you become cleansed, shaved, and the same faith put in the wrong person—your throat is cut off. So you must know where to put the faith. So our Vedic injunction is: “Put your faith to the brahma-nistam,one who is God-realized”…. Otherwise there will be disaster. Right faith. [break] …(Morning Walk—November 26, 1975, New Delhi )
Madhya 22.153 : PURPORT :
Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says: rūpa-raghunātha-pade haibe ākuti kabe hāma bujhaba se yugala pirīti.The sahajiyās’ understanding of the love affairs between Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa is not bona fide because they do not follow the principles laid down by the six Gosvāmīs. Their illicit connection and their imitation of the dress of Rūpa Gosvāmī as well as their avoidance of the prescribed methods of revealed scriptures will lead them to the lowest regions of hell. These imitative sahajiyās are cheated and unfortunate. They are not equal to advanced devotees (paramahaṁsas). Debauchees and paramahaṁsas are not on the same level.
April 23 1972…..
One has to receive the transcendental sound from the right source and accept it as a reality and prosecute the direction without any hesitation, and the secret of success is to receive the sound from the right source of a bona fide spiritual master. Mundane manufactured sound has no potency, and as such, seemingly transcendental sound received from an unauthorized person also has no potency. One should be qualified enough to discern such transcendental potency, and either by discriminating or by fortunate chance, if one is able to receive the transcendental sound from a bona fide spiritual master, his path of liberation is guaranteed.
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