Qualifications for a bona fide disciple

[Guest guest]

|| Hare Kṛṣṇa ||

All Glories to ÅšrÄ« Guru & GaurÄnga!

All Glories to ÅšrÄ«la PrabhupÄda!NitÄi Gaura PremÄnande, HARI HARI BOL!

PatitÄnÄm PÄvanebhyo VaiÅ›nÌ£avebhyo Namo NamahÌ£!

Hari-Bhakti-Vilaasa lists the following qualifications for a bona fide disciple:

   1) He should be devoted to the lotus feet of thespiritual master. 2) He should be fully capable ofupholding the vows made

to the spiritual master.3) He should be engaged day and night in the Lord'sservice with body, mind and words.

4) He should be desirous of knowing the AbsoluteTruth.    5) He should be spotless in character, truthful,

gentle and polite,pleasing in appearance and intelligent. 6) He should show proper respect to

elders, to initiated Vaisnavas and to the Lord; heshould observe silenceconcerning material subjects and should have control

of his senses.7) He should have no attraction for committingsinful activities.

The bona fide disciple should not possess the following characteristics:

 1) He should not be lazy, dirty, sickly, continuallyafflicted orlamenting, angry, proud, lusty or

coveting material desires.2) He should notshow the enjoying mood; he should not indulge insinful activities such as

taking meat, intoxication, gambling or illicit sex;3) He should not earn aliving by unjust means.

    4) He should not use vulgar or coarse language,should not be criticalof others, and should not be miserly, malicious,

devious or envious; heshould not give pain to others or be addicted tocruel activities. 5) He should not be ignorant,

nor should he be proud of materiallearning.6) He should notindulge in non-Vaisnava philosophies7) He should not be addicted to

over-eating.The following rules of etiquette should be observed by the bona fide disciple in relation to his spiritual master:

    1) He should fall down like an uprooted tree(dandavat) on seeing the guru. When the guru

approaches he should face himand when he leaves, heshould follow him.2) He should not leave the guru's

presence without askingpermission.3) He should not utter the guru's nameinattentively, but always

with respect. He should address him as om sri............Visnupada, and bowhis head and fold his hands in respect.

  4) He should not imitate the gait, activities or voiceof the guru.5) He should always hold the guru's words

in great respect. Though he may bepunished by the guru, he should not take itunkindly.

6) He should not bear tohear criticism of the guru, the scriptures or theLord, but should leave the

place immediately.  7) He should not step on the guru's garland, bed,shoes, aasana, shadow

or eating table.8) He should not spread his legsbefore the guru, nor shouldhe yawn, laugh or make disrespectful noises before

the guru.9) He should notsit on an aasana or bed before the guru.   10) He should not worship others in preference to the

guru. He should not give diksaa, give scripturalexplanations or show superiority in front of

the guru.11) He should not give orders to the guru, butobey him.12) He shouldtreat the guru's guru with similar respect and he

should treat the wife, sonand relatives of the guru as the guru, but he shouldnot clean the body of

the son, take his remnants or wash his feet.

Always Chant...Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare |

Hare RÄma Hare RÄma, RÄma RÄma Hare Hare ||...and be Happy

-- At the present moment our minds are polluted with the dirt accumulated over millions and millions of lifetimes of sense gratification. Even though our original pure nature is eternal, full of knowledge, and full of bliss, due to our mental contamination we are presently suffering in the realm of temporality, ignorance, and misery. By the purificatory process of chanting the holy names of God we can revive our original, pure nature and thus relish the sweetest happiness at every minute.

Chant:Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare HareHare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare