How will I be able to recognize someone as a bona fide spiritual master?

[krsna]

 

 

 

When you make judgments based on your own intelligence that such and such a person is guru, you are in fact projecting the qualities of guru on him. Such a person is never truly the guru. In such cases, you are thinking that the guru is somehow under your control, or within the purview of your sensory knowledge. When Krishna himself decides to send you someone to act as your spiritual master, that person will be manifest before you as the Mahanta Guru.

 

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati

 

[Guest guest]

As I understand from others devotees here our heart will decide who is guru, who is acharya, who is pure devotee and all this things.

[Guest guest]

I put a very similar question in this forum and I received this answer:

 

".....it doesn't make no sense to ask a pure devotee and or guru if he's a pure devotee and / or a guru, or to ask an impure devotee or a fake guru if he is a pure devotee and / or a guru, since the answer will probably be NO! But I understand your point and dillemma. Actually I know one who is accepted by many to be a pure devotee and guru, who is constantly advocating himself to be a pure devotee and guru and even an acharya! Is that funny! Prabhupada also was asked the question if he was seeing Krsna, and he closed his eyes and said: "Yes! 24 hours a day...."

 

I think the real criterion is not what a certain person speaks, since words can be delusive. The real criterion is what you FEEL in someone's association. When you are in the association of a real holy 100% Krsna-conscious realized person, YOU are bound to experience Krsna directly, whether you "deserve" it or not. The only question here is whether you deserve his association or can practically bear it..."

 

 

[krsna]

con't...

 

 

Only a devotee of the Lord who is fixed in the activities of devotional service and preaching the message of the Lord can be considered an acharya. The acharya is free and independent. He sets the perfect example of completely abandoning the company of the impious and always engaged in hearing and speaking about Krishna. One who preaches to others fearlessly and without any constraint, inducing them to similarly give up bad association, is the acharya.

[theist]

 

As I understand from others devotees here our heart will decide who is guru, who is acharya, who is pure devotee and all this things.

 

 

It's the LORD IN THE HEART that will tell us. Not just listening to our feelings at the moment about a certain person. That method can't be relied on to find a good mate let alone guru.

 

The Lord in the Heart or Supersoul is directing everyone according to their desires. If we are sincere about finding guru, not a "guru", but His representative on Earth we must desire correctly with sincerity. "Oh, Lord please reveal to me your true representative that I may hear correctly of You from him."

 

Don't rely on feelings from the mind, "Oh I feel like I'm floating on air in his presence." or "He had a light around him, I could feel his powerful aura" etc. This hippie approach will get you cheated.

 

And don't rely on group pressure even from a religious institutions that may produce all sorts of ceremonial pomp and circumstance. You will also be cheated.

 

Just rely on Krsna. He has followed us from the time we slipped into maya. Waiting and watching as we tried to madly enjoy this world of matter for countless lifetimes waiting for us to exhaust ourselves and turn to Him for guidance home. There is absolutely no chance that we will be cheated if we rely upon Him, pray in earnest to Him. It is the one and only absolute, foolproof, sure thing, garunteed path to success.

 

"By the grace of Krsna one gets guru, by the grace of guru one gets Krsna."

 

So our position is to pray to Krsna for such grace.

 

Why do we complicate such a simple thing?

 

We have ill-motives that's why.

[Guest guest]

But if I feell something in my heart for a spiritual master, ok?, like many of you before 20 years for Srila Prabhupada, ok? , how can I know this feelling came from my paramatma or from my ilussion?

how all of you now at that time?

[Guest guest]

That I feell that if I say I feell this and this for same specific guru, his people will say: yes yes yes

and others, from other organization: no, no, no

now if I say the same about other guru the reaction will be from the other side, so?

for example you talk about organizations who present the guru in a exhalted way and you can be cheated, but please!, before years ISKCON present Prabhupada in a real sumptuous way and?, nobody was cheated, he was a real pure devotee and a real acharya.

[Guest guest]

"Only a devotee of the Lord who is fixed in the activities of devotional service and preaching the message of the Lord can be considered an acharya. The acharya is free and independent. He sets the perfect example of completely abandoning the company of the impious and always engaged in hearing and speaking about Krishna. One who preaches to others fearlessly and without any constraint, inducing them to similarly give up bad association, is the acharya."

 

Who say that?

so easy?

today many many devotees in ISKCON or even others institutions are really in this position, they are all acharyas?

 

[theist]

 

But if I feell something in my heart for a spiritual master, ok?, like many of you before 20 years for Srila Prabhupada, ok? , how can I know this feelling came from my paramatma or from my ilussion?

how all of you now at that time?

 

 

That you will have to learn through spiritual practice and spiritual growth. I am speaking of a process of accepting spiritual master. The relationship develops along with your practice of sadhana bhakti. You must continualy ask the Lord in the heart to make Himself known to you. That connection is what bhakti-yoga is all about.

 

There are other questions here that must be understood deeply and not just on a superfical level. One question, very basic but very important is What does it mean to ACCEPT a spiritual master?

 

Many assume that having gone through an emotional experience and a ceremony that that is accepting someone as guru. But is it? There may be many levels to accepting a guru. How can I say I accept someone as a spiritual master and yet I don't follow all his instructions? And as I follow his instructions I may find that his instructions are more involved than just what time to get up and what songs to sing. They may involve very subtle and deep changes of heart. It is possible to follow the outer program of the spiritual master and yet have one's heart far from him.

 

This is why I consider accepting a guru as a process and not just an initial emotional event. Our acceptance grows deeper and becomes more substantial.

 

I am also very much against social pressure being placed on anyone to declare "Who is your guru prabhu"? "You must have a guru or you will not make advancement"etc.

 

First off you already have guru. Caitya-guru the Lord in the heart is your guru. Guru is in his writings and shastra. Are you developing faith in Srila Prabhupada? That faith comes from the Lord in the heart. Follow the faith to your guru.

 

And the Lord may take you to different gurus also, such as one of his disciples. Consider concentrating more on taking advantage of the gurus you already have then adding another name to the list. Always,daily, hourly praying to the Lord in the heart to direct you back to Him. He may inspire within you a faith in a particular manifestation of Himself and there you may find a very special relationship including vows and so many other formal things.

 

All I am suggesting is that you be sure you are directed there by the Supersoul for the purpose of finding a more solid connection with Him and not any other reason. By that I mean Supersoul is directing everyone everywhere already but you must make sure your motive is pure.

 

You asked how can I be sure I am hearing tparamatma? That is a very intelligent question. Now ask it of Supersoul as well as other devotees. Primarily Supersoul. he is the one who gives the knowledge on how to come to Him. He is the dispeller of darkness.

 

People that accepted Srila Prabhupada in the beginning were receipients of unusual mercy. But how deep did they take the acceptance process is the question? They had no knowledge of scripture in terms of what to look for in guru nor the eyes to see with anyway. Krsna took them to Prabhupada. Krsna pointed him out and said "Here is my beloved devotee in whom I am well pleased. Serve him, assist him."

 

Undoubtedly many were continuing the process they had begun in the past. Others may have just received a rare mercy from Krsna. In a sense of course it is all rare mercy but some may have been spiraling downward with little or no sukriti in their accounts and Krsna just graced them from His own sweet will. I can't say.

 

But I can say he wasn't claiming a GBC sanction from the Gaudiya matha as proof he was guru, he carried no certificate with anyone's stamp of approval to hang on the wall, he had no birthright to guruship. What did he carry as proof? Only a total dedication to fulfilling the mission of and wishes of his spiritual master. His perfect service attitude was his proof he was master.

 

Stay concentrated on siksa, if you take some initiation for Deity worship fine, just watch out for making eternal vows to someone who may not be qualified. That will not help you.

 

You should know that I am only giving my opinion and I speak with no authority so you must scrutinize everything I say, or just ignore it. But you may not blindly believe it.

 

I'll close with a reference from a Prabhupada purport I'll try to remeber correctly but you should look it up independently.

 

"One who has accepted Lord Caitanya as the universal guru and Lord Jagganatha as Krsna receives all the blessing of guru and God" That is only a paraphrase as I can't remember exactly where it is in CC but please look for it and meditate on it.

 

Hare Krsna

[krsna]

 

 

 

The Supreme Lord acts as guru in two ways: within as the Chaittya Guru in the heart and without as the Mahanta Guru, or pure devotee. If I am sincere, then the Lord reveals the Mahanta Guru to me. We can go to a thousand different people with a petition in hand, but until the one person who can approve our application approves it, we get nowhere. The Supreme Lord is that person. Why he does or does not approve our request is something we cannot fathom. He is not a field laborer working in our personal garden. We have to be patient and wait. In the meantime, we should prepare ourselves by cultivating a service attitude and trying to eliminate other, extraneous desires. If we pray sincerely for the Lord's blessing, then he will graciously bless us. Through his grace we will find a bona fide spiritual master.

 

 

kRSNa jadi kRpA karen kono bhAgyavAne

guru-antaryAmi-rUpe zikhAya Apane

 

 

When Krishna decides to be kind to some fortunate soul, then he personally directs that person from within as the Supersoul and from without as the spiritual master. (CC 2.22.47)

[mahak]

Give up the search, for if ya find someone, it may well be from the senses that you make the decision.

 

This guru tattwa process is the descending process, meaning that guru comes to the disciple upon the sincerity level.

 

"You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free".

 

We never went to India, Srila Prabhupada came to the gutter of the Bowery in the winter, in poor health. This is a physical demonstration of how guru tattwa descends to the sincere person. Keep this in mind, become sincere by following the process of sadhana bhakti. In a way, the hippie revolution of the 60s began the process of sadhana bhakti in an offensive way without even knowing it. The hippies lost attraction to matter, wanting a love that was not based on material considerations. They lost attraction to dogs eating dogs, unbridled materialistic competition, etc. This may have led to Srila Prabhupadas journey descending into their realm with FURTHER instructions.

 

Instruction comes from Supersoul, when these instructions are FOLLOWED, more instruction comes directly from guru without, the manifestation of Sesa Balarama, the Vaisnava Acarya.

 

There is no climbing. The Guru will find you if you are where he is looking, below the starw in the street, because this is where authentic gurus reside, as servants of servants, yes, even the servant of his own disciplkes.

 

Hare Krsna, ys, mahaksadasa

[krsna]

 

 

The genuine guru does not make anyone his disciple. Rather, he makes everyone his guru by turning those who have no interest in Krishna into devotees. He tries to give Krishna pleasure by engaging everyone in his service. The guru's vision is that everything has importance; thus his every action is an act of devotion. The spiritual master sees the guru everywhere and everything related to Krishna. For him nothing is insignificant; nothing is seen as an object of the senses. He does not see this world as a mundane creation. The guru's work is a lot like that of a medical professor in the university: he is not making students, but doctors. Similarly, the guru is making other gurus.

 

If the Vaishnavas do not play the role of spiritual master, then the transcendental family of Vaishnavas will dwindle and disappear. The problem is that as soon as one becomes guru, he ceases to be a Vaishnava. Therefore it is not proper to act as guru if one is not qualified. This means only inauspicious results for the disciple and falldown for the guru. The spiritual master does not identify himself as a guru, for his inner identification as a servant of God is too powerful. If the spiritual master thinks of himself as guru, then the first vowel of his name changes and he becomes goru-a cow.

 

The genuine guru is engaged twenty-four hours a day in Lord Krishna's service. He acknowledges no duty other than serving Krishna. Thus the only person who is qualified to do the work of a guru is the devotee who is completely committed to his own spiritual master and has made service to him his life.

 

[krsna]

 

 

One has to be devoted to the spiritual master in the same way one is devoted to Krishna. One should think of the spiritual master in the same way that one thinks of Krishna, for he is in no way less than or inferior to Krishna. It is the duty of a pious person to recognize the spiritual master as equal to Krishna and to worship him and serve him in that way. If one does not do so, then is destituted of his status as a disciple.

 

Those who see the guru and Krishna as the same will be able to understand the essence of the scriptures. They alone will be able to chant the Holy Names and they alone will be able to speak on Krishna.

 

Sri Krishna himself has descended in the form of the spiritual master in order to teach service to himself. Those on whom fortune smiles will be able to understand this spotless scriptural truth. If not, their doubting minds will plunge them into the ocean of samsara.

 

The spiritual master is neither the ultimate object of devotion, viSaya-vigraha, nor the original reservoir of devotion, Azraya-vigraha. He is a manifestation or prakAza-vigraha of the original reservoir of devotion. Sri Krishna is the supreme object of all love, whereas the guru is the reservoir of divine love. Krishna is the predominating absolute, the bhoktA bhagavAn, while the guru is the predominated absolute, or sevaka-bhagavAn; he is God as worshiper or servant. Even though the spiritual master is the reservoir of love, he is Krishna himself; at the same time he is the most beloved of Krishna. This is the inconceivable paradox of guru tattva. Krishna is the complete omnipotent and the spiritual master is his complete potency. The spiritual master is not an ordinary living entity, he is master of all living entities. The spiritual master is the supreme consciousness, the plenary manifestation of the Lord's potency, his internal potency. We ordinary jivas on the other hand are atomic particles of consciousness, Krishna's marginal potency and separated parts.

 

--

Wow ! Here Srila Bhaktisiddhanta is clear who is the spiritual master exactly, no jiva soul can ever occupy the post of spiritual master:

 

<font color="red">"The spiritual master is not an ordinary living entity, he is master of all living entities. The spiritual master is the supreme consciousness, the plenary manifestation of the Lord's potency, his internal potency. We ordinary jivas on the other hand are atomic particles of consciousness, Krishna's marginal potency and separated parts." </font color>

[krsna]

 

 

The road to auspiciousness begins with taking shelter of a bona fide spiritual master. In accordance with God's plan, everyone on this earth finds a teacher that meets his or her particular needs and qualifications. Thus the Christians have their Jesus and the Muslims their Mohammed. Some less fortunate individuals think that some materialist individual with formal traditional ties to the family is their guru, with the result that they become embroiled in householder life themselves. If we are fortunate, if we truly seek out a genuine guru with complete sincerity and persistence, and if we pray feelingly to the Lord to encounter such a spiritual master, then the Lord will surely lead us in this lifetime to a genuine guru, by taking shelter of whom we will be able to attain the greatest blessings.

 

 

brahmANDa bhramite kona bhAgyavAn jIva

guru-kRSNa-prasAde pAya bhakti-latA-bIja

 

 

 

In the course of wandering through Brahma's universal creation, some fortunate soul may receive the seed of the creeper of devotion. This happens by the grace of the guru and Krishna. (Chaitanya Charitamrita, 2.19.151)

 

 

 

kRSNa jadi kRpA karena kono bhAgyavAne

guru-antaryAmI-rUpe zikhAya Apane

 

 

 

If Krishna is merciful to a particularly fortunate soul, then he comes himself to teach him, either externally as the spiritual master or from within as the Supersoul. (CC 2.22.47)

 

 

guru kRSNa-rUpa hana zAstrera pramANe

guru-rUpe kRSNa kRpA karena bhakta-gaNe

 

 

According to the revealed scriptures, the spiritual master is the manifestation of Krishna. Krishna comes in the form of the guru to show His mercy to the devotees. (CC 1.1.45)

 

 

yadyapi AmAra guru caitanyera dAsa

tathApi jAniye Ami tAGhAra prakAza

 

 

Even though my spiritual master is the servant of Lord Chaitanya, I know that he is a direct manifestation of the Lord. (CC 1.1.44)

 

 

 

jIve sAkSAt nAhi tAte guru caittya-rUpe

zikSA-guru haya kRSNa mahAnta-svarUpe

 

 

 

Since one cannot directly experience the guru as the Supersoul, Krishna appears as the siksha guru in the form of a highly advanced Vaishnava. (CC 1.1.58)

 

 

"O my beloved Krishna! Please be kind and accept me as your servant. For all my life I have thought of myself as the master of my house and the enjoyer of the fruits of my work, but I shall give all this up for you." When a jiva sincerely prays to Krishna in this way, then Krishna appears to him in the form of the Mahanta Guru.

 

Without receiving transcendental knowledge from a bona fide spiritual master, no one gains the eligibility to serve Krishna. Neither god nor human can give such transcendental knowledge. This is why we have such a great need for a genuine spiritual master.

 

[Pankaja_Dasa]

 

 

Its all very well knowing how to find guru, but do you actually want him?

 

Everybody stop and take look at themselves.

[krsna]

 

 

 

We should not make disciples until we have become liberated or a pure devotee. You must first take shelter of a bona fide guru, become a disciple and listen to the topics of Krishna from his mouth. Then you have to put everything you have heard into practice and repeat it to others with humility. After doing this for some time, you must become guru yourself. You should not intentionally remain a "lightweight" for the rest of your days. This is a kind of self-deception. To become guru means to become a genuine devotee, engaging all of your senses in the service of Krishna, at every moment.

 

This does not mean that you absolutely have to make disciples. Even so, if it is God's will, some pure devotees teach Krishna consciousness for the benefit of others. They have no ulterior motive in doing so. Their one and only purpose is to make the light heavy, i.e., to turn those with no interest in Krishna towards him and make everyone into Krishna's devotees.

[krsna]

 

 

 

I have made no one my disciple. Those whom other people call my disciples are in fact my spiritual masters. Associating with someone else means to take something from them. I never take anything from anyone other than what I received from my spiritual master. I take no action without the direction of my spiritual master; I follow no one else's orders. One should take nothing from anyone for one's own benefit. If anyone gives something out of faith and affection for Krishna and the spiritual master, then if one uses that in their service, it will have auspicious results. The secret to entering the kingdom of God is to engage everything in His service without looking on it as an object of personal enjoyment.

[krsna]

Are personal conversations more beneficial to the hearer?

 

 

Certainly. Someone who gives personal instructions to each individual will have a greater effect on that person than a platform speaker. The platform speaker may touch on a large number of different subjects and thus is often unable to remove all the doubts of many members of his audience, thus these people are not always benefitted. It is the same as in a college, where a student is probably more benefitted by coaching or personal tutoring than by the professor's lectures. When being coached by a tutor, the student's personal defects are more easily detected and corrected. So you should take the trouble to instruct people individually, for in this way they will receive more permanent benefit.

[krsna]

 

 

 

Knowledge of relations, sambandha jnana, comes first. Sambandha jnana is also known as transcendental knowledge or initiation. Initiation is not simply instruction in the mantra. Initiation is the transmission of transcendental knowledge. One may read hundreds of books or make a pretense of worship according to his own fancy, but will never achieve true blessings. Only the spiritual master can bestow transcendental knowledge on a sincere disciple. One who gives up his own independence to follow the directions of the spiritual master is qualified to receive the mercy of the spiritual master. By receiving this transcendental knowledge, he becomes truly fortunate and completely fulfilled.

 

[krsna]

 

 

 

For the genuine devotee of a spiritual master, the genuine disciple, the spiritual master is his entire life, his ideal. His vow is to serve the spiritual master, and though he adores both Krishna and the spiritual master equally, he gives special preference to his spiritual master. A genuine disciple is not weak, but is empowered by the power of the guru's mercy. The spiritual master's blessings and the spiritual master's service are his hope and his strength.

 

A genuine disciple does not disobey the order of the spiritual master even at the risk of his life. Whatever responsibilities the spiritual master mercifully gives him, he does with all his heart. Thus he receives the guru's full blessings.

 

[krsna]

 

 

 

The math can have no connection with anyone who has deceptively become a resident with the intention of misusing the transcendental knowledge; as such there is no real connection.

 

Many people have become my disciples because they think, "In order to cross a river, one needs to engage both a ferry and a ferryman. In the same way, I need to engage a spiritual master." This is the mentality in which they have taken me as their guru. They have never met me and I have never spoken with them. Nor will we meet in the few days that still remain in my life. Even though these phonies may not yet have begun to practise their deceptions, they are already offensive to the spiritual master and the Vaishnavas, as a result of which their material desires will one day surface and they will give up the life of devotion.

 

As soon as we start to argue with the guru, or when we measure him according to the ruler of our empiric understanding, when we stop following the guru and start to imitate him, then our spiritual life is headed for disaster. Benedictions come when we put all these durbuddhi aside and sincerely surrender to the spiritual master's lotus feet, we will be truly benefited.

 

Wealth, learning, worthiness, scholarship, and mundane heroism are all unnecessary for the intense devotee of the Lord, because he knows that if he gives priority to such things, he will end up committing offenses to the guru and the Vaishnavas. The consequences of such offenses are deprivation from the service of the guru and the Lord.

[krsna]

What the unalloyed devotees of the Supreme Lord say is all true and is independent of any consideration of unwholesome pros and cons. There is, however, an element of mystery in the verbal controversies that are sometimes seen to arise between them. Those whose judgment is made of mundane stuff, being unable to enter into the spirit of the all-loving controversies among pure devotees due to their own want of unalloyed devotion, are apt to impute to the devotees their own defects of partisanship and opposing views.

 

— Purport to Sri Brahma-samhita 5.37.

[krsna]

 

To regard oneself as a guru of Vaisnavas is an impediment

to one’s humility. Those who do not listen to the instructions

of Siksataka set forth by Srî Gaurasundara, who are forgetful

of their actual spiritual identity, who are greedy for prestige

and material gain and who are thus anxious to obtain the status

of Vaisnava or guru to satisfy their senses, can never chant

the holy name of the Lord. A disciple who has faith in the kîrtana

performances of such persons also cannot obtain qualification

for hearing the holy name. Therefore, one should

chant the holy name of the Lord while considering oneself

lower than the straw in the street, being more tolerant than a

tree, devoid of false prestige and offering all respect to others.

 

[krsna]

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura comments in this regard in his Anubhasya, wherein he quotes a verse from Narayana-samhita:

 

"In Dvapara-yuga, devotees of Lord Visnu and Krsna rendered devotional service according to the principles of pancaratrika in this age of Kali, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is worshipped simply by the chanting of His holy names.', Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura then comments: "Without being empowered by the direct potency of Lord Krsna to fulfil His desire and without being specifically favoured by he Lord, no human being can become the spiritual master of the whole world. He certainly cannot succeed by mental concoction, which is not meant for devotees or religious people. Only an empowered personality can distribute the holy name of the Lord and enjoin all fallen souls to worship Krsna. By distributing the holy name of the Lord, he cleanses the hearts of the most fallen people; therefore he extinguishes the blazing fire of the material world. Not only that, he broadcasts the shining brightness of Krsna's effulgence throughout the world. Such an acarya, or spiritual master, should be considered non-different from Krsna--that is, he should be considered the incarnation of Lord Krsna's potency. Such a personality is krsnalingita-vigraha--that is, he is always embraced by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna. Such a person is above the considerations of the varnasrama institution. He is the guru or spiritual master for the entire world, a devotee on the topmost platform, the maha-bhagavata stage, and a paramahamsa-thakura, a spiritual form only fit to be addressed as paramahamsa or thakura."

 

(C.C. Mad 25.9)

[krsna]

From the Great Favor, a Harmonist article, by Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada:

 

"A chanter of the Kirtan of Hari is necessarily the uncompromising enemy of wordliness and hypocrisy. As chanter of the Kirtan of Hari, it is the constant function to dispell all misconceptions by the preaching of the truth in the most unambiguous form without any respect of person, place or time. That form is to be adopted which is least likely to be misunderstood. It is his bounden duty to oppose clearly and frankly any person who tries to deceive and harm himself and other people by misrepresenting the Truth due to malice or bonafide misunderstanding.

 

This will be possible if the chanter of Kirtan is always prepared to submit to be trodden by thoughtless people if any discomfort to himself will enable him to do good to his persecutors by chanting the Truth in the most unambiguous manner. If he is unwilling or afraid of considerations of self-respect or personal discomfort to chant the Kirtan under all circumstances he is unfit to be a preacher of the Absolute Truth. Humility implies perfect submission to the Truth and no sympathy for untruth. A person who entertains any partiality for untruth is unfit to chant the kirtan of Hari. Any clinging to untruth is opposed to the principle of humility born of absolute submission to the truth.

 

Those who serve the Truth at all time, by means of all their faculties, and have no hankering for the trivialities of this world, are always necessarily free from malice born of competing worldliness and are, therefore, fit to admonish those who are actively engaged in harming themselves and others by the method of opposing or misrepresenting the Truth in order to attain rewards of such policy in the shape of a perpetuation of the state of misery and ignorance. The method which is employed by the servant of the good preceptor for preventing such misrepresentation of the truth is a part and parcel of the truth itself.

 

It may not always be pleasing to the diseased susceptibilities of deluded minds and may even be denounced by them as a malicious act with which they are only too familiar, but the words of truth from the lips of a loyal and humble servant of Hari possess such beneficent power that all effort to suppress or obstruct them only serves to vindicate to impartial minds the necessity of complete submission to the Absolute Truth as the only cure of the disease of wordliness. Humility that is employed in the unambiguous service of the Truth is necessarily and qualitatively different from its perverted prototype which is practised by the cunning people of this world for gaining their worldly ends. The professors of pseudo-humility have reason to be afraid of the preachings of the servants of Hari -- one of whose duties is to expose the enormous possibility of mischief that is possessed by the forms of so-called spiritual conduct -- when they are taken to task for serving the untruth.

 

Shrila Saccidananda Bhaktivinoda Thakura quotes:

 

Patrikara Uddesya, Sajjana Tosani:

 

"In the name of bhakti in many places people are engaged in illicit or anti-bhakti activities in the name of practicing bhakti. If one does not expose those issues (cases) very clearly, then pure-bhakti will never be victorious or be established."

 

Bheka-dharana, Sajjana Tosani.

 

"One should compulsorily engage in endeavouring to trying to uplift the Vaisnava-dharma from the mud of contamination and trying to free it from all kinds of dauratmya (wrong ideas and practices)."