"Kanistha, Madhyama, Uttama"

72/12/13 Ahmedabad, Bhagavad-gita 7.1


Prabhupada:

sri-bhagavan uvaca
mayy asakta-manah partha
yogam yunjan mad-asrayah
asamsayam samagram mam
yatha jnasyasi tac chrnu
[Bg. 7.1]

So by the end of the Sixth Chapter, Krsna has explained the asta, astanga-yoga-siddhi. Astanga-yoga-siddhi, that yoginam api sarvesam mad-gatenantar-atmana [Bg. 6.47]. Always who is thinking of Krsna within himself, sraddhavan, with faith and knowledge, he is first-class yogi. So how this first-class yoga system helps me? Because the other yoga systems, they will disagree, that "Simply by thinking of Krsna within one's heart, how one becomes perfect?" That is explained from the Seventh Chapter of Bhagavad-gita, how simply by understanding Krsna, you become well aware of everything, this yoga system. In the Vedas also it is stated, kasmin tu bhagavo vijnate sarvam idam vijnatam bhavati. If you, if you simply understand Krsna, then you know everything. Krsna is the root of everything. Therefore Krsna says, sri-bhagavan uvaca.

We should always remember that this Bhagavad-gita is being spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So no more better authority. And God is speaking about Himself. Otherwise, by speculation you cannot understand God. That is not possible. You have to hear from God Himself about God.

athapi te deva padambuja-dvaya-
prasada-lesanugrhita eva hi
janati tattvam bhagavan-mahimno
na canya eko 'pi ciram vicinvan

"A person who has got little favor," athapi te deva padambu..., "little favor from the lotus feet of Your Lordship, he," janati tattvam, "he knows what is tattva, what is the Absolute Truth." Athapi te deva padambuja-dvaya-prasada-lesanu..., prasada-lesa: Little favor, not all. Prasada-lesanugrhita eva hi janati tattvam, na ca anya ciram vicinvan. Others may go on speculating for years and years. It is not possible to understand. And similarly, in the Brahma-samhita, another Vedic literature, it is said, panthas tu koti-sata-vatsara-sampragamyo vayor athapi manaso muni-pungavanam [Bs 5.34]. Muni-pungavanam, great saintly persons, sages, if they travel for millions of years... Panthas tu koti-sata-vatsara. Koti, again multiplied by hundreds and hundreds. Vayor athapi, on the airplane of air. Not this metal airplane, but actually air airplane or by the airplane of mind. Mind speed, we know. Mind can run within a second many thousands of miles, immediately. Suppose I am sitting here. So I have got my apartment in Los Angeles, ten thousand miles away. I can immediately go... This is called mind-speed. So with the mind speed, with the velocity of air, if one runs on, to find out the Krsna planet, or Krsna, still, avicintya-tattva, still, it is inconceivable tattva.

panthas tu koti-sata-vatsara-sampragamyo
vayor athapi manaso muni-pungavanam
so 'py asti yat-prapada-simny avicintya-tattve
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami
[Bs 5.34]

Govinda is very, very difficult to understand by mental speculation, philosophical theses. Philosophical theses, speculation, without religion is simply waste of time. And religion without philosophical basis is sentiment. They must be combined together.

So Bhagavad-gita is that, religion combined with philosophy. If you simply take philosophy, it is dry speculation. No juice. Carvita-carvananam: "Chewing the chewed." There is no benefit. And if you take, simply take religion without basis of philosophy, then it is fanaticism. That's all. So both should be combined. Religion based on philosophy and logic, that is religion. So that combination is Bhagavad-gita. So here in the Seventh Chapter, beginning, opening chapter, it is said, bhagavan uvaca. You are searching after God. Now here is God Himself speaking. So recognized God by all sages: Vyasadeva, Narada, Asita. And later on by Ramanujacarya, by Sankaracarya, by Madhvacarya, by Visnusvami, by Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and then our Guru Maharaja. So our method is very simple: evam parampara-praptam imam rajarsayo viduh [Bg. 4.2]. So we accept this parampara system. I may not know what is God, but because my predecessors, acaryas, confirm it, the "Here is Bhagavan," we accept it. That's all. We save so much trouble by mental speculation. We accept the parampara system. Therefore... And we get the result. So that is the way.

Now, here, not only the parampara system... The parampara system begins from Krsna. As Krsna says in the Fourth Chapter: imam vivasvate yogam proktavan aham avyayam: [Bg. 4.1] "I spoke first to the sun-god." It is not said, "First." Many times He has said to many predominating deities. But in this era... This is called the age of Vaivasvata Manu. There are fourteen Manus in one day of Brahma. So Vaivasvata Manu is the eighth Manu. That means we are passing through the midday of this era, manvantara. There is fourteen Manus in one day of Brahma, and this era is called Vaivasvata Manu, because he is the son of Vivasvan. And that Vivasvan is given reference in the Fourth Chapter: imam vivasvate yogam proktavan aham avyayam [Bg. 4.1]. So if you simply calculate the age of Manu it becomes forty millions of years. So Bhagavad-gita is not a new theses. It is coming from time immemorial. So Krsna is the original preceptor. So here Krsna again personally speaking. The authority, personally... Out of compassion and friendship, love to Arjuna, He's speaking directly to Arjuna. And Arjuna understood Him: the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Param brahma param dhama pavitram paramam bhavan, purusam [Bg. 10.12]. Purusam. Purusam means person. He's not imperson. Imperson is the, another feature of the person. Brahmanah aham pratistha. Krsna says that "The brahmajyoti, impersonal Brahman, that is situated upon Me." Aham pratistha. Just like we are sitting on this platform. This is pratistha. Similarly, the brahmajyoti is situated on the person of Krsna. The person is the ultimate understanding of the Absolute Truth, not the impersonal feature. That is preliminary understanding or imperfect understanding. There is brahmajyoti. Just like we are experiencing the sunshine. The sunshine is also experience of the sun-god, but it is imperfect understanding. It is not perfect understanding. If you want to understand the sun-god, then you have to penetrate through the sunshine and reach the sun planet. And then, if, if, you are able to see the predominating deity of the sun planet, whose name is Vivasvan... Similarly, the whole material creation is a part of the brahmajyoti. Sarvam khalv idam brahma.

So you have to penetrate... In the Isopanisad, it is said that, requested, it is requesting the, that "You kindly wind up Your brahmajyoti so can, I can see Your face rightly." So ultimately, there is person. Tattva-vastu.

vadanti tat tattva-vidas
tattvam yaj jnanam advayam
brahmeti paramatmeti
bhagavan iti sabdyate
[SB 1.2.11]

This is the version of Srimad-Bhagavatam. So Brahman realization is for the persons who are trying to understand the Absolute Truth by philosophical speculation. That is the understanding. Similarly, the localized Paramatma feature is realized by the yogis. Dhyanavasthita-tad-gatena manasa pasyanti yam yoginah [SB 12.13.1]. And the devotees, they realized directly the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Bhagavan, sad-aisvarya bhagavan, with full richness, full reputation, full strength, full knowledge, full renunciation. This is the meaning of Bhagavan. I have already explained. So that Bhagavan is speaking.

So mayy asakta-manah partha: "Those who have developed attachment for Me, mayy asakta, only attached to Krsna..." That is Krsna consciousness, always thinking of Krsna. Mayy asakta-manah partha yogam yunjan mad-asrayah. This is yoga. It is already explained by the end of the Sixth Chapter. Yoginam api sarvesam mad-gatenantar-atmana [Bg. 6.47]. One who has developed attachment for Krsna, he has come to perfection, simply by developing. And this development of attachment is possible by this arcana-vidhi. Just like our, rising early in the morning, offering mangalaratrika, then changing the dress, garlanding, dressing, so many things. From morning, four, to, up to night at ten o'clock, there is program. That is real temple worship. Not that the temple is closed whole day and night, and the pujari goes for five minutes and bells the bell, again close. No. There is system. Sri-vigraharadhana-nitya-nana-srngara-tan-mandira-mar janadau **. So many activities in temple worship. So for the kanistha-adhikari, neophytes, those who are serious to become, to awaken his attachment for Krsna, they must take to this arcana-marga. This is called arcana-marga, temple worship. Everyone can establish a small temple in his house, and he can begin family-wise: himself, his wife, his children. That is wanted. This Krsna consciousness movement wants to see that every house has become a temple of Krsna. That is our program. Mayy asakta... Just to increase the attachment for Krsna.

That is needed, especially for the grhasthas, for the householders... Still in India, there are many respectable families. They are maintaining a small temple. Therefore Krsna says, sucinam srimatam gehe yoga-bhrasto 'bhijayate. Yoga-bhrasta, this yogam yunjan mad-asrayah, this bhakti-y oga, one who could not finish the cent percent bhakti-yoga in one life, at least he's guaranteed to have next life as a human being. Because Krsna says, sucinam srimatam gehe yoga-bhrasto 'bhijayate. Sucinam. Sucinam means first-class brahmana, Vaisnava. They are called suci. The suci, the, just the opposite word is muci. Muci means most nasty habit, and suci means most cleansed habit. So one poet said that suci haya muci haya yadi krsna tyaje and muci haya suci haya yadi krsna bhaje: "If one becomes Krsna conscious, even though he's born in the family of muci, he becomes suci. And even though one is born in the family of suci, brahmana, if he rejects Krsna, he becomes muci." So muci haya suci haya yadi krsna bhaje and suci haya muci haya yadi krsna tyaje. This is the...

So the highest perfection of life is to awaken our dormant Krsna consciousness. That is the highest perfection of life. Everyone has got Krsna consciousness dormant. It is covered by the influence of maya. By the influence of maya. That is also stated in the Caitanya-caritamrta, that

nitya-siddha krsna-prema ‘sadhya' kabhu naya
sravanadi-suddha-citte karaye udaya
[Cc. madhya 22.107]

Nitya-siddha. Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and we are all part and parcel of Krsna. So therefore our relationship with Krsna is natural. It is natural. Just like my part and parcel of the finger; so without finger, my body's imperfect. Finger must be... So the existence of finger with this body, it is natural. Similarly, to remain with Krsna, that is our natural position, constitutional position. Remain with Krsna as cowherd boy, as gopi, as Krsna's father, Krsna's mother, Krsna's servant, Krsna's trees, Krsna's Yamuna, Krsna's flower, Krsna's Vrndavana land -- remain with Krsna in any form you like. Santa dasya sakhya vatsalya madhurya. In any mellow, humor, you can remain with Krsna. That is our natural position. But when we try to imitate Krsna, to become a imitation Krsna... Just like there are so many persons, they say, "I am Krsna." This is maya. Immediately... Because we trying to forget Krsna, our relationship with Krsna, immediately maya captures.

krsna-bahirmukha hana bhoga vancha kare
nikata-stha maya tare japatiya dhare

As soon as we desire to forget Krsna, or to rebel against Krsna, that "Why I shall serve Krsna? I am Krsna," immediately maya is there, side by side. Krsna is there. Apasyat purusam purnam mayam ca tad-apasrayam. When Vyasadeva, after getting instruction from Narada, he wanted to write Srimad-Bhagavatam, so he first of all meditated. Bhakti-yogena manasi, apasyat purusam purnam mayam ca tad-apasrayam. He saw both Krsna and His illusory energy, apasrayam, on the back side.

So Krsna is never influenced by the illusory energy, maya. We become influenced by the maya. Krsna... Just like cloud. Cloud cannot cover the sun. It is our eyes which are covered by the cloud. We see, we say that "Now the sun is covered by the cloud." No, that is not the fact. Sun is very, very big. Sun cannot be covered by cloud. It is our eyes which are covered by the cloud. Similarly, maya... We are teeny part and parcel of Krsna. Therefore we are covered by maya. Sometimes, not always. Krsna, when we forget Krsna...

krsna-bahirmukha hana bhoga vancha kare
nikata-stha maya tare japatiya dhare

As soon as we try to forget Krsna, immediately maya is there. Therefore the reversing process, reversing process, if we want to go back again to Krsna, then daivi hy esa gunamayi mama maya duratyaya [Bg. 7.14]. You cannot go back to home, back to Godhead, by your own speculation. That is not possible. Ciram vicinvan. You can go on speculating to become one with God. That is another thing. But if you actually want to know God and see God, then as Krsna says, mam eva ye prapadyante mayam etam taranti te: [Bg. 7.14] simply surrender to Krsna and maya will give you no more trouble. You can see Krsna. This is the process.

Therefore Krsna says, mayy asakta-manah partha yogam. To... This is yoga system. It is called bhakti-yoga. Bhakti-yoga system. So a neophyte devotee should be engaged in temple worship, but if he does not make further improvement, if he sticks to the simply temple worship, then he remains a kanistha-adhikari, lower-standard devotee. Lower-standard devotee. But one has to become first-standard devotee; at least, one must... A first-standard devotee is very high position, spiritual position. But at least, we must come to the second standard. The lower standard is

arcayam eva haraye
pujam yah sraddhayehate
na tad-bhaktesu canyesu
sa bhaktah prakrtah smrtah

Arca, this arca-vigraha, Deity, Krsna, arcayam eva haraye, the Deity of Krsna, yah pujam sraddhaya ihate, with great devotion and according to the rules and regulations, if one performs, that is very nice. But if he does not improve, na tad-bhaktesu canyesu, he does not become knowable to the devotees and other persons, then he remains a kanistha-adhikari. Sa bhaktah prakrtah. Prakrta means in the material platform. He does not actually promoted to the spiritual platform if he simply remains. Therefore along with the worship of Krsna in the temple, this hearing should be... Sravanam kirtanam. Just like we are doing. We do not engage only the devotees to the temple worship, but there must be program for hearing Bhagavad-gita, Srimad-Bhagavatam, the science of God. Otherwise, after some times, simply if you ring the bell, after time you'll be disgusted and the whole thing will be lost. As it has become now in India. There was no instruction about Krsna consciousness. They simply attached to the temple and belling. And now it is now zero. Devotion is zero.

So two things must go on, parallel. Then if we, two things must go, then you are promoted to the second platform, madhyama-adhikari. Madhyama-adhikari means at that time he sees four things:

isvare tad-adhinesu
balisesu dvisatsu ca
prema-maitri-krpopeksa
yah karoti sa madhyamah

Madhyama. Isvara. By arcana-vidhi, he understands Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by this process. By the regulative process, by the instruction of the spiritual master, by the regulative principles set up in the bhakti-sastras, just like Narada-pancaratra, Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu. There are many. So at that time, if one comes from the lower platform to the... Of course, we must know that any devotee, either in the lower platform or in the second platform or on the firs platform, they are to be considered as devotees. Not that because one is in the material platform, he's not devotee. He is also devotee. But he has to improve. The improvement means he must know what is Krsna. Simply if he remains attached to the temple worship and does not try to understand who is a Krsna devotee and how he has to deal with others... Na tad-bhaktesu canyesu. We have got some duty to others. This is preaching work. This is preaching work. One should not be satisfied simply by worshiping in the temple. Then he'll remain a neophyte. He must become a preacher, Krsna consciousness. Then he comes to the second platform.

So when he becomes a preacher he sees four things. He sees God, Krsna, Isvara; tad-adhina, and the devotees. Tad-adhina means those who have accepted Krsna as the parama-purusa. There is another verse in the Srimad-Bhagavata: ittham satam brahma-sukhanubhutya dasyam gatanam para-daivatena. Dasyam gatanam, for the bhaktas, Krsna is the Supreme Lord, Paradeva.

ittham satam brahma-sukhanubhutya
dasyam gatanam para-daivatena
mayasritanam nara-darakena
sakam vijahruh krta-punya-punjah
[SB 10.12.11]

When Sukadeva Gosvami described the cowherd boys playing with Krsna... So he is remarking that "These boys who are playing with Krsna... Who is this Krsna?" Ittham satam brahma-sukhanubhutya. Those, those who are impersonalists, those who are attached to the impersonal brahmajyoti, for them, He is the target. He is the target. From Him, the brahmajyoti comes. Ittham satam brahma-sukhanubhutya. And dasyam gatanam para-daivatena: "And those who are devotees, for them, here is the Supreme Lord." Dasyam gatanam para-daivatena. And mayasritanam nara-darakena: "And those who are under the influence of maya, for them, He's ordinary human child." The same person. Different views. One is seeing that the ultimate target of brahmajyoti, and somebody is seeing that He is the Supreme Lord, and somebody's seeing, "He's ordinary boy." So Krsna is visioned under different positions. Under different positions. But He's the Supreme Lord.

So this yoga system, attachment for Krsna, begins from the temple worship and ends into maha-bhagavata. Maha-bhagavata means who simply sees Krsna, nothing... Sarvatra haya nija ista-deva-sphurti. Sthavara-jangama dekhe na dekhe tara murti. Similarly, in the Bhagavad-gita also:

vidya-vinaya-sampanne
brahmane gavi hastini
suni caiva sva-pake ca
panditah sama-darsinah
[Bg. 5.18]

He does not see anything but Krsna. A maha-bhagavata, when a tree, when he sees a tree, he does not see the form of the tree, but he sees Krsna. That is maha-bhagavata. That we should not imitate. That is the highest stage, perfectional stage. But at least, we come to the middle stage. What is that middle stage? To... We must understand what is God, what is Krsna. Perfect understanding. And tad-adhina, and His devotees. Isvare tad-adhinesu balisa. Balisa means innocent persons. They are un... I mean to... They do not know actually what is God. And dvisat. Dvisat means envious. The four classes of men: God, His devotee, innocent person, and envious person, demons. So the person who is promoted to the second stage, he'll deal with these four classes of divisions differently. Isvara-prema. One should try to learn how to love Krsna. Yato bhaktir adhoksaje. That is first class. And tad, isvare tad-adhinesu balisesu dvisatsu ca, prema, prema, love for Krsna, and maitri, and to make friendship with the devotees. Prema-maitri. And krpa: those who are innocent, one should be merciful. The devotee should be merciful, just to awaken their Krsna consciousness. And dvisatsu ca upeksah: and those who are envious, they should be rejected. These four classes... To try to love Krsna, to make friendship with devotees, and to give some service to the innocent public who does not know what is God, and those who are envious, asuras, they should be rejected. The madhyama-adhikari should not touch the demons. Because maybe, he may turn again, be demon. Therefore one should be very careful to associate with the demons.

But when one becomes uttama-adhikari, maha-bhagavata, he does not see anyone as demon. He sees, "Everyone is worshiping Krsna. I am not worshiping." This is maha-bhagavata. Just like Radharani. Radharani always feels that "I do not know how to love Krsna. Oh, he, here is a gopi. How she loves Krsna." That is Her... This is called maha-bhava. So we should not imitate Radharani. Caitanya Mahaprabhu... Just like Caitanya Mahaprabhu, He's the symbol of Radharani's maha-bhava. He says that "I do not love Krsna. I do not know how to love Krsna." Then if you, somebody, if somebody says, "Then why You are crying?" "Well, that is a show. I am making a show. I am crying." Then what is the symptom? "The symptom is that if I would have loved Krsna, then without Him I have died long, long ago. I should have died. I am living still without Krsna; that means I do not love Krsna." This is maha-bhagavata-bhava, separation.

aslisya va pada-ratam pinastu mam
adarsanan marma-hatam karotu va
yatha tatha va vidadhatu lampato
mat-prana-nathas tu sa eva naparah

This is maha-bhagavata. So maha-bhagavata, we should not imitate. But we should not remain also as kanistha-adhikari. We must come to the madhyama-adhikari, middle stage. So these stages will be manifest gradually if we simply try to develop our attachment for Krsna.

So this is the beginning: arca, arcanam. Sravanam kirtanam visnoh smaranam pada-sevanam arcanam [SB 7.5.23]. Arcanam. Therefore for every grhastha... Because grhasthas are busy in so many ways, they have no opportunity to preach. But they must take to arcana. Every house, every householder, they must... What is the difficulty? Just like we have got in this platform, Deity of Radha-Krsna, everyone can install Radha-Krsna Deity at home and under the instruction of spiritual master and shastric regulations. Then, if we engage ourselves in arcana-vidhi, then automatically, all the anomalies of life will stop. Adau sraddha tatah sadhu-sango 'tha bhajana-kriya. This arcana-vidhi is one of the items of bhajana, bhajana-kriya. So anartha-nivrttih syat. If every house engages in this arcana-vidhi, so many unwanted things will vanish. You'll have no more interest for seeing cinema or going to the restaurant or smoking bidi and wasting time by unnecessary talks. So many things. And your life will be perfect. So many nonsense things will go automatically. Anartha-nivrttih syat. So therefore to become Krsna conscious, every house, everywhere, every person, every human being should adopt this arcana-vidhi. Then at least he will save so many unnecessary... Anartha-nivrttih syat. Adau sraddha tatah sadhu-sangah.

So Krsna says that mayy asakta-manah partha: "My dear Arjuna..." Arjuna is addressed here as "Partha," very familial. Because Partha, Krsna, Arjuna's mother's name was Prtha, Kunti's name. And Prtha, Kunti, happened to be the aunt of Krsna. So He's very feelingly, in a familial way, He's addressing, "Partha, My dear Arjuna, Partha, mayy asakta-manah, simply by increasing attachment for Me," mayy asakta, mayy asakta-manah partha yogam... This is yoga. This is perfect yoga. Yoginam api sarve... Mad-asrayah. "This yoga system should be executed directly under My direction, or under the direction of a representative of Mine." The spiritual master is the representative of Krsna. How he becomes representative? What is the test? The test is... Just like anyone can understand, representative. Suppose a business firm's representative is going to canvass for business, what is his business? He will take the interest of the firm, not his personal interest. He will try to secure business for the firm he's working, not for his personal... That is perfect representative. And if he goes, in the name of the firm's representative, and he does his own business, then he's a liar. Similarly, Krsna's representative means one who speaks about Krsna as Krsna speaks. And if he adulterates, he's a liar. He's not representative. He's not representative. Krsna says, man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru [Bg. 18.65], and if the representative says, "Just become a devotee of Krsna. Just worship Krsna. Just offer your obeisances to Krsna," he is representative. Krsna says, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg. 18.66], and the representative will say that "You give up all other process. You simply surrender to Krsna." He will never say that "I am Krsna." He'll never say. He's not representative of Krsna. He's a liar. He's not representative.

So to become representative of Krsna is not very difficult. Simply one has to become very sincere. That's all. That whatever Krsna says, he will say. Just like Arjuna accepted: sarvam etad rtam manye yad vadasi kesava [Bg. 10.14]. That is representative. "My dear Kesava, Krsna, whatever You are speaking, I accept them all, in toto, without any reformation." That is representative of Krsna. Caitanya Mahaprabhu said,

yare dekha tare kaha ‘krsna'-upadesa
amara ajnaya guru hana tara' ei desa
[Cc. Madhya 7.128]

Amara ajnaya. One has to carry out the order of God. He is representative. Otherwise liar, misnomer. So therefore Krsna says, mad-asrayah. Mad-asrayah: "Either under My direction, the direction is there, or My representative's." Mat. Mad-asrayah means "either under My direction or one who has taken..." [break]

...We have discussed. But gayatri-mantra is the beginning of brahminical culture because without attaining the brahminical qualification, nobody can understand Vedic literature. Therefore a brahmana, initiated, he's given the gayatri-mantra. So that is required. [break]

Indian: Hare Krsna. Your Divine Grace, in order to understand Sri Bhagavan Krsna, we have to take your help, as you said you have explained what are the words of Krsna. And in order to understand yourself we have, or we had to take the help of so many other persons. You speak in English and Sanskrit or Hindi, and at college, and at school, so many teachers taught us Sanskrit, Hindi, and history, geography, because there are so many illustrations in your speech also. Then guru has been defined like this:

ajnana-timirandhasya
jnananjana-salakaya
caksur unmilitam yena
tasmai sri-gurave namah

Ajnana timirandhasya. About jnana, nothing has been said whether it is spiritual jnana or material jnana. So in order to understanding you and, through yourself, also Krsna, all these so-called gurus, or, I may say, teachers, they have contributed towards understanding or developing Krsna consciousness. Now, leaving aside these material teachers I am taking the, taking one spiritual guru who gave me Krsna consciousness first and who taught me to worship God, Krsna, and to maintain a temple at my own house and to learn the slokas from Gita or the Srimad-Bhagavata. And I have learned by rote the grandness of adhyayas of Bhagavatam and the Gita. But you see I could not understand anything. Now, after going through your literatures, complete literatures, now the whole light has come to me, and I have began to understand even that the guru who gave me such Krsna consciousness. I don't challenge or question the other findings of their(?) gurus. Just like a boy who absent from class, not attending his class, there is no fault of the guru. Guru has been attending his lectures. But I am truant. I am not attending class. So you see I can't blame that guru. But now I have understood everything from Your Grace, and now that ajnana has been removed. I have now become more Krsna conscious than before. So should I give credit to all those gurus who have helped me to understand? Or should I now select, or should I exercise any choice that I should accept this guru or that guru only? So that doubt should be cleared.

Prabhupada: Hmmm. Guru is only one. Guru means, as you explained,

ajnana-timirandhasya
jnananjana-salakaya
caksur unmilitam yena
tasmai sri-gurave namah

One who eradicates the ajnana, andhakara, darkness. In the darkness, if somebody brings lamp, ajnana-timirandhasya jnananjana-salakaya... The jnana-rupa, torchlight, he's guru. So maybe of different degrees, but anyone who opens the spiritual eyes, he's guru. So... But in the sastra it is said, gurur api karyakaryakam ajanatah. If I accept some guru, but if later on it appears that he did not know what is to be done, what is to be not to be done, then Srila Jiva Gosvami says that such guru: parityago vidhiyate. Such guru should be rejected. But it doesn't matter that degree. Actually, if the guru teaches Krsna consciousness, then he may be in lesser degree, but he's accepted as guru. There is no question of rejection. Because Krsna is actually jnana. One who teaches Krsna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, "One has to know Krsna, one has to surrender to Krsna," this kind of teaching is required. And if the guru says that "I am Krsna. Everyone is Krsna," then, "daridra-krsna, daridra-narayana," he is not a guru. He's not a guru. He's misguiding. Misguiding. Avaisnavo gurur na syat. This is the shastric injunction. Sat-karma-nipuno vipro mantra-tantra-visaradah. A... Generally, a qualified brahmana becomes guru. That is natural. Brahmana is the head of the society. So he is... And without becoming brahmana, nobody can become guru. That is also fact. Because brahmana means brahma janatiti brahmanah, one who knows Brahman, Brahman. So guru must be a brahmana, mean a qualified brahmana, not born-brahmana, so-called brahmana. Qualified brahmana. So still, brahmana's qualification, sat-karma, pathana pathana yajana yajana dana pratigraha. So sastra says that sat-karma-nipuno viprah. If one vipra is quite expert in executing the six kinds of business, and mantra-tantra-visaradah, and very well known in the Vedic mantras and hymns and everything complete, but if he is avaisnava, if he is not Vaisnava, he does not know visnu-tattva, or krsna-tattva, then he cannot become spiritual master. Avaisnavo gurur na syad vaisnavah sva-paco guruh. But if a Vaisnava, one who knows visnu-tattva, krsna-tattva, even if he's born in the family of sva-paca, the dog-eaters, candala, he can be accepted as guru. So the real test is whether the guru is a Vaisnava, whether he know the science of Krsna. That is also confirmed by Caitanya Mahaprabhu:

kiba vipra, kiba nyasi, sudra kene naya
yei krsna-tattva-vetta sei ‘guru' haya
[Cc. Madhya 8.128]

A... It doesn't matter what he is, whether he's a sannyasi or a grhastha or a brahmana or a su..., born in brahmana family or... It doesn't matter. Yei krsna-tattva. Anyone who knows Krsna, he can become guru, not others. So that is the statement of the sastras. Avaisnava cannot become guru.

Indian: In your presence I may declare also attending I have found your system of Krsna consciousness the best and very practical. Because I, I am a...

Prabhupada: Hare Krsna. (end)

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Bhagavad-gita 7.1 -- Ahmedabad, December 13, 1972