From Gopal Jiu Publications

Mathura Meets Vrindavan

My Revered Spiritual Master
The Embankment of Separation
The Process of Inquiry
The Worship of Sri Guru
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 Çré Çré Guru Gauräìga
Rädhä-Gopinätha Jéu Jayati!

How to
Find Guru
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Abbreviations

Bg. — Bhagavad-gétä
Bhäg. — Çrémad Bhägavatam
Cc. — Çré Caitanya-caritämåta
Cb. — Çré Caitanya-bhägavata

©2004 ISKCON Gopal Jiu Publications

First printing 2,000 copies
International Society for Krishna Consciousness
Founder-Acharya His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
All Rights Reserved
All materials from the books of His Divine Grace
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada are
© Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International.
No part of this book may be reproduced by any means without
the written permission of the publishers.
Front cover drawing by Gokul Bihari Pattnaik
Drawing on page 5 by Ananta Sakti Das
Drawings on pages 9 and 11 by Bhaktin Aleksandra
Printed at Samrat Press, New Delhi
 How to
Find Guru
Edited by Madhavananda Das

Publications
Bhubaneswar, India
 Contents

How to Find Guru.................................................. 5

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupada

Krishna Will Give You Guru................................ 9

Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

How to Find a Sadhu........................................... 11

Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja

A Sadhu is Always Present................................. 13

Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja

Simplicity and Faith............................................. 17

Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja
 How to Find Guru
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta
Saraswati Thakur Prabhupada

This is excerpted from Prabhupader Upadeçämåta,

a collection of the teachings of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta
Saraswati compiled by Sri Bhakti Mayukh Bhagavata
Maharaja, and published in Bengali. The book is
in the form of a series of questions composed by
the compiler, with answers extracted from Srila
Bhaktisiddhanta’s teachings.
How will I be able to recognize someone as a bona
fide spiritual master?
When you make judgments based on your own intel-
ligence, that such and such a person is guru, you are
Who is the genuine guru and how can we find him?
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 materialistic 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.
brahmäëòa bhramite kona bhägyavän jéva
guru-kåñëa-prasäde päya bhakti-latä-béja
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. (Cc. madhya 19.151)
kåñëa yadi kåpä kare kona bhägyaväne
guru-antaryämi-rüpe çikhäya äpane
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. madhya 22.47)
guru kåñëa-rüpa hana çästrera pramäëe
guru-rüpe kåñëa kåpä karena bhakta-gaëe
According to the revealed scriptures, the spiritual master is
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 mahänta-guru.
How will I find a bona fide guru?
The Supreme Lord acts as guru in two ways: as the
caitya-guru within the heart, and externally as the mahän-
ta-guru, or pure devotee. If I am sincere, then the Lord
reveals the mahänta-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 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.
kåñëa yadi kåpä kare kona bhägyaväne
guru-antaryämi-rüpe çikhäya äpane
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. madhya 22.47)
10 How to Find Guru
the manifestation of Krishna. Krishna comes in the form of
the guru to show His mercy to the devotees. (Cc. ädi 1.45)
yadyapi ämära guru—caitanyera däsa
tathäpi jäniye ämi täìhära prakäça
Although my spiritual master is the servant of Lord
Chaitanya, I know that he is a direct manifestation of
the Lord. (Cc. ädi 1.44)
jéve säkñät nähi täte guru caitya-rüpe
çikñä-guru haya kåñëa-mahänta-svarüpe
Since one cannot directly experience the guru as the
Supersoul, Krishna appears as the çikñä-guru in the
form of a highly advanced vaiñëava. (Cc. ädi 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
jéva sincerely prays to Krishna in this way, then Krishna
appears to him in the form of the mahänta-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. ·
Bibliography
— Sri Bhakti Mayukh Bhagavata Swami. Prabhupader
Upadeçämåta. Excerpts translated into English by Jan Brzez-
inski from www.granthamandira.org.
— Sri Bhakti Mayukh Bhagavata Swami. Prabhupader
Upadeçämåta. Bengali. Gaudiya Mission. Baghbazar, Cal-
cutta.1938.
 Krishna Will
Give You Guru
His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Prabhupada: The best friend is the spiritual master
because he saves one from the blazing fire of confusion.
O’Grady: The problem is to find this spiritual master.
Prabhupada: No, there is no problem. The problem
is if you are sincere. ... You have got problems, but God
is within your heart. éçvaraù sarva-bhütänäà håd-deçe
‘rjuna tiñöhati [Bg. 18.61]. God is not far away. God is
within your heart. So if you are sincere, then God will
give you a spiritual master.
O’Grady: Thank you. That I know.
12 How to Find Guru
Prabhupada: Therefore God is called caitya-guru,
the spiritual master within the heart. And the physical
spiritual master is God’s mercy. If God sees that you are
sincere, He will give you a guru who can give you protec-
tion. He will help you from within and without, without
in the physical form of spiritual master, and within as the
spiritual master within the heart. That is stated,
éçvaraù sarva-bhütänäà håd-deçe ‘rjuna tiñöhati
bhrämayan sarva-bhütäni yanträrüòhäni mäyayä
The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone’s heart, O
Arjuna, and is directly the wanderings of all living
entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the
material energy. [Bg. 18.61]
The body is just like a machine, the spirit soul is sitting on
this machine, and God is there within the heart. He is giving
the direction, “You wanted to do this. Now you go and do
this.” So if you are sincere, “Now, God, I want You,” then
He will give you directions, “You go and get it.” This is the
process. But if we want something else than God, then God
will give you direction, “You go and take it.” He’s very kind.
éçvaraù sarva... I want to have something and He is within my
heart, and He is giving me direction, “Yes, you come here.
You take this.” So if that God can give you indication, “You
go and take this,” then why not the spiritual master? First of
all we must be eager to again revive our God consciousness.
Then God will give us the spiritual master. ·
— Room Conversation with Irish poet Desmond O’Grady,
Rome, 23 May 1974. The Science of Self Realization, chapter
7. Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. Los Angeles.
 How to Find a Sadhu
Questions and Answers with
Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja
Devotee: How does one recognize a sädhu?
Gour Govinda Swami: Cry before Krishna. Only
He can help you to find a sädhu. You can’t recognize
a sädhu. You have no vision to see the sädhu. If you
try by yourself to recognize sädhu, then you will be
cheated. If you are serious, then cry before Him. “O
Krishna! I am your servant!”
ayi nanda-tanuja kiìkaraà
patitaà mäà viñame bhavämbudhau
kåpayä tava päda-paìkaja-
sthita-dhülé-sadåçaà vicintaya
Mahaprabhu has taught us this. This is crying before
Krishna. “O nanda-tanuja, son of Nanda Maharaja, I am
your kiìkara, your servant. Somehow or other I am
14 How to Find a Sadhu
Gour Govinda Swami: It’s a fact that it is rare, but
if you are really crying for it then Krishna can make
an arrangement. It is impossible for you, but nothing
is impossible for Krishna. ·
— Home program. Vancouver, Canada. May 1993.

A Sadhu is
Always Present
Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja
Devotee: Srila Prabhupada always emphasized that
he was eternally present in his books, instructions,
tapes, and letters. So when you say we should take
association of a sädhu, can we do that through Srila
Prabhupada’s books?
Gour Govinda Swami: If Prabhupada says he is
there, then you try to see him, associate with him, and
listen from him. Do you see Prabhupada? Do you hear
from Prabhupada? Is he speaking to you?
Devotee: Through his books.
Gour Govinda Swami: Through his books, yes. All
sädhus speak through their books. Jiva Goswami, Rupa
Goswami, Sanatana Goswami, Bhaktivinode Thakur,
Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati and Srila Prabhupada all
say that they speak through books. This is not a new
thing. This is our vaiñëava procedure. But you should
see him. Can you see Bhaktivinode Thakur? Can you
see Jiva Goswami? You may say, “Oh I have read their
books; I have their association.” That won’t help you.
You cannot understand what they have said merely by
reading their books. Your consciousness is very low, so
 A Sadhu is Always Present 15

fallen here in this dreadful ocean of material existence

and I have been drowning from time immemorial. But
I want to serve you. How can I serve you? How can I
become a speck of dust at Your lotus feet? Please help
me.” Just cry. Without the help of sädhu you cannot
approach Krishna. You can’t utter Krishna’s name.
When you cry like that, Krishna is there in your heart
as paramätmä. He will say, “Oh, now he is crying for
Me.” Then he makes an arrangement.
This is the proper way. If by your own effort you try
to recognize a sädhu, you will be cheated. You can’t
see a sädhu. You have no vision at all. You see only all
outward, external things. You can’t see the real thing.
There are many persons who are only outwardly säd-
hus. You will be enchanted by their external activities:
“Oh, he is a great sädhu! Yes, he is producing gold!”
You will be cheated.
You can’t get a real sädhu [in this way]. A real sädhu
is one who is completely absorbed in Krishna, day and
night, twenty-four hours. He has gotten Krishna. He is
with Krishna. He can give you Krishna. You can’t see
him. You have no vision. Only you can cry for Krishna
from the core of your heart. This is not an external cry. It
is internal. Then Krishna, who is in your heart, will see
that you are crying and he will help you. He will make
arrangement for you to meet such a sädhu. That is the
arrangement of Krishna. When you meet such a person
you will feel some spontaneous attraction from the core
of your heart. That attraction is the proof.
Devotee: To meet a sädhu is so rare. How can one
get the opportunity?
16 How to Find Guru
You always think that you are drañöä, the seer, and
that the sädhu is dåñöa, the one to be seen. Everyone
is like this. They think they are the seers. But it is just
the reverse. You are to be seen and they are the seer!
Think this over very deeply. I think you cannot com-
pletely understand what I say. We always think that
we are the seer and that they are to be seen, but this is
not a fact. It is just the reverse. They are the seers and
we are to be seen.
Devotee: How are we seen by sädhu? By our service?
Gour Govinda Swami: Yes. The sädhu is the seer. If
he showers his mercy upon you, he sees you. If you re-
ceive that merciful glance then you are very fortunate.
However, you are in the category of bodily conscious-
ness. How can you have it? Guru is the manifestation
of the Supersoul, caitya-guru in the heart. He manifests
a body and appears. He knows your heart.
Devotee: I don’t quite understand.
Gour Govinda Swami: Yes, try to understand. As
I told you, just hear patiently. A new bhakta cannot
understand it because it is a topic of the highest class.
You are in pre-primary class, how can you understand?
You are not even in the primary class. How can you un-
derstand this topic of the highest class? Just accept the
bona fide authorities. That will help you. The teacher
says, “Two plus two is four.” The primary school stu-
dent accepts it. If the teacher asks the child, “What is
two plus two?” The child will reply, “Two plus two is
four.” “Why is two plus two four?” “My teacher says.”
He will answer like this. That means he has accepted
authority. This is the only principle in the beginning.
How is two plus two four? Why not three or five? That
 How to Find Guru 17

you cannot understand their words. They are very, very

merciful, but you should follow the proper path. If you
are intelligent you will understand how they are still
here, not only in the form of their books but also they
are here. You should see them. Why are you thinking
so foolishly? So many books were already there, so why
has Srila Prabhupada said this? You are thinking, “We
need only to read books. There is no need of associat-
ing with a sädhu who is physically present. Is there
any sädhu? No, there is no sädhu at all.” Your motto
is, “Seeing is believing.” You cannot see, so you can-
not believe. Because you are a conditioned soul, your
vision is defective. You cannot see a sädhu. Krishna is
there, can you see Him? No, you cannot, because you
are not endowed with proper vision. First develop the
proper vision, and then you can see Krishna. Then
you can see how a sädhu is there. It is not a fact that
sädhus are not present. How is everything going on?
How does the sun rise, the wind blow, and Indra give
rain? All these things are going on. No sädhu? No
Krishna? It’s nonsense, foolishness. We are so proud
and puffed up. We are identifying our self as the body,
mind and false ego. We think we are very great. So we
say, “Oh, there is no sädhu.” We are in the category of
identification with the body and mind. We have not
come to the beginning of the stage of purity. No!
Devotee: So we have to associate with a living sädhu?
Gour Govinda Swami: Definitely. There is always
one there. But he is not a cheap person. Such a person
is very rare. If you can get his mercy then you can see
him. Otherwise, by your own effort and perception,
you cannot see him. No, no, no.
18 How to Find Guru
A mother had a six-or seven-year-old son. She wanted
to admit him into primary school so that he could get
some education, but the school was a little far away,
half a mile from their house. Still she told the boy that
he should go every day to the school in the morning.
So, the boy started going. On the path to school, he
had to pass through a jungle where there were some
ferocious animals, tigers, and snakes. Being a small
child, he was afraid. He came to his mother and said,
“Oh mother, when I was going through that jungle on
the way to school, I was very afraid. So many ferocious
animals are there. I can’t go any more.”
His mother said, “Why are you afraid? Don’t you
know that your friend Gopal is there? Just call your
friend; He will help you. You need not be afraid.”
“Oh, my friend is there?”
“Yes. When you feel afraid, you should call out, ‘Oh
my friend Gopal, I am in a fearful situation! Where are
You? Please come!’ You should say like that.”
The child followed her instruction. When he was pass-
ing through the jungle and he felt afraid, he called out,
“Friend Gopal! My brother Gopal! Where are You? I am
in a fearful situation. Please come! Help me!”
Gopal appeared before him. “Yes, I am here. Why
are you afraid?”
“I have to go through the jungle to go to school and
it is full of ferocious animals.”
“All right, don’t fear. Come with Me!” Every day,
Gopal was helping him.
Milk from Gopal
 Simplicity and Faith 19

will be explained in a higher mathematics class, not

in the beginning. You have to have patience and get a
promotion. My guru maharaja says in his purport that
the beginning is purity of consciousness. First come to
this beginning stage, then gradually other things will
come up. You are not in the beginning stage, so how
will the higher topics come up? This is a very, very
subtle and very deep philosophy.
Putting full faith in the sädhu, you need only submis-
sively hear — çravaëam, çravaëam, çravaëam. In that
way you can get the mercy of that sädhu. That will
help you. Only one thing is required, nothing else —
çravaëam, çravaëam, çravaëam. Just hear. Serve that
sädhu, please him, hear submissively, surrender your-
self at his lotus feet and submissively ask questions.
Out of mercy the sädhu will impart this tattva-jïäna
to you. This is the only process.
Unless you get association with a living sädhu,
what can you do? Will you put some question to Srila
Prabhupada and Srila Prabhupada will answer you?
This process is a living thing. It is always there, and
it is always current. It is not that inquiry was done
a certain way in the past and now things are done
differently. No! It is an eternal process, praëipätena
paripraçnena sevayä. ·
— The Process of Inquiry, chapter six. Gopal Jiu Publications.

Simplicity and Faith

Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja
Gopal and the Schoolboy
20 How to Find Guru
that jungle, he called his friend, “Gopal, today is the
day. Please come!”
Gopal came with a small earthen pot filled with milk.
“All right, take this milk. Give it to your teacher. This
pot will give as much milk as they want. It will never
be empty.” The boy took it and gave it to the teacher.
Seeing the small pot, the teacher said, “Oh, this is just
a small amount of milk. We need a large amount, ten
buckets of milk. You have only brought a small pot.”
“No, no, no. It will never be empty. You bring ten buck-
ets and pour this pot out. All ten buckets will be filled.”
The teacher did so, and, amazingly, ten buckets were
filled. Then the teacher asked, “Where did you get
such a pot?”
“My friend Gopal gave it to me.”
“Your friend Gopal? Who is He?”
“Oh, He stays in the jungle. Every time I need, I
call Him. My mother told me that whenever I am in
a fearful situation I should call out, ‘Gopal! Gopal! O
brother! O my friend Gopal!’ Then He appears. He
helps me, protects me, and leads me to school. He gave
this pot of milk. He says that He is a friend to one and
all.” Krishna says in Bhagavad-gétä (5.29), suhådaà
sarva-bhütänäà — “I am the only well-wishing friend
of all living entities.”
“He says He is not only my friend, He is a friend to
one and all. If one calls, He is there ready to help in
time of danger, in time of need, in time of calamities.”
Why Doesn’t Gopal Come to You?
Such a simple child gets help from Krishna. But you
are worrying, he is worrying, she is worrying, “What
 Simplicity and Faith 21

In Indian schools they perform gaëeça-püjä and

sarasvaté-püjä to give the students knowledge. For
these festivals, the teacher will collect some fees from
the students. One day at school the teacher announced
that they were going to have such a festival, and that
the students should all pay some fee. But the boy and
his mother were very poor. There was nobody in that
family, only the mother and the son, and they had no
money.
The teacher told him, “You are poor. You don’t have
enough money. But you should at least bring fifty
paisa — half of a rupee.”
The child returned home and told his mother that
the teacher said that he had to pay fifty paisa for the
festival. But they had nothing, not even a single paisa.
The mother said, “Tell the teacher that we have no
money. We are very poor. But we will bring milk.”
The child said, “Who will give us milk?”
“Oh, your friend Gopal will give us milk. He tends
cows. He can supply as much milk as your teacher
wants. Yes. You tell Gopal!”
The boy accepted what his mother said, “Yes, I must
tell my friend Gopal.”
So that day in the forest he called out to his friend,
“O Gopal, where are You?”
“I am here.” Gopal appeared. “What do you need?”
“My teacher has said that I have to pay fifty paisa, but
we have no money. My mother said to ask You to give
us some milk, because they need milk for the festival.
So You must supply as much milk as they need.”
“Oh yes, I must supply, I am always here to help you.”
Later, on the püjä day when he was passing through
22 How to Find Guru
they do bhajana with determination. [Bg. 7.28]. Strong
faith in what? Sädhu-çästra-guru-väkya: faith in what
sädhu says, what guru says, what çästra says — what
Krishna says [Narottam Das Thakur’s Prema-bhakti-
candrikä 1.10]. You should put strong unflinching faith
in what Krishna says in Bhagavad-gétä and Çrémad
Bhägavatam. It is said:
viçväsa mile kåsëa tarke bahu düra
If one has faith then he can easily obtain Krishna and
arguments or doubts stay far away.

Why Depressed and Disappointed?

If you have strong faith, you will get Krishna. You
have faith, but it is not strong. It is soft faith. At any
time it can break and you feel yourself disappointed,
depressed. Why such feelings? Why disappointed?
Why depressed? Because you do not have strong faith
in Krishna. You have no faith in sädhu-çästra-guru-
väkya. You have lost faith, therefore you feel disap-
pointed and depressed.
Faith is the most important thing. It has been stressed
in Bhagavad-gétä, in Çrémad Bhägavatam, and all of our
äcäryas have said it. Rupa Goswami says in Bhakti-
rasämåta-sindhu (1.4.15-16) that everything begins
with çraddhä:
ädau çraddhä tataù sädhu-saìgo ‘tha bhajana-kriyä
tato ‘nartha-nivåttiù syät tato niñöhä rucis tataù
athäsaktis tato bhävas tataù premäbhyudaïcati
sädhakänäm ayaà premëaù prädurbhäve bhavet
kramaù
First comes çraddhä, faith; next sädhu-saìga, association
 Simplicity and Faith 23

shall I do? What shall I do? I need so much money.

How can I do it? I cannot collect. I have to do this thing.
I have to do that thing. I have so many problems, so
many hindrances, so many obstacles.” Why don’t you
ask Gopal? Gopal is ready to help you, but you are not
asking Him. If you are asking, then why is Gopal not
coming? You say, “Yes, yes. I am asking, ‘O Krishna! O
Krishna! Please help me, please help me!’ But Krishna
is not coming and helping me.”
Gopal immediately appeared before that small
child. Why can’t you get Gopal’s help? Why doesn’t
Gopal come to you? What is the difficulty? What is
the reason? It’s because you have no faith in Gopal,
no faith in Krishna. It’s a question of faith. That
small child had strong faith. As soon as his mother
told him, he put strong unflinching faith in her
words, and he got Krishna. But you do not have faith.
Now in America, many, many people have lost faith.
In his Bhakti-rasämåta-sindhu (1.4.15) Srila Rupa Gos-
wami says, ädau çraddhä, the first thing is unflinching
faith. Similarly, Krishna says in Gétä (4.39):
çraddhäväl labhate jïänaà tat-paraù saàyatendriyaù
jïänaà labdhvä paräà çäntim acireëädhigacchati
A faithful man who is dedicated to transcendental
knowledge and who subdues his senses is eligible to
achieve such knowledge, and having achieved it he
quickly attains the supreme spiritual peace.
What do we mean by çraddhä? Rupa Goswami says
that the first thing is çraddhä. Following that comes
other things. Çraddhä means strong, unflinching faith.
Bhajante mäà dåòha-vratäù — those who have faith,
24 How to Find Guru
your work is finished.” Everyone says this, but they
are only speaking from the lips. In their heart, 99.9%
people have no faith. Therefore Gauranga Mahaprabhu
has said, ucca saìkértane kari çraddhära pracära —
“Chant loudly: hare kåsëa hare kåsëa kåsëa kåsëa
hare hare hare räma hare räma räma räma hare hare.
Inculcate çraddhä, faith, unto those people who have
not developed çraddhä.”
My guru-mahäräja did that. When he first arrived here
he came with only a pair of karatälas. He simply went
to a park and chanted Hare Krishna. The hippies were
rolling on the ground, half-naked, taking strong drugs
like LSD and marijuana, and becoming mad. My guru-
mahäräja just played karatälas and chanted, and thereby
he inculcated çraddhä in them. Corä-veçyä-çäöha — the
thieves, the prostitutes, and the cheaters — sädhu is able
to inculcate çraddhä even into them. That is Mahaprabhu’s
instruction: agre çraddhä diyä — “First inculcate çraddhä
unto them.” Then when they are çraddhävän, when
they have developed çraddhä, strong faith in the holy
name, strong faith in Krishna, and sädhu-çästra-guru-
väkya, then they are eligible to be initiated.
There is the offense to the holy name known as
çraddhä-héna-jane nämopadeça — “giving someone
näma-upadeça, instructions on chanting, if they are
lacking in çraddhä”. So agre-çraddhä — first one must
have çraddhä.
How can one develop çraddhä? That is another ques-
tion — for this reason we perform loud saìkértana. Do-
ing so you can develop çraddhä. Don’t feel depressed or
disappointed; Mahaprabhu is there, Krishna is there,
Srila Prabhupada is there. Chant loudly and fill the at-
 Simplicity and Faith 25

with saintly persons; after that bhajana-kriyä, spiritual

practices; then anartha-nivåtti, cessation of all offenses
or obstacles; next niñöhä, firmness; which is followed
by ruci, taste; after that äsakti, attachment; then bhäva;
and then appears prema. These are the different stages
leading to prema’s appearance within the heart of a
spiritual practitioner.
It’s a gradual process. Mahaprabhu said the same thing:
ucca saìkértane kari çraddhära pracära
Loudly chant the holy names and preach with faith.
When my guru-mahäräja came to the West, what did
he have with him? Only strong faith in Krishna, strong
faith in the words of his guru, strong faith in the holy
name. He had nothing else. It is a question of strong faith
in Gopal. But people are lacking faith. You have some
faith, but not strong faith. You should develop strong
faith. Caitanya-caritämåta (madhya 22.62) states:
‘çraddhä’-çabde —— viçväsa kahe sudåòha niçcaya
kåñëe bhakti kaile sarva-karma kåta haya
“Çraddhä” is defined as confident, firm faith that by
rendering transcendental loving service to Krishna one
automatically performs all subsidiary activities. Such
faith is favorable to the discharge of devotional service.

Chant Loudly!
If you develop kåsëa-bhakti, all of your duties and
obligations are finished. You are thinking, “This is my
duty, my responsibility, to look after the maintenance
of my family, my wife and my children. But it is said,
kåñëe bhakti kaile sarva-karma kåta haya — “All of
26 How to Find Guru
Dhruva said, “No! No! My mother said that Narayan is
there. I must go and find Him. Dhruva wouldn’t hear any
dissuasion. He was so strong and determined! Therefore
his name is Dhruva. “Dhruva” means “determined”. His
determination never shakes. Rupa Goswami therefore
says in Upadeçämåta (text 3):
utsähän niçcayäd dhairyät tat-tat-karma-pravartanät
saìga-tyägät sato våtteù ñaòbhir bhaktiù prasidhyati
One can execute the process of bhakti-yoga successfully
with full-hearted enthusiasm, perseverance, and determi-
nation, by following the prescribed duties in the associa-
tion of devotees and by engaging completely in activities
of goodness.
Rupa Goswami, mahäjana-äcärya, says one must have
utsäha, enthusiasm, and niçcaya, determination. “Yes,
I am determined to achieve this thing. I must achieve
it.” Dhruva had that kind of determination. But also
dhairya, you must have patience. Don’t lose patience.
This strong determination and strong faith is most im-
portant. Nothing is impossible. Krishna is always there
to help you. He is there in your heart. He will test how
strong your faith is in Him. Your faith is shaking; it is
not strong. How determined are you? Krishna creates
everything. His will is supreme. By His mere desire
creation, maintenance, and destruction take place. We
are completely dependent on His will. Bhaktivinode
says in Çaraëägati (3.4.7), tomära icchäya ächi nirbhara
koriyä — “I am completely dependent on Your will, O
Krishna.” So Krishna says, “Okay, I will test your faith,
to see if you are really completely dependent on My
will.” But you are lacking faith, and Krishna knows,
 Simplicity and Faith 27

mosphere with transcendental sound vibration! You

should have full faith in the holy name, in Gopal, in
Krishna and Mahaprabhu. Don’t feel desperate at any
time, under any circumstances. There is no question of
pessimism in Mahaprabhu’s movement. There is all opti-
mism. I have seen during my tour that now this pessimism
is widespread amongst the devotees in America. Seeing
that, I feel very sorry. I am crying in my heart. What has
happened? My guru-mahäräja came here first. He sowed
the seed here. Now what has happened? They have lost
faith — such a sorry state of affairs.
How is it that a small boy immediately developed
faith and got Krishna? He cried out, “O Gopal! Where
are You? My mother has said to call you!” And imme-
diately Gopal appeared.
The Determination of Dhruva
Dhruva Maharaja was also only a child, a five-year-old
boy. When he inquired from his mother Suniti, she told
him, “Narayan is there. If you get the mercy of Lord
Narayan then all of your desires will be fulfilled.”
Dhruva said, “Yes! Lord Narayan. Where is He?”
Suniti said, “I have heard that saints and sages go to
the forest to get Him.”
Dhruva said, “Oh I must go! I must go and get Him!”
He was only a five-year-old boy, but he had such de-
termination.
Later, Narada Muni told him, “The forest is a very
dangerous place. There are many fearful, ferocious
animals here — tigers, lions, and snakes. You are a
small boy, what can you do here?”
28 How to Find Guru
own intelligence. We must think very seriously before
we can accept.”
How can you deliberate on what Krishna says, what
çästra says, what the mahäjanas say? They have no
defects. You are a conditioned soul with four defects:
bhrama (the tendency to commit mistakes), pramäda
(the tendency to be illusioned), vipralipsä (the ten-
dency to cheat), and karaëäpäöava (imperfect senses).
Your senses are defective. The thoughts in your mind
are defective. What you perceive through your senses
is defective.
“There is no Sadhu Present”
You say, “Oh! We have been cheated so many times.
Now we won’t put faith in anyone. No sädhus are
there. We don’t see any sädhu.”
Can you see a sädhu? Do you have the vision to see a
sädhu? You are a conditioned soul. You have defective
vision. How can you see a sädhu? You have developed
this motto, “Seeing is believing.” You say, “If I see, then
I will believe. Can you show me? Can you show me
the Lord? Then I will believe.”
But you are not prepared to admit that you are blind.
You have no vision to see the Lord. Even if I show you
the Lord, how can you see without vision? You are not
prepared to admit your shortcoming. You are such a
crooked, pretentious, duplicitous person. You are always
trying to hide your defects. You are not prepared to
admit them. This is proof that you are not at all simple.
You are a crooked person. Be simple! If you just once
say with an open heart, “Krishna, I am Yours!” then
immediately Krishna will accept you. He is there in
 Simplicity and Faith 29

“Oh, he has no faith. He only speaks from the lips. In

his heart he has no faith.”
Everything takes place according to the will of
Krishna. If He doesn’t will, a blade of grass will not
shake. So it is a question of faith. But why do we lack
faith? Dhruva immediately put strong faith. He was
not afraid of any situation. “Where is that Narayan?
Where is Narayan!” The example is also there in the
story about the young boy and Gopal. But we can’t put
faith. What is the reason? Why are these small children
able to have faith, but adults cannot? It is because you
are crooked and they are simple. A child is very simple,
but as soon as he grows up and associates with adults,
those who are very crooked, he develops crookedness.
Otherwise, in the beginning a child is very simple. Sim-
plicity is vaiñëavism. All our äcäryas have said this. Srila
Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami stresses on this;
saralatä hi vaiñëavatä — simplicity is vaiñëavism. Real
vaiñëavas are as simple as a child. There is no question
of crookedness, duplicity, or pretentiousness in them.
But our heart is full of these things. We are not at all
simple-hearted persons. We are very crooked. Duplicity,
crookedness, and pretentiousness are in you. But Krishna
is in your heart. He knows what is in you; you cannot
cheat Him. Therefore we say that sädhu-guru-mahäjana
are patita-pävana, not kapaöi-pävana — they are the
saviors of the fallen, not saviors of the crooked.
Some persons say, “Shall I just have blind faith? Shall
I not think anything? Shall I not apply my intelligence,
my deliberation? Should I just put blind faith in what-
ever sädhu and çästra say?” They say, “We have our
30 How to Find Guru
fall down here to this måtyu-saàsära, world of death.”
Sadhus Have no Defects
Those who have vision, they see and they say, arya-
vijïa-väkya nähi doña catuñöaya — the words of the
mahäjanas, sädhus, are free from the four defects. Why
don’t you put unflinching faith in their words? You
say, “I must think about it first. I must deliberate on
what they say. If I am convinced then I will apply it.”
— This is all duplicity, crookedness, lack of faith! You
are not prepared to admit that you have four defects.
Your senses are defective, how can you see? You think,
“I am the seer. I will see.” But you are not the seer. You
have defective vision. How can you see a sädhu who
is free from defects and exists on the transcendental
platform? He is in the fourth dimension. You are lim-
ited to three dimensions: length, breadth and height.
Can your material mind conceive the fourth dimen-
sion? Then how can you say, “If I see, only then I will
accept?” Nonsense! Such nonsense! You can only act
on faith. Nothing else.
In the story I told, the mother instructed and the child
put faith in her words. The mother is authority and
the child is simple. Sädhu, mahäjana, and çästra, are
authority. But you have no faith in them. How can you
get Krishna? Faith is the most important thing. Even if
you put blind faith, still you will be delivered because
sädhu-mahäjanas are free from defects. What they say
is real truth — mahäjana yei kahe, sei satya mäni (Cc.
madhya 25.56). Suppose you put blind faith in sädhu’s
words and you go to hell; then sädhu-mahäjana will
 Simplicity and Faith 31

your heart, but you can’t cry out to Him. Your heart is
filled with such filth, such duplicity and crookedness.
You are never simple. And Krishna knows it.
This is the reason why you cannot develop strong
faith. Now you want to see sädhu. You say, “We don’t
see any sädhus. There are no sädhus.”
If there is no sädhu, then how are things going on?
This is Kali-yuga, the most sinful and degraded age.
Still there is ekapäd-dharma, one-legged religion,
therefore things are continuing. Otherwise everything
would have been finished, destroyed. In Satya-yuga
dharma had four legs. In Treta-yuga three legs were
there. In Dväpara-yuga two legs were there, and in
Kali-yuga there is one leg. Because this one leg of
dharma is present, things are going on and we are all
here.
The holy name came — this is the yuga-dharma for
Kali-yuga. But we have no faith, no belief in it. We
are such crooked persons. We have no simplicity. We
only speak with the lips while something else is in the
heart. This simplicity is vaiñëavism. It is the only thing
required. Make your heart simple. Drive out, throw out
all this filth, crookedness, duplicity, and pretentious-
ness, and immediately you will get Krishna.
Krishna emphasizes this çraddhä in many places in
the Gétä: Chapter four, text 39 states: çraddhäväl labhate
jïänaà — “A faithful person quickly obtains transcenden-
tal knowledge.” In chapter nine, text three, Krishna states:
açraddadhänäù puruñä apräpya mäà nivartante måtyu-
saàsära-vartmani — “Those who have no çraddhä, no
faith, cannot approach Me. Again and again they will
32 How to Find Guru
Bharat went with no protest, just like a simple child. He
was such an elevated paramahaàsa! The dacoits bathed
him and put new clothes on him. They put vermilion
on his forehead. Then they asked him, “Please bow
down here.” Like a simple child he did what they said.
Then they raised a sword to cut off his head.
Kali is a vaiñëava, a maidservant of Krishna. Seeing
their activity, she said, “What are these rascal dacoits
doing?” Kali suddenly came out from deity with a
sword in her hand and chopped off the heads of those
dacoits and Jada Bharat was saved.
Nevertheless, you are thinking, “Shall I put faith
blindly? Shall I not think about it? Shall I not deliber-
ate on it?” You are saying like that because you have
no faith. Because duplicity and crookedness is there
in your heart. You are not simple.
One who is very simple is really surrendered. He
is a real sädhu, and he is protected. This simplicity is
lacking in you. You think, “I will see.” But you are not
the seer. Krishna is the seer; sädhu is the seer. You are
to be seen. But you are thinking just the opposite, “I
will be the seer and the sädhu will be seen.” What is
this nonsense? They are the seer — Krishna is the seer,
sädhu is the seer. You have to be seen. When they cast
their merciful glance on you, then your good fortune
arises. You become fortunate, subhägya. But you are
thinking, “I am the seer.” Just the opposite. That’s the
whole problem, nothing else.
Questions:
Devotee: How can someone develop simplicity?
Gour Govinda Swami: Associate with a simple
 Simplicity and Faith 33

go to hell to deliver you. But by your manipulations,

politics, and duplicity, even if you elevate yourself to
the position of Brahmaloka, Satyaloka, still you will
fall from there and you cannot be delivered by sädhu-
mahäjana.
One who is very simple, immediately puts strong un-
flinching faith, immediately surrenders, and immediately
is accepted by Krishna. That is what is needed. Simplic-
ity is vaiñëavism, but we are lacking that thing.
You should take example from mahäjanas like Rupa
and Sanatan Goswami. How simple they are! Once a
very puffed-up, proud paëòita came to see them. He
was travelling everywhere, challenging and trying to
defeat others. That paëòita came to Sanatan Goswami
and Rupa Goswami and said, “You debate with me. If I
am victorious then you will sign a certificate of defeat
and if you defeat me then I will sign a certificate that
you have defeated me.” Rupa and Sanatan immediately
said, “No, we will give you a certificate. Please go,
daëòavats. Yes, we are defeated. You are victorious.”
This is simplicity.
Jada Bharat and the Dacoits
Jada Bharat was also simple in this way. A group of
dacoits were searching for a nice human being to sacri-
fice so that Kali would be pleased and they could get a
benediction from her. They found Jada Bharat sitting in
a cornfield. He was very strong, stout, and good-looking.
They thought he would be very nice for sacrifice. Jada
Bharat was like a madman — dumb and callous like
an animal. Just like the butcher taking an animal to the
slaughterhouse, the dacoits took him to be sacrificed. Jada
34 How to Find Guru
sädhu. As I described my guru-mahäräja, how he came
and inculcated faith. And why are you lacking faith
now? Because you are not associating with sädhus!
You say, “We cannot see sädhu. There are no sädhus
present now.” That’s the whole trouble with you.
Devotee: But if we are duplicitous in the heart, then
we will be blind and we won’t be able to see who is
a sädhu. So how can we associate with sädhus if we
don’t know who is a sädhu?
Gour Govinda Swami: Therefore I say, even if sädhu
comes, because you are blind you have no faith in him.
You want to be the seer, so you cannot get any benefit.
You cannot associate. If a sädhu comes and chants here,
speaks kåsëa-kathä, it will never enter your ear. You
cannot get any benefit. You don’t do sädhu-saìga at
all. Although you come and sit here, you are just pos-
ing, you are just pretending. You are such a pretender!
Because you have no faith, the sädhu’s kathä will never
enter your ear. Thus, you cannot get any benefit. Just
pretending. Sitting for ten or fifteen minutes, then
getting up and going out. Why is this? Because you
have no faith. You are not simple. You want to be the
seer. But you are not the seer. That’s the whole trouble.
Devotee: To have this simplicity and faith, one should
think as a child. If we have some intelligence that if we
get this or that. . . .
Gour Govinda Swami: What intelligence do you
have? It’s impure intelligence, not pure intelligence.
Devotee: So I should just give it up?
Gour Govinda Swami: Yes! Give up everything! Just
 Simplicity and Faith 35

throw it out! Throw it out! Make your heart clean and

open. Jesus Christ said, “Empty thyself. I will fill thee.”
But you are not emptying. Your heart is full to the brim
with crookedness, duplicity, and enviousness — all
nasty things. How can he fill you? There is no space.
Empty yourself. Throw it out! Then you will get. ·

— From an evening program in Lansing, Michigan, USA.

28 October 1991
 Sri Krishna-kathamrita
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 At the dawn of our spiritual life we sincerely and with
complete submission and self-surrender pray to God for
receiving the protection of Sri Guru. The Supreme Lord,
perceiving our earnestness and devotion with a view
to guide us on the true path, will send a real guru to
us. Otherwise it is impossible for us to find Sri Guru by
our own fallible energy. If we guide ourselves by our
own energy we shall come across the pseudo-gurus
and being caught hold of by them by their temporary
pleasing manners, run down to hell.
— Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupada.
From Harmonist, Vol. XXVII, No. 5, Oct 1929, p. 139.