How To Choose Guru
BY: AYODHYANATHA DASA
Dec 11, INDIA (SUN) — How can you choose Guru? It is said that, “Jiva Jago, Jiva Jago”. The living entity is sleeping on the lap of maya, and Guru is the one who wakes him up. If one is fast asleep, how can he choose who will wake him up? Can a sleeping person choose who should wake him up?
But the one who is awake, he can choose whether to wake up the sleeping person or not. So in fact, a disciple cannot choose the Guru, rather the Guru chooses the disciple.
Remember, Srila Prabhupada's disciples did not go to India to look for him, to choose him as their Guru. Rather Srila Prabhupada went to America and he decided to wake them up, and made them his disciples. So Srila Prabhupada chose them as his disciples, who can deny this fact?
I cannot claim that I am awake or Krsna Conscious or out of Maya, but whatever transformation has happened in my life, it is because of a person whom I have never even seen. And his name is Srila Prabhupada. I love reading his books. Whenever I need spiritual guidance, I open his book and I always find answers to my question.
For me, it is a love affair now. And I am in love with him. How can I possibly say that he is not my Guru? I am taking instructions from him and he is my Guru. Whenever I open his book and read a few sentences, he hits me hard, right on my ego, shakes me a bit, and tries to wake me up from my sleep.
He is expert in waking up the sleeping souls and is not bound by having a physical body to fulfill his mission. Even if he will have a physical body, with how many people could he interact with a physical body? Physical body has its limitations, but his vani is beyond limit. It can reach to every corner of this planet, in the form of his books.
Regarding our present initiation system, if one Guru falls, there are two new Gurus to replace him. Our GBCs are very good in mathematics, and they have ensured that we never run out of a supply of Gurus. But it is just a formality. You can take this oath of following four principles in front of A Goswami or B Goswami, or it can be a Temple President, it really does not matter.
Srila Prabhupada is our Guru by default.
Your Guru is the one who wakes you up from your sleep, not the one in front of whom you take the oath to follow four regulative principles.
This system to choose a Guru out of a panel of Gurus, which is decided by the GBC, is just utilitarian, a formality.
Hare Krsna.
Ayodhyanatha dasa
