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Lect STO 1973-09-09 To Students on --etc
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ANNOUNCER: The
following is a lecture [splice]
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by His Divine Grace
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda,
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recorded on September 9th,
1973, in Stockholm, Sweden.
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PRABHUPĀDA: So in order to enter into
spiritual life, two things are required,
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as enunciated by Śrī
Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
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ei rūpe…
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brahmāṇḍo bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva
guru-kṛṣṇa-kṛpāya pāya bhakti-latā-bīja
[Cc. Madhya 19.151]
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The living entities, they are
wandering throughout the universe,
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changing bodies, transmigrating
from one body to another,
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one place to another,
one planet to another,
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but they are rotating within this universe,
material universe, brahmāṇḍo bhramite.
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This science is unknown to the
modern education department,
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how the spirit soul is transmigrating
from one body to another
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and how he’s being transferred
from one planet to another.
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We have got our book,
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'Easy Journey To Other Planets'.
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So guru can help you to transmigrate from
this planet directly to the spiritual sky,
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where there are innumerable
spiritual planets.
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They are known as Vaikuṇṭhaloka.
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And the topmost planet in the spiritual
sky, that is called Goloka Vṛndāvana.
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That is Kṛṣṇa’s planet.
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By Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement,
we are trying to give information,
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how one can be transferred directly
to the Goloka Vṛndāvana planet,
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Kṛṣṇaloka.
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That is our mission.
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So what is the difference between this
material world and the spiritual world?
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The difference is that in the material
world you have to change your body,
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although you are eternal.
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nityaḥ śāśvato…
na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre
[Bg. 2.20]
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You are not destroyed after the
annihilation of this body, material body,
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but you transmigrate
to another body.
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And that body may be one
of the 8,400,000’s of forms.
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There are 8,400,000’s of forms.
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jalajā nava-lakṣāṇi
[Padma Purāṇa]
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There are 900,000 forms in the water,
two millions forms of trees and plants,
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eleven hundred thousand
forms of the insect,
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and then one million
forms of the birds.
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And then three million
forms of the beasts.
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And then we come to
this human form of life.
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Now it is our choice,
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whether you are going to be
transferred again through the cycle of
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this transmigration of the soul
from the one body to another
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in the lower species of life,
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or you want to be transferred
to the spiritual sky.
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And you can transfer yourself to
the highest spiritual platform,
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which is known as
Goloka Vṛndāvana.
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That is your choice.
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You have been given the chance of this
human form of body to make your choice.
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You are completely under the
control of material nature,
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but the material nature gives you a
chance to get this human form of body.
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Whatever you like, you can do.
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That is stated in
the Bhagavad-gītā:
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yānti deva-vratā devān
pitṝn yānti pitṛ-vratāḥ
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bhūtāni yānti bhūtejyā
mad-yājino ’pi yānti mām
[Bg. 9.25]
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The purport is that
those who are going,
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are trying to be elevated to the higher
planetary system, which is called Devaloka,
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or the planets of the demigods…
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There the standard of living,
duration of life, is very, very large.
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Or if you want to be
transferred to the Pitṛlokas,
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or in the lokas of the ghosts,
bhūtejyā, or if you want
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to be transferred to the
loka where Kṛṣṇa lives—
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mad-yājino ’pi yānti mām
[Bg. 9.25]
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now it depends on your practice.
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But the rotating,
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wandering within this material
world from one body to another
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or from one planet to
another, that is not advised.
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That is called saṁsāra.
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Saṁsāra means material existence.
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That is called saṁsāra.
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bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate
[Bg. 8.19]
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You take your birth once
in some form of body.
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You live for some time.
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Then you have to
give up this body.
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Then you have to
accept another body.
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Then again live for some time.
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Then give up that body.
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Again accept another body.
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In this way, it is going on.
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That is called saṁsāra, rotating
within this material world.
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That is compared with dāvānala.
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Dāvānala means forest fire.
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Forest fire.
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You have got experience.
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You have seen, might have.
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In the forest, nobody goes
to set fire, but it takes place.
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Everyone knows it.
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Similarly, within this material world,
nobody wants to be unhappy.
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Everyone is trying to be very happy,
but he is forced to accept unhappiness.
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This is the position.
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Therefore it is called dāvānala.
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Dāvānala means nobody willingly
sets fire, but there is fire in the forest.
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Similarly, in this material world,
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everyone is trying from time
immemorial—even at the present moment.
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There is some occasional war, world
war, and they manufacture some means.
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In our days, when we were young
men, there was a League of Nations.
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Perhaps some of you may know.
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When the nineteen
hundred, nineteen…,
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when the First World War
was finished, these nations,
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they formed a League of Nations.
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League of Nations means just to arrange
for peaceful living between the nations.
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So there was forest fire again.
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Nobody wanted war, but
there was Second World War.
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Again.
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And again they are trying to,
the League… What is that?
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United Nations.
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But the war is going on.
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The Vietnam war is going on,
the Pakistan war is going on,
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and many others are going on.
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So you may try your best to live very
peacefully, but nature will not allow you.
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There must be war.
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It is not possible.
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In the history, especially
in European history,
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there were so many wars—Carthagian
War, Greece War, Roman War,
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Seven Years’ War between France and
England, and Hundred Years’ War…,
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so…, so far we have
read in the history.
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And the war feeling is going on, not
only between nation and nation,
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between man to man,
neighbor to neighbor—
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even between husband and wife,
father and son, this war is going on.
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This is called dāvānala, forest fire.
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Forest fire means in the forest nobody
goes to set fire, but automatically,
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by the clash, friction of the dried bamboo,
there is electricity and it catches fire.
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Similarly, although we do
not want unhappiness,
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still, by our dealings we create enemies
and friends, and there is fight, there is war.
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This will continue.
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This is called saṁsāra-dāvānala.
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Try to understand.
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So guru means spiritual master means
who can deliver one from this forest fire.
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Just like when there is forest fire, the
animals are very much disturbed,
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and they die mostly.
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The snakes, they die immediately.
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So this forest fire, saṁsāra-
dāvānala, is going on perpetually,
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and the person or the authorized
person who can deliver you
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from this forest fire of material existence,
he’s called guru, or the spiritual master.
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saṁsāra-dāvānala-līḍha-loka-
trāṇāya kāruṇya-ghanāghanatvam
[Śrī Gurv-aṣṭaka 1]
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How he delivers?
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What is his means?
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The same example.
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When there is fire in the forest,
you cannot send fire brigade,
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or you cannot go there with bucketful
of waters to extinguish the fire.
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That is not possible.
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Then how it will be extinguished?
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Fire means it requires
water to be extinguished.
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But where the water
is coming from?
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From your bucket or
from your fire brigade?
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No.
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It must come from the sky.
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It must come from the sky.
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When there will be torrents
of rain from the sky,
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this forest fire, blazing forest
fire will be extinguished.
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So these rains from the sky,
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it does not depend on your scientific
propaganda or manipulation.
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It depends on the mercy
of the Supreme Lord.
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So the spiritual master is
compared with the cloud.
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Just like from the cloud there
is torrents of rain, similarly,
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a spiritual master is
considered just like cloud.
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Saṁsāra-dāvānala-līḍha-loka
[Śrī Gurv-aṣṭaka, 1]
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Just like cloud takes the water from
the sea—cloud hasn’t got its own water.
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Cloud takes water from the
sea—similarly, a spiritual master
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brings mercy from the Supreme
Personality of Godhead.
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Just see the comparison.
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He has no own mercy,
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but he carries the mercy of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead.
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That is the qualification
of spiritual master.
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A spiritual master will
never say that “I am God.
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I can give you mercy.”
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No.
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That is not spiritual master.
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That is a bogus, pretender.
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A spiritual master will
say, “I am servant of God.
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I have brought His mercy.
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Please take it and be satisfied.”
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This is spiritual master’s business.
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Just like a post peon.
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A post peon, when he delivers
you some large amount of money,
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it is not his own money.
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The money is sent
by somebody else.
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But he honestly delivers you:
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“Sir, here is your money; take it.”
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So you become very much
satisfied with the peon.
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Although it is not his money,
but when, in case of need,
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you get the money sent by
your father or somebody else,
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brought by the peon, oh, you
get very much satisfaction.
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Similarly, we are all suffering in this
blazing fire of material existence.
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The spiritual master brings the message
from the Supreme Lord and delivers you.
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And if you kindly accept,
then you’ll be satisfied.
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This is the business of
the spiritual master.
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Saṁsāra-dāvānala-līḍha-loka
trāṇāya-kāruṇya-ghanāghanatvam
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prāptasya kalyāṇa-guṇarṇavasya
vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam
[Śrī Gurv-aṣṭaka, 1]
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So spiritual master is
offered obeisances:
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“Sir, you have brought the
mercy from the Supreme Lord.
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Therefore we are
much obliged to you.
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To deliver us, you have come.
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We offer our
respectful obeisances.”
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This is the meaning of this verse.
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vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam
[Śrī Gurv-aṣṭaka 1]
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That means the first qualification
of the spiritual master, or guru,
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is to deliver you some
message by which immediately
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your blazing fire in the heart
will be stopped. [splice]
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If you simply try to love.
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The process is that you worship
the Deity, you take the prasādam,
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you chant the holy name, you follow
the instruction of the spiritual master.
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In this way you’ll be trained
up how to understand Kṛṣṇa,
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and then you life is successful.
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This is Kṛṣṇa
consciousness movement.
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Thank you very much.
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Hare Kṛṣṇa
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