Spiritual Life Begins With The Shelter Of A Bonafide Spiritual Master, Guru

Spiritual Life Begins With The Shelter Of A Bonafide Spiritual Master, Guru : 

Spiritual life begins with the shelter of a bonafide spiritual master, guru. Lord Krishna explains in the Bhagavad Gita, “Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized souls can impart knowledge unto you because they have seen the truth” (Bhagavad Gita 4.34).

In the careful and loving tutelage of the guru, the disciple learns that we have a sacred loving relationship with God in different rasas, mellows. The foundational basis of all these rasas is ‘God is master, and I am his servant’. Gradually as our hearts get purified by chanting God’s names and rendering service under the direction of guru, our dormant love for God reawakens in the heart; we can then enter into higher relationships of Sakhya Rasa- Serving the Lord in the intimacy of friendship,Vatsalya Rasa- Serving God as one lovingly serves his own dependent child, and Madhurya Rasa- satisfying the Lord by our service as His lover.

To reach these sublime stages on the path of bhakti, one must first be a sincere disciple and serve the guru as a servant serves the master. ‘Disciple’ comes from the word ‘Discipline’. Discipline depends upon the principle of obedience. And this is the building block by which we can advance on the path of devotional service.

Om Namah Shivay.