View source for Hearing and speaking Srimad-Bhagavatam is the religious process which elevates one to the platform of serving and loving the Supreme Personality of Godhead

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[[Category:Hearing Srimad-Bhagavatam]]
[[Category:Speak]]
[[Category:Religious]]
[[Category:Process]]
[[Category:Which]]
[[Category:Elevated]]
[[Category:One]]
[[Category:Platform]]
[[Category:Serve]]
[[Category:Love]]
[[Category:Supreme Personality of Godhead]]
[[Category:The Nectar of Devotion Chapter 07 - Evidence Regarding Devotional Principles]]
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<h2>Other Books by Srila Prabhupada</h2>
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<h3>Nectar of Devotion</h3>
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This is confirmed in every scripture, and a disciple should accept the spiritual master as such. One should learn Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam seriously and with all respect and veneration for the spiritual master. Hearing and speaking Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the religious process which elevates one to the platform of serving and loving the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
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[[Vanisource:NOD 7 (1970)|Nectar of Devotion, 7]]
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The purport is that one should not accept as a spiritual master someone who is Fool Number One, who has no direction according to the scriptural injunctions, whose character is doubtful, who does not follow the principles of devotional service, or who has not conquered the influence of the six sense gratifying agents. The six agents of sense gratification are the tongue, the genitals, the belly, anger, the mind and words. Anyone who has practiced controlling these six is permitted to make disciples all over the world. To accept such a spiritual master is the crucial point for advancement in spiritual life. One who is fortunate enough to come under the shelter of a bona fide spiritual master is sure to traverse the path of spiritual salvation without any doubt.

To Accept Initiation from the Spiritual Master and Receive Instructions from Him

Sage Prabuddha continued to speak to the King as follows: "My dear King, a disciple has to accept the spiritual master not only as spiritual master, but also as the representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the supersoul. In other words, the disciple should accept the spiritual master as God because he is the external manifestation of Kṛṣṇa." This is confirmed in every scripture, and a disciple should accept the spiritual master as such. One should learn Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam seriously and with all respect and veneration for the spiritual master. Hearing and speaking Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the religious process which elevates one to the platform of serving and loving the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

The attitude of the disciple should always be to satisfy the bona fide spiritual master. Then it will be very easy for him to understand spiritual knowledge. This is confirmed in the Vedas, and it will be further explained by Rūpa Gosvāmī that, for a person who has unflinching faith in God and the spiritual master, everything becomes revealed very easily.

To Serve the Spiritual Master with Faith and Confidence

Regarding accepting initiation from the spiritual master, in the Eleventh Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, [[Vanisource:SB 11.17.27|17th Chapter, 22nd verse]], it is stated by Lord Kṛṣṇa: "My dear Uddhava, the spiritual master must be accepted not only as My representative but as My very self. He must never be considered on the same level with an ordinary human being. One should never be envious of the spiritual master, as one may be envious of an ordinary man. The spiritual master should always be seen as the representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and by serving the spiritual master, one is able to serve all the demigods."
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