View source for If you think, "Oh, this, this svamiji, or the spiritual master, is less intelligent than me or less educated than me or less in so many ways," then you cannot select a spiritual master

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{{terms|"If you think"|"Oh, this, this svāmījī, or the spiritual master, is less intelligent than me or less educated than me or less in so many ways"|"then you cannot select a spiritual master"}}
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{{compiler|Visnu Murti}}
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[[Category:Thinking]]
[[Category:My Names - Swamiji]]
[[Category:Spiritual Master]]
[[Category:Less Intelligent]]
[[Category:Educated]]
[[Category:Less]]
[[Category:So Many Ways]]
[[Category:Cannot]]
[[Category:Selecting a Spiritual Master]]
[[Category:Prabhupada Speaks - Lectures, 1966 - 1977]]
[[Category:Prabhupada Speaks - Lectures, 1967]]
[[Category:Prabhupada Speaks - Lectures, Srimad-Bhagavatam]]
[[Category:Prabhupada Speaks - in USA, San Francisco]]
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<h2>Lectures</h2>
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<h3>Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures</h3>
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You have to select such a spiritual master that you can surrender there. If you think, "Oh, this, this svāmījī, or the spiritual master, is less intelligent than me or less educated than me or less in so many ways," then you cannot select a spiritual master. You have to select another person where you will find that "Here is a mind, here is man where I can surrender. Yes, he is greater than me in so many respects. Therefore I can surrender."
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<mp3player>https://vanipedia.s3.amazonaws.com/clip/670315SB-SAN_FRANCISCO_clip00.mp3</mp3player>
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[[Vanisource:670315 - Lecture SB 07.07.29-30 - San Francisco|670315 - Lecture SB 07.07.29-30 - San Francisco]]
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So Prahlāda Mahārāja said, ''tatra'', uh, ''guru-śuśrūṣayā bhaktyā''. So you have to begin your spiritual . . . your Kṛṣṇa consciousness by accepting a bona fide spiritual master in the disciplic succession. And your first business will be ''guru-śuśrūṣā''. ''Ṣuśrūṣā'' means to please the Supreme—this is spiritual master—by service, ''sevayā''. In the ''Bhagavad-gītā'' also it is said, ''tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā'' ([[vanisource:BG 4.34 (1972)|BG 4.34]]). If you want to learn that transcendental science, then you have to adopt three process in the beginning. You have to select one, a bona fide spiritual master. Then you have to surrender. The same surrender process. You have to select such a spiritual master that you can surrender there.

If you think, "Oh, this, this svāmījī, or the spiritual master, is less intelligent than me or less educated than me or less in so many ways," then you cannot select a spiritual master. You have to select another person where you will find that, "Here is a mind, here is man where I can surrender. Yes, he is greater than me in so many respects. Therefore I can surrender." 

This is called ''praṇipāt''. So selection of spiritual master means first of all you must agree that, "Here is a personality where I can bow down my head. Yes." Everyone is proud. Why shall he bow down before a person unless he understands that "Here is a personality who is greater than me"?

So this is the first condition, ''praṇipāt''. ''Praṇipāt'' means ''prakṛṣṭa-rūpeṇa nipāt''. You have to become blank slate, "Now, sir, whatever I have learned, oh, I forget. It is now blank slate. Now you write whatever you like." This is the first condition. ''Praṇipātena'', and ''sevayā''.

''Sevayā'' means service. So because the service is wanting, so one has to serve the spiritual master. It is indicated that even if you are the greatest personality, you have to approach and serve the spiritual master just like ordinary menial servant. Menial servant. If the spiritual master says: "My dear boy, you just cleanse my shoes," or any, I mean to say, abominable . . . oh, he'll be ready.
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