Bona fide acarya

Expressions researched:
"bona fide acarya" |"bona fide acaryas"

Srimad-Bhagavatam

SB Preface and Introduction

The Supreme Absolute Personality of Godhead, must be worshiped by all their respective engagements, because everything that we see is also the expansion of His energy. That is the way of real perfection, and it is approved by all bona fide ācāryas past and present

SB Introduction: When Sri Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appeared for the deliverance of all fallen souls, He advised the deliverance of all living entities as follows. The Supreme Absolute Personality of Godhead, from whom all living entities have emanated, must be worshiped by all their respective engagements, because everything that we see is also the expansion of His energy. That is the way of real perfection, and it is approved by all bona fide acaryas past and present. The system of varnasrama is more or less based on moral and ethical principles. There is very little realization of the Transcendence as such, and Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu rejected it as superficial and asked Ramananda Raya to go further into the matter.

SB Canto 1

One must be twice-born by proper training and initiation from the bona fide ācārya

SB 1.12.35, Purport: Lord Sri Krsna was invited by Maharaja Yudhisthira to look into the supervision of the performances of yajna, and the Lord, to abide by the orders of His elderly cousin, caused the performance of yajnas by learned twice-born brahmanas. Simply taking birth in the family of a brahmana does not make one qualified to perform yajnas. One must be twice-born by proper training and initiation from the bona fide acarya. The once-born scions of brahmana families are equal with the once-born sudras, and such brahma-bandhus, or unqualified once-born scions, must be rejected for any purpose of religious or Vedic function. Lord Sri Krsna was entrusted to look after this arrangement, and perfect as He is, He caused the yajnas to be performed by the bona fide twice-born brahmanas for successful execution.

The brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas and vaiśyas are called twice-born because for these higher classes of men there is one birth by parental conjugation and there is another birth of cultural rejuvenation by spiritual initiation from the bona fide ācārya

SB 1.17.5, Purport: The brahmanas, ksatriyas and vaisyas are called twice-born because for these higher classes of men there is one birth by parental conjugation and there is another birth of cultural rejuvenation by spiritual initiation from the bona fide acarya, or spiritual master. So a ksatriya is also twice-born like a brahmana, and his duty is to give protection to the helpless. The ksatriya king is considered to be the representative of God to give protection to the helpless and chastise the miscreants. Whenever there are anomalies in this routine work by the administrators, there is an incarnation of the Lord to reestablish the principles of a godly kingdom.

SB Canto 2

All the bona fide ācāryas preach this truth of returning home, back to Godhead, and warn men not to make a false plan for happiness in a place where happiness is only a myth

SB 2.2.27, Purport: The intelligent person therefore makes a plan to return home, back to Godhead. Such an intelligent person surpasses all the pangs of material existence, like birth, death, disease and old age. He is actually happy because he has no anxieties of material existence, but as a compassionate sympathizer he feels unhappiness for the suffering materialistic men, and thus he occasionally comes before the materialistic men to teach them the necessity of going back to Godhead. All the bona fide acaryas preach this truth of returning home, back to Godhead, and warn men not to make a false plan for happiness in a place where happiness is only a myth.

The highest perfectional stage of life can be attained by everyone who is willing to discharge the act of devotional service to the Lord as enjoined in the revealed scriptures that are standard and accepted by the bona fide ācāryas, spiritual masters

SB 2.9.22, Purport: The highest perfectional stage of life is to know the Lord by actual perception, by the grace of the Lord. This can be attained by everyone who is willing to discharge the act of devotional service to the Lord as enjoined in the revealed scriptures that are standard and accepted by the bona fide acaryas, spiritual masters. For example, the Bhagavad-gita is the approved Vedic literature accepted by all the great acaryas, such as Sankara, Ramanuja, Madhva, Caitanya, Visvanatha, Baladeva, Siddhanta Sarasvati and many others.

SB Canto 5

In this age of Kali a community has sprung up known as the ārya-samāja, which is ignorant of the import of the Vedas in the paramparā system. Their leaders decry all bona fide ācāryas

SB 5.15.1, Purport: Those who are Aryans strictly follow the Vedic principles, but in this age of Kali a community has sprung up known as the arya-samaja, which is ignorant of the import of the Vedas in the parampara system. Their leaders decry all bona fide acaryas, and they pose themselves as the real followers of the Vedic principles. These acaryas who do not follow the Vedic principles are presently known as the arya-samajas, or the Jains. Not only do they not follow the Vedic principles, but they have no relationship with Lord Buddha. Imitating the behavior of Sumati, they claim to be the descendants of Rsabhadeva. Those who are Vaisnavas carefully avoid their company because they are ignorant of the path of the Vedas.

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta

CC Adi-lila

In fact, however, a bona fide ācārya is nondifferent from the Personality of Godhead, and therefore to envy such an ācārya is to envy the Personality of Godhead Himself

CC Adi 1.46, Purport: If one poses himself as an acarya but does not have an attitude of servitorship to the Lord, he must be considered an offender, and this offensive attitude disqualifies him from being an acarya. The bona fide spiritual master always engages in unalloyed devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. By this test he is known to be a direct manifestation of the Lord and a genuine representative of Sri Nityananda Prabhu. Such a spiritual master is known as acaryadeva. Influenced by an envious temperament and dissatisfied because of an attitude of sense gratification, mundaners criticize a real acarya. In fact, however, a bona fide acarya is nondifferent from the Personality of Godhead, and therefore to envy such an acarya is to envy the Personality of Godhead Himself. This will produce an effect subversive of transcendental realization.

This sort of serious interest in the welfare of the public makes one a bona fide ācārya

CC Adi 3.98, Translation and Purport: Seeing the activities of the world, the Acarya felt compassion and began to ponder how He could act for the people's benefit.

This sort of serious interest in the welfare of the public makes one a bona fide acarya. An acarya does not exploit his followers. Since the acarya is a confidential servitor of the Lord, his heart is always full of compassion for humanity in its suffering. He knows that all suffering is due to the absence of devotional service to the Lord, and therefore he always tries to find ways to change people's activities, making them favorable for the attainment of devotion. That is the qualification of an acarya. Although Sri Advaita Prabhu Himself was powerful enough to do the work, as a submissive servitor He thought that without the personal appearance of the Lord, no one could improve the fallen condition of society.

A bona fide ācārya can never support the demoniac activities of atheistic men who present themselves as God

CC Adi 6.28, Purport: Advaita Acarya especially intended to teach the conditioned souls about devotional service. The word acarya means "teacher." The special function of such a teacher is to make people Krsna conscious. A bona fide teacher following in the footsteps of Advaita Acarya has no other business than to spread the principles of Krsna consciousness all over the world. The real qualification of an acarya is that he presents himself as a servant of the Supreme. Such a bona fide acarya can never support the demoniac activities of atheistic men who present themselves as God. It is the main business of an acarya to defy such imposters posing as God before the innocent public.

The branches of Advaita Ācārya nourished by the water (jala) supplied by Sri Caitanya Mahāprabhu are to be considered bona fide ācāryas'

CC Adi 12.66, Purport: The branches of Advaita Acarya nourished by the water (jala) supplied by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu are to be considered bona fide acaryas. As we have discussed hereinbefore, the representatives of Advaita Acarya later divided into two groups -- the bona fide branches of the acarya's disciplic succession and the pretentious branches of Advaita Acarya. Those who followed the principles of Caitanya Mahaprabhu flourished, whereas the others, who are mentioned below in the sixty-seventh verse, dried up.

CC Madhya-lila

Therefore, materialists claim, there is no need to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra.A bona fide ācārya will certainly not accept such a conclusion

CC Madhya 8.90, Purport: Such materialists claim that since ultimately all these names and forms are one, the result is the same. They also give the example that a man who has different names will answer if called by any one of them. Therefore, they claim, there is no need to chant the Hare Krsna mantra. If one chants the name of Kali, Durga, Siva, Ganesa or anyone else, the result will be the same. Such claims made by mental speculators are no doubt very pleasing to mental speculators, but those who are actually in knowledge do not admit such conclusions, which are against the authority of the sastras. A bona fide acarya will certainly not accept such a conclusion. As Krsna clearly states in the Bhagavad-gita (9.25):

yanti deva-vrata devan pitrn yanti pitr-vratah

bhutani yanti bhutejya yanti mad-yajino 'pi mam

"Those who worship the demigods will take birth among the demigods, those who worship the ancestors go to the ancestors, those who worship ghosts and spirits will take birth among such beings, and those who worship Me will live with Me."

If we approach a bona fide ācārya and keep faith in his words, spiritual realization will be easy

CC Madhya 9.195, Translation and Purport: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu then assured the brahmana, "Have faith in My words and do not burden your mind any longer with this misconception."

This is the process of spiritual understanding. Acintya khalu ye bhava na tams tarkena yojayet: "We should not try to understand things beyond our material conception by argument and counterargument." Maha-jano yena gatah sa panthah: "We have to follow in the footsteps of great authorities coming down in the parampara system." If we approach a bona fide acarya and keep faith in his words, spiritual realization will be easy.

Other Books by Srila Prabhupada

Sri Isopanisad

Śrī Īśopaniṣad cannot give advice to the cats and dogs, but it can deliver the message of Godhead to man through the bona fide ācāryas

Sri Isopanisad, text 1, Purport: In modern society there is always a great quarrel between the laborers and the capitalists. This quarrel has taken an international shape, and the world is in danger. Men face one another in enmity and snarl just like cats and dogs. Sri Isopanisad cannot give advice to the cats and dogs, but it can deliver the message of Godhead to man through the bona fide acaryas (holy teachers). The human race should take the Vedic wisdom of Sri Isopanisad and not quarrel over material possessions. One must be satisfied with whatever privileges are given to him by the mercy of the Lord. There can be no peace if the communists or capitalists or any other party claims proprietorship over the resources of nature, which are entirely the property of the Lord.

Unless one hears from a bona fide ācārya, who is never disturbed by the changes of the material world, one cannot have the real key to transcendental knowledge

Sri Isopanisad, text 13, Tanslation and Purport: It is said that one result is obtained by worshiping the supreme cause of all causes and that another result is obtained by worshiping what is not supreme. All this is heard from the undisturbed authorities, who clearly explained it.

The system of hearing from undisturbed authorities is approved in this mantra. Unless one hears from a bona fide acarya, who is never disturbed by the changes of the material world, one cannot have the real key to transcendental knowledge. The bona fide spiritual master, who has also heard the sruti-mantras, or Vedic knowledge, from his undisturbed acarya, never presents anything that is not mentioned in the Vedic literature.