View source for He will never think that "I am fool number one." He will always think, "Oh, who can be greater than me? I can think myself. Why? What is the necessity of a spiritual master? I can become a religious leader, I can become such and such, or..."

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{{terms|"who can be greater than me? I can think myself. Why? What is the necessity of a spiritual master"}}
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{{compiler|MadhuGopaldas}}
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[[Category:He Will]]
[[Category:Never Thinks]]
[[Category:I Am]]
[[Category:Fool Number One]]
[[Category:Always]]
[[Category:Who Can]]
[[Category:Can Be]]
[[Category:Greater Than]]
[[Category:Why]]
[[Category:What Is The Necessity?]]
[[Category:Spiritual Master]]
[[Category:Becoming Religious]]
[[Category:Religious Leaders]]
[[Category:Such and Such]]
[[Category:Questions Posed by Srila Prabhupada]]
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<div id="Lectures" class="section" sec_index="4" parent="compilation" text="Lectures"><h2>Lectures</h2>
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<div id="Sri_Caitanya-caritamrta_Lectures" class="sub_section" sec_index="3" parent="Lectures" text="Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures"><h3>Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures</h3>
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<div id="LectureonCCMadhyalila209799NewYorkNovember221966_0" class="quote" parent="Sri_Caitanya-caritamrta_Lectures" book="Lec" index="48" link="Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.97-99 -- New York, November 22, 1966" link_text="Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.97-99 -- New York, November 22, 1966">
<div class="heading">This is blank slate, admitting that "I am fool number one, but people say I am learned, and I accept it." This is our nature. This is called illusion. He will never think that "I am fool number one." He will always think, "Oh, who can be greater than me? I can think myself. Why? What is the necessity of a spiritual master? I can become a religious leader, I can become such and such, or..." This is our mentality.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.97-99 -- New York, November 22, 1966|Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.97-99 -- New York, November 22, 1966]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">Now, Sanātana Gosvāmī was minister, educated. He was a learned scholar in Parsi and Sanskrit. So how it is that he is placing himself in that way? Is he, I mean to say, imitating something, such humbleness, but actually he was not? Actually, he was... No. Actually he was so. A devotee does not say anything falsely, unless he feels, he feels himself like that. Why does he feel? He was educated. He belonged to the brāhmaṇa, aristocratic family. His association was all nawabs and zamindars, aristocratic family, and still, he says like this. Why? What is the defect, that he felt like that? Now he is expressing. Āpanāra hitāhita kichui nā jāni: "I do not know what is actually beneficial to me. I am thinking that 'If I am posted in a service like this and if I have got some aristocratic association, I have got some arrangement for sense gratification...' That is materialism. So I have passed my, wasted my time in that way. But actually I do not know what is beneficial to me." So grāmya-vyavahāre paṇḍita, tāi satya māni. In the Indian system a brāhmaṇa is addressed as "paṇḍita." Perhaps you know Paṇḍita Jawaharlal Nehru. Although he had no brahminical qualification, but because he was born in a brāhmaṇa  family, so this title was... "Paṇḍita." A brāhmaṇa is addressed as paṇḍita, a kṣatriya is addressed as ṭhākura, and a vaiśya is addressed seth, sethji, a rich man. The vaiśyas are generally very rich men. Perhaps you have... As you have in your country the Rockefeller, Carnegie and Ford, similarly, in our country we have got many rich men just like Birla, Dalmiya, Bangar (?), and so many. So they are called sethji. So sethji, ṭhākuraji and paṇḍitaji. And the śūdras are called mahājana. Because if they are called śūdra, they will be angry. So mahājana means great personality. So these are some etiquette for addressing different communities. Amongst the different communities, although they were of such classification, still, there was no enmity. They lived in village although in their position, but the relationship was very friendly, just like brothers, just like brothers actually. Because the culture was religion, culture was this Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So they depended on the culture. There was no provincialism because they depended on culture. So culture is the thing, the Kṛṣṇa conscious, which can... Even there are materially so many high and low classification, when you come to this culture, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they will be all in the same level.</p>
<p>So he says that grāmya-vyavahāre paṇḍita: "As a matter of social etiquette, I am addressed as 'paṇḍita.' " Paṇḍita means learned. Learned scholar, he is called paṇḍita. Paṇḍita sama-darśinaḥ. You have read in the Bhagavad-gītā: a paṇḍita means he sees everything on equal eye. Why? Because he is brāhmaṇa, he has known what is Brahman and what are these living entities. He has got such knowledge. That is called paṇḍita. So Sanātana Gosvāmī has no such knowledge. At least, he is pretending like that. So he says that grāmya-vyavahāre kahaye paṇḍita: "By social etiquette I am addressed as 'paṇḍita,' but..." Tāi satya māni: "And I also accept that I am paṇḍita." If somebody falsely calls me that "Your Majesty," so it is an insult. It is not honoring him. I am an ordinary man. If somebody calls me, Your Majesty," so a man who has no qualification, if he is eulogized in that way, that is an insult. But we are so much fool that if somebody calls me "Your Majesty," I shall feel, "Oh, I am Majesty. Yes. I am His Majesty." That is our nature. If some false qualifications is awarded to me, I shall be very glad to accept it. I shall think, "Yes." So Sanātana Gosvāmī said that "Actually, I am not paṇḍita because I do not know what is my benefit, what is beneficial to me. I do not know the goal of my life. I simply wasted my time in sense gratification. I do not know. And still, people say, 'You are paṇḍita,' and I accept it. Just see my position." This is blank slate, admitting that "I am fool number one, but people say I am learned, and I accept it." This is our nature. This is called illusion. He will never think that "I am fool number one." He will always think, "Oh, who can be greater than me? I can think myself. Why? What is the necessity of a spiritual master? I can become a religious leader, I can become such and such, or..." This is our mentality.</p>
<p>So this mentality should be sacrificed first, before going to a spiritual master. First of all you have to select who can be your spiritual master. That requires some knowledge. Or you have to behave with a person to understand, "Whether he is fit to become my spiritual master?" Then you should offer yourself to be a student. That is the process, not that all of a sudden you shall go to a person, "Oh, please accept me as your..." No. You should first of all try to understand whether he is actually fit. Then offer yourself. So just like Sanātana Gosvāmī, when he first saw Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he did not offer himself, but when he heard from Caitanya Mahāprabhu and he understood, "Yes, it is very nice thing. So I should now retire from service, and I should wholly devote to Caitanya Mahāprabhu," so he left his very lucrative job, ministership, and just like a very poor man he approached to Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and he's placing, submitted himself as blank slate, that "These are my qualifications. Please accept me."</p>
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