Family guru

Expressions researched:
"family guru"

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

So Śukrācārya was rejected by Bali Mahārāja, Śukrācārya. "No, this family guru or the jāta-gosāi, no." Real guru. So why rejected? When Śukrācārya was thinking that "This man Bali is going to give everything to Viṣṇu. Here is Vāmana. Then how I shall live? Because I get something from this man, and I live. So if he's going to give everything to Viṣṇu, then what is our position? We shall starve."

Lecture on SB 1.8.49 -- Mayapura, October 29, 1974:

So there are many instances. Bali Mahārāja. Bali Mahārāja he rejected his spiritual master: "Oh, you are nonsense. You cannot become my spiritual master." Because why? That Śukrācārya, when Bali Mahārāja was going to promise, so Śukrācārya advised, "Don't promise anything. He is Viṣṇu. He has come as dwarf to take everything from you." Then Bali Mahārāja found that "This is a foolish man." This Śukrācārya, Śukrācārya means jāta-gosāi, by semina they become ācārya. The semina. That is the, in India, guru-vaṁśa. Guru-vaṁśa, guru means spiritual master. The spiritual master, vaṁśa. That is disciplic succession. Evaṁ paramparā, that is guru-vaṁśa, not by semina. That is going on. The Śukrācārya: "This is my guru's family." Guru's family... "He has begotten a child, so something must be given. His credit is he's begotten child. Therefore something must be given." So this is going on, Śukrācārya. So Śukrācārya was rejected by Bali Mahārāja, Śukrācārya. "No, this family guru or the jāta-gosāi, no." Real guru. So why rejected? When Śukrācārya was thinking that "This man Bali is going to give everything to Viṣṇu. Here is Vāmana. Then how I shall live? Because I get something from this man, and I live. So if he's going to give everything to Viṣṇu, then what is our position? We shall starve." That is their business only, how to exploit the disciple and take money from him and fill up the belly. That is Śukrācārya's business. Therefore Bali Mahārāja rejected, "No, no, I don't want you." So there are many instances. Svajana-tyāga. The gopīs, when they were going to Kṛṣṇa, they, all the svajana, their brother, the husband, their sons and everyone forbade, "Oh, where you are going, where you are going?" Or the yājñika brāhmaṇas' patnī, they also did not care for Kṛṣṇa.

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

He is the son of our priest. Family priest, family guru, vipra-mātā, still in Hindu family, the system is still going on, brāhmaṇa visiting daily.

Room Conversation -- January 8, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Another system is: during the initiation time, somebody becomes godmother of the brahmacārī and gives some money.

Hari-śauri: It's described here. It says, "Kuvera gave Him a pot for begging alms, and mother Bhagavati, the wife of Lord Śiva and most chaste mother of the entire universe, gave Him His first alms."

Prabhupāda: Bhikṣa-mātā. Bhikṣa means giving alms. At least every woman becomes a bhikṣa-mātā, alms-giving mother. This is system. My mother was bhikṣa-mātā to one brāhmaṇa. He is the son of our priest. Family priest, family guru, vipra-mātā, still in Hindu family, the system is still going on, brāhmaṇa visiting daily, informing, "Today is this tithi. The duty is this, the sunrise at this time is..." This is brāhmaṇa's duty, to go to the neighboring householders, and whatever they give, take. That is brāhmaṇa's art. At the same time, they keep some medicine. Every house there is some ailments. They'll give some medicine. Still. Now it is not so... In our childhood every day some brāhmaṇa visitor would come. So I will take massage like yesterday, early.