EXAMINATION TO QUALIFY FOR TAKING SHELTER OF AN

INITIATING GURU
1. What are the qualifications of a bona fide spiritual master?
A bona fide spiritual master means he is following the footprints of the previous cryas.
Therefore he is bona fide. So following is the main point.
This following means that he has the right knowledge from the right source means from
the parampar and he is able to apply that knowledge in his life. This means he acts like
it is recommended by the sstra. So he carries out the order of higher authorities.
It is in the previous sentence but it is important so I have to emphasize it, that bona fide
spiritual master, means he has to receive the power from authority. This means that his
power, his authorization comes down from the highest authority Ka trough the line
of bona fide persons parampar.
In other words bona fide spiritual master means who is in the line of successive spiritual
master. The original spiritual master is Ka. So then one who has heard from Him and he
has explained the same message to his disciple, then the disciple is bona fide spiritual
master if he does not change. This is the process.
In other words spiritual master does not manufacture his own ideas. Spiritual master is he
who speaks exactly the words which is spoken by Ka.
The other qualification is, that he must have realized the conclusion of the scriptures by
deliberation and arguments and thus be able to convince others of these conclusions. bde
pare ca nita brahmay upaamrayam.(Bhg. 11.3.21) According to rla rdhara
Svm without scriptural knowledge (bde) and practical realization of the Personality of
Godhead (nita), a so-called guru will be unable to dissipate the doubts of his
disciples and therefore unable to execute the function of bringing the sincere student back
home, back to Godhead. The symptom of realized understanding of the Vedas and Ka is
upaamrayam, fixed in detachment from material affairs.
2. Why are you convinced to follow the orders of the spiritual master in this life, and
even life after life?
If someone wants to live spiritual life, than he (or she) has to follow the orders of the
spiritual master. This is recommended in the Bhagavad-gt (4.34): tad viddhi praiptena
paripranena sevay, means:try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master.
Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him.
Im convicted that Ka is God. The Bhagavad-gt contains the words of God. If
someone wants to develop spiritual life, than one has to follow the words of God. And He
in His words recommends that one has to follow the orders of the spiritual master. So
following the orders of the spiritual master is a recommendation from Ka who is the
original spiritual master or d-guru therefore one who wants to develop spiritual life
has to follow it.
In this life or next life it does not matter. From the absolute viewpoint this is not
important. The connection between the disciple and the spiritual master is eternal,
therefore this life next life, life after next life it does not matter. The relationship is eternal
thus following is eternal.

3. Why does one worship the spiritual master like God?

Because the spiritual master is the representative of God.
Ka comes out as instructor guru or initiator guru outside, and he is sitting within the
heart as caitya-guru. Ka is ready to help us in two ways: by the external guru and
internal guru. Internal guru, He is Ka Himself, and external guru, His manifestation, the
spiritual master. Therefore one has to worship the spiritual master like God because from
this viewpoint there is no difference between them.
One who is an actually bona fide spiritual master, representative of Ka, is not different
from Ka. (Bhg. 4.29.51) One who is a spiritual master in accordance with the above
descriptions is to be understood as the Supreme Personality of Godhead personally
present.
4. Do you believe the spiritual master speaks the absolute truth? If so, why?
Yes, I do believe, that the spiritual master speaks the absolute truth.
Like I have previously mentioned this is one qualification of the bona fide spiritual master
that he speaks the absolute truth, because he speaks what he has received through the
parampar which comes down from the Absolute Truth, Ka. Just like lawyer,
representative of the law, means who carries the order of the supreme executive.
Thus if one accepts a spiritual master as bona fide in the same time one accepts that he
speaks the absolute truth.
For this one should have faith. Everything begins with faith (dau raddh). Gurvrayam means to take shelter of a bona fide spiritual master, dau gurv-rayam, and this
takes place when there is raddh.
One is forbidden to accept the guru, or spiritual master, as an ordinary human being
(guruu nara-mati). A spiritually advanced person who is authorized to act as the
spiritual master speaks as the Supreme Personality of Godhead dictates from within. In
other words, when the spiritual master speaks, what he says should be accepted as having
been directly spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the parampar system. He
is transparent via media between Krishna and the devotee. The devotee has no access to
Krishna without the via media.
5. Under what circumstances should the spiritual master be rejected?
Once accepted, the spiritual master takes responsibility for the disciple. And disciple also
must be obedient to the spiritual master for life. So if one rejects spiritual master, he
becomes a great sinner, most sinful.
But according to revealed scriptures, a spiritual master is liable to be rejected if he proves
himself unworthy of the position of a guru or spiritual master. Anyone who is obstruction
to worship the Supreme Lord, he should be rejected immediately.
This means if he is not following the steps of the previous cryas, if he is not qualified
anymore to be a bona fide spiritual master then he has to be rejected. (The qualities of the
bona fide spiritual master see above.)
6. What are the qualifications and responsibilities of a disciple?
The rmad Bhgavatam (11.10.6) says: amny amatsaro dako / nirmamo dhasauhda / asatvaro rtha-jijsur / anasyur amogha-vk
The servant or disciple of the spiritual master should be free from false prestige, never
considering himself to be the doer. He should be active and never lazy and should give up

all sense of proprietorship over the objects of the senses, including his wife, children,
home and society. He should be endowed with feelings of loving friendship toward the
spiritual master and should never become deviated or bewildered. The servant or disciple
should always desire advancement in spiritual understanding should not envy anyone and
should always avoid useless conversation.
rla Bhaktisiddhnta Sarasvat hkura explains that a bona fide disciple must be very
inquisitive to understand the transcendental subject matter.
Another qualification is humbleness. Without this there is no advancement in spiritual life.
It is really necessary that one should be humble and meek and follow the instruction of the
spiritual master. It is essential; therefore a disciple must be very much obedient and
submissive to the bona fide spiritual master.
The good qualification of a disciple also to remain a fool before the spiritual master.
Therefore one should never dare to argue or disobey. That is offense.
A qualified disciple also increases the importance of the Spiritual Master. Thus one should
think that everything one can achieve is because the mercy of the spiritual master. So
because the spiritual master opens the eyes of the ignorant disciple in the matter of
transcendental knowledge, the disciple, before speaking has to offer obeisances to the lotus
feet of the spiritual master. So it is necessary to offer respect to guru as one offers respect
to God.
The disciple has to try and please the spiritual master by rendering service and inquiring
submissively.
Following the order of the bona fide spiritual master is the main duty of the disciple, and
this completely faithful execution of the order of the bona fide spiritual master is the secret
of success.
It is also the duty of the disciple to take charge of the mission of the spiritual master and
execute it properly. So one must dedicate ones life to the service of the spiritual master.
Therefore the disciple's duty is to be ready always to serve the spiritual master, at any cost.
7. What is the unique position of rla Prabhupda in ISKCON?
He is the founder cya of ISKCON. This means everyone in the movement has to follow
His instructions and his footsteps. He came to establish the movement according to time
space and circumstances. He is the preeminent teacher and ultimate authority within the
society.
As crya, his exemplary personal behaviour is the model and norm for all ISKCON
devotees. As founder, his personal standards and principles of action, his particular spirit
or mood, take on a societal shape and form in the organization he created.
In ISKCON, Prabhupda himself remains present, generation after generation, as the
single prominent ik-guru immanent in the life of each and every ISKCON devotee a
perpetual, indwelling active guiding and directing presence. He is thus the soul of
ISKCON.
8. Why do you accept Lord Krsna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead?
It is stated in the rmad Bhgavatam (1.3.28): kas tu bhgavn svayam. Krsna is the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. stra is the basis and what is stated in the stra must
be accepted without any doubt.
govindam di-purua says Lord Brahm in the Brahma-sahit, so it is stated there too
that Govinda, Ka is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

The vedic scriptures and the vaiava cryas, Rmnujcrya, Madhvcrya, Viu
Svm, Nimbrka, lately Lord Caitanya, all of them accepted Ka as the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, so did rla Prabhupda and all His bona fide disciples.
So the stra accepts, the sdhu accepts and the guru accepts, so we have to accept also.
This is the way. I dont have much realisation, but I can accept.
9. Why do we follow the four regulative principles?
The human life is meant for regulative principles. No regulative principle means animal
life. Regulative principles are meant for everyone, all varas and ramas of the human
society.
Following these principles will bring one to the sattva-gua, the level of goodness, on
which one can practice spiritual life. While we are under the influence of the lover modes
of nature (rajo-gua, tamo-gua) we are disturbed by our senses thus we can not practice
spiritual life properly.
In the Bhagavad-gt Lord Ka says: A person free from all attachment and aversion
and able to control his senses through regulative principles of freedom can obtain the
complete mercy of the Lord. (Bhg. 2.64)
This freedom is called vairgya, or renouncement of material desires. One who engages in
devotional service to the Lord according to regulative principles is automatically freed
from material desires, and in that pure state of mind one can realize the Personality of
Godhead.
10. Why do we chant Hare Krsna?
harer nma harer nma / harer nmaiva kevalam / kalau nsty eva nsty eva /nsty eva
gatir anyath In this Age of Kali there is no other means, no other means, no other
means for self-realization than chanting the holy name, chanting the holy name, chanting
the holy name of Lord Hari.
Ka says: man-man bhava mad-bhakto mad-yj m namaskuru (Bhg 18.65).
Always think of Me." If we chant Hare Ka, then we're remembering Ka and we
remain man-may. So bhakti-mrga, the devotional service, Ka consciousness, means
to remember always Ka. We should always remember Ka and we shall never forget.
This mantra, the mah-mantra purifies us, so were going to be able to offer service to the
spiritual master and Ka. Ceto-darpaa-mrjana bhava-mah-dvgni-nirvpaam.
If the dust of ignorance is moved, one can understand that "I am not this body; I am spirit
soul, part and parcel of Ka. And my duty is to serve Ka." In this way, one becomes
enlightened gradually.
So the devotional service begins with the chanting of the Hare Ka mantra and side by
side trying to understand Ka in truth.
11. What is the position of the GBC Body?
The Governing Body Commission (GBC) is the ultimate managing authority of the entire
International Society for Krishna Consciousness.
12. Explain the difference between the body and the self.
The body is material and the self is spiritual. On the other hand there is a transcendental
body (svarpa), which is the self.

This material body cannot be identified with the real self; nor is the mind our real identity,
nor our intelligence, nor false ego. Our identity is that of eternal servitor of the Supreme
Lord Ka. Our position is that we're transcendental.
Usually, because of ignorance people in the material world are identifying their material
body with the real self. This is due mainly to the modern education. Real selfrealization means to understand that we are the eternal servant of the Supreme Personality
of Godhead jvera 'svarpa' haya / kera 'nitya-dsa , and perfection is to develop
love or bhakti, loving service in relationship with that Supreme Personality of Godhead.
So Ka consciousness means one is not identifying himself with this material body. He
is identifying himself in his original constitutional position, aha brahmsmi.
Spiritual body consists of spiritual elements, so it is eternal (sat), full of knowledge (cit),
and ever happy (nanda). Material body consists of material elements therefore it is not
eternal (asat) it is finite, it is ignorant or without real knowledge (acit) and it is never
really happy (nirnanda). It can feel some material happiness, but only temporarily so we
cannot say it is real. So everything with the material body is temporary because the
attribute of the material that it is temporary , but the spiritual self is eternal. Thus the
material body can be destroyed, but the self cannot. The material body goes through
changes, but the self does not. The material body dies, but the self cannot.
So the material body is just a tool by which the self can serve Ka in this material world.
13. What is ISKCON, and why should one remain in ISKCON?
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) is the spiritual institution
founded by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupda in July 1966 as a
continuation of the brahm-madhva-gauya sampradya.
ISKCON is authorised by rla Prabhupada, so it can give us full shelter therefore we can
practice devotional service in a proper way, with proper knowledge, under proper
supervision and in proper circumstances.
One should remain in ISKCON to have this full and bona fide shelter, to have the best
association which can help one to progress spiritually, and to have a chance to practice
devotional service in a proper, bona fide way.
14. Have you read the paper Harmonizing ISKCON's Lines of Authority?
Yes I have read the paper.
15. What have you understood as the most important points of the Harmonizing
ISKCON's Lines of Authority" paper?
The most important points of the above mentioned paper were:
a) Whether a devotee is an initiating spiritual master, an instructing spiritual master, a
sannys, a Governing Body Commissioner, a Zonal Secretary, a Regional Secretary,
a Temple President, a congregational leader, or anyone else in a position of authority
within ISKCON, the authority bestowed upon that devotee is complete only if he or
she follows rla Prabhupdas instruction to serve in ISKCON under the authority of
the full GBC.
b) Since every devotee accepts his or her spiritual inspiration from higher authorities,
two lines of authority, with their representatives, exist within ISKCONone is seen
as primarily spiritual, while the other is seen as primarily managerial. Both lines of
authority serve their own unique yet interdependent purposes in submission to the

orders of our Founder-crya. Both are authorized by the full GBC to give shelter to
devotees under their care. This shelter is given through both instruction and example.
c) The most prominent spiritual authority is ones initiating or instructing spiritual
master. The scriptures clearly say that devotees should obey and be loyal to their
spiritual masters. The spiritual masters thus exert authority over their disciples, and in
so doing the spiritual masters are able to train and educate their disciples in the
development of bhakti. The spiritual masters, therefore, assume a significant role in
giving their disciples the spiritual education and inspiration necessary to advance in
Krishna consciousness.
d) The disciples should offer respect to their local managers right from the start of the
spiritualmaster/disciple relationship.
e) rla Prabhupda established ISKCON as a spiritual institution with a managerial
structure. The purpose of this structure is to maintain the standards he established, to
offer shelter and spiritual nourishment to the devotees, and to support and increase the
sankirtana mission.
16. Have you read GBC Resolution 303/2013: GBC Statement on the Position of Srila
Prabhupada?
Yes I have read the statement.