HDGSP comments on the subject '' FALSE GURUS ''---
Reporter: I wondered how many people you think might have been taken in by fake gurus.
Srila Prabhupada: Practically everyone. [Laughter.] There is no question of counting. Everyone.
Reporter: This would mean thousands of people, wouldn't it?
Srila Prabhupada: Millions. Millions have been cheated, because they want to be cheated. God is omniscient. He can understand your desires. He is within your heart, and if you want to be cheated, God sends you a cheater.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => What Is a Guru?
Unfortunately, when the äcärya disappears, rogues and nondevotees take advantage and immediately begin to introduce unauthorized principles in the name of so-called svämés, yogés, philanthropists, welfare workers and so on. The main business of human society is to think of the Supreme Personality of Godhead at all times, to become His devotees, to worship the Supreme Lord and to bow down before Him. The acarya, the authorized representative of the Supreme Lord, establishes these principles, but when he disappears, things once again become disordered. The perfect disciples of the acarya try to relieve the situation by sincerely following the instructions of the spiritual master.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => SB 4.28.48
Prabhupada: So there is no difference. Not that one acarya will say, -- so-called acarya, not real acarya -- "I have seen in dream." The other day the letter came? He has seen, realized in dream, nitai-gaura radhe-syama. This is not the process. Process is the sastra, authority. That is we have to. Not that jugglery: "I have seen in dream I have to become guru." No. Whether you are actually in terms of the sastra? Whether actually you are dear to Krsna, you are most confidential servant? That we have to test.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.6.8 -- November 30, 1976, Vrndavana
A spiritual master should not be very anxious to accept a disciple because of his material opulences. Sometimes a big businessman or landlord may approach a spiritual master for initiation. Those who are materially interested are called visayis (karmis), which indicates that they are very fond of sense gratification. Such visayis sometimes approach a famous guru and ask to become a disciple just as a matter of fashion. Sometimes visayis pose as disciples of a reputed spiritual master just to cover their activities and advertise themselves as advanced in spiritual knowledge. In other words, they want to attain material success. A spiritual master must be very careful in this regard. Such business is going on all over the world. The spiritual master does not accept a materially opulent disciple just to advertise the fact that he has such a big disciple. He knows that by associating with such visayi disciples, he may fall down. One who accepts a visayi disciple is not a bona fide spiritual master. Even if he is, his position may be damaged due to association with an unscrupulous visayi. If a so-called spiritual master accepts a disciple for his personal benefit or for material gain, the relationship between the spiritual master and the disciple turns into a material affair. Such spiritual masters are satisfied simply to get some material benefits from their disciples. Such a relationship is condemned by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, who calls such spiritual masters and disciples a society of cheaters and cheated.Their aim is to make the connection between the spiritual master and the disciple into a very cheap thing. They are not serious in wanting to understand spiritual life.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Madhya 24.330
Sastra says, "One should not be guru if he cannot deliver the disciple from the chain of birth, death, old age and disease."
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Press Conference -- April 18, 1974, Hyderabad
You cannot become a pure, perfect devotee unless you are directed by another pure, unadulterated devotee.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.7 -- October 18, 1972, Vrndavana
Prabhupada: That is the difficulty. Everyone sees that "Some way or other, I become guru. Then so many persons will offer me respect. Somehow or other, create some situation. Then I become guru." This is going on. Not bona fide guru. Bona fide guru is indicated by Caitanya Mahaprabhu, "Become guru." Why ambition? Actually become guru. But how to become guru? [Cc. Madhya 7.128].
[Instruct everyone to follow the orders of Lord Sri Krsna as they are given in the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam. In this way become a spiritual master and try to liberate everyone in this land.]
That's it; So they will not take this simple method. They will drink, they will hunt after woman and have some attractive singing or dancing and become guru. What is meaning of guru, they do not know. Somehow or other become popular and become guru. This is going on. So with maya you can attract these foolish rascals very easily, if you can manufacture. You cannot, but if you can show some jugglery, then you become guru. People are after all these things, material things. They are not after Krsna. They are after money and women. So if you give some mantra, then gold will be manufactured, and all women will be attracted, very first class.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Room Conversation -- May 2, 1976, Fiji
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura comments that there are many materialistic persons who become preachers, gurus, religionists or philosophers only for the sake of maintaining a high standard of living and sense gratification for themselves and their families. Sometimes they adopt the dress of a sannyasi or preacher. Although such persons may call themselves preachers, live in Vrndavana or Navadvipa, and also print many religious books. They may also professionally recite the Bhagavatam or other scriptures, worship the Deity in the temple and initiate disciples. Sometimes they become babajis or collect money on the plea of worshiping the poor, or for social and political upliftment. Thus they spread a network of business schemes to collect money for sense gratification by cheating people in general who have no knowledge of pure devotional service. Such cheaters cannot understand that by offering devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one can be elevated to a position of eternal servitude to the Lord, which is even greater than the position of Brahma and other demigods. Unfortunately, fools have no understanding of the perpetual pleasure of devotional service. (CC Antya 9.69) Guru means he's also abiding by the injunction of the sastra. Then he's guru, he's sadhu. He's sadhu. If sastra-vidhi you give up, then where is the question of guru and sadhu? Na siddhim. He's not siddha. He has not attained the perfection, because he has rejected the principles of sastra. So he's bogus. We have to test like that, who is guru.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.6.2 -- June 18, 1976, Toronto
Unqualified guru means who does not know how to guide the disciple. Guru's duty is to guide. So such kind of guru can be at least rejected. That is Jiva Gosvami's... A guru who does not know what to do and what not to do, but by mistake, by mistakenly I have accepted somebody as guru, he can be rejected. By rejecting him, you can accept a actual bona fide guru. So guru is not killed, but he can be rejected. That is the injunction of the sastra. So Bhismadeva or Dronacarya, certainly they were gurus, but Krsna indirectly giving indication to Arjuna that "Although they are in the position of guru, you can reject them." "They do not know factually."
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Bhagavad-gita 2.4–5 -- August 5, 1973, London
In other words, the spiritual master must also be well versed and learned so that he may be able to answer all these inquiries from the devotees. Thus one who is not well versed in the authorized scriptures and not able to answer all such relevant inquiries should not pose as a spiritual master for the matter of material gain. It is illegal to become a spiritual master if one is unable to deliver the disciple.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => SB 2.8.7
Tamäla Kåñëa: Well, I have studied myself and all of your disciples, and it's clear fact that we are all conditioned souls, so we cannot be guru. Maybe one day it may be possible... Prabhupäda: Yes. I shall choose some guru. I shall say, "Now you become äcärya. You become authorized." I am waiting for that. You become all äcärya. I retire completely. But the training must be complete. Tamäla Kåñëa: The process of purification must be there.
Prabhupäda: Oh, yes, must be there. Caitanya Mahäprabhu wants that. "You become guru." [laughs] But be qualified.
Tamäla Kåñëa: Not rubber stamp.
Prabhupäda: Then you'll not be effective. You can cheat, but it will not be effective.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Room Conversation -- April 22, 1977, Bombay--
IT MAY BE NOTED THAT HDGSP NEVER APPOINTED A GURU BEFORE HIS DEPARTURE.
Prabhupada: Now this is the determination. We must approach the real guru, empowered guru, with power of attorney. Then if we take his word. Don't manufacture ideas. Then if you take up that seriously, then your life is successful. Don't spoil yourself by manufacturing ideas. Take word from him. You carry it out. Don't bother whether you'll be spiritually advanced or not, but take the word of the spiritual master and carry it. Then everything guaranteed.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Madhya-lila 20.105 -- July 11, 1976, New York
Prabhupäda: Goru, no. Do you know goru? Goru means cow.
Gurukåpä: Cow. [laughs]
Prabhupäda: [laughing] then don't say goru. Guru.
Gurukåpä: Guru.
Prabhupäda: Goru means cow. Sré-goru-carana-padma.S
ré-goru. [laughs] So they're all gorus, nobody guru. All rascals.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Room Conversation -- May 3, 1976, Fiji
Prabhupada: That is the difficulty. Everyone sees that "Some way or other, I become guru. Then so many persons will offer me respect. Somehow or other, create some situation. Then I become guru." This is going on. Not bona fide guru. Bona fide guru is indicated by Caitanya Mahaprabhu, "Become guru." Why ambition? Actually become guru. But how to become guru? [Cc Madhya 7.128].
[Instruct everyone to follow the orders of Lord Sri Krsna as they are given in the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam. In this way become a spiritual master and try to liberate everyone in this land.]
That's it; otherwise goru. So they will not take this simple method. They will drink, they will hunt after woman and have some attractive singing or dancing and become guru. What is meaning of guru, they do not know. Somehow or other become popular and become guru. This is going on. So with maya you can attract these foolish rascals very easily, if you can manufacture. You cannot, but if you can show some jugglery, then you become guru. People are after all these things, material things. They are not after Krsna. They are after money and women. So if you give some mantra, then gold will be manufactured, and all women will be attracted, very first class.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Room Conversation – May 2, 1976, Fiji
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