Here is a technique. The same Kṛṣṇa and same Arjuna, they are talking as friends. Then what was the necessity of Arjuna accepting Kṛṣṇa as spiritual master? The same Arjuna and same Kṛṣṇa, they'll talk, but what is the necessity of accepting as spiritual master? That means after accepting spiritual master he'll not argue. He'll simply accept whatever He says. That is the technique. Friendly talks, equal level, He, Kṛṣṇa was talking something and he was replying. So that argument has no end. But when he accepts Him as spiritual master, there is no more argument. One has to accept whatever He says. Therefore he's accepting as spiritual master. After this, Arjuna will never say, "This is wrong, this is, no," or "I don't agree." No. He'll accept. So acceptance of spiritual master means to accept anything, whatever he says. Therefore one has to select a spiritual master whom he can completely surrender. That is the technique.
You cannot argue with the spiritual master
Expressions researched:
"When guru speaks, you cannot argue"
|"You cannot argue with the spiritual master"
|"accepts somebody as guru, he cannot argue"
|"after accepting spiritual master he'll not argue"
|"argue. Similarly, spiritual master's"
|"argue. We have to accept. Guru-vakya"
|"order of guru. Then he is sisya. If he argues"
|"spiritual master just to argue"
|"spiritual master, you cannot argue"
|"spiritual master. You cannot argue"
|"you cannot argue with guru"
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
So Arjuna accepted Kṛṣṇa as spiritual master. In the beginning, he was talking like friend. Friend to friend, talking, sometimes it comes to nil, no conclusion, simply waste of time. It is called vitaṇḍā. That sort of argument has no value. Because it will never come into conclusion. But when we talk with authority, the spiritual master, representative of Kṛṣṇa, then we cannot argue. We have to accept. Guru-vākya. Guru-vākya, you cannot deny it. It may not be agreeable to you in the beginning, but you cannot deny it. That is it: system of Vedic system. Here Arjuna has accepted Kṛṣṇa as the spiritual master. Śiṣyas te aham. "I become Your disciple. Because we were talking till now as friends, but this will not decide the case. My case is very serious. My duty is to fight, but I do not like to fight. Some affection, some family relationship, is deterring me to fight, making me coward. So therefore it is a very complex position. And I find that You can make a solution of this complex position. I therefore accept You as my spiritual master. And I fall down under Your lotus feet as Your disciple." Śādhi māṁ prapannam. "I am surrendered. Now You kindly protect the surrendered soul."
Viṣṇujana: "But as soon as he agrees to accept the other bird as the supreme spiritual master as Arjuna has agreed to do, by voluntary surrender unto Kṛṣṇa for instruction, the subordinate bird immediately becomes free from all lamentation."
Prabhupāda: Yes. As Arjuna has accepted. Arjuna was talking with Kṛṣṇa as friend, but he has accepted. Although he is friend, he has accepted Him as spiritual master. The significance is that as soon as you accept somebody as spiritual master, you cannot argue. You have to accept. You have to accept. Therefore the selection of spiritual (master) must be very scrutinizing. You cannot accept anyone as spiritual master. You must be very much satisfied that here is a person who can solve the problems of my life. Just like Arjuna thought. He plainly said that "The problem which is before me, I know, beyond You, besides You, nobody can make solution." That is the way of accepting spiritual master. When one is fully convinced that "Here is a person who can actually solve the problems of my life," then one should accept spiritual master. In the Hari-bhakti-vilāsa there is such process that one should accept a spiritual master after associating with him for some time. Similarly, the spiritual master also shall accept somebody as disciple after associating with him for some time, whether he is eligible or not. This is the process.
And the process is praṇipāta, praṇipātena. Praṇipāta means full surrender. Pra means prakṛṣṭa-rūpeṇa, fully, and nipāta means completely becoming a blank slate. Blank slate. Nobody should approach a bona fide spiritual master just to argue with him and just to, with a desire that "I shall see what kind of spiritual master." No. This is useless. You have to select a spiritual master...
My Guru Mahārāja, my spiritual master, used to say that you have to select a spiritual master not by seeing but by your ear, but by hearing. And you don't select a spiritual master who has got a very good hair or beard or some very beautiful feature, "Oh, he is a very good, nice looking." No. You must hear. Tad viddhi praṇipātena (BG 4.34). Śruti. The whole process is śruti. The Vedas are called śruti. The ear has to aural reception.
Arjuna wanted to know from Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa, he has accepted Kṛṣṇa as the spiritual master, and spiritual master means the authority. Unless you accept somebody as quite fit for becoming your authority, he cannot become a spiritual master. You must be satisfied by the authoritative statement of the spiritual master. You cannot argue. That is the principle of authority.
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
You have to find out somebody where you can surrender fully. That is the beginning of spiritual life. Tad viddhi praṇipātena (BG 4.34). First condition is praṇipāta. Praṇipātena paripraśnena. You can inquire. You can ask questions, after you have fully surrendered, not before that. Don't waste your time. It will not act. Just like Arjuna. Arjuna was talking with Kṛṣṇa like friends. When Arjuna said, "Oh, the other side, they are all my kinsmen. How can I kill them? Oh, it is not possible," Kṛṣṇa said, "No, you are kṣatriya. It is your duty to fight. It doesn't matter the other party is your own kinsmen." Ordinary question, answers. In this way, questions and answer, questions and answer were going on. But at last, when by such questions and answers, friendly talk, nothing was solved, then Arjuna said, śiṣyas te haṁ śādhi māṁ prapannam: (BG 2.7) "My dear Kṛṣṇa, in this way the problem will not be solved. I am becoming Your disciple. I am not talking anymore as friend." Śiṣyas te 'ham: "I become Your disciple." Because you cannot argue with guru. That is praṇipāta.
Within this body there is the soul. Dehino 'smin yathā dehe. Not the body is important. Body's nothing; it is dead matter. When Kṛṣṇa began His instruction and Arjuna was lamenting on the basis of this body... "If we kill our brothers their wives will be widowed and they'll be bhraṣṭācāra(?), the varṇa-saṅkara will be there." Everything he was calculating on the basis of this body. All politics, sociology, they are going on the basis of this body. But Kṛṣṇa, as soon as He was accepted by Arjuna as guru... Śiṣyas te 'haṁ śādhi māṁ prapannam: (BG 2.7) "Now, Kṛṣṇa, I accept You as my guru. Not as friend." Because friendly talking is useless waste of time. He accepted Him as guru. When guru speaks, you cannot argue. That is not the process. You should accept a guru who is infallible. Otherwise it is useless. He accepted guru Kṛṣṇa because Kṛṣṇa is infallible. If we accept guru, a bogus guru, then it is no benefit. Guru means Kṛṣṇa's representative. Not that everyone can be guru.
So we have to follow the mahājano yena gataḥ... As Kuntī's advising. Kuntī is, she knows how to see Kṛṣṇa. She knows, "Here is Kṛṣṇa. Although He's playing the part of my brother's son, nephew, but actually, He's the Supreme Personality of Godhead." Just like Arjuna. Arjuna, he was talking like friend, but when he saw that "It is impossible to solve this problem... I am inclined not to fight and kill my relatives, but the duty is to kill them..." It is a very perplexed position. So therefore he accepted Kṛṣṇa as guru. He said that "I do not find anyone else who can solve my, this problem. Therefore Kṛṣṇa, I am surrendering unto You." Śiṣyas te 'haṁ śādhi māṁ prapannam (BG 2.7). "Now we are not talking as friends. I accept You as guru." When one accepts somebody as guru, he cannot argue. That is the condition. Praṇipātena, sampūrṇa, fully surrendered. Otherwise there is no meaning of making a guru. It is not like that, a pet dog, that "Everyone makes guru, and let me guru, let me have a guru." But that is not the... Guru means first of all the condition is praṇipāta, fully surrendered. Not that "If I like, then I shall carry your order. And if I don't like, then I shall not do it." That is not acceptance of guru. Praṇipāta. First of all, we must agree. So because friends and friends talking... A friend may agree with his friend. He may not agree with... That is friendly talk. But Arjuna became śiṣyas te 'ham: "I am now Your śiṣya, disciple. Now there is no question of disagreeing with You. Whatever You'll say, I will accept." So at last Kṛṣṇa said, "Surrender unto Me." And Arjuna did it. That is the whole purpose of Bhagavad-gītā. He changed his decision. He changed. He did not want to fight. That was his decision. But when he accepted Kṛṣṇa as guru and He said that "You must fight. It is my desire. Even you don't find these people are not going back home, they will be killed here, that is my already plan..."
First of all you have to accept guru. Tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum eva abhigacchet (MU 1.2.12). So we have to follow guru. "So how I can find out the real guru by whose words I'll be nicely directed and achieve?" That is not very difficult. You read Bhagavad-gītā. You'll understand. Just like Arjuna. When he was perplexed, he accepted Kṛṣṇa-guru. He said, śiṣyas te 'ham: (BG 2.7) "I become Your (disciple) now... We are talking friendly. The argument will not be ended. Now I become Your disciple." Śiṣyas te 'ham. Because as soon as one becomes a śiṣya... Śiṣya means under the order, regulation. A person cannot disobey the order of guru. Then he is śiṣya. If he argues, he's not śiṣya. He's not a śiṣya. Therefore Arjuna says, śiṣyas te 'ham: "I surrender, voluntarily surrender to become Your disciple. Now I shall not argue." That is called śiṣya. If you argue, then you are not a śiṣya. Guru-mukha-padma-vākya, cittete koriyā, āra nā koriyā mane āśa **. This is tapasya, that "I shall not act anything which is not ordered by my guru," that tapasya. Tapo divyaṁ putrakā (SB 5.5.1). Then we'll be nicely guided, and then sattva śuddhyam... Then our this existence will be purified. And as soon as our existence is purified, then we realize the situation, what is God, what is our relationship with Him, what is our activities, athāto brahma jijñāsā, janmādya asya yataḥ, everything.
Nectar of Devotion Lectures
Pradyumna: "...and there can be no question of refusal. That is called vaidhi, or regulated. One has to do it without any argument. Another..."
Prabhupāda: Yes. You cannot argue with the spiritual master. First of all, you have to select a spiritual master where you can completely surrender. And as soon... Just like Arjuna surrendered to Kṛṣṇa. When he saw that "The questions which have arisen in my mind, it cannot be solved by ordinary person," therefore he selected. He told Him that "I can understand, without Your Lordship, nobody can mitigate all the doubts in my mind." Tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta (SB 11.3.21). Śiṣyas te 'haṁ śādhi mām (BG 2.7). Therefore original spiritual master is Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is original spiritual master. Tene brahma hṛdā ādi-kavaye. Kṛṣṇa first instructed Brahma, Ādi-kavi. From Brahma, we have got these Vedas, Vedic knowledge. Therefore, Kṛṣṇa is the original spiritual master. Aham evāsam agre. Before creation, Kṛṣṇa was there. Aham ādir hi devānām (Bg 10.2). Kṛṣṇa is the origin of all the devas. Devas means Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara, then all other demigods. So, in this way, Kṛṣṇa is the original spiritual master. Just like He's the spiritual master of Arjuna. So study of Bhagavad-gītā means if you follow the footprints of Arjuna, then you are also as good as Arjuna. Not as good; I mean to say, that your knowledge is perfect. Perfect in this sense: that Arjuna accepted Kṛṣṇa as Paraṁ Brahma; you accept Kṛṣṇa as Paraṁ Brahma; then your study of Bhagavad-gītā is perfect. And if you make your so-called erudite scholarship, commentary, "It is not to Kṛṣṇa," then you are spoiled. Your life is spoiled, your study is spoiled. Sādhu-mārga-anugamanam.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures
Therefore Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu says that "I accept the order of My spiritual master in toto, without any interpretation, without any argument, without any understanding. Whatever he has said, it is all right." This is acceptance of spiritual master. "Oh, I accept spiritual master, but I don't accept your order"—this is not acceptance of spiritual master. If you at all accept somebody as spiritual master, you must test him. You must test him for at least one year if you have got doubts. And when you are convinced that "Here is a person whom I can follow blindly," then you accept. You haven't got to follow blindly. Spiritual master will not place before you anything unreasonable. But the process is that you cannot change the order of spiritual master. You cannot argue. You... Unless you are convinced that "I shall accept the order of this person without any argument," don't accept anybody as spiritual master. It is a false acceptance. Just see. Caitanya Mahāprabhu says that. And other point is that if you take Caitanya Mahāprabhu's life, oh, He was a vast learned scholar, but He said that His spiritual master found Him the nonsense. Now how it is that? He was a great scholar, and how His spiritual master found Him a nonsense? So therefore, however you may be a great scholar, if your spiritual master finds you a fool, you must accept that you are a fool. You don't say, "Oh, I am such a great scholar, and unjustly my spiritual master says that I am fool." Then you lose the connection at once. You'll understand, yes, just like Caitanya Mahāprabhu's disciple. He is, Caitanya Mahāprabhu is speaking about His own discipleship.
Sri Isopanisad Lectures
So this is explained here. This is Vedic mantra. This is the proof, Veda mantra. Why we are attached to Veda mantra? Veda mantra is the proof of everything. Whatever is said in the Vedas, that is fact. Unless you take some axiomatic truth in that way, you cannot make progress. Just like in geometry there are so many axiomatic truths, we have to accept it. "A point has no length, no breadth." "Things equal to the same thing are equal to one another." These are axiomatic truths. Similarly the Vedas, they are truth. We have to accept. Just like I've given example in my book: The conchshell is the bone of an animal. So Vedic injunction is if you touch the bone of an animal, immediately you become impure and you have to take your bath. But here is a bone which is used in the Deity room. But you cannot argue, "Oh, you said that bone is impure. As soon as you touch it, you become impure. And you are putting into the Deity room?" No argument. You have to accept it. This is Veda. You cannot argue. Similarly, spiritual master's order, you have to accept. There is no argument. In this way you can make progress. Sādhu śāstra guru vākya tinete kariyā aikya. If we argue... Na tāṁs tarkeṇa yojayet. Acintyāḥ khalu ye bhāvā na tāṁs tarkeṇa yojayet. Things which are inconceivable by you, you cannot argue. Then it will be a failure. You have to accept that axiomatic truth. It is not dogmatic. It is not dogmatic in this sense, because our predecessor ācāryas, they accepted. What you are that you are arguing? So that is the proof. Mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ (CC Madhya 17.186). Tarko 'pratiṣṭhaḥ śrutayo vibhinnā. If you argue, there is no conclusion. The argument will go on. You put some argument; I put some argument. That is not the process. Śrutayo vibhinnā. Scriptures, in different countries, different circumstances, different scriptures, they're also different. Then tarko 'pratiṣṭhaḥ śrutayo vibhinnā nāsau munir yasya mataṁ na bhinnam. And so far philosophical speculation is concerned, one philosopher is putting some theory, another philosopher putting some theory—there is contradiction. And unless you defy another philosopher, you cannot be a famous philosopher.
| Page Title: | You cannot argue with the spiritual master |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti |
| Created: | 24 of Dec, 2009 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=12, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 12 |