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In the beginning of my spiritual journey within the confines of ISKCON, I had the inclination to accept pretty much everything that was presented to me by what seemed was an “advanced devotee” even if it didn’t sit well with my mind & intelligence. In hindsight I realize that this is the mentality of a cult follower & that my over zealousness made me believe that pretty much every member of ISKCON was a pure devotee. I, on the other hand,  was nothing more than an anartha-laden conditioned soul whose heart & intelligence couldn’t be trusted due to my lifetimes upon lifetimes of conditioning. Nowadays, I don’t claim to be beyond any sort of conditioning or free from anarthas, yet realize that Krishna is within my heart & my intelligence is a gift from God to help me on my journey to discern what’s bogus/ what’s bhakti & ultimately what is my place & purpose in this life & beyond.

I had a lovely conversation this morning with a devotee who I look up to as being the sort of person I’d like to be; namely balanced, devotional, healthy, loving & kind.  She shared some points that really helped put my heart at ease. In context to Guru she said that a guru can speak out of:

• siddhanta – the conclusion or ultimate understanding or purpose of the philosophy

• strategies to recruit (preaching) – speaking in ways according to time, place & circumstance taking into consideration the nature of the individual & what it is that would get them a step closer to the goal

• out of their bhava – the example was given of Srila Prabhupada saying something to the effect of, “if they don’t chant Hare Krishna we’ll drop bombs on them” – in the mood of a fighting cowherd boy (vira bhakti rasa)

The context of her stating this was me revealing my heart of the struggle to accept difficult statements that Srila Prabhupada has made in various contexts. Her point was that Srila Prabhupada didn’t consider that everything he said will be taken as sastra (scripture). To explain that, she said there was an instance in the early days where Srila Prabhupada said that, “an advanced devotee doesn’t take more than 1 chapati, some milk & a few chickpeas to be happy.” Within 24 hours this was a standard with ISKCON & devotees were literally starving in the name of being an advanced devotee.

It’s important to use our intelligence to understand the essence of an instruction, and discern what is the absolute vs. the relative side of the guru. She said it is the need of a kanistha (materialistic, neophyte devotee) to make everything the Guru says absolute. A pure devotee can make relative mistakes or have material imperfections as they have material bodies. Just because our guru wears glasses doesn’t mean they have imperfect senses, it simply means there is a deficit in their material body that needs some remedy. We have to be able to understand the essence of the teachings understanding that details can be adjusted according to time, place & circumstance. Hence where having a siksa (instructing) guru comes in. They can help us discern what is what.

Therein adds another challenge in the quest for enlightenment. Namely finding that person or persons we can trust, finding that association that satisfies the soul & nourishes us in our spiritual journey. Finding that place where we can come as we are, be authentic, thoughtful individuals trying to find our way in an organic fashion. In the same vein Srila Rupa Goswami states:

yena tena prakarena
manah krsne nivesayet
sarve vidhi-nisedha syur
etayor eva kinkarah

“If one takes to that line of activities, Krsna consciousness, then all regulations will follow as a servant follows a master. If the master starts, the servant follows. Similarly, the rules and regulations will follow automatically.”

What I get out of that is we have to keep our focus fixed on the goal – to be who we really are – a pure lover of God & all of His children & everything else will drop in line. Similarly what is considered the essence of Jesus’ teaching states the same in Mark 12:28-34:

28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[a] 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’[b]31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[c] There is no commandment greater than these.”

32 “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

34 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.

Source:https://strugglingsadhaka.wordpress.com/2015/10/19/satisfying-ones-intelligence/