By Sacinandana Swami
There are two elements that have to come together for a healthy and responsible relationship between guru and disciple. The first element is that the disciple needs to be free of the motive to improve him- or herself materially by this relationship. The second element is spiritual good fortune.
The first element presupposes a sense of exhaustion with material illusions. The disciple needs to understand: “I need solutions to overcome material illusions. I understand that I can’t be happy in the material world without Krsna consciousness. I’ve tried, but now I’m exhausted and I want to search for a higher solution.” This is expressed by queen Kunti in Srimad-Bhagavatam: “My Lord, Your Lordship can easily be approached, but only by those who are materially exhausted. One who is on the path of [material] progress, trying to improve himself with respectable parentage, great opulence, high education and bodily beauty, cannot approach You with sincere feeling.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 1.8.26.) In the purport to this verse, Srila Prabhupada explains that wealth, education, personal attractiveness, etc. tend to make one puffed up and when this happens one becomes incapable of uttering the Holy Name and addressing Him with feeling. In other words, feeling “Oh Krsna, I really need you!” or “You are my all and everything” is only possible when we are not ‘full of ourselves’. Queen Kunti had observed that Krsna is far away from those who don’t feel materially disillusioned and that He is very close to those who do. She says: “My obeisances are unto You, who are the property of the materially impoverished [akincana-vittaya]. You have nothing to do with the actions and reactions of the material modes of nature.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 1.8.27.) Our wealth is our lack of illusion. The moment we become filled with illusions and attachments to that which is here today and gone tomorrow and which doesn’t satisfy the soul, we become poor.
The second element is something that the spiritual master has received from his own spiritual master and lineage, and which he brings into the life of the disciple. When the disciple comes into contact with the guru all of a sudden the disciple experiences good fortune (bhagya): encouragement, inspiration, spiritual strength, clarity, enthusiasm, etc. This happens when you have chosen a qualified spiritual master not because of a psychological need or out of external pressure but because you came to understand: “This person can encourage me in Krsna consciousness. I can feel this, I can experience it.” When these two elements come together and remain together, the guru-disciple-relationship is a healthy relationship, a good relationship, a dynamic relationship, and a well-nourished relationship, not a starving one.
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