Why Do You Worship Your Spiritual Master More Than Krishna?

“Why do you worship your spiritual master more than Krishna?” A devotee from a traditional Sri Vaishnava background recently asked me this question. “What makes you say so?” I asked, surprised. “I have attended the morning program in your temple. You have two long prayers for the guru and only two short prayers for Krishna. Your first mangala-arati is for the guru, and then you have guru-puja again, which is clearly for the guru. In between, you have a short Narasimha prayer and a short darshan-arati for Krishna.” “Yes, what you are saying is true,” I replied, “but only partly. If you look closely at the prayers to the guru, they are not about the guru in isolation. They are about the guru in connection with Krishna.” I explained that I saw a progression in the morning program. During mangala-arati, we contemplate the guru as a living example of devotion. The prayers describe the guru’s absorption in various activities of bhakti. By meditating on that example, we can become inspired to dedicate ourselves to Krishna according to our own capacity. The Narasimha prayers are prayers for protection—not merely protection of our physical selves, but protection of our devotion. Thereafter, the longest part of the morning program is our mantra meditation, when for one and a half hours or more we chant the Hare Krishna mantra. That meditation is centered directly on Krishna. “Later, during guru-puja, our meditation shifts toward the guru’s blessings on us, central among which are the teachings through which spiritual knowledge illuminates our heart—divya-jñāna hṛde prakāśito. And even during the prayers to the guru, half or more of the time is spent singing the Hare Krishna mantra in kirtan, which is clearly centered on Krishna. Then comes the Bhagavatam class, where we contemplate spiritual wisdom so that we can become more devotedly and dedicatedly connected with Krishna.” I saw a three-part progression: we contemplate the guru’s devotion to Krishna, we contemplate the guru’s blessings on us, and through both, we ourselves become inspired to connect more deeply with Krishna. “In my tradition, the prayers may be addressed to the guru, but their content repeatedly takes us toward Krishna. I think in both your Vaishnava tradition and mine, the guru’s mercy is considered essential. It is just that the liturgical expression of that truth differs in our traditions.” “That makes sense,” he said. Later, my thoughts went to Bhagavad-gita 4.34. Interestingly, the Gita does not use the word guru there. It tells us to approach those who are tattva-darshinah—seers of truth—with submission, inquiry, and service. The next verse describes what such guidance is meant to accomplish. Bhagavad-gita 4.35 speaks about freedom from illusion and the restoration of spiritual vision, by which we can see all living beings in relation with Krishna. As I contemplated these two effects, I began to see a three-step progression: a universal longing, a particular channel, and a universal fulfillment. The human longing for transcendence is universal. The guru, as a living example who is connected with transcendence, makes what might otherwise seem abstract become concrete and accessible. Through that particular person, our universal longing for transcendence is nourished and directed toward its universal fulfillment in our relationship with Krishna. Something that had struck me only after many readings of Bhagavad-gita 4.34 now came to my mind: the verse refers to tattva-darshinah—plural. We need one spiritual master to formally connect us with the tradition through initiation. Yet our connection with the tradition and with Krishna is not restricted to that one spiritual master alone. Many spiritual teachers may help us continue and grow on that journey. We live not merely in relation with one individual but within a larger spiritual ecosystem meant ultimately to take us toward Krishna. My thoughts then went to another podcast, this one in India, where the host had asked me, “Doesn’t giving so much attention to a guru create a danger of personality cults?” “Yes, that’s possible,” I had replied, “but only if the purpose of devotion to the guru is forgotten. The guru is worshipable because of the guru’s dedication to Krishna. The guru is meant to be a transparent via medium to Krishna. If the guru begins to displace Krishna as the prominent object of devotion—or, worse still, replaces Krishna—then the very purpose of guru devotion has been lost. What matters most is not how much attention we give the guru, but where that attention takes us: does it take us increasingly toward Krishna?” A Spiritual Connection Beyond the Emotional Connection Reflecting on that earlier question and answer in the light of my recent conversation helped me see the issue more clearly. When I contemplate the guru as a living example of devotion, my focus need not be primarily on the guru’s particular personality. The mangala-arati prayers, for example, say little about the guru’s personal traits. They focus on the guru’s absorption in the activities of bhakti. The guru thus offers a living example of the longing for transcendence being fulfilled through dedication to Krishna. This reflection also helped me arrive at a more complete answer to a question I often hear from devotees around the world: “We get very little personal association with our spiritual master. How can we ensure that this does not affect our devotional growth?” Normally, I would reply that even when the vapu, the personal association of the spiritual master, is not available, the vani, the spiritual master’s teachings, always remain available. But this reflection helped me see the answer more broadly. Our universal spiritual longing can continue to be nourished by the blessings of the spiritual master. The particular channel of personal association with the spiritual master may be limited. Yet the spiritual master’s example of absorption in and dedication to Krishna can still show us the universal fulfillment toward which our own spiritual longing is meant to move. This reflection offered me some solace when I contemplated my own relationship with my spiritual master. From childhood, I have been an analytical and intellectual person. I have never experienced an overwhelming emotional attraction toward anyone—neither toward my parents, nor toward my teachers at school or college, nor toward any friends. And that has continued even within my spiritual journey as a monk. I have had a few deep and fulfilling relationships, but they have been centered more on the depth of intellectual exploration rather than the strength of emotional attraction. When I see the strong emotional attraction that many in my Godfamily feel toward our spiritual master, I sometimes wonder: Is my heart deficient in devotion? I know I have a long way to go in my devotional journey. But the example of Srila Prabhupada’s relationship with his spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, has been a compass for me. Prabhupada did not narrate large numbers of personal stories about his spiritual master, and the stories he did tell tended to focus less on his spiritual master’s personal traits and more on his insightful and fearless dedication to sharing devotional wisdom. His devotion to his spiritual master may not have been emotionally effusive, but his dedication was extraordinary. I hope that even if my devotion to my spiritual master does not become emotionally effusive, I can still increase my dedication to my guru and to Krishna. As I reflected on the different questions that had brought me to this point, I noticed that they approached the guru-disciple relationship from opposite directions. The questions from the Sri Vaishnava devotee and the podcast host were about whether devotion to the guru could become too much—in terms of the time given to the guru during the morning program or the emotional focus on the guru. From the other direction came concerns about too little: for some devotees, too little personal association with their spiritual master; for me, too little emotional attraction. While these externals can be important in particular contexts, I felt reassured thinking that the guru-disciple relationship runs deeper than these externals. The key is whether our connection with the spiritual master is moving us closer to Krishna. Thinking thus, I offered a prayer: My dear Lord, let my devotion to my spiritual master always deepen my devotion to You. Let me be nourished by his blessings and inspired by his example of dedication to You. For those of us who may have little personal association with our spiritual master or may not feel an intense emotional connection with his personal traits, may we never feel excluded from Your mercy. May we continue to be nourished in our devotion by Your all-encompassing mercy, coming to us in whatever ways are available to us and meaningful to us. *** 04.35 Having obtained real knowledge from a self-realized soul, you will never fall again into such illusion, for by this knowledge you will see that all living beings are but part of the Supreme, or, in other words, that they are Mine. The post Why Do You Worship Your Spiritual Master More Than Krishna? first appeared on Chaitanya Charan Das, Bhagavad Gita ISKCON .