Anti Ritviks use this “physical” argument sometimes:
Lecture on BG 4.34 — New York, August 14, 1966: Kṛṣṇa is the first spiritual master, and when we become more interested, then we have to go to a physical spiritual master. That is enjoined in the next verse. tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ (BG 4.34)
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1) Lecture was in 1966 – Srila Prabhupada was physically present. Which means that refers to him as the physical spiritual master.
2)
Srila Prabhupada Conversation, May 28, 1977, Vrindavan:
Prabhupada: “When I order, “You become guru,” he becomes regular guru. That’s all. He becomes disciple of my disciple. That’s it.”
“When I order”– NO ORDER WAS GIVEN. On the contrary, the ONLY instruction that followed TWO months AFTER was as per 9th July 1977 Letter, that they were to act in the capacity of Ritvik Representative of Acarya and the disciples initiated would be Srila Prabhupada’s, NOT theirs.
3) A GURU CAN BECOME GURU WHEN HE’S ORDERED BY HIS GURU. That’s all. Otherwise nobody can become guru.
“Self-made guru cannot be guru. HE MUST BE AUTHORIZED BY THE BONA FIDE GURU. Then he’s guru. This is the fact…Similarly, bona fide guru means he must be authorized by the superior guru.”
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture on Nectar of Devotion, October 31. 1972)
“One should take initiation from a bona fide spiritual master coming in the disciplic succession, who is AUTHORIZED BY HIS PREDECESSOR SPIRITUAL MASTER. This is called diksa-vidhana.”
(Srimad Bhagavatam 4.8.54, purport)
Prabhupada: “Try to understand. Don’t go very speedily. A GURU CAN BECOME GURU WHEN HE’S ORDERED BY HIS GURU. That’s all. Otherwise nobody can become guru.
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture on Bhagavad-gita 7.2, Nairobi, October 28, 1975)
(submitted by Mahesh Raja)
Pamho agtacbsp, first of all a guru must have vaisnava background history is not like in the western country that almost everyone born sudra in ignorant family without any vaisnava background history I had a conversation few days ago with the guru nanak devotees I told them I also got DIKSA by a pure devotee then I told them guru nanak saw face to face God therefore is more acceptable but all the pure devotees can see God face to face may be is not visible like those who got it but they also see God because the most important thing in spiritual life is purity but what to say about of all those sudra who promoted themselves to the position of guru without knowing the real meaning of guru ? That’s unacceptable against the sastra caksusa I mean they are already rotten and now by taking the position of someone else they became even more rotten but they still don’t give up until mrityu maharaja will take them straight away to the hellish planets amen agtacbsp ys haribol