Prabhupada 0461 - "I Can Do Without Guru" - That Is Nonsense
Lecture on SB 7.9.7 -- Mayapur, February 27, 1977
Just like in our country, perhaps you know, there was a poet, Rabindranath Tagore. He got many distinction from the Oxford University. He got... He never went to a school, but he got the title "doctor," "Dr. Rabindranath Tagore." And if you think that "I shall also get doctorate without going to a school," that is foolishness. That is special. Similarly, don't try to imitate. Follow the general course, sādhana-siddhi. The regulative principles you must follow as instructed in the śāstra. Therefore there are so many śāstras. And guru is guide. We must always... Even if you are nitya-siddha or kṛpa-siddha, you should not neglect the general regulative principle. That is very dangerous. Don't try to do that. We must follow. Nitya... Just like Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Caitanya Mahāprabhu is Kṛṣṇa Himself, God, but He is accepting guru. Who is His guru? He is guru of everyone, but He has also accepted Īśvara Purī as His guru. Kṛṣṇa Himself, He accepted His guru, Sāndīpani Muni, teaching us that without guru you cannot make any advance. Ādau gurvāśrayam. The first business is to accept guru. Tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet (MU 1.2.12). Don't think that "I am so advanced. I may not require any guru. I can do without guru." That is nonsense. That, not possible. "Must." Tad vijñānārtham. Tad-vijñānārtham is spiritual science. "Must approach." Gurum evābhigacchet samit-paniḥ śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham. Tasmād-guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam (SB 11.3.21). If you are actually serious to understand the transcendental science, spiritual knowledge, oh, you must have guru. Tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam. And just like Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāra' ei deśa (CC Madhya 7.128). Guru cannot be self-made. No. There is no such single instance throughout the whole Vedic literature. And nowadays, so many rascals, they are becoming guru without any authority. That is not guru. You must be authorized. Evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rā... (BG 4.2). As soon as the paramparā is lost, sa kālena yoga naṣṭo parantapa, immediately finished. The spiritual potency finished. You can dress like a guru, you can talk big, big words, but it will never be effective.
So these are the science. So Prahlāda Mahārāja is our guru. He's not ordinary. Don't think that "He's a five-years-old boy; he has no knowledge." No. He is perfect nitya-siddha guru, and we should always pray for his mercy. And that is Vaiṣṇava ṭhākura. Vaiṣṇava ṭhākur tomāra kukkura boliyā jānaha more. This is a humble way. "O Vaiṣṇava ṭhākura..." All Vaiṣṇavas are ṭhākura. They are not ordinary persons. Ṭhākura... We therefore address: Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura. So Vaiṣṇava Prahlāda Ṭhākura. So we should always pray, vaiṣṇava ṭhākura, tomāra kukkura boliya jānaha more. This is... There is a song of Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura: "My dear Vaiṣṇava ṭhākura, kindly accept me as your dog." Vaiṣṇava ṭhākura. As the dog, by the indication of the master, does everything very obedient, we have to learn this lesson from the dog, how to become faithful to the master. That is the instruction. In everything you can learn something. Everyone. Therefore mahā-bhāgavata, they accept everyone as guru, to learn something. Actually, from the dog we can learn this art, how to become faithful at the risk of life even. There are many instances, dog have given the life for the master. So... And we should be dog to the Vaiṣṇava. Chāḍiyā vaiṣṇava-sevā, nistāra pāyeche kebā.