Can my parents be my spiritual master if they are not devotees and are not in guru parampara
Question from Shrikant Guru can my parents be my spiritual master if they are not devotees of Krishna and are not in Guru Parampara can I follow their instructions answer certainly one can and should follow the instructions of one's parents because they are our guides and they have experience in material life and for various aspects of our life they can give us valid instructions at the same time there is a substantial difference between material life and spiritual life our parents may love us and they may care for us but that doesn't make them qualified to treat us when we are sick for that we have to go to a doctor so that's a specialized field which requires a specialized expert similarly spiritual life is a specialized field not in the sense that only some special people can be spiritual but it requires sustained practice knowledge and realization to be a spiritual master a spiritual master is a person who is oneself deeply connected with Krishna by one's knowledge, one's devotion, one's realization and that person can connect us with Krishna so without that person being internally connected with Krishna and having the expertise by which we can be connected with which can guide us to become connected with Krishna we will not be able to make genuine spiritual advancement towards Krishna so that's why apart from our parents we need a spiritual master who is a devotee of Krishna and who is in Guru Parampara and who is by whose guidance we will advance in devotional service.