How can we know the mood of our spiritual master?

Podcast:

Disclaimer: This transcript was generated using AI and may contain occasional errors or inaccuracies.

Summary

Grasping the underlying mood and intent of a spiritual master can sometimes feel abstract, but it is essential for deepening one’s devotional service. Here is how disciples can understand and align with their spiritual guide’s true perspective.

• Recognize the Dual Nature of Guru: The guru exists simultaneously as a unique individual person and as a representative of an eternal principle (tattva), meaning their personal stylistic expressions may vary while their core message remains identical.

• Observe Speech and Emphasis: Pay close attention to what the spiritual master frequently speaks about and emphasizes, as their recurring themes reveal their primary focus.

• Examine Personal Service and Instructions: Look at the specific service the guru engages in themselves, alongside the direct instructions they give, to understand the practical application of their mission.

• Notice What is Appreciated or Criticized: Observe the behaviors, community values, and actions that the spiritual master deeply appreciates or strongly expresses concern over to gauge their priorities.

• Ascend to First-Class Service: Strive to move beyond doing just what is literally asked (second-class) by understanding the deeper intent and spirit behind the instruction, allowing you to fulfill the vision even if external circumstances shift (first-class).

• Synthesize Multiple Converging Clues: Because there is no single direct formula, understand the guru’s mood through multiple lines of convergence, including their teachings, actions, and overall feedback.

Full Transcription

So, how can we understand the mood of our spiritual master or of the, in terms of gurukatha in general? Well, there are three different things over here. So, the guru is at one level, a person, an individual.
Another point is guru is also a representative of a principle. Guru is not just tattva. Guru is tattva and guru is a person both.
And the third thing is ultimately, we have our individuality. So, different spiritual masters may have different moods. Is it absolutely necessary that a disciple has to imbibe that mood itself? Well, you see that, Shri Prabhupada and Bhaktivyasa Thakur, quite often the way they spoke were quite different.
Bhaktivyasa Thakur was much more erudite in his speech and sentence. He would use very difficult English words. And Bhaktivyasa Thakur would use western words, even Radhakumari.
Shri Prabhupada hardly ever used western words. So, now, so what does mood mean in that sense? Now, mood was of sharing Krishna’s message. And that desire was totally internalized, practically you can say, more than any other disciple, Shri Prabhupada.
Bhaktivyasa Thakur. So, first thing is that, in general, how do we know the mood of a person? When we hear, when we hear from them, we notice what are the things that they emphasize. Second is we can look at their overall service to Shri Prabhupada.
What is it that they are focusing on themselves? That also gives us an understanding of them. So, their speech, their service, and beyond that is they give us some particular instructions that is even more clear for us. That’s what they would like us to do.
And also, the mood is sometimes, it’s little, it’s sometimes abstract, too abstract to be like put in some succinct word. So, Ben says, my spiritual master’s mood is mood distribution. It’s mood, yeah, it’s emphasis.
Is that the mood? Well, yeah, I can say. But in what attitude do you want to do the mood distribution? That could be referred to the mood, not so much activity. But overall, his disciples, we see that the spiritual master is ultimately meant to help us develop our spiritual relationship with Krishna, our personal relationship with Krishna.
And that means that initially, we start to cultivate the bhastya dharma, the mood of service. And then whatever we are told to do, we do. And in that we meet at the three levels of service.
Third class, second class, first class. Third class is they’re told and they don’t do it. Second, they’re told and they do what they’re told.
Third, first class is they understand the intent, the spirit behind what they’re told. That is the mood. And they fulfill that.
Even if sometimes that means going against the literal of the words. The Prabhupada was told, spread Krishna counsel to the rest of the world. Prabhupada did that.
But a major part of his life, from 1970, Prabhupada spent in India. What was he doing? Was he not following his spiritual master’s instructions? No. He felt that actually his spiritual master’s instruction was to have a global movement.
But the global movement will need a foundation. And based on his own experience and his own experience, the foundation will have to be in the holy places in India. Therefore, he concentrated his energies there.
So that was a first class service, you could say. So overall, we could say that at least we try to come out of second class. And as we do that, in the dharma-buddhi-yogam term, Krishna is intelligence, by which we can learn, by which we can further guide how best we can serve.
So, in general, it’s a… we shouldn’t make it too important. Focus more on the idea of doing service and attitude. And gradually things will become clearer.
Sometimes we’ll see that if we do something, the spiritual master may appreciate us a lot. Or we can also look that, you know, when some devotee does some service, what is appreciated? Some devotees may appreciate that, oh, this devotee will stay in the temple. That is an important thing.
Or the spiritual master may appreciate, you know, when these devotees, when these devotees are at the end of their life, the whole community came together and supported that devotee. That means that’s important. So, in general, what is appreciated, what is appreciated very much and what is also sometimes criticized very much, that also gives us an idea of the mood.
So it’s more like multiple lines of convergence. There is no specific direct way of knowing it, but convergence of various inferences, what they speak, what they emphasize, what they do in their services primarily, what the instructors do, what they appreciate, what they criticize or express concerns about. All those can help us move towards that point of understanding what the mood is.