Is bhakti innate or is it given by the guru?

From Sri Jiva Pandit Prabhu:

Is bhakti innate or is it given by the guru? What is the seed that is given by the guru?

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Question by Sri Jiva Pandit Prabhu In Chaitanya Charitamruta it is said that Krishna gives the bhakti-lata beej.
So, what exactly is the beej that Krishna gives through the spiritual master? Answer That beej is actually the process of devotional service. Chaitanya Charitamruta also says, Nitya Siddha Krishna Sadhya Kabuna So, the Krishna Prem is always there in the heart, it is just not manifested. But when we hear and chant, it becomes manifested.
That indicates that Krishna Prem is always there in our hearts. So, if it is always there in our hearts, then what is it that the spiritual master is giving us? So, the other words that you have to use Bhakti-lata-beej So, by the mercy of Guru and Krishna, we get the bhakti-lata-beej. So, these two analogies seem to be slightly contradictory.
One says that Krishna Consciousness is always there within our hearts and the other says that something is given by the spiritual master to start off our spiritual journey. So, yes, Krishna Consciousness is always there in our hearts, but the process of becoming Krishna Conscious, this process of becoming, of arousing our Krishna Consciousness is given by the spiritual master. The Ishtavit Bhagavatam also gives the example that fire is always there in the wood, but that fire cannot be manifested by itself.
That fire has to come in contact, that wood has to come in contact with another wood that is on fire, then the fire within that wood will manifest. Similarly, it’s a two-way process. Both parts are involved in it.
There is something within the wood because of which it catches fire. So, if that wood comes in contact with stone, then the stone won’t catch fire. So, the stone in itself does not have the capacity to burn.
The wood has the capacity, but even when it has the capacity, it cannot manifest that capacity on its own. It, its capacity has to be evoked by the contact of an external piece of wood where that fire is evoked already. So, the spiritual master gives us the process of devotional service.
So, what does the process of devotional service mean? That is Sambandha, Apitaya and Prayojan. The spiritual master gives us Sambandha Gyan. So, he tells us actually that you are not the body, you are the soul.
It’s like telling, this wood, actually there is fire inside it. We are the body, but within the body there is a soul and that soul is the real I. So, that Sambandha Gyan is very important. Without that, there is no possibility of any substantial or authentic spiritual life.
But beyond that, knowledge of our true identity and our relationship with Krishna, there has to be a process for developing that relationship. So, the spiritual master also uses Apitaya. Apitaya is the method by which the process of bhakti grows.
So, the process of bhakti acts and the bhakti of sabhiji grows in our hearts. So, this process is revealed to us, explained to us by the spiritual master. And then the spiritual master himself or even the spiritual master by talking about the previous acharyas, gives us a sense of the prayojan.
What is the goal of love of God? How do we need to absorb ourselves in love of God? So, when that comes up with all these three, so in one sense, the spiritual master gives us three things. Knowledge, facility and inspiration. So, knowledge is Sambandha Gyan.
Facility is the process of devotional service. Inspiration is the role model. This is what we can all become if we practice this process.
So, in essence, this is the mercy of the spiritual master. Mercy is not something magical. Mercy is actually the bestowal of these three facilities.
And the bestowal of these three facilities helps us to advance. These three things basically, the facility, the knowledge and the inspiration. All this helps us to advance.
So, yes, there is the element of Krishna Maharshi that has to be within us and there is the element that has to be taken from outside from the spiritual master. And both of them together help us to make spiritual advancement. Thank you.