Initiation is a formality. If you are serious, that is real initiation.

krsna · May 29, 2005

Well, initiation or no initiation, first thing is knowledge. (break) ...knowledge. Initiation is formality. Just like you go to a school for knowledge, and admission is formality. That is not very important thing.

(Interview, 16/10/76, Chandigarh)

Initiation is a formality. If you are serious, that is real initiation. My touch is simply a formality. It is your determination, that is initiation.

(BTG, Search for the Divine)

krsna · May 29, 2005

From the Srimad Bhagavatam where Kapiladeva is giving instruction:

"My devotee actually becomes self-realized by My unlimited causeless mercy, and thus, when freed from all doubts, he steadily progresses towards his destined abode, which is directly under the protection of My spiritual energy of unadulterated bliss. That is the ultimate perfectional goal of the living entity. After giving up the present material body, the mystic devotee goes to that transcendental abode and never comes back.

When the mind is thus completely freed from all material contamination and detached from material objectives, it is just like the flame of a lamp. At that time the mind is actually dovetailed with that of the Supreme Lord and is experienced as one with Him because it is freed from the interactive flow of the material qualities.

Thus situated in the highest transcendental stage, the mind ceases from all material reaction and becomes situated in its own glory, transcendental to all material conceptions of happiness and distress. At that time the yogi realizes the truth of his relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He discovers that pleasure and pain as well as their interactions, which he attributed to his own self, are actually due to the false ego, which is a product of ignorance.

I am present in every living entity as the Supersoul (Paramatma, caitya guru). If someone neglects or disregards that Supersoul everywhere and engages himself in the worship of the Deity in the temple, that is simple imitation.

One who worships the Deity of Godhead in the temples but does not know that the Supreme Lord, as Paramatma is situated in every living entity's heart, must be in ignorance and is compared to one who offers oblations into the ashes.

One who offers Me respect but is envious of the bodies of others and is therefore a separatist never attains peace of mind, because of his inimical behaviour towards other living entities.

My dear mother, even if he worships with proper rituals and paraphernalia, a person who is ignorant of My presence in all living entities never pleases Me by the worship of My Deities in the temple.

Performing his prescribed duties, one should worship the Deity of the Supreme Personality of Godhead until one realises My presence in his own heart and in the hearts of all other living entities as well."

krsna · May 29, 2005

Hrdayananda: How can we understand the guru?

Prabhupada: How do you understand? When you go for treatment to a physician, how do you understand that here is a physician? How do you understand? Tell me?

Hrdayananda: He says by the title and reputation.

Prabhupada: Yes. Some way or other, you know that he is a physician. So similarly, you have to find out guru.

Guru... First of all, who requires a guru? That is the question.

Because guru is not a fashion... The... It is said in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, tasmad gurum prapadyeta: "On account of this, you should go to a guru." What is that account? Tasmad gurum prapadyeta jijnasuh sreya uttamam: "One who is very much inquisitive to know about spiritual affair, he requires a guru."

Spiritual affair means that... We are in this material world. We are suffering. When the question will come in one's mind, "Why I am suffering?" that is spiritual. Just like an animal is being taken to the slaughterhouse. He cannot inquire, "Why I am being taken to the slaughterhouse?" But if a man is being taken forcibly, he'll protest; he will cry; he'll call crowd. Therefore human being can inquire about spiritual affair.

So when there is spiritual inquiry, then one requires a guru. And by going to guru, as it is stated, tad viddhi pranipatena pariprasnena sevaya . One has to learn by surrendering, pranipata.

So first of all there must be a strong impulse to inquire about the transcendental subject matter. Then one requires a guru.

Not that, to follow a fashion, that one has guru.

Acaryavan puruso veda. Unless one becomes under the control of acarya, he has no perfect knowledge. Therefore the Vedas says, tad-vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet: "For understanding that transcendental science, one must approach a guru." And what is the symptom of guru? Samit-panih srotriyam brahma-nistham: Guru means one who has complete knowledge of Vedic version, and not only that, he is a staunch or fixed-up devotee of the Supreme Lord. These are the qualification. The guru strictly follows the Vedic injunction and teaches the same thing to his disciple. That is guru.