The Tonic of Sweet Surrender for Dedicated Souls

Prapanna-Jivanāmṛtam

The Tonic of Sweet Surrender for Dedicated Souls

तृतियोऽध्यायः

CHAPTER III

श्री भक्त वचनामृतम्

Śrī Bhakta-vacanāmṛtam

Soul-tonic-words from the bhaktas

continued...
Acceptance of what is favorable.

3.11

gurupadāśraya eva mukhyaḥ

गुरुपदाश्रय एव मुख्यः

Service to the holy feet of the sad-guru is the best form of sādhu-saṅga

तस्माद् गुरुं प्रपद्येत जिज्ञासुः ष्रेयः उत्तमम्

शाब्दे परे च निष्णतम् ब्रह्मन्य् उपशमाश्रयम्

श्रि प्रभुद्धस्य

tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ ṣreyaḥ uttamam

śābde pare ca niṣṇatam brahmany upaśamāśrayam

Śri-Prabhuddhasya (SB 11.3.21)

Therefore one should seek out a bona fide spiritual master, one who knows both the scripture and God Himself and who is not charmed by this material world. He should surrender to him and make sincere inquiry about the ultimate goal of life.

Śrīdhara Mahārāja explains this verse in his book, Śrī Guru and His Grace:

Māyā means misconception. We are living in the midst of misconception. Our understanding of the environment is based on a completely misconceived set of ideas and thoughts. We have no proper conception of anything in the absolute sense. Our ideas are all relative. Provincial selfishness has been imposed on the environment, and we are living under that misconception. When one comes to the conclusion that everything around him is mortal and that everything will vanish, then, with that mood, he will feel the necessity of approaching the Guru, the divine guide and preceptor, with the purpose of enquiry. “What is the highest good for me?” With this enquiry, he will approach the Spiritual Master. 

“And who will he approach? One who is not only well-versed in the precepts of the revealed scriptures, but who has also come in contact with the revealed truth. One who is conversant with the very object of the scriptures, and who has practical experience, who is established in pure consciousness, is a genuine Guru. 

One should approach such a guide for his own relief, to understand what is the highest benefit in the world and how to attain it. This is necessary. It is real. It is not imaginary. At the same time, it is difficult. The Absolute Truth must be sought out through a real process; otherwise we shall go the wrong way and then say, “Oh, there is nothing here; it is not real.” So, only if we follow this real process of understanding the truth will we experience the real nature of divinity.”

Śrīdhara Mahārāja gives further light on this verse in his book, "The Loving Search for the Lost Servant"

"One seriously inquisitive to search for his highest prospect should

take complete shelter of a guru who has deep realizations of the

Supreme Lord and the inner meaning of the scriptures. Such spiritual masters have left aside all relative considerations in favor of the supreme absolute consideration.

We should be very attentive to these things. We should try to

understand through self-searching whether we are really approaching divinity through faith. We must also see to it that our faith is real.

Proper faith and credulity are not the same. Whether one is a bona fide searcher with real faith or one whose faith is adulterated must be considered. And there are symptoms of real faith. We have to consult higher authorities to guide us, because faith is a most important thing.

If we are searching for truth, we are dissatisfied with our present

acquisition. We are taking a risk to jump into a higher prospect. We

must therefore take guidance carefully. We must be attentive as far as possible. We are told that our present reason is not sufficient to help us; that more than reason, śraddha is needed, and śraddha also has its symptoms. Still, as far as possible we shall apply our reason.

When I first came to the mission, I thought, "The transcendental truths that I hear from these devotees do not come within the clutches of worldly intelligence, but still, when I want to throw myself into that association, I shall use my reason and intellect as far as possible, understanding that I am going to jump into something which will be beyond my control, beyond my calculation." So we must carefully understand what śraddha is, with guidance from saints, scriptures, and gurus.