Question: I Need Your Mercy
I've been chanting my 16 rounds daily for a few weeks now. I have now set myself the goal of being a disciple of a spiritual master, but I find that my 'pride' is getting in the way of it. I really enjoy the association of devotees and love hearing about Krishna from them. When the devotees speak of their spiritual master, they say how much they love him and that they have a personal relationship with him, and how merciful he is. They talk about touching his feet and bowing down offering obeisances. The thought of actually bowing down to somebody and glorifying his feet, for me, is hard to fathom. I want to be humble, so how do I get past this? How will I start up a relationship with a spiritual master and come to love him?
Answer: You've Got It!
Since I am a spiritual master, you already have a relationship with a spiritual master. Love for the spiritual master is not artificial. It naturally develops by engaging in the six loving exchanges with the spiritual master which are as follows:
1. Giving gifts to the spiritual master
2. Receiving gifts from the master
3. Giving prasadam to the spiritual master
4. Receiving prasadam from the spiritual master
5. Opening your heart to the spiritual master (as you have just done)
6. Keep your heart open when he reveals his heart to you (as you are hopefully doing now).
So simply engage in the above six items with spiritual masters and everything will automatically follow from that. Do not worry that you have to do anything artificially. In our Krishna consciousness movement Srila Prabhupada says that blind following is condemned.
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