(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 30 March 2014, Cape Town, South Africa, Srimad Bhagavatam 10.39.39)
Spiritual life is like that – there is always a higher standard and there is always another level of realization. That is why we always remain a fool before the spiritual master. Tamal Krsna Maharaj said in front of Srila Prabhupada, “Yes, I am just a fool.” Prabhupada said, “It is very good as long as you think like that because then I can instruct you. But as soon as you think that you are intelligent then I can’t instruct you.”
The relationship with the spiritual master is the most difficult one because here is a person who has a level of authority in our life that even our parents never had! I mean, when you are a small child your parents have all authority, up to a point. You can cry and protest but then when you can speak, you can say, “NO!” You can go into your ‘no-face’ which is a well-known face that each child goes through and many of us never get out of that. What to do, that’s very strong…
Then suddenly, you get involved with the Hare Krsna Movement and there is a spiritual master and now you have to stop saying, “NO!” There are more sophisticated ways of saying, “NO!” One is, “I don’t agree!” Or better still, “His arguments don’t make sense!”
But Bhaktisiddhanta was speaking about this; he says that mundane logic does not apply. When the spiritual master speaks, in the beginning we think that it doesn’t make sense what he is saying. But if ones hears submissively; then with time it begins to make more sense and ultimately, it begins to make full sense!
