Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Srimad Bhagavatam 1.19.37

atah prcchami samsiddhim

yoginam paramam gurum

purusasyeha yat karyam

mriyamanasya sarvatha

SYNONYMS

atah -- therefore; prcchami -- beg to inquire; samsiddhim -- the way of perfection; yoginam -- of the saints; paramam -- the supreme; gurum -- the spiritual master; purusasya -- of a person; iha -- in this life; yat -- whatever; karyam -- duty; mriyamanasya -- of one who is going to die; sarvatha -- in every way.

TRANSLATION

You are the spiritual master of great saints and devotees. I am therefore begging you to show the way of perfection for all persons, and especially for one who is about to die.

PURPORT

Unless one is perfectly anxious to inquire about the way of perfection, there is no necessity of approaching a spiritual master. A spiritual master is not a kind of decoration for a householder. Generally a fashionable materialist engages a so-called spiritual master without any profit. The pseudo spiritual master flatters the so-called disciple, and thereby both the master and his ward go to hell without a doubt. Maharaja Pariksit is the right type of disciple because he puts forward questions vital to the interest of all men, particularly for the dying men. The question put forward by Maharaja Pariksit is the basic principle of the complete thesis of Srimad-Bhagavatam. Now let us see how intelligently the great master replies.

<<< >>>

Copyright (c) The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness