Live Caitanya Caritamrta · CC Antya 4.103
A Spiritual Master Practices and Preaches
“You simultaneously perform both duties in relation to the holy name by your personal behavior and by your preaching. Therefore you are the spiritual master of the entire world, for you are the most advanced devotee in the world.”
What the purport teaches
- Sanātana Gosvāmī defines a bona fide spiritual master as one who acts according to scriptural injunctions and also preaches.
- Haridāsa Ṭhākura is the ideal spiritual master because he fulfills both duties in relation to the holy name. He regularly chants a prescribed number on his beads—300,000 holy names daily.
- The purport directs members of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement to chant at least sixteen rounds daily and preach Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s teachings according to Bhagavad-gītā As It Is. It describes one who does both as fit to become a spiritual master for the entire world.
Try this today
Read a short passage from Bhagavad-gītā As It Is and identify one teaching to practice before sharing it.
Ask yourself
How can I bring my personal devotional practice and my sharing of the teachings into closer agreement?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport; the practice and question are plain words for trying the verse today.