Live Caitanya Caritamrta · CC Madhya 8.312
Follow Authoritative Teachers in Disciplic Succession
“I have tried to preach the pastimes of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s meeting with Rāmānanda Rāya in accordance with the notebooks of Śrī Svarūpa Dāmodara.”
What the purport teaches
- The author presents the meeting with Rāmānanda Rāya according to Śrī Svarūpa Dāmodara’s notebooks. He acknowledges his debt to authoritative persons rather than claiming independent research.
- One must strictly follow great personalities and ācāryas. One who has the favor of the ācārya knows everything.
- Transcendental knowledge does not come simply from hearing someone called a guru. The guru must be bona fide and must have heard from his own bona fide guru.
Try this today
Write down the two qualifications stated here: a guru must be bona fide and must have heard from his own bona fide guru.
Ask yourself
Do I value the disciplic succession when choosing whose spiritual teachings to hear?
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.