Attaining the ultimate state of self-realization requires a supportive community. No one can do it alone, in isolation or without help. One who attains complete self-realization becomes fully independent, but we require a community’s support throughout most of the stages on the path.
The most important spiritual relationship is, of course, between the disciple and the Master Teacher:
tad viddhi pranipatena
pariprasnena sevaya
upadeksyanti te jnanam
jnaninas tattva-darsinah“Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth.” [Bhagavad-gita 4.34]
Kṛṣṇa is the original spiritual master, and all other bona fide spiritual masters are following Him through the process of disciplic succession:
evam parampara-praptam
imam rajarsayo viduh“This supreme science was thus received through the chain of disciplic succession, and the saintly kings understood it in that way.” [Bhagavad-gita 4.2]
However, even though one may have a relationship with a bona fide spiritual Master Teacher who is an initiate of the Vedic disciplic succession, one must still be a member of a spiritual community to get the complete benefit of the Esoteric Teaching:
utsahan niscayad dhairyat
tat tat karma-pravartanat
sanga-tyagat satovrtteh
sadbhir bhaktih prasidhyati“The process of bhakti-yoga can be executed successfully with full-hearted enthusiasm, perseverance, and determination by following the prescribed duties in the association of devotees and by engaging completely in activities of goodness.” [Sri Upadesamrta, 3]
Association is very important. It is said, “A man is known by the company he keeps,” and this is especially true when it comes to spiritual life. More than any other single factor, the association we accept practically determines the spiritual advancement and destination we can attain in this life.
Therefore the students of the Esoteric Teaching gather in communities—whether in cyberspace, in small study groups, or in full-time communities—to cultivate spiritual life in favorable association. The association and support of like-minded persons is critical to achieving spiritual success, especially now that the soul-denying materialistic ontology has become the dominant social paradigm in most of the world, even in India.
I am fortunate to be a senior member of a large rural spiritual community, where there is very good facility for developing spiritual consciousness under the guidance of the Esoteric Teaching. And my community is affiliated with the largest and most influential international Vedic society. So I am very fortunate to be so well situated. But many of you are working alone, and I am concerned that you may become discouraged, or deviated from the path of the Esoteric Teaching, by materialistic association.
A single small stick may easily be broken; but when many such sticks are tied together in a bundle, no one can break them. Similarly, when we are trying to make spiritual advancement by ourselves, we are vulnerable. But when we cooperate together, we find strength in numbers. This is the central principle of spiritual community.
Therefore I encourage all my students to develop communities to study the Esoteric Teaching in small local groups. This will help you and others make more rapid advancement on the path of the Esoteric Teaching. Anyone who wants to start such a group in their area can get all the information needed at the Bhakti-vrksha site. You can also log on to the Esoteric Teaching forum and leave a message on the Group Facilitation conference.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
