There are deeply rooted misconceptions about many aspects of the Krsna consciousness philosophy that have been passed down from the beginnings of ISKCON that form the basis of many of the problems we face in ISKCON today.
Persons who would profit from these misconceptions, and those without the intelligence to rise above them both suffer and postpone the opportunity to experience the fruits of understanding things properly.
Surrender, authority, what it means to be a genuine good-as-God guru… all these can be understood properly by submissive hearing from the actual authority.
But in the realm of the cheaters and the cheated, there is much to be gained materially by perpetuating misconceptions. It takes a brave person to step out of this cozy material atmosphere and be willing to accept the consequences.
So how will I understand the concept of surrender to authority if both surrender and authority are lost in so much misinformation?
The simple message of the scriptures is to give a submissive aural reception to the words of a realized soul. It is all about hearing. So in this context, authority means he who is authorized to speak on behalf of Krsna.
One who has the authority is the one who has Krsna; that is, the one who understands correctly the science of devotional service, which is achieved by following perfectly in the line of disciplic succession from Krsna, by following the bona fide spiritual master’s instructions without deviation, and then, after hearing perfectly and assimilating the knowledge with your intelligence, by passing along the transcendental message without adulteration.
This authority can be anyone, as long as they perfectly understand the science of Krsna, and the Vedas instruct us to surrender to such a person and serve them.
By this simple process a sincere disciple can himself gradually become pure, with sufficient blessings from his pure devotee guru, and understand that to completely surrender to Krsna is the real goal of life.
And this can be achieved anytime without obstruction. We can stop analyzing the misbehavior of those around us. As they are able to surrender, Krsna will award them accordingly.
It is our duty to hear from the realized souls and purify ourselves completely, up to the point that there is an end to our own sinful reactions so that Krsna can empower us from within, enabling us to actually become useful in serving the blessed disciplic succession.
This is Srila Prabhupada’s desire and it follows the process of devotional service handed down for thousands of years. There is no hindrance to this process.
All the dogs barking around us, they still can’t keep the caravan of developing Krsna consciousness from passing. The grace of Krsna’s diavi prakriti and the blessings of our pure devotee Spiritual Master together will bring us to the fruition of our seeds of devotion planted there years ago, as long as we continue to do our duty.
Srila Prabhupada:
“As for the common man, if he is a good soul, then there is a chance for advancement by hearing. This hearing process is very important. Lord Caitanya, who preached Krsna consciousness in the modern world, gave great stress to hearing because if the common man simply hears from authoritative sources he can progress, especially, if he hears the transcendental vibration Hare krsna Hare krsna Krsna krsna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.
It is stated, therefore, that all men should take advantage of hearing from realized souls and gradually become able to understand everything.
The worship of the Supreme Lord will then undoubtedly take place. Lord Caitanya has said that in this age no one needs to change his position, but one should give up the endeavor to understand the absolute truth by speculative reasoning.
One should learn to become the servant of those who are in knowledge of the Supreme Lord. If one is fortunate enough to take shelter of a pure devotee, hear from him about self-realization and follow in his footsteps,
one will gradually be elevated to the position of a pure devotee. In this verse particularly (Bhag.-gita, 13,26) the process of hearing is strongly recommended, and this is very appropriate. Although the common man is not as capable as so-called philosophers, faithful hearing from an authoritative person will help one transcend this material existence and go back to Godhead, back to home”
respectfully, Mahananda dasa