Śyāmasundara: Today we are discussing the American philosopher John Dewey. Last time we were discussing William James, who is called a pragmatist. His philosophy deals…, believes that practice is better than theory. So this John Dewey is more or less a successor in this same line of philosophizing. He says that practical consequences are the only valid test of truth, and he says that the proof of an idea consists in its being subject to predictable results. The idea is not true unless the results of the idea are predictable.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Śyāmasundara: He is also…
Prabhupāda: That is practical. That is practical. No theoretical knowledge is necessary.
Śyāmasundara: But do the results of an idea have to be predictable?
Prabhupāda: Idea may…, if it is a concocted idea, the result cannot be ascertained. If it is fact, then the result can be predicted.
Śyāmasundara: He says that the object of inquiry or asking questions is belief; that because we want to believe something we often ask questions in order to find something to believe in. This is the nature of inquiry.
Prabhupāda: So that is the Vedānta-sūtra: to find out the ultimate cause of everything, the inquiries about the Absolute Truth. So these inquiries should be made to the person who knows; otherwise, what is the use of inquiring? That is the Vedic injunction. If you want to inquire about truth, then you must approach the bona fide spiritual master, guru. Guru means bona fide. But because there are so many pseudo gurus at the present moment, therefore we have to add this word “bona fide.” Otherwise, guru means bona fide. One who is not bona fide, he cannot be guru. But people are misled by persons, pseudo or false gurus; therefore you have to add this word “bona fide.” Otherwise there is no necessity of adding this word.
Śyāmasundara: He believes that it is the nature of inquiry itself to want to believe something, even on the small, everyday level. If I want to know who put these flowers here, because I want to believe the truth about these flowers, I ask, I inquire.
Prabhupāda: So inquiry means to know the truth. Therefore our inquiry should be made to a person who knows the truth. Otherwise the inquiry has no valid position. Tad vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum eva abhigacchet [MU 1.2.12]. That is Vedic injunction. The inquiry should be genuine and the answer should come from a genuine person. Then it is all right.
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I looked up the word bona fide in the vedabase folio and found 1451 references to it. So if we have a bona fide guru, then everything is fine, but if we do not have such a liberated person to guide us , then our future is very very dark.
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We have to select a guru by whose order we wont make mistakes
March 2 1966 NY—Now, to take such guidance means the spiritual master should also be a very perfect man. Otherwise, how can he guide? …Therefore one has to select a spiritual master whose order, carrying, you’ll not commit a mistake. You see? Now, suppose if you accept a wrong person as spiritual master, and if you, if he guides you wrongly, then your whole life is spoiled. So one has to accept a spiritual master whose guidance will make his life perfect. That is the relation between spiritual master and disciple. It is not a formality. It is a great responsibility both for the disciple and for the spiritual master.
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Srimad-Bhagavatam warns of kali-yuga panditas
Translation-
A person’s spiritual position will be ascertained merely according to external symbols, and on that same basis people will change from one spiritual order to the next. A person’s propriety will be seriously questioned if he does not earn a good living. And one who is very clever at juggling words will be considered a learned scholar. SB 12.2.4
Srimad-Bhagavatam precicts the situation of greedy sannyasis in kali yuga
TRANSLATION-
The brahmacārīs will fail to execute their vows and become generally unclean, the householders will become beggars, the vānaprasthas will live in the villages, and the sannyāsīs will become greedy for wealth SB 12. 2. 33
Srimad-Bhagavatam predicts the appearance of bogus gurus, swamis etc.
TRANSLATION-
Uncultured men will accept charity on behalf of the Lord and will earn their livelihood by making a show of austerity and wearing a mendicant’s dress. Those who know nothing about religion will mount a high seat and presume to speak on religious principles.
PURPORT-The epidemic of bogus gurus, swamis, priests and so forth is explicitly described here
SB 12.3.38
Srila Prabhupada explains about the position of bogus gurus
Jayatīrtha: Yesterday Nitāi found a quote from the Purāṇas that says, “There are many gurus who will take away your money, but rare is the one who will take away your miseries.
Srila Prabhupāda: Guravo bahavaḥ santi vittāpahārakaḥ
Devotee: Yes, right.
Srila Prabhupada: guravo bahavaḥ santi vittāpahārakaḥ taṁ tu guruṁ na paśyāmi śiṣya-santā-paharakah
There are many gurus. They are very expert in plundering disciples’ money, but it is very difficult to find out a guru who can take out all the anxieties of the disciple.” Śiṣya santa-pahārakāḥ. Guru is meant for taking away the santāpa. Saṁsāra-dāvānala-līḍha-loka-trāṇāya kārunya-ghanāghanatvam **. “The śiṣya will be peaceful”—objective of life—that is the business of guru, not to take away his money
Morning Walk Conversation with His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda February 4, 1975
Acyutānanda:: If a man says, “I am giving you this donation because it is a spiritual organization,” but if the money is misused, does that man benefit.
Srila Prabhupāda: If money is misused, then both of them become implicated. If it is not used for Kṛṣṇa, then both of them becomes under the laws of karma
Srila Prabhupad warns about so-called acaryas of the age of kali
Translation-
Seeing the activities of the world, the Ācārya felt compassion and began to ponder how He could act for the people’s.
Purport-
This sort of serious interest in the welfare of the public makes one a bona fide ācārya. An ācārya does not exploit his followers. Since the ācārya is a confidential servitor of the Lord, his heart is always full of compassion for humanity in its suffering. He knows that all suffering is due to the absence of devotional service to the Lord, and therefore he always tries to find ways to change people’s activities, making them favorable for the attainment of devotion. That is the qualification of an ācārya. Although Śrī Advaita Prabhu Himself was powerful enough to do the work, as a submissive servitor He thought that without the personal appearance of the Lord, no one could improve the fallen condition of society…
The so-called ācāryas of the Age of Kali are more concerned with exploiting the resources of their followers than mitigating their miseries; but Śrī Advaita Prabhu, as an ideal ācārya, was concerned with improving the condition of the world situation CC Adi lilA 3.98
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SB 2.8.7 purport…In the process of devotional service, the first step is to take shelter of the spiritual master and then inquire from the spiritual master all about the process. This inquiry is essential for immunity to all kinds of offenses on the path of devotional service. Even if one is fixed in devotional service like Mahārāja Parīkṣit, he must still inquire from the realized spiritual master all about this. In other words, the spiritual master must also be well versed and learned so that he may be able to answer all these inquiries from the devotees. Thus one who is not well versed in the authorized scriptures and not able to answer all such relevant inquiries should not pose as a spiritual master for the matter of material gain. It is illegal to become a spiritual master if one is unable to deliver the disciple.
Follow bogus guru-you go to hell
SB 1.19.37 P The Appearance of Sukadeva Gosvami 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.
72-12-14.Letter: Tusta Krsna As for your next question, can only a few pure devotees deliver others, anyone, if he is a pure devotee he can deliver others, he can become spiritual master. But unless he on that platform he should not attempt it. Then both of them will to go to hell, like blind men leading the blind.
SB 6.7.14 Indra Offends His Spiritual Master, Brhaspati. Leaders who have fallen into ignorance and who mislead people by directing them to the path of destruction [as described in the previous verse] are, in effect, boarding a stone boat, and so too are those who blindly follow them. A stone boat would be unable to float and would sink in the water with its passengers. Similarly, those who mislead people go to hell, and their followers go with them.
Srila Prabhupada…”So there must be faith, faith in the right person. Then it is all right…. Faith is required, but to the right person. Then it will be all right. You know that one barber is honest: then you can make your neck like this and he is with a sharpened razor. But you have faith that “He will not cut my throat; he will shave me.” This is faith. And if you do not know him and if you put your neck like this and if he is a rogue, he will cut your throat. That’s all. The same faith, if you put it to the right person, you become cleansed, shaved, and the same faith put in the wrong person—your throat is cut off. So you must know where to put the faith. So our Vedic injunction is: “Put your faith to the brahma-nistam,one who is God-realized”…. Otherwise there will be disaster. Right faith. [break] …(Morning Walk—November 26, 1975, New Delhi )
Madhya 22.153 : PURPORT :
Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says: rūpa-raghunātha-pade haibe ākuti kabe hāma bujhaba se yugala pirīti.The sahajiyās’ understanding of the love affairs between Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa is not bona fide because they do not follow the principles laid down by the six Gosvāmīs. Their illicit connection and their imitation of the dress of Rūpa Gosvāmī as well as their avoidance of the prescribed methods of revealed scriptures will lead them to the lowest regions of hell. These imitative sahajiyās are cheated and unfortunate. They are not equal to advanced devotees (paramahaṁsas). Debauchees and paramahaṁsas are not on the same level.