Text 15]
Indra Offends Bṛhaspati
39
prasādayiṣye niśaṭhaḥ śīrṣṇā tac-caraṇam spṛśan
atha —therefore;  aham —I;  amara-ācāryam —the spiritual master of the demigods;  agādha-dhiṣaṇam —whose spiritual knowledge is deep;  dvijam —the perfect  brāhmaṇa ;  prasādayiṣye —I shall please;  niśaṭhaḥ —without duplicity;  śīrṣṇā —with my head;  tat-caraṇam —his lotus feet;  spṛśan —touching.
TRANSLATION
King Indra said:  Therefore with great frankness and without duplicity I shall now bow my head at the lotus feet of Bṛhaspati, the spiritual master of the demigods. Because he is in the mode of goodness, he is fully aware of all knowledge and is the best of the  brāhmaṇa s. Now I shall touch his lotus feet and offer my obeisances unto him to try to satisfy him.
PURPORT
Coming to his senses, King Indra realized that he was not a very sincere disciple of his spiritual master, Bṛhaspati. Therefore he decided that henceforward he would be  niśaṭha , nonduplicitous.  Niśaṭhaḥ śīrṣṇā tac-caraṇam spṛśan : he decided to touch his head to the feet of his spiritual master. From this example, we should learn this principle enunciated by Viśvanātha Cakravarti Thākura:
yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādo yasyāprasādān na gatiḥ kuto 'pi
“By the mercy of the spiritual master one is benedicted by the mercy of Kṛṣṇa. Without the grace of the spiritual master, one cannot make any advancement.” A disciple should never be a hypocrite or unfaithful to his spiritual master. In  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  (11.17.27), the spiritual master is also called  ācārya .  Ācāryam mām vijānīyān : the Supreme Personality of Godhead says that one should respect the spiritual master, accepting him as the Lord Himself.  Nāvamanyeta karhicit : one should not disrespect the  ācārya  at any time.  Na martya-buddhyāsūyeta : one