200
TEACHINGS OF QUEEN KUNTĪ
proclaim that they themselves are God. Because such false masters are rebellious, they have no position. A spiritual master is supposed to act not as God but as the most confidential servant of God by spreading God consciousness, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Viśvanātha Cakravartī Thākura says,  sākṣād-dharitvena samasta-śāstrair uktaḥ : all the  śāstras , the Vedic literatures, state that the spiritual master is to be honored as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus the idea that the spiritual master is as good as God is not bogus. It is stated in the  śāstras , and therefore those who are advanced in spiritual life accept this spiritual injunction ( uktas tathā bhāvyata eva sadbhiḥ ). Then is the spiritual master as good as God?  Kintu prabhor yaḥ priya eva tasya : the spiritual master is not God, but is the confidential representative of God. The distinction is that between  sevya-bhagavān  (he who is worshiped) and  sevaka-bhagavān  (he who is the worshiper). The spiritual master is God, and Kṛṣṇa is God, but Kṛṣṇa is the worshipable God whereas the spiritual master is the worshiper God.
The Māyāvādīs cannot understand this. They think, “Because the spiritual master has to be accepted as God and because I have become a spiritual master, I have become God.” This is rebellious. Those who are given a position by God but who want to usurp His power, which they actually cannot do, are rebellious fools and rascals who require punishment. Therefore Kuntīdevī says,  avani-dhrug-rājanya-vaṁśa-dahana : “You descend to kill all these rascals who rebelliously claim Your position.” When various kings or landholders are subordinate to an emperor, they sometimes rebel and refuse to pay taxes. Similarly, there are rebellious persons who deny the supremacy of God and declare themselves God, and Kṛṣṇa’s business is to kill them.
The word  anapavarga  indicates that Kṛṣṇa’s prowess is without deterioration. This word is the opposite of the word  pavarga , which refers to the path of material tribulation. According to Sanskrit linguistics, the word  pa-varga  also refers to the Sanskrit letters  pa ,  pha ,  ba ,  bha , and  ma . Thus when the word  pavarga  is used to refer to the path of material tribulation, its meaning is understood through words beginning with these five letters.
The letter  pa  is for  pariśrama , which means “labor.” In this material world, one must work very hard to maintain oneself. In  Bhagavad-gītā  (3.8) it is said,  śarīra-yātrāpi ca te na prasiddhyed akarmaṇaḥ : “One cannot even maintain one’s own body without work.” Kṛṣṇa never advised Arjuna, “I am your friend, and I shall do everything. You just sit down and smoke  gañjā .” Kṛṣṇa was doing everything, but still He told Arjuna, “You must fight.” Nor did Arjuna say to Kṛṣṇa, “You are my great