Text 7] The Marriage of Kardama Muni and Devahiti 867

the bona fide spiritual master. How is one to receive? One should receive
the transcendental message by aural reception. The word karpa-randhraih
means through the holes of the ears. The favor of the spiritual master is
not received through any other part of the body but the ears. This does
not mean, however, that the spiritual master gives a particular type of
mantra through the ears in exchange for some dollars and if the man
meditates on that then he achieves perfection and becomes God within six
months. Such reception through the ears is bogus. The real fact is that a
bona fide spiritual master knows the nature of a particular man and what
sort of duties he can perform in Krsna consciousness, and he instructs him
in that way. He instructs him through the ear, not privately, but publicly.
“You are fit for such and such work in Krsna consciousness. You can act
in this way.” One person is advised to act in Krsna consciousness by
working in the Deities’ room, another is advised to act in Krsna conscious-
ness by performing editorial work, another is advised to do preaching
work, and another is advised to carry out Krsna consciousness in the
cooking department. There are different departments of activity in Krsna
consciousness, and a spiritual master, knowing the particular ability of a
particular man, trains him in such a way that by his tendency to act he
becomes perfect. Bhagavad-gita makes it clear that one can attain the
highest perfection of spiritual life simply by offering service according to
his ability, just as Arjuna served Krsna by his ability in the military art.
Arjuna offered his service fully as a military man, and he became perfect.
Similarly, an artist can attain perfection simply by performing artistic
work under the direction of the spiritual master. If one is a literary man,
he can write articles and poetry for the service of the Lord under the
direction of the spiritual master. One has to receive the message of the
spiritual master regarding how to act in one’s capacity, for the spiritual
master is expert in giving such instructions.

This combination, the instruction of the spiritual master and the faith-
ful execution of the instruction by the disciple, makes the entire process
perfect. Srila Vigvanatha Cakravarti Thakura describes in his explanation of
the verse in Bhagavad-gita, vyavasayatmika buddhih, that one who wants
to be certain to achieve spiritual success must take the instruction from
the spiritual master as to what his particular function is. He should faith-
fully try to execute that particular instruction and should consider that his
life and soul. The faithful execution of the instruction which he receives
from the spiritual master is the only duty of a disciple, and that will bring
him perfection. One should be very careful to receive the message from the
spiritual master through the ears and execute it faithfully. That will make
one’s life successful.
