Ccedil;réla Prabhupäda’s Intentions

Çréla Prabhupäda made his intentions clear about all of his disciples becoming spiritual masters:

Ätreya Åñi: How many qualifications does a spiritual master have in terms of being a spiritual master?

Prabhupäda: One qualification: he is a devotee of God. That's all.

Ätreya Åñi: Does he have to be designated by the former spiritual master? He has to be devotee...

Prabhupäda: Oh, yes, oh yes.

Ätreya Åñi: ...surrendered and designated. That is..., identifies disciplic succession: both surrender and designation.

Prabhupäda: And by the result.

Ätreya Åñi: And the result of activity.

Prabhupäda: So far designation is concerned, the spiritual master authorizes every one of his disciples. But it is up to the disciple to carry out the order, able to carry out or not. It is not that spiritual master is partial, he designates one and rejects other. He may do that. If the other is not qualified, he can do that. But actually his intention is not like that. He wants that each and every one of his disciple become as powerful as he is or more than that. That is his desire. Just like father wants every son to be as qualified or more qualified than the father. But it is up to the student or the son to raise himself to that standard.

Ätreya Åñi: Yes, I understand.

Prabhupäda: If you are incapable of raising yourself to the standard of becoming spiritual master, that is not your spiritual master's fault; that is your fault. He wants, just like Caitanya Mahäprabhu said, ämära äjïäya guru haïä (Cc. Madhya 7.128), By My order, every one of you become a guru. If one cannot carry out the order of Caitanya Mahäprabhu, then how he can become a guru? The first qualification is that he must be able to carry out the order of Caitanya Mahäprabhu. Then he becomes guru. So that carrying out the order of Caitanya Mahäprabhu depends on one's personal capacity. Ämära äjïäya guru haïä. (Room Conversation, 29 June 1972, San Diego)

Every student is expected to become Acarya. Acarya means one who knows the scriptural injunctions and follows them practically in life, and teaches them to his disciples. …Keep trained up very rigidly and then you are bona fide Guru, and you can accept disciples on the same principle. But as a matter of etiquette it is the custom that during the lifetime of your Spiritual Master you bring the prospective disciples to him, and in his absence or disappearance you can accept disciples without any limitation. This is the law of disciplic succession. I want to see my disciples become bona fide Spiritual Master and spread Krishna consciousness very widely, that will make me and Krishna very happy. (Letter to Tusta Krsna, 2 Dec. 1975)

I want that all of my spiritual sons and daughters will inherit this title of Bhaktivedanta, so that the family transcendental diploma will continue through the generations. Those possessing the title of Bhaktivedanta will be allowed to initiate disciples. Maybe by 1975, all of my disciples will be allowed to initiate and increase the numbers of the generations. That is my program. (Letter to Hamsaduta 3 Jan. 1969)

Now is the time for the members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness to distribute krsna-bhakti all over the world and thus follow the orders of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. The Lord has ordered everyone to become a guru (Cc. Madhya 7.128): amara ajnaya guru hana tara' ei desa. (Cc. Madhya 15.41 purport)

So there is no bar against anyone; anyone can become a spiritual master provided he knows the science of Krsna. This is the only qualification, and this science in essence is contained in Bhagavad-gitä. At the present moment, thousands of spiritual masters are needed to spread this great science throughout the world. (Raja Vidya ch.7)

He must not take on unlimited disciples. This means that a candidate who has successfully followed the first twelve items can also become a spiritual master himself, just as a student becomes a monitor in class with a limited number of disciples. (Easy Journey ch.1)