Empowerment

The actual order or empowerment to initiate disciples comes from the order of one’s spiritual master:

Svarüpa Dämodara: (The professor asked me) how do you know that guru is qualified, spiritual master is qualified? Then I said (answered) everything is written in the sastras, so we have to follow according to the injunctions written in the sastras. So all the qualifications of a pure devotee, of a bona fide guru, is written there. Just like you are a professor of physics in the university. Before you came, you had some qualification, degree of doctors. And then there is a committee to decide you whether you are qualified for the post. So it is selected by a committee of members and then they interview and then they find out your qualifications. If they find that you are qualified for the post, so you are selected as a professor. It's like that in the spiritual field also. There are revealed scriptures and there everything is written what will be the qualification of a guru and then how to choose a bona fide one. So everything is written, you should follow the injunctions of the revealed scriptures accordingly.

Prabhupäda: Committee is his spiritual master, he orders that you do this.

(Morning Walk, 1-3 October 1972 LA)

Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu says, amara ajnaya guru haya tara sarva-desa, tara ei desa. He's asking everyone to become a spiritual master. So how everyone can become a spiritual master? A spiritual master must have sufficient knowledge, so many other qualifications. No. Even without any qualifications, one can become a spiritual master. How? Now the process is, Caitanya Mahaprabhu says, amara ajnaya: 'On My order.' That is the crucial point. One does not become spiritual master by his own whims. That is not spiritual master. He must be ordered by superior authority. Then he's spiritual master. Amara ajnaya. Just like in our case. Our superior authority, our spiritual master, he ordered me that 'You just try to preach this gospel, whatever you have learned from me, in English.' So we have tried it. That's all. It is not that I am very much qualified. The only qualification is that I have tried to execute the order of superior authority.

(Bg. 2.2 Lecture, 3 August 1973 London)

Brahmananda: He's asking when did you become the spiritual leader of Krsna

consciousness?

Prabhupada: When my Guru Maharaja ordered me. This is the guru-parampara.

Indian: Did it...

Prabhupada: Try to understand. Don't go very speedily. A guru can become guru

when he's ordered by his guru. That's all. Otherwise nobody can become guru.

Indian woman 2: (Hindi)

Prabhupada: (Hindi) Sadhi mam prapannam. "I am surrendered to You. Whatever You

say, I shall carry out." That's all.

Indian man: When did he tell you to...?

Prabhupada: What is the business, when did he tell me? And why shall I disclose

to you? It is so very insignificant thing that I have to explain to you?

Indian man: No, I am just curious when...

Prabhupada: You should be curious within your limit. You should know that one

can become guru when he is ordered by his guru, this much.

(Lecture, Bhagavad-gita 7.2, Nairobi, 28 October 1975)

In the case of Çréla Prabhupäda’s dékñä disciples, a general order to become spiritual master has been given many times by His Divine Grace both orally and in writing. Therefore, all dékñä disciples of Çréla Prabhupäda who are properly following his instructions are in fact already authorized and empowered to initiate disciples. To work within ISKCON, however, a preacher must agree to cooperate with the organization and thus seeks the blessings of senior Vaiñëavas within the Society. But this seeking of blessings would be best performed if it were not officially mandated. Rather, it could be done at the discretion of the devotee who plans to accept disciples.

The references in the next section demonstrate that Çréla Prabhupäda intended and ordered all of his disciples to become spiritual masters.