Srila Prabhupada said in certain places that one should accept a spiritual master whose guidance will make one's life perfect. Would it make any difference to one's spiritual progress if the spiritual master one accepted was at a different level of realization to, say, another spiritual master?

Keeping Krishna in the center doesn’t mean we have no relationships with others; rather, we then have the proper perspective of our spiritual relationship with all beings. In the last several decades, after having made the state secular, carefully keeping any mention of God out of educational institutions and relegating religion to a sort of personal hobby or an unofficial non-governmental Social Welfare agency, there has been no dearth of researches and reform movements and humanitarian efforts targeting the upliftment of others, seeking in various ways to help people....

In Bg 18.14, Krishna explains that there are five factors of action, only one of which is our self, the others being the senses and instruments, the field of action, the different endeavors and ultimately the Supersoul. As said above, everything required for performing an activity, including our own intelligence and strength comes from Krishna. Our independent will constitutes one of the factors, but we are miniscule and dependent on the Lord for every movement and can act only under His sanction. Thus, with a little introspection, we can understand that we are not the cau...

The process of retraction of bad habits can be summed up as follows: Recognition, Regret, Rectification, and Reinstatement - aided by saintly association and devotional practices. Retraction of bad habits was compared by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura as being synonymous to the jiva’s returning back to the spiritual world, because in effect these bad habits are nothing but the binding effects of our long material association and past activities. The first step in overcoming this material conditioning is of course to recognize the bad habits themselves. This recognition sho...

We know from Srimad Bhagavatam (SB 1.2.6) that there is no material force that can stop the flow of pure devotional service - it is 'ahaituki apratihata', causeless and uninterrupted. It is the characteristic of one who is in the steady stage of pure devotion that they are not swayed by any material influences or circumstances - this was exemplified in Srila Prabhupada's life. Conversely, unsteadiness in our execution of Krishna consciousness is caused by lack of maturity in our faith & devotion...

I know the issue of institutionalized sexism is not new to ISKCON, but this is the first time I have noticed the implication of the language found in verses directly referring to spiritual archetypes. Do you have any suggestions as to how I may properly understand the nature of the language in these verses for myself and for the sake of explaining it to others as transcendental literature that informs a transcendental culture?

I live in a devotee community and often feel that I don’t know how to associate with others. I love them and try to serve them but all too often I just don’t feel emotionally safe in their association. I don’t feel free to be open in case they hurt me and thus I am wasting my life constantly holding back (defending like a kicked dog).