It is from such a spiritual master, the direct representative of Lord Krishna, that one must seek the revelation of the secret toward which all perfect questions concerning spiritual realization tend. This true spiritual master is able to elucidate everything related to this domain by relying directly and indirectly on the revealed holy scriptures, of which Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the divine author.

Although everyone is free to consult the revealed holy scriptures, it is nevertheless necessary to place oneself under the tutelage of a bona fide spiritual master. Since the latter is an envoy of the Lord and His most intimate servant, no one can know the Lord by the strength of their own knowledge, their fertile imagination, or even philosophical speculation. However, the sincere seeker will certainly achieve this through the mediation of the bona fide spiritual master, who acts as a “transparent” intermediary.

Confused by the external energy of the Lord, the so-called leaders of society are ignorant of this prestigious science of devotional service to God, and constantly devote themselves to ignoble activities aimed at the gratification of the senses. As a result, they persist in their rebellion against the supremacy of God and never accept to surrender to Him, for they are indeed fools, unbelievers, and the most fallen of men.

Even if these atheistic unbelievers prove to be highly educated from a material point of view, they remain the most foolish of men, since under the influence of material nature, the aspect of the external energy of God, all the so-called knowledge they have accumulated sinks into vanity.

Therefore, any activity performed by man amounts to a total failure if he does not reach the level of loving and devoted service that he must offer to Krishna, God, the Supreme Personality.

A person who is driven by constant devotion to Krishna, God, the Supreme Personality, certainly possesses all the qualities of celestial beings, but one who, on the contrary, does not devote himself to the Lord is forced to wander in the dark regions of intellectual speculation and thus lives, in and for, the temporary world.

In reality, possessing a full knowledge of the entire spiritual teaching of the Vedas, the original holy scriptures also called “the true gospel,” without attaining knowledge of the Supreme Lord, is like carrying the burden of a beast of burden, or herding a cow that cannot give milk.

Even the most degraded of men can be elevated to the highest level of devotion if they are taught by a bona fide spiritual master, who possesses perfect knowledge of the absolute loving service offered to the Lord.

If this is true of the most degraded of men, what then can be said of the highest of them, the one who is perfectly versed in Vedic knowledge?