Can a pious person free from vices not realise God without taking shelter of a ‘Guru’?

BY HDG B.S. TIRTHA MAHARAJ

No, because, an embodied conditioned soul is like a diseased person. A doctor is a must. To realise God one must become completely free from material contamination. Only a completely detached person can see God. In this connection, Shrimad-Bhagavatam (11/26/26) states: “An intelligent person should therefore reject all negative association and instead take up the association of saintly devotees, whose words cut off the excessive attachment of one’s mind.”

Therefore those who want to proceed in the direction of God realisation should seek the guidance of an Acharya who is a liberated soul, a saintly devotee. A pious person may be engaged in virtuous deeds without any influence of evil company. Yet, he still remains a materially infected person, a soul conditioned by the material mode of goodness. “The material mode of goodness conditions one to worldly happiness” (the Gita 14/9). Any sincere seeker of liberation should associate with pure devotees of the Supreme Lord. This is further substantiated by God’s incarnation, Shri Kapil Deva in His advice to His mother, Shrimati Devahuti (Shrimad-Bhagavatam 3/25/20) “Every learned man knows very well that attachment for anything material is the cause of the greatest
entanglement of the spirit soul. But that very same attachment, when applied to the self-realised devotees, opens door of liberation.”

What is more, Krishna Himself accepted the discipleship of Shri Sandipani Muni and Lord Ramachandra honoured the Sage Vasishtha by accepting him as a spiritual teacher. Apart from highlighting the importance of following a Guru, Lord Krishna grandly declares in Shrimad-Bhagavatam (11/17/27): “One should know the Acharya as Myself and never disrespect him in anyway. One should not envy him, thinking him as ordinary man, for he is the representative of all the demigods.”

The Book "You Ask He Answers, Section - My Search".