Sato Vrtteh
by Svami Bhakti Aloka Paramadvaiti
Following in the Footsteps of Previous Acaryas
TWO SPIRITUAL MASTERS
The Spiritual Master I Was Longing to Meet
My search for a spiritual master was more than a search for a person who supplies a mantra and illuminates for his disciples a path to personal salvation. I was looking for a spiritual master who would face the reality of this world, a person who could offer a proper understanding of events, and who could reveal the proper attitude to help the people of this world improve by making the right choices and by overcoming bad habits and temptations. I was searching for a spiritual master whose merciful message would be able to uplift anybody who wanted to be uplifted; someone who could convince you to get out of this conditioned existence to go back home, back to Godhead; a social reformer, a divine revolutionary and a friend of justice under any condition, whose kindness for every living entity was self-evident. This was the spiritual master I was longing to meet.
Previously, in my youth, I had passed through phases of attraction to socialism and communism because I sympathized with those who said we had to fight for justice. We couldn't simply tolerate abuse, misuse, exploitation of one man by the other, sitting idly nearby and worrying only about having enough for ourselves. I appreciated the struggle for justice, and I was discouraged by the terrible prospect facing this world. After some time I could see that communists and socialists had nothing to offer this world as far as spiritual understanding and real development of consciousness was concerned. I longed for a spiritual master who would address all these issues and give solid hope for all those seeking truth and justice in their own life as well as in the lives of others.