The Son of a Pure Devotee

God consciousness is the goal of human life.  If a person is born of a mother or father who can give the child love, as well as a God-conscious education, then he or she is very blessed.  According to Бхагавад-гита, if one is born into a family of transcendentalists, that is the result of good karma.

“It is certainly very fortunate to take birth in such families.  Fortunately, both our spiritual master, Om Visnupada Sri Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja, and our humble self had the opportunity to take birth in such families, by the grace of the Lord, and both of us were trained in the devotional service of the Lord from the very beginning of our lives.  Later on, we met by the order of the transcendental system.”  (Бхагавад-гита 6.42 Purport)

In gratitude to the father who raised him, Srila Prabhupada dedicated the Krishna Book to his father, Gour Mohan De.  Prabhupada described him as, “A pure devotee who raised me as a Krishna conscious child from the beginning of my life.  In my boyhood ages, he instructed me how to play the mrdanga.  He gave me Radha-Krishna Vigraha to worship, and he gave me Jagannatha-Ratha to duly observe the festival as my childhood play.  He was kind to me, and I imbibed from him the ideas later on solidified by my spiritual master, the eternal father.”

Even one who has a pure devotee as a father still must approach a spiritual master for initiation.  It is not true that only someone who has an unhappy relationship with his material father seeks out God or guru.