Reverence for the Preceptor

By krishnasmercy on May 17, 2026 • ( 0 )

“O chastiser of the enemies, along with you I wish to distribute my wealth to the brahmanas practicing austerities – to the many excellent brahmanas who live here, with firm devotion toward their gurus, and furthermore to all of those who depend upon me.” (Shri Rama speaking to Lakshmana, Valmiki Ramayana, Ayodhya Kand, 31.33-34)

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अहं प्रदातुमिच्छामि यदिदं मामकं धनम्
ब्राह्मणेभ्यस्तपस्विभ्यस्त्वया सह परन्तप

वसन्तीह दृढं भक्त्या गुरुषु द्विजसत्तमाः
तेषामपि च मे भूयस्सर्वेषाञ्चोपजीविनाम्

ahaṃ pradātumicchāmi yadidaṃ māmakaṃ dhanam
brāhmaṇebhyastapasvibhyastvayā saha parantapa

vasantīha dṛḍhaṃ bhaktyā guruṣu dvijasattamāḥ
teṣāmapi ca me bhūyassarveṣāñcopajīvinām

Shri Rama was about to embark for His exile period in the forest, when He directed Lakshmana to bring all His valuables to be distributed amongst the brahmanas. In the kingdom of Ayodhya, the priestly class of men relied solely on the protection of Rama and His father, the king, for their well-being. The beloved eldest prince wanted to reward them for their devotion.

Vedic literature describes that the Almighty personally descends to earth from time to time to reinstitute the principles of dharma and to give protection to His devotees.

यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य
ग्लानिर् भवति भारत
अभ्युत्थानम् अधर्मस्य
तदात्मानं सृजाम्य् अहम्

yadā yadā hi dharmasya
glānir bhavati bhārata
abhyutthānam adharmasya
tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham

“Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion – at that time I descend Myself.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 4.7)

In the Treta Yuga, the appearance was as a pious prince named Rama, born as the first son to Maharaja Dasharatha. As part of His pastimes, Rama accepted a punishment of exile ordered by the father. Not of his own doing, Dasharatha was essentially placed in a bind, wherein the request was to banish Rama from the kingdom for fourteen years. The source was Queen Kaikeyi, who was the youngest wife to Dasharatha. Shri Rama agreed without hesitation, and just before His departure, He and His younger brother Lakshmana gathered Rama’s wealth to be distributed to the brahmanas. In the traditional system, society is to be divided into four groups based on qualities: brahmanas, kshatriyas, vaishyas, and shudras. The brahmanas are considered the highest of that group since they are the priests, and their character is both measurably and demonstrably high. Bhagavad-gita gives insight into the qualities expected of a brahmana.

शमो दमस् तपः शौचं
क्षान्तिर् आर्जवम् एव च
ज्ञानं विज्ञानम् आस्तिक्यं
ब्रह्म-कर्म स्वभाव-जम्

śamo damas tapaḥ śaucaṁ
kṣāntir ārjavam eva ca
jñānaṁ vijñānam āstikyaṁ
brahma-karma svabhāva-jam

“Peacefulness, self-control, austerity, purity, tolerance, honesty, wisdom, knowledge, and religiousness—these are the qualities by which the brahmanas work.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 18.42)

Not just Rama, but all pious kings of the past had great respect for the brahmana class. Rama wanted to distribute His wealth specifically to those brahmanas that had great respect for their teachers.

The Vedic system of knowledge is passed down through the parampara system, which is a chain of disciples. The Supreme Lord imparted the knowledge found in the Bhagavad-gita at the beginning of creation to the sun god Vivasvan. He in turn passed it down to Manu, who in turn passed it down to Ikshvaku. Shri Rama was born in the family of Ikshvaku, so it was something like the quarterback receiving His own pass.

Just as in other religious systems, the Vedas require that one approach a spiritual master, one who is part of this chain, and learn from him the science of self-realization. The guru is our real teacher, from whom we learn the meaning of life and how to make our life successful. A bona fide spiritual master is one who has dedicated his whole life to serving the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Through his dedicated service, the spiritual master has perfect knowledge and is a flawless individual.

The flawed should take instruction from the flawless. It is one thing to teach something to someone, but the teacher must also practice what he preaches. For example, if a teacher instructs people to stop eating meat, and he himself is a voracious carnivore, then naturally his preaching efforts will not be successful. We are all born in the darkness of ignorance. Not knowing anything when we come out of the womb, it is through the instruction of our parents that we first learn to crawl, walk and talk. The second and more important birth occurs when we take instruction from a spiritual master. He is Rama’s representative and thus he opens our eyes, removing the cloud of ignorance. The spiritual master is actually an incarnation of God and the disciple is to treat the guru to be as good as God Himself.

Lack of reverence for the preceptor spoils the interaction. Religion isn’t something that can be produced through speculation or carefully crafted inputs into an AI chatbot. It has to be taken from authority, elevated souls who learned the science from their own teachers. Since the spiritual master provides good counsel, it is important that we show them the highest respect. If we please our guru, then God will be pleased with us, which in turn makes our life successful. If we show disrespect to our spiritual master, then the opposite occurs.

One of the key components of devotional service is the offering of food to God, so that it may become sanctified, returned as what is called prasadam. Even though we may be preparing the food for God, we don’t directly offer it to Him. Instead, we offer it first to our guru, who in turn offers it to his guru and so on. In this way, the offering climbs up the chain to hopefully reach the origin of everything. We work for His happiness, after all. We hope to please Him with our offering. The etiquette is to offer to the spiritual master first, wherein we trust him with our valuable commodity, having faith that it will reach the proper destination.

In the above referenced verses from the Ramayana, Rama also mentions that He wants to distribute His wealth to those who are dependent on Him for their maintenance. Brahmanas typically live a life of poverty. They volunteer for this. The purpose is to minimize any attachments to material possessions. We all have experience with acquiring new toys, clothes, video games, and other material things. We are so excited to get something new and we think to ourselves, “If I just have this, then I will be happy. I will never need anything again for the rest of my life.” In reality, we see that our pacification doesn’t last very long and soon we are left wanting more. For this reason, the brahmanas tend to live a very simple life, so that they can curb the mode of passion. Living completely in the mode of goodness, they spend all their time studying the Vedas, performing sacrifices, and spreading the glories of the name, fame, and attributes of the Divine to the rest of society. They don’t really have time to earn a living in the traditional way, and so they live off the charity of others.

Brahmanas believe that if they are sincere in their service, then Rama will take care of all the necessities of life. This is actually a fact. We may sometimes forget about our dependents, but God does not. We often see that husbands sometimes will do things that are not in the best interests of their family. The wife and children depend on the man for their livelihood, but sometimes the man makes mistakes and falls victim to the impulses of sense gratification. Rama does not have this flaw. Anyone who offers even the most meager of services, with a loving heart – Rama remembers and rewards such a person.

Shri Rama is so kind and nice. Never doing anything for Himself, He always looks out for the welfare of others. Pressed with a difficult situation, Rama stayed true to His nature of kindness and compassion for His dependents. We have no need to work very hard for wealth and fame. If we are sincere devotees, then Rama will give us enough to suit our needs.