Amrita Vani
Q&A by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Goswami Thakura Prabhupada
Q. Is it essential to become subordinate?
A . An independent person cannot worship Hari or become a devotee. One’s benefit lies in following in the footsteps of one’s acarya. People with independent natures maintain different opinions. If millions of gopis have millions of opinions, then there will certainly be disturbances in their discharge of service to Krsna. No one has the power to please Sri Madhava without subordinating themselves to the daughter of Vrsabhanu. The spiritual master is nondifferent from and an intimate associate of the daughter of Vrsabhanu. That is why it is important for a person desiring auspiciousness to take shelter of a bona fide spiritual master. There is no other way to achieve auspiciousness.