After detachment from the world, and before surrender to God, there is need of another Divine Personality without whom one cannot proceed further. That entity is a God-realized Saint or Spiritual Master. It is the Spiritual Master who decides which path is best for each devotee, in order to surrender to God. Again, when we traverse the path, it is the Spiritual Master who dispels our doubts and helps overcome obstacles. Without His guidance, we can never reach our destination.
Veda Says that “Learned men have concluded that the mere performance of Vedic rituals cannot destroy the bondage of past karmas. On the contrary, they only serve to increase that bondage. Hence, one needs the guidance of a Saint who has known and experienced God.”
The Bhagavad Geeta states:“To gain knowledge of God, one must surrender to a God-realised Saint, with an attitude of service and enquire from him submissively.”
Ved Vyas also states: “The goal of God-realization can only be attained by surrendering to genuine Spiritual Master.”
The Ramayan also says: Without the guidance of a Guru, one cannot cross over the ocean of material existence.” “Without the guidance of a Guru, one cannot attain knowledge of God” Thus, the unanimous view of all the scriptures is that we must surrender to a Spiritual Master, in order to know the unknown entity called God.
