I got lost today. I was going to MOM’s (My Organic Market) near Rockville Pike. When I got to the general vicinity, I couldn’t find the exact location. I knew it was nearby, so I pulled over and turned on my friendly GPS. Great! MOM’s showed up right away and I pressed ‘Go’. How happy I was! I began to follow the instructions but soon noticed that I was going away from the area, and it told me it would take me a half an hour to get there. Wait! I pulled over again. It was the MOM’s in near Baltimore that I had hurriedly clicked on! The machine got stuck on this one, couldn’t find the local one, and drove me nuts with its ‘recalculating’ reminders.

It was by now dark and the roads full of traffic. I circled the area a few times, then gave up and headed home. Mission unaccomplished.

While driving I remembered another GPS, the Guru Parampara System. This refers to the Vaisnava lineage of gurus and disciples. Even great and powerful gurus, have their guru. The guru, in disciplic succession, carries the teachings without changing them and hands them on to the next generation.

Just like Srila Prabhupada, the Founder-Acarya (guru) of ISKCON. Although it may appear he arrived in America ‘out of the blue’ he is connected to a line of spiritual teachers that date back centuries.

This spiritual GPS is essential because it illuminates the path to our original home in the spiritual world. It also protects those walking the path, from taking wrong turns, or being led in the wrong direction. So know your destination, key in the right words, and listen for the instructions – in this way, rest assured, you will make it back home in one piece!