It’s quite common for religious people to fall into fanaticism or to become blind followers. This is a problem that can be noticed in many traditions. We also had our own share of fanaticism in our movement, and at times devotees were told to blindly follow spiritual authorities, which can cause serious problems. Even today, this mood of teaching new devotees to be fanatical and follow blindly can still be found in some places.
How does it work? It’s usually based on the idea that a particular leader is teaching according to the teachings of Srila Prabhupada, and thus by following him one is automatically following Prabhupada. However, not many bother to check what Prabhupada had to say about it, and the fact is that Prabhupada was not in favor of blindly following. See for example this passage from A Second Chance (chapter 14):
“The Viṣṇudūtas, like all genuine servants of God, understood everything according to logic and reason. The instructions of Kṛṣṇa are not meaningless dogma. Religion often gives rise to dogmatism, but the author of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja, urges us to try to understand Lord Caitanya and the philosophy of Kṛṣṇa consciousness according to logic. In other words, do not follow blindly, on the basis of sentiment alone. One who fails to apply logic can easily be misled by unscrupulous persons.”
This point is reinforced in the purport to BG 4.34 and many other passages:
“In this verse, both blind following and absurd inquiries are condemned. Not only should one hear submissively from the spiritual master, but one must also get a clear understanding from him, in submission and service and inquiries.”
We can see that there is a delicate balance between inquiring submissively from the spiritual master and other spiritual authorities and being a blind follower. Being submissive means being respectful and deeply considering the knowledge we are receiving, but at the same time asking relevant questions and clarifying all doubts before accepting something. In other words, submissive enquire is the process of acquiring spiritual knowledge using our intelligence and making conscious choices and changes based on this knowledge, while blind following means to stop using our intelligence and mechanically following some charismatic leader.
Devotional service is something that can be done only voluntarily. It’s not possible to force a person to love someone: love can only be given voluntarily. Therefore, freedom is a prerequisite for love. Love must be the result of a conscious choice: I’m free to stay or to go away, and I choose to stay.
This is a point very deeply discussed in Jaiva Dharma, where Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura explains that free will is the very thing that distinguishes spirit souls from dead matter. Free will is ultimately what allows a soul to love Krsna, and therefore Krsna doesn’t interfere with the free will of the soul. We are free to serve him or not, and devotional service has to be the fruit of a conscious choice. When someone forces us to serve, this doesn’t really count as devotional service, and the result is that there is no spiritual bliss in it.
Good spiritual leaders understand how this process of free will works, and thus they focus on helping their followers in understanding spiritual knowledge and making good conscious choices. Such an enlightened leader is able thus to inspire and empower people to perform devotional service.
Bad teachers, on the other hand, try to suppress this free will by using dogmas, coercion, or even manipulation. They try to take away the free will of his followers and make people unconditionally follow him. Needless to say, this approach opens the doors to many kinds of abuse and other problems, often resulting in some kind of sect. Sometimes, an empowered spiritual teacher may use some kind of manipulation to bring people to a better path, as done in the past by Lord Buddha and Sankaracarya, for example, but when ordinary mortals try to imitate, they just create havoc.
We can see that achieving success in spiritual life demands maturity. We often have a tendency to be lazy and delegate our choices to other people, but this doesn’t always end well. It’s said that a genuine spiritual teacher can’t be found by using the eyes, but only by using the ears. The process given by Krsna Himself is to hear and ask relevant questions, while at the same time offering some service. Through this process, one can not only find a proper teacher, but can gradually learn the spiritual science from him, and become able to make proper choices, which in turn will gradually bring him back to Godhead.
One who is today sentimentally following Krsna Consciousness under some charismatic leader will be tomorrow sentimentally following something else. Sentiment in itself is not a very valuable thing. Choices must be backed by knowledge and proper understanding, otherwise, they may not stick. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura put great stress on the process of Sambandha, Abhidheya, and Prayojana, where the spiritual process is divided into three stages: acquiring proper spiritual knowledge and understanding (Sambandha), practicing under these correct assumptions (Abhidheya) and reaching the ultimate goal as a result of persisting in this appropriate practice (Prayojana). We can see that without proper spirtual knowledge, it’s not possible to accurately follow the spiritual process, and as a result, the ultimate goal will be uncertain. There are many sects and religious systems in this world that have some degree of truth mixed with incorrect conclusions, but none of these processes can bring one to the ultimate goal.
The process of achieving the ultimate boom of love for Krsna passes thus by properly understanding the philosophy of Krsna Consciousness as given by our previous acaryas and using this knowledge to cut through the dense forest of ignorance of the age we live in.
As Krsna explains in the Bhagavad-Gita (4.35-39):
“Having obtained real knowledge from a self-realized soul, you will never fall again into such illusion, for by this knowledge you will see that all living beings are but part of the Supreme, or, in other words, that they are Mine.
Even if you are considered to be the most sinful of all sinners, when you are situated in the boat of transcendental knowledge you will be able to cross over the ocean of miseries. As a blazing fire turns firewood to ashes, O Arjuna, so does the fire of knowledge burn to ashes all reactions to material activities.
In this world, there is nothing so sublime and pure as transcendental knowledge. Such knowledge is the mature fruit of all mysticism. And one who has become accomplished in the practice of devotional service enjoys this knowledge within himself in due course of time. A faithful man who is dedicated to transcendental knowledge and who subdues his senses is eligible to achieve such knowledge, and having achieved it he quickly attains the supreme spiritual peace.”