death. An intelligent person will therefore utilize this rare opportunity. He will search out a spiritual master who can lead him to the Supreme Lord Krsna. Such a spiritual master is truly a helmsman who can help the drowning jiva cross over the ocean of material nescience. Only the most foolish persons will attempt to cross this ocean by their own intelligence. The achievement of any success in this world requires the help of a guru's instructions. How, then, can one obtain perfection in the best of all subjects, spiritual science, without the aid of a guru? Only one who is self-realized and fully proficient in spiritual knowledge is fit to be a spiritual master.

"A few of the characteristics of a bona fide spiritual master are that he is peaceful, unperturbed, and a pure devotee of Krsna. He should be approached with humility.The jiva should satisfy him with service and receive formal initiation from him into the worship of Lord Krsna; herein lies his best chance to surmount the material entanglement. The jiva's inherent love for Krsna lies dormant in the heart and can easily be revived. But he can easily lose this chance through speculative debates and mischievous logic. He must evade such pitfalls, surrender to the spiritual master's instructions and receive the proper mantra from him. As for householders, they should remain within the varnasrama system and take shelter of a bona fide spiritual master.

It is the presence of the life particle—the person-- that makes the physical body valuable. If this atma is not present in the body then it has no real value. As soon as the person, the atma, leaves the body, the body becomes worthless. The closer you are to this understanding, the closer you are to wisdom and sanity.
Science of Identity Foundation | Chris Butler Speaks

A good brahmana is fit to be a spiritual master

"A brahmana is fit to be a spiritual master for all the other varnas or social orders if he is a devotee of Lord Krsna. But if a brahmana spiritual master is not available, then a spiritual master from another varna should be searched out. Still, the householder is best advised to accept initiation from a brahmana-varna spiritual master.

"A real spiritual master is one who is conversant with the science of Krsna consciousness. A spiritual master can be from any varna or asrama, but he must be a kalpataru or touchstone (which converts iron into gold), fulfilling everyone's spiritual longings, The prestige of having a spiritual master from a superior