Without religious principles, human society becomes indistinguishable from animal society, devoid of God consciousness.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.16.18 — Los Angeles, January 13, 1974 740113SB-LOS ANGELES [47:07 Minutes] SB-01.16.18_740113SB-LOS ANGELES C-016 Prabhupāda: Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi. Devotees: Jaya! Haribol. Prabhupāda: [leads chanting of Jaya Rādhā-Mādhava] [leads prema-dhvani prayers] Thank you very much. [break] [06:00] Pradyumna: Translation “The personality of religious principles, Dharma, was wandering about in the form of a bull. And he met the personality of Earth in the form of a cow, who appeared to grieve like a mother who had lost her child. She had tears in her eyes, and the beauty of her body was lost.
Thus Dharma questioned the Earth as follows.” Prabhupāda: Dharmaḥ padaikena caran [SB 1.16.18]. Padā ekena, padaikena. So in this Kali-yuga, religious principles of human society is supposed to be only one fourth, and there are four yugas: Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara, Kali. In the Satya-yuga people were very religious, paramahaṁsa.
All of them were paramahaṁsa, so enlightened, elevated in religious principles, and they used to live for 100,000s of years. As the religious principles are reducing, so many other things are reducing, of which the duration of life, bodily strength, mercifulness, memory… In this way we are becoming almost on the level of animals. One-fourth religious principles means practically nobody is following. But still there is a section, they follow.
Just like Vaiṣṇavas, Kṛṣṇa conscious people—they are all over the world, at least at the present moment, and India there are many millions, and other countries it is now spreading. So dharmaḥ padaikena caran. The bull is the symbol of religious principles and cow is the mother. There are seven kinds of mother: ādau-mātā guroḥ patnī brahmaṇī rāja-patnikā dhenur dhatrī tathā pṛthvī sapta eta mataraḥ smṛtaḥ Real mother, ādau-mātā, and guru-patnī, the wife of guru. This means that even gṛhastha, he can become guru.
There is no such restriction that only sannyāsī will become guru—provided he knows the science. Caitanya Mahāprabhu has confirmed it, kibā vipra, kibāśūdra, nyāsī kene naya yei kṛṣṇa-tattva-vettā, sei ‘guru’ haya [Cc. Madhya 8.128] It doesn't matter what he is. Kibā vipra, I may be a brāhmaṇa, but I…, born in a brāhmaṇa family.
Generally a brāhmaṇa, born in a brāhmaṇa family, he becomes guru. Brāhmaṇa is supposed to be the guru of other castes. Not supposed; that is the factually. Without becoming brāhmaṇa nobody can become guru.
Just like, without passing the BA examination, nobody can enter into the law college. Similarly there is restriction: without becoming a brāhmaṇa, qualified brāhmaṇa—satya, śama, dama, titikṣā—nobody is allowed. Not a rascal—no knowledge, and he becomes guru and incarnation of God. Because people do not know what is dharma.