If the disciple cannot remain faithful to his spiritual master, he is less than a dog.
As I massaged Prabhupada under his mosquito net on the roof tonight, he complained about the dogs barking and yowling in the alleyways. They were disturbing his sleep. He shook his head and told me that a birth as a dog is a most unfortunate situation. Because they are weak from hunger, they fight and yowl. But if you feed them, they become strong, and then they fight even more, making even more disturbance. He said there is no use in feeding them or in taking compassion on them. They are a condemned species, especially meant for starving and having a hard life.
He said there is nothing lower than a dog, yet even dogs have one good quality?faithfulness. And he told me a story about a man, a dog and a baby: The man had to leave his house for a few minutes, so he placed his baby on a bed and left his dog in the room to guard it. When he returned a short while later, the room was empty. He was horrified to find a trail of blood leading out into the garden. Following it, he suddenly came upon the dog running out from the bushes, its mouth covered in blood. The man was shocked. He thought that the dog must have attacked the baby, dragged it into the bushes and killed it. He angrily rushed inside, got a gun, and returned to face the dog. As he pointed the gun at the dog, the animal sat obediently before his master, making no attempt to run away. Bang! He killed the dog. But at the loud report of the gun, the cry of a baby rent the air. Confused, the man ran inside and found his child lying under the bed, unharmed. Now perplexed, the man retraced the trail of blood into the garden. Behind the bushes he found the body of a dead fox covered in blood. It was clear what had happened: The fox had threatened the baby, so the dog put the baby under the bed to protect it. It fought and killed the intruder and dragged it out into the garden. The man lamented his hasty action. The dog was so faithful that, although he knew he had fulfilled his duty in a valiant way, still he did not protest when his master shot him.
The conclusion, Srila Prabhupada told me, is that the disciple should serve the spiritual master in the same way. If the disciple cannot remain faithful to his spiritual master, he is less than a dog.
Reference: Transcendental Diary Volume 4 by Hari Sauri Dasa
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