Guru-kripa – “Why does Krishna allow us to enter the material world? Why doesn't he stop us?

Srila Prabhupada - "Love is reciprocal, voluntary, good exchange of feeling. Then there is love. NOT by force! Krishna does not want to become a lover like that, ‘You love me, otherwise I shall kill you!" July 8, 1976.

Guru-kripa – “Why does Krishna allow us to enter the material world?”

Srila Prabhupada – “Because you have got little independence, therefore you can violate. You are part and parcel of God, you have little independence, that has to be accepted but we can misuse that. Krishna-bahirmukha haïä bhoga väïchä kare. That MISUSE is the cause of our falldown”. (Conversation, Mayapur, February 19, 1976)

Is the Spiritual Master no different than his photo? (from 1972)

1 - Form is called "vapu"
2 - Teachings are called "vāṇī"

Srila Prabhupada - "Next you ask if I am present in my picture and form? Yes. In form as well as in teachings. To carry out the teachings of guru is more important than to worship the form, but none of them should be neglected. Form is called "vapu" and teachings is called "vāṇī". Both should be worshiped. Vāṇī is more important than vapu''.[Letter to Tuṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Ahmedabad 14 Dec 1972]

A photo of Srila Prabhupada was on the Altar in Nairobi when he was there in 1975, so a devotee asked the question -

"Is there any difference between picture and murti form of the Spiritual Master?"

Devotee - "You said that if we made a marble image of you and offered food to it, you would not accept it. So…"

Srila Prabhupāda - "Hm?"

Brahmānanda - "In your lecture you said that someone who offers food to a statue of yourself…"

Srila Prabhupāda - "He is not statue, but people think statue. He is Kṛṣṇa Himself. But because we cannot see Kṛṣṇa at the present moment, therefore He appears like a statue".

Brahmānanda - "His question… You stated that a statue of yourself is not the same as you, and yet in some of our temples, such as Vṛndāvana, the mūrti of Your Divine Grace has been installed and they are offering prasādam. So is it the same, that the prasādam is accepted by the guru?"

Srila Prabhupāda - "Yes. Sākṣād-dharitvena samasta-śāstraiḥ. Guru is nondifferent from Kṛṣṇa. That is accepted by all the śāstra.

Sākṣād-dharitvena samasta śāstraiḥ. Sākṣād-dharitvena samasta-śāstrair uktaḥ: It is said,” tathā bhāvyata eva sadbhiḥ, “and those who are advanced devotees, they accept it like that.” Kintu prabhor yaḥ priya eva tasya:

"But the guru’s position is the most confidential servant.”

So guru is the servant God, and Kṛṣṇa is the master God. Both of them are God, servant God and master God. Guru kṛṣṇa kṛpāya pāya bhakti-latā-bīja[Cc. Madhya 19.151].

So we have to serve both the servant and the master. Through the servant, we go to the master". (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.28.18 Nairobi, October 27, 1975)