Guru tatttva (Shraddha)

– by His Divine Grace Paramahamsa Vaisnava Thakura

Srila Bhakti Promod Puri Goswami Maharaj  (SBSTP-Sisya) –
Srila Krsnadas Kaviraja Gosvami in Caitanya Caritamrta has written about the principle of Sri Guru. The Supreme
Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna externally takes the form of the spiritual master to give mercy to all the devotees. The
Supreme Lord, who is the receiver of all worship and adoration (visaya vigraha), instead now plays the role of Spiritual
master as a servitor to the Supreme Lord (asraya vigraha). Never does the spiritual master equate himself as the Supreme
Lord to be served by one and all but reveals his identity as the servant of the servant of Lord Chaitanya (Krishna).

Sriman Mahaprabhu has coined the verse: ‘gopih bhartuh pada kamalayor das das anu dasah’, I am the servant of the
servant of Lord Krishna. Though the spiritual master humbly thinks himself as the servant of Lord Chaitanya his sober
disciples should understand him to be the transcendental expansion of Sri Chaitanya (Krishna), or His most confidential
servitor.

As Lord Krishna informs His beloved disciple Uddhava:

acaryam mam vijaniyan navamanyeta karhicit na martya-buddhyasuyeta sarva-deva-mayo guru’
Oh Uddhava! The spiritual master is known to be My very form. At no time should one neglect or disrespect the Guru as an
ordinary mortal by envy, nor should he be viewed as having any faults. For this reason the Guru is the sum total of the
demigods.

Two important verses in regard of service to Guru are illustrated:

sayam pratarupaniya bhaiksyam tasmai nivedayet 

yacchanyad-apy anujnatamupaunjita samyatah
The disciple, by collection of alms (begging) in the morning and evening, should first offer this to the spiritual master.
Then, only after obtaining his permission can he partake of these cooked grains in a disciplined manner.

susrusamana acaryam sadopasita nicavet

yajna-sayyasamasthanair natidure krtanjalih
One who is fixed in service to his spiritual master should humbly follow him while he is walking, to be vigilant while he is
sleeping, at the time of his rest to massage his legs voluntarily and at the time of his sitting should wait nearby for his order
with folded hands.

The Guru is the most beloved of Lord Mukunda.

The evidence for this is illustrated in the following verses:
‘gurum-varam mukunda prestatve smara’ in ‘Manah Siksa’ by Srila Raghuantha Das,

Srila Jiva Gosvami in his ‘Bhakti Sandarbha’ (216/5)

suddha bhaktah sriguruh sri sivasya ca bhagavata saha abheda drsthim tat priyatam matve naiva manyante’

Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura in his ‘Gurv astakam’

saksad dharitvena samasta sastrai uktas tatha bhavyate eva sadbhih 
kintu prabho yah priya eva tasya vande guroh sri caranaravindam
“I offer my respectful obeisances to the spiritual master who is the non-different expansion of the Supreme, as
meditated upon by the saintly people and also acts the dearest servitor of the Supreme Lord.

Furthermore the Guru can be termed as the non-different expansion of Sri Radharani. Our most and compassionate
spiritual master has referred to himself as Sri Varsabhanavi Dayita Das, meaning the one who is dearmost to Srimati
Radhika engaged unalloyed in the service of Sri Krishna. he has revealed himself in his original identity as Nayana
manjari, following in the footsteps of Srimati Radhika’sbeloved servant Sri Rupa Manjari (Sri Rupa Gosvami). In this
way he is glorified.
tevam gopika vrsayavestan ayantikehasi sevadhikarini guro nija pada padma 
dasyam pradaya kuru mam vraja kanane sri radhanghri-sevanarase sukhinim sukhabdhe
O Gurudeva! You are immersed in an ocean of bliss and you can award transcendental service. You are
the gopika beloved of Srimati Radhika. Please bestow on me the shelter of your lotus feet, so that I can be ecstatically
engaged in the transcendental service of the Queen of Vraja, Srimati Radharani.

As Narottama das Thakura has expressed his obedience to the messages of Srila Rupa Gosvami, Srila Prabhupada has
similarly shown the same mod of obedience to Srila Rupa Gosvami, praying for his service birth after birth. I too, in this
vein, pray wholeheartedly to be the servant of my beloved spiritual master, birth after birth.
In Srimad Bhagavatam, Sri Kavi, one of the nine great rsis, explains to King Nimi:
“The Supreme Lord has given instructions in the most simple fashion by which even the most ignorant people can
take such advantage of this knowledge. These sets of instructions are termed as ‘bhagavat dharma’. In the sincere
following of these religious principles, the human being cannot be hindered by any impediments, so much so, as a
man running with his eyes shut cannot slip and fall down. The living entity, by the influence of the external energy of
the Lord, becomes forgetful of his original identity. This results in the pure soul being bewildered by the attachment
to the body ,mind and intelligence and being absorbed in these false coverings become subject to fear. Therefore the
discriminating and sober person should, by shelter of the spiritual master knowing him to be the Lord’s confidential
associate, engage in unalloyed devotional service of the Supreme Lord as the way to counteract this fear.”
The main process of devotion is chanting of the Holy Names which can reveal the transcendental nature of the Lord’s birth
and activities. Srila Prabhupada, informs us, that one of the nine Yogendra says:’ The mature disciple should inquisitively
approach a bona-fide spiritual master of pacified urges and well versed in scriptures. He should by submission and inquiry,
study the ancient doctrines from him. In Srimad Bhagavatam (11/3/22)
tatra bhagavatan dharman siksed gurvatmadaivatah amayaya anuvrtya yai tusyed atma ‘tmado harih
“One should always view the spiritual master as the expansion of Lord Hari and one’s best friend and well wisher. Only be
obedient service of Srila Gurudeva without any hypocrisy can he be able to please Lord Hari in which case all the principles
of‘bhagavta-dharma’  will become automatically understood.”
Srila Prabhupada has written: –The disciple, after having accepted the shelter of the spiritual master, should not view
the spiritual master in a material perspective but should engage wholeheartedly in his service. By the force of
illusion, if the disciple demeans the position of the spiritual master or tries to act superior in relation to him, then
very little fruit or gain is obtained, rather the reverse occurs after such acceptance of a guru.
The knowledge of being servant of the Supreme Lord by an aspirant, leads to service of the Lord. When the Lord, seeing
such earnest striving, becomes pleased, one becomes qualified to be the servant of the spiritual master and by this relentless,
faithful service to the Guru, the Supreme Lord’s mercy is attained. The verse below is relevant:
yasya deva para bhaktir yatha deve tatha gurau tasyaite kathita hy arthah prakasante mahatmanah
Meaning :- “One who has unflinching faith in the Supreme Lord and the spiritual master, all the purports of the scriptures
become revealed.”
This means, all one’s misgivings and doubts are instantly vanquished at that time.. These stages are listed in the instructions
of Srila Rupa Gosvami: Firstly, acceptance of spiritual master and then inquiring submissively from him, following which,
one engages in devotional service in the footsteps of the pure devotees. Consequently, one becomes entitled to hear the pure
scripture called Srimad Bhagavatam and begins to do so. Gradually, the devotees become entrenched in the service of Lord
Krishna, by deliberation of the purports of the verses of this scripture. At that stage they give up all types of fruitive work
and become established as the servant of the Supreme Lord Krishna: This is the message of the Ancient religion (Bhagavat-
Dharma). Such a person is not confined by the dictates of fruitive work, dry knowledge, or other deviant behavior. In this
world, to obtain a spiritual master who not only practices but propagates this Ancient religion is very rare.
On the disappearance of Lord Gaura-sundara His sublime teachings gradually have become distorted, together with the
stress on pure devotion becoming diminished. By His sweet will, His merciful potency has appeared in the form of two
effulgent stalwart leaders to carry out the rectification of the fallen people of Kali -yuga. They were Srila Bhaktivinoda
Thakura and his ideal representative Srila Sarasvati Thakura. The Six Gosvamis had condensed the messages of the Vedas,
Itihasa, Purana, etc. in their writings, and these two ‘Acaryas’ fathered the relevant material from these works and published
them in various languages like Bengali,, Hindi and English in the form of periodicals and journals. By their inspiration,
many temples have been constructed with the emphasis on service to the Deity form of the Lord and the chanting of the
Holy Names as the ideal process for this age of Kali. Discourses on the Holy Books like Chaitanya Caritamrta are also
being carried out daily in these temples. In addition Srila Prabhupada, by means of dioramas and exhibitions, has used
scientific techniques to implement the preaching of Sriman Mahaprabhu’s message untiringly. In spite of their great efforts
to effect the propagation of the divine message of Sriman Mahaprabhu, the ordinary people in their fallen condition seem to
relish the paths opposed to the mood of pure devotion, which has made the pure devotees become compassionate at the
sight of such people wallowing in ignorance. The present times advertise many false gurus who by giving indulgence to
the whimsical desires of their disciples attempt to obtain a large number of followers. These so called magnanimous
personalities, being respected as the self effulgent leaders for the present Age, have only succeeded in stifling the
devotional mood of the general masses. In this way, these impostors have denied their followers of any success or
hope of happiness.
The Supreme Lord is present internally as the Supersoul in the heart (Caitya Guru) and externally as the spiritual master to
bless the fallen conditioned soul. (Srimad Bhagavatam 11/29/6) Uddhava speaks:
naivapanyanty apachitim kavaya tavesa barhmayasapi krtamrddam udah smarantah yo’ antarbahis tanubhritam asubham
vidhunvan na acarya caitaya vapusa svagatim vyanakti
Meaning:– “You are present in Your form externally as the initiating and instructing spiritual master giving guidance to
Your disciples, with the help of model personal behavior and internally existing as the Supersoul in the heart (Caitya guru),
warding off the attraction of your devotees towards sense-gratification together with enlightening them of their original
position. The learned devotees, remembering Your grace, become overwrought with joy and are not able to repay their debt
to you even in one life-span of Lord Brahma.”
Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti has explained this verse:
“If anyone says that the Supreme Lord is awarding the four-fold aims of life to his devout votaries is not free from limiting
adjuncts but is conditional, the answer is no, not exactly that. Once cannot say this because even the very practice of
devotion is only possible by His mercy alone, for the myriad ways the Lord helps the individual and promotes his welfare
cannot be repaid. The learned sages who are living long lives, like Lord Brahma, cannot repay their debt to Him even In the
least and on remembering His grace become overcome by bliss. That is this beneficial help of the Supreme Lord? The Lord
externally in the form of initiating and instructing spiritual master or Acarya, guides the aspiring soul by giving him
initiation into the Holy Mantra and practical instructions on the practice of devotion, and internally as the Supersoul
in the heart (Caitya Guru), He gives them the intelligence ‘aham dadami buddhi yogam tam’, (see Bhagavat-gita
10.10) b which they can attain Him. In this way by giving the aspirant proper discriminative intelligence, He inspires
the devotee to strive in his devotions to the point whereby he eventually achieves the transcendental association of
the Lord in his original body. If the Lord in the heart does not help remove the obstacles present in the heart and
inspire the spiritual aspirant to pure devotion internally, that candidate will never be successful even in millions of
years of striving to achieve that stage. As the internal ‘Caitya’ Guru, the Lord gives them fixed intelligence to
proceed on. Further, He, as the external spiritual master, by the shelter of his lotus feet instructs the candidate on
pure devotional practice by virtue of his personal model example. Therefore the spiritual aspirant, in following the
footsteps of Sri Guru very rigidly and by persevering in such devotions, will result in pleasing the Guru. The spiritual
master in being pleased, will automatically warrant the grace of the Supreme Lord.
This type of fortune is denied to one who does not take to the exclusive shelter of the bonafide spiritual master. In
this context, the persons under the category of fruitive workers, dry scholars and ascetics are not ideal as spiritual
masters. In taking to the shelter of such people, material enjoyment, liberation or perfection may be obtained. But
because in all these paths the gross and subtle desires to satisfy one’s own senses exist and not quite the pure desires
for serving the senses of Lord Krsna, consequently pure devotion will never result. Fruitive work not done in relation
to the service of the Lord instead increases the bondage of the living entity to the material world. In the path of dry
knowledge, the desire for devotion is absent, but that of liberation exists, which is even more dangerous than the material
enjoyment sought by the fruitive workers. This class of people tries to eradicate all differences between the devotee, the
practice of devotion and the Supreme Lord (knower, knowledge and known) in their deviant analysis. When one accepts the
monastic axioms like ‘aham brahamasmi’ or ‘tattva asi’, etc., and by impersonal knowledge tries to merge in the
unqualified Brahman as one’s highest objective, then these practices are not conducive but rather destroy devotion to the
very roots The devotee shuns away form such people because the aspirations of such people to merge altogether in the void,
attaining impersonal liberation, is worse than death. The devotees of Lord Vishnu usually are desirous of obtaining the four
fold liberations which are:
(sarsti) equal opulence with the Lord
(sarupa) have the same form of the Lord
(samipya) residing near the Lord
(salokya) staying in the same planet of the Lord
However, the unalloyed devotees of Lord Krishna reject all these types of liberation in favor of pure devotional service to
the Lord. They will not even accept such liberation if given to them unasked. Evidence of this is found in the verses
of Srimad Bhagavatam (1/20/31-34).
In the Srimad Bhagavatam, the spotless Purana, love of Godhead has been defined as the highest goal of life above the
four-fold aims. Usually, the fruitive workers aspire for piety, wealth and satisfaction of their senses accordingly. The
impersonalists try to merge in the unqualified Brahman for salvation, while the ascetic (yogis) also try to merge with the
qualified form of theSupersoul in the heart. One of the invocatory prayers of Srimad Bhagavatam runs beginning
with ‘Dharma projjita kaitava’. This has been explained by Srila Kavirja Gosvami saying:
ajnanatamer nama kahiye kaitvava (CC.)
Srila Sridhar Gosvami, in his commentary, has enlightened us about the word ‘pro’ as that by which even the very desire
for liberation is rejected. Srila Krsnadas Kaviraja has named all that which misleads the pure soul of its constitutional
function as servant of the Lord, to be cheating tendencies (kaitava). Other than the original desire to satisfy the senses of
Lord Krishna, all else comes under the realm of cheating tendencies and as ‘bad association’ which should be
rejected. The only goal for the sincere aspirant is Lord Krishna and His devotional service, while other desires are listed as
bad association. Consequently, piety, wealth, satisfaction of desires and liberation are all cheating tendencies-gross
ignorance (ajnana tamah) of which liberation is the greatest cheating tendency. The spiritual master by delivering
transcendental knowledge awakens the disciple form his ignorant state. The aspirant, on receiving initiation (diksa),
becomes aware of his own real nature, the truth of the Supreme Lord, the means of accomplishment and the goal. In
this way, freeing himself from the clutches of the illusory energy by proper striving in devotional practice, he finally
remains entrenched in steady devotion to Lord Krishna.
Uddhava, the jewel of the devotees, addresses Lord Krishna in this manner:
“O Lord! Your lotus feet are the resort of all saintly people and are the cause of unlimited bliss, while the other categories of
aspirants, who are seeking dry knowledge, accumulations of pious work or mystic powers, do not take to the shelter of Your
lotus feet and thereby become vanquished by Your external energy.”
“Oh ! Acyuta, You are the Absolute friend of all living entities. In Your incarnation as Lord Rama, Your lotus feet were
given the greatest reverence by the demigods. They placed their jewel crown in adoration on Your lotus feet yet You only
formed friendly relationships with the monkeys, what to speak of men or demigods? You showed subservience to unalloyed
devotees like Nanda Baba, the gopis, Vali, who all exhibited loving servitorship to You. This is not an amazing sight, for
pure devotees who practice intense devotion to You are the object of Your grace and You are completely subjugated
by them. The categories of devotees who are completely devoid of desires for pious work, knowledge and mysticism
only can conquer You. In Your expansion as Lord Rama, You established loving relations eagerly with the monkeys. In
Vrindavana too, You dallying with these lower animals like the cows, exhibited Your affection for them.An example being
how you stole butter from Your house to feed the monkeys. What type of knowledge or mysticism have they practiced that
You have become won over by them? On the contrary, amongst the Impersonalists, there is not even a trace of the existence
of such delightful pastimes. Hence, we, being Your loyal servants, do not accept all these false processes of knowledge and
mysticism. Especially, those who have understood that unlimited mercy You have given to devotees like Prahlad Maharaja
and Bali, can never be deviated from devotion to Your lotus feet in pursuance of any lesser goal like liberation.
Chandogya Upanisad states: acaryavan puruso veda (6/14/2). The living entity who has taken to the lotus feet of a self-
realized soul can understand the Supreme Lord.Who is Acarya? As Manu Samhita states:- The twice-born who performs the
upanayan ritual on his disciple and teaches him the purports of the Vedas is called an ‘Acarya’ (realized spiritual master)
Achinoti yah ‘sastrartham acare sthapayatyapi Svayam acarate yasmad acarya stena kirtitah
One who has realized the conclusions of the scriptures and teaches these to others by dint of his own model behavior
is the self-realized Guru (Acarya). In this context if some arrogant pundit, whilst browsing through the Vedas and not
finding proper mention of Sri Krishna dismisses the Vedas, then he is not exhibiting the proper conduct of an Acarya for
blaspheming the scriptures. The Lord Himself declares in Gita, “I am the knower, the compiler and the end of all the
Vedas”. The Gita, as written by Sri Vyasadeva, is the cream of the Upanisads and this purport of the Vedas contain two
important verses, mahavakya, namely:man mana bhava mad-bhakto mad -yaji mam namaskuru and sarva dharman
parityaja mam ekam saranam vraja, which is that ultimately :- One should surrender to Lord Sri Krishna with devotion for
attaining the prime goal of life. The genuine ‘Acarya’ explains the purports of the scriptures in terms of pure
devotion, ‘acaryam bhaktisamsanat’ and this is the meaning of ‘Acarya”. Next, the meaning of the word ‘Guru’ is
explained. ‘Gu’ means darkness of ignorance and ‘Ru’ means that which dissipates such darkness, or in other
words, one who takes away the dense darkness of ignorance by giving transcendental knowledge to the disciple is
called Guru. The Guru has the Supreme Lord stationed in his heart and does not differentiate other living entities
with himself. In this sense, he is most magnanimous, thereby achieving his qualification as ‘Guru’.
The spiritual master, having the form of the Absolute Truth firmly entrenched in his pure heart, is able to transmit
pure knowledge to the disciple by initiation (diksa), without himself being reduced or minimized in any way. This is
the inconceivable potency of the Supreme Lord. By this potency too, He can manifest in his absolute form both in the heart
of the Guru and disciple at the same time.
In Srimad-Bhagavatam the sage Prabuddha says:
tasmad gurum prapadyeta jijnasuh sreyah uttamam sabde pare ca nisantam barhmanyo pasam asrayam
To obtain his highest welfare, one should approach and take shelter of a self-realized spiritual master who is well-versed
with knowledge of the scriptures and free from all vices like attachment and anger. The amassing of pious merit to enjoy in
this life and hereafter is after all a temporary affair and opposed to the true goal.
It is imperative that the spiritual master be conversant with the purports of the revealed scriptures otherwise, if he is
not able to clear the doubts of the disciples, inevitably the disciple will tend to become unsatisfied and may then
become indifferent, or lack faith in the spiritual master. “Para brahma nisnatah” here refers to the necessity of the
spiritual master being thoroughly convinced of the Absolute Transcendence by personal realization and experience;
if not, his mercy will not be of much value nor will it bear any fruit. Another symptom of the bona fide spiritual
master is that he is free form lust, anger, greed which is consonant with his spiritual awakening.
In Hari Bhakti Vilas, Srila Sanatana Gosvami quotes:
“A Guru who understands the actual conclusions of the revealed scripture has the ability to dissipate the doubts of
the disciple. Furthermore, the Guru himself should be in a position to be able to experience the deep spiritual truths
and be stoic in his understanding, otherwise he will never be able to impart true understanding to the disciple. The
identity of such a spiritual master is peaceful and serene, whereby all base urges like lust etc. have been pacified. In
addition he is resolute in the uninterrupted devotional service of the Lord such as the limbs of devotion like hearing
and chanting. One should take shelter of such a genuine spiritual master.
The dynasty from the first-born Svayambhuva Manu and Satarupa begins with their children, two sons, Priyavarta and
Uttanapada and three daughters, Akunti, Devahuti and Prasuti respectively. These daughters were handed to the progenitors
Ruci, Kadamba and Daksa from whom the whole human race descended. From the direct succession of King Priyavrata was
King Rshaba, son of King Nabhi. He was an expansion of the Supreme Lord Vasudeva and an empowered incarnation. He
has 100 sons, the eldest of which was King Bharatha. The region in which we are staying is named after this King Bharata.
Of the seven islands of this lotus-like Bhu-Mandala planetary system is Jambudvipa, which can be divided into nine
regions. The Ajnaba region of this island of Jambudvipa is Bharata-varsa. At the end of Dvarpara-yuga the Supreme Lord
graciously advents in this region of Bharata-varsa and executes human-like pastimes. It is by the great mercy of the
Supreme Lord that we are born in a most pious region compared to the doorway of the spiritual world. Hence the sober
intelligent person should not waste a moment, but endeavor hard for self-realization, for this human body is but temporary
and only for some brief period of time. There is no certainty when death will catch up with us, therefore as long as we are
endowed with living consciousness, for that period we should endeavor for the highest. This rare human form of life should
not be wasted in vain but positively used in devotional service to the Supreme Lord.
In Srimad Bhagavatam (11 / 9 / 29), labdha sudurlabham idam, Lord Dattatreya has warned us to be vigilant in making use
of this valuable human body. Once, the song of King Yayati, Yadu, happened to meet a serene sage wandering fearlessly
and unattached. The curious Kind Yadu then inquired form this sage Dattatreya the cause of his blissful nature. Lord
Dattatreya then informed Yadu that in the acceptance of twenty-four instructing spiritual masters like the Earth, sea, bee,
mountain, etc,. he had become self-realized and succeeded in becoming detached by this process. (Diksa Guru is one but
there can be many siksa Gurus). Lord Krishna, before enacting His disappearance pastimes from this mortal world, retold
this story of Dattatreya to His confidential associate Uddhava. He also told Uddhava that devotion is superior to all other
processes like works and knowledge for the unalloyed devotees of Lord Krishna disdain to accept even liberation in
exchange for the bliss of pure devotional service. In this context too, the verse “nrdehamadyam” has been explained. ( 11 /
20 / 19). After obtaining this rare human body which is compared to a boat, the spiritual master, who is navigator of
that boat, and the favorable wind in the form of the causeless mercy of the Lord, if one dies not strive to cross over
this ocean of material existence then he is a killer of his own soul.
Sri Srila Prabhupada comments on this verse: –
This precious human body can secure us our highest welfare and there is no other way. It is obtained only after evolution
through countless lifetimes in this universe. The spiritual master, being proficient in the science of Krishna consciousness,
can serve as the navigator of this boat. The favorable wind which propels this human boat into eternity is the causeless
mercy of the Lord. One who cannot understand the value of this human body or the spiritual master as the ideal navigator
and does not aspire to seek the mercy of the Lord, is killer of his own soul because of gross ignorance of his own welfare.
Conclusively, taking shelter of the spiritual master to engage in devotional service is of primary importance. In Srimad
Bhagavatam (11 / 10 / 5) Sri Krishna tells Uddhava:-
madabhijnam gurum santam upasita madatmakam
One should engage in the service of a self-realized spiritual master who knows Me in truth and is absorbed in Me : Srila
Sanatana Gosvami defines the term ‘madabhijnam‘:-
He who, experiencing My natural affection for My devotees thereby knows Me in truth is called ‘madabhijnam“. One who
has absorbed his mind in Me is termed madatmakam.
Manduka Sruti states:
tad vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet smaitpanih ‘strotiryam brahma nistham
The disciple with sacrificial implements in his hand should, approach the self-realized master to attain the highest
knowledge. In the Bhagavad-gita (4.3) “tad viddhi paripatena praiprasnena sevaya” has defined these sacrificial
implements as submission, service and inquiry. ‘Tad’ refers to the Supreme Lord. In other words for knowledge of the
Supreme Lord one should approach the bona fide spiritual master and offer prostrated obeisances to him in a mood of
submission. He should then proceed to serve the Guru like a menial servant to his satisfaction. Then he should humbly
inquire about the qualities and form of the Supreme Truth with His multifarious energies. The other relevant questions will
be:
From where and why have I come to this material world, and how can I be freed from this material attraction?
The Katha Sruti (2 / 3/ 14) states:
uttisthata jagrata prapya varam nibodhata
Meaning :- Wake up! Arise ! Take shelter of the self realized soul and understand your original identity: thus enforcing the
need of a spiritual master.
The Svetasvatara Sruti (1 /23) beginning with “yasya deva para bhaktir yatha deve tatha gurau” states:- To one who
has unflinching faith in the spiritual master and devotion to the Supreme Lord, all the scriptures become revealed to
him. To understand and be enlightened by the revealed scriptures necessitates the mercy of Srila Gurudeva which is
available only by devotion to his lotus feet and not otherwise. Sriman Mahaprabhu, in His teachings to Srila Rupa
Gosvami remarks:
brahmanda bhramite kona bhagyavan ji va guru-krsna-prasade paya bhakti lata bi ja
As a result of diverse fruitive activities, the different living entities are wandering in myriad wombs within the universe. By
dint of previous pious works, one becomes greatly fortunate to undertake devotional service to the Lord. By the mercy of
both the spiritual master and the Supreme Lord, he receives the creeper of devotion which is initial faith in
devotional practices. The spiritual practitioner installs this creeper of devotion in budding stage in the core of his
heart and waters it by the process of hearing and chanting, doing the work of a transcendental gardener. The mercy
of Sri Guru coming into play, the creeper sprouts and slowly growing traverses the boundary of the material
universe into the spiritual Vaikuntha planets and on reaching there, with renewed efforts, the creeper rises over to
reach the Lotus feet of Sri Krishna in Goloka Vrndavana. At this point too, the process of hearing and chanting
becomes ever more intense. The ripened fruit of that huge creeper of devotion matures as love of Godhead. During
the cultivation of devotional practice, the aspirant should be especially careful to ward off the mad elephant offense
or blaspheming against the pure devotees of the Supreme Lord. Such an offense will damage the tender creeper and
curtail devotion. Besides, there is the tendency for side branches to sprout form the main branch during cultivation of
devotion, which impels one to stray away from the goal. These are sense-gratification, liberation, desire for profit, fame and
distinction, rivalry and enviousness, etc. These activities do not contribute to the growth of the main creeper of pure
devotion In that precarious condition, only implicit obedience to the spiritual master can enable us to necessarily weed out
these impediments (anarthas). Love of Godhead is achieved by single-minded pure devotion which is above the
common four-gold aims up to liberation. It is to be stressed that the main ingredient for advancement is the mercy of
the spiritual master, which is in turn automatically obtained by unconditional surrender to his lotus feet. The living
entity, in his pure identity, is the servant of Lord Krishna. By forgetfulness of this identity, he has become entangled
by the illusory material modes of nature. The only way to escape from this material entanglement is devotional
service to the Lord, through the media of the spiritual master. (In Srimad-Bhagavatam 10 /27 /32) Prayers of the Vedas:
vijita hrsikavayubhira danta manas turagam ya iha yatanti yantum atilolam upayakhidhidah vyasanasatanvitah
samavahaya guruscaranam vanija ivaja santyakrtakarnadhara jaladhou
Oh Lord who is not born! Without the direct shelter of a spiritual master, all efforts to control one’s turbulent mind,
whether one has apparently done so by his own effort or not been able to do so, is of no avail! He will simply
experience misery and difficulties at every step like the trader who tries to cross the ocean in a vessel devoid of an
experienced navigator.

The qualities of a spiritual master are mentioned elaborately in the Mantra Muktabali Sutras.
The spiritual master usually comes from a pure dynasty or lineage of high ancestry. He himself by nature is pure of heart.
He can be in any stage of life, in his status as officiating Guru. He is free from anger. He is well versed in the Vedas and
understands the purports of all scriptures. He is free from malice to any living creature. He looks kindly on all living
entities; his speech is sweet and beneficial; he is faithful to his dress and engages in the welfare of all living entities. He is
sober, self-satisfied, without hankering for any unwanted desire. He is brimming with all nice qualities like affection and
generosity. He worships the Deity steadfastly. He is affectionate to his disciples, he is grateful, he performs homage
understanding its significance. He is merciful to all, possesses a purified mind and can defeat all opposing deviant
conclusions to pure devotion. In  Agastya Samhita too, the spiritual master is described as one who is peaceful, free from
desires of sense gratification, who controls his mind and body, engages in scriptural study, expert in revelation of the
scriptures, the best of all brahmanas (twice-born), understands the meaning and use of Mantras, can dispel all the doubts of
his disciples, understand deep truths, always engaged in purifying himself, has achieved perfection in conducting sacrifices,
is truthful, austere and usually is in the class of a householder.
The Visnu Smrti describes that the spiritual master who always extract service and wealth of a disciple and hankers for
prestige and fame is not worthy of being a spiritual master.
guruvo bhavah santi ‘sisyavittaparakah durlabhah sadgurudeva ‘sisyasantaparakah  (Puranas)
Lord Mahadeva speaks” “Oh Devi! There are many so-called spiritual masters who are just bent on seizing the
wealth of their disciples, but the spiritual mater who takes away the miseries and afflictions of the devotee is very
rare.”
Further, in Visnu smrti, the symptoms of a genuine spiritual master are mentioned as being very compassionate to all
beings, self-satisfied and not dependent on others, resplendent with all obvious good qualities, engaged in the welfare of
other living entities free from all desires, having achieved all perfection, replete with all knowledge especially regarding
pure devotional conclusions of scriptures, who can cut off the doubts of the disciples, not lazy but always absorbed in Sri
Krishna’s service.
When Ramananda Raya humbly submitted himself as being of sudra birth to Sriman Mahaprabhu, the Lord replied:
kiba vipra kiva jyasi, sudra kene nay yei krsna tattva vetta, sei guru haya
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura writes in his commentary:=
“The Lord Sriman Mahaprabhu says:
I never think that just because I have been born from a brahmin family and have taken the renounced order of life, it is not
proper for Me to take instruction on religious principles from one of inferior birth, i.e. sudra. It is a fact that by the
‘varnasrama’ system of society, the ‘brahmin Guru’ is recommended for instruction on religious principles and for giving
initiation. The highest spiritual knowledge relates to the truth about Sri Krishna. Thus to be a Guru able to impart such
knowledge is based solely on the contention, whether or not he has realized in truth the science of Krishna consciousness
and is independent of whether he is in the designation of a sudra, householder or the renounced order. In the Hari Bhakti
Vilas, it is stated that if a high-born capable spiritual master is present, it is not befitting to take Krishna mantra from a low
class person. This rule is however reserved only for the common lay men who are compelled to follow the formal dictates of
religious principles. Especially, for them to make progress necessitates a ‘brahmin Guru’ by which some spiritual merit can
be secured by these people. The devotees (Vaisnavas) are above this rule.
Those who sincerely take to devotion in either of the path of formal regulated principles or spontaneous devotion,
should take the shelter of such a self-realized soul, irregardless of his birth or station (stage of life). Many concrete
proofs have been quoted from Padma Purana, for example:- “A pure devotee of the Supreme Lord, who is born form a low
caste is a great soul and not considered of low-class, while one devoid of devotion to Lord Janardana, though of high birth,
is considered sudra. The six brahminical practices are performing sacrifice oneself, conducting such sacrifices, study of
scriptures, teaching of such spiritual knowledge, welfare activities like distribution of knowledge and lastly, acceptance of
wealth. A brahmin expert in all such activities including even the science of Mantra, cannot be a guru if he is a non-devotee,
while a low-class candela who is devoted to Lord Visnu can qualify to be a ‘Guru”. Again, a twice born, proficient in
scriptural lore and able to elucidate their purports in various ways, that brahmin, if he is not a devotee, does not qualify to
take the ‘Guru’ position. One who is born in the first three classes of Brahmin (priests), ksatriya (noble class), vaisya
(farmer), can be naturally eligible to be the guru of the other fourth class namely sudra (servant) class and other lower
classes. On the other hand, the dearmost devotee of the Supreme Lord, even though born from a sudra class, can be
easily accepted as spiritual master of all the other higher classes. This is verified by the verse below:
nica-jati jhane krsna-bhajane ayogya sat-kula-vipra nahe bhajane yogya yei bhaje sei bda, abhakta-hina, chara krsna-
bhajane nahi jai-kuladi vicara
I surrender in submission to Srila Sanatana Prabhu who gives transcendental knowledge. He who is always feeling the
distresses of others have induced me to mercifully drink the highest nectar of devotion endowed with renunciation, whilst in
my depraved state of blind ignorance and doubt.
Sri Rsabhadeva gives the following instruction to his sons (5/5/18)
gurur na sa syat sva-jano na sa syat pita na sa syaj janani na sa syat daivam na tat syan na patis ca sa syan na mocayed
yah samupeta-mrtyum
“One who cannot save his dependents from the impending face of death in the form of this miserable material world, cannot
be considered as Guru. A father who cannot liberate his children is not a father and should not beget children. Similarly a
mother, if she cannot rescue her children from illusion, should not bother to give birth to a child. A demigod should not
accept worship and offerings from the votaries if he cannot deliver them. A husband should not be accepted in marriage in
he cannot save the wife.”
In short, one should reject all such ‘gurus’ who cannot liberate us from the material illusory energy culminating in
death.Just as previous times, the corresponding examples are given as in the case of Maharaja Bali who rejected his Guru
“Sukracarya’. The devotee Prahlada Maharaja rejected his own father King Hiranyakasipu. Bharata rejected his own mother
Kaikeyi. King Katvanga rejected the demigods. Also, the wives of the ritualistic brahmanas gave up the association of their
husbands on seeing their indifference to Lord Krishna.
Simply to be a great scholar is not the criteria to be a spiritual master. Lord Krsna addresses Uddhava in Srimad
Bhagavatam (11/11/28) L-
sabdha brahmani nisnto na nisnayat pare yadi sramas tasya srama phalo hrdhenum iva raksatah
The meaning of the verse is, one who is erudite in scriptural study and engrosses himself in scriptural expositions but
does not delineate it in connection with the Supreme Lord, does not reap any fruit or merit as keeping a cow who
does not give milk. ‘Nisnata‘ means to practice devotion to the Supreme Lord and ‘na nisnayatah‘ means one who is not
expert in understanding devotion to the Supreme Lord. In this respect, the utility of qualities like austerity, knowledge and
high birth will be only useful it they induce one to engage in devotional service to the Supreme Lord and by themselves are
merely secondary qualities . In Hari Bhakti Suddhodaya, Srila Krsnadas Kaviraja has commented that one has burnt all his
resultant sinful actions by intense devotional service, and whose character is spotless, is worthy of veneration by learned
people, even if he comes form a very low birth (candala). For one who is completely devoid of devotion to the Lord, his
high birth, knowledge of scriptures, muttering of Mantras and austerity resemble the ornaments on a dead body.
In Padma Purana it is stated :-
grhta visnu diksako visnu puja paro narah vaisnavo’bhitah ‘bhijnairo’ itaro’ smad avaisnava
A person who is initiated into the Vishnu Mantra and is dedicated to worship of Lord Vishnu and learned in devotional
service is a devotee (Vaisnava) while other are non devotees. In Pancharatra it is declared that one who receives a Mantra
from a non-devotee will pave his way to hell and the only remedy for this is again to accept the Vishnu mantra again from a
devotee. In Hari Bhakti Vilas, there are stern warnings against whimsically rejecting a self-realized spiritual master.
(4/141-143) For example: Those persons who whimsically reject a bona fide guru for a disciplic succession, or a Guru
who has realized the purports of the Vedas is considered so ungrateful that even the flesh-eating birds and animals
will not eat his body. One who rejects his true spiritual master unrightfully has already renounced the Supreme
Lord at the same time, and the results of this atrocious action is that his actual knowledge and learning will become
contaminated and slowly dwindle away. Another statement from scripture states that, the person is lowest among human
beings who after deliberately accepting a guru at first, later reject him altogether. He will have to burn in hell for one
million kalpas as atonement for this. In actual fact, all these fearful statements in regard to rejection of a spiritual
master refer only to the case when the Guru was genuine or bona fide. On the contrary worldly gurus who are
deviant from the true paths, shows enmity to the true devotees, or are simply famous public personalities can be
rejected in the consideration that these gurus will not help us to achieve our spiritual objective.
Srila Jiva Gosvami in Bhakti Sandarbha explains :-
paramartha guruasrayo vyavarika gururadi parityagenapi kartavyah
Meaning :- An incompetent spiritual master who is worldly-minded and accepted on convenience for name sake
should be rejected and a self-realized soul who can impart spiritual knowledge is to be chosen. Further, in the Bhakti
Sandarbha it is written:
vaisnavavidvesi cet parityajya eva guror apya baliptasyeti smaranat
The purport being, if a spiritual master is antagonistic to the devotees, or if he is an ordinary materialistic sense
enjoyer, then he should be rejected. Such a guru, not having had any real symptoms of a devotee, will also incur fault
for awarding the Mantra in an unauthorized manner and will have to glide towards the hellish region as a
consequence. The best course in this situation is to approach a great soul for guidance in humble submission. The
famous verse in Mahabharata as quoted by Sri Jiva in his Bhakti Sandarbha commentary is stated:-
guruapya baliptasya karya akaryam ajanatah utpathapratipannasya parityago vidhiyate
One who is attached to sense gratification, who is indecisive of what is proper and not proper action and whose ways
have deviated from the path of pure devotion, in other words a ‘guru’ by name only should be rejected. Srila
Bhaktivinoda Thakura has mentioned when one has to reject a Guru in his Harinam Cintamani:-
tabe yadi ei rupa ghatana kabu haya asat-sange furura yogyata naya ksaya prathame chilena tini sadguru-pradhana pare
nama-apvaradhe hoia hata jnana viasnava vidvesa kari chadi nama-rasa krame krame han artha-kaminira vasa sei gur
chadi sisya sri krsna krpaya sad guru labhiya punah suddha-nama gaya
In Jaiva Dharma, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura writes:
The initiating Guru (Diksa) is usually not to be given up but for two specific reasons can be renounced. Firstly when
the disciple ignorantly accepts without any examination a Guru without consideration of his spiritual advancement
and knowledge together with, whether or not he observes Vaishnava etiquette and conduct. Later when he
understands his own dilemma and that no spiritual merit can be accomplished, that spiritual master needs naturally
to be rejected.Narada Pancaratra’s verdict:-
yo vyakti nyayarahitam anyayena srnoti yah tavubhau narakam ghoram vrajatah kalam aksayam
One who speaks in a manner contrary to the revealed conclusions of scripture and the disciple who strictly upholds such
distorted conclusions, will both go down to the darkest well of hellish existence.
The second reason by which a disciple can be allowed to reject the initiating Guru is the instance when at the time of
initiation the Guru could have been very pure of conduct and learned in Vaisnava conclusions. Gradually by force of
bad association, he may become converted to be an Impersonalist or a reviler of the Vaisnavas (blasphemous). Such
a spiritual master should be rejected. If one’s spiritual master is neither an offender of the Vaisnavas, an Impersonalist or
attached to sinful activities then it is not warranted to reject such spiritual master simply on the grounds of his insufficient
knowledge. Rather the proper etiquette is to keep adoring him as spiritual master but to take permission from him to
approach another great self-realized soul for “Siksa” and to learn the higher spiritual truths from such an
instructing spiritual master.
In the Hari Bhakti Vilas, the symptoms of a genuine Guru, one posing as a Guru including the characteristics of a disciple,
have been elaborately explained at length. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura writes, one of model character and strong faith is
eligible to become a disciple. Similarly the genuine Guru is of saintly character, understands the devotional conclusions,
simple, not greedy in the least, free from any tinge of Impersonalism and naturally expert in all activities. Generally a
brahmin possessing all good qualities can accept disciples from other castes. In the absence of such brahmins however,
devotees from other castes who are spiritually advanced can be selected as Guru. The basis of this injunction overrules the
ordinary ‘varnasrama’ rules regarding superiority on the basis of seminal birth. One who understands the science of the
Supreme Lord is eligible to become a spiritual master. The usual caste brahmins at most may be able to get some
extra material facilities by their superior birth, but the pure devotee can truly function as Guru. The scriptures have
specific rules according to as and when the disciple may be accepted in the light of trial. The fact of the matter is when
the Guru sees the disciple as a fit candidate and when the disciple has strong faith in the purity of his Guru, then
only will the flow of mercy take place between the Guru and the disciple.
The ‘Hari Bhakti Vilas’ mentions that a person who eats too much, procrastinates, is greedy for things not in
connection with Sri Krishna, argumentative (in connection with this Jamini, Sugata, Nastika, Vagna, Kapila and
Gautama with their followers are persons who practice agrumentation-hetuvada), wicked nature, strongly critical as
well as relishing the misdemeanors of others, defamer, serve unworthy people, black teeth, black lips, who has foul
odor emanating from his mouth, has bad qualities, is fond of amassing goods even though already having a sufficient
amount, without hair or with excess of hair, are not the symptoms befitting an ‘Acarya’ (teacher). All of one’s wealth
and opulence will diminish in the acceptance of such an unqualified Guru.
In Mantra Muktabali, the appropriate qualities of a disciple are described. He should be born in a good family, be
modest, opulent, possessed of loving disposition, truthful of pure character, very intelligent, free from arrogance,
have given up lust and anger, surrendered to his Guru, with his mind, body and words, always devoted to the
Supreme Lord, free from disease, freed from all kinds of sinful activities, sincere in honoring his elders and
brahmins, of controlled senses, very youthful and compassionate. All these qualities make one eligible to be a
disciple.
In the Srimad-Bhagavatam (11/10/6) it is stated:-
amaniyamatsaro dakso nirmamo drdsauhrdhah asatvarohartha jijnasur anusuyara amoghavak
“The servant of the guru should be free from pride, not lazy or egoistic with the sense of ‘me’ and ‘mine’ in relation
with wife and children, very devoted to Guru, not negligent, devoted to inquiry about the Supreme Truth, free from
enviousness, not wasting time in loose conversations; all these qualities are befitting a disciple”.
On the other hand, in Agastya Samhita, the symptoms of an unworthy disciple are described as one who is lazy, dirty,
who endeavors uselessly, naughty, miserly, poor, sickly, afflicted with diseases, attached to sense objects, eager for
sense-delights, envious, gazes lustfully at other’s wives, shows enmity to learned people, foolish, rides himself to be
highly scholarly, fallen in his vows, struggles to earn his livelihood, probes at others faults, bent on the downfall of
others, glutton, always engaged in vile actions, sinful and not very willing to give up such despicable behavior and
who cannot hear the beneficial instructions of Sri Guru; all these people are definitely not eligible to become
disciples.
If being tempted by greed the spiritual master ventures to initiate all such unworthy people, he will incur the wrath of the
demigods, consequently, being bereft of all wealth and opulence. Not only that, he will have to go to the hellish planets after
which he will take birth in the animal species. Therefore, one has to be careful not to accept disciples of this type.
The standing injunction is that the guru should examine a disciple for at least one year.
taupr vat sarvasema kmatamupmua svabhavayoh turuta sisyata ceti nanyathaiveti niscayah
The Guru should carefully examine his disciple while staying together with him and observing his qualities and
character to judge whether he can be a fit candidate. Similarly, the disciple should examine the Guru accordingly.
Other than this, there is no alternative way of knowing this fact. Without this recommended stipulation, one should
not agreeable give initiation to anyone on mere request. Further, there are spiritual statements to the effect that just as a
King is responsible for his subjects having to suffer for their wrong actions, the man for the sins of his wedded wife, in the
same manner the sins committed by the disciples will have to be borne by the spiritual master. Hence one has to be careful
of awarding initiation to an unqualified person. Notwithstanding, a powerful spiritually oriented person is not restricted
by any scripture and does not have to consider who is worthy or unworthy. A fortunate person on receiving his
benign glance can be nullified of many births of sinful activities and will be able to make rapid progress by the
impetus of the Holy Names. The mercy of Srila Haridas Thakura in a lonely forest was such that even a prostitute was
converted by his purity. A Muslim tailor became perfect by helping to sow the cloth of Srivas Pandit. By the incredible
mercy of Srila Sarana Murari, a dead body was infused with life and later became his own disciple. Srila Rasikananda
Thakura’s compassion was such that even material objects were invigorated with consciousness and ordinary forest animals
became blessed to chant the Holy Names. Thus the potential self-effulgent ‘Acarya’ can surcharge others with energy,
himself remaining unchanged in power and not affected in any way. Hari Bhakti Vilas too, a description about service
to the spiritual master is mentioned.
The Kurma Purana explains, the disciple has constantly to carry the water pot of the Guru, pluck the sacrificial ingredients
like khusa grass, kusum, etc. As a menial servant of his Guru. He should always clean the temple of his spiritual master,
anoint the body of his guru with sandalwood and wash his cloth. The garlands, resting place, sandals, sitting cloth (asana),
eating utensils and the shadow of Srila Gurudeva should never be stepped over or treated with disrespect. One should not go
out anywhere without the guru’s permission. One should always engage in activities dear to the spiritual master. One should
never point or stretch his legs in the direction of Srila Gurudeva. In proximity to him, yawning, loud laughter and loud
exclamations should be given up, also the practice of cracking one’s knuckles. Furthermore, the son of the spiritual master,
his wife, relatives or other acquaintances should be treated with equal respect.In Devi Tantra, Lord Siva says, the resting
place of the spiritual master, his seating place, sandals, foot-rest, palanquin, bath -water and shadow should never be
slighted or utilized. One should never worship any third person in front of Srila Gurudeva, nor should one try to equate
oneself with him. In front of him, one should renounce erudite expositions of the scriptures nor maintain a superior attitude
in relation to him. Also he should never give spiritual initiation to others while the spiritual master is present.
In Devya Agama, Narada Rsi states, whenever one obtains the vision of Srila Gurudeva, he should immediately, with folded
hands, fall down in prostrated obeisances (like a falling tree) to the Guru. In no event should he be contemptible to the
instructions of his Guru. The Manu Smrti states, that one indirectly or out of hearing should not address the Guru by his first
name or try to imitate his movement, speech and mannerisms. One should maintain his humble stance as the disciple of his
Guru on the occasion of the Guru being in proximity with his Guru. One should not even go to the house of one’s parents if
it doesn’t meet with the Guru’s approval.In Narada Pancharatra, the way in which the name of the spiritual master is to be
utilized is explained. One should never simply utter the syllables of the Guru’s name disrespectfully or carelessly at any
time or place. With a bowed head and folded hands, one should firstly, with the pranam ‘om’, then with the title ‘108’
complete with the word ‘visnu pada’ has to be uttered, before mentioning his name respectfully. It is also stated that one
should never advise the spiritual master on any matter nor should he breach the instructions laid out by him. One should not
eat anything that has not been offered to Sri Guru nor should he eat any food without his prior permission. On the arrival of
the spiritual master, instantly one should bow in front of him reverently and should accompany respectfully when he is
walking. One should never remain seated on a pedestal or asana in front of him. Whatever is very dear to oneself should be
first offered to the spiritual master and only after being granted by the guru, should he utilize it for himself.In Visnu Smrti, it
is said even when threatened or oppressed by the spiritual master, one should never cause him any pain in return. One
should never criticize him in any way or work against his welfare. In the event of the disciple not engaging in the service of
the guru even after taking the holy syllables and by the guru no having examined the disciple before, both are liable for
punishment, being guilty. Narada Pancharatra states in this regard.
Yo vyakti nya yarahitam anyayena srnoti yah.
Srila Santana Gosvami writes in the Bhakti Hari Vilas:-
pariksam bina gutrusevadinam bina ca mantrasya kathane  grahne ca mahanartha iti likhati yo baktiti
In not going through the preliminary examination period, both the guru and the disciple face the prospect of going to a
terrible hell for a long time. As stated in Agamas, the son of a born-brahmin, without going through the ritual of upanayana
(brahmin thread) is not allowed to worship either the Salagrama Sila or study the Vedas. In the same say, the uninitiated
person is not allowed to worship the Deity with the uttering of Mantras. For this process, one has to undergo the rite of
initiation. The commentary by Srila Sanatana Gosvami runs:-
pradhanatvena sri-visundiksagrahanat sri-srivasyapi samyak stutivisayam iti bhavah
In the way Lord Visnu is the Supreme Lord, one who undergoes initiation into the Visnu Mantra, is even praiseworthy by
the best of all devotees-Lord Siva. In Visnu Yamala it is even mentioned that for any uninitiated person, all his works will
go to naught. One who does not undergo spiritual initiation is destined for animal births. Diksa (initiation) is termed by the
knowers of the truth as that which destroys all sins and gives transcendental knowledge. In Tattva Sagara, just as bell metal
is converted by a chemical process into gold similarly by the process of initiation, all human beings attain to brahminhood.
yatha kanchautam yati kamsyam rasavvidhanathah thata diksavidhanena dvijatvam jayate nrnam
Srila Sanatana Gosvami writes nrnam sarvesameva vijatvam viprata.By the process of spiritual initiation one attains the
brahminhood. One who desires the highest goal should take to spiritual initiation under a bona fide spiritual master and
practice devotional service to the Lord. All beings have a right for devotion to the Lord, it being the eternal constitutional
function of the soul.
In Srimad Bhagavatam Lord Krishna informs His brahmin friend (Bhag 10.50.34):
naham ijya prajyatibyam tapas upasamena va tusyeyam sarvabhutatma guru susrusaya yatha
The way I become satisfied with a person who is devoted and cent per cent obedient to his guru is far more than just
following their filial duties according to their different stages of life like celibate monk, householder, renounced order, etc.
The great soul Prahlada Maharaja instructs his fellow companions and friends. (Bhag 7/7/10).
Guru susrusaya bhaktya sarva lobharpanena ca
One in forgoing all motives for fame and false prestige in the mood of a servant, in humble submission and
surrender to the lotus feet of Sri Guru will gain firm attraction to the lotus feet of the Lord. Nothing is greater than
service to Sri Guru which is the highest religious principle. All the evil tendencies like lust and anger including all
impurities can be easily dissipated by pure devotion to the Guru. The 11th Vilas, Hari Bhakti Vilas describes the service
to please the Guru is the foremost of all vows. Padma Purana informs us that one who worships his spiritual master above
his own father will definitely be a guest in the world of Brahma. In other places we have the Guru is himself Lord Brahma.
He is Lord Visnu and He is Sankara also, He is comparable to the Supreme Brahman which entails that all should worship
him. In Vamana Kalpe, Lord Brahma describes: yo mantrati, sa guruh, ksat yo guroh sa hari smrtah, The mantra is the form
of the spiritual master and the guru is the form of Lord Hari. To whom the guru is pleased, Lord Hari becomes pleased with
him.One should not sit on the same sitting place or even on a higher level than the spiritual mater. The spiritual master is the
sum total of all demigods, also he is verily the form of Sri Hari but in all respects considered the most confidential servitor
of the Lord. The Supreme Lord, to teach us the method of practice of devotional service, has appeared externally in the form
of Srila Gurudeva, also demonstrating the proper course of conduct. The Supreme Lord illuminates the truth of himself by
his mercy potency who is Srila Gurudeva, His confidential associate. Just as we pray to Sri Srila Prabhupada with the prayer
as:-
Sri gaura karuna sakti vigrahaya namas tu te
In the verse  tad-vijnanartham sa gurum eva abhigavcet, ‘tad vijnana’ here means knowledge of the Supreme Lord. To
illustrate further in Gita, the verse “tad-viddhi paripatena:” states to get knowledge of the Supreme Lord one should
approach and take shelter of the spiritual master. The spiritual master is always exhibiting the most appropriate example, for
he is engaged eternally in the service of the Deity as in dressing the Deity etc. and also cleaning the temple etc.
In this way he engages al his devoted followers in such spiritual services. He is expert in helping the sakhis in the delightful
conjugal pastimes of the Divine Couple Sri Sri Radha Krishna and is very dear to Them. Such a spiritual master is my most
worshipable object. In doing service to Sri Gurudeva, if it limits the service to Sri Krishna, the guru can never be pleased.
Tulasi leaves are to be offered only in his hand in is position as confidential servitor of the Lord. Sri Tulasi Devi is free to
serve the pure devote according to her own accord, but it is not within our authority to place a pure devotee of the Lord
Krishna on the feet of another confidential servitor . In showing oneself as being too clever would result in the spiritual
master becoming vexed. The scriptures have declared that if the spiritual Lord becomes angry with any disciple, the
spiritual master as intermediary can pacify the Lord and save the disciples. Conversely, on the Guru becoming
angry, nobody can save that person. Hence, one should always try to please the spiritual master; yasya prasadasd
bhagavat prasada yasya prasada na gatih kuto api. If the spiritual master becomes pleased then the Lord becomes
pleased and if the Guru becomes displeased then there is no destination for that wretched person.
The disciple should be vigilant that by some strict of enviousness, he does not offensively deem his Guru to be an ordinary
mortal.
yasya saksasd bhagavaty jnan dipaprade gurau martyasadhih srutam tsya sarvam kunjarah sauchavat
In viewing his spiritual master as an ordinary mortal, all that the disciple has learned or heard from his spiritual
master, including the Mantras received will be null and void just as the example of the futile bathing of the elephant,
for the spiritual master is the external manifestation of Lord Visnu and the deliverer of transcendental knowledge.
The disciple should be very attentive and submissive to the lotus feet of Sri Guru at all times, by both inquiry and service in
receiving the divine messages of the Ancient Religion (Bhagavad-dharma) from him. Gradually in this way he will make
progress in devotions. Even after the disappearance of Srila Gurudeva, his surrendered disciple will always receive
his shower of mercy unobserved by others. Sri Srila Prabhupada is always fond of the servant of his servant and is
always protecting such a person at all times. Though he is in his eternal pastimes engaged in the blissful service of
the Divine Couple, he is fondly showering the weak disciples with his mercy at every step. This merciful potency is
always protecting me and awarding me complete fearlessness. Thus it is with a happy note to mention that I am not without
shelter. He does not neglect me in spite of many faults committed unknowingly at his lotus feet. He will never forsake me
ever. He is the ocean of mercy without limit. In his presence whilst on this planet, he has even shed tears for me seeing my
ignorance and even now he is being most compassionate in this regard. His deep affection for me is still flowing and is
not restricted because he is not physically present. Certainly he will protect me always as he is doing now and has
done previously. He is my Lord birth after birth and not only this brief life-span. He is my worshipable deity and I am
his eternal servant of the servant.In my mistakes, would he not disciple me? Definitely! Just as a mother annoyed at seeing
the naughty pranks of her child gives him a slap but after, while seeing the boy crying, will she be able to sit unaffected? In
the same way, even after chiding me, can my eternal master even neglect me? After my rectification, he will definitely
award me the shade of his lotus feet which are cooling as a million moons. I have no other destination except for his
lotus feet. To those who are bereft and lowly, his lotus feet are the only fearless shelter. In the three worlds, what else
can be more painful than separation from him! Who else can look after me in this loving fashion, Oh merciful
Prabhupada! I am the eternal servant of the servitor of your lotus feet. Please accept me as the dust of your lotus
feet.
Chapter One - The Lotus Feet of Sri Guru

çré-guru-caraëa-padma, kevala-bhakati-sadma
bandoì mui sävadhäna mate
jäìhära prasäde bhäi, e bhava toriyä jäi
kåñëa-präpti hoy jäìhä ha’te

The lotus feet of the spiritual master are the abode of pure devotional service. I bow down to
those lotus feet with great care and attention. My dear brother, it is through the grace of the
spiritual master that we cross over this material existence and obtain Krishna.

Only by the mercy of Sri Guru can one cross over this dreadful ocean of material existence,
develop kåñëa-bhakti, and get Krishna. This is the kåpä, mercy, of Sri Guru. The lotus feet of
Sri Guru are the abode of pure bhakti, bhakati-sadma. I offer my prayers and respectful
obeisances there with utmost care, sävadhäna mate.

SHRI
One should understand what is çré-guru-caraëa-padma. The words “çré-guru” are very
significant. “Çré” means 1. çobhä, beauty; 2. sampadä, transcendental wealth, or asset; and
çreñöha, the topmost. “Çré-guru” means that guru who is endowed with çré, with prema-
bhakti. The word “çré” is used because there is no question of Sri Guru disappearing or not
being manifest. It is only applicable to a guru who is eternally manifest. Otherwise such a
word would not be used.

The Only Wealth

In this world, Sri Guru is the only beauty or asset, wealth. There is nothing else. Caraëa
means feet. Çré-guru-caraëa-padma — the feet of Sri Guru are compared to the lotus. This is
also very significant.

Why are his feet compared to the LOTUS and not to anything else?
The lotus flower looks very nice and beautiful, and it also provides very sweet honey,
madhu. The bumblebee collects honey from different flowers, but especially from the lotus
flower. So what sort of special quality is there in the honey collected from the lotus flower
that is not present in the honey collected from other flowers? It is a special type of honey
known as padma-madhu. The disciple who is like a bumblebee, who is very hungry and
greedy for that honey, relishes it.
Mellow of Bhakti
Although the lotus flower grows out of the water, it is not touched by it. One of the
synonyms for water is rasa, mellow. The feet of Sri Guru are compared to a lotus, but this
lotus grows in the transcendental water of bhakti-rasa, the mellow of bhakti. Such are the
lotus feet of Sri Guru. His lotus feet are apräkåta, not material, but transcendental. They are
bhakati-sadma, the abode of transcendental bhakti-rasa as well as all mädhuré, beauty. The
lotus looks beautiful to the eye and is very attractive to the heart. Similarly, the shining lotus
feet of Sri Guru are very beautiful in the eyes of the disciple and very attractive to his heart.
All of the activities, form, qualities, and pastimes of Sri Guru are very beautiful in the eyes
of the sädhaka-bhakta. Through the eye of meditation the sädhaka-bhakta sees the beautiful
lotus feet of Sri Guru. Upon seeing those lotus feet he feels a soothing effect in his afflicted
heart. His heart is afflicted with the three täpas, sufferings: ädhyätmika, sufferings arising
from one’s own mind and body; ädhidaivika, sufferings arising from nature; and
ädhibhautika, sufferings arising from other living entities. When the disciple meditates on
the beautiful lotus feet of Sri Guru he feels a soothing effect and his affliction is cooled
down. At the same time he also smells the nice scent that is coming from the lotus feet of Sri
Guru, like the scent that comes from the lotus.

Cooling Shade
The bumblebee wanders everywhere, going to various types of flowers. One type of flower
is the ketaké flower. That flower is found in India, but not in the West. The tree on which the
ketaké flower grows, like the rose plant, has thousands of thorns. The ketaké flower has a
nice scent, and a bumblebee that becomes attracted by the scent from the ketaké flower goes
there. But because of the many thorns on the tree his wings become torn and he feels so
much pain and affliction. The bumblebee thinks, “Where to go now? Can I get shelter in a
place where there is no pain and affliction? Where can I get peace?”After wandering hither
and thither, at last he comes to the lotus flower and experiences the cooling, soothing effect
there. He takes shelter inside the lotus flower, sucks the sweet honey there, and thus gets
nourishment.
Similarly, the jéva who is wandering and wandering through the innumerable universes and
through the innumerable species of life of this material world — brahmäëòa bhramite kona
bhägyavän jéva — gets only more and more suffering, misery, and torture. There is no
cooling effect in the material world, which is like a blazing forest fire — saàsära-dävänala.
Nobody starts the forest fire, but automatically by the rubbing of two pieces of wood the
whole forest is burned and the animals that live in the forest are burned to ashes. They feel
the burning heat, which is very painful. Similarly, the conditioned souls in this material
world feel the burning sensation coming from the three täpas: ädhyätmika, ädhibhautika, and
ädhidaivika. After wandering through innumerable universes and innumerable species of
life, at last the fortunate soul, bhägyavän jéva, comes to the lotus feet of Sri Guru and takes
shelter in the cooling shade there. As the bumblebee sucks honey from the lotus flower,
similarly, the guru-päda-padma, the lotus feet of Sri Guru, allow that jéva, who is compared
to the bumblebee, to suck the nice honey whereby he gets real nourishment and also
premänanda, loving happiness.
Special Type of Honey
Padma-madhu, the honey collected from the lotus flower, is a special type of honey. The
Äyurveda-çästra says that it is a good medicine for the eye. If someone has some eye disease
due to impurities in the eye the kaviraj, ayurvedic doctor, will advise him to rub some
padma-madhu in his eyes. Because of these impurities one cannot see clearly and feels pain.
Applying some padma-madhu on the eyes will clean out all the impurities and then one will
be able to see clearly. Similarly, the guru-päda-padma-madhu, the honey emanating from the
lotus feet of Sri Guru, is so sweet and nectarean that if a fortunate disciple gets it and relishes
it then the disciple’s eyes will be cleansed of the material conception.
Eyes of Knowledge
oà ajïäna-timirändhasya
jïänäïjana-çaläkayä
cakñur unmélitaà yena
tasmai çré-gurave namaù
I was born in the dense darkness of ignorance, blind, without real vision. Sri Guru, by his
causeless mercy, has opened my eyes with the torchlight of knowledge.9
For a person who has some painful eye disease, who cannot see well, the kaviraj will advise
him to apply some padma-madhu by which the dåñti-çakti, the power to see clearly, will
develop. Then not only will he get nice eyesight but also he will be able to see even very
subtle things that he would otherwise never have been able to see. Similarly, when one takes
shelter at the lotus feet of Sri Guru and gets the guru’s mercy, the guru allows the
surrendered disciple to taste that sweet honey emanating from the guru’s lotus feet. That is
the medicine whereby his material eyes will be cleansed of all material contamination. He
develops transcendental vision. He may have been blinded by the dense darkness of
ignorance, ajïäna-andhakära, but that will all be gone now. The darkness is dispelled and he
receives the eyes of knowledge — divya-jïäna-cakñu. Sri Guru imparts tattva-jïäna, and by
his mercy the disciple develops transcendental vision. With that vision he will be able to see
the beautiful form of the Supreme Lord, Syamasundar. This is the honey, or madhu,
emanating from the lotus feet of Sri Guru; it acts in such a wonderful way. Therefore the
phrase, ‘çré-guru-caraëa-padma’ is very significant — the lotus feet of Sri Guru are
compared to a lotus. Why is this comparison made and how to explain it?
Wonderful Characteristic
Padma-madhu cures eye disease and clears out all the impurities from the eye, but it cannot
clear the impurities from the heart. However, the honey emanating from the lotus feet of Sri
Guru, guru-päda-padma-madhu, has such a special and wonderful characteristic that it cures
both the eye and the heart. Çré-guru-caraëa-padma-madhu cleanses and purifies the heart so
that it will become a suitable place for Govinda, Krishna, to reside.
tomära hådoye sadä govinda-viçräm
govinda kohena — mora vaiñëava paräë10
Narottam Das Thakur sings, “O vaiñëava-öhäkura! Govinda, Krishna, resides in your heart,
which is like Vrindavan, the eternal abode of Govinda. He stays there very blissfully and
peacefully. He never leaves your heart.” The guru makes the heart of his surrendered disciple
a suitable place for Krishna to reside. By giving the disciple shelter at his lotus feet and
allowing him to suck that special type of honey, which has that wonderful characteristic, the
heart of the surrendered disciple is cleansed.
Wandering Hopelessly
The conditioned souls are like a diseased person suffering from various kinds of material ills
— bhava-rogé. Their disease is very chronic. They have already taken many medicines —
allopathic, homeopathic, and ayurvedic — but the disease is still not cured. The disease is
incurable and has become chronic. They have already lost their vitality, jévana-çakti, and
cannot digest any food. They have taken so many medicines and that has also produced a bad
effect. These days you will find so many strong drugs, but what is their effect? They simply
result in chronic incurable disease. People lose their vitality and they cannot even eat
anything because their digestive fire is very low. How can they survive? They are dying.
They cannot eat or digest anything. The kaviraj will advise, “You should only eat one thing
— madhu. And especially padma-madhu, the special type of honey from the lotus flower.”
He prescribes padma-madhu whereby they will regain their vitality. This honey will give
them life. Any other type of food cannot be given, only padma-madhu is advised. Then they
can regain their vitality. Such jévas, wandering through innumerable universes and
experiencing the miseries of innumerable species of life, have become completely hopeless.
They are only getting suffering, so many material ills — bhava-roga. If such persons are
fortunate, they will come to the lotus feet of Sri Guru. That guru is like a physician, sädhu-
vaidya. He knows the perfect and unfailing medicine to cure the material disease, bhava-
roga. He knows the cause of the jéva’s suffering. There is only one medicine, the honey
emanating from the lotus feet of Sri Guru — guru-päda-padma-madhu. So, as the lotus
allows the bumblebee whose wings are torn by the thorns of the ketaké flower to take shelter
inside the flower, similarly, the guru allows the disciple to take shelter at his lotus feet. The
guru-päda-padma, the lotus feet of Sri Guru, gives such hopeless wandering souls shelter and
allows them to suck honey, whereby they regain their vitality. The suffering jéva gets
nourishment and life there. That is why we say, ‘çré-guru-caraëa-padma.’ The lotus feet of
Sri Guru are compared to a lotus, and not to anything else. This phrase has great
significance.
Transcendental Nature
säkñäd-dharitvena samasta-çästrair
uktas tathä bhävyata eva sadbhiù
kintu prabhor yaù priya eva tasya
vande guroù çré-caraëäravindam
The spiritual master is honored as much as the Supreme Lord because he is the most
confidential servitor of the Lord. This is acknowledged in all revealed scriptures and is
followed by all authorities. Therefore I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of
my spiritual master, who is a bona fide representative of Sri Hari.11
Sri Guru is säkñäd-dharitvena, he is as good as Lord Hari. He does not belong to this
material world. He belongs to the spiritual world, Krishna’s world. He comes down here out
of his causeless mercy, either voluntarily to deliver the fallen souls or when the Lord sends
him. Whether he comes here voluntarily or by the will of the Lord, that guru-päda-padma
descends here to shower his mercy on the suffering conditioned souls who have been
drowning in the dreadful ocean of materialistic existence since time immemorial. That guru-
päda-padma descends and stays here in the material world. Someone may raise the question,
“This material world is illusory, mäyika jagat. The three modes of material nature are here,
sattva, raja and tama — goodness, passion, and ignorance. If the guru comes and stays in this
material world, will he not be affected by those three modes? How can his transcendental
nature remain unaffected in this dreadful ocean of material existence? How does he act here?
This is very easy to understand from the example of the lotus flower. The lotus flower lives
in the water, but it is not affected. It remains untouched. Similarly, although Sri Guru comes
here to this material world, he remains untouched. He is never affected by the three modes of
material nature. Therefore the feet of Sri Guru are compared to a lotus. The bumblebee that
comes to the lotus that is in the water and takes shelter inside that lotus is also untouched by
the water. Similarly, the fortunate soul who has taken shelter at the lotus feet of Sri Guru will
never be afraid of this material world. Just as the lotus gives shelter to the bumblebee and
protects him from being touched by the water, so the disciple who takes shelter at the lotus
feet of Sri Guru will not be affected by the material nature. This is the lotus feet of Sri Guru.
Intense Desire
Another point is there. When the sun rises the lotus blossoms, and when the sun sets the
petals of the lotus close. Similarly, the petals of the guru-päda-padma will open when it sees
the intense desire and crying in the heart of the suffering soul to go back to Godhead and get
Krishna. This crying for bhakti is like the rising of the sun.
When the sun sets the petals of the lotus close. Similarly, a disciple who has developed an
intense and burning desire in his heart has come to the guru and received shelter. But many
times we see that later on that disciple loses his bhakti-våtti, his devotional engagement.
Because of committing some offense like näma-aparädha or vaiñëava-aparädha he loses his
bhakti-våtti. His bhakti becomes shrunken and he does not carry out the orders of the guru or
hear the guru’s message. He is avoiding or disobeying his guru. When the sun sets, the petals
of the lotus close. Similarly, the guru disappears from the vision of that disciple.
Always Manifest
Of course, for one who has made advancement and developed some taste for this
transcendental mellow, this is not applicable. It is only applicable to neophytes who have not
yet made much advancement and who have not developed any taste for this mellow. If such
a devotee commits some aparädha and associates with offenders and materialistic persons, if
he does not do real sädhu-saìga, then the sun will never rise. He will disobey the order of the
guru and violate his instructions. The guru-päda-padma will disappear from such a disciple
who is acting according to his own whims. This is not applicable for advanced devotees who
have developed taste for this transcendental mellow. They cannot leave it because it has
become their life and soul. They cannot survive without it. For such a disciple the guru-päda-
padma will never disappear. He is always with the guru and the guru is always with him. In
all conditions he is engaged in the loving service of guru-päda-padma. He is a niñöhäpara-
bhakta, who has achieved at least the minimum stage of niñöhä. For such a very advanced
devotee who has developed a taste — meaning he has come to the minimum stage of niñöhä,
or beyond that like ruci, äsakti or bhäva — for him there is no question of disappearance of
the guru. He is with guru. The guru never disappears from him. He always sees and realizes
the presence of his guru. For that bhakta the guru is always manifest, the guru will never
leave him. But for one who has not achieved the stage of niñöhä the apprehension is there
that if he commits some aparädha or violates the guru’s instructions the guru may disappear
from his vision. That means the sun will set and the petals of the lotus will close.
Crying Is Required
The çiñya or sädhaka should always cry for guru-kåpä, the causeless mercy of the guru.
Unless you cry for it you cannot get it. Nobody can get that mercy without crying. For
example, when the child cries, the mother runs, thinking, “Oh, my child is crying.” The child
cannot be pacified by anything without the mother’s presence. Because she is engaged in
performing household duties the mother may give the child a toy or a doll to play with, but
the child will throw down that toy or doll and cry and cry. So unless you cry, how can you
get that mercy? This crying is required — karuëä nä hoile, käëòiyä käëòiyä, präëa nä räkhibo
ära. Therefore we sing this song. We must cry and cry for the mercy of guru. Unless you cry
how can you get it? Those who have cried have received the mercy.
gurudeva!
kåpä-bindu diyä, koro’ ei däse, tåëäpekhä ati héna
sakala-sahane, bolo diyä koro nija mäne spåhä-héna
sakale sammän, korite çakati, deho’ nätha! jathäjatha
tabe to’ gäibo, harinäma-sukhe, aparädha ha’be hata
kabe heno kåpä, lobhiyä e jana, kåtärtha hoibe, nätha!
çakti-buddhi-hén, ämi ati dén, koro’ more ätma-sätha
jogyatä-vicäre, kichu nähi päi, tomära karuëä sära
karuëä nä hoile, käëòiyä käëòiyä, präëa nä räkhibo ära
Gurudeva! By a drop of your mercy make this servant of yours more humble than a blade of
grass. Give me strength to bear all trials and troubles, and free me from all desires for
personal honor.
O lord and master! Invest me with the power to properly honor all living beings. Only then
will I sing the holy name in great ecstasy and will all my offenses cease.
O lord and master! When will this person be blessed by obtaining your mercy? I am low,
fallen, and devoid of all strength and intelligence. Please make me your beloved servant.
When I examine myself, I find nothing of good value. Your mercy is therefore essential to
me. If you are not merciful, I will constantly weep, and I will not maintain my life any
longer.12
This is our prayer. This weeping or crying is required. Unless the child cries the mother will
not run and the child cannot get the mother’s breast. Similarly, unless you cry how can you
get the darçana of Sri Guru? When the child cries the mother runs to him. Similarly,
although the guru may be in some other part of the world, when the disciple cries the guru
runs there. Sri Guru is käruëa-mäyä, he is causelessly merciful. Thus whether he is manifest
or unmanifest he gives darçana to his disciple. He may also come in a dream to give his
darçana. This guru-tattva is nitya-tattva — an eternal transcendental tattva. It is eternally
prakaöa, manifest. It is not aprakaöa, unmanifest. There is no question of guru-tattva
becoming unmanifest. This çré-guru-caraëa is inconceivable. It cannot be understood
through one’s material knowledge, intelligence, or merit.
Eternal Associate
Sri Guru is a nitya-parikara, an eternal associate of Sri Sri Radha and Krishna. The last limit
of guru-tattva is nityänanda-tattva. Nityananda Prabhu is gaura-parikara, an eternal associate
of Gaura. Similarly, Sri Guru is the eternal associate of both Gaura and Krishna, because in
tattva Gaura and Krishna are one. There is no difference between gaura-tattva and kåñëa-
tattva.
Therefore we say säkçäd-dharitvena, Sri Guru is as good as Lord Hari. That means that Sri
Guru is äçraya-tattva, the abode of love. Lord Hari is the only viñaya-tattva, the object of
love, whereas Sri Guru is äçraya-tattva. The guru is called sevaka-bhagavän, the servitor
Personality of Godhead, whereas Krishna, Lord Hari, is sevya-bhagavän, the Supreme
Personality of Godhead who is to be worshiped. Both are called bhagavän. That is viñaya
and äçraya, the object of worship and the abode of worship. Otherwise, in tattva they are
one.
guru kåñëa-rüpa hana çästrera pramäëe
guru-rüpe kåñëa kåpä karena bhakta-gaëe
According to the deliberate opinion of all revealed scriptures, the spiritual master is
nondifferent from Krishna. Lord Krishna in the form of the spiritual master delivers His
devotees.13
Krishna showers His mercy in the form of guru. Without that mercy one cannot understand
or approach Krishna or go back to Godhead. Krishna appears before us in the form of guru to
help us and act as our friend. Showering His causeless mercy through the guru, Krishna
delivers us from unlimited suffering in the material world. Krishna is also in the heart in the
form of Paramatma, the caitya-guru. From within, Krishna will give us the intelligence to act
in the correct way and not make any mistakes or errors. This is the glory of the lotus feet of
Sri Guru. It is incomparable and indescribable.
Embodiment of Mercy
Both the çikñä-guru and the dékñä-guru are representatives of Krishna. Their kåpä, mercy, is
unlimited. There is no difference between the çikñä-guru and the dékñä-guru.
yadyapi ämära guru — caitanyera däsa
tathäpi jäniye ämi täìhära prakäça
Although I know that my spiritual master is a servitor of Sri Chaitanya, I know him also as a
plenary manifestation of the Lord.14
This is the tattva. Therefore we say that Sri Gurudeva is kåñëa-kåpä-çré-mürti — he is the
embodiment of kåñëa-kåpä, Krishna’s mercy. If Krishna’s mercy assumes a body and
appears before us, that is Sri Guru.
Guru-bhakti
If someone develops guru-bhakti he will get Krishna.
yasya deve parä bhaktir
yathä deve tathä gurau
tasyaite kathitä hy arthäù
prakäçante mahätmanaù
Only unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master
are all the imports of Vedic knowledge automatically revealed.15
One who develops the same type of bhakti for the guru as he develops for Krishna is a very
fortunate soul. All transcendental knowledge will be revealed or manifest to him because
there is no difference between guru-bhakti and kåñëa-bhakti. Without guru-bhakti,
transcendental knowledge will never manifest. Sri Guru is kåñëa-priya-jana, a very dear
associate of Krishna. He is also rädhä-priya-sakhé, a very dear girl companion or
maidservant of Srimati Radharani, like Rupa Manjari, who is Rupa Goswami. The müla
guru-tattva, the original guru-tattva, is nityänanda-tattva, Sri Nityananda Prabhu. By
gradually descending, Sri Guru, or nityänanda-tattva, has come to us. Nitaichand is both the
dékñä-guru and the çikñä-guru. The caitya-guru is His manifestation. This is guru-tattva.
They only differ in their activities or léläs. Therefore we say, çré-guru-caraëa-padma. It is
very significant that the lotus feet of Sri Guru are compared to a lotus.
Body, Words and Mind
Bandoì mui sävadhäna mate — one should offer prayers and worship, vandanä, with the
utmost care. There are three types of vandanä: käya, väkya, and mana — through our body,
words, and mind. With our body we fall flat on the ground and offer our daëòavat praëämas
to gurudeva — käya-vandanä. Through our words we offer prayers and glorify the guru —
väcika-vandanä. And through our mind we always meditate on the beautiful and
transcendentally blissful lotus feet of the guru — mänasika-vandanä. If one has money or
some material opulence then he should render service through that money. That is käyika,
service through the body. If one has some followers or if he is a family man with a wife, son,
daughter, friends, and servants, then with those followers or subordinates he should give
everything and render loving service to the lotus feet of the guru. That is also käyika. One
should serve with all one’s capacity, which is why it says bandoì mui sävadhäna mate —
with the utmost care one should do vandanä.
With one’s words one should offer prayers and glorification to the guru. One should also
hear from the guru, çravaëa. Whatever one has heard from the guru one will speak to others,
and in that way others will also hear what he has heard. That is väcika. Paripraçna is also
there: If one has some doubts then he should humbly ask questions and get them clarified.
These are all types of sevä. In one’s mind, mänasika, one should put firm and unflinching
faith in the words of the guru. One should understand that the guru has manifest before me in
various forms to help me and shower his mercy on me. This is how one serves the guru
through one’s mind. That is the meaning of käyika, väcika, and mänasika.
One should think, “Guru-kåpä is my only asset, nothing else.” Therefore we say bandoì mui
sävadhäna mate — I do guru-vandanä with the utmost care. Always be careful and never be
careless.
Krishna’s Trick
Sri Guru tells me that I am an eternal servant of Krishna and thus I should be engaged in His
service. But where is Krishna and where am I? How can I serve Him? Is Krishna in the
material world? No, Krishna is in the spiritual world, Vaikuntha. That is Krishna’s world.
Krishna is the only enjoyer. The jéva can never be the enjoyer. Gurudeva says, “Whatever
you find in this world is all paraphernalia for Krishna’s enjoyment, not for your enjoyment.”
Krishna’s world is Vaikuntha, where there is an abundance of enjoyment. Just as we want to
be free from the clutches of mäyä, Bhagavan, the Supreme Lord Krishna, also wants to take
us out of mäyäs clutches and engage us in His service. Krishna is the only enjoyer and His
desire for enjoyment is unlimited, thus He wants to enjoy by taking everyone into His
domain. We are tiny jévas. We have no capacity to enjoy, because the jéva is not the enjoyer.
We have only developed this puruña abhimäna, the thought that I will enjoy and enjoy. It is
only our misconception, because the jéva has no capacity to enjoy. Krishna has unlimited
capacity to enjoy in unlimitedly different ways, and the jéva is to be enjoyed, upabhogyam.
Krishna is there in His abode, vaikuëöha-räjya, the spiritual world, and we are here in the
sakuëöha-jagat, the miserable material world. How then can we serve Him? Krishna has
made a trick for us, and that trick is Sri Gurudeva. Krishna has sent Sri Gurudeva to this
material world to spread here Krishna’s saàsara, His household or family. It is Krishna’s
desire that His saàsara be manifest in this world. All sadhus and mahäjanas are gurus, so
Krishna has sent them to manifest His saàsara. So in this material world gurudeva has
opened Krishna’s saàsara. The Supreme Lord has not said, “You go and make your own
saàsara.”Rather, Krishna has said, “Go there and do My saàsara.” So by Krishna’s desire
gurudeva has come here and opened Krishna’s saàsara. Krishna is his eternal master, nitya-
svämé. Gurudeva has completely surrendered and dedicated his life, käya, mana, väkya —
body, mind and words, to Krishna. That is gurudeva. Those who take shelter at the lotus feet
of such a Sri Guru, he takes them and makes them enter into Krishna’s saàsara. Gurudeva
says, “I am doing Krishna’s saàsara, giving everything for the enjoyment of Krishna. You
please come and enter into Krishna’s saàsara, then you will be free from the clutches of
mäyä. You will be free from all material sufferings.”
Enter Krishna’s Family
Gurudeva may construct a cottage in a solitary place and engage himself in bhajana by the
side of Radhakund or Syamakund. Why would he leave, especially to go to the Western
world where mäyä is very strong, where there are many gross materialists? He goes because
his heart bleeds seeing the suffering of the jévas. He has given up all these things to give us
the opportunity to do hari-bhajana, service to Krishna. He teaches us and gives us the
opportunity to serve Krishna. We have forgotten Krishna, so just to revive our memory he
has come here. He has opened Krishna’s saàsara. He has opened a factory and we have
become an employee in that factory. Thereby we will enter into Krishna’s saàsara. Some
people may say, “I am doing hari-näma, chanting, ‘hare kåñëa hare kåñëa kåñëa kåñëa hare
hare hare räma hare räma räma räma hare hare’.” You may be chanting, doing hari-bhajana,
but unless you enter into Krishna’s saàsara what value is there? Unless you enter into
Krishna’s saàsara there is no value to your chanting. And in order to enter into Krishna’s
saàsara you have to approach a Sri Guru, a bona fide guru. At that time gurudeva will call
you, “Come, come. Enter into Krishna’s saàsara that I have opened here.” Unless we enter
into Krishna’s saàsara we cannot chant. It will only be offensive chanting. You may be
chanting lakhs and lakhs of näma, but it will simply be offensive, näma-aparädha. Your
anarthas cannot be destroyed. Even if you chant lakhs of names offensively you cannot make
any advancement at all. Many people may chant, but what are they getting? By that kind of
chanting they may go up to Vaikuntha, but gurudeva has come here to teach that you should
enter into guru’s saàsara, that is Krishna’s saàsara. You are a servant so you have to render
service by entering into the guru-gåha. Then you will attain perfection. Otherwise one will
never attain perfection.
Kåñëa-sevä-yajïa
What do we want from entering into the saàsara of the guru? Shall we take everything and
not give anything? The guru has given you so much, but unless you serve in the house of the
guru there is no benefit. Therefore the guru says, “Come and join, enter into my saàsara, that
is Krishna’s saàsara. Then all your anarthas will be destroyed.” So, dedicate your body, mind
and speech, your soul and everything, to the service of Sri Guru. You have come to the
house of the guru, that means he has opened a factory and you should be an employee in that
factory. Sri Guru will give you employment. Who will give you employment otherwise?
Will the government give you employment? No. But the guru will give you employment in
the factory that he has opened. That employment is service to Krishna, kåñëa-sevä-yajïa.
Unless you join that sevä-yajïa, rendering service in the guru-gåha, guru’s äçrama, you
cannot get the real benefit.
Obstacles
Gaurasundar Mahaprabhu speaks and teaches through Sri Guru. So, dedicating everything,
käya, mana, väkya — one’s body, mind and speech, one should serve Sri Guru. Then
perfection is guaranteed. That is definite, no matter what obstacles or impediments may
come. So many obstacles are there. In the material world there is danger at every step. Great
stumbling blocks are there, but if you completely surrender through your body, mind, and
speech then all impediments and stumbling blocks will be destroyed within a moment. In this
very life you will attain perfection — there is no doubt about it. Without the mercy of Sri
Guru, without service to Sri Guru, no one can approach Krishna, understand Krishna, or get
Krishna. Therefore, every day we offer this prayer and worship the lotus feet of Sri Guru.
çré-guru-caraëa-padma, kevala-bhakati-sadma,
bandoì mui sävadhäna mate