GURU-TATTVA: The Guru Principle
One must accept a genuine guru in the proper disciplic line.
1. 1
tad vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet
samit panim srotriyam brahma-nistham
One who wants scientific knowledge about the Supreme Truth must approach a bona fide guru and offer him everything required for sacrifice. The guru must be fixed in the truth, having heard it from a genuine source. (Mundaka Upanisad 1.2.12)
1. 2
acarayavan puruso veda
Only one who has a guru can know the truth. (Chandogya Upanisad 6.18.2)
1. 3
uttisthata jasrata prapya varan nibodhata
ksurasya dhara nisita duratyaya
durgam pathas tat kavayo vadanti
Awake, arise: Having obtained the human form of life, you must not sleep in the darkness of ignorance. Awaken knowledge of your real self by associating with great souls and obtaining their mercy. This material creation is as sharp as a razor's edge, for it is the cause of many miseries. It is impossible to cross over without transcendental knowledge. Therefore one must take shelter of the great learned transcendentalists who forever sing the praises of that Supreme Person who is the destroyer of birth and death. (Katha Upanisad 1.3.14)
1. 4
yasya deve para bhaktir
yatha deve tatha gurau
tasyaite kathita hy artham
prakasante mahatmanm
To those great souls who serve both guru and Krsna with exclusive devotion, the import of the Vedas is fully revealed. (Setasvatara Upanisad 6.23)
1. 5
nayam atma pravacanena labhyo
na medhaya na bahuna srutena
yam evaisa vrnute tena labhyas
tasyaisa atma vivrute tanum svam
The Supreme Self can never be known by argument, reasoning, intelligence, or scholarship. The finite can never know the infinite. By His own sweet will, however, the Infinite may reveal Himself to the finite in His personal divine form. Those who wish to know the infinite must therefore submit to him through surrender. (Katha Upanisad 1.2.23)
1. 6
janana-maranadi-samsaranala-santapto dipta-sira jala-rasim iva
upahara-panbm sotriyam brahma-nistham gurum upasrtya tam anusarati
Just as a person whose head is on fire runs to water, one who burns from the flames of birth death, old age, and disease in the holocaust of material existence must run to a genuine guru for relief. Such a guru must be fixed in the Absolute Truth and well-versed in the scriptures. One should approach him with all that is needed for for sacrifice and submit to him as a disciple, ready to carry out his every instruction. (Vedanta-Sara 11)
1. 7
jiva nitya krsna-dasa, taha bhuli' gela
ei dose mayat ara galaya bandhila
Because the soul has forgotten that he is the eternal servant of Krsna, the illusory energy (maya ) has chained him by the neck. (Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya 22.24)
1. 8
krsna bhuli' sei jiva anadi-bahir-mukha
ataeva maya ta're deya samsarai dumha
Because of forgetting Krsna, the soul has become averse to the loving service of the Lord since time immemorial. Thus the illusory energy gives him innumerable miseries in the material world. (Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya 20.117)
1. 9
krsna-bahir-mukha haiya bhoga va-cha kare
nikata-stha maya tare japatiya dhare
pisaci paile yena mati-chhanna haya
maya-grasta jivera haya se bhava udaya
"ami nitya krsna-dasa" - ei katha bhule
mayara naphara haiya cira -dina bule
kabhu raja, kabhu praja, kabhu vipra, sudra
kabhu sukhi, kabhu dumkhi, kabhu kita, ksudra
kabhu svarge, kabhu martye, narake va kabhu
kabhu deva, kabhu daitya kabhu dasa prabhu
Being averse to the loving service of the Supreme Lord, the living entity tries to satisfy his lusty desries for sense gratification, and the illusory energy clasps him tightly within her embrace. The living entity, thus captured by the illusory energy, becomes just like a madman under a witch's spell. "I am the eternal servant of Krsna" - forgetting this, the soul becomes the slave of Maya and forever wanders through a succession of lives. Sometimes he is a king and sometimes a subject. Now he is a brahmana, now a sudra, now an insignificant ant. Sometimes happy, sometimes sad, now he goes to heaven, now to hell. Sometimes he is a god and sometimes a devil, now a servant, now a lord. (Prema-Vivarta )
1. 10
(ei rupa) brahmanda bhramite kona bhagyavan jiva
guru-krsna-prasade paya bhakti-lata-bija
tate krsna bhaje kare gurura sevana
mayajala chute paya sri krsna carana
Wandering throughout the universe in this way, the living entity who is fortunate meets a bona fide spiritual master by the mercy of Sri Krsna. And by the mercy of the spiritual master, he receives the seed of the creeper of transcendental loving service to the Lord. By worshipping Krsna and rendering service to the spiritual master, one is liberated from the illusory world of maya, and attains the lotus feet of the Lord. (Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya 19.151, 22.25)
1. 11
mukam karoti vacalam
pangum langhayate girim
yat krpa tam aham vande
paramananda madhavam
I offer my respectful obeisances unto Madhava, who is the personification of transcendental bliss. By His mercy, a blind man can see the stars in the sky, a lame man can cross mountains, and a dumb man can speak eloquent words of poetry. (Bhavartha. Dipika , Mangala Stotram 1)
1. 12
caitanya lilamrta pura, krsna lila sukarpura, duhe mile haya sumadhurya
sadhu-guru-prasade, taha yei asvade, sei jane madhurya pracurya
The pastimes of Sri Caitanya are the abode of nectarine love of Godhead and are just like thick condensed milk. The pastimes of Sri Krsna are just like camphor. When these are combined together, they are very sweet. By the mercy of the Gaudiya Vaisnava guru who is a true saint, one can taste that sweetness unlimitedly. (Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya 25.277)
1. 1
tad vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet
samit panim srotriyam brahma-nistham
One who wants scientific knowledge about the Supreme Truth must approach a bona fide guru and offer him everything required for sacrifice. The guru must be fixed in the truth, having heard it from a genuine source. (Mundaka Upanisad 1.2.12)
1. 2
acarayavan puruso veda
Only one who has a guru can know the truth. (Chandogya Upanisad 6.18.2)
1. 3
uttisthata jasrata prapya varan nibodhata
ksurasya dhara nisita duratyaya
durgam pathas tat kavayo vadanti
Awake, arise: Having obtained the human form of life, you must not sleep in the darkness of ignorance. Awaken knowledge of your real self by associating with great souls and obtaining their mercy. This material creation is as sharp as a razor's edge, for it is the cause of many miseries. It is impossible to cross over without transcendental knowledge. Therefore one must take shelter of the great learned transcendentalists who forever sing the praises of that Supreme Person who is the destroyer of birth and death. (Katha Upanisad 1.3.14)
1. 4
yasya deve para bhaktir
yatha deve tatha gurau
tasyaite kathita hy artham
prakasante mahatmanm
To those great souls who serve both guru and Krsna with exclusive devotion, the import of the Vedas is fully revealed. (Setasvatara Upanisad 6.23)
1. 5
nayam atma pravacanena labhyo
na medhaya na bahuna srutena
yam evaisa vrnute tena labhyas
tasyaisa atma vivrute tanum svam
The Supreme Self can never be known by argument, reasoning, intelligence, or scholarship. The finite can never know the infinite. By His own sweet will, however, the Infinite may reveal Himself to the finite in His personal divine form. Those who wish to know the infinite must therefore submit to him through surrender. (Katha Upanisad 1.2.23)
1. 6
janana-maranadi-samsaranala-santapto dipta-sira jala-rasim iva
upahara-panbm sotriyam brahma-nistham gurum upasrtya tam anusarati
Just as a person whose head is on fire runs to water, one who burns from the flames of birth death, old age, and disease in the holocaust of material existence must run to a genuine guru for relief. Such a guru must be fixed in the Absolute Truth and well-versed in the scriptures. One should approach him with all that is needed for for sacrifice and submit to him as a disciple, ready to carry out his every instruction. (Vedanta-Sara 11)
1. 7
jiva nitya krsna-dasa, taha bhuli' gela
ei dose mayat ara galaya bandhila
Because the soul has forgotten that he is the eternal servant of Krsna, the illusory energy (maya ) has chained him by the neck. (Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya 22.24)
1. 8
krsna bhuli' sei jiva anadi-bahir-mukha
ataeva maya ta're deya samsarai dumha
Because of forgetting Krsna, the soul has become averse to the loving service of the Lord since time immemorial. Thus the illusory energy gives him innumerable miseries in the material world. (Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya 20.117)
1. 9
krsna-bahir-mukha haiya bhoga va-cha kare
nikata-stha maya tare japatiya dhare
pisaci paile yena mati-chhanna haya
maya-grasta jivera haya se bhava udaya
"ami nitya krsna-dasa" - ei katha bhule
mayara naphara haiya cira -dina bule
kabhu raja, kabhu praja, kabhu vipra, sudra
kabhu sukhi, kabhu dumkhi, kabhu kita, ksudra
kabhu svarge, kabhu martye, narake va kabhu
kabhu deva, kabhu daitya kabhu dasa prabhu
Being averse to the loving service of the Supreme Lord, the living entity tries to satisfy his lusty desries for sense gratification, and the illusory energy clasps him tightly within her embrace. The living entity, thus captured by the illusory energy, becomes just like a madman under a witch's spell. "I am the eternal servant of Krsna" - forgetting this, the soul becomes the slave of Maya and forever wanders through a succession of lives. Sometimes he is a king and sometimes a subject. Now he is a brahmana, now a sudra, now an insignificant ant. Sometimes happy, sometimes sad, now he goes to heaven, now to hell. Sometimes he is a god and sometimes a devil, now a servant, now a lord. (Prema-Vivarta )
1. 10
(ei rupa) brahmanda bhramite kona bhagyavan jiva
guru-krsna-prasade paya bhakti-lata-bija
tate krsna bhaje kare gurura sevana
mayajala chute paya sri krsna carana
Wandering throughout the universe in this way, the living entity who is fortunate meets a bona fide spiritual master by the mercy of Sri Krsna. And by the mercy of the spiritual master, he receives the seed of the creeper of transcendental loving service to the Lord. By worshipping Krsna and rendering service to the spiritual master, one is liberated from the illusory world of maya, and attains the lotus feet of the Lord. (Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya 19.151, 22.25)
1. 11
mukam karoti vacalam
pangum langhayate girim
yat krpa tam aham vande
paramananda madhavam
I offer my respectful obeisances unto Madhava, who is the personification of transcendental bliss. By His mercy, a blind man can see the stars in the sky, a lame man can cross mountains, and a dumb man can speak eloquent words of poetry. (Bhavartha. Dipika , Mangala Stotram 1)
1. 12
caitanya lilamrta pura, krsna lila sukarpura, duhe mile haya sumadhurya
sadhu-guru-prasade, taha yei asvade, sei jane madhurya pracurya
The pastimes of Sri Caitanya are the abode of nectarine love of Godhead and are just like thick condensed milk. The pastimes of Sri Krsna are just like camphor. When these are combined together, they are very sweet. By the mercy of the Gaudiya Vaisnava guru who is a true saint, one can taste that sweetness unlimitedly. (Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya 25.277)
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