The spiritual master :
Who is a true spiritual master?
Sri Krishna, Who is God Himself, has defined the spiritual master to His dear devotee Sri Uddhava as follows:
– (S.B. 11.17.27)
– Sri Bhagavan said:
“O Uddhava! You should know the preceptor, meaning the Gurudeva, to be myself and never disregard him. Do not find faults with him, taking him to be an ordinary human being for Sri Gurudeva is the sum total of all devatas.”
Sri Uddhava told Sri Krishna –
“0 my Lord! A devotee has many sensual desires that are obstacles in the path of bhajan; You remove them externally in the form of Sri Gurudeva who instructs in the spiritual truth and internally in the form of good conscience. Thus You grant them realizations about You.” – (S.B. 11.29.6)
tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam
śābde pare ca niṣṇātaṁ brahmaṇy upaśamāśrayam
– SB 11.3.21
Therefore (because one cannot attain real peace or happiness in this material world), a person who seriously desires the ultimate spiritual perfection must seek a bona fide Guru and take shelter of him.
The qualifications of Śrī Guru is that
(1) he has fully realised the Vedic scriptures (śabda-brahma)
(2) the Supreme Absolute Truth(para-brahma)
(3) for whom the mundane world holds no charm whatsoever.
The characteristics of a sadguru given by the shastras are as follows:
1) He has realizations about Sri Bhagavân due to his solid faith and firm perseverance in bhajan. He has attained the grace of his own Gurudev by being similarly devoted to his lotus feet.
2) He is well-versed in the Vedas and in bhakti-scriptures that highlight the true Vedic purport such as Srimad-Bhagavatam. Thus he can wipe out the doubts of his disciples.
3) Because he has transcendental realizations about Sri Krishna he has attained His mercy. Thus he has become so powerful that he is able to bring the disciple on to the path of bhakti and infuse this power within him.
4) He is not overcome by vices like lust and greed.
It is everyone’s foremost duty in life to approach and serve a sad-guru:
sarva-deśa-kāla-daśāya janera kartavya
guru-pāśe sei bhakti praṣṭavya, śrotavya
– CC Madhya 25.122
[Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu instructed Sanātana Gosvāmī:] It is therefore the duty of every man—in every country, in every circumstance and at all times—to approach a bona fide spiritual master, question him about devotional service and listen to him explain the process.
Srimat Rupa Goswamipada has stated 64 items of bhajan.
The first three are –
- Taking shelter of Sri Gurudeva’s feet
- Taking initiation into Sri Krishna-mantra and learning Bhagavata-dharma (the process of worshipping Sri Krishna ) from him
- Serving Sri Gurudev with faith – (Bhakti-Rasamrita-Sindhu 1.2.74)
We should be lovingly attached to Śrī Guru and Śrimati Rādhika:
tvaṁ gopikā vṛṣa-raves tanayāntike ‘si
sevādhikāriṇi guro nija-pāda-padme
dāsyaṁ pradāya kuru māṁ vraja-kānane śrīrādhāṅghri-
sevana-rase sukhinīṁ sukhābdhau
– Stava Kalpadruma, Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī
“O Gurudeva! You are the beloved gopīkā of Śrīmatī Rādhikā and can bestow Her service. Bestowing upon me the shelter of your lotus feet, kindly make me blissfully engaged within the ocean of the blissfull mellows of service to Her lotus feet in the kuñjas of Vraja.”
Śrī Guru serves in the eternal pastimes as a confidential associate of Śrī Rādhā:
nikuñja-yūno rati-keli-siddhyai
yā yālibhir yuktir apekṣanīyā
– Śrī Gurvaṣṭakam 6, Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura
Śrī Gurudeva is always present with the sakhīs and mañjarīs, arranging for the perfection of yugala-kiśora’s amorous pastimes (rati-keli) within the kuñjas of Vraja.
Śrī Guru delivers the souls from the fire of material existence:
saṁsāra-dāvānala-līḍha-loka
trāṇāya kāruṇya-ghanāghanatvam
prāptasya kalyāṇa guṇārṇavasya
vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam
Just as a raincloud extinguishes a blazing forest fire by showering its rain upon it, Śrī Gurudeva, by his rain of divine mercy, delivers the people burning in the fire of material existence, suffering the threefold miseries (adhyātmika, adhibhautika, adhidaivika). I offer prayers unto the lotus feet of Śrī Gurudeva, who manifests when Kṛṣṇa’s mercy becomes very thick and who is an ocean of auspicious qualities.
Śrī Gurvaṣṭakam 8, Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura
Amrita-Tarangini 