If one is to be blessed with the fruit of sādhana and bhajana, it is absolutely essential that he accepts the shelter of Śrī Guru’s lotus feet. When the potency that distinguishes one as a competent teacher appears within a virtuous person, he is to be regarded as a sad-guru.  This occurs when, as the result of sādhana-bhajana, a person’s heart and mind become cleansed of impurities, infused with devotion and adorned with the qualities of kindness and generosity. When he sees the worldly suffering of the jīva bound by māyā, his heart melts with compassion. By teaching the art of bhajana, these sad-gurus remove the suffering of materialistic people and remain always eager to bless them with the sweet taste of bhakti-rasa.  The ability to serve as guru comes from Śrī Bhagavān, present within the hearts of those great souls who have attained divine grace through bhakti. A person desiring devotion to God is blessed with the opportunity to receive shelter from such a competent sad-guru. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavata, the characteristics of such a guru are described:

tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijṣāsuḥ śreya uttamam |
śābde pare ca niṣṇātaṁ brahmaṇy upaśamāśrayam ||

    “Therefore, a person who is inquisitive about the state of ultimate bliss shall take shelter at the feet of a sad-guru who has deep realization of both the Vedas and the Supreme Being, and who is free from lower qualities such as lust and greed.”
(Bhāg. 11.3.21)

śābde brahmaṇi vedākhye nyāyato niṣṇātaṁ tattva-jṣam. anyathā saṁśaya-nirāsakatvāyogāt. pare ca brahmaṇi aparokṣānubhavena niṣṇātam. anyathā bodha-saṣcārāyogāt. parabrahma-niṣṇātatva dyotakam āha upaśamāśrayam iti (Śrīdhara-ṭīkā).

The meaning is that if the sad-guru is not learned in the Vedas and related scriptures, he may be unable to remove the doubts of his disciples. He must also be deeply devoted to, and have direct perception of, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Otherwise he will be unable to infuse his disciples with a genuine experience of bhajana. One may ask that, even though it may be apparent that the guru has a great knowledge of the scriptures, how does one judge whether he has direct perception of Śrī Kṛṣṇa? The answer is that such a person will be totally free from lust, anger, greed and so on. Whenever the splendor of bhakti appears within his heart, the darkness can no longer remain. Therefore, the scriptures have described the characteristics of a sad-guru as follows:

1. He has unwavering faith and devotion, and as a result of his bhagavad-bhajana and the mercy of his own guru, he has direct experience of God.
2. He is conversant with the Vedas and the bhakti-śāstras,  such as Śrīmad-Bhāgavata, that express the correct meaning of the Vedas. He is competent in using the arguments given in scripture to dispel the doubts of his disciples.
3. He has direct perception of Śrī Kṛṣṇa because he has received the Lord’s mercy, and he is capable of infusing his disciples with that mercy and leading them onto the path of bhakti.
4. He is not under the control of lust, anger, greed, etc.

    A virtuous person in whom these qualities are present and who has a feeling of parental affection toward his students is to be regarded as a sad-guru. This sad-guru is capable of removing everything unfavorable or useless from his disciple’s bhajana, blessing him with prema  and delivering him to the lotus feet of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. On the other hand, even though some person yearning to be known as a guru may have many good qualities, such as coming from a pious family, if he lacks the above-mentioned characteristics he cannot be considered a sad-guru. Therefore, a faithful person who desires to practice śrī-kṛṣṇa-bhajana should take shelter of a great soul endowed with the characteristics of a competent sad-guru, accept initiation into the śrī-kṛṣṇa-mantra from him and then learn from him the art of bhajana.

 

The Particular Characteristic of Śrī Guru’s Mercy

    There is some distinction between the mercy of Śrī Hari and that of Śrī Guru. In the Upaniṣads it is stated that Śrī Hari causes those whom He wants to go downward to commit immoral actions, so to demons He gives instructions that lead them to destruction. But the ācārya wants everyone to reach the higher strata, so he engages them in acts of purity, and he always speaks the truth. Therefore, one should desire Śrī Guru’s mercy.

śāstroktaṁ dharmam uccārya svayam ācarate sadā |
anyebhyaḥ śikṣayed yas tu sa ācāryo nigadyate ||

    “The śāstras declare that one who always follows dharma  and teaches others to do the same is to be known as an ācārya.” 

 

The Way to Obtain a Sad-Guru

    Some people think that a genuine sad-guru is very rare in this world, and consequently, to identify and obtain a sad-guru is not an easy matter. Thus, without trying to receive dīkṣā,  they pass the precious moments of their rare human form of life in vain. Regarding this, it should be said that whenever Śrī Bhagavān descends in the form of a sad-guru for the benefit of the world, he then makes himself easily available to those who are eager for Śrī Guru’s shelter and the chance to practice true bhajana. Giving up hypocrisy, one who, with a simple and honest heart, sincerely associates with devotees and prays innocently to God for freedom from the miseries of worldly life and for engagement in bhagavad-bhajana under Śrī Guru’s shelter is certainly blessed with his wish. There is no doubt about this. Merciful Śrī Hari most surely gives the opportunity to such an eager person.

 

The Shelter of Śrī Guru’s Lotus Feet

    At the beginning of his description of the sixty-four components of bhajana, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmipāda has written specifically of three: guru-pādāśrayas tasmāt kṛṣṇa-dīkṣādi-śikṣaṇam, viśrambheṇa guroḥ sevā (Bhakti-Rasāmṛta-Sindhuḥ 1.2.74). They are (1) the shelter of Śrī Guru, (2) initiation into śrī-kṛṣṇa-mantra, followed by instruction in bhāgavata-dharma,  and (3) serving Śrī Guru with confidence. guru-pādāśraya, dīkṣā, gurura sevana: “taking shelter of a guru, receiving initiation, serving the guru” (Caitanya-Caritāmṛta M. 22.115).
Guru-pādāśraya means that before a person who wants to do bhagavad-bhajana takes dīkṣā, he should live near to Śrī Guru for some time and try to please him with sincere and obedient service. The importance of such an examination period for the guru and śiṣya  has also been described in the scriptures. During this time, the nature and worthiness of both guru and śiṣya can be understood. If this is not done, in the future it can cause problems. Specifically, if the guru doesn’t possess the characteristics described in scripture, and if the śiṣya isn’t suitable, then inevitably the devotional practices of both will be impeded. If this examination period is not observed, the result can indeed be costly. When the eager sādhaka,  longing to be initiated, resides near Śrī Guru for some time and serves him, he will receive dīkṣā and eligibility for bhajana. On the other hand, when such a mahābhāgavata  receives sincere service, he becomes filled with compassion and śrī-guru-tattva arises within him. The specific goal of the sādhaka is to receive dīkṣā-mantras from Śrī Guru, whose heart has melted with compassion because of the careful service rendered. In this way, the sādhaka can be blessed with the ability to taste the sweet nectar of true bhajana. It should also be noted here that extraordinarily powerful persons (mahāpuruṣas) can judge the worthiness of a disciple just by looking at him. They may also award competence to one previously unqualified and then, at the same time, give dīkṣā and so on to him. They aren’t bound by any kind of rule. These statements, however, don’t apply to everyone.

Śrī Ananta Dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja