So many books, so many instructions…sometimes the sadhaka feels like a little boat in an ocean of scriptures…and gets overwhelmed or even desperate or hopeless…

No need.

guru mukha padma vakhya cittete koriyo aikya – I will make the words from the lotus mouth of my Gurudeva one with my heart and soul.

If one takes shelter of the lotus feet of a true guru, well-versed in the scriptures and possessing good behavior, his order can never be in opposition to the words of the śāstras and sādhus. For this reason, the direction has been given that one must take shelter of the lotus feet of a guru who is knowledgeable in śabda-brahma  such as Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and other scriptures (in other words, he must be competent in the Vedic literatures) and also deeply absorbed in parabrahma , or devoted to Śrī Bhagavān. In this way, there will be no times of great difficulty for a sādhaka in his life of sādhana.

The śruti-śāstras are of many kinds. In some śāstras, karma, jñāna and so on have been described as predominant.

Also, in the śāstras that establish the path of bhakti, the various means to attain Śrī Bhagavān have been glorified.

It is not possible for any sādhaka to practice all of these.

Like mentioned above, without the guidance of Sri Gurudeva and without the disciple wholeheartedly accepting this guidance, we are like a little boat tumbling in a huge ocean of śāstras.

Being well-versed in śāstras and having realized the essence of it are key qualifications residing in the heart of a sat guru.

The definitions of a bona fide Guru given by the śāstras are as follows:

1) He is filled with realisations about the Personality of Godhead due to his firm faith and his firm adherence to the worship of the Lord. He has attained the grace of his own Guru by being similarly devoted to his Guru’s lotus feet.

2) He is very learned in the Vedas and in bhakti-scriptures that outline the Vedic purport such as Śrīmad Bhāgavata. Thus he can destroy the doubts in his disciples.

3) Because he has transcendental realisations about Śrī Kṛṣṇa, he has attained His mercy-potency. Thus he has become so powerful that he is able to bring the disciple onto the path of bhakti and infuse this power within him.

4) He is not overcome by vices like lust and greed.

A saint who is endowed with such attributes and who is filled with parental love for his disciples, can attain the position of a bona fide Guru. Such a bona fide Guru is able to destroy different obstacles the disciple may find in his bhajana, bless him with prema and bring him to the lotus feet of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. On the other hand, a person who desires to be known as a Guru may have many virtues, like high birth and so on, but if he does not have the above mentioned characteristics, he will not be counted amongst the bona fide Gurus.

 

The characteristics of such a bona fide Guru have been nicely described in Śrīmad Bhāgavata (11.3.21) —

tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ śreyaḥ uttamam śābde pare ca niṣṇātaṁ brahmaṇyupaśamāśrayam

“Therefore a person who inquires about the highest welfare should take shelter of the lotus feet of a bona fide Guru, who is śabda brahma and para brahma niṣṇāta and upaśamāśraya or free from lust and greed.”