अवैष्णवोपदिष्टेन मन्त्रेण निरयं व्रजेत् ।
पुनश्च विधिना सम्यग्ग्राहयेद्वैष्णवाद्गुरोः ॥
avaiṣṇavopadiṣṭena mantreṇa nirayaṁ vrajet |
punaś ca vidhinā samyag grāhayed vaiṣṇavād guroḥ ||
(Nārada Pañcarātra; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 4.366 and the Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 1.54; Bhakti Sandarbha: 207)
“One shall go to hell as a result of [receiving] a mantra imparted by a non-Vaiṣṇava. [If one has received a mantra from a non-Vaiṣṇava] Again and properly according to rule, one should occasion reception [of a mantra] from a Vaiṣṇava guru.”
Commentary
mārgastho vāpy amārgastha ity anena upadeṣṭāram ityādinā ca kathañcid api gurur na tyājyaḥ iti likhitam | adhunā tatra mohād avaiṣṇavo guruḥ kṛtaś cet tarhi sa parityājya iti prasaṅgāt pūrvatrāpavādaṁ likhaty—avaiṣṇaveti | grāhayed iti svārthe in mantraṁ gṛhṇīyād ity arthaḥ | yad vā, sādhu-janas tādṛśaṁ janaṁ kṛpayā mantraṁ grāhayed ity arthaḥ | vaiṣṇavāt prāyo brāhmaṇād eveti jñeyaṁ, pūrvaṁ guru-lakṣaṇe tathā likhanāt |
(Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā)
“‘[Be he] Situated on the path, or not situated on the path, the guru is verily always one’s shelter,’ by this [verse, cited in HBV 4.359] and [the verses cited in HBV 4.363–365 beginning], ‘Even rākṣasas do not eat [the bodies of] those deceased ungrateful persons who reject a teacher ordained by the sacred tradition,’ it is stated that the guru is never to be rejected. Now, in that regard, if a non-Vaiṣṇava is accepted [as one’s guru] out of delusion, then he is to be fully rejected. On account of this case, the author states an exception to the preceding discussion [i.e., an exception to the aforementioned verses stating the idea that a guru is never to be rejected]: avaiṣṇavopadiṣṭena … [i.e., the author cites the present verse]. ‘One should occasion reception’ (grāhayet), which is in its own sense of taking possession, means one should accept a mantra. Alternately, it means a sādhu should graciously cause such a person to receive a mantra [i.e., a Vaiṣṇava sādhu should give a mantra to someone who previously accepted a mantra from a non-Vaiṣṇava]. ‘From a Vaiṣṇava’ generally is to be understood as [meaning] from a brāhmaṇa specifically because of the statement of such previously in [the section regarding] the characteristics of a guru.”
The verses that Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī alludes to in this commentary, which he cited earlier in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa to make known the general principle that a guru should never be rejected, and which he cites again in this aforementioned commentary to ensure it is understood that the present verse enjoins an exception to the idea that a guru is never to be rejected, are as follows:
avidyo vā savidyo vā gurur eva janārdanaḥ |
mārgastho vāpy amārgastho gurur eva sadā gatiḥ ||
(Āditya Purāṇa; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 4.359)
“Ignorant or learned, the guru is verily Janārdana. [Be he] Situated on the path, or not situated on the path, the guru is verily always one’s shelter.”
upadeṣṭāram āmnāyāgataṁ pariharanti ye |
tān mṛtān api kravyādāḥ kṛtaghnān nopabhuñjate ||
bodhaḥ kaluṣitas tena daurātmyaṁ prakaṭīkṛtam |
gurur yena parityaktas tena tyaktaḥ purā hariḥ ||
(Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 4.363–364)
“Even rākṣasas do not eat [the bodies of] those deceased ungrateful persons who reject a teacher ordained by the sacred tradition [alt., an ancestral teacher]. Thereby [i.e., by doing so], one’s understanding is polluted and one’s ill-naturedness is demonstrated. Hari was previously rejected by one by whom the guru is rejected.”
pratipadya guruṁ yas tu mohād vipratipadyate |
sa kalpa-koṭiṁ narake pacyate puruṣādhamaḥ ||
(Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 4.365)
“The lowest of persons who after approaching a guru [i.e., accepting someone as guru] diverges [from him] out of delusion is cooked in Naraka for crores of kalpas.”