mantre tīrthe dvije deve daivajñe bheṣaje gurau |
yādṛśī bhāvanā yasya siddhir bhavati tādṛśī ||
(Skanda Purāṇga: 5.3.227.38–9; cited in Pañcatantra: 5.96)
“In regard to a mantra, tīrtha, brāhmaṇa, deva, astrologer, medicine, or guru—as is one’s attitude (bhāvanā), so is one’s attainment.”
sa kiṁ guruḥ sa kiṁ tātaḥ sa kiṁ putra sa kiṁ sakhā |
sa kiṁ rājā sa kiṁ bandhur na dadyād yo harau matim ||
(Garga-saṁhitā: 10.62.11)
“One who shall not focus his mind on Hari—is he a guru? Is he a father? Is he a son? Is he a friend? Is he a king? Is he a relative?”
guru-pādāśrayas tasmāt kṛṣṇa-dīkṣādi-śikṣaṇam |
viśrambheṇa guroḥ sevā sādhu-vartmānuvartanam || …
trayāṁ pradhānam evoktaṁ guru-pādāśrayādikam |
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.74, 83)
“(1) [Taking] Shelter at the feet of guru; (2) [receiving] instruction [from guru] beginning with Kṛṣṇa-mantra-dīkṣā; (3) serving guru with confidence; (4) following the path of the sādhus. … The three [practices] beginning with [taking] shelter at the feet of guru [amongst the sixty-four listed] are said to be principal.”
kasmai yena vibhāsito’yam atulo jñāna-pradīpaḥ purā
tad-rūpeṇa ca nāradāya munaye kṛṣṇāya tad-rūpiṇā |
yogīndrāya tad-ātmanātha bhagavad-rātāya kāruṇyatas
tac chuddhaṁ vimalaṁ viśokam amṛtaṁ satyaṁ paraṁ dhīmahi ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 12.13.19)
“Let us meditate on the pure, bright, sorrowless, immortal, eternal, Supreme Being, by whom this incomparable lamp of knowledge [i.e., Śrīmad Bhāgavatam] was previously [i.e., at the beginning of the kalpa] out of compassion manifested to Brahmā, and [by whom] in that form [i.e., in the form of Brahmā, it was manifested] to Nārada, in that form [i.e., in the form of Nārada] to the sage Kṛṣṇa [i.e., Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana Vyāsa], in that form to the king of the yogīs [i.e., Śukadeva Gosvāmī], and then in that form [i.e., the form of Śukadeva] to he who was protected by Bhagavān [i.e., Parīkṣit Mahārāja].”
yat-sevayāgner iva rudra-rodanaṁ
pumān vijahyān malam ātmanas tamaḥ |
bhajeta varṇaṁ nijam eṣa so’vyayo
bhūyāt sa īśaḥ paramo guror guruḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 8.24.48)
[Satyavrata Rāja to Matsya Avatāra:] “He by means of whose service a person can relinquish the taint of darkness [i.e., ignorance] within themself [i.e., within the mind] and realize their own form [i.e., essential nature], just like gold [can do so] by means of fire—may he, the imperishable Īśa, be [our] guru, since he is the Supreme Guru [i.e., the greatest of all persons who perform the function of a teacher].”
bhayaṁ dvitīyābhiniveśataḥ syād
īśād apetasya viparyayo’smṛtiḥ |
tan-māyayāto budha ābhajet taṁ
bhaktyaikayeśaṁ guru-devatātmā ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.2.37; cited in Tattva Sandarbha: 32; Paramātma Sandarbha: 47; Bhakti Sandarbha: 1, 59, 114; Prīti Sandarbha: 1; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.20.116)
“Non-awareness, misapprehension, and fear because of absorption in a second shall occur by means of Īśa’s māyā for one who is averse to him. Therefore, a wise person, being one for whom the guru is the Devatā and the self (ātmā), should fully worship him, Īśa [i.e., Bhagavān] with one-pointed bhakti.”
sarvatra vyatiriktan tu ātmānaṁ vetti yo dvijaḥ |
sarva-lakṣaṇa-hīno’pi sa gurur nātra saṁśayaḥ ||
api pāpa-samācāraḥ sarva-lakṣaṇa-varjitaḥ |
deśikaḥ sa tu vijñeyaḥ saṁsārārṇava-tārakaḥ ||
(Hayaśīrṣa Pañcarātra; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 19.100–101)
“A twice-born who knows the ātmā [i.e., the self] to be distinct [i.e., from the body, etc.] in all cases is a guru even though [i.e., if] devoid of all [other] characteristics [of a guru]. Of this there is no doubt. Even if he of sinful conduct and devoid of all [other] characteristics [of a guru], he should be known as a deśika [i.e., guru] and deliverer from the ocean of saṁsāra.”
anādy-avidyopahatātma-saṁvidas
tan-mūla-saṁsāra-pariśramāturāḥ |
yadṛcchayopasṛtā yam āpnuyur
vimuktido naḥ paramo gurur bhavān ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 8.24.46)
[Satyavrata Rāja to Matsya Avatāra:] “He whom those here whose awareness of the self has been covered by beginningless ignorance (anādi-avidyā) and who are [thus] suffering from the toil of saṁsāra, the root of which is this [viz., beginningless ignorance], can independently [i.e., only by his favor, or, by the independent grace of his bhakta] become sheltered in and attain—he who is the Bestower of ultimate liberation and our Supreme Guru—you—he who by means of whose service [i.e., by means of bestowing service to himself] dispels the unrighteous mentality of these unknowing persons [like ourselves] bound by their own karma who perform karma which is [ultimately] dissatisfying out of desire for [the attainment of] satisfaction—are [thus] our Guru [by so dispelling our unrighteous mentality] and able to sever the knot in our hearts [i.e., the ignorance situated therein].
