teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam |
dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ yena mām upayānti te ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 10.10)
“To those ever-intent [upon me] and worshiping [me] lovingly, I give that means of understanding by which they reach me.”
tasmai namo’stu nirupādhi-kṛpākulāya
śrī-gopa-rāja-tanayāya gurūttamāya |
yaḥ kārayan nija-janaṁ svayam eva bhaktiṁ
tasyātituṣyati yathā paramopakartuḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.7.157)
“May [my] obeisance be [offered] unto him,
The blessed Son of the cowherds’ king,
The most exalted of gurus,
Who, being overcome with unconditional compassion,
Entirely of his own accord
Causes persons who are his own
To engage in bhakti [to himself]
And becomes greatly satisfied with them
Just as [one does] with a paramount benefactor.”
itthaṁ śrī-rādhikā-prāṇa-nātha-pāda-sarojayoḥ |
yena premānubhūty-āśā dattā taṁ nāradaṁ bhaje ||
(Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.234)
“I worship him,
Nārada,
By whom was given in this way
The hope of experience of prema
For the lotus feet of Śrī Rādhikā’s Beloved (Prāṇanātha).”
karṇākarṇi sakhī-janena vijane dūtī-stuti-prakriyā
patyur vañcana-cāturī guṇanikā kuñja-prayāṇe niśi |
bādhiryaṁ guru-vāci veṇu-virutāv utkarṇateti vratān
kaiśoreṇa tavādya kṛṣṇa guruṇā gaurī-gaṇaḥ paṭhyate ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.1.333)
“[A messenger informs Kṛṣṇa:] Whispering ear to ear with a friend,
Fine technique in praising messengers in private,
Dexterity in deception of the husband,
Steady practice of sneaking out to an arbor at night,
Deafness to the speech of elders,
Keeping the ears pricked at the sound of the flute—
O Kṛṣṇa,
Today,
With the guru of your adolescence,
Fair young women [viz., the gopīs]
Are studying all these rites.”
yadyapi śaraṇāpattyaiva sarvaṁ sidhyati, ‘śaraṇaṁ taṁ prapannā ye dhyāna-yoga-vivarjitāḥ | te vai mṛtyum atikramya yānti tad vaiṣṇavaṁ padam ||’ iti gāruḍāt, tathāpi vaiśiṣṭya-lipsuḥ śaktaś cet tato bhagavac-chāstropadeṣṭṝṇāṁ bhagavan-mantropadeṣṭṝṇāṁ vā śrī-guru-caraṇānāṁ nityam eva viśeṣataḥ sevāṁ kuryāt | tat-prasādo hi sva-sva-nānā-pratīkāra-dustyajānartha-hānau parama-bhagavat-prasāda-siddhau ca mūlam |
(Bhakti Sandarbha: 237)
“Although everything is accomplished just by śaraṇāgati, as per [this statement in] Garuḍa Purāṇa, ‘Those who have forsaken meditation and yoga and taken shelter in him [i.e., Śrī Bhagavān] certainly overcome death and reach that abode of Viṣṇu,’ still if one is desirous of specificity [i.e., a specific form of prema and relationship with a specific form of Śrī Bhagavān] and able [to pursue such], then one should perform service fixedly and specifically of the feet of a blessed guru who is a teacher of śāstras related to Bhagavān or a teacher of a mantra related to Bhagavān, since his grace is the root cause of the removal of defilements (anarthas) that are difficult to give up by various counter-measures of one’s own and of the attainment of the supreme grace of Bhagavān.”
chalaṁ ca na labhe kiñcid yenādyaṁ paripālayan |
nibandhaṁ sva-kṛtaṁ bhrātar ānayāmy ātmanaḥ padam ||
tat te mayy akṛpāṁ vīkṣya vyagro’nugraha-kātaraḥ |
anādiṁ setum ullaṅghya tvaj-janmedam akārayam ||
śrīmad-govardhane tasmin nija-priyatamāspade |
svayam evābhavaṁ tāta jayantākhyaḥ sa te guruḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.4.84–86)
“[Śrī Vaikuṇṭhanātha Bhagavān to Gopa Kumāra:] Following in full the primordial rule established by myself, I did not find any pretext on which I could bring you to my own abode. Thus, seeing your ungraciousness towards me, feeling anxious, and being overcome with compassion, I transgressed my beginningless law and caused this birth of yours there in that dearmost abode of my own, blessed Govardhana. My dear boy, I myself specifically became your guru, he whose name is Jayanta.”
atha sva-prayatno balavān śrī-guru-prasādo veti sandehe’kṛte prayatne tat-prasādasyākiñcitkaratvāt sva-prayatno balavān iti prāpte—
liṅga-bhūyastvāt tad dhi balīyas tad api |
ṛṣabhādibhyo brahma-śrutavatā satya-kāmena ‘bhagavāṁs tv eva me kāmaṁ brūyāt’ iti śrī-guruḥ prārthyate | tathāgnibhyaḥ śruta-vidyenopakośalena cety ādi-chāndogyādi-dṛṣṭa-guru-prasādana-liṅga-bāhulyāt tat-prasādanam eva baliṣṭham | tarhi tāvatālam ity api na mantavyam | kiṁ tarhi tad api śravaṇādi ca kartavyam ‘yasya deve parā bhaktiḥ,’ ‘śrotavyo mantavyaḥ’ ity ādi śruteḥ, ‘guru-prasādo balavān na tasmād balavattaram, tathāpi śravaṇādiś ca kartavyo mokṣa-siddhaye ||’ iti smṛteś ca |
(Vedānta-sūtra: 3.3.45)
“Now, in the case of the doubt, ‘Is one’s own effort more powerful, or [is] the grace of the guru [more powerful]?’ [A prima facie view is posited] ‘Because of his [i.e., the guru’s] grace’s being ineffective when [one’s own] effort is not made, one’s own effort is more powerful’ When this [prima facie view] is encountered, [then the following sūtra is stated], ‘Because of a profusion of indications [throughout the śāstra], that [i.e., the grace of the guru] is certainly more powerful [than one’s own effort], [though] that [i.e., one’s own effort] too [is necessary]’ (liṅga-bhūyastvāt tad dhi balīyas tad api). [In Chāndogya Upaniṣad 4.9.2 it is described that] A blessed guru was prayed to by Satyakāma, who had [already] heard about Brahman from the bull and so forth [i.e., from devas who had assumed the forms of a bull and so forth], ‘O venerable one, still certainly please speak of my desired object [i.e., Brahman].’ [Although Satyakāma has already been blessed with knowledge of Brahman directly by the devatās, he still inquired from his guru about Brahman, and this shows that realization of Brahman always requires the grace of the guru]. It was similar with Upakośala, who heard knowledge [of Brahman] from the fires [he tended in accord with the direction of his guru, Satyakāma, but later still inquired from Satyakāma about Brahman]. Thus, because of the profusion of indications of the grace of the guru [being necessary to realize Brahman] seen in Chāndogya Upaniṣad and elsewhere [i.e., and in other śāstras], his [i.e., the guru’s] grace is certainly more powerful [than one’s own effort].
“[A further question is raised:] ‘Then just that is sufficient? [i.e., then one need not make the effort of engaging in the practices of sādhana taught by the guru, such as hearing, contemplating, and meditating, if somehow or other one can simply get his grace?]’ This [notion] too is not to be thought. [A follow-up question is raised:] ‘Then what [should be thought and done]?’ That too, meaning, hearing and so forth, is also to be done, in accord with the [statements in the] Śruti [that describe this], [e.g., Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.23,] ‘These discussed subjects are certainly revealed to the great soul who has pure bhakti to Deva, and as to Deva, so also to the guru,’ [Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 2.4.5,] ‘The Ātmā is to be heard about, to be contemplated, and to be deeply meditated upon,’ and so on, and in accord with the [statements in the] Smṛti [that describe this], [e.g., Varāha Purāṇa], ‘The grace of the guru is powerful. There is nothing more powerful than it. Still, to attain liberation, hearing and so forth [i.e., contemplation and meditation] are to be done.’”
atha guru-gamyatvaṁ guṇam upasaṁhartum ārabhyate | vidyā-pradeśeṣu śrūyate ‘yasya deve parā bhaktir yathā deve yathā gurau | tasyaite kathitā hy arthāh prakāśante mahātmanaḥ ||’ iti śvetāśvataropaniṣadi | ‘ācāryavān puruṣo veda’ iti ‘tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacched’ iti cānyatra | iha saṁśayaḥ | guru-labdhāc chravaṇāditaḥ phalaṁ guru-prasāda-sahitāt tasmād veti | tatra śravaṇāditaḥ phalābhidhānāt kiṁ tat-prasādeneti prāpte—
pradānavad eva tad uktam |
yathā prasannena guruṇā brahmāpti-hetuḥ śravaṇādi-sādhanaṁ dattaṁ tathaiva tat-prāpti-rūpaṁ phalaṁ bhavati | na tu śravaṇādi-mātreṇety āvaśyakam | tat-gurv-anugrahāvekṣaṇam uktam | pra-śabdaḥ prasādaṁ vyañjayati | āha caivaṁ śrī-bhagavān aravindākṣaḥ ‘ācāryopāsanaṁ śaucam’ iti | tathā ca tad-anugraha-sahitāc chravaṇāditas tat-prāptir iti |
(Vedānta-sūtra: 3.3.44)
“Now we begin to summarize the quality [of Brahman] of being attainable through the guru. In the sections [of the śāstra] regarding knowledge (vidyā) [of Brahman], it is heard in Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (6.23), ‘These discussed subjects are certainly revealed to the great soul who has pure bhakti to Deva, and as to Deva, so also to the guru,’ and elsewhere [in Chāndogya Upaniṣad 6.14.2], ‘A person who has an ācārya knows [Brahman],’ and [in Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.2.12]. ‘To know in depth that [i.e., Brahman], one should only approach a guru.’ In this regard there is a doubt: does the result [i.e., realization of Brahman] come just from hearing and so forth [i.e., along with contemplation and meditation upon Brahman, as described in BAU 2.4.5] received from the guru, or from that [i.e., from hearing from the guru, contemplating, and meditating] along with the grace of the guru?
“[A prima facie view is presented:] ‘In that regard, because of mention of the result [occurring just] by hearing and so forth [i.e., by contemplation and meditation], what [is the need] of his grace?’ When this [view] is encountered [i.e., in response to the aforementioned viewpoint, the author states the following sūtra]: ‘That [i.e., realization of Brahman] is stated to be exactly like a gracious gift’ (pradānavad eva tad uktam). As the cause of attainment of Brahman, that is, the sādhana of hearing [śāstra] and so forth, is given by the guru by grace, so exactly is the result in the form of attainment thereof [i.e., of Brahman, meaning, as the process is given by the guru, so the result is ultimately given by the guru as well], and it does not occur, rather, just by hearing and so forth [i.e., just by hearing, contemplating, and meditating upon Brahman by one’s own efforts]. Thus, there is necessity [of the guru’s grace in addition to performing the practices of hearing and so forth given by the guru]. Attention towards [receiving] the favor of the guru is described (uktam) [in the śāstra]. The prefix pra [in the word pradāna in the sūtra under discussion] alludes to grace [i.e., the goal, realization of Brahman, is not just a ‘gift’ (dāna) but a ‘gracious gift’ (pradāna), meaning, it is a gift given by the guru’s grace]. Lotus-eyed Śrī Bhagavān also says such [in BG 13.8], ‘Worship of the ācārya and purity [are fundamental elements of knowledge]’ (ācāryopasānaṁ śaucam). Thus, furthermore, attainment of that [i.e., Brahman] occurs as a result of hearing and so forth [i.e., contemplation and meditation] along with his [i.e., the guru’s] favor.”
yo mantraḥ sa guruḥ sākṣād yo guruḥ sa hariḥ svayam |
gurur yasya bhavet tuṣṭas tasya tuṣṭo hariḥ svayam ||
(Vāmana-kalpa; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 4.353; Bhakti Sandarbha: 237)
“The mantra is directly the guru, and the guru is Hari himself. Hari himself is pleased with one with whom the guru shall be pleased.”
yasya deve ca mantre ca gurau triṣv api niścalā |
na vyavacchidyate buddhis tasya siddhir adūrataḥ ||
mantrātmā devatā jñeyā devatā guru-rūpiṇī |
teṣāṁ bhedo na kartavyo yadīcched iṣṭam ātmanaḥ ||
(Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 17.65–66)
“Success (siddhi) is not far off for one whose unwavering intention upon Deva, the mantra, and the guru is non-deterred. The Devatā is to be known as he who has a form as the mantra [used to worship him], and the Devatā is [to be known as] he who has a form as the guru [who teaches worship of himself]. A division between them is not to be made should one desire [to attain] one’s own desired object [i.e., should one desire to attain one’s cherished Devatā].”
