śuddha-bhaktās tv eke śrī-guroḥ śrī-śivasya ca śrī-bhagavatā sahābheda-dṛṣṭiṁ tat-priyatamatvenaiva manyante |
(Bhakti Sandarbha: 213)
“Many pure bhaktas, however, foster a vision of śrī guru’s and Śrī Śiva’s non-difference from Śrī Bhagavān specifically because of their being most dear to him.”
sākṣād dharitvena samasta-śāstrair
uktas tathā bhāvyata eva sadbhiḥ |
kintu prabhor yaḥ priya eva tasya
vande guroḥ śrī-charaṇāravindam ||
(Viśvanātha Cakravartīpāda’s Gurudevāṣṭakam: 7)
“I offer obeisance unto the beautiful lotus feet of guru, who is described by all the śāstras as being Hari himself and is indeed considered so by the sādhus [on account of his being most dear to Hari], yet [by nature] is really a dear one of Prabhu [i.e., a bhakta dear to Hari and not a manifestation of Hari who is equal to Hari in all respects].”
naivopayanty apacitiṁ kavayas taveśa
brahmāyuṣāpi kṛtam ṛddha-mudaḥ smarantaḥ |
yo’ntar bahis tanu-bhṛtām aśubhaṁ vidhunvann
ācārya-caittya-vapuṣā sva-gatiṁ vyanakti ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.29.6)
“[Uddhava to Kṛṣṇa:] O Lord, abounding with joy in remembering the feats [i.e., the unconditional favor] of you who with your external form as the ācārya and internal [form] situated in the citta dispel inauspiciousness and manifest your own shelter for embodied beings, the wise cannot proffer remuneration [i.e., clear their debt to you] even within the life-span of Brahmā [i.e., they can never sufficiently reciprocate with you even by serving you til the end of time].”
svayam asiddhaḥ kathaṁ parān sādhayet
(Cited in Śabda-kalpa-druma)
“How can one who is himself not realized make others realized?”
tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam
śābde pare ca niṣṇātaṁ brahmaṇy upaśamāśrayam
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.3.21; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 1.32; Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.97; Bhakti Sandarbha: 202, 238)
“Therefore [i.e., because there is no lasting fulfillment in saṁsāra and bhakti is the only means of crossing over saṁsāra], one who wishes to know the highest good should take shelter in a guru who is adept in śabda-brahman and Parabrahman, and is an abode of tranquility.”
ko’ti-prayāso’sura-bālakā harer
upāsane sve hṛdi chidravat sataḥ |
svasyātmanaḥ sakhyur aśeṣa-dehināṁ
sāmānyataḥ kiṁ viṣayopapādanaiḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.7.38)
[Translated according to Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī’s commentary:] “O boys of the asuras, what great exertion [i.e., difficulty] is there in worship of Hari, he who is present like space in one’s heart and is the inherent self and common friend of all embodied beings? [Therefore,] What [is the use] of accumulating objects of the senses?”
jñānī guruś ca balavān bhavābdheḥ śiṣyam uddharet
guruḥ svayam asiddhaś ca durbalaḥ katham uddharet
(Nārada Pañcarātra 1.10.19)
“A guru, who is knowledgable and strong, delivers a disciple from the ocean of material existence. How can a guru who is not realized (asiddha) and weak deliver [a disciple]?”
bādhyamāno’pi mad-bhakto viṣayair ajitendriyaḥ |
prāyaḥ pragalbhayā bhaktyā viṣayair nābhibhūyate ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.14.18; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.552; Bhakti Sandarbha: 115)
“Although obstructed [i.e., attracted] by objects of the senses (viṣayas), a bhakta of mine who has not [yet] conquered the senses is generally not overwhelmed by objects of the senses (viṣayas) by virtue of vigorous bhakti [i.e., by virtue of bhakti, which possesses the capability to overcome the influence of residual affinities (vāsanās) for varieties of sensory experience].”
sat-saṅga eva tat-sāmmukhye dvāram ity uktam | te ca santas tat-sammukhā evātra gṛhyante, na tu vaidikācāra-mātra-parā anupayogitvāt |
(Bhakti Sandarbha: 186)
“It has been said that sat-saṅga is the only gateway to intentness upon Tat [i.e., the Supreme Entity (Para-tattva)]. And in this regard only those who are intent upon Tat are accepted as the sat, and not, rather, those who are merely adherent to Vedic conduct because of [those mere adherent to conduct’s] being unsuitable [i.e., intentness upon Tat is the primary characteristic of sādhutva (being a sādhu), and because those who lack this characteristic, regardless of whether they are formally adherent to Vedic conduct or not, are not sādhus in the true sense, their association is unsuitable for those seeking intentness upon Tat because it will not give rise to such intentness].”
kṛpāra samudra—dīna-hīne dayāmaya |
kṛṣṇa-kṛpā vinā kona sukha nāhi haya ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.17.75)
“Kṛṣṇa is an ocean of grace and is [especially] gracious to the humble and lowly. Without Kṛṣṇa’s grace, no happiness comes to be.”
