yasya deve parā bhaktir yathā deve tathā guruḥ |
tasyaite kathitā hy arthāḥ prakāśante mahātmanaḥ ||
(Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad: 6.23; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 4.346; Bhagavat Sandarbha: 98; Bhakti Sandarbha: 5, 21, 209; Govinda-bhāṣya: 3.3.44, 45, 3.4.50)
“These discussed subjects [i.e., the teachings a guru gives to a disciple regarding Brahma-vidyā] are revealed to the great soul who has pure bhakti to Deva, and as to Deva, so also to guru.”
vaktā sarāgo nīrāgo dvividhaḥ parikīrtitaḥ |
sarāgo lolupaḥ kāmī tad uktaṁ hṛn na saṁspṛśet ||
upadeśaṁ karoty eva na parīkṣāṁ karoti ca |
aparīkṣyopadiṣṭaṁ yal loka-nāśāya tad bhavet ||
(Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 203)
“A teacher is said to be of two types: [one] with attachment (rāga) and [one] without attachment. One with attachment is greedy and covetous. His words cannot touch the heart. He only gives teachings and does not conduct any examination. That which is taught without conducting any examination certainly leads to ruination of society.”
acakṣur andhasya yathāgraṇīḥ kṛtas
tathā janasyāviduṣo’budho guruḥ |
tvam arka-dṛk sarva-dṛśāṁ samīkṣaṇo
vṛto gurur naḥ sva-gatiṁ bubhutsatām ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 8.24.50)
[Satyavrata Rāja to Matsya Avatāra:] “As an eyeless person [i.e., a blind person] is made a leader of a blind person [by a blind person who doesn’t realize that they are accepting another blind person as a leader], so an ignorant person is [made a leader] of an unknowing person [by the unknowing person who fails to recognize that the person whom they have accepted as a guru is actually ignorant]. [Thus,] You, whose knowledge is [illuminating] like the sun and who are the illuminator of all knowledges, are accepted [by us] as the guru of we who are desirous of understanding our own path [i.e., the best path for our true selves, viz., bhakti].”
itthaṁ-vidhāny anekāni vasatāṁ guru-veśmani |
guror anugraheṇaiva pumān pūrṇaḥ praśāntaye ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.80.43)
“[Kṛṣṇa to Sudāmā:] While living in the home of our guru, we had many [experiences] of such type. Only by the grace of guru does a person become fulfilled and completely peaceful.”
yaḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-padāmbhoja-bhajanaikābhilāṣavān |
tenaiva dṛśyatām etad anyasmai śapatho’rpitaḥ ||
(Tattva Sandarbha: 6)
“This [treatise, viz., Bhāgavata Sandarbha] is meant to be studied only by one whose sole aspiration is worship of the lotus feet of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. A curse [i.e., a prohibition on studying it] is cast upon anyone else.”
idaṁ te nātapaskāya nābhaktāya kadācana |
na cāśuśrūṣave vācyaṁ na ca māṁ yo’bhyasūyati ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 18.67)
“[Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa:] Neither to someone who is neglectful of austerity, nor to a non-bhakta, nor to someone who does not wish to listen, nor to someone who casts aspersions on me is this [i.e., this śāstra, Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā] ever to be spoken.”
śrī-caitanya-mano’bhīṣṭaṁ sthāpitaṁ yena bhū-tale |
so’yaṁ rūpaḥ kadā mahyaṁ dadāti sva-padāntikam ||
(Prema-bhakti-candrikā: 2)
“When will he, this Śrī Rūpa by whom the cherished object of Śrī Caitanya’s heart has been established on the surface of the earth, bestow upon me nearness to his feet?”
gopayed devatām iṣṭāṁ gopayed gurum ātmanaḥ |
gopayec ca nijaṁ mantraṁ gopayen nija-mālikām ||
(Sammohana Tantra; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 2.147)
“One should conceal [one’s] Iṣṭa-devatā. One should conceal one’s guru. One should conceal one’s mantra. One should conceal one’s mālikā.”
adhikārī ca sambandho viṣayaś ca prayojanam |
avaśyam eva vaktavyaṁ śāstrādau tu catuṣṭayam ||
(Unknown Source; cited in the Amṛta-ṭīkā to Hari-nāmāmṛta-vyākaraṇam: Maṅgalācaraṇa, 1)
“The eligible person (adhikārī) [to read the text], the relationship (sambandha) [between the text and the subject], the subject (viṣaya) [of the text], and the purpose (prayojana) [of the text]—these four [which are known as the anubandha-catuṣṭaya] must be stated at the beginning of a śāstra.”
yathā siddha-rasa-sparśāt tāmraṁ bhavati kāñcanam |
sannidhānād guror evaṁ śiṣyo viṣṇumayo bhavet ||
(Āgama-śāstra; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 237)
“As copper turns into gold at the touch of quicksilver, so a disciple becomes absorbed in [devotion to] Viṣṇu as a result of being in the company of guru.”
