yasya sākṣād bhagavati jñāna-dīpa-prade gurau
etat sarvaṁ gurau bhaktyā puruṣo hy añjasā jayet ||
yasya sākṣād bhagavati jñāna-dīpa-prade gurau |
martyāsad-dhīḥ śrutaṁ tasya sarvaṁ kuñjara-śaucavat ||
eṣa vai bhagavān sākṣāt pradhāna-puruṣeśvaraḥ |
yogeśvarair vimṛgyāṅghrir loko yaṁ manyate naram ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.15.25–27)
“A person certainly can quickly conquer all of these by means of bhakti to the guru. All the hearing of one who has the misconception of a mortal in relation to the guru, who is the giver of the lamp of knowledge and Bhagavān in person, is like the bathing of an elephant. He whom a [worldly] person considers [to be merely] a [ordinary] human being is verily Bhagavān in person, the Īśvara of pradhāna and the puruṣa [i.e., of māyā and the jīvas], he whose feet are sought by masters of yoga.”