नारायणः परं ब्रह्म तज्ज्ञानेनाथ गम्यते ।
ज्ञानस्य साधनं शास्त्रं शास्त्रं च गुरुवक्त्रगम् ॥
ब्रह्मप्राप्तिरतो हेतोर्गुर्वधीना सदैव हि ।
हेतुनानेन वै विप्रा गुरुर्गुरुतरः स्मृतः ॥
यस्माद्देवो जगन्नाथः कृत्वा मर्त्यमयीं तनुम् ।
मग्नानुद्धरते लोकान्कारुण्याच्छास्त्रपाणिना ॥
तस्माद्भक्तिर्गुरौ कार्या संसारभयभीरुणा ।
शास्त्रज्ञानेन योऽज्ञानं तिमिरं विनिपातयेत् ॥
शास्त्रं पापहरं पुण्यं पवित्रं भोगमोक्षदम् ।
शान्तिदं च महार्थं च वक्ति यः स जगद्गुरुः ॥
nārāyaṇaḥ paraṁ brahma taj jñānenātha gamyate |
jñānasya sādhanaṁ śāstraṁ śāstraṁ ca guru-vaktragam ||
brahma-prāptir ato hetor gurv-adhīnā sadaiva hi |
hetunānena vai viprā gurur gurutaraḥ smṛtaḥ ||
yasmād devo jagannāthaḥ kṛtvā martyamayīṁ tanum |
magnān uddharate lokān kāruṇyāc chāstra-pāṇinā ||
tasmād bhaktir gurau kāryā saṁsāra-bhaya-bhīruṇā |
śāstra-jñānena yo’jñānaṁ timiraṁ vinipātayet ||
śāstraṁ pāpa-haraṁ puṇyaṁ pavitraṁ bhoga-mokṣadam |
śāntidaṁ ca mahārthaṁ ca vakti yaḥ sa jagad-guruḥ ||
(Nārada Pañcarātra; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.413–417)
“Nārāyaṇa is the Supreme Brahman, and he is attained by means of knowledge (jñāna). The means of acquiring knowledge (jñāna) is the śāstra, and the śāstra is learned from the mouth of the guru. For this reason, the attainment of Brahman is indeed verily always dependent on the guru, and for that reason, O brāhmaṇas, the guru is known to be very important [lit., ‘very heavy’]. Because Deva, the Lord of universe, out of compassion adopts a mortal form [i.e., the human form of the guru] and delivers the people immersed [in the ocean of saṁsāra] with the hand of the śāstra, bhakti to the guru is to be performed by those who are frighted by the fear of saṁsāra [i.e., by those who aspire to transcend saṁsāra]. He who can completely dispel the darkness of ignorance with knowledge of the śāstra—[he] who is a speaker of the śāstra, which is a remover of sin, sacred, purifying, a bestower of enjoyment and mokṣa, a bestower of peace, and possessed of deep meaning—is a guru of the world.”
Commentary
śāstram eva pāṇiḥ uddhāra-hetutvāt tena | mahān-arthaḥ bhakti-lakṣaṇo yasmāt tat ||
(Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.415, 17)
“[‘With the hand of the śāstra’ means] The śāstra is very the hand [by which Śrī Bhagavān lifts people out of the ocean of saṁsāra] because of [its] being the cause of [their] deliverance; [thus,] with that [hand of the śāstra Śrī Bhagavān delivers the people from saṁsāra]. ‘Possessed of deep meaning’ (mahārthaḥ) is that the characteristic of which is bhakti [i.e., the deep meaning the śāstra teaches is bhakti to Śrī Bhagavān; it is bhakti that is the means to transcend saṁsāra and reach Śrī Bhagavān, who is the supreme manifestation of the Supreme Brahman].”