स वै प्रियतमश्चात्मा यतो न भयमण्वपि ।
इति वेद स वै विद्वान्यो विद्वान्स गुरुर्हरि: ॥
sa vai priyatamaś cātmā yato na bhayam aṇv api |
iti veda sa vai vidvān yo vidvān sa gurur hariḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 4.29.51; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 202)
“He [viz., Hari] is indeed the dearmost Self (Ātmā), [he] on account of whom not even a trace of fear arises. One who understands this is verily knowledgeable, and one who is knowledgeable is a guru and Hari.”
Commentary
na ca tad-bhajane’nya-bhajana iva duḥkhaṁ bhayaṁ cety āha—sa vā iti | iti yo veda sa eva hariś ca |
(Bhāvārtha-dīpikā)
“And it is not that in worship of him [viz., Śrī Bhagavān], there is suffering and fear as [there is] in worship of others [e.g., as there arises as a result of worship of devas, human beings, etc.]. Thus, he says sa vai … [i.e., he speaks SB 4.29.51]. One in particular who understands in this way [i.e., as is explained in this verse] is also Hari [i.e., someone with the understanding described in this verse is worthy of being accepted as a guru and worthy of being honored as a visible manifest form of Hari in person].”
tasmād evaṁ-bhūto gurur evāśrayaṇīya ity upadiśan purañjanopākhyānādi-vivakṣitam āha—sa vai iti sārdhena | vai prasiddhau | rūpa-guṇa-līlādibhir manoharatvena sa hari-nāmā sarveṣāṁ priyatamaḥ parama-prītīnāṁ yogyaḥ, yata eva cātmā, svātmeti pāṭhe, sveṣāṁ jīvānāṁ raśmi-sthānīyānāṁ deha-bhṛtāṁ maṇḍala-sthānīyaḥ | yasmād eva ca yataḥ sakāśād aṇv api bhayaṁ na jāyate iti yo veda sa eva vidvān sa eva guruḥ | ya evam-bhūto guruḥ, sa tu harir evety arthaḥ |
(Krama-sandarbha-ṭīkā)
“Therefore, specifically a guru of such nature is worthy of being taken shelter in. Teaching this, he states the purport of the narration and so forth of Purañjana with half [a verse]: sa vai … [i.e., he speaks SB 4.29.51]. ‘Indeed’ (vai) is in the sense of well-known. He, [who is known as] Hari by name because of [his] being captivating of the mind by means of [his] figure, qualities, līlās, and so forth, is the dearmost of all, that is, is worthy of paramount expressions of love, since indeed he is also the Self (Ātmā). In the case of the variant reading ‘one’s Self’ (svātmā) [in place ‘also the Self’ (cātmā), [the sense is that] he is comparable to the orb of the bearers of bodies, that is, the jīvas who belong to him and are comparable to rays [i.e., Hari is comparable to the sun, and more specifically to the orb of the sun, from which innumerable jīvas, who are comparable to rays of light, emanate]. Also, [Hari is he] ‘on account of whom’ (yataḥ), that is, from whom, not even a trace of fear arises. Specifically one who understands this is knowledgeable, and specifically he is a guru. [Moreover,] One who in this way is a guru is indeed Hari specifically. This is meaning.”
sa harir eva priyatama ātmā | asau jīvas tu priya evety arthaḥ | tatra hetuḥ—yato yad-bhajanāt | asya jīvātmanas tu svargādi-bhoga-pradāna-rūpa-bhajanād duḥkham eva bhavatīty arthaḥ | iti vibhedenaivātma-dvayaṁ yo veda, sa eva vidvāṁs tvayā jñeyaḥ | ya evaṁ vidvān sa eva tvayā gurur āśrayaṇīyaḥ | ya evaṁ guruḥ, sa eva haris tvayopāsanīya ity arthaḥ |
(Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā)
“He (saḥ), that is, Hari specifically, is the dearmost (priyatamaḥ) Self (Ātmā). The jīva, on the contrary, is only dear [i.e., not dearmost like Hari]. This is the meaning. The reason in this regard [is stated as follows:] ‘on account of whom’ (yataḥ), that is, on account of worship of whom [not even a trace of fear arises]. Only suffering arises from worship of the jīvātmā in the form of granting enjoyment of Svarga and so on [to the jīvātmā, i.e., by ‘worshiping’ the jīvātmā, that is, the self, which everyone holds dear, by means of granting oneself varieties of worldly enjoyment, only suffering ultimately occurs since those pleasures are invariably temporary and causes of suffering, whereas by worship of the dearmost Self, that is, Śrī Bhagavān, no suffering or fear arises as an inevitable correlative consequence]. Specifically one who understands these two selves by means of the aforementioned distinction [between them and the consequences of worshiping them] is knowledgable, that is, is fit to be known by you [i.e., by a spiritual aspirant]. Specifically one who is in this way knowledgable is a guru, that is, is fit to be taken shelter in by you, and specifically one who is in this way a guru is Hari, that is, is fit to be worshiped by you. This is the meaning [i.e., one who has a proper understanding of the self and the Supreme Self, that is, Śrī Bhagavān, is truly knowledgable and thus worthy of being known, worthy of being taken shelter in as a guru, and worthy of being worshiped as a visibly manifest form of Śrī Bhagavān since such a guru can convey knowledge of Śrī Bhagavān whereby an aspirant can attain direct experience of Śrī Bhagavān for themselves].”