tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam

तस्माद्गुरुं प्रपद्येत जिज्ञासु: श्रेय उत्तमम् ।
शाब्दे परे च निष्णातं ब्रह्मण्युपशमाश्रयम् ॥

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.”

Commentary

śābde brahmaṇi vedākhye nyāyato niṣṇātaṁ tattvajñam anyathā saṁśaya-nirāsakatvāyogāt | pare ca brahmaṇy aparokṣānubhavena niṣṇātam anyathā bodha-sañcārāyogāt | parabrahma-niṣṇātatva-dyotakam āha—upaśamāśrayaṁ parama-śāntam iti | yad vā pare brahmaṇi śrī-kṛṣṇe śamo mokṣas tad-upari vartata iti upaśamo bhakti-yogas tad-āśrayaṁ sadā śravaṇa-kīrtanādi-paraṁ śrī-vaiṣṇava-varam ity arthaḥ | anyat samānam |
(Excerpt from the Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā to Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 1.32)

“‘Adept in śabda-brahman’ (śābde brahmaṇi niṣṇātaṁ) means aptly cognizant of the reality [described] in that which is known as the Veda [i.e., in the śāstra] because of [there being] incapability of being a dispeller of [the] doubts [of disciples] otherwise [i.e., if the guru is not adept in śabda-brahman]. ‘Adept in Parabrahman’ (Pare Brahmaṇi niṣṇātam) means [adept] by virtue of unmeditated experience [of Parabrahman] because of [there being] incapability of conveying understanding [to disciples] otherwise [i.e., if the guru is not adept in Parabrahman]. He describes an indicator of being adept in Parabrahman: [the guru is] ‘an abode of tranquility’ (upaśamāśrayam), that is, supremely peaceful. Alternately, [the word] upaśama refers to that which exists above (upa) ‘tranquility’ (śama)—mokṣa, that is, [the word upaśama can be understood to refer to] bhakti-yoga; [the sense is thus that the guru is] an abode (āśrayam) of that [i.e., of bhakti-yoga] to Parabrahman—Śrī Kṛṣṇa, meaning, [the guru is] an exalted, blessed Vaiṣṇava ever absorbed in hearing, praising, and so forth [i.e., and other acts of bhakti to Śrī Kṛṣṇa]. The [meaning of the] rest [of the verse] is [otherwise] the same [i.e., in the case of this alternate interpretation of pare brahmaṇy upaśamāśrayam, the phrase śābde brahmaṇi niṣṇātaṁ still means that the guru is adept in śabda-brahman].”

śābde brahmaṇi vede tātparya-vicāreṇa, pare brahmaṇi bhagavad-ādi-rūpāvirbhāve tv aparokṣānubhavena, niṣṇātaṁ tathaiva tatra tatra niṣṭhāṁ prāptam |
(Excerpt from the Krama-sandarbha-ṭīkā and Bhakti Sandarbha: 202)

“Through deliberation upon the intent of śabda-brahman, that is, the Veda, and unmediated experience of Parabrahman, that is, manifestations of the forms of Bhagavān and so forth [i.e., and Paramātmā or otherwise], he [i.e., the guru] specifically thereby is adept, that is, possessed of fixity (niṣṭhā), in these [i.e., in śabda-brahman and Parabrahman].”

yaḥ prathamaṁ ‘śābde pare ca niṣṇātaṁ’ ity-ādy-ukta-lakṣaṇaṁ guruṁ nāśritavān, tādṛśa-guroś ca matsarādito mahābhāgavata-satkārādāv anumatiṁ na labhate, sa prathamata eva tyakta-śāstro na vicāryate | ubhaya-saṅkaṭa-pāto hi tasmin bhavaty eva | evam ādikābhiprāyeṇaiva—‘yo vakti nyāya-rahitam anyāyena śṛṇoti yaḥ | tāv ubhau narakaṁ ghoraṁ vrajataḥ kālam akṣayam ||’ iti nārada-pañcarātre | ata eva dūrata evārādhyas tādṛśo guruḥ | vaiṣṇava-vidveṣī cet parityājya eva ‘guror apy avaliptasya kāryākāryam ajānataḥ | utpatha-pratipannasya parityāgo vidhīyate ||’ iti smaraṇāt, tasya vaiṣṇava-bhāva-rāhityeṇāvaiṣṇavatayā avaiṣṇavopadiṣṭena ity-ādi-vacana-viṣayatvāc ca |
(Bhakti Sandarbha: 238)

“One who firstly did not take shelter in a guru endowed with the characteristics stated in śābde pare ca niṣṇātaṁ … [i.e., in SB 11.3.21, where it is said that a guru should be adept in śabda-brahman and Parabrahman, and an abode of tranquility], [who] does not receive permission to honor and so forth great bhāgavatas as a result of envy and the like on the part of such a [unqualified] guru [that one has accepted instead of a genuine guru], and [who] indeed from the first is one by who the śāstra has been rejected [alt., is one whom the śāstra has rejected] is not being deliberated upon [here in this text] since the breadth of both dilemmas certainly befall him [i.e., since he faces the dilemmas of (1) failing to obey the guru by honoring great bhāgavatas and (2) failing to honor great bhāgavatas by obeying the guru]. Specifically with reference to this and the like [i.e., and other such dilemmas], [it is said] in Nārada Pañcarātra, ‘Both one who speaks devoid of rule [i.e., instructs things that are contrary to the intent of the śāstra] and one who listens devoid of rule [i.e., follows things that are contrary to the intent of the śāstra] proceed to a dark hell for unlimited time.’ Therefore, such a guru [i.e., a guru devoid of the characteristics enjoined in the śāstra who teaches things that are contrary to the intent of the śāstra] is to be honored only from afar [i.e., one should not keep such a guru’s company]. If [however] he is inimical to Vaiṣṇavas, he is verily to be rejected, because of the statement in the Smṛti [i.e., Nārada Pañcarātra], ‘Rejection is enjoined for even a guru who is arrogant, unaware of what is to be done and not to be done, and set out on a wrongful path,’ and because of [such a guru’s] being the object of statement, ‘One shall go to hell as a result of [receiving] a mantra imparted by a non-Vaiṣṇava; [if one has received a mantra from a non-Vaiṣṇava] Again and properly according to rule, one should occasion reception [of a mantra] from a Vaiṣṇava guru,’ on account of [such a guru’s] being a non-Vaiṣṇava as a result of his lack of the attitude (bhāva) of Vaiṣṇava [since the inclination to honor great Vaiṣṇavas is well-known to be a characteristic of a Vaiṣṇava’s attitude and such a guru lacks this].”

śābde brahmaṇi vede veda-tātparya-jñāpake śāstrāntare ca niṣṇātaṁ nipuṇam anyathā śiṣyasya saṁśaya-cchedābhāve vaimanasye ca sati kasyacit śraddhā-śaithilyam api sambhavet | pare brahmaṇi ca niṣṇātam aparokṣānubhava-samartham anyathā tat-kṛpā samyak phalavatī na syāt | parabrahma-niṣṇātatva-dyotakam āha—upaśamāśrayaṁ krodha-lobhādy-avaśībhūtam |
(Excerpt from the Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā)

“‘Adept in śabda-brahman’ (śābde brahmaṇi niṣṇātaṁ) means expert in the Veda and in other śāstras that convey the intent of the Veda. Otherwise [i.e., if the guru did not have these characteristics], when a disciple does not have their doubts dispelled and becomes dejected [because of those does and the inability of the guru to dispel them], a slackening of śraddhā may also occur for some [such disciples]. ‘Adept in Parabrahman’ (Pare Brahmaṇi niṣṇātaṁ) means capable of unmediated experience [of Parabrahman]. Otherwise [i.e., the guru is no adept in Parabrahman], his [i.e., the guru’s] grace may not be fully effective. He describes an indicator of being adept in Parabrahman: [the guru is] ‘an abode of tranquility’ (upaśamāśrayam), that is, [he is] uncontrolled by anger, greed, and so forth.”

śābde bhakti-śāstre, pare brahmaṇi bhagavad-viṣayaka-śravaṇa-kīrtanādau, niṣṇātaṁ pāraṁgatam |
(Excerpt from the Bhakti-sāra-pradaśinī-ṭīkā on Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu)

“‘In śabda [-brahman]’ (śābde) means in bhakti-śāstra, ‘in Parabrahman’ (Pare Brahmaṇi) means in hearing, praising, and so forth related to Bhagavān, and ‘adept’ (niṣṇātaṁ) means proficient.”

Commentary

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