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 of 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 | para-brahma-niṣṇātatva-dyotakam āha—upaśamāśrayam iti |
(Excerpt from the Bhāvārtha-dīpikā)
“‘Adept in śabda-brahman’ (śābde brahmaṇi niṣṇātaṁ) means properly cognizant of the tattva stated in the Veda, because otherwise he [i.e., the guru] will be incapable of dispelling doubts [of disciples]. ‘Adept in Parabrahman’ (Pare Brahmaṇi niṣṇātam) means [adept] in unmeditated [i.e., direct] experience [of Parabrahman], because otherwise he will be incapable of imbuing understanding [into disciples]. As an illustrator of his adeptness in Parabrahman, it is said [he is] ‘an abode of tranquility’ (upaśamāśrayam).”
śābde brahmaṇi vedākhye nyāyato niṣṇātaṁ tattvajñam | anyathā saṁśaya-nirāsakatvāyogāt | pare ca brahmaṇy aparokṣānubhavena niṣṇātam | anyathā bodha-sañcārāyogāt | para-brahma-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 properly cognizant of the tattva stated in the Veda, because otherwise he [i.e., the guru] will be incapable of dispelling doubts [of disciples]. ‘Adept in Parabrahman’ (Pare Brahmaṇi niṣṇātam) means [adept] in unmeditated [i.e., direct] experience [of Parabrahman], because otherwise he will be incapable of imbuing understanding [into disciples]. As an illustrator of his adeptness in Parabrahman, it is said [he is] ‘an abode of tranquility’ (upaśamāśrayam), that is, [he is] supremely peaceful. Alternately, ‘in Parabrahman’ means in Śrī Kṛṣṇa, śama [in the word upaśama] means mokṣa, upaśama (tranquility) means that which exists above that [i.e., mokṣa], that is, bhakti-yoga, and one whose shelter is that [i.e., bhakti-yoga] means one who is ever-engaged in śravaṇa, kīrtana, and so forth, that is, a beautiful, exalted Vaiṣṇava. This is the meaning [of ‘upaśamāśrayam], and the rest is [otherwise] the same.”
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 intention of śabda-brahman, the Veda, and unmediated experience of Parabrahman, that is, manifestations of the forms of Bhagavān and so forth [i.e., Paramātmā, or Brahman, as applicable], he [i.e., the guru] is adept, that is, so endowed with fixity (niṣṭhā) in these alone [i.e., in śabda-brahman and Para-brahman].”
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 | para-brahma-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 intention of the Veda. Otherwise [i.e., if the guru does not have these qualifications], when a disciple does not have their doubts dispelled and becomes dejected [because of the inability of the guru], a slackening of śraddhā may occur for some [such disciples]. ‘Adept in Parabrahman’ (Pare Brahmaṇi niṣṇātaṁ) means capable of unmediated experience. Otherwise, his [i.e., the guru’s] grace may not be fully effective. As an illustrator of his adeptness in Parabrahman, it is said [he 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 well versed.”