तत्र भागवतान् धर्मान् शिक्षेद् गुर्वात्मदैवत: ।
अमाययानुवृत्त्या यैस्तुष्येदात्मात्मदोहरि: ॥
tatra bhāgavatān dharmān śikṣed gurv-ātma-daivataḥ |
amāyayānuvṛttyā yais tuṣyed ātmātmado hariḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.3.22; cited in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.98; Bhakti Sandarbha: 206)
“One for whom the guru is the self (ātmā) and the Devatā should, through unaffected adherence, learn from him Bhāgavata-dharmas by which Hari, he who gives his own self, can be pleased.”
Commentary
gurur eva ātmā jīvanaṁ daivataṁ nijeṣṭa-daivatatayābhimataś ca yasya, tathābhūtaḥ san | amāyayā nirdambhayā, anuvṛttyā tad-anugatyā śikṣet | … ātmā paramātmā | bhaktebhya ātma-pradaḥ śrī-bali-prabhṛtibhya iva |
(Excerpt from Bhakti Sandarbha: 206)
“‘One for whom guru is the self (ātmā) and the Devatā’ (gurv-ātma-daivataḥ), that is, one for whom guru is one’s [very] life and is considered to be one’s own Iṣṭa-devatā, should learn through unaffected (amāyayā), that is, unpretentious, adherence (anuvṛttyā), that is, following of him. … [‘He who gives his own self’ (ātmātmado) means] The Paramātmā (Ātmā) who is a giver of his own self to [his] bhaktas, such as Śrī Bali and so forth.”
tuṣyed ity asya dyotakam āha—ātmātmada ātmanaḥ svasya ātmānaṁ śrī-vigrahaṁ dadāti | draṣṭuṁ spraṣṭuṁ sākṣāt paricarituṁ ceti bhāvaḥ |
(Excerpt from the Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā)
“‘Hari can be pleased’ (tuṣyed … Hariḥ)—as an illustrator of this [statement], it is said, ‘He who gives his own self’ (ātmātmadaḥ), that is, he who gives his own (ātmanaḥ) beautiful form (ātmānaṁ) to be seen, to be touched, and to be directly served. This is the purport.”
guru evātmā ātmavat priyaḥ | daivatam iṣṭa-devataś ca yasya tathābhūtaḥ … ātmā ātma-pradaś copāsakānāṁ, yathā—bali-prabhṛtīnām |
(Excerpt from the Bhakti-sāra-pradarśinī-ṭīkā on Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu)
“‘One for whom the guru is the self (ātmā) and Devatā’ (gurv-ātma-daivataḥ) means one to whom the guru is dear like the self and for whom he is one’s Iṣṭa-devatā. … [‘He who gives his own self’ (ātmātmado) means] He who is the Self (Ātmā) of, and a giver of his own self to, worshippers [of himself], such as Bali and others.”