All glories to Sri Sri Guru & Gauranga
Gauḍīya Goṣṭhī Pati Śrī Śrīla Bhakti Siddhanta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda Paramahaṁsa Jagat Guru told that—“Without being established in guru-tattva one cannot even start hari–bhajan.”
Without sad guru–kṛpā one can never develop sambandha-jñāna, and without sambandha –jñāna nobody can do (start) hari-bhajan— which is called abhidheya in true sense, and without abhidheya (bhajan) nobody can attain success, I mean nobody can get prayojana tattva. Our relationship with this material world is unstable, but we have our eternal relationship with the Supreme Lord which can never be broken even if ignored forcefully out of false ego. Bhagavat- tattva is the complete tattva vijñānā all together with dhama, nama, bhaktas, līlās, and Bhagavan Himself. So naturally we have our eternal relationship with Guru-Vaiṣṇava-Bhagavan, but due to Māyā that eternal relationship is forgotten. Son missing from father does not imply that the father- son relationship is lost, only at present the son is away from the father. When again both can meet with each other, then both can get the taste of the relationship between each other, this much we can say. Similarly, Śrī Sad-Guru can help us to recollect our eternal relationship with the Supreme Lord and thereby we can remember our eternal duty to serve the Supreme Lord.
The following śloka from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam can show us that how a Sad Guru can help us to revive the sense of relationship with the Supreme Lord.
ācāryo ’raṇir ādyaḥ syād
ante-vāsy uttarāraṇiḥ
tat-sandhānaṁ pravacanaṁ
vidyā-sandhiḥ sukhāvahaḥ (ŚB 11.10.12)
The spiritual master can be compared to the lower kindling stick, the disciple to the upper kindling stick, and the instruction given by the guru to the third stick placed in between. The transcendental knowledge communicated from guru to disciple is compared to the fire arising from the contact of these, which burns the darkness of ignorance to ashes, bringing great happiness both to guru and disciple.
Just like a wet matchbox need to be dried up nicely to help grow the effective frictional force with a stick of the matchbox to flash out the fire thereon. Similarly, the spiritual master can be compared to the main lower kindling stick and the disciple can be compared to the upper kindling stick and the effective (aprākṛta) instructions given by Śrī Gurudeva can be compared with the frictional force between each other to develop the flash of fire. The transcendental knowledge communicated by Śrī Guru to the disciple can be compared to the fire flash arising there, which can dismantle the darkness of ignorance existing inside the heart of the disciple. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Śrī Kṛṣṇa speaking to Uddhava that if two wooden pieces make friction with each other, then the original piece being just like Śrī Guru and the second piece being just like disciple, a flash of fire can break out (divya jñāna jothi).
This going to indicate that, how the fire of divya-jñāna can come out? Bhagavan Śrī Kṛṣṇa speaking to Uddhava that when one can hear hari-kathā with full attention and dedication then that aprākṛta hari-kathā from the Lotus mouth of Sad Guru-Vaiṣṇava can act as an effective frictional force in between guru and śiṣya to help the flash out of the fire of aprākṛta jñāna. I mean –“tat-sandhānaṁ pravacanaṁ vidyā-sandhiḥ sukhāvahaḥ”. Then and only then the fire of knowledge can break out inside the heart of the disciple. The sense of relationship , I mean sambandha jñāna can develop. In this way the fire of divya jñāna can be ignited inside the heart of a genuine disciple by Sad Guru. Similarly, if we can go through Upaniṣad, then we can see that all those ṛṣi-munis used to give lessons to their disciples about brahma tattva those who are having serving mood. Regarding this point we can have so much scriptural evidence like –
tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet
samit-pāṇiḥ śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham (Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.2.12)
One should approach a guru with the purpose of acquiring transcendental knowledge as well as to learn the process for realizing that knowledge. Śrī guru’s qualifications are that he has complete knowledge of the import of the Vedic śāstras and he is himself established in the devotional service to Parabrahma–Śrī Kṛṣṇa. One should offer him the firewood of sublime faith for the performance of yajña [i.e., the yajña of service to Śrī Hari; of assisting śrī guru in the saṅkīrtana yajña of turning the conditioned souls into lovers of God].
tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta
jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam
śābde pare ca niṣṇātaṁ
brahmaṇy upaśamāśrayam (ŚB 11.3.21)
Therefore, any person who seriously desires the absolute benefit must seek a bona fide spiritual master and take shelter of him by taking initiation. The qualification of the bona fide guru is that he has realized the conclusions of the scriptures by deliberation and is able to convince others of these conclusions. Such great personalities, who have taken shelter of the Supreme Godhead, leaving aside all material considerations, should be understood to be bona fide spiritual masters.
tad viddhi pranipatena
paripraśnena sevāyā
upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ
jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ (BG 4.34)
With full surrender (praṇipāt) and honest inquiry, together with sevā mood one should approach a tattva vit sat guru to get the transcendental knowledge from him.
If someone getting pleasure out of aprākṛta hari-kathā, then be sure that he cannot run for material enjoyment. The following ślokas can prove the same.
tāvat karmāṇi kurvīta
na nirvidyeta yāvatā
mat-kathā-śravaṇādau vā
śraddhā yāvan na jāyate (ŚB 11.20.9)
As long as one is not satisfied by fruitive activity and has not developed the taste of devotional service by śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaranam etc., one has to act according to the regulative principles of the Vedic injunctions.
ye hi saṁsparśa-jā bhogā
duḥkha-yonaya eva te
ādy-antavantaḥ kaunteya
na teṣu ramate budhaḥ (Bg. 5.22)
Those who are really intelligent they never run for sensual enjoyment after realizing the painful outcome of material enjoyment, which is having a short duration like starting and endpoint.
Gaura Hari Hari Bol