Krishna is the Guru

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SB 24 24.TEXT 53

 

 

 

TEXT

 

 

 

tvam tvam aham deva-varam varenyam

 

prapadya isam pratibodhanaya

 

chindhy artha-dipair bhagavan vacobhir

 

granthin hrdayyan vivrnu svam okah

 

 

 

SYNONYMS

 

 

 

tvam--how exalted You are; tvam--unto You; aham--myself; deva-varam--worshiped by the demigods; varenyam--the greatest of all; prapadye--fully surrendering; isam--unto the supreme controller; pratibodhanaya--for understanding the real purpose of life; chindhi--cut off; artha-dipaih--by the light of purposeful instruction; bhagavan--O Supreme Lord; vacobhih--by Your words; granthin--knots; hrdayyan--fixed within the core of the heart; vivrnu--kindly explain; svam okah--my destination in life.

 

 

 

TRANSLATION

 

 

 

O Supreme Lord, for self-realization I surrender unto You, who are worshiped by the demigods as the supreme controller of everything. By Your instructions, exposing life's purpose, kindly cut the knot from the core of my heart and let me know the destination of my life.

 

 

 

PURPORT

 

 

 

Sometimes it is argued that people do not know who is a spiritual master and that finding a spiritual master from whom to get enlightenment in regard to the destination of life is very difficult. To answer all these questions, King Satyavrata shows us the way to accept the Supreme Personality of Godhead as the real spiritual master. The Supreme Lord has given full directions in Bhagavad-gita about how to deal with everything in this material world and how to return home, back to Godhead. Therefore, one should not be misled by so-called gurus who are rascals and fools. Rather, one should directly see the Supreme Personality of Godhead as the guru or instructor. It is difficult, however, to understand Bhagavad-gita without the help of the guru. Therefore the guru appears in the parampara system. In Bhagavad-gita (4.34) the Supreme Personality of Godhead recommends:

 

 

 

tad viddhi pranipatena

 

pariprasnena sevaya

 

upadeksyanti te jnanam

 

jnaninas tattva-darsinah

 

 

 

"Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth." Lord Krsna directly instructed Arjuna. Arjuna is therefore tattva-darsi or guru. Arjuna accepted the Supreme Personality of Godhead (param brahma param dhama pavitram paramam bhavan). Similarly, following in the footsteps of Sri Arjuna, who is a personal devotee of the Lord, one should accept the supremacy of Lord Krsna, as supported by Vyasa, Devala, Asita, Narada and later by the acaryas Ramanujacarya, Madhvacarya, Nimbarka and Visnusvami and still later by the greatest acarya, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Where, then, is the difficulty in finding a guru? If one is sincere he can find the guru and learn everything. One should take lessons from the guru and find out the goal of life. Maharaja Satyavrata, therefore, shows us the way of the mahajana. Mahajano yena gatah sa panthah. One should surrender to the Supreme Personality of Godhead (dasavatara) and learn from Him about the spiritual world and the goal of life.

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SB 8, 24.48

Therefore, one should adopt the instructions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is described here as guror guruh, the spiritual master of all other spiritual masters.

 

Even though we may not have the fortune to contact the Supreme Lord personally, the Lord's representative is as good as the Lord Himself because such a representative does not say anything unless it is spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu therefore gives a definition of guru. Yare dekha, tare kaha 'krsna'-upadesa: the bona fide guru is he who advises his disciples exactly in accordance with the principles spoken by Krsna. The bona fide guru is he who has accepted Krsna as guru. This is the guru-parampara system. The original guru is Vyasadeva because he is the speaker of Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam, wherein everything spoken relates to Krsna. Therefore guru-puja is known as Vyasa-puja. In the final analysis, the original guru is Krsna, His disciple is Narada, whose disciple is Vyasa, and in this way we gradually come in touch with the guru-parampara. One cannot become a guru if he does not know what the Personality of Godhead Krsna or His incarnation wants. The mission of the guru is the mission of the Supreme Personality of Godhead: to spread Krsna consciousness all over the world.