The Guru Principle

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The Guru Principle One must accept a genuine guru in the proper disciplic line. 1. 1tad vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchetsamit panim srotriyam brahma-nisthamOne who wants scientific knowledge about the Supreme Truth must approach a bona fide guru and offer him everything required for sacrifice. The guru must be fixed in the truth, having heard it from a genuine source. (Mundaka Upanisad 1.2.12)1. 2acarayavan puruso vedaOnly one who has a guru can know the truth. (Chandogya Upanisad 6.18.2)1. 3uttisthata jasrata prapya varan nibodhataksurasya dhara nisita duratyayadurgam pathas tat kavayo vadantiAwake, arise: Having obtained the human form of life, you must not sleep in the darkness of ignorance. Awaken knowledge of your real self by associating with great souls and obtaining their mercy. This material creation is as sharp as a razor's edge, for it is the cause of many miseries. It is impossible to cross over

without transcendental knowledge. Therefore one must take shelter of the great learned transcendentalists who forever sing the praises of that Supreme Person who is the destroyer of birth and death. (Katha Upanisad 1.3.14)1. 4yasya deve para bhaktiryatha deve tatha gurautasyaite kathita hy arthamprakasante mahatmanmTo those great souls who serve both guru and Krsna with exclusive devotion, the import of the Vedas is fully revealed. (Setasvatara Upanisad 6.23)1. 5nayam atma pravacanena labhyona medhaya na bahuna srutenayam evaisa vrnute tena labhyastasyaisa atma vivrute tanum svamThe Supreme Self can never be known by argument, reasoning, intelligence, or scholarship. The finite can never know the infinite. By His own sweet will, however, the Infinite may reveal Himself to the finite in His personal divine form. Those who wish to know the infinite must therefore submit to him through surrender. (Katha Upanisad 1.2.23)1.

6janana-maranadi-samsaranala-santapto dipta-sira jala-rasim ivaupahara-panbm sotriyam brahma-nistham gurum upasrtya tam anusaratiJust as a person whose head is on fire runs to water, one who burns from the flames of birth death, old age, and disease in the holocaust of material existence must run to a genuine guru for relief. Such a guru must be fixed in the Absolute Truth and well-versed in the scriptures. One should approach him with all that is needed for for sacrifice and submit to him as a disciple, ready to carry out his every instruction. (Vedanta-Sara 11)1. 7jiva nitya krsna-dasa, taha bhuli' gelaei dose mayat ara galaya bandhilaBecause the soul has forgotten that he is the eternal servant of Krsna, the illusory energy (maya ) has chained him by the neck. (Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya 22.24)1. 8krsna bhuli' sei jiva anadi-bahir-mukhaataeva maya ta're deya samsarai dumhaBecause of forgetting Krsna, the soul has become averse

to the loving service of the Lord since time immemorial. Thus the illusory energy gives him innumerable miseries in the material world. (Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya 20.117)1. 9krsna-bahir-mukha haiya bhoga va-cha karenikata-stha maya tare japatiya dharepisaci paile yena mati-chhanna hayamaya-grasta jivera haya se bhava udaya"ami nitya krsna-dasa" - ei katha bhulemayara naphara haiya cira -dina bulekabhu raja, kabhu praja, kabhu vipra, sudrakabhu sukhi, kabhu dumkhi, kabhu kita, ksudrakabhu svarge, kabhu martye, narake va kabhukabhu deva, kabhu daitya kabhu dasa prabhuBeing averse to the loving service of the Supreme Lord, the living entity tries to satisfy his lusty desries for sense gratification, and the illusory energy clasps him tightly within her embrace. The living entity, thus captured by the illusory energy, becomes just like a madman under a witch's spell. "I am the eternal servant of Krsna" - forgetting this, the

soul becomes the slave of Maya and forever wanders through a succession of lives. Sometimes he is a king and sometimes a subject. Now he is a brahmana, now a sudra, now an insignificant ant. Sometimes happy, sometimes sad, now he goes to heaven, now to hell. Sometimes he is a god and sometimes a devil, now a servant, now a lord. (Prema-Vivarta )

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