The Sanskrit word 'Guru' (गुरु) ordinarily means 'heavy' as opposed to 'Laghu' (लघु) meaning 'light'. In its technical and etymological sense, the meaning of the term is 'One Who by His Super-human (अतिमत्तर्य) Personality and the light of great examples of the trancendent force of His devout character dispels the darkness or ignorance of
the human heart and transfuses Himself into the lives of those who unconditionally and sincerely surrender themselves to His Divine Feet.' Such is the great Personality, the Highest Ideal, that bears the appellation of Guru in the Shastras. Hence the Sruti says:—
"तद्विज्ञानार्थं स गुरुमेवाभिगच्छेत् ।
समित्पाणिः श्रोत्रियं ब्रह्मनिष्ठम्॥"
"To know the Godhead fully, one should completely and most humbly surrender himself to the Holy Feet of a Guru, Who is versed in the Srauta Shastras (क्ष्रौतशास्त्र) and is ever-devoted to Brahman."
Some may question this saying,—'what can be more intolerable than to submit to another's control over our conduct—nay, over the whole course of our spiritual life?' Verily resignation, submission or a complete obedience come into direct collision with the ordinary activities, based on empiricism, of our misdirected free-will which always leads us to the pursuit of the senses. It is easier to bear fasts and austerities or to part with any necessaries of life than to submit one's will to that of another who is a close and devout follower of the Transcendent Truth (अधोक्षज सत्य). But to surrender oneself sincerely to the Highest Ideal is the greatest of all sacrifices and it is the only royal road to the Goal of Unbounded Eternal Bliss.
As students of the empirical school, we are also expected to urge—'we may obey God but why need we obey a Guru?' In anticipation of such words coming from our lips as the out-come of unconscious apathy towards Godhead, God Himself tells us in language that cannot be misunderstood—
"आचार्य्यं मां विजानीयात् नाबमन्येत कर्हिचित् ।
न मर्त्तबुद्ध्यासूयेत सर्व्बदेवमयो गुरु: ॥"
'You should know that the Acharyya is the associated counter-part of Myself.
He should never be disregarded in any way. With the very limited power of mundane knowledge the transcendent conduct of the Acharyya should not be measured and found fault with. The Acharyya is the embodiment of all Godliness.'
Guru or the Spiritual Guide is a God-sent Super-human Personality to save us from the bondage of empiricism. We are not to look upon Him or trust in Him or His transcendent wisdom as if He were a mortal being; thereby we would be totally led astray from the path of devotion (भक्ति). The Spiritual Pastor to Whom we submit is the Ambassador of Vishnu to lead us into the eternal kingdom of Vaikuntha (वैकुण्ठ) i.e. the kingdom which is free from all form of want. The Godhead helps us, speaks to us through His associated counterpart, we mean, our eternal Spiritual Master, the Gurudeva (गुरुदेव). We can never so surely discover God's Will, God's Voice, as through the channel of humble obedience and sincere surrender to our Spiritual Master, so emphatically taught and devoutly practised by all the true devotees of olden times. The Spiritual Guide or Acharyya is our Model—the Highest Ideal, before us. We need not shrink through pride, vanity or self-sufficiency from treading in His foot-steps. So we should take the vow of sincere obedience to the Divine Words of our Spiritual Guide, remembering Him to be the most beloved, the associated counter-part, of the Godhead, – Who condescends to come down from Baikuntha to lead us thither, our original abode Without such a Spiritual Guide or Guru a person is like a boat without a helmsman or a ship without rudder or compass, left to drift hither and thither with every wind that blows. Hence the Acharyya says:—
"यो गुरोश्चरणं समबहाय भगवदन्तर्मुखी कर्त्तु पयतन्ते, ते तेषु तेषु उपायेषु खिधन्ते अतो व्यसनशतान्विता भवन्ति अतएव इह संसारे तिष्ठन्त्येव। अकृतकर्णधारा जलधौ यथा तद्व’त्।“
'Those who attempt to approach the Godhead ignoring the Holy Feet of the Gurudeva are put into great difficulties by the very means they adopt. They are overtaken by hundreds of dissipations. Hence they are surely forced to remain in the succession of births and rebirths. As a lay man in a boat without the assistance of helmsman intending to cross the ocean is sure to lose his life, so a man intending to approach Godhead without the help of the Guru is sure to be lost'
The true devotees of the Absolute Truth – Krishna, are the salt of the earth; they are the medicines of human lives that are suffering from spiritual sickness. Without their presence and occasional advent in this world, the world would not be worth living in. And our Guru or Spiritual Guide should be one who is the best of all such true devotees.
Because the spiritual Guide is above all human frailties, ignorance and weakness, because He is Krishna's own Person – Krishna's most beloved—Krishna's associated counter-part,—so He is the fittest Person to guard us against the deceits of illusion or Maya. God's own person can alone shield us from the clutches of illusion and confirm by His light of examples the importance of unalloyed devotion. There is healthy contagiousness in His undeviating adherence to the Absolute Truth, in every example of His devout action. His everliving Words are like sharp-edged weapons cutting the tangled knots of our mental attachment to empericism. His words are inspiration to the weak in heart and healing balm to those who are constantly suffering from spiritual sickness. A Spiritual Guide is the living beacon on the path of devotion.
But where can be found such Highest Ideal? The truly sincere and humble soul that earnestly desires to advance in spiritual life will get such an Ideal. But if we consciously or unconsciously want to be cheated we shall accordingly get a cheat. For there run the words of the Godhead himself—
"ये यथा मां प्रपद्यन्ते तांस्तथैब भजाम्यहम्।"
'I deal out justice according to the manner I am approached, i.e. if one approaches me with a sincere heart I also deal with him sincerely that is show him the true path by sending my Own Person to him, on the other hand, he who tries to cheat me is deluded by my Maya.
If good Guides are rare, much more are good subjects for guidance. The Sruti says :—
आश्चयोऽस्य बक्ता कुशलस्य लब्धा
आश्चयो ज्ञाता कुशलानुशिष्टः ॥
Too many of us want to be directed after our own fashion and would fain combine the double service against which the Acharyyas have warned us those of God and of the world:—
"लोकरक्षा गोराभजा एकत्र निष्ष्फफल"
'To try to retain all worldly advantages and to serve God at one and the same time is incompatible.'
So if we earnestly and sincerely desire to devote our life for the eternal service of the Absolute Truth,—Krishna, we should pray most sincerely to Him to supply us with a Guide after His Own Heart (and not after our everdeceiving heart or emotional fancy); and never doubt but that He will kindly send to us His own most trusted and most beloved Agent—His associated counter-part. Verily except Krishna's own Representative no one is fit to occupy the most responsible office of a Spiritual Guide.
So we should be most careful in choosing a Guru. Rather it is impossible for a man who is ever likely to be duped by the senses or phenomena to choose a Guru Who is not a thing of this World, Who is the Transcendent thing, that has condescended to come down to the earth according to God's Will.
No professional priest or "sale-tongued" preacher can hold the position of a Guru. Mercenary people are actuated by personal motives, self-interest and vanity and are not intent solely on God's Glory and the good of the fallen souls like a True Spiritual Guide. As a man in fetters and hand-cuff cannot unchain another man who is in a like predicament, so a man claiming to be Guru but himself fallen in the clutches of Maya, can not free another from the same danger.
No question of heredity can arise in choosing a Spiritual Guide. As it has been previously said that our Spiritual Guide should be a God-sent Person—the direct Representative of Krishna, so mundane reference has no value in His case. Even worldly common sense tells us that the son of a doctor cannot always necessarily be a doctor. Krishna's Representative appears in this world irrespective of heredity. Sree Mahaprabhu says:—
किबा विप्र, किबा न्यासी, शूद्र केने नय
येइ कृष्ण-तत्त्व-वेत्ता, सेइ ऽगुरुऽ हय
Whether He appears in a Brahmin family, whether He is found in the garb of a Sannyasin or even if He makes His appearance in this world in a Shudra family, whosoever is versed in Krishna-tatva (the transcendent knowledge of Krishna) He and He alone is fit to be a Spiritual Guide.
It follows, therefore, that neither an elevationist nor a salvationist is fit to be a Guru because they themselves are in the state of want (अभाब) and not in their natural and true position (स्वभाव). The man who has lost his natural position i. e. the eternal service of Krishna which is the only eternal function of the Soul (जीबात्मा), is in a state of want and, led astray by the energy of Maya, tries to fulfil his wants by the things that are mundane. In this way sometimes he thinks to make up his shortcomings by turning himself an elevationist so as to have the taste of soma-liquor, to have women, gold and fame in this and afterworlds, or sometimes critically ignoring such hedonistic attitude he takes the pessimistic view of the world and becomes a salvationist.
Both of them are needy persons, and it is a matter of common sense that a needy person cannot remove the needs of another. The Shastras enjoin strict avoidance of any spiritual dependence on these classes. It is incumbent on us, therefore, to take refuge at the Holy feet of a Devotee, Who serves Krishna, by all means and at all times.
In conclusion, let us prostrate ourselves at the Holy Feet of Gurudeva, Who is no other than the associated counter-part of Krishna and Who being Kindness Incarnate, is ever busy in kindly operating on the cataractous eye of ignorance of Jivas with the spikelet of transcendental knowledge, thus opening their eternal spiritual eyes and anointing them with the collyrium of unalloyed and disinterested love for Krishna.