Guru’s personality -

Radhe Radhe!

I recently received a question by private e-mail, but being in the middle of the trip from nowhere to Ultimate Goal :-) (i.e. in the process of revaluation of my authorities), failed to answer. This is translation of the same question by the same person that she has sent to a forum, where we both participate.
I will be thankful for all answers, because this question excites me also.

Thanks,
Sur

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Humans!

If you will have some spare time and force, please, give an answer for my question. As detailed, as you can. All, that you know. It’s an old talk, but I want to return to it.

What does “Guru’s personality” mean? What qualities does he possess?

Is he concrete personality-jiva, nittya-siddha, liberated? Or is that such, that jiva (conditioned) receives authority one day, and from that moment she, jiva-tattva, obtains Lord’s qualities? So that “Guru’s personality” is Sakti of Lord, and sometimes she ‘incarnates’ in different ‘bodies’, dependent (!) of the level of that conditioned soul of disciple. I.e. to worm she comes in one body, to monkey – in other. :-) (Or is Guru a privilege of mankind? Or maybe Guru is always a Vaisnava? And what about Christian, Muslim saints, saints of cannibal tribe, Masters of Mexican Indians?) Maybe, “Guru’s personality” is ‘collective’ conception, so it’s not the one concrete jiva, rather entire line of jivas, that show functions of Guru time to time according the Lords will, depending on level of disciple's progress? An if that is, then is there a Super-Guru, something… not subjective, but Objective, “not adopted to the needs of fallen Seeker” as if ‘ultimate’ version of Guru after the millions of ‘intermediate’ Gurus? What does it means “Personality of Sad-Guru”? And of course such “Absolute Personality of Guru” shouldn’t come to a worm?

In this question I want to see not personal opinions, but Sastra’s citations, and as much as possible, “good and different”.

Yashoda d.

Your friend wants shastric references on concepts such as "Guru’s personality", "Personality of Sad-Guru" and "Absolute Personality of Guru". It is unclear what exactly she means with the terms. I can certainly draft together a general review of guru-tattva as the fusion of bhakta and Bhagavan, but I am uncertain if that would meet the criteria of answer for this query.

Actually, the question is:

"What does “Guru’s personality” mean? What qualities does he possess?"

I guess, she wants to know, is Guru a person, number of persons, Sakti, or something else. And how can we recognize, is some spoken individual a Guru or not.

In Mahabharata, Aranyaka Parva, Chapters 197-206, we can find an interesting story of brahmana Kausika, who was send by one wise woman to hunter Dharmavyadha for gaining knowledge. Dialog between Kausika and the hunter nearly repeats the Bhagavad-gita (actually, anticipates it), with one significant difference - Dharmavyadha declares that the ultimate goal of life is merging with Brahman. Brahmana, despite of varnasrama principles, accepted this hunter as a Guru.

Can we also call him a Guru?

Well, we can certainly call him a guru. However, we may not call him a guru who teaches raganuga-bhakti in the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition. Guru is a very generic term. It must be given a clearly defined context if we are to have a meaningful discussion on its proper application.

Well, these questions practically require writing a comprehensive treatise on guru-tattva. It would be easier to just ask, "Please explain the entire topic of guru-tattva."

Pandit Sri Ananta Das Babaji has compiled an excellent little book called "Guru-tattva-vijnana", available from http://www.krishnacaitanya.com/publications.php . Recommended for anyone who desires to have an overview of what the scriptures teach on the matter of guru.

I'll try to be brief here. Most of the citations come from this booklet. Translations occasionally include elaboration on the topic, the original Sanskrit is hence included.



That's the mystery. The person asking the question should figure out what she is asking before she can expect an answer. One cannot ask a question which one does not understand to begin with. The question must be understood prior to anticipating an intelligible answer.



The qualities of a guru can be divided in two categories, svarupa-laksana (characteristic, mandatory qualities) and tatastha-laksana (marginal, optional qualities).

In our tradition, the svarupa-laksana is commonly derived from the following verse of the Bhagavata:

tasmAd guruM prapadyeta jijJAsuH zreyaH uttamam |
zAbde pare ca niSNAtaM brahmaNyupazamAzrayam || 11.3.21 ||

"Therefore a person who inquires about the highest welfare should take shelter of the lotus feet of a genuine guru, who is sabdabrahma and parabrahma-nisnata, and upasamasraya, or free from lust and greed."

Sridhara Svami writes in his commentary on this verse:

zAbde brahmaNi vedAkhye nyAyato niSNAtaM tattvajJam | anyathA saMzaya nirAsakatvAyogAt | pare ca brahmaNi aparokSAnubhavena niSNAtam | anyathA bodha saJcArAyogAt | para brahma niSNAtatva dyotakam Aha upazamAzrayam iti |

"That the genuine guru is sabdabrahma- nisnata means that he is a knower of the Vedic literature and a knower of the truth. If he is not, then he cannot remove the doubts of the disciples who take shelter of him. Then again he is parabrahma-nisnata, which means that he is a devotee, or that he is endowed with transcendental realisations about Sri Krishna. If he is not, then he cannot infuse realisations on bhajana within the heart of his disciple."

The first vilasa of Hari-bhakti-vilasa contains a more elaborate enumeration of the guru's qualities.



Krishnadas Kaviraja addresses the issue with the following verses:

yadyapi AmAra guru caitanyera dAsa |
tathApi jAniye AmI tAhAra prakAza || CC 1.1.44 ||

"Although my guru is the servant of Sri Caitanya, still I know him to be the Lord’s manifestation."

guru kRSNa rUpa hon zAstrera pramANe |
guru rUpe kRSNa kRpA korena bhaktagaNe || CC 1.1.45 ||

"The guru is another form of Krishna, as proven by the scriptures. Krishna bestows His mercy upon the devotees in the form of the guru."

In his Bhakti-sandarbha, Sri Jiva Gosvami has divided the concept of guru-tattva into two distinct categories, the samasti-guru and the vyasti-guru. The text reads as follows:

tathA pITha-pUjAyAM bhagavad-dhAme zrI-guru-pAdukA-pUjanam evaM saGgacchate | yathA ya eva bhagavAn atra vyaSTi-rUpatayA bhaktAvatAratvena zrI-guru-rUpo vartate, sa eva tatra samaSTi-rUpatayA sva-vAma-pradeze sAkSAd-avatAratvenApi tad-rUpo vartata iti || Bh. S. 286 ||

"The worship of the Pitha in Bhagavan’s abode is conducted together with the worship of Sri Guru’s shoes. As Bhagavan assumes a localized form (vyasti-rupa) in His descent as Sri Guru in the form of a devotee, this form also appears as a direct descent on the left side of His collective form (samasti-rupa)."

In his tika on Prema-bhakti-candrika, Pandit Sri Ananta Das Babaji sheds further light the concept derived from the aforementioned references:

"When He sees the wretched situation of the human beings who are bound by maya, the heart of the merciful Lord melts and He wishes to to bless them by making them relish the sweet flavours of His ecstatic worship. Then from the samasti guru-form of the Lord (the Lord's form as the aggregate of all Gurus), the power to become Guru (gurutva sakti) manifests in a great soul, or vyasti-guru (individual Guru), who is accomplished in devotion. He is qualified to take up the post of genuine Guru."

Thus the vyasti-guru is both a manifestation of the Lord's mercy and an accomplished devotee. These two realities combine before us to bestow upon us the means to reach the nectarine, eternal service of Radha and Krishna.



There are a number of factors that must be considered. They can basically be divided into two categories, namely the observational factors and the revelational factors.

First of all, one must carefully examine the teachings of the scriptures on the matter of guru to learn a theoretical basis of the concept. Then, one must discuss with different saintly persons, inquire from them, examine the quality of their conduct, and review them in the light of the scriptural passages.

Then, given the fact that our individual capacity of observation is always subject to errors in judgement, one must turn for the Lord within and beg for guidance. Deep prayers go a long way in finding the right direction in the crossroads of life.

Dear Madhava, thank you for a thorough and detailed answer.



I will definitely buy it. Is Moscow in Europe or outside from the point of wiew of Finnish post?:-) I had precedents with a previous purchases in foreign online-stores at the matter...

The catalogue of my post office just makes a blunt division between Europe / outside. Last time I checked Russia was not a part of Europe, so I'm afraid it's outside, although Moscow is no farther than mid-Europe from here.

Moscow not part of Europe.... Atheistic country...So strange, eh Surdas?

When the contributions of Russians to European culture and spirituality are of paramount importance in music and literature at least. (I do realise the postal definition is just a technicality).

Tolstoy is amongst the world's greatest writers on spiritual matters and had a strong influence on Mahatma Gandhi. The Eastern Church is also extremely important in the great spiritual search for understanding - when, 30 years ago, I first looked at the Vaishnav idea of chanting the Lord's name, I was simultaneously studying the practice of continual prayer in the Eastern Church, the writings in the Philokalia.

In Radhakunda I liked to talk to Sanatan Das, a Russian disciple of Sri Ananta Das Panditji. Sanatan is an inspiring devotee. He's also an expert cook. I mentioned to him that he came from the land of Dostoyevski. He said at school he had not appreciated those writings, but now he began to see the value of them as insights into humanity and the encounter with the Divine.

What about the nitya-siddha/sadhana-siddha parts of guru-tattva? How are they to be understood?

I do not recall ever reading of either of the two in connection with the concept of guru-tattva in our scriptures. Have you? We often struggle with puzzles of our own design.

Not for my benefit. For others.

The devotee who acts in the capacity of a guru doesn't have to be a nitya-siddha, if that's what you're asking. The siddha-deha is, and always was, nitya-siddha. There is no such thing as a siddha-deha in bondage.