Who is a true Guru

It is of utmost importance to understand who is a true Guru or an authentic Spiritual Master. The role of such a divine personality in a devotee's life is described extensively in all the Vedic scriptures. Tulsidas Ji says,

गुरु बिनु भवनिधि तरइ न कोई। जौं विरंचि संकर सम होई ।।
सो विनु संत न काहू पाई ।
"guru binu bhavnidhi taraye na koi, so viranchi sankar sam hoee"
"so vinu sant na kahu payee"

This means, "Even if a person's knowledge is equivalent to creator Brahma and Lord Shankar, he cannot traverse the ocean of Maya without the grace of a Spiritual Master."

उत्तिष्ठत जाग्रत प्राप्य वरान्निबोधत । कठोपनिषद् १.३.१४
"uttishthata jagrata prapt varanibodhatah"           Kathopanishad, 1.3.14

आचार्यवान् पुरुषो हि वेद । छान्दोग्योपनिषद्
"acharyavan purusho hi ved"       Chandogyopanishad

These Vedic mantras emphatically assert the same: "It is impossible to know God without the help of a true Spiritual Master."

तद्विज्ञानार्थं स गुरुमेवाभिगच्छेत् समित्पाणि: श्रोत्रियं ब्रह्मनिष्ठम् । मुंडकोपनिषद् १.२.१२
"tadvijñānārthaṃ sa gurumevābhigacchet
samitpāṇi: śrotriyaṃ brahmaniṣṭham"             Muṇḍakopaniṣad 1.2.12

A true Spiritual master is śrotriyaṃ, endowed with complete and meticulous knowledge of all the scriptures and is also brahmaniṣṭham, God realized. The Bhagavad Gita and Bhagwatam affirm the same in the following verses and suggest that you should choose such a Guru who is both a God realized Saint and a true-knower of the deepest meanings of the holy scriptures so that he may be able to reveal the same practical and theoretical knowledge of God to you.

तस्माद् गुरुं प्रपद्येत जिज्ञासु: श्रेय उत्तमम् ।
शाब्दे परे च निष्णातं ब्रह्मण्युपशमाश्रयम् ॥ भागवत ११.३.२१
tasmādguruṃ prapadyeta jijñāsuh śreya uttamam,
śābde pare ca niṣṇātaṃ brahmaṇyupaśamāśrayam       Bhāgavatam, 11.3.21

तद्विद्धि प्रणिपातेन परिप्रश्नेन सेवया ।
उपदेक्ष्यन्ति ते ज्ञानं ज्ञानिनस्तत्त्वदर्शिन: ॥ भगवद् गीता ४.३४
tadviddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā,
upadekṣyanti te jñānaṃ jñāninastattvadarśinah     Bhagavad Gītā 4.34

The meaning of the word “Guru” is:

गुं रौतीति गुरु: ।
guṃ rauti iti guruh

This means, “The one who dispels the darkness of ignorance is the Guru.” Another similar definition is:

गिरति अज्ञानं इति गुरु: ।
girati ajñānaṃ iti guruh

The means, “The one who chases away ignorance is the Guru.” Mahaprabhu Chaitanya said,

जेइ कृष्ण तत्त्ववेत्ता, सेइ गुरु हय ।
jei kr̥ṣṇa tatvavēttā vettā, sei guru haya

This means, “The Guru is the one who has realized God.”

In essence, if someone surrenders to a true Guru who is endowed with the above qualities and who has the ability to infuse true knowledge in the mind of a devotional and inquisitive soul, then very soon that sincere soul will realize God and attain absolute liberation from sorrow and receive unlimited divine happiness.

Prahlāda received the same message from Nārada Jī while he was still in his mother's womb: “Although there are many ways to realize God, yet the best and easiest way is selfless service and devotion to your Spiritual Master.”

गुरुशुश्रूषया भक्त्या सर्वलब्धार्पणेन च ।
संगेन साधुभक्तानामीश्वराराधनेन च ॥ भा. ७.७.३०
guruśuśrūṣayā bhaktyā sarvalbadhārpaṇena ca,
saṃgena sādhubhaktānāmīśvarārādhanena ca         Bhāgwatam 7.7.30

This is the reason, why Aditi said to Lord Krishna, “If it is true that my devotion to my Guru is superior than my devotion to You, please show Your beautiful divine form to me on the basis of this truth.”

भक्तिर्यथा हरौ मेऽस्ति, तद्वरिष्ठा गुरौ यदि ।
ममास्ति तेन सत्येन, संदर्शयतु मे हरि: ॥ पद्म पुराण
bhaktiryathā haraume'sti tadvariṣṭhā gurau yadi,
mamāsti tena satyena saṃdarśayatu me harih         Padma Purāṇa

Similarly, the Bhāgwatam states,

प्रथमं सद्गुरुं वन्दे, श्रीकृष्णं तदनन्तरम् ।
गुरु: पापात्मनां त्राता, श्रीकृष्णस्त्वमलात्मनाम् ॥
prathamaṃ sad guruṃ vande śrīkṛṣṇaṃ tadanantaram,
guruh pāpātmanāṃ trātā śrīkṛṣṇastvamalātmanām

"Let us adore our respected Guru first, and then pay our respects to Lord Krishna." This is because Lord Krishna delivers those who have completely purified their hearts and minds, but it is the Guru who delivers fallen souls like us.

आचार्यं मां विजानीयान्नावमन्येत कर्हिचित् ।
न मर्त्य बुद्ध्याऽ सूयेत सर्व देवमयो गुरु: ॥ भा. १.१७.२७
ācāryaṃ māṃ vijānīyānnāvamanyetakarhicit,
na martyabuddhyā'sūyeta sarva devamayo guruh      Bhāgavatam, 1.17.27

Lord Krishna described to Uddhava the authentic way to implement true dharma, “Uddhava! A truly religious person must see Me in the Guru. He should not insult him at any cost nor should he consider him to be an ordinary being. He is the embodiment of all the forms of God.”

You can read a complete description of the philosophy of who is a true Guru in "Prem Ras Siddhant" (The Philosophy of Divine Love) by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj.

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