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I want to give an explanation of Sri Guru – what are the symptoms of a bona fide guru – and to show you examples that have been given in the epics [Vedic scriptures]. You can apply this to your own guru. Our Sri Guru is akhanda-guru-tattva, Sri Baladeva Prabhu or Sri Nityananda Prabhu, so all teachings should be applied to him and to others who are following this...
by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda
❝It is essential that we exclusively serve that God-loving guru (bhagavat-bhakta guru) who is engaged in the service of Bhagavān twenty-four hours a day. And along with our service to śrī guru, it is necessary and beneficial for us to serve those Vaiṣṇavas who have guru-niṣṭhā – that is, unshakable faith in śrī guru and determined steadfastness in serving him....❞
by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda
❝The Lord says, “If you take the initiative to concoct your own path, then you are liable to receive instructions from sources that will prove to be ineffective in the long run, for I am immanent in the universe and there is no possibility of avoiding Me. I am the source of all existence, I am full of knowledge, and I am endowed with the infinity of bliss.”...❞
by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda
❝If one has no desire at all to serve śrī guru and Śrī Kṛṣṇa, then where is the question of that desire increasing any further? If our consciousness (citta-vṛtti) remains absorbed in the lotus feet of śrī guru, then no matter where we live, our impulse to serve will swell. Otherwise, the inclination to gratify our senses and the urge to enter into mundane life will be all that swells in us....❞
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