Sravana Guru

 

Three Kinds of Gurus

In  Bhakti-sandarbha  Srila Jiva Goswami, in  examining guru-tattva, has cited three types of guru: 

 Sravana-guru

The  person from whom one hears knowledge of the bhaktas, bhakti and bhagavat-tattva  is known as the Sravana-guru. In the conversation between Maharaja Nimi and the Nava-Yogendras in Srimad Bhagavatam (11.3.22) it is said:

tatra bhāgavatān dharmān

śikṣed gurv-ātma-daivataḥ

amāyayānuvṛttyā yais

tuṣyed ātmātma-do hariḥ

Accepting the bona fide spiritual master as one’s life and soul and worshipable deity, the disciple should learn from him the process of pure devotional service. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari,the soul of all souls, is inclined to give Himself to His pure devotees.Therefore, the disciple should learn from the spiritual master to serve the Lord without duplicity and in such a faithful and favorable way that the Supreme Lord, being satisfied, will offer Himself to the faithful disciple.

Such  a  person who  gives  instructions on  how to  execute bhajana is called a Sravana-guru. There may be many Sravana-gurus; nonetheless  the sadhaka should take shelter of one Mahapurusha among them who is suitable to his nature and receive instructions from him regarding how to perform bhajana.

Siksha-guru

Out  of many such  competent Sravana-gurus, one  who  gives instructions  in bhajana  which are just suitable to the  bhava of the sadhaka is called a Siksha-guru. There may be many Siksha-gurus also;  however,  it is  advantageous to  have one  Siksha-guru in particular who is conducive to one’s mood. The Sravana-guru and the  Siksha-guru are usually one and the  same person.

Diksha-guru

One who gives a mantra for worship according to the rules and regulations of scripture is called a Diksha-guru. The Diksha-guru should possess all the symptoms already described of a Mahapurusha and those described in connection with the sad-guru. The Diksha-guru should be conversant in  the  conclusions of the Vedas, he should be adept in expounding those conclusions, he should have direct experience and realisation of the Supreme Lord, and he should be completely detached from material sense objects. If he is lacking in these characteristics, then the faith of the disciple will waiver.

There  is only  one Diksha-guru. The Siksha-guru should be in conformity with the Diksha-guru; otherwise impediments may arise in the practice of sadhana. Ordinarily the Diksha-guru carries out the  function of Siksha-guru.  In his absence one should accept as one’s Siksha-guru an advanced devotee possessing the characteristics already described.

Gurus are of three categories:

śravaṇa-guru (the person from whom one hears knowledge of the bhaktas, bhakti and bhagavat-tattva),

dīkṣā-guru (one who gives a mantra for worship according to the rules and regulations of scripture),

śikṣā-guru (one who gives instructions in bhajana).