The Vedas say:
परीक्ष्य लोकान् कर्मचितान् ब्राह्मणो निर्वेदमायान्नास्त्यकृतः कृतेन।
तद्विज्ञानार्थं स गुरुमेवाभिगच्छेत् समित्पाणिः श्रोत्रियं ब्रह्मनिष्ठम्॥Parīkṣhya lokān karma-chitān brāhmaṇo nirvedamāyān-nāsty akṛitaḥ kṛiten.
Tad-vigyānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigachchhet samit-pāṇiḥ śhrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣhṭham.- Mundaka Upanishad 1.2.12
The Vedas say we have to have a Guru. ‘Gurum eva’. ‘Eva’ means ‘only’ or “must.” We have to surrender to the Guru if we want to attain that Divine knowledge and Divine bliss of Shree Radha-Krishna. But that Guru has to be qualified. What qualifies him? ‘Śhrotriyam’ (one who has complete scriptural knowledge) plus ‘Brahma-niṣhṭham’ (one who is firmly established in God-realization). Two qualifications.
The same thing has been said in the Bhagwat Mahapuran,
तस्माद् गुरुं प्रपद्येत जिज्ञासुः श्रेय उत्तमम्।
शब्दे परे च निष्णातं ब्रह्मण्युपशमाश्रयम्॥Tasmād guruṁ prapadyet jigyāsuḥ śhreya uttamam.
Śhabde pare cha niṣhṇātaṁ brahmaṇy upaśhamāśhrayam.- Bhagawat 11.3.21
Prabhuddha Maharaj is saying this to King Nimi.
The same thing is said in the Gita.
तद्विद्धि प्रणिपातेन परिप्रश्नेन सेवया।
उपदेक्ष्यन्ति ते ज्ञानं ज्ञानिनस्तत्त्वदर्शिनः॥Tad-viddhi praṇipāten paripraśhnen sevayā.
Upadekṣhyanti te gyānaṁ gyāninas tattva-darśhinaḥ.- Gita 4.34
Everywhere these same two qualifications are given for one to be a Guru. In the Vedas it’s ‘shrotriyam’ and ‘Brahma-niṣhṭham’. In the Bhagwat Mahapuran it’s ‘shabde pare cha niṣhṇātam’ (one thoroughly versed in the scriptures and established in the Supreme). In the Gita it’s ‘gyāninaḥ’ (knowers of the scriptures) and ‘tattva-darśhinaḥ’ (those who have directly realized the Truth). All have the same meaning. Everywhere this same condition is given.
Nowhere does it say ‘lineage’, that one has to belong to a particular ‘paramparā’ (disciplic succession). Many people ask, when devotees say,
“My Guru is Jagadguruttam Kripalu Mahaprabhu,”
“Which paramparā does He belong to?”
Nowhere do the scriptures say that lineage is a qualification. Nowhere do they say one has to be a ‘brāhmaṇ’ (priestly class), ‘kṣhatriya’ (warrior class), ‘vaiśhya’ (merchant class), or ‘shūdra’ (servant class), or that it depends on which family one belongs to or how educated one is. No such condition is given.
‘Śhrotriyam’ in the Vedas, ‘shabde pare cha niṣhṇātam’ in the Bhagavat Mahapurana, and ‘gyāninaḥ’ in the Gita all have the same meaning. One who has complete knowledge of all the Vedas, all the Puranas, and all the scriptures - complete knowledge. But not only knowledge, he is able to make us understand. Anybody can read a book and give a lecture. No. He makes us understand. That is ‘shrotriyam’, ‘shabde pare cha niṣhṇātam’, and ‘gyāninaḥ’.
But even more important - ‘Brahma-niṣhṭham’, ‘niṣhṇātam’, and ‘tattva-darśhinaḥ’ in the Gita - one who has seen Krishna. He has attained Divine bliss, Divine knowledge, and Divine realization. He has attained Krishna; only such a person is qualified to be Guru.
These are the only two conditions. Everywhere - in the Vedas, the Puranas, the Bhagavat Mahapuran, and the Gita - they all say the same thing. Nowhere do they say ‘lineage’, ‘paramparā’, family, caste, or level of education. Ninety-nine percent of the Saints in our history were illiterate.
These are the qualifications. Such a person is Shree Krishna personified.
