# Definition of Guru and Ācārya *What the words guru and ācārya mean according to scripture.* ← Back to [[wiki/compile/spiritual-master-disciple|The Spiritual Master and the Disciple]] --- ## The meaning of "guru" ![[sb/4/21/28-29#purport|The word guru refers to one who gives proper direction under the authority of the Vedic injunctions]] —SB [[sb/4/21/28-29|4.21.28-29]] Purport --- ## One who awakens devotion to Kṛṣṇa > *yāṅhā haite kṛṣṇa-bhakti sei guru haya* > > "One who awakens devotion to Kṛṣṇa is certainly a spiritual master." —Cc. [[cc/madhya/16/65|Madhya 16.65]] --- ## The guru opens the eyes with knowledge > It is said: > > *oṁ ajñāna-timirāndhasya jñānāñjana-śalākayā* > *cakṣur unmīlitaṁ yena tasmai śrī-gurave namaḥ* > > "I was born in the darkest ignorance, and my spiritual master opened my eyes with the torch of knowledge. I offer my respectful obeisances unto him." > > This gives the definition of the *guru.* Everyone is in the darkness of ignorance. Therefore everyone needs to be enlightened with transcendental knowledge. One who enlightens his disciple and saves him from rotting in the darkness of ignorance in this material world is a true *guru.* —SB [[sb/6/15/16|6.15.16]] Purport --- ## Guru means "heavy with knowledge" > The various *yoga* systems are given for the machine of the body, but the process of *bhakti* is transcendental to mechanical arrangements. It is therefore called *tad-vijñāna,* transcendental to material understanding. If one actually wants to understand spiritual life and spiritual knowledge, one has to approach a *guru.* The word *guru* means "heavy," heavy with knowledge. And what is that knowledge? *Tad-vijñāna.* That heaviness is *brahma-niṣṭhā*—attachment to Brahman and Para-brahman, Bhagavān. That is the *guru's* qualification. —Teachings of Lord Kapila, the Son of Devahūti --- ## The definition of "ācārya" > In the *Vāyu Purāṇa* an *ācārya* is defined as one who knows the import of all Vedic literature, explains the purpose of the *Vedas,* abides by their rules and regulations, and teaches his disciples to act in the same way. —Cc. [[cc/adi/1/46|Ādi 1.46]] Purport --- ## The two qualifications of a bona fide spiritual master > The *Upaniṣads* inform us that the *guru* is one who has received knowledge by hearing the *Vedas. Śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham* [MU 1.2.12]. The *Vedas* are called *śruti,* and the bona fide *guru* is in the line of hearing from the disciplic succession. As stated in *Bhagavad-gītā* (4.2), *evaṁ paramparā-prāptam.* A bona fide *guru* does not impart some self-styled, concocted knowledge; his knowledge is standard and received from the *paramparā* system. He is also firmly fixed in the service of the Supreme Lord *(brahma-niṣṭham).* These are his two qualifications: he must have heard the Vedic knowledge through the disciplic succession, and he must be established in service to the Supreme Lord. He does not have to be a very learned scholar, but he must have heard from the proper authority. —Teachings of Lord Kapila, the Son of Devahūti --- ## The bona fide spiritual master repeats what he has heard > There is a standard for bona fide spiritual masters.... Who is the spiritual master? That is the next line: *śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham* [MU 1.2.12]. The word *śrotriyam* refers to one who has heard from another bona fide source. A spiritual master is he who has taken the message from another qualified spiritual master. This is just like a medical man who has taken the knowledge of medical science from another medical man. Similarly, the bona fide spiritual master must come in a line of successive spiritual masters. The original spiritual master is God.... One who has heard from God explains the same message to his disciples. If the disciple doesn't change the message, he is a bona fide spiritual master. —The Science of Self-Realization --- ## The spiritual master is a representative of Vyāsadeva ![[sb/1/1/5#purport|Śrī Vyāsadeva is the original spiritual preceptor for all men. And all other preceptors are considered to be his representatives.]] —SB [[sb/1/1/5|1.1.5]] Purport --- ## A gosvāmī follows the path made by the previous ācāryas ![[sb/1/1/5#purport|All bona fide representatives of Śrī Vyāsadeva in the chain of disciplic succession are to be understood to be gosvāmīs]] —SB [[sb/1/1/5|1.1.5]] Purport --- ## The guru is one, because he does not speak differently > The *Vedas* enjoin us to seek out a *guru;* actually, they say to seek out *the guru,* not just *a guru.* The *guru* is one because he comes in disciplic succession. What Vyāsadeva and Kṛṣṇa taught five thousand years ago is also being taught now. There is no difference between the two instructions. Although hundreds and thousands of *ācāryas* have come and gone, the message is one. The real *guru* cannot be two, for the real *guru* does not speak differently from his predecessors. Some spiritual teachers say, "In my opinion you should do this," but this is not a *guru.* Such so-called *gurus* are simply rascals. The genuine *guru* has only one opinion, and that is the opinion expressed by Kṛṣṇa, Vyāsadeva, Nārada, Arjuna, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and the Gosvāmīs. —The Science of Self-Realization --- ## The guru appears in an infinity of forms > Gentlemen, the offering of such an homage as has been arranged this evening to the Ācāryadeva is not a sectarian concern, for when we speak of the fundamental principle of *gurudeva,* or *ācāryadeva,* we speak of something that is of universal application. There does not arise any question of discriminating my *guru* from yours or anyone else's. There is only one *guru,* who appears in an infinity of forms to teach you, me, and all others. —The Science of Self-Realization --- ## The meaning of "prabhupāda" > God is always God, *guru* is always *guru.* As a matter of etiquette, God is the worshipable God, and *guru* is the worshiper God (*sevaka-bhagavān*). Therefore the *guru* is addressed as *prabhupāda.* The word *prabhu* means "lord," and *pāda* means "position." Thus *prabhupāda* means "he who has taken the position of the Lord." —The Science of Self-Realization