[Spoken by Srila Gurudeva on January 13th, 1998, in Australia, published as part of the Bhakta Bandhav Anthology, Volume 23]
Srila Gurudeva: If anyone is beginning to engage in bhakti from laukiki-sraddha, engaging in bhakti because of fear of sastra, the words of sastra, that is called vaidhi-sraddha. Then he will go to hear and associate with devotees. There, he will hear all sastra and he will think that, “I must practice bhakti-yoga. Where should I go so that anyone can help me?” Then, first, caitya-guru is there. Who is caitya-guru? Krsna is Himself the caitya-guru in everyone's heart. He will give that transcendental knowledge in his heart:
tesam satata-yuktanam
bhajatam priti-purvakam
dadami buddhi-yogam tam
yena mam upayanti te
-Srimad Bhagavad-Gita 10.10
[Upon those who perform bhajana to Me with love, yearning for My eternal association, I bestow the transcendental knowledge by which they can come to Me.]
Dadami buddhi-yogam tam yen mam upayanti te. If anyone is sincere, if he has no Guru but he wants to serve Krsna, then first caitya-guru will come in his heart and He will advise, “Oh, you can go to this devotee and pray for initiation.” So, Krsna is the first Guru, caitya-guru. If even then you are not hearing Him, then He will be like the vartma-pradarsaka-guru, the showing Guru. He will come in the form of any Vaisnava and He will say, “Oh, you want to do krsna-bhajana? Come with me to where I go and associate with devotees. You should come with me and you’ll have so many ways to serve Krsna. Come with me.” He will bring that devotee with him, giving him some taste, some information and some sweet advice. He will be like a good friend who gives him all these things. Then he will go to that place and see any very bona-fide Vaisnava and think, “Oh, really he is Guru.” Then he will test him for so many years to see his character; whether he is of loose character or not. Whether he wants money or praise or any worldly gain. If he sees any of these things, then he will reject that so-called Guru. When he will see anyone who is always chanting Krsna’s name and is always absorbed in thinking about Krsna, being detached from worldly desires and worldly wealth and everything, then he will think, “Oh, he is surely a Guru.” Then he will go to him and try to please him by his services and by asking some very good questions:
tad-vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet
samit-panih srotriyam brahma-nistham
-Mundaka Upanisad 1.2.12
[To acquire transcendental knowledge of Sri Bhagavan, one must approach a Guru who knows the real import of the Vedic sastras and who has fully realized the Supreme Absolute Truth, Sri Krsna. One should offer him the firewood of sublime faith for the performance of yajna.]
To know this transcendental knowledge, he will go to a realized Guru who is a very realized soul and who knows all the Vedas, sastra, and all the essence of all the Vedas. What is the essence of all the Vedas? Krsna-bhakti, the chanting of the holy name:
anavrtti sabdat anavrtti sabdat
-Vedanta-sutra 4.4.22
[One obtains liberation and prema through sabda. [sabda here refers to sabda-brahma, transcendental sound vibration; paramananda-svarupa Sri Krsna’s name is that very transcendental sabda-brahma]
In Vedanta-sutra, at the very end it has been written like this. Then he will fix his mind that, “I will take initiation from him.” He will make this determination. Then he will go to that Guru and he will be initiated.