Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur Prabhupada
"The root cause of our present, miserable condition is simply that we do not regard śrī gurudeva as non-different from the Supreme Lord, for we are so engrossed in base worldliness and attached to illusory objects.
That is why I say that we should never consider śrī gurudeva to be a mortal man.
He is the giver of eternal life, the person who can cure the disease of material existence. He is your protector, guardian, well-wisher and selfless friend in every respect.
To the extent that I fail to take complete shelter of śrī gurudeva, or that I present myself before him with duplicity or disobey him, I am actually cheating myself. It is important to contemplate such things. Otherwise we will not find much benefit despite outwardly taking shelter of the lotus feet of śrīla gurudeva."