Srila Gurudeva, Bhaktivedanta Narayana Goswami Maharaja. August 3, 2000
"If you think that the words and character of your gurudeva are different from the teachings of Vedas, Upanisads, Srimad-Bhagavatam, and Caitanya-caritamrta; that he is so much attached to ladies, to his pockets, to name, fame, and position; that he is not absorbed in chanting and remembering very much but still he has thousands upon thousands of disciples, then you cannot have any strong belief in him.
You should reject him at once.
There is no need to think, "He is my guru. If I give him up, that will be a big offense."
Rather, if you do not give him up, that will be a big offense. Give him up at once. Srimad-Bhagavatam and Krsna (sastra) tell us, "Give up this person, otherwise you are committing an offense." Don't believe his cheating words, saying "If you give me up, that is an offense."
You can consider one more thing: Hari, guru, and Vaisnava. If the words of Krsna (the Vedic scriptures) and guru are one, we can follow that guru. If the words of guru and Vaisnavas are the same, we can believe in that guru. However, if Krsna's words and the words of the Vaisnavas are the same but our guru's words are not the same, then we will have to consider. We cannot obey the orders of such a gurudeva. We should ask him, "Why is this?"
If his answer satisfies us, then we can follow him; otherwise not.
For example, a guru may have thousands upon thousands of disciples, he may perform very sweet kirtana, he may be loving to all, and he may be very humble. But then, after some time he decides, "I should marry a lady. All my disciples are householders, so if I am not a householder, how will I understand their problems? To understand their problems and to know their position, I will have to marry. Otherwise, how can I help them?"
This is a big bluff. In this case he is marrying his own daughter; accepting her as his disciple and then marrying her. This is an offense.
We should be very far away from such artificial gurus. If you believe such persons, then both you and your guru are destined for the darkest hell (narakam ghoram).
First you will go to hell, and then your guru will go after you – head down, feet up. Try to understand all these things."