Our most worshipable Srila Gurudeva, paramaradhyatama nitya-lila-pravista om visnupada astottara-sata Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami Maharaja, is transcendental and has a direct relationship with the spiritual world. Glorifying and manifesting the transcendental truth is the worship of Srila Gurudeva. If we see Srila Gurudeva in relation with the mundane world or simply what activities he did in this world; or if we do not view his characteristics with proper vision, we will see him with mundane intelligence and be misled. People who look at Srila Gurudeva in relation with this world will tell others, "He came in a brahmana family, he was good at the high jump and long jump, he used to ride horses, and had a good post in the government."
Does this speech of the material world have any contact or relation with him? Or what relation does he have with the succession of Sri Gurus, the Gosvamis, the holy places, and God? What is he giving to this world? If one has faith in the Guru and Vaisnavas, one should not, in any way, drag them down to the material plane of misconceptions. That will be called merely a history or biography. This is not explaining their real mercy and affection. Then, we will not be able to come near them; we will be very far. Whatever we see or hear with our mundane vision we take as experience, and by telling that to others, we cheat them and ourselves.
For as long as Sri Vyasadeva wrote in the Vedas about materialistic religion and piety, economic development, fulfillment of sense desires and liberation, his guru Sri Narada said that it was hypocrisy and deception. That is not dharma.
Vyasadeva was disturbed, tired, and lost. Then his guru, the sage Narada, came and instructed him on the fifth and ultimate goal of humanity, pure love for the Supreme Person Sri Krsna. Vyasadeva then left everything else and became absorbed in a divine trance. With mind and senses fixed in meditation, Vyasadeva observed the Supreme Lord along with His transcendental potencies engaged in loving pastimes.
After this, Sri Vyasadeva compiled the Srimad Bhagavatam which teaches the process of attaining the highest goal of life, pure love of God, and completely rejects duplicitous religious activity that is materially motivated.
Thus, if you want to attain Srila Gurudeva's mercy, then observe his transcendental character and conceptions, then learn to see him with transcendental vision through the eyes of scripture. If you glorify Sri Guru in this manner, then due to its actual relation with Srila Gurudeva, it will become imbued with his great mercy.
Krsna tells Arjuna in the Bhagavad-gita, 4.9:
janma karma ca me divyam evam yo vetti tattvatah tyaktva deham punar janma naiti mam eti so 'rjuna
[O Arjuna! My birth and activities are transcendental. One who knows this in truth does not take another birth after giving up the present body. He certainly attains Me.] Consider, "How does Srila Gurudeva eternally serve Radha-Krsna? How does he attract the people of the world to follow bhakti? Where does he reside? What is his conception? Where is his relationship? What is the specialty of his qualities and character? All these truths should be discussed. Strive to enter the spiritual reality. Then you can reach Srila Gurudeva. Be connected with the transcendental names, forms, qualities, and pastimes of God and His devotees. We should endeavor to hear and chant the transcendental specialties of Srila Gurudeva, and become spiritually related to him. If we try to see him with material vision and consideration we will be deceived and unable to understand anything. Srila Gurudeva is eternally related with God and is completely free of all material hankerings. The disciplic succession of pure gurus are nivrtta tarsair, they have no desire for any object of the material world. They have no relationship with this world. The associates of God descend to this world. They have no material mother, father or mundane relation; just as the horizon is not the mother or father of the sun. They have appeared in a certain place and family as mercy to those people. But they take no mundane birth. Just as God has no mundane birth, nor do His transcendental associates, all the pure gurus in the bonafide disciplic succession are nivrtta-tarsair, free from material hankerings. Therefore, their narrations of the Lord are the medicine for the disease of material existence.nivrtta-tarsair upagiyamanad bhavausadhac chrotra-mano-'bhiramat ka uttamasloka-gunanuvadat puman virajyeta vina pasughnat
Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.1.14
[Glorification of God is conveyed from spiritual master to disciple through the disciplic succession. Such glorification is relished by those who are no longer interested in the false, temporary glorification of this cosmic manifestation. Descriptions of the Lord are the right medicine for the conditioned soul who is undergoing repeated birth and death. Who, therefore, will refrain from hearing such glorification of the Lord, except for a butcher, or one who is killing his own self?] All bonafide gurus give this treatment to the conditioned souls. They don't only give the medicine of narrations of the Lord; but they also give protein, a proper diet, and a healthy environment of a saintly association. If anyone comes and hears from them then this cures that person of the material disease. Sri Guru speaks of the transcendental glories of Lord Sri Krsna, who is eulogized by the highest poetry. The Guru-varga first give this medicine, destroying the material condition, and then they give uttama-sloka, the highest qualities of God. By this, they make us satisfied, nourished, and strong, so that material sickness will never again catch us. In this world, by taking ordinary medicine, again sickness will come in the future. But by giving the medicine to cure the material disease, mundane bondage is subsequently destroyed. Sri Guru also binds us with Lord Sri Krsna. When we are related to Sri Krsna, how can we come under the bondage of maya? How will maya attack us from behind? Therefore, ka uttamasloka-gunanuvadat—what glories are we describing? Whose qualities? Farmers plant carrots, cauliflowers or other vegetables and grains; but Sri Guru plants the highest qualities of Lord Sri Krsna in the heart of the disciple and sincere hearer. Sri Guru gives treatment and medicine and makes a clean and beautiful place in the heart. Sri Guru plants the seed of pure devotion in the heart and when that seed sprouts it will be lush and the fragrance of its flowers will attract the world. The saintly devotees are free from all material hankerings, they do not attract us by any quality of the mundane world; they do not preach dry knowledge, yoga, austerity or fruitive action, karma. They have come to end the cycle of birth, death, oldness, and disease. They teach and inspire all to follow pure devotion free of ulterior motives. [Bhakti is service rendered by transcendental senses to Sri Krsna, the Lord of the senses. Such bhakti in which all endeavors are undertaken for the pleasure of Krsna, is free from obstructions arising from the nature of the body and mind. It is also pure; that is, it is not covered by the creepers of reward-seeking activity, or knowledge in pursuit of impersonal liberation.] -Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, Purva-vibhaga 1.10, & Narada-pascaratra Who will engage these senses in service to their Provider? Is there any material personality or relation that can do this? Is there any sister, brother, mother, father or minister who will do this? This is only the work of Sri Guru because he is free from all material hankerings. All others have desires for sense enjoyment, separate from service to the Lord, the Provider of the senses and their objects. Sri Guru cures the material disease and gives the nectar of pure love and relation with God and His associates. Without this nectar, the conditioned soul is bound to suffer again and again in hellish material existence. - Article of Sripada Premananda Prabhu, penned by Rasik Mohan das This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.