Srila Gurudeva: Without the association of qualified Vaisnavas, it is sure that bhakti will never come. After association with qualified Vaisnavas, they will know what is bhakti and how bhakti descends. We should give up our worldly desires, lust, anger and everything, knowing them to be the cause and root of all evils. Then they will have to offer themselves at the lotus feet of any qualified Guru. Now they begin to search out, “Where is sad-guru?” But they cannot search for sad-guru. If they have impressions from past lives, past births, and they are associating with qualified devotees, then devotees will tell them and guide them to search out Gurudeva.
Qualified Gurus are very rare in this world, very rare. If you are honest, sincere, and humble, and pray to Krsna that “O Krsna, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja aham tvam sarva-papebhyo moksayisyami ma sucah (BG 18.66).” If you pray like this, if you offer yourself fully at the lotus feet of Krsna, at once He will know your heart and He will manage a sad-guru. At that time there will be no difficulty, no problem in searching for sad-guru. Like in Brhad-bhagavatamrta we see that Srimati Radhika Herself sent a Guru for Jana Sarma in the form of Gopa Kumara.
He came there himself by the order of Radhika. Sometimes Krsna may order any one of His associates to go. Also sometimes Krsna Himself goes there to help anyone. His associates gives all these things and he initiates them. Krsna tells His associate to initiate them. Then anyone can have a real Guru. At that time, we need so much association of the sravana-guru or siksa-guru. Then we will know the need of a real, qualified, bona fide Guru. Then Guru will teach that person or Krsna will mercifully inspire that devotee in his heart.
[Spoken by Srila Gurudeva on April 28th, 1998, France, published as part of the Bhakta Bandhav Anthology, Volume 27]