Devanagari
न ह्येकस्माद् गुरोर्ज्ञानं सुस्थिरं स्यात् सुपुष्कलम् ।
ब्रह्मैतदद्वितीयं वै गीयते बहुधर्षिभि: ॥ ३१ ॥
Verse text
na hy ekasmād guror jṣānaṁ
su-sthiraṁ syāt su-puṣkalam
brahmaitad advitīyaṁ vai
gīyate bahudharṣibhiḥ
Synonyms
na
—
not
;
hi
—
certainly
;
ekasmāt
—
from one
;
guroḥ
—
guru
;
jṣānam
—
knowledge
;
su
—
sthiram — very steady
;
syāt
—
can be
;
su
—
puṣkalam — very complete
;
brahma
—
the Absolute Truth
;
etat
—
this
;
advitīyam
—
one without a second
;
vai
—
certainly
;
gīyate
—
is glorified
;
bahudhā
—
in many ways
;
ṛṣibhiḥ
—
by the sages .
Translation
Although the Absolute Truth is one without a second, the sages have described Him in many different ways. Therefore one may not be able to acquire very firm or complete knowledge from one spiritual master.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Although the Lord is one without a second, the sages have described him in many different ways. Therefore one may not be able to acquire firm and complete knowledge from one guru.
It is said mad abhijṣaṁ guruṁ śāntam upāsīta: one should worship a peaceful guru who knows me (SB 11.10.5) and tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijṣāsuḥ śreya uttamam: the inquisitive person should surrender to the superior guru. (SB 11.3.21) From these statements it is understood that one should accept only one guru. Śvetaketu, Bṛgu and others did not accept many gurus. And true, I also have accepted one guru who gives instruction on mantra. But considering things which act as examples of what is favorable or unfavorable for performing worship, I have made those things my gurus. They are my śikṣā-gurus, teaching by negative or positive example. Śrīdhara Svāmī has supplied this verse:
kapota-mīna-hariṇā kumārī-gaja-pannagāḥ |
pataṅgaḥ kuraraś cāṣṭau heyārthe guruvo matāḥ ||
madhukṛn madhuhartā ca piṅgalā ca dvayos trayaḥ |
upādeyārtha-vijṣāne śeṣāḥ pṛthvy-ādayo matāḥ ||
The pigeon, fish, deer, young girl, elephant, snake, moth and kurara bird are gurus teaching what to avoid. The bee, honey collector, and Piṅgalā teach what to avoid and what to accept. Other items such as the earth teach what should be accepted.
There can be many śikṣā-gurus who generally strengthen one’s knowledge. That is explained in this verse. “Should we accept śikṣā-gurus who have knowledge?” That is true, but because knowledgeable persons have many philosophies, where will I find someone with the same philosophy as mine? Brahman which is only one entity is glorified in many ways—impersonal and personal—by the sages. It is also said nāsāv ṛṣir yasya mataṁ na bhinnam: a person is not a sage if he does not have a different opinion. (Mahābhārata, Vana-parva 313.117) Therefore I have accepted common objects (rather than people) as my śikṣā-gurus.
Purport
Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī comments on this verse as follows. “The statement that one requires many spiritual masters certainly needs explanation, since practically all great saintly persons of the past did not take shelter of many spiritual masters, but rather accepted one. The words
gīyate bahudharṣibhiḥ,
‘the Absolute Truth is glorified in many ways by the sages,’ indicate the personal and impersonal understandings of the Absolute Truth. In other words, some sages describe only the Lord’s impersonal effulgence, which is without spiritual variety, whereas others describe the Lord’s manifest form as the Personality of Godhead. Thus, merely by hearing from many different authorities, one cannot actually learn the highest perfection of life. The proliferation of differing spiritual authorities is useful only to counteract the living entities’ tendency to be grossly materialistic. Different spiritual philosophers create faith in the existence of the soul and may be accepted at that level. But as will be clarified in later verses, the spiritual master who ultimately gives perfect knowledge is one.”
Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī comments as follows on this verse. “Since it is commonly understood that one is to accept a single spiritual master, why is it recommended that one learn from many so-called spiritual masters appearing in the forms of ordinary material objects? The explanation is that one’s worshipable spiritual master will instruct one in many departments of knowledge by giving lessons gleaned from ordinary objects. As recommended by the
brāhmaṇa
avadhūta,
one can strengthen the teachings received from one’s
ācārya
and avoid transgressing his orders by observing ordinary things in nature. One should not mechanically receive the teachings of one’s
guru.
The disciple should be thoughtful and with his own intelligence realize in practice what he has heard from his spiritual master by observing the world around him. In this sense one may accept many
gurus,
though not those who preach against the knowledge received from the bona fide spiritual master. In other words, one should not hear from persons like the atheist Kapila.”
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura also comments on this verse, as follows. “It is stated in
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijṣāsuḥ śreya uttamam:
‘Therefore one should approach a bona fide spiritual master if one actually desires to achieve the highest perfection in life.’ Similarly, in Chapter Ten, verse 5 of this canto, the Personality of Godhead Himself states,
mad-abhijṣaṁ guruṁ śāntam upāsīta mad-ātmakam:
‘One must serve a bona fide spiritual master who is in full knowledge of My personality and who is not different from Me.’ There are many similar verses in Vedic literature indicating that one must take shelter of a single bona fide spiritual master. We also have the examples of innumerable great saintly persons who did not accept more than one spiritual master. Thus, it is a fact that we should accept one bona fide spiritual master and receive from him the particular
mantra
that one is to chant. I myself certainly follow this principle and worship my bona fide spiritual master. However, in worshiping one’s
ācārya,
one may take help from good and bad examples. By observing examples of good behavior one will be strengthened in devotional service, and in seeing negative examples one will be forewarned and avoid danger. In this way, one may accept many ordinary material objects as one’s spiritual masters, considering them as
śikṣā-gurus,
or
gurus
who give important lessons for spiritual advancement.”
Thus in the Lord’s own words,
mad-abhijṣaṁ guruṁ śāntam upāsīta mad-ātmakam:
one should approach a single bona fide spiritual master who is in full knowledge of the Lord’s personality and sincerely worship him, considering him to be
mad-ātmakam,
or nondifferent from the Lord Himself. This statement does not contradict what the Lord has presented in the teachings of the
avadhūta brāhmaṇa.
If one receives the teachings of one’s
ācārya
but keeps them locked up in his brain as theoretical dogma, one will make little advancement. To develop steady, complete knowledge one must see the teachings of one’s
ācārya
everywhere; thus a Vaiṣṇava offers all respects to anyone or anything that gives him further enlightenment in the path of worshiping his bona fide
ācārya,
who is nondifferent from Lord Kṛṣṇa.
Among the many
gurus
mentioned by the
brāhmaṇa,
some give positive instructions and others give negative instructions. Piṅgalā the prostitute and the young girl who took off her bracelets provide examples of proper conduct, whereas the hapless pigeons and the foolish honeybee provide examples of behavior to be avoided. In both cases one’s spiritual knowledge is enriched. Thus, one should not misunderstand the meaning of this verse in a way contradictory to the Lord’s statement
mad-abhijṣaṁ guruṁ śāntam upāsīta mad-ātmakam
(
Bhāg.
11.10.5
).