The following is an excerpt from Śrī Guru and His Grace, The Initiating Spiritual Master, 4th Printing, by Śrīla Bhakti Rakṣaka Śrīdhara Mahārāja (Scsmathinternational.com)
A spiritual master may be one of three kinds. The first class guru extends one foot from the spiritual world into the material world and takes souls from here to there. The guru in the intermediate stage is situated here, but he has extended one foot there and he is taking souls to the spiritual world. The lowest class of guru has both feet here, but he clearly sees the highest plane and is trying to take the souls from here to that plane. In this way, we may roughly conceive of three kinds of guru.
The following is a darśana with Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja in New Delhi, India, on November 14, 2009, published in Walking with a Saint – Morning Walks and Conversations 2009
Sañjaya dāsa: After gurudeva gives harināma, his disciples begin their sādhana; some of them seriously and some not so seriously. Just as the fish maintains its eggs by vision, turtles by meditation, and birds by physical closeness, will gurudeva meditate on all his disciples equally?
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: No, not equally. The more a person desires bhakti, the more he surrenders, the more Kṛṣṇa reciprocates.
Rohiṇī-nandana dāsa: Kṛṣṇa reciprocates according to the surrender of the devotee. So, if Kṛṣṇa’s pure devotees behave like Kṛṣṇa, how can they be considered more merciful?
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: A madhyama can somewhat give mercy, but an uttama can give it fully; this is certain.
Rohiṇī-nandana dāsa: Isn’t gurudeva supposed to be more merciful than Kṛṣṇa? Or, will he also respond only according to the surrender of the disciple?
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja:
ye yathā māṁ prapadyante
tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham
mama vartmānuvartante
manuṣyāḥ pārtha sarvaśaḥ
Bhagavad-gītā (4.11)
[“As all surrender unto Me, I reward them accordingly. Everyone follows My path in all respects, O son of Pṛthā.”]
The uttama-adhikārī will behave in such a manner.
Rāmacandra dāsa: How is one an uttama-adhikārī if he is not more merciful to devotees than their ratio of surrender?
Umā dīdī: Gurudeva is giving mercy, and Bhagavān is giving mercy. But realisation of that mercy will come only to the degree of our surrender?
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Yes. This is correct.
Rāmacandra dāsa: In this situation, people like me, who are good for nothing, lose hope because we are very laid-back.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Gurudeva is the mediator. He has made a contract to take his disciples to transcendental Vraja.
Rāmacandra dāsa: Gurudeva is the mediator, so that is how he is more merciful than Kṛṣṇa.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: That is why you first offer your praṇāma to gurudeva. Anything else?
The following is an excerpt from a transcription of a discourse delivered by Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja in Moscow, Russia, on July 30, 2000
Madhyama-adhikārīs are of three categories: madhyama-kaniṣṭha, madhyama-madhyama, and madhyama-uttama. The madhyama-kaniṣṭha cannot act as a guru. The madhyama-madhyama and madhyama-uttama can, however, because they are in the line of their guru, always chanting and remembering the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa, chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa with rasa and taste, and their anarthas have practically disappeared. There remains only a very little scent of anarthas, and there is no offence at all – no vaiṣṇava-aparādha, nāmāparādha, sevāparādha, or dhāmāparādha. They are chanting and remembering, and always in the line of their own gurudeva. Though they are not so realised, they can still help us. We have these kinds of devotees in this world, and they can help us. But you should know that a mahā-bhāgavata can descend to the madhyama-adhikārī stage, and then he can preach and accept disciples. In this way, we can accept two kinds of gurus who can help us. The madhyama-adhikārī gurus will take us to the uttama-adhikārī, and thus the madhyama-gurus and their disciples will develop their Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
We cannot say that Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Ṭhākura is a madhyama-adhikārī. We cannot say that my gurudeva was a madhyama-adhikārī. We cannot accept that Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja was a madhyama-adhikārī. They were really uttama-adhikārīs. They have simply descended and accepted disciples – only to help devotees. They come down to the level of a madhyama-adhikārī and preach. Otherwise, they cannot preach or initiate anyone. They are, therefore, very, very kind. Ordered by Śrīmatī Rādhikā to fulfil the desire of Rādhikā and Kṛṣṇa, they have accepted this position; otherwise, they would never have done so. None of the gurus in our line who have accepted disciples are madhyama-adhikārīs. All are uttama-adhikārīs, but they have descended for the time being, for the benefit of the whole world.
The following is an excerpt from a morning walk with Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja in Venice, Italy, on June 8, 2009, published in Walking with a Saint – Morning Walks and Conversations 2009
Śrīpāda Śrīdhara Mahārāja: By performing bhajana, gradually, step-by-step through śraddhā, how far 
can a madhyama-adhikārī go?
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: First madhyama-kaniṣṭha, then madhyama-madhyama, and then madhyama-uttama – one will reach up to ruci and āsakti (spontaneous attachment for Kṛṣṇa). Then, when rati (bhāva) manifests, that is the beginning of uttama-adhikāra.
Śrīpāda Śrīdhara Mahārāja: Does the uttama-adhikārī have prema?
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: The uttama-adhikārī goes up to the level of prema, but when he achieves prema, his body changes. His physical body can no longer exist.
Jagannātha dāsa: Gurudevajī, we are all kaniṣṭhas (third-class devotees, of meagre faith).
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: That is not true. You can speak for yourself, not for others. It is not that all the devotees are kaniṣṭha. Some are kaniṣṭha, and some are madhyama.
Jagannātha dāsa: But aren’t there levels in kaniṣṭha: kaniṣṭha-kaniṣṭha, kaniṣṭha-madhyama, and kaniṣṭha-uttama?
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: I think that most of the senior devotees are at the madhyama stage.
Jagannātha dāsa: Really? If you think it’s true, it must be true.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: What are the symptoms of a madhyama-adhikārī?
Śrīpāda Śrīdhara Mahārāja:
īśvare tad-adhīneṣu
bāliśeṣu dviṣatsu ca
prema-maitrī-kṛpopekṣā
yaḥ karoti sa madhyamaḥ
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.2.46)
[“An intermediate or second-class devotee, called madhyama-adhikārī, offers his love to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is a sincere friend to all the devotees of the Lord, shows mercy to ignorant people who are innocent, and disregards those who are envious of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”]
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: The word prema in this verse means prema (not the prema of the uttama-adhikārī) to Kṛṣṇa. The word maitrī (friendship) in this connection refers to love and affection for Vaiṣṇavas. Kṛpa indicates that the madhyama-adhikārī inspires kaniṣṭha-adhikārīs by his hari-kathā. Then, regarding those opposed to bhakti, the term upekṣā (neglect) is used.
I think that most senior devotees are like madhyama-adhikārīs; but they may be madhyama-kaniṣṭha or madhyama-madhyama, not madhyama-uttama.
Jagannātha dāsa: Okay.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: They have taste for hari-kathā, and that is why they have come here.
The following is an excerpt from The Essence of All Advice, Chapter 1, 4th Edition, a collection of discourses by Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja on the Nectar of Instruction, Śrīla Prabhupāda’s commentary on Śrī Upadeśāmṛta by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī
Devotee (reads): One should not remain a kaniṣṭha-adhikārī, one who is situated on the lowest platform.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: You should all try to become a madhyama-adhikārī, and 
those who are in madhyama-adikārī should come to madhyama-madhyama-adhikārī, those who are in madhyama-madhyama should come to madhyama-uttama, and those in uttama should try to realise svarūpa-siddhi. And after svarūpa-siddhi, vastu-siddhi. Svāmījī has written everything, everything — śravaṇa-daśā (the stage of hearing), varaṇa-daśā (the stage of acceptance) smaraṇa-daśa (the stage of remembrance), then āpana-daśā (the stage of spiritual ecstasy), and sampatti-daśā (the stage of highest success of prema). He has explained all of this. But we have no chance to go through these books because we are always only distributing, distributing. We should, however, know that this will not take us to that higher goal.
Devotee: Gurudeva, if one is hearing from a rasika, tattva-jña madhyama-adhikārī Vaiṣṇava, and advancing from kaniṣṭha to madhyama stage, then if that person is still distributing books, is that merely acquiring sukṛti?
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: No harm, no harm. At that time, to distribute books is bhakti.
Devotee: Is it the level of consciousness of the person who is distributing that makes the difference?
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Yes, in any activity. A man is brooming, but this is not 
mentioned in the 64 kinds of bhakti. But brooming in the kuñja will be the highest type of sevā. So all our activities can be utilised — what we are doing and even what we should not do. Sometimes the nonsense of worldly persons, when performed by a devotee, can be the highest service to Kṛṣṇa. But it depends on our stage. So we must try to come to madhyama-adhikārī, and the madhyama-adhikārī must try to come to uttama-adhikārī. Svāmījī Mahārāja is not saying that one should remain a kaniṣṭha-adhikārī forever; he should go forward. He must make some endeavour to progress. If he is not trying, we should assume he is not in good association. There is some weakness, some leakage there, either in his guru or in himself. If his guru is not qualified, then he should give up that guru. If our eagerness or enthusiasm is not coming, and we are not trying to develop our Kṛṣṇa consciousness from kaniṣṭha- to madhyama-adhikarī due to an unqualified guru, then that guru should be given up.
The following is an excerpt from The Essence of All Advice, Chapter 3, 4th Edition, a collection of discourses by Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja on the Nectar of Instruction, Śrīla Prabhupāda’s commentary on Śrī Upadeśāmṛta by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī
Devotee (reads): A neophyte Vaiṣṇava or a Vaiṣṇava situated on the intermediate platform can also accept disciples, but such disciples must be on the same platform, and it should be understood that they cannot advance very well toward the ultimate goal of life under his insufficient guidance.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Yes. We should explain something here. An uttama-adhikārī like Nārada and others is actually a guru. Sometimes, such a guru, being an uttama-adhikārī, will come in the stage of madhyama-adhikārī for preaching. But a madhyama-adhikārī, perhaps in the stage of madhyama-madhyama or madhyama-uttama, after he has become knowledgeable in all kinds of śāstra–siddhānthas, and his śraddhā is very thick and strong, can initiate a limited number of disciples, but not too many. And very carefully, he should select such disciples who are on the same platform. What platform? Madhyama platform. He considers himself, “I am still in the madhyama stage. I am not high, and I cannot help my disciples so much.” He should understand his position in this way, thinking, “There are no high-class Vaiṣṇavas available now, so I am filling in, simply giving letters like a peon, like a postman.” He should understand in which stage he is situated and not be proud that “I am making lākhas and lākhas of disciples.” Otherwise, he becomes fallen, and then he must fall down. He is already fallen, so what to speak of falling down. If he is humble, he may advance into uttama-adhikārī, and surely, very soon, he will be able to really preach and initiate.
It should be understood that his disciples cannot make much progress towards the ultimate goal of 
life under his insufficient guidance. Their progress will be very limited. He should know this. Who should know? Any madhyama who is giving initiation. He should not be proud, thinking, “I am the same as Nityānanda Prabhu, and you should obey me as you would obey Him.” This will be an offence. He should know that he is not like Rūpa Gosvāmī or Nityānanda Prabhu. He should not have this false pride. He should always realise his own position and should pray, “Oh, I know that I am only helping them a little.”
But we see that so many disciples accepted such a guru. Having made about two thousand disciples and himself becoming Bhagavān, then what happened? He went to hell. So we should not think, “Oh, think of me as Nityānanda — sākṣād-dharitvena samasta-śāstrair. I am that person, sākṣād-dharitvena.” But a sincere guru will not think like this. He will think that he is simply a messenger of Nityānanda Prabhu. He will not say, “I am the same person. I will come again and again, and I will take you to Goloka.” Nityānanda Prabhu and an uttama-adhikārī can speak like this. But don’t imitate them and say that “I am an uttama-adhikārī.”
Those who imitate put themselves in a very dangerous position. We have seen how so many have fallen away from their positions and have even suffered violent reactions. Why? And some disciples, even while their gurudeva is still present in the world, begin initiating so many people themselves without their guru’s order. Why are they doing this? This is very bad behaviour.
So the madhyama–guru should know that his disciples cannot advance very well, and he should realise that he himself should take guidance from an advanced spiritual master. Then he will not commit any aparādha against high-class Vaiṣṇavas. But if he does not take such shelter, then he will commit so many offences at the lotus feet of higher devotees — he is bound to do so. “Therefore, a disciple should be careful to accept an uttama-adhikārī as a spiritual master.” We should be very careful in these matters.
The following is an excerpt from a morning walk with Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja in Badger, California, on June 13, 2010, published in Walking with a Saint – Morning Walks and Conversations 2010
Śrīpāda Āśrama Mahārāja: The other day, we were discussing Deity worship regarding the 
installation of the Deity, or prāṇa-pratiṣṭhā. Suppose a mahā-bhāgavata does the prāṇa-pratiṣṭhā – for instance, he installs Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Govinda. Then, for another Deity, general devotees do harināma before the Deity and maybe also some prāṇa-pratiṣṭhā ceremony.
Kṛṣṇa is there in that Deity of the general devotees and also in the Deity of the mahā-bhāgavata, but what is the speciality of that prāṇa-pratiṣṭhā of that mahā-bhāgavata, who has his worshipful Lord, or Deity, in his heart? General devotees cannot bring the Lord out of their hearts. So what is the difference in the mūrti?
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: In the form of a Deity, Kṛṣṇa told Sanātana Gosvāmī, “You are not giving Me even salt?” Sanātana Gosvāmī then asked the Deity, “From where will I get salt?”
Śrīpāda Mādhava Mahārāja: “Today you are asking for salt, tomorrow it will be sugar.”
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: The Deity replied, “Oh, but what if I will arrange this Myself?” Sanātana Gosvāmī said, “Oh, You can do that. You are the Supreme Lord.” Thus, Kṛṣṇa made the arrangement.
The Ṭhākura (Deity) of an uttama-adhikārī, or even a madhyama-adhikārī, has a speciality. He can speak or do anything in order to reciprocate with His devotee. For a kaniṣṭha-adhikārī, He will not do so.
Even if an uttama-adhikārī worships grass, thinking it to be Kṛṣṇa, this is so much better than the kaniṣṭha-adhikārī’s worship of the Deity in His original form. For that devotee, Kṛṣṇa acts even through grass.
Śrīpāda Āśrama Mahārāja: Is this because an uttama-adhikārī has the mood of sarva-bhūteṣu yaḥ paśyed?
śrī-havir uvāca
sarva-bhūteṣu yaḥ paśyed
bhagavad-bhāvam ātmanaḥ
bhūtāni bhagavaty ātmany
eṣa bhāgavatottamaḥ
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.2.45)
[“(Śrī Havir said:) The most advanced devotee sees within everything the Soul of all souls, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Consequently he sees everything in relation to the Supreme Lord and understands that everything that exists is eternally situated within the Lord.”]
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: This is certainly true for an uttama-adhikārī. If the devotee is really a madhyama-madhyama (an intermediate-intermediate devotee) or madhyama-uttama (the highest of the intermediate devotees), who is just about to become an uttama devotee, then his Deity installation (vigraha prāṇa-pratiṣṭhā) is also accepted as bona fide. He has something – a special attachment towards Kṛṣṇa.
Śrīpāda Āśrama Mahārāja: Kṛṣṇa is everywhere. So, if a general devotee is doing prāṇa-pratiṣṭhā, the installation ceremony…
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: We are madhyama-adhikārīs. I am madhyama-adhikārī…
Devotees: No, no, no.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: …but still, I perform this ceremony around the world.
Tri-lokanātha dāsa: You are an uttama-uttama (the topmost of the topmost devotees), Śrīla Gurudeva.
Śrīpāda Padmanābha Mahārāja: I have a further question about this point. Ordinary devotees may be making an altar and worshipping a picture of Kṛṣṇa. They may be offering their bhoga just as our Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja taught at the very start of his mission in America, by reciting praṇāma mantras such as the one beginning with namaḥ oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya. So, a question may arise: are they actually getting reciprocation from Kṛṣṇa? Is Kṛṣṇa reciprocating? Is He accepting their bhoga? Is He accepting their worship?
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: A kaniṣṭha-adhikārī should think, “My Ṭhākura (Deity) is taking what I give Him.” Whether or not Ṭhākurajī is actually accepting his offering, the kaniṣṭha should think that He is.
The following is an excerpt from part three of the book Secret Truths of the Bhāgavatam, 2nd edition by Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja
The next year, the devotees again questioned Mahāprabhu, “We know something about kṛṣṇa-sevā, as 
performed by arcanaṁ (worshipping), and by all other means, and we also know nāma-saṅkīrtana. But how do we do vaiṣṇava-sevā?”
What did Mahāprabhu reply? He told them, “Try to realise that there are three kinds of Vaiṣṇavas: kaniṣṭha (the neophyte devotee), madhyama (the intermediate devotee), and uttama (the devotee possessed of unalloyed devotion).
Kaniṣṭhas are always serving the Deities, but they don’t care for Vaiṣṇavas. They are always engaged in this way, thinking, “This kṛṣṇa-arcana is sufficient.” Madhyamas are not engaged only in worshipping the Deities, but are always worshipping and serving Vaiṣṇavas. The uttama-mahā-bhāgavatas are superior to the other two. They always remember Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes and serve Kṛṣṇa by manasi aṣṭa-kālīya–sevā (serve by mind the pastimes of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa throughout the eight time divisions of the day).
Not so much was said for the kaniṣṭhas. There is no duty, no order, for them. Regarding the uttama-mahā-bhāgavatas, they are beyond the control of the Vedas, Upaniṣads, and so on. Na dharmaṁ nādharmaṁ.
na dharmaṁ nādharmaṁ śruti-gaṇa-niruktaṁ kila kuru
vraje rādhā-kṛṣṇa-pracura-paricaryām iha tanu
śacī-sūnuṁ nandīśvara-pati-sutatve guru-varaṁ
mukunda-preṣṭhatve smara param ajasraṁ nanu manaḥ
Manaḥ-śikṣā (2)
[“O my dear mind, please do not perform either the routine religious activities resulting in piety (dharma) or the irreligious activities resulting in sin (adharma) as mentioned in the Śrutis or Vedas. Rather, you should render profuse loving service to Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Yugala here in Vraja, for the Śrutis have ascertained Them to be the highest principle of supreme worship and the Supreme Absolute Truth. Always meditate on Śacīnandana Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who is richly endowed with the complexion and sentiments of Śrīmatī Rādhikā, as non-different from Śrī Nanda-nandana. And always remember the spiritual master as most dear to Śrī Mukunda.”]
They are paramahaṁsas. They see that Kṛṣṇa is everywhere, and everyone is somehow serving Him. In their eyes, no one is a conditioned soul; everyone is liberated. They think, “All others are more qualified than I am in service to Kṛṣṇa.” They are therefore tṛṇād api sunīcena (very humble within their hearts). By their very constitution, they will be like this. Therefore, it is only for madhyama-adhikārīs that Caitanya Mahāprabhu has given the order:
īśvare tad-adhīneṣu
bāliśeṣu dviṣatsu ca
prema-maitrī-kṛpopekṣā
yaḥ karoti sa madhyamaḥ
Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya-līlā 22.73)
[“An intermediate, second-class devotee shows love for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is friendly to all devotees and is very merciful to neophytes and ignorant people. The intermediate devotee neglects those who are envious of devotional service.”]
I think that almost all of you are entering the madhyama-adhikārī stage, and some have already entered. Therefore, you have the intelligence to consider who is a pure Vaiṣṇava, who is not a pure Vaiṣṇava, who is kaniṣṭha, who is madhyama, and so on. Most of you are entering the madhyama-adhikārī stage, and thus this instruction, prema-maitrī, is for you.
There should be maitrī (friendship). Maitrī is of three kinds. The first kind is towards those who are superior – either madhyama-adhikārīs or uttama-mahā-bhāgavatas – serving them in a familiar way, with affectionate friendship. There should be maitrī, but with a service attitude.
The second kind is also a bosom friendship to those who are equal in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. From superiors you can hear, and with bosom friends, equal to you in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, you can have iṣṭa-goṣṭhī (discussions about Kṛṣṇa, sharing ideas and realisations). Śrī Rūpa and Śrī Sanātana were like this. Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī and Śrī Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī were like this with Śrī Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī. And Śrī 
Narottama Ṭhākura, Śrī Śyāmānanda, and Śrīnivāsa are also related to each other as equals.
The third kind of maitrī shows kṛpa (friendliness, compassion, and mercy) to those who are also madhyama but somewhat junior, helping them with friendship. You can tell them so many secrets about Kṛṣṇa consciousness, like daśa-mūla (ten fundamental principles) and the process given by Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī. Give mercy to those who are kaniṣṭha. You can offer them a glass of water and say, “Oh, you are a very good devotee.” In this way, you are inspiring them.
Those who are opposed to Kṛṣṇa should be avoided. How should you avoid them? Should you quarrel with them by using a stick or harsh words? Never. But you should not associate with them in regard to transcendental matters. You can speak with them about worldly matters and engage in worldly giving and taking, but without attachment. With pure Vaiṣṇavas, activities should be performed with attachment. If a beggar comes, like a Māyāvādī or a poor person, you can give him some prasāda. Don’t use harsh words like “Go away, go away. I will not give you anything. If you become a devotee, I will give you.” Don’t speak like this. Give him something, but not with attachment.
However, if there are any pure Vaiṣṇavas, serve them with attachment, to please Kṛṣṇa.
This behaviour should be there. Try to honour those who chant with some taste. They are madhyama, but madhyama-kaniṣṭha. The madhyama-kaniṣṭha has taste for the holy name, but not as much as the madhyama-madhyama, who is always chanting, and with great taste. And when kṛṣṇa-nāma automatically comes to your tongue upon seeing a devotee, that devotee is madhyama-uttama (entering the uttama stage). In the uttama-bhāgavata stage, there are also many divisions: uttama-kaniṣṭha, uttama-madhyama, and uttama-uttama. Most superior is the mahā-mahā-bhāgavata, like Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and others.
Do not criticise anyone. Nityānanda Prabhu was a brahmacārī in the renounced order, but He married. He is svatantra-bhagavān (the supreme independent Bhagavān Himself). The Vedas and śāstras cannot control Him. If you see something ‘wrong’ in an elevated devotee with your yellow, jaundiced eyes, do not criticise them. Such devotees are beyond the control of rules and regulations. They are sādhus, and you should not criticise them. Offer praṇāma to them, but don’t associate. When your doubt goes away, or when his character becomes acceptable to you, then you can associate.
Associate with a Vaiṣṇava who is really a madhyama-adhikārī, whose character is very high and spotless. You should have no doubt. Thus, you can advance and make a very beautiful and strong community, and you can enter the process of Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī and Manaḥ-śikṣā of Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī.
The following is an excerpt from a discourse delivered by Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja in Murwillumbah, Australia, on December 3, 2002
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja:
tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta
jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam
śābde pare ca niṣṇātaṁ
brahmaṇy upaśamāśrayam
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.3.21)
[“Any person who is seriously desirous of achieving real happiness must seek a bona fide spiritual master and take shelter of him by initiation. The qualification of a spiritual master is that he must have realised the conclusion of the scriptures by deliberation and arguments and thus be able to convince others of these conclusions. Such great personalities, who have taken complete shelter of the Supreme Godhead, leaving aside all material considerations, are to be understood as bona fide spiritual masters.”]
Suppose a person, unfortunately, took initiation from an unqualified guru, who was not at the stage of a mahā-bhāgavata (a fully self-realised soul). That is, the guru was not realised in the established truths. The word śabde refers to śāstras such as the Vedas, Upaniṣads, and so on. It also means the holy name. Pare means the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa. That guru had no realisation of Kṛṣṇa, or His names, or His glories as told in the śāstra. He was only at the level of kaniṣṭha-adhikārī, but still, he thought himself a guru. He had many worldly desires, such as fame, name, and wealth, and, unfortunately, someone took harināma and dīkṣā from him.
Do the verses that glorify the qualifications of a guru apply to that guru or not? Should the disciple obey that guru with the attitude of surrender as ordered by all the śāstras? Should he follow that guru fully, or not? Can a person acquire pure cow milk from a male donkey? Can a person get sweet mangoes from a thorn tree? What is the disciple’s duty towards that kind of guru?
We must consider that the presence of uttama-adhikārīs (those approaching prema-bhakti or those already relishing prema-bhakti), madhyama-uttama-adhikārīs (those approaching the stage of bhāva), and even madhyama-madhyama-adhikārīs (those at the stage of āsakti) are very rare in this world. It is very rare, therefore, to have a guru of this calibre.
What should we do under these circumstances? We will have to accept a guru. If a guru is not śābde pare ca niṣṇātam, if he has not realised the established truths delineated in the Vedas, Upaniṣads, and other śāstras, but he has very strong faith in his pure guru and is sincerely following him, then, even if he is a madhyama-adhikārī, do not reject him. If he is always serving his own mahā-bhāgavata guru and is obedient both internally and externally, then do not reject him. We can give up our guru only with the consideration given by Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī in his Hari-bhakti-vilāsa:
avaiṣṇava-mukhodgīrṇaṁ
pūtaṁ hari-kathāmṛtam
śravaṇaṁ naiva kartavyaṁ
sarpocchiṣṭaṁ yathā payaḥ
[“The nectarean topics of Śrī Hari are always purifying, but if they emanate from the mouth of a non-Vaiṣṇava, it is prohibited to hear them, for they become as poisonous as the milk touched by the lips of a serpent.”]
If a guru is not serving his own gurudeva, has left the process given by him, and his guru is not satisfied with his behaviour, only then can we reject him. On the other hand, if the guru is a madhyama-adhikārī and sincere, if he is very obedient and follows in the footsteps of his guru, then he will gradually become an uttama-adhikārī. So we should not reject him. At the same time, if he is not perfect and 
thus cannot remove all our doubts about Kṛṣṇa consciousness, what should we do?
We should offer praṇāma to him and ask his permission to have the association of a mahā-bhāgavata devotee: A disciple may ask, “May I go to Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī?” or “May I go to Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī?” or, “May I go to a high class of Vaiṣṇava?” If the guru says, “No, you cannot go,” then you should give him up. However, if he says, “Certainly you can go, and I will also come,” then he is a real guru.
A guru who sends his disciple to a superior guru for instruction may also be an uttama-mahā-bhāgavata, as there are various stages of uttama-mahā-bhāgavata, and that guru is certainly not to be rejected. Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura was a disciple of Śrīla Lokanātha Gosvāmī, but he took permission from him to take shelter of Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī. Śrīla Śyāmānanda Prabhu also took permission from Śrī Hṛdaya-caitanya for that same shelter of Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī.
The following is an excerpt from a discourse delivered by Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja in Alachua, USA, on May 24, 2001
You can know the power of the name by reading ‘Harināma-cintāmaṇi,’ written by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, and something more is given in his ‘Bhajana-rahasaya’. If you are not chanting and remembering the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa, especially while chanting the name, then all your practices are like zero. Chanting nāmāparādha will deliver some wealth and worldly reputation only; these are all results of nāmāparādha. We should therefore try to chant the pure name. Daily, you should try. If you try, it may be that sometimes nāmābhāsa will come, and after some time, it may be that one, two, or three nāmābhāsa will come daily. Later, when you will be a madhyama-adhikārī, that is, a madhyama-madhyama or madhyama-uttama, then it may be that almost all your names will be nāmābhāsa. And, by good luck, one name can be the pure name. If the pure name comes, that means that love and affection (prema) for Kṛṣṇa will arise. The symptoms of the sprout of prema, called rati, have been described. What are they?
kṣāntir avyartha-kālatvaṁ
viraktir māna-śūnyatā
āśā-bandhaḥ samutkaṇṭhā
nāma-gāne sadā ruciḥ
āsaktis tad-guṇākhyāne
prītis tad-vasati-sthale
ity-ādayo ’nubhāvāḥ syur
jāta-bhāvāṅkure jane
Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya-līlā 23.18–19)
[“When the seed of ecstatic emotion for Kṛṣṇa fructifies, the following nine symptoms manifest in one’s behaviour: forgiveness, concern that time should not be wasted, detachment, absence of false prestige, hope, eagerness, a taste for chanting the holy name of the Lord, attachment to descriptions of the transcendental qualities of the Lord, and affection for those places where the Lord resides — that is, a temple or a holy place like Vṛndāvana. These are all called anubhāva, subordinate signs of ecstatic emotion. They are visible in a person in whose heart the seed of love of God has begun to fructify.”]
The following is an excerpt from a discourse delivered by Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja at the Meditation Center, in Germany on December 3, 2000
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: A guru in one of the following three stages can give kṛṣṇa-prema: mūrcchita-kaṣāya, nirdhūta-kaṣāya, and bhagavat-pārṣada-deha-prāpta. What is the meaning? In the first stage, Nārada Ṛṣi was doing ārādhana of Kṛṣṇa. He gave up all his desires completely, and he was absorbed. Kṛṣṇa gave him darśana for a moment, and then He disappeared. Nārada Ṛṣi began to cry, “I cannot live without You.” An aerial voice came and said, “Out of mercy, I have given you one moment of My darśana. Now you are not qualified. You have some desires. So you cannot have My darśana.” He’s called mūrcchita-kaṣāya. There is some desire. What? He thought, ‘If I go to a very lonely place in the forest, and I do ārādhana, and I become mature, Kṛṣṇa will come and give me His darśana.’
It is not good to go into the forest alone. And what will one do? Only sāttvika vanavāsa
(the desire to reside in the mode of goodness in a solitary forest) may come. But not anything else. One should depend on Kṛṣṇa fully, and then Kṛṣṇa may come. So this is mūrcchita-kaṣāya. This means there are some unwanted things there, some desires. But they are not active; they are dormant, though they may become active at any time. For example, Bharata Mahārāja is mūrcchita-kaṣāya. He had worldly mercy toward a deer, and he became a deer. So this is mūrcchita-kaṣāya.
There were some unwanted things that were dormant. But a circumstance may arise, and these unwanted things may manifest, and then one will take three births, as Bharata Mahārāja did. So Nārada, in the first stage, was also mūrcchita-kaṣāya; there were some desires, but they were dormant. But if some very beautiful ladies had come and danced naked in front of him, he possibly could have become attached.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī, in the second stage, is nirdhūta-kaṣāya. What is nirdhūta-kaṣāya? Nirdhūta, all unwanted things have been washed away. But no svarūpa is there. Understand? No form of Kṛṣṇa’s associate is there, so he’s nirdhūta-kaṣāya. Now he’s so qualified that no desires can come, and he can never fall down. He realises his svarūpa, but his body is still not transcendental. But it is like transcendental.
And more than that is Nārada in the third stage. In the third stage, he again took the darśana of Kṛṣṇa, and he attained vastu-siddhi. He received a transcendental body of an associate, like the form of Madhumaṅgala, like the form of Nārada-gopī, and he was in Goloka Vṛndāvana. He can go anywhere with Kṛṣṇa, without Kṛṣṇa, everywhere. If he says, “Oh, kṛṣṇa-prema should manifest.” Oh, at once, quickly, in a second, kṛṣṇa-prema will manifest. If Śukadeva Gosvāmī also says this, it will manifest, but it may take one, two, or three minutes. What will happen if Nārada, in the first stage, says this? When he touches someone, blesses him, and then it (kṛṣṇa-prema) may manifest. It is possible for them to give kṛṣṇa-prema.
Those who are lower than this can help somewhat. If someone is a madhyama-uttama or madhyama-madhyama and is a really sincere Vaiṣṇava, with no worldly desires, though some desires may be there that are mūrcchita (latent or dormant), they can help somewhat. He may tell him so much hari-kathā. Thus, by helping someone, he may remove all unwanted desires and help one proceed further and further, up to whatever stage he is in.
The following is an excerpt from Verse Eight of Gopī-gīta by Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja
Similarly, if we compare ourselves with any pure devotee, we will understand our lowly position. Although we may be chanting and performing many aspects of kṛṣṇa-bhajana, when we can truthfully compare ourselves with Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī, Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, and with our own gurudeva, we will see that we do not have even a particle of bhakti. When we honestly compare ourselves with elevated devotees, we will be humbled. As long as we do not do so, we will think, “I am such a good devotee. I am preaching so well; in fact, I am preaching more than my gurudeva.”
Actually, only a madhyama-adhikārī can think, “I am worthless in comparison to these elevated devotees.” The kaniṣṭha-adhikārī (third-class devotee) cannot think in this way, nor can he even imagine such contemplation. The uttama-adhikārī considers, “Everyone in this world is a greater devotee than I. Everyone is my guru.” If the uttama-adhikārī gives initiation and makes disciples, it is 
understood that he is playing the role of a madhyama-adhikārī and sees everyone from the madhyama perspective.
In conclusion, a genuine devotee will not reveal his bhajana to others. The pure devotee will naturally not do this, and it is essential for the sādhaka not to do it as well. If someone tells others, “I love Kṛṣṇa; my bhajana is so strong,” his bhakti will evaporate, just as camphor evaporates in an open doorway.
The following is a transcription of a discourse delivered by Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja in Hіlо, Hawaіі on January 11, 2003 (Bhakta Bandhav Anthology Volume 91)
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Someone may ask, “If a guru is not an uttama-adhikārī, how can he help his disciples? He may speak and behave incorrectly.” The reply to such a doubt is that if a guru is in the final stage of madhyama-adhikārī (madhyama-uttama), if he is very sincere and continually serving his uttama-adhikārī gurudeva, and if he has no worldly desires, he will very soon become an uttama-adhikārī. This is explained by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu:
yāhāra komala śraddhā, se ‘kaniṣṭha’ jana
krame krame teṅho bhakta ha-ibe ‘uttama’
Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya-līlā 22.69)
[“One whose faith is soft and pliable is called a neophyte, but by gradually following the process he will rise to the platform of a first-class devotee.”]
So don’t doubt this.
Kṛṣṇa has said:
ye ’py anya-devatā-bhaktā
yajante śraddhayānvitāḥ
te ’pi mām eva kaunteya
yajanty avidhi-pūrvakam
Bhagavad-gītā (9.23)
[“Those who are devotees of other gods and who worship them with faith actually worship only Me, O son of Kuntī, but they do so in a wrong way.”]
Kṛṣṇa told Arjuna that if a person worships a demigod with strong faith in order to fulfil his worldly desires, thinking, “Surely he will fulfil my desire,” that person is actually worshipping Kṛṣṇa Himself, but in the wrong way. Someone may directly touch his nose, and someone else may touch it by making his hand and finger go all the way around his head before it reaches his nose. Similarly, that person’s desires can be fulfilled by Kṛṣṇa alone, whether they are fulfilled by directly asking Him or by getting them fulfilled in a roundabout way by supplicating the demigods. It is actually Kṛṣṇa who gives benedictions. The devatās are not powerful; they are unable to give any benediction.
In a similar way, a guru may be madhyama-uttama (a madyama-adhikārī in the final stage); he may not yet be siddha (a perfect, self-realised soul) like Śrī Nārada Muni, Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī, and others. In that case, if he is a sincere devotee and if a disciple follows him with deep faith, who will give the 
fruit of the disciple’s worship? A madhyama-adhikārī cannot give it. If one is an uttama-adhikārī like Nārada Ṛṣi, Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī, or Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, he can give it at once, but a madhyama-adhikārī cannot. The madhyama-adhikārī guru will tell hari-kathā and engage his disciples in such a way that they will advance in bhakti. What will be the result? If one has very deep faith in that guru, Kṛṣṇa Himself will surely give the fruit, and that fruit will be transcendental. Try to understand this. It is not very easy to understand, but try. Do not doubt this.
Devotee: If Kṛṣṇa gives the fruit to someone who has a madhyama-adhikārī guru, and the uttama-adhikārī guru himself gives the fruit, then what is the point of accepting an uttama-adhikārī guru?
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Because uttama-adhikārī gurus are not easily available; they are very rare in this world. Moreover, even if they are available, most people will not be able to recognise them. For example, Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī was naked, and Śrī Vamsidāsa Bābājī put fish bones and other abominable things outside his bhajana-sthālī. You would not be able to know that Śrīla Gaura-kiśora dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja is an uttama-mahā-bhāgavata.
If a madhyama-uttama guru (who is under the guidance of an uttama-adhikārī guru) will tell you, or an uttama-adhikārī playing the role of a devotee in the stage of madhyama-adhikārī will tell you, then you will be able to know. We should be very, very careful about this. Do not have any doubt in that kind of guru. If one is madhyama-uttama, he can help so much through his guidance. If a person has a doubt, do not associate with that person. His association should be given up, just as one gives up stool after passing it.
The following is an excerpt from a discourse on Nityānanda Trayodaśī delivered by Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja in Bali, Indonesia, on February 6, 2001
How Nityānanda Prabhu used to be so absorbed in playing pastimes like this. We should try to be absorbed totally in bhajana. How can you? How can you? If you have a relation with Nityānanda Prabhu, and He’s giving all these things. What things? A very strong relation with Kṛṣṇa. Then He will inspire everything. Then you can do so. A guru inspired and empowered by Nityānanda Prabhu can help devotees. Otherwise, a bogus guru cannot. Nityānanda Prabhu will not inspire anything in a bogus guru. So if the guru is sincere and a mahā-bhāgavata, at least a bhāgavata, then Nityānanda Prabhu’s mercy will come. He should at least be sincere. He should at least be madhyama-adhikārī, but a madhyama-adhikārī in what stage? He should at least be a madhyama-uttama; otherwise, he cannot do anything.
So, if you are fortunate to have the mercy of Nityānanda Prabhu, then you can be absorbed like Him or others. Even like Mukunda dāsa, upon seeing peacock feathers, he would remember Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes and become senseless.
The following is an excerpt from a lecture on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.8.34 delivered by Śrīla Gaura Govinda Svāmī Mahārāja in Śrīdhāma Māyāpura, West Bengal, India, on 21 February 1995, published in Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Society without Envy (Tvpbooks.com)
Devotee 1: I appreciate very much that you explained to us how Śrīla Prabhupāda’s purpose is to 
create a society without envy.
Śrīla Gaura Govinda Svāmī Mahārāja: That I quoted from Prabhupāda’s purport from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
Devotee 1: We see that amongst devotees that are most advanced, the principle is tṛṇād api sunīcena taror iva sahiṣṇunā. It’s not an artificial thing to actually believe…
Śrīla Gaura Govinda Svāmī Mahārāja: That is not artificial, bābā! How many days can you act like that before your real svarūpa is revealed? How many days can it go on artificially? However for a Vaiṣṇava this type of humility is quite natural.
Devotee 1: My question is, Śrīla Prabhupāda has said that even if one does not have the practical vision that Kṛṣṇa is behind, in and connected to everything, but understands this theoretically, then he is a devotee who is rightly situated.
Śrīla Gaura Govinda Svāmī Mahārāja: Rightly situated? One who sees theoretically is rightly situated?
Devotee 1: But if one has a theoretical understanding that he has gotten from the words of the spiritual master, then one is rightly situated. So in your class, though, you said that only the topmost devotee can be compassionate.
Śrīla Gaura Govinda Svāmī Mahārāja: Yes, only one who sees Kṛṣṇa.
Devotee 1: Does that mean no one else can be compassionate?
Śrīla Gaura Govinda Svāmī Mahārāja: One may be compassionate to fulfil his own selfish desires. He may be compassionate to some and not compassionate to others. He has rāga and dveṣa (liking and disliking). He is not equal to one and all. He cannot be. Unless one sees Kṛṣṇa, how can he be compassionate? When he sees so many jīvas suffering his heart bleeds. He cannot sit tight. He will go out and preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness. And who preaches? Prāṇa āche tāra, se hetu pracāra – one who has life preaches! What is life? Jīvanaṁ sarva-bhūteṣu, Kṛṣṇa says, “I am the life in all living entities.”*
One who sees Kṛṣṇa everywhere, who sees Kṛṣṇa’s jīva suffering because of forgetfulness of Kṛṣṇa, because of a lack of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he has prāṇa (life). That person goes out and preaches. He is completely surrendered to Kṛṣṇa. For this reason Kṛṣṇa came as Mahāprabhu, as a bhakta (devotee), to teach devotion and how to surrender to Kṛṣṇa. Śikhāya śaraṇāgati bhakatera prāna, śaraṇāgati is the life of the devotee who is completely surrendered.** By such surrender, Kṛṣṇa accepts him, kṛṣṇa tāre kare ātma-sama.*** Prāṇa āche tāra se hetu pracāra, he has life, therefore he goes out and preaches. Otherwise, who can preach if he has no life? How can one preach unless one sees Kṛṣṇa, and sees Kṛṣṇa’s jīva suffering? He does not want anyone to suffer. Everyone should be Kṛṣṇa conscious.
The following is an excerpt from a darśana with Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja in Vṛndāvana, India, on October 29, 2007, published in Walking with a Saint – Morning Walks and Conversations 2007
Śrīpāda Padmanābha Mahārāja: Śrīla Gurudeva, Kiśorī-mohana’s concern is that our siddhānta, and what we have heard from you, is that the bhakti-latā-bīja (the seed of devotion) and one’s relationship with Kṛṣṇa can only come from a Vaiṣṇava who is on the high-level uttama stage. What will the disciple be receiving if he receives dīkṣā from a lower Vaiṣṇava – a madhyama or.…?
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: By the order of Gurudeva, the disciple acts like a postman. The postman gives money, money orders, and everything else, but that money is not his. Similarly, that ‘money’ is Gurudeva’s, and thus he is distributing it to all.
They can take what I am saying in this sense. They should not think, “I am a guru.”
Śrīpāda Bhāgavata Mahārāja: Last year in Vaṁśī-vaṭa, you told me that only the vraja-rasika-uttama-adhikārī (the self-realised guru who is an associate of Kṛṣṇa in Goloka Vṛndāvana) can give the bhakti-latā-bīja.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: It is true. It is true.
Śrīpāda Bhāgavata Mahārāja: Then I asked you, “Can one who is coming up from kaniṣṭha to madhyama give that bīja?” You said, “No.” But are you saying now that if you give the order to that madhyama, then…
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: He should give initiation like a peon (postman).
Śrīpāda Bhāgavata Mahārāja: It will come by that order?
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: If he follows the order sincerely, then Kṛṣṇa realisation may come.
Śrīpāda Padmanābha Mahārāja: Gurudeva, you are saying it is true – you just said it is true – that only the uttama-mahā-bhāgavata can give the bīja. Is that true, or not true?
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: It is true.
Śrīpāda Padmanābha Mahārāja: So the madhyama cannot give it.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: If the madhyama is sincere, he can inspire them for that. He will tell all these things to him, and inspire them for that kṛṣṇa-sevā-vāsanā to come. [Kṛṣṇa-sevā-vāsanā is the desire to serve Kṛṣṇa purely, the seed of which is the symptom of the bhakti-latā-bīja.]
The following is an excerpt from a morning walk with Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja in Badger, California, on June 20, 2007, published in Walking with a Saint – Morning Walks and Conversations 2007
Śrīpāda Mādhava Mahārāja: Rādhā-kānta prabhu’s question is this: If a madhyama-adhikārī has no realisation of his own relation with Kṛṣṇa, then how can he give this?
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: He can give something, even though he does not have 
that realisation. Then, in this life, or in future lives, the disciple will find a perfect guru, and by surrendering to that perfect guru, he will be able to realise his relationship with Kṛṣṇa.
Rādhā-kānta dāsa: So, ultimately, we have to take śikṣā from an uttama-bhāgavata (topmost devotee)?
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: You cannot realise who is an uttama Vaiṣṇava in your present stage. When you become a madhyama-uttama Vaiṣṇava (the highest level of madhyama, just prior to the uttama Vaiṣṇava stage), then you will be able to realise.
Gokula dāsa (from Australia): Can’t an uttama-adhikārī make you realise?
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Yes, he can. He knows a disciple’s level of qualification, and he gives his mercy accordingly. A father places weight upon his son’s head according to his son’s capacity; not more than that. A guru does this as well.
*
puṇyo gandhaḥ pṛthivyāṁ ca
tejaś cāsmi vibhāvasau
jīvanaṁ sarva-bhūteṣu
tapaś cāsmi tapasviṣu
Bhagavad-gītā (7.9)
[“I am the original fragrance of the earth, and I am the heat in fire. I am the life of all that lives, and I am the penances of all ascetics.”]
**
atyanta durlabha prema kôribāre dāna
śikhāya śaraṇāgati bhakatera prāṇa (2)
Śrī Kṛṣṇa-Caitanya Prabhu Jīve Dayā Kôri’ (2)
[“In order to bestow the extremely rare treasure of prema-bhakti, He taught śaraṇāgati, which is the life and soul of the devotees.”]
***
dīkṣā-kāle bhakta kare ātma-samarpaṇa
sei-kāle kṛṣṇa tāre kare ātma-sama
sei deha kare tāra cid-ānanda-maya
aprākṛta-dehe tāṅra caraṇa bhajaya
Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Antya-līlā 4.192-193)
[“At the time of initiation, when a devotee fully surrenders unto the service of the Lord, Kṛṣṇa accepts him to be as good as Himself. When the devotee’s body is thus transformed into spiritual existence, the devotee, in that transcendental body, renders service to the lotus feet of the Lord”]
Source(s): Purebhakti.com, Serve Love – Bhakta Bandhav (Bhakta Bandhav Anthology transcribed and edited by the Bhakta Bandhav Team)
Image(s) made possible by Pixabay.com, Krishnapath.org.in, Keystone Press / Alamy Stock Photo and / or Bhaktiart.net
Unless indicated otherwise, all verse translations and quotes are from the books by Śrīla Prabhupāda (Vedabase.com)
