Text 37]
Appearance of Śukadeva Gosvāmī
1027
particular soul is very eager to go back to Godhead, the Lord at once sends His bona fide representative. The sincere devotee is thus assured by the Lord of going back to Godhead. The conclusion is that to get the assistance and help of a bona fide spiritual master means  to receive the direct help of the Lord Himself .
TEXT 37
अतः पृच्छामि संसिद्धिं योगिनां परमं गुरुम् । पुरुषस्येह यत्कार्यं भ्रियमाणस्य सर्वथा ॥३७॥
ataḥ pṛcchāmi saṁsiddhiṁ yoginām paramaṁ gurum puruṣasyeha yat kāryaṁ mriyamāṇasya sarvathā
ataḥ —therefore;  pṛcchāmi —beg to inquire;  saṁsiddhiṁ —the way of perfection;  yoginām —of the saints;  paramaṁ —the Supreme;  gurum —the spiritual master;  puruṣasya —of a person;  iha —in this life;  yat —whatever;  kāryaṁ —duty;  mriyamāṇasya —of one who is going to die;  sarvathā —in every way.
TRANSLATION
You are the spiritual master of great saints and devotees. I am therefore begging you to show the way of perfection for all persons, and especially for one who is about to die.
PURPORT
Unless one is perfectly anxious to inquire about the way of perfection, there is no necessity of approaching a spiritual master. A spiritual master is not a kind of decoration for a householder. Generally a fashionable materialist engages a so-called spiritual master without any profit. The psuedo-spiritual master flatters the so-called disciple, and thereby both the master and his ward go to hell without a doubt. Mahārāja Parīkṣit is the right type of disciple because he puts forward questions vital to the interest of all men, particularly for the dying men. The question put forward by Mahārāja Parīkṣit is the basic principle of the complete thesis of  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam . Now let us see how intelligently the great master replies.