82
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 7, Ch. 7]
transcendental qualities and activities of the Lord, always meditate on the Lord's lotus feet, and worship the Deity of the Lord strictly according to the injunctions of the śāstra and guru.
PURPORT
In the previous verse it has been said that the process which immediately increases one's love and affection for the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the best of the many thousands of ways to become free from the entanglement of material existence. It is also said,  dharmasya tattvaṁ nihitaṁ guhāyām : actually the truth of religious principles is extremely confidential. Nonetheless, it can be understood very easily if one actually adopts the principles of religion. As it is said,  dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam : the process of religion is enunciated by the Supreme Lord because He is the supreme authority. This is also indicated in the previous verse by the word  bhagavatoditaḥ . The injunctions or directions of the Lord are infallible, and their benefits are fully assured. According to His directions, which are explained in this verse, the perfect form of religion is  bhakti-yoga .
To practice  bhakti-yoga , one must first accept a bona fide spiritual master. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, in his  Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu  (1.2.74–75), advises:
guru-pādāśrayas tasmāt kṛṣṇa-dīkṣādi-śikṣaṇam viśrambheṇa guroḥ sevā sādhu-vartmānuvartanam
sad-dharma-pṛcchā bhogādi- tyāgaḥ kṛṣṇasya hetave
One's first duty is to accept a bona fide spiritual master. The student or disciple should be very inquisitive; he should be eager to know the complete truth about eternal religion ( sanātana-dharma ). The words  guru-śuśrūṣayā  mean that one should personally serve the spiritual master by giving him bodily comforts, helping him in bathing, dressing, sleeping, eating and so on. This is called  guru-śuśrūṣaṇam . A disciple should serve the spiritual master as a menial servant, and whatever he has in his