264
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 8, Ch. 24]
someone as a  guru  who is a rascal and a fool. But we are interested in self-realization. Therefore we accept You, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as our spiritual master, for You are able to see in all directions and are omniscient like the sun.
PURPORT
The conditioned soul, being wrapped in ignorance and therefore not knowing the goal of life, accepts a  guru  who can juggle words and make some display of magic that is wonderful to a fool. Sometimes a foolish person accepts someone as a  guru  because he can manufacture a small quantity of gold by mystic yogic power. Because such a disciple has a poor fund of knowledge, he cannot judge whether the manufacture of gold is the criterion for a  guru . Why should one not accept the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, from whom unlimited numbers of gold mines come into being?  Aham sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvam pravartate . All the gold mines are created by the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore, why should one accept a magician who can manufacture only a small portion of gold? Such  gurus  are accepted by those who are blind, not knowing the goal of life. Mahārāja Satyavrata, however, knew the goal of life. He knew the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and therefore he accepted the Lord as his  guru . Either the Supreme Lord or His representative can become  guru . The Lord says,  mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etām taranti te : “One can get relief from the clutches of  māyā  as soon as he surrenders unto Me.” Therefore it is the  guru ’s business to instruct his disciple to surrender to the Supreme Personality of Godhead if he wants relief from the material clutches. This is the symptom of the  guru . This same principle was instructed by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu:  yāre dekha, tāre kaha ‘kṛṣṇa’-upadeśa . In other words, one is advised not to accept a  guru  who does not follow the path of instruction given by Lord Kṛṣṇa.
TEXT 51
जनो जनस्यादिशतेऽसतीं गतिं 
    यया प्रपद्येत दुरत्ययं तमः । 
    त्वं त्वन्ययं ज्ञानममोघमञ्जसा 
    प्रपद्यते येन जनो निजं पदम् ॥५१॥