Who is Guru ?

One who can protect me from the death that is this material life, is Guru.

One who can protect me from the fear of death, is Guru. One by going to whom

I do not have to go to anyone else, by listening to whom I do not have to listen

to anyone else, is Guru. The reservoir of grace whom the Surpreme Lord, the

personification of the supreme good, has made responsible for looking after

my welfare, is my Guru. One by whose grace I can get rid of my controlling ego,

is Guru. One who brings the revealed truth to us, who by showering us with

such truth can make us humbler than a blade of grass and more tolerant than a

tree, is Guru. One who makes us respectful to others without having any desire

for respect from others, who can manifest transcendental kirtan in our mouths

by transferring his own potency, of the Lord, is Guru. Only the lotus feet of

Sri Guru can free us from the shackles of illusion. One who gives me the

transcendental knowledge that all the people of the world are respectable and

worshipable by me, that the whole world is meant for service to Guru and

everyone is my Guru, that I am a servitor of Krishna, and that service to Krishna

is my only duty, is Sri Guru.

—Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Goswami Thakur Prabhupada