Who is a meritorious devotee of Shri Guru?
The devotee who is a great teacher, is a religious evangelist, and whose motto is to serve others is an exemplary devotee of Shri Guru. The devotees who carry out all the commands of Shri Guru with courage and perseverance, irrespective of whether it’s small or big while remaining indifferent towards both accolade and admonition are rescued by the Guru, like a mountain withering a storm, when they are engrossed in “Maya” (wordly illusion). The guru removes ignorance from the devotee’s mind and fill it with experiences and leads him towards Self-realization. The devotee who idolizes the Guru, incorporates Guru’s teachings into his personality, serves the society while remaining devoted towards the Guru is a saint, even if he hasn’t mastered the scriptures and is a householder. The excellent devotee of the Guru always remains righteous while spreading the teachings of the Master. As quoted in Shri Guru Bhagavat:
“ହେଲେ ସୁଦ୍ଧା କୁଟୁମ୍ବି ଜନ | ଏପରି ଭକ୍ତ ଯେ ମହାନ ||
ଗୁରୁ ଆସୀନ ଯାର ଆତ୍ମା ରେ | ଯୋଗୀ ତାକୁ ପ୍ରଣାମ କରେ” ||
“Hele sudha kutumbi jana | Aepari bhakta je Mahana ||
Guru Aaseena jaara atma re | Jogi taku pranama kare” ||
(Vol. 1 / Verse : 145 / Page 81)
To consider Guru as God-incarnate is the first attribute of an exceptional devotee. For him, Guru is the quintessence of all the knowledge and scriptures. Endurance is the second attribute of such a devotee. The more forbearing a devotee is, the easier is his spiritual growth. Patience without faith is futile. Guru leads the devotee towards God-realization while helping him to repay the debts (“Prarabdha”) of many past lives. The above two attributes are fundamental while gaining knowledge or developing other attributes in a devotee. These two facets of devotion are assessed when the devotee faces any crisis. As quoted in Shri Guru Bhagavat:
“ସୁଖର ବେଳେ ସବୁ ଭଲ | ଦୁଃଖ ହିଁ ପରୀକ୍ଷାର ବେଳ ||
ଦୁଃଖେ ଯା ଶ୍ରଦ୍ଧା ଥାଏ ସ୍ଥିର | ବିପଦେ ନ ହୁଏ କାତର” ||
“Sukhara bele sabu bhala | Dukha hin Parikshara bela ||
Dukhe ja shradhaa thae sthira | Bipade na huae katara” ||
(Vol. 1 / Verse : 219 / Page 93)
Source: Shri Guru Bhagavat Prashnottari