Text 45
guru kṛṣṇa-rūpa hana śāstrera pramāṇe
guru-rūpe kṛṣṇa kṛpā karena bhakta-gaṇe
guru — the spiritual master; kṛṣṇa-rūpa — as good as Kṛṣṇa; hana — is; śāstrera — of revealed scriptures; pramāṇe — by the evidence; guru-rūpe — in the form of the spiritual master; kṛṣṇa — Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa; kṛpā — mercy; karena — distributes; bhakta-gaṇe — unto His devotees.
According to the deliberate opinion of all revealed scriptures, the spiritual master is nondifferent from Kṛṣṇa. Lord Kṛṣṇa in the form of the spiritual master delivers His devotees.
The relationship of a disciple with his spiritual master is as good as his relationship with the Supreme Lord. A spiritual master always represents himself as the humblest servitor of the Personality of Godhead, but the disciple must look upon him as the manifested representation of Godhead.