A true guru is a mahātmā who understands Krishna perfectly and speaks only His words without alteration.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.5.29 — August 10, 1974, Vṛndāvana 740810SB-VRNDAVAN [26:30 Minutes] SB-01.05.29_740810SB-VRNDAVAN Pradyumna: Translation: "I was very much attached to those sages. I was gentle in behavior, and all my sins were eradicated in their service. In my heart I had strong faith in them. I had subjugated the senses, and I was strictly following them with body and mind." Prabhupāda: tasyaivaṁ me 'nuraktasya praśritasya hatainasaḥ śraddadhānasya bālasya dāntasyānucarasya ca [SB 1.5.29] So the..., the one side, the guru.
Saṅkīrtyamānaṁ munibhir mahātmabhiḥ. The... This is a relationship between disciple and guru. What are the qualifications of guru, and what are the qualifications of the disciple?
If both of them are qualified, then immediately the result is there. Just like husband and wife: both of them, if they are healthy, by sex there will be pregnancy. Similarly, if the guru and the disciple, both of them are qualified, then immediately Kṛṣṇa consciousness will be there. So the qualification of the guru is described in the previous verse. viśṛṇvato me 'nusavaṁ yaśo 'malaṁ saṅkīrtyamānaṁ munibhir mahātmabhiḥ [SB 1.5.28] The guru must be mahātmā and muni.
Muni means thoughtful, philosopher. Not foolish rascal, manufacturing some philosophy. And mahātmabhiḥ: not only self-realized, but by his character, by his behavior, by his understanding, he must be a mahātmā. What is that mahātmā?
There are so many mahātmās simply by changing the dress. No. Not that kind of mahātmā. Our Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has sung a song, eita eka kalir celā: "Here is a disciple of Kali." What is that?
Nāke tilaka galai mālā. "He has got tilaka..." Nata nara nāke tilaka galai mālā. He sings that sahaja bhajana kache namu saṅge laiyā pare dala.[?] Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura sings that "He's dressed like a bābājī. He has shaven his head, and has got tilaka and kaṇṭhī.
But he has got at least half a dozen women, and that is his bhajana." So not that... That is not mahātmā. That is durātmā, a cheating... Of course, in this Kali-yuga...