Abstract
This chapter is devoted to the examination of the explicit, theologically correct understandings of the guru-disciple relationship in the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement. To demonstrate how International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) defines the role and significance of the guru, the chapter overviews the entire ISKCON theological structure as elaborated in Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda's writings. An analysis of the basic points of the ISKCON salvific scheme can better enable us to understand the teachings regarding the guru, which is the main topic of the chapter. In his teachings Prabhupāda presents an unusually clear and explicit example of a criteria-based interpretation of the guru-disciple relationship. The chapter examines whether the official teachings of the guru's position depend on essence-based or criteria-based understandings in the sense defined by Boyer's theory. There is a clear demarcation between the guru and God; Prabhupāda never identified himself with God.Keywords:Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda; God; guru; Hare Kṛṣṇa; International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)
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