Within Vaishnavism, the guru and the disciplic succession (paramparā) function as the primary means by which living devotion to Vishnu and his avatars is transmitted and safeguarded. The guru is regarded as a realized representative of the divine, a living link through whom the teachings of the scriptures are made intelligible and practicable. Through this relationship, scriptural revelation is not merely studied as text, but interpreted in continuity with a recognized lineage and embodied in conduct, character, and devotion. The guru’s life thus becomes a visible standard of bhakti, humility, and adherence to dharma, allowing disciples to see how devotion is actually lived rather than only described.

Paramparā, the disciplic succession, is the framework that ensures this transmission remains authentic and unbroken. Vaishnava traditions understand their teachings as flowing from Vishnu or Krishna through successive generations of realized teachers, and each major sampradāya maintains its own lineage and theological emphasis. This continuity provides legitimacy and authority, serving as a kind of spiritual “quality control” that preserves doctrinal clarity, especially regarding the supremacy of Vishnu, the nature of the soul, and the centrality of devotion. By locating themselves within a specific paramparā, practitioners receive a distinct devotional identity and a stable interpretive context for scripture and practice.

In practical terms, the guru initiates disciples through dīkṣā, conferring mantras, forms of worship, and vows that formally establish the spiritual relationship. Through this initiation and ongoing guidance, the guru becomes a conduit of divine grace, helping to remove ignorance and orient the disciple’s life around bhakti. The guru prescribes and refines the disciple’s sādhana—chanting, worship, study, and ethical discipline—according to the disciple’s capacity and stage, correcting deviations and resolving doubts as they arise. In this way, the paramparā is not a mere historical list of names, but a living community and support structure through which spiritual practice is nurtured and sustained.

Theologically, this system expresses a particular understanding of how the personal God chooses to relate to individual souls. While God is ultimately the source of all grace, that grace is experienced as flowing through the mercy of the guru and the lineage of previous teachers. Service and surrender to the guru are thus understood as service and surrender to Krishna, not by identity but by function, since the guru acts as Krishna’s representative. The devotee’s love for God is cultivated and refined through love and service offered to this line of teachers, so that approaching the divine “through the servant of the servant” becomes a defining mood of Vaishnava devotion.