Question: When a person who is aspiring from a bonafide guru and the guru has left the world, and the person still considers him as his spiritual master, how does this work?

Jayapataka Swami: So this happened with Śrīnivāsa Ācārya. He had accepted various people to be his guru. But just before getting initiation, each one left. Finally, he got the instruction to take Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī as his dīkṣā guru and Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī as his śikṣā guru. So, if one can consider the departed guru as a śikṣā guru, but he or she should take initiation from some guru in the same line.
26-Dec-2020 ŚRĪ MĀYĀPUR DHAM, INDIA