Then Sanātana Gosvāmī, with folded hands, fell at the feet of Lord Caitanya and prayed as follows: "My dear Lord, You have asked me to prepare a book on the regulative principles of devotional service, but I belong to the lowest caste. I have no knowledge. I do not know how such an important task can be finished by me. If You will kindly give me some hints about the preparation of such a book on devotional service, it may be that I shall be qualified to write it."
The Lord then blessed him, saying, "By the grace of Kṛṣṇa, whatever you write will come out of your heart and be accepted. As you have requested, I will now give you some notes that you can take down. The first and foremost point is that one should accept a bona fide spiritual master. That is the beginning of spiritual life." Lord Caitanya then requested Sanātana Gosvāmī to write down the symptoms of a true guru and the symptoms of a true disciple.