Śrotriyam. Śrotriyam means one who has perfectly heard the science of God from authoritative sources in disciplic succession. That is the qualification. Śrotriyam. And brahma-niṣṭham means not that simply he has heard, but the result is that he is firmly fixed up in God consciousness. These two qualifications.
You have to find out that whether this man is coming from disciplic succession, śrotriyam . . . Just like in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, evaṁ paramparā-prāptam (BG 4.2): "By this disciplic succession, this science of Bhagavad-gītā was learned." So we have to approach to a spiritual master who is coming down from that disciplic succession. Then he is bona fide. Not only . . . he may be coming, but if he has not understood, then simply accepting will not do. Then the next symptom is śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham (Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.2.12). Brahma-niṣṭham means he is firmly fixed up; nobody can deviate him from his point of steadiness. These are the general. There are many other definition in different