Authenticity of Gurus - 3

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Authenticity of Gurus - 3

 

I was warned that any discussion on Gurus tends to become

acrimonious. I do not understand why any message on Gurus should be

taken by some people, as an attack on Gurus in general and their

Gurus in particular. I know that because of this, no one wants to

discuss the institution of Gurus. Though quite a few books have been

written on Gurus it is more from the point of view of the West. They

invariably fall back upon the definition and writing in our old texts

and very rarely reflect the realities of the present times. I am

happy that there has been a good response from many members. About

some of the messages I pray to MAA "Apavadhaharai Namah!!!"

 

Tatwamasi had posed a question

"

What then happens to the hungry, traveler, saddened by life's trials,

desperately seeking for guidance; a guide, a father, a mother, a

manifestation, a personalization of the ultimate "God"? . "

 

This is the crux of the problem. Whenever we talk about Gurus

invariably it is about Gurus who lead the disciple to Self-

Realisation.There are Pravritti and Nivritti margas. There are

Mumukshas as a class of society. Even in spirituality the goal could

be Prathiba, Sahaja and Samarasa. Why talk only about self-

realisation as if it is the only goal for which a Guru is required.

Why dismiss all other Gurus as non- Gurus?

 

There are other gurus who deal also with the type of people you

enumerated.

 

Tantric Gurus

 

The concept of Gurus is emphasised in all Tantric texts. By its very

nature Tantric practices need a guru to initiate a person the Mantra,

and also teach the various and elaborate rituals prescribed for

attaining the Siddhi of the Mantra. These Gurus have a long lineage

running to generations. Many of the Sampradhayas also believe that

the Guru should be a Grahastha (householder) and not a Sannyasin.

 

There are hundreds of Sampradhayas and most of these Gurus are

householders leading the life of a householder. There are thousands

of disciples who have been initiated into these Mantras. Most of them

are householders. It is again generally an accepted principle of

these Sampradhayas that the initiate does not take any other Guru.

There are many members of our group who belong to the Great SriVidya

Sampradhaya and who have Diksha names.

 

When we were discussing mantras and Siddhis earlier there was an

attempt to dismiss all Mantras other than those, which lead to

Moksha. Unfortunately most of the mantras in Mantra Mahodhathi and

mantra maharnava are for attaining certain powers or Siddhis. A

Tantric who attains a Siddhi of any mantra will get power. How he

uses this power depends on him. Misuse of the Powers will result in

losing the power gradually and also prevent him from attaining higher

powers.

 

We find a number of these Tantrics making money out of these powers.

They help the common man in overcoming obstacles, winning court cases

etc. You may say that this is Black magic or dhurmantra. The Tantric

scriptures do not make any such distinction and Tantrics have always

for thousands of years used their powers for material benefits.

 

Hereditary gurus

 

There are many families in India (especially among the Sri

Vaishnavites) where your family has accepted an individual or the

head of a particular Math as your Guru. These Gurus could be either

householders or Sannyasins depending upon the tradition. There are

hundreds of gurus of this kind in India. The families consult the

Guru on a regular basis regarding their problems.

 

Nath/Sidddha/Avadhoota gurus.

 

We have all heard of the wandering monks, mad monks, and naked Sadhus

of India. Most of these people belong to the Nath/Siddha tradition.

These kinds of Sadhus do not follow the norms of the society. They

are called mad because they do not conform to the norms of the

society. But many of them had achieved the ultimate Siddhi. By mere

look they could elevate the disciple to a higher level. Many Siddhas

also were masters of indigenous medicine and alchemy. There is a

system of medicine called the Siddha Vaidhya. They went around

healing people. I can write & write about the greatness of these

Siddhas without end. We talk about Prathiba, Sahaja, Samarasa, and

not self- realisation here. These Gurus attained Sahaja and Samarasa.

 

It is in the Nath/Siddha/Avadhootha/Tantric tradition that the Guru

is held in absolute reverence. In Sri Vaishnavism also the Guru is

venerated. The Guru does not hold this exalted position in the

Advaita marga.

 

Continued