Look Ma, No Guru;-) - Look Ma, I am the Guru!

[Guest guest]

Hi Mal,

 

> Why is KY so exclusively different from all other types of yoga, in

> that no guide, except the inner-one, is needed?

 

KY is different, and yet it is not. When you tune in with Ong Namo Guru Dev

Namo (notice the word Guru) you are invoking the benevolent assistance of

the whole lineage of yoga Gurus, including Yogi Bhajan. Yogi Bhajan by the

way had a Guru himself. It is true that especially in the West people are

suspicious when they hear the word Guru, because there have been so many

fake ones around. It is just my guess that in KY the word Guru is not used

other than in a number of mantras, partly because using this word might turn

many people away for the wrong reason.

 

Indian sacred texts contain a wealth of information on what and who the Guru

really is. First, the Guru is not a person. The Guru is defined as

"anugrahika shakti", which means "the grace-bestowing power of God". A

person through whom this power flows is called a Guru for the sake of

keeping things simple. The word Guru in Sanskrit and Gurmukhi means "That

which delivers you from darkness (GU) to light (RU)". And what all yogas say

is that this principle, the principle of grace, dwells within you, even if

you don't recognize it. The Guru is truly within.

 

 

> I believe the term for someone else activating or cleansing the

> Chakras is called "Shaktiput"; why is this not a common practice (or

> is it) in KY?

 

Shaktipat means "the descent of grace". Kundalini awakening and Shaktipat

are in effect the same thing (IF the Kundalini awakening isn't brought about

through unsafe and un-yogic practices, but this is a different subject). And

it is true that the Guru gives Shaktipat. If you have a Kundalini awakening

through KY this means the inner Guru, the grace residing in yourself, has

given you Shaktipat. Being initiated by an "outer" Guru like in Kriya Yoga

is no different. The energy that flows through the outer Guru is the same

power of grace that resides within yourself.

 

KY works more with the inner Guru (although if you go to a White Tantric

course with Yogi Bhajan there will be no mistaking whose energy it is that

allows you to do Sat Kriya for 60 minutes!). This avoids the pitfall of many

other yoga paths where many seekers become gung-ho on the Guru's person, not

realizing that the Guru is not a person at all. For the discriminating,

intelligent seeker however, either will work fine. So long as you know your

Sanskrit : ) !

 

Many blessings,

Satsang Kaur