Explain to me a bit about the spiritual tradition of gurus and disciples - 1

[Guest guest]

Dear All,

 

i received an email that read:

 

" Dear Jagbir,

 

Please could you explain to me a bit about the spiritual tradition

of gurus and disciples; and how this all works in SY? Do all people

need gurus for teaching and help; from my own experiences I think

that they probably do? What I mean is, people really need a teacher

for guidance along the path, someone very advanced and experienced

to tell and ask about specific problems and personal situations and

difficulties, a yoga master. Especially people from the Western

cultures and from restrictive religious backgrounds need help

understanding the Eastern concepts of spirituality, and need

personal guidance at times. "

 

i am more than willing to answer such intellectually nourishing and

spiritually penetrating questions that will benefit so many over the

years. But i must explain that my method of answering and making

others understand is unconventional since it takes time to grasp and

absorb spiritual issues. At all times i have to keep in mind that

answers should also reflect the Divine Message, each answer another

piece that fits the Divine Puzzle. It will take many answers from

dedicated realized souls to complete the task. The Divine Message

and Satya Yuga 3-21-2013 are powerful spiritual landmarks that many

will recognize more easily in future if the pieces are today put in

place by those who have them.

 

By unconventional i also mean keeping quiet and allowing others to

answer, since they have answered without me questioning them. This

method always provides better and unbiased facts, provided they are

double-checked for accuracy. The extra knowledge is most welcome.

 

For Part 1 of the answer i have picked Ajit Adhopia's " Hindu Guru " .

Please enjoy his excellent explanation about the spiritual tradition

of gurus and disciples.

 

jagbir

 

 

--

 

 

Hindu Guru

 

In order to reach the zenith of any human endeavor or field of

knowledge, one must have a teacher, guide or a mentor. If you want

to be topnotch athlete, you would certainly need a capable coach to

train you and help you achieve your goal. Similarly, one who chooses

to tread a spiritual path seeking God realization needs a master or

a guide referred to as a Guru in Hinduism.

 

The word 'guru' literally means the 'weighted one' i.e. the one who

is heavily loaded with spiritual knowledge or divine wisdom. It also

means the one who leads his disciples from the darkness of ignorance

to spiritual enlightenment by imparting divine knowledge. A guru is

the one who guides his or her disciple to become a Jivamukta i.e. a

liberated soul that achieves salvation in his or her lifetime

through God-realization. In the modern world, however, the word Guru

has acquired a distorted, secular meaning- an expert or a highly

knowledgeable person in any field.

 

This important Hindu concept of Guru dates back to the ancient Vedic

times when seers revealed their spiritual insights, and sages taught

their wisdom to a few select disciples called Shishyas. These

teachings were usually transmitted in privacy and were esoteric, not

meant for general public.

 

In ancient India, the guru served another purpose. Having attained

God-realization, he would set an example for his disciples by living

himself a life of simplicity, selfless-service and discipline. He

not only imparted moral values and spiritual knowledge to his

disciples, he himself practiced simple living and high thinking. A

guru commanded the disciples' highest reverence by his actions.

Therefore, a disciple would never question a guru's word. Such a

Guru is known as Sadguru or a true (competent) Guru.

 

In fact, Hinduism ascends Sadguru to divinity. " Guru represents all

three aspects of God as creator, sustainer and regenerator. He is

the supreme being to whom I bow. " This concept spawned many sects

and movements in Hinduism. This is also the foundation of Sikhism.

 

With the advent of the secular education in India, gurus have been

replaced by school teachers and college professors, but the

traditional bond between guru and his disciple (teacher and student)

survived. In modern India, teachers are still accorded the highest

respect, both by students and their parents. Teaching has always

been considered a noble profession. Many years ago, when visiting

New Delhi, I bumped into my English teacher of grade 5, a gray

haired Sikh gentleman. I was so gripped by the ecstasy of joy that I

fell at his feet. He pulled me up by the arm to embrace me, and the

tears of joy rolled down my cheeks. It created quite a melodramatic

scene in the marketplace, but my embarrassment was worth the joy I

had experienced in this encounter.

 

Despite the changes in the educational system, modern India still

has a large population of self-proclaimed gurus, but only a few are

Sadgurus following the traditional system. Many of them were highly

successful professionals before renouncing the material world in

order to follow the spiritual path to God-realization. Their

writings and public discourses on mass media have attracted

thousands of followers, Hindus and non-Hindus, around the world.

They motivate their followers not to join the Western rat-race of

consumerism, and encourage them to keep their traditional values.

 

India is also infested with bogus gurus catering to the needs of

fake devotees who, instead of God realization, are looking for

miraculous solutions to their personal problems related to health,

marriage, infertility, unemployment, romance and business failures

etc. Many of these saffron-clad charlatans are in fact astrologers,

bards, preachers, yoga instructors, faith healers and devotional

singers disguised as gurus to earn their living. They prescribe

sacred mantras, charms and rituals to 'solve' their devotees'

personal problems. They have amassed enormous wealth, and live

luxuriously in major urban centers. Many of them visit Canada

regularly every summer when the weather in India gets too hot for

them. I have rarely seen any guru visiting Canada during the winter.

They are sponsored by their 'devotees' or temples who pay them a fee

for their performance.

 

Many egocentric gurus visit Canada for fame, in order to enhance

their image in India as foreign-returned gurus so that they can

become more marketable. Since there are not many Hindus in Canada

seeking God-realization, these gurus, if they are genuine, should

stay in India and serve the poor by emulating Christian

missionaries.

 

– Ajit Adhopia

December 16, 2001

 

http://www.boloji.com/analysis/017.htm