Qualifications of a GURU ! ................

[Guest guest]

Thank you Sri Bhagwan Sastry-ji for your kind words. Sri Ramji , our

owner-moderator has penned a very detailed post on what are the

qualifications of a student while Seeking the Truth. However , just

as 'adhikaratwam' of the Student is important , the qualifications

of a Guru cannot be over emphasised in this modern age - otherwise ,

we will fall prey to these so called jet age swamis- ( Bhagwan

Rajneesh is one classic example )who may be charlatans ! Believe

me , Bhagwan Rajneesh was very learned , well versed in all the

Tantras, an original thinker and a very eloquent writer ! i myself

have learned many things from reading his books ! But , he is not

your 'ideal' guru ! Many of his western disciples are still paying

for BHAGWAN'S errors of Commission and Omission!

 

Gurudom is a sacred title and not everyone can be called a Guru just

because they are wearing ochre robes and wearing a caste mark on

their forehead !

 

bUT , EVERYONE NEEDS A GURU even to learn the scriptures !Can you

understand the upanishads and the vedas just by reading them ?

 

We all know how Svetaketu learned the Truth from none other than his

father Uddalaka muni . ( Chandogya upanishads -Tat Twam Asi)

 

And the great Sage Yagnavalkya was a guru to his wife Maitreyi.

(Brihadaranyaka upanishads)

 

Bhrighu himself learned from his father varuna . ( Taittreya

upanishads)

 

LORD Narada from Sanatkumara and young Nachiketa from Lord Yama (

katha upanishads) etc etc etc.

 

Sri Rama himself learned from Sage Vasishta and Sri Krishna bhagwam

himself from Sandeepini !

 

Not to mention Sri Sri Adi Shankara Bhagwadapada whose Guru was

Govindapada ! Even the great SAGE SRI RAMANA BHAGWAN names Lord

Arunchala as his innermost guru!

 

Without a proper guru to guide us , we will in the words of Katha

upanishad

 

" Living in the abyss of ignorance yet wise in their own conceit,

deluded fools go round and round, the blind led by the blind. "

 

We must also distinguisH between a Siksha Guru and a Diksha Guru !

Yes , a shotriya ?( as rightly pointed out by our beloved Dennisji

and equally beloved Rishiji ) can be a 'shotriya' for only a teacher

well learned in scriptures can teach you the scriptures - He must be

eloquent , articulate and know the fine art of comminucation and

copnnect to the audience ! This is one field where the westerners (

writers) have done a wonderful job of translating the Upanishads ,

vedas and Srimad Bhagwad Gita etc - SO MUCH SO , EASTERN MYSTICISM

IS MORE POPULAR IN THE WEST THAN IN THE EAST iTSELF!Smile :-)THUS ,

A SIKSHA GURU IS THE ONE WHO GIVES YOU INSTRUCTIONS !

 

a DIKSHA GURU, on the contrary , is the one who initiates ythe

student into Brahma vidya and leads him to moksha or salvation .

 

There is no need to choose between the two ! We can have both ! Sri

Ramakrishna ParamahamsA HAD MORE THAN ONE GURU ! IN FACT , HE HAD

FOUR - his own mother , Divine mother Kali , Bhairavi brahmani , the

female Tantrik guru and finally Totapuri who opened his ajna chakra

and lead the younfg Paramahamsa to Brahmanhood! Yes! Young

Gadhadhar was more than ready when Toptapuri appeared on the scene !

 

Earlier Sri Sadaji mentioned about how a student can also Teach a

Guru - here , we can mention how Totapuri learned from Young

Ramakrishna the fine art of worshipping a Personal god even after

realizing Brahman ! Totapuri thus accepted the manifest universe and

its energy as a radiant expression of the Absolute. The demarcation

between form and formless no longer existed for him., thanks to Sri

Ramakrishna !

 

In the Mundaka Upanisad (1.2.12) it is said:

 

 

tad-vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet

samit-panih srotriyam brahma-nistham

 

 

" In order to learn the transcendental science, one must approach the

bona fide spiritual master in disciplic succession, who is fixed in

the Absolute Truth. "

 

So , sastriji , i myself am still on a learning curve = i learn from

each and everyone even from all the members of this group !

Dattatreya listed only 24 upagurus but i am still counting !

 

THANKS

 

with regards

 

ps ( btw , i am not a 'sir' but atma is of course , genderless )

 

.

 

 

 

> advaitin , " dhyanasaraswati "

> <dhyanasaraswati@> wrote:

> >

> >Respected Sir,

> Pranams to u sir.Having gone through your post in detail I felt

> that every word in it is worth noting.