A Guru is a Must!

February 25, 2008

I fully agree with Baskaran that Guru is essential in one's spiritual

pursuits, excepting very rare exceptions, as in all other fields of

learning.

Guru is essential for almost all of us leaving a few – very few

– exceptions who had progressed so much in their previous lives

wherein they had almost zeroed in to that coveted state and stage so

that they are now in a position to carry on for the rest of their

journey on their own and as such don't require any Guru. Otherwise,

a Guru is a must, because He Himself has been there, only He (likes of

Him) is aware of the pitfalls, the twists & turns, the baffling alleys

where might find ourselves blinded needing someone to show the way

ahead, might fall down needing someone who could lift us up and provide

the needed courage to march forward!

Yes, likes of those abound on the earth who keep trotting the globe

claiming themselves to be awakened ones, enlightened beings, realised

souls, initiating people for a fees, in which monetary motives, the

craze for forming empire, for making fortunes, for earning name & fame

are clear, can not be, and must not be accepted as Guru. Such persons

are, in fact, " goru " s (Hindi word meaning `cattle' or

`animals') in the guise of Guru, bringing a bad name to the

sacred institution of Guru. Such persons can do more harm than good, and

one must refrain from the company of such people. For a Realised One,

all the glitter of gold and worldly charms is insignificant as dust;

fame, female (for male; & male for female) & fortune do not have any

meaning for Him.

But all said and done, just because there are many fake currencies in

the market, the need for genuine ones does not go away. Guru is very

much needed to show the way to a sincere aspirant, to tell the secrets

of visualising light within, to teach the tricks of the trade to listen

to the Divine Word, Sound or Vibrations within and to demonstrate the

method to reach into His Kingdom & be one with Him. Again of course, we

are not talking of exceptions. And we are not saying that finding a Guru

and getting initiated is all that needs to be done. In fact, it is the

disciple who has to walk the distance, do the work himself; Guru

won't lift us and catapult into His kingdom. We have to live in a

right way (observing all do's and don'ts meticulously) and

practice sincere & rigorous meditation; only then we would receive the

help & support of the Guru.

Often the question is raised: how to know that one is a self-realised

Guru or Master. There is a proverb, it takes a sant to know a sant! For

most of the ordinary mortals like us there is no way we could verify

whether a given person is a realised one or not. It is not possible to

fathom his spiritual attainments unless we ourselves have graduated to

that level. And yet, it is very dangerous to fall in the discipleship of

a fake Guru who is almost sure to lead us into a blind alley. Then what

to do? We should get near and keenly observe such a person who we wish

to accept as our Guru. How does he live his daily life – how pure it

is? How far removed is he from the mundane attractions? How much a life

of self-control & self-discipline does he lead? How much control does he

have regarding his diet, dress & lifestyle? How much love & compassion

does he naturally betray for the humanity & even animals & birds? How

much meditation does he himself practice daily? In short, how much of a

consonance or coherence is there between what he preaches and what he

practices? If he passes all these tests flawlessly, he can be

undoubtedly accepted as a Guru. Further, even subsequent to our getting

initiation by him, if we find him to be failing or faltering these

tests, we must not lose time in relinquishing him as a Guru. But yes, a

Guru is a must. Even Raman Maharshi did make disciples, though not in a

formal way, but in a much more subtle way, on the level of vibrations,

and such disciples did venerate him like a Guru and needed and got his

support whenever needed. The same goes about Lord Buddha who himself did

not have a Guru in his last incarnation as a human being, but acted as a

Guru in the formal sense to thousands of his devotees.

Thus there is no denying the fact that we can't do without a Guru

(except exceptions) and any statements to contrary, in my personal view,

are statements in vainglory and should be taken as such

February 25, 2008

Dear Pravesh-ji,

Certainly it is true that a seeker should have a guru and also that it is

difficult to assess the status of potential ones. However, it is far more

important that a guru be a good teacher and fully conversant with the

techniques for teaching. These are even more important than that he be

enlightened (as I believe Shankara himself pointed out). A good teacher may

still not be a jIvanmukta so one should not judge him or her principally by

behavior and mental attitude.

Best wishes,

Dennis

advaitin [advaitin ] On Behalf

Of Pravesh K. Singh

25 February 2008 10:41

advaitin

A Guru is a Must!

Then what

to do? We should get near and keenly observe such a person who we wish

to accept as our Guru. How does he live his daily life - how pure it