To Brian on the Guru, the Buttons, and the Medicine

[Guest guest]

Brian wrote:

A different way to consider GuruAccording to Swamiji, Guru

means (s)he who dispels darkness with light.I'd like to offer my

perspective of of what Guru means to me.A Guru's job, assigned by

God, is to help us understand ourselves, to help us overcome our

foibles and other barriers of mind and receive the light of

Goddess....What kind of medicine does the best Guru make us

take?...An ordinary person reacts to his experience, and his life is

the sum of his reactions. His first reactions are dictated by his

genetics and his parents reactions to him. And then the rest of his

life is a sequence of cyclical reactions from one thing to the next.

All the qualities he possesses become his unconscious director,

telling him what to do, how to behave, and how to keep safe from all

the harmful things of life.A proper disciple recognizes a desire for

peace within and desires to stop the reactions which dictate his

life....A Guru is someone who makes us aware of our reactions, they

do so often by pressing our buttons and causing us to have a

reaction. They make us take our medicine by forcing us to face the

parts of ourselves that rule our minds that we try to ignore or wish

away.Do you see how in reality, everyone who presses our buttons is

actually our Guru?...Once we see others as Guru, then all is Guru, as

it truly is. Then we become true devotees and surrender our foibles

and hangups to Guru.Then we can be liberated from limitations of

mind.

Dear Brian ~ this is a tremendously helpful analysis. I got a few buttons pushed tonight,

observed all the feelings, even share several, but then I went back

into myself and said, this feeling (reaction) is really about me, not

about the other person. So what is it really about and do I need it? I

discovered that something masquerading as a belief that I deserve love

and attention (but according to my own definitions) was really my

insecurity and a deep inner belief that I am not wanted. Very

powerful stuff, this medicine. Thank you ~ Linda