To Nancy (and Tanmaya): How Does One Find A Sincere Guru?

[Guest guest]

Tanmaya wrote to Nancy:

....The question of how to find one is more difficult. The best answer

Ihave heard is, "When the disciple is ready, the guru must

appear".So, I suppose, the best course is to make oneself

ready---perhaps bymaking oneself as much like the true guru one longs

for as possible.

Dear Tanmaya and Nancy ~ this is exactly what Swamiji said during a

talk at the Issaqua (WA) Retreat Center when he and Maa made their

last (and hopefully not final) US Tour.

Swamiji said several things about disciples and gurus. One was to,

instead of searching for the true guru, to become the best disciple

one could possibly be. Well how is that accomplished? In a general

way, I suppose you could say by spending time in meditation, doing

mantra, worshiping God/dess or your Ishta Devata ("favorite Deity"),

etc. Swamiji also talked about emulating the Guru. If you're sure the

person is your true guru, then you want to know how that person

behaves, how (s)he does sadhana and worship, how (s)he spends his/her

time.

 

So here you are, on the Shree Maa and Swamiji digest. Perhaps you are

on other digests. If you have not been so fortunate as to meet Shree

Maa and Swamiji, one way to learn about them is to read some of the

wonderful books available about them. One is "Shree Maa: The Life of

a Saint." Another one is "Sahib Sadhu" (white swami), about Swamiji.

You can also go to their website and listen to audio clips of Shree

Maa singing with her so beautiful voice. You can find classes by

Swamiji and learn from those.

 

Also by being on the digest you learn about them. How are the

participants of this digest different, if they are, from participants

of other "guru" digests? (Believe me, there is a huge difference.)

Swamiji and Maa send us loving messages. We learn about them from

these. They ask us questions, and we learn about them from the

questions they ask; we learn about ourselves from how we answer.

Swamiji answers our questions, and from his answers we learn more

about him.

 

So ... perhaps you've decided to follow Ammachi or Swamij Sivananda

(just examples). Then you would want to find their websites, learn

all you can, see if there are any satsangs near you, find out about

their life experiences, and how they conduct themselves, what they do

.... just as Swamiji suggested. When will you make the choice? You will

know. Your heart will know. Every part of you will know. There will be

complete clarity and no confusion.

 

So, since you are here, perhaps you've decided you'd like to know more

about Shree Maa and Swamiji, and I've suggested some things, based on

what I heard Swamiji say some years ago at that retreat. So, being

here, perhaps you will decide to participate in one of our group

sankalpas (and if you already are, and I've missed a digest or

something, I appologize profusely) like the Prayer Club or the Mother

Earth Sankalpa.

 

Many of the members here can teach you much more than I can ... they

can help you learn how to create an altar, how to do puja ... much of

this information is on our Page, in the "Files" section. Or you

can just be here with us, watch what is going on, read what we write,

watch how we conduct ourselves, and determine what this might indicate

about our gurus (though I am ever imperfect, I have seen glimpses in

the devotion of others). You can talk with us...ask questions, like

you have? : ) I think I missed the digest that had the question.

 

The richness you may find here, and it is not hard to see because

nobody is hiding it away, is beyond words to describe. But go to the

website and listen to Shree Maa sing, and you will get a taste of the

richness to which I refer.

 

Jai Maa , Jai Swamiji ~ Linda