Ohm Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya:
Who is the right Guru? By M.P.R.Nair
Who is a Guru?
What is a Guru for?
Is a Guru compulsory?
If so, who is the right Guru?
When does one seek a Guru?
How to get a Guru?
How to recognize my real Guru?
What, if we are unlucky or delaying, to get a Guru?
These are questions that baffled me for the past several years, and are baffling me still without getting exact answers. By Guru, I mean Spiritual Guru. Currently, where politics without principles, wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, commerce without morality, science without humanity, and worship without sacrifice are prevalent amidst other vices, it is very hard to find the right kind of Guru, because the fake Gurus are proliferating themselves almost every day. However, let us try to explore various avenues to find out the qualities of a Sat- Guru (The best Spiritual Master) and wait patiently to meet him, if it is so ordained.
Who is a Guru? Guru is a Sanskrit word, literally meaning a teacher. Scholars say: “gukaraschandhakarasthu, rukarasthannirodhakrit;l andhakaravinasitwad, gururithyabhidheeyate”… That is:‘Gu’ means ‘andhakara’or darkness, symbolizing ignorance and ‘Ru’ means, ‘nirodha’ or destruction of that darkness; Guru removes the darkness of ignorance and hence he is called Guru. A Guru is also supposed to be a great Aacharya ; an Aaacharya is :“aachinothihi: sastrani, aachare stapayityapi; Swayamacharate tasmad, aacharyathyabhidheeyate”, means:He who knows the meaning of Sastras or Science, establishes them with the help of rituals and he himself adapts them as such in his life, for the service of the entire humanity and to the inhabitants of the world, at large, is called an Aacharya.. The Scriptures say that a man in whom we find manifestations of qualities , belonging to God, such as purity, sublimity, nobility, loftiness of conduct, character, nature, thought, feeling, and action, can be said to be a Guru in Vedic parlance. He is considered as ‘Prathyaksha Devata’ or visible God. God reveals Himself through Guru.
What is a Guru for? Is a Guru Compulsory? We need a teacher to learn something in a better and proper way. For instance to learn mathematics well, we need a teacher. Why then we do not have a teacher for learning Yoga and Meditation, which help us develop mentally, physically and spiritually aswell. Why do students go to Universities for specialized studies when they can study at home? It is to get expert teaching in proper perspective in those subjects. As every rule admits exceptions, there are very few exceptions also like Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Ramana Maharshi, who became Mahatmas (Great Men) without schooling.
When does one seek a Guru? God is in every body, but to know his sublime presence within, we have to keep open our inner eyes. It is here that a Spiritual Guru is inevitable with his immeasurable help. A Guru really is the path to God. He encourages the seeker and inspires him. If you have supreme devotion to God, and the same kind of devotion to your Guru, then the essence and subtle truths of Scriptures are revealed to you in due course. When you become extremely advanced, you need no help from anybody else to realize the presence of God. The only thing is that the time taken for this may vary from person to person, depending on his persistence, perseverance, providence, and dedication to attain Guru kripa or mercy of his Guru.
Who is the right Guru? The most important thing a Spiritual Master does for us is to make us consciously aware of something vast and infinite within ourselves, which is nothing other than God himself. A Sat-Guru could turn the static piety in us into dynamic spiritualit “na twaham kamaye rajyam, na swargam na punarbhavam; kamaye d:ukha taptanam, praninam aarti nasanam” means:He doesn’t crave for kingdom, or heaven, or rebirth; all he craves for is only the removal of the sufferings of people. We will enjoy ‘Brhmanandam’, a kind of ecstasy of extreme bliss, when we remember the real Guru, for he is our ‘Atma Swaroopa’ or the same form as our soul, and ‘Jnana Moorthy’, or the embodiment of ultimate knowledge. Guru facilitates our inner spiritual urge and progress. He is our private tutor in Spiritual Life. He teaches us what we need to know and help our soul to evolve to the next level. He can inspire us and increase our aspirations so that we can begin to realize the highest and noble things of divine nature. We can attain God’s grace by efforts through a real Guru. He is invested in his Sishya or Student . Our visit to Guru brings transformation in us and unless and until you become a jnani, or one with applied and ultimate knowledge, you cannot recognize a jnani, in full. One devoid of jnana, cannot possess divinity. The higher the soul evolves, the more spiritual the understanding becomes until perfect rapport with the Divine Spirit is attained. This is atonement, which makes a man perfect. The fact is that if you have true and full faith in your Sat-Guru, he can even change your fate.
How to get and recognize a Guru? A real Guru may not be so smooth to you, at first. You may feel disturbed in mind before him. But, something will attract you towards him and you will wish to be with him. Sometimes, he may not be so friendly to you in words and deeds. The practice is that you don’t look for a Guru. When you suffer from the pain of ignorance and when your mind earnestly and sincerely urges for a Spiritual Master, he will come to you, or you will be called to him. First you try to become a true seeker.Not just curiosity,but a deep desire to know and understand the Sastras and follow the path of Sadhana brings one into contact with a Guru.It is like a flower getting a seed through a honey bee.To the fully bloomed flower the bee is attracted and gives the seed.Similarly the preparedness and the maturity of the mind takes one to the teacher by some mysterious grace of the Lord.
Some people believe that it is poorva-janma punyas or good deeds transmitted from your past life, bring a Guru into your present life. Majority seems to support the former view. Sometimes you will try to move away from him, but you cannot. There will be something in you that will keep you closer to him like a magnet; the less ego, the more attraction. The dignity of the presence of a Guru, makes us to offer it to him freely and without any inhibition. A Sat-Guru’s life will be his message and he leads by example.
What, if we are unlucky or delaying to get a Guru? Here comes the Bhagavatha Dharma or the principles for doing the righteous things in our life, for our help. Srimad Bhagavatam lays down:“ Narayana, Akhila Guro Namasthe”, meaning,Oh! Lord Narayana, you are the Akhila Guru or the Guru of all Gurus, and we bow to you.All the other Gurus only come under you. But, we cannot see the Lord in person to ask a boon, or any blessings or guidance. But the Lord also protects Bhagavata Dharma, which shows the path to God, for even to the down-trodden and to all sinners of the world, aswell. Vaideeka Dharma (Rituals) is very strict in its discipline. It earmarks hell, as the punishment for people who do not follow the Scriptures. In Srimad Bhagavatha, the Lord says that it is only pardonable if mistakes creep in unknowingly while reading it. The Lord is so merciful. Srimad Bhagavath itself is supposed to be the Lord. We can find there in, answers to almost all our questions relating to day to day affairs, provided we dig some deep. So, we can unequivocally accept Srimad Bhagavatha as Akhila Guru, until we get a Guru in person, and let us hope, as the name of this Souvenir implies, that at a ‘moment of time’ or’ samay’, we will also get a Sat-Gurru or we will be called by him. Let us wait hopefully for either.
Subham
Who is the right Guru? By M.P.R.Nair
Who is a Guru?
What is a Guru for?
Is a Guru compulsory?
If so, who is the right Guru?
When does one seek a Guru?
How to get a Guru?
How to recognize my real Guru?
What, if we are unlucky or delaying, to get a Guru?
These are questions that baffled me for the past several years, and are baffling me still without getting exact answers. By Guru, I mean Spiritual Guru. Currently, where politics without principles, wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, commerce without morality, science without humanity, and worship without sacrifice are prevalent amidst other vices, it is very hard to find the right kind of Guru, because the fake Gurus are proliferating themselves almost every day. However, let us try to explore various avenues to find out the qualities of a Sat- Guru (The best Spiritual Master) and wait patiently to meet him, if it is so ordained.
Who is a Guru? Guru is a Sanskrit word, literally meaning a teacher. Scholars say: “gukaraschandhakarasthu, rukarasthannirodhakrit;l andhakaravinasitwad, gururithyabhidheeyate”… That is:‘Gu’ means ‘andhakara’or darkness, symbolizing ignorance and ‘Ru’ means, ‘nirodha’ or destruction of that darkness; Guru removes the darkness of ignorance and hence he is called Guru. A Guru is also supposed to be a great Aacharya ; an Aaacharya is :“aachinothihi: sastrani, aachare stapayityapi; Swayamacharate tasmad, aacharyathyabhidheeyate”, means:He who knows the meaning of Sastras or Science, establishes them with the help of rituals and he himself adapts them as such in his life, for the service of the entire humanity and to the inhabitants of the world, at large, is called an Aacharya.. The Scriptures say that a man in whom we find manifestations of qualities , belonging to God, such as purity, sublimity, nobility, loftiness of conduct, character, nature, thought, feeling, and action, can be said to be a Guru in Vedic parlance. He is considered as ‘Prathyaksha Devata’ or visible God. God reveals Himself through Guru.
What is a Guru for? Is a Guru Compulsory? We need a teacher to learn something in a better and proper way. For instance to learn mathematics well, we need a teacher. Why then we do not have a teacher for learning Yoga and Meditation, which help us develop mentally, physically and spiritually aswell. Why do students go to Universities for specialized studies when they can study at home? It is to get expert teaching in proper perspective in those subjects. As every rule admits exceptions, there are very few exceptions also like Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Ramana Maharshi, who became Mahatmas (Great Men) without schooling.
When does one seek a Guru? God is in every body, but to know his sublime presence within, we have to keep open our inner eyes. It is here that a Spiritual Guru is inevitable with his immeasurable help. A Guru really is the path to God. He encourages the seeker and inspires him. If you have supreme devotion to God, and the same kind of devotion to your Guru, then the essence and subtle truths of Scriptures are revealed to you in due course. When you become extremely advanced, you need no help from anybody else to realize the presence of God. The only thing is that the time taken for this may vary from person to person, depending on his persistence, perseverance, providence, and dedication to attain Guru kripa or mercy of his Guru.
Who is the right Guru? The most important thing a Spiritual Master does for us is to make us consciously aware of something vast and infinite within ourselves, which is nothing other than God himself. A Sat-Guru could turn the static piety in us into dynamic spiritualit “na twaham kamaye rajyam, na swargam na punarbhavam; kamaye d:ukha taptanam, praninam aarti nasanam” means:He doesn’t crave for kingdom, or heaven, or rebirth; all he craves for is only the removal of the sufferings of people. We will enjoy ‘Brhmanandam’, a kind of ecstasy of extreme bliss, when we remember the real Guru, for he is our ‘Atma Swaroopa’ or the same form as our soul, and ‘Jnana Moorthy’, or the embodiment of ultimate knowledge. Guru facilitates our inner spiritual urge and progress. He is our private tutor in Spiritual Life. He teaches us what we need to know and help our soul to evolve to the next level. He can inspire us and increase our aspirations so that we can begin to realize the highest and noble things of divine nature. We can attain God’s grace by efforts through a real Guru. He is invested in his Sishya or Student . Our visit to Guru brings transformation in us and unless and until you become a jnani, or one with applied and ultimate knowledge, you cannot recognize a jnani, in full. One devoid of jnana, cannot possess divinity. The higher the soul evolves, the more spiritual the understanding becomes until perfect rapport with the Divine Spirit is attained. This is atonement, which makes a man perfect. The fact is that if you have true and full faith in your Sat-Guru, he can even change your fate.
How to get and recognize a Guru? A real Guru may not be so smooth to you, at first. You may feel disturbed in mind before him. But, something will attract you towards him and you will wish to be with him. Sometimes, he may not be so friendly to you in words and deeds. The practice is that you don’t look for a Guru. When you suffer from the pain of ignorance and when your mind earnestly and sincerely urges for a Spiritual Master, he will come to you, or you will be called to him. First you try to become a true seeker.Not just curiosity,but a deep desire to know and understand the Sastras and follow the path of Sadhana brings one into contact with a Guru.It is like a flower getting a seed through a honey bee.To the fully bloomed flower the bee is attracted and gives the seed.Similarly the preparedness and the maturity of the mind takes one to the teacher by some mysterious grace of the Lord.
Some people believe that it is poorva-janma punyas or good deeds transmitted from your past life, bring a Guru into your present life. Majority seems to support the former view. Sometimes you will try to move away from him, but you cannot. There will be something in you that will keep you closer to him like a magnet; the less ego, the more attraction. The dignity of the presence of a Guru, makes us to offer it to him freely and without any inhibition. A Sat-Guru’s life will be his message and he leads by example.
What, if we are unlucky or delaying to get a Guru? Here comes the Bhagavatha Dharma or the principles for doing the righteous things in our life, for our help. Srimad Bhagavatam lays down:“ Narayana, Akhila Guro Namasthe”, meaning,Oh! Lord Narayana, you are the Akhila Guru or the Guru of all Gurus, and we bow to you.All the other Gurus only come under you. But, we cannot see the Lord in person to ask a boon, or any blessings or guidance. But the Lord also protects Bhagavata Dharma, which shows the path to God, for even to the down-trodden and to all sinners of the world, aswell. Vaideeka Dharma (Rituals) is very strict in its discipline. It earmarks hell, as the punishment for people who do not follow the Scriptures. In Srimad Bhagavatha, the Lord says that it is only pardonable if mistakes creep in unknowingly while reading it. The Lord is so merciful. Srimad Bhagavath itself is supposed to be the Lord. We can find there in, answers to almost all our questions relating to day to day affairs, provided we dig some deep. So, we can unequivocally accept Srimad Bhagavatha as Akhila Guru, until we get a Guru in person, and let us hope, as the name of this Souvenir implies, that at a ‘moment of time’ or’ samay’, we will also get a Sat-Gurru or we will be called by him. Let us wait hopefully for either.
Subham
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