Saturday 6 December 2014

THE REAL GURU

Since the drama of Baba Rampal's arrest, people are writing about the Gurus and the farce attached to it. First of all, we should  know that frauds are present in each and every community. Let's now talk about what and where things are going wrong. Are only the babas responsible or are we equally responsible for following them like herds without any reasoning. What does a Guru mean?

The Guru is verily a link between the individual and the Immortal. A guru is one who renounces the world, not recreates a world of 'Maya' for themselves as we are seeing today. Today most of the gurus are into a competition to create a bigger empire, bigger membership of devotees. It has been commercialized to an extent where it has lost its value and became a business.

I met one Baba from Punjab, who was a Pehalwaan, claimed to renounce his Pehalwani completely and took this baba business and was flourishing undoubtedly. He was here on a 3 day program(retreat) and many were attending it.  I was on  a picnic trip when I bumped into them and out of curiosity met him. Spiritual practice has become more or less like a fashion without understanding its core value and meaning.

Let's explore a bit to know the real meaning of a guru. Since I like Ramakrishna's teachings, I will quote his explanations of a real guru. Also want to remind you that we should not fear our Gurus and should not hesitate from asking questions as advised by Swami Vivekanada.

Ramakrishna Paramhansa said, "Anyone and everyone cannot be a guru. It is extremely difficult to teach others.  A man can teach only if God reveals Himself to him and gives the command.  Unless you have a command from God, who will listen to your words? "To teach others, one must have a badge of authority; otherwise teaching becomes a mockery.  A man who is himself ignorant starts out to teach others-like the blind leading the blind! Instead of doing good, such teaching does harm.  After the realization of God one obtains an inner vision.  Only then can one diagnose a person's spiritual malady and give instruction

There are three classes of physicians: superior, mediocre, and inferior. "Like the physicians, there are three types of religious teachers.  The inferior teacher only gives instruction to the disciples but makes no inquiries about their progress.  The mediocre teacher, for the good of the student, makes repeated efforts to bring the instruction home to him, begs him to assimilate it, and shows him love in many other ways.  But there is a type of teacher who goes to the length of using force when he finds the student persistently unyielding; I call him the best teacher."

If a man in the form of a guru awakens spiritual consciousness in you, then know for certain that it is God the Absolute who has assumed that human form for your sake.  The guru is like a companion who leads you by the hand.  After the realization of God, one loses the distinction between the guru and the disciple. .

if the teacher is an 'unripe' one, then both the teacher and the disciple undergo endless suffering.  The disciple cannot get rid either of his ego or of the shackles of the world.  If a disciple falls into the clutches of an incompetent teacher, he doesn't attain liberation."

Mundaka Upanishad declares that in just two words श्रोत्रियं ब्रह्मनिष्ठं Śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham (MU 1.2.12) "GURU IS THE ONE WHO HAS REALIZED BRHAMAN" . . . Simply stated, the person who has seen God, can only show God to others, no one else can. But in today's tradition the person who can show disciples the "direction" the "right path" to be followed is considered to be a guru.

The Bhagavad Gita says that a Guru is a Self-realised person who has disengaged himself from worldly preoccupations. A Guru is one who without any expectation from anyone thinks not only of his disciple's welfare but also of the whole world.

Who's GURU . . . .Shankara's Vivek Chudamai Verse 33 : "Who is versed in the Vedas, sinless, un-smitten by desire, and a knower of Brahman par excellence who has withdrawn himself into Brahman, calm like fire that has consumed its fuel, who has boundless reservoir of mercy that knows no reason, and a friend of all good people who prostrate themselves before him."

So, A Guru is:

(a) a Self-realized person and (b) one who constantly endeavours for the upliftment of the disciple.

The definition also informs us that apart from the Ultimate Welfare of the disciple, the Self-realized Guru has no other 'purpose' in this world. He has accomplished the Supreme, and therefore has no personal or worldly longing to fulfil. Being beyond all wants, he has no real purpose to serve in the world which he has known for sure is just an appearance without any content. Yet, out of boundless compassion, he takes upon himself, as it were, the endeavour of leading a seeker on the path of liberation. To such an Exalted Guru there is nothing in the three worlds that a disciple can give as return for the guidance received. The only 'dakshina', fee, that the Guru is worthy of being offered is the proper assimilation of the teaching he gives and becoming enlightened.

Today we all want instant remedy and thus look towards the Gurus as our pain reliever or miracle performer. No gyan or spiritual teachings can stop you from facing the inevitable. So please, do your homework before becoming someone's follower. Rely mostly on your gut. Don't go after these gurus , who have acquired big properties. They are mere social workers and that too to cover their nefarious deeds.

Having said that, I believe that good gurus also exist but we need to look for them. It also depends what are you looking for - an instant relief or spiritual salvation.