“A child cannot be born without a father and a mother.
Clothes cannot be washed without water.
There can be no horseman without a horse.
So, without a Master, none can reach the court of the Lord.”
– Kabir
Do we need a Guru?
As we progress on our spiritual journey, sooner or later the question arises, “Do I need a guru or can I do it alone?”
Well the answer is yes we can but, when help is offered, why not take it? Think of your spiritual journey like having a very large financial debt. Let’s say there are three men in this situation each doing his best to pay off his debt but it is a long slow process and as a result, the quality of their lives is suffering. They have been in debt so long, they can’t remember what it was like to be debt-free. One day a multi-billionaire shows up and says, “Let me pay your debts, my wealth is so vast that I wouldn’t notice them”. The first man asks, “What’s the catch? What’s in it for you?” “This sounds too good to be true, I don’t trust it,” and he walks away. The second man says, “Thank you, I appreciate the offer, but I prefer to do it myself”. “I created the debt, I will repay it somehow”. He too walks away. The third man says, “Thank you very much, when do we start?” Which man do you choose to be?
Types of Gurus
The word guru means ‘remover of darkness’ so anyone or anything that helps you to remove the layers of ignorance covering your true essence is a type of guru. Your first gurus were your parents. Your school teachers and college professors also functioned in some way as gurus, as does your priest or rabbi. Your pets and nature can also be your teachers and nowadays we even have financial and Internet gurus.
In a spiritual sense however, a guru is someone who will help us on our journey of Self-realization. Here again, we can meet several different types of gurus. There are teachers who talk about higher states of consciousness and enlightenment, without being established in these states themselves. These people can give us an intellectual understanding and may teach us useful techniques but they will only be able to share from their own limited level of experience.
We may choose a great Master, who is no longer with us physically. We can learn many great insights from his or her teachings but the lack of personal contact may limit our progress when questions arise. There are living gurus who are fully realized but have chosen not to offer verbal guidance. We can benefit greatly by merely being in the presence of these beings. Receiving their Darshan, grace or blessings alone can give us a tremendous boost, but without a proper understanding, we may become confused by our experiences.
Fortunately, walking on the planet today are a rare few great Enlightened Masters, who have awakened from this dream we call life, to discover Truth. In their infinite compassion to remove our suffering, these Masters have chosen to share themselves with the world. Having completed the journey, these beings, not only show us the way but are also willing to help us remove the veils of ignorance and delusion (karma) we have created for ourselves. In the Vedic literature it says, “Moksha Mulam Guroh Kripa – the root of liberation is the Grace of the Guru”. This journey may not always be comfortable. These Masters will bring “our stuff” to the surface. They will make us work, often testing our limits but they are the ones who can take us on the fastest path back into the Light.
How do we find our Guru?
Through meditation, purity of intent and a deep longing for liberation. Listen to teachers who may visit your area, read the teachings of living masters. See what and who resonates with you and is offering what you are looking for. As is said, “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.”
“The guru is none other than the Self. As the seeker’s mind is bent outward, the Self takes a human shape as a guru, to help drive it inward”
– Ramana Maharshi
How do we recognize a true Guru?
A true Guru only teaches from Pure Love. Only Pure Love and Light can come from a true Guru and it arrives in whatever form we need in that moment. He or she should have a good understanding of the knowledge being taught, should have purity in thought, word and action. He or she should radiate, compassion, forgiveness, humility and peace. The joy of any true Guru is not to create devotees but to eventually merge his or her consciousness with that of the students, raising them to their own full Mastery.
With any true Guru you need never surrender your free will or independence. A true Guru will never impose a determined way of life or way of thinking on a student. The Guru replies to questions that are asked of him or her in a purely advisory capacity.
In the Indian sacred literature it says that to get a human body is a rare thing in itself, but to get a human body and be spiritually aware is even greater. However, to be spiritually aware and find a Perfect Teacher is the greatest blessing a human being can have. We are all enlightened beings whose essence is covered over but our soul will eventually bring our Guru to us. When we finally meet our Guru, it resonates on many levels. There will be an inner peace and knowingness, a sense of trust.
A Word of Caution
Swami Vivekananda cautions us that “There are people who, though immersed in ignorance, yet in the pride of their hearts, fancy they know everything”. Some may have even “tasted” enlightenment but, without true knowledge, we may spend a lot of time with them but progress very little. A true Guru doesn’t teach for any ulterior selfish motives – for money, name or fame. In the Vedas it says, “Seek the company of those who seek enlightenment but run from those who claim to have found it.”
The Final Step
Ultimately, the Guru doesn’t bring about Self-realization. He or she merely removes all the obstacles to it. The Self is always realized. Any external Guru can only take us to the doorway of Self Realization, our human “freewill” demands that we take the final step alone. This is the most critical time in our journey. This is when the ego tries every way it knows to distract us from the path and this is when some aspirants may, “fall from grace”. This is the time when our focus and resolve must be strongest.
The Guru is our own Self
Whether you have chosen to follow the teachings a great Master, or whether you’ve decided to ‘go it alone’, you will eventually come home to the Source, you are so blessed. Ultimately, the Guru lies within each of us and all the great Teachers are nothing other than mirrors of our own selves, someone we have created to remind us of all the things we have forgotten. The Light we see in these Divine Beings is a reflection of our own Light. We cannot bow to any external Guru without bowing ourselves. The end of the journey is to rediscover the Enlightened Guru that is none other than our own Self.