Importance of Guru

Dear KathaVarta visitors, I have already post some article for the Importance of Guru, in this month, I found one another useful article for the same. I hope you wiill enjoy this as well. Hapy Surfing with http://www.KathaVarta.org

When Lord Narayan was in the midst of creating universe, Goddess Laxmi, His consort was very upset. Lord Narayan saw this and asked her what the reason was. To this She replied that Lord Narayan was creating the universe in which He would crerate human beings and the Karma Department, which would be totally independent of anything. Due to the Karma theory, mankind would only suffer due to their own doings, as Karma is totally an independent theory.

No God or Demi God influences what a human being wants to do and all this would lead to misery and unlimited sorrow and sadness.Since humans are no one else but the children of Lord Narayan/Goddess Laxmi it was all but obvious that a mother would cry if she sees her children in misery. So She wanted the Lord to create some method, which could end the misery of mankind. To this Lord Narayan created the following method:

He said that any human being, no matter whatever bad karma he has done earlier in this birth as well as his previous births—once he accepts a spiritual leader or Guruji (in the disciple succession of guru Parampara),takes naam daan from the Guru and surrenders himself totally to his Guru(Sharnagati)— this person’s sin would be forgiven and forgotten and he would be on the path to Moksha (oneness with the Supreme Lord)

It is very funny that if someone wants to learn music, they look for a good music teacher. If someone wants to learn tennis he looks for a good tennis coach, but when it comes to spiritual life it is basic human nature that he thinks he is good enough on his own and does not need a teacher in this field.

We see around that everything needs a teacher so how on earth we enter the spiritual world without a teacher.That’s why a spiritual teacher or Guru is so important. The scriptures also say that a Guru is not only important, but is essential which means that there is no choice, if one wants to head towards self realization, then one has to have a Guru and there is no allowance to this rule.

LAXMINATH SAMARAMBHA

NATHYA MUNI MADYAMAH

ASMADACHARYA PARYANTA

VANDE GURU PARAMPARA

Lord Krishna himself tells Arjuna that if you want to approach me then approach me through a teacher who himself is self realized and who knows who I am so that He can guide you successfully through this spiritual world and make you one with Me.

Our own Guruji says to have a Guru is so important in life. He further says that we feel Guru Nanikji was himself a Guru so He may not have needed another Guru,but dear friends even Lord Rama ,Lord Krishna everyone needed a Guru to sail across life cycle.

In the Purana we can get the gyan of our Gurus. Guru Nanikji in His Granth starts saluting His past Gurus including Pandit Hardayal Shastri and Bjakt Renu.

Lord Rama had Vashisht Muni as his spiritual teacher and Lord Krishna’s spiritual teacher was Sandipan Muni. So who are we to go through the spirtual world without a teacher or Guru.

To sum it all as Kabirdasji wrote:-
“Ram Krishna se koi bade, jinhone Guru kinh, teen lok taran tarn Guru aage aadheen.”

Source: www.jagatguru.in
Visit www.eTirth.com for more religious information.

Stick to One Guru

After finding a fully realized Guru we must stick to him only, because if we dig here and there, we might find many false Gurus and then chaos and confusion will arise within ourselves. We must remember that we can find a real Guru within a million ‘Gurus.’

Try to imbibe thoroughly the spiritual teachings from one preceptor alone. Merge with his Light and knowledge through faith, devotion, surrender and righteous actions. Drink deep from this realized man or woman.

There is no use of wandering from one Guru to another Guru, out of curiosity, losing faith in a short time.

Follow the spiritual instructions of one man only. Only then you will have rapid spiritual progress. If you go to several people and follow the instructions of many persons, you will be bewildered, then you will be in a great dilemma, and automatically chaos and confusion will arise in your mind.

Source: www.santhigiri.com
Visit www.eTirth.com for Gurus information.

Finding a Guru

To find a fully realized Guru is a blessing and it is undoubtedly very hard to find him. It is easier to find a pearl in the sea than to stand in front of a real spiritual being. We usually cannot recognize a fully realized Guru, because we are attracted by false Gurus who exhibit siddhis -occult powers, such as levitation, walking on water, invisibility, etc., though a real Guru does not exhibit any siddhi.

For a real seeker, help on finding a Guru comes in a mysterious manner. When the time is ripe, the Guru and the disciple are brought together by God Almighty in so many mysterious ways. By dreams, by reading a book or an article on that Guru, by meeting someone related to that Guru, by chanting a mantra in which the Guru’s name is involved, by meeting the Guru itself, or by some other means a reaction can be experienced within your soul, such as an inner heat, a vibration within your body, the attainment of darshans -spiritual visions-, the arousal of a great joy within yourself, or not being able to pronounce not even a word when you find yourself in front of such a Great Soul.

In my case I, Carlos Guzman, had a spiritual vision of the Guru, when I was in Mexico thousands of miles away from him and without even knowing him personally, I felt an urge of the soul on making a trip out of my country in order to find this Great Soul. In October, 1991, two and a half months after starting this trip, I had the fortune of meeting my Guru. An incredible detailed narration is given in this Web Page under the name “Experiences of Guru’s Disciples.”

After reading the article “Experiences of Guru’s Disciples”, I will extend an invitation to meet Nava Jyothi Sri Karunakara Guru.

Source: www.santhigiri.com
Visit www.eTirth.com for Gurus information.

False Gurus and Siddhis

The Universe is full of false preceptors. Overly clever, they surround themselves with selfish pleasures and bestow their ‘grandiose’ teachings upon the unwary. Prematurely publicizing themselves, intent upon reaching some spiritual climax, they constantly sacrifice the Truth and deviate from the real spiritual path. What they really offer the Universe is their own confusion.

In the Universe as at present there are plenty of people masquerading as Gurus, due to sheer ignorance or in a deliberate attempt to deceive the gullible. Hence it is essential for the aspirant to be very sure of the person, before he accepts and accolades him as his Guru. There are some who profess to be Gurus, and are ardent worshippers of some deity or other. These people may even get or cause to get their deities of choice to manifest and thereby exhibit siddhis -occult powers, such as levitation, walking on water, seating on ice for hours, being immune to pain, appearing certain objects, walking on fire, becoming invisible, etc.

A Guru can be endowed with countless siddhis. Possession of siddhis, however, is not the test to declare the greatness of a sage or to prove that he has attained Self-realization. A real Guru does not exhibit any miracle or siddhi.

Sri Krishna is believed to be the most exalted in the knowledge of spiritual liberation. He never tried to develop any kind of siddhis. He merely ate and drank like a normal human. Yet he was a far greater Guru than that all past great spiritual preceptors.

Buddha severely criticized some practices that lead to the attainment of siddhis because he said that this could severely interfere with our spiritual growth.

In the Kevatta Sutta -Buddhist philosophical scripture- Buddha said that there are three types of occult powers:

1. The miracle of psychic power.- Walking on water without sinking, vanishing, going unimpeded through walls or ramparts as if through space, levitating, etc.

2. The miracle of telepathy.- There is the case where a person reads the minds, the mental events, the thoughts, the ponderings of other beings.

3. The miracle of instruction.- This is the ability of a person to instruct and to lead people in the correct path towards mukti -spiritual liberation.

Buddha said: “Seeing the drawback to the miracles of psychic power and telepathy, I feel horrified, humiliated, and disgusted with the miracles of psychic power and telepathy. The only miracle that a person should practice is the miracle of instruction.”

The great sage Ramakrishna Paramahamsa declared that siddhis were an obstacle in the attainment of spiritual liberation. Though better off than the common ignorant, these people cannot be accepted as Gurus. Some false Gurus exhibit occult powers, performing miracles to attract the people that are near them. This has become an universal problem nowadays. The attainment and practice of occult powers -siddhis- goes in contradiction with the Yugadharma -Spiritual Law of this age.

Source: www.santhigiri.com
Visit www.eTirth.com for Gurus information.

Necessity of a Guru in our life

A Guru is absolutely necessary for every aspirant in the spiritual path. God teaches through the human enlightened body of a fully realized Guru. The Guru is the pattern into which you should mould yourself. Guru is the door to spiritual liberation, but it is the aspirant who has to enter it through Niskama karma -righteous words, thoughts and actions performed without the expectation of results. Also a total surrender, a strong faith and a firm devotion towards the Guru is needed. The Guru will then be able to absorb part of your previous bad karma -dark energies that reside within your soul, due to errors commited in the past and that hinder spiritual liberation- and purify your soul. He will remove pitfalls and obstacles, leading you along the right path towards enlightment. The disciple should not rest satisfied with the transmission of knowledge and Light from the Guru. He will have to struggle hard in sadhana -spiritual disciplines- for further perfection and attainments. He must be a person full of love, humility, compassion, patience, endurance, forbearance; he must perform service to others without the expectation of positive results or any kind of reward.

It is important to realize that the more spiritual evolution the seeker attains for himself, through positive actions, faith, surrender and devotion towards God or to a fully realized Guru, the more responsibility the seeker has in the spiritual arena and minor mistakes in life can have profound effects in spiritual evolution.

The Guru can transform the disciple by a look, a touch, a thought or a word, or mere willing. Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa touched Swami Vivekananda and by his grace Swami Vivekananda had supra conscious experience though he had struggled hard for the rest of his life in order to attain perfection. We must always keep on working -righteous thoughts, words and actions- no matter the spiritual level attained, remembering that the more we get, the more we shall be asked in exchange. Without the grace of the Guru, it is very difficult to evolve spiritually. To light a candle, you need a burning candle. An illumined soul alone can enlighten another soul.

Source: www.santhigiri.com
Visit www.eTirth.com for Gurus information.

Meaning of the Word Guru

Its Etymology And Spiritual Significance

Etymologically, the term Guru means one who gives light by eradicating the darkness of ignorance. According to the philosophical Hindu text Advayataraka Upanishad (1418), Guru means ‘dispeller (gu) of darkness (ru).’ The Guru concept is essentially an ancient Indian concept, having no parallel in the spiritual tradition of other societies. In common parlance the term ‘Guru’ means ‘teacher.’ To learn anything in life, let it be material or spiritual, one needs the help of a teacher. The Gurus vary according to the attainment of knowledge and the levels at which they impart guidance. Therefore, one should be diligent in locating and identifying a real Guru.

A Guru worth the name should be atmajnani -one who can see the intricacies of your soul and its past, present and future in order to give the correct guidance towards mukti -spiritual liberation. He can guide his followers in their material, emotional and spiritual life so as to lead them to the supreme aim of human life, which is the communion with the Supreme Light.

We are living in a materialistic age where all of us are mainly concerned about money, sex, beauty, power and a high status in society. Lust for power, material greed, sensual excitement, selfishness, envy, passion for wealth and lower appetites have drawn man from his true life in the spirit into the materialistic life, forgetting about the existence of the Almighty. Though he can regain his lost spirituality through a fully realized Guru, who can give him the cor him the correct guidance and transmute animal nature into divine nature, leading man to the pinnacle of spiritual evolution -mukti.

Guru: leads from ignorance to wisdom, from disharmony to harmony, from hatred to love, from want to fullness, from weakness to strength, from limitation to infinitude, from diversity to unity, from darkness to Light, and from imperfection to perfection. He gives hope to the sad and forlorn, strength to the weak, health to the sick and wisdom to the ignorant.

The Guru is the veritable physical manifestation of God and the seeker of Truth should have a total faith and surrender in the saving grace of the Guru. A word from him is a word from God. His very company is self-illumination. We must remember that, three things, devotion, faith and surrender are essential for any progress. I have seen in darshans -spiritual visions- that having a strong devotion, faith and surrender towards the Guru, the spiritual seeker will be able to establish a strong spiritual connection with the Guru’s Light, evolving at a tremendous speed towards spiritu spiritual liberation. This path is called Guru margam, the way of the Guru, and according to revelations received by great seers, this is the most dynamic way towards liberation. I have studied religions and several philosophical paths for more than 20 years and the benefits offered by the Guru margam, are much greater than what any other religion can offer us. I am completely sure of what I am saying, because I have confirmed it through my personal experience and internal visions received since 8 years back, realizing that the benefits acquired by the Guru margam are much greater than whatever of the existent creeds or doctrines around the World can give us. This is an experienced truth and at least 300 people around the World can testify about this reality.

Two things are necessary for a beautifully finished sculpture. One is a strong piece of marble and the second is the expert sculptor. The piece of marble should but unconditionally remain in the hands of the sculptor, in order to be carved and chiselled into the fine image. The seeker placing himself under the expert guidance of a fully realized Guru, will allow to be carved out and chiselled into the image of perfection. It is also absolutely necessary for the disciple to purify himself through positive karma -righteous words, thoughts and actions in order to attain liberation. If the disciple does not perform this kind of karma, then the benefits that he could receive from his Guru will be eclipsed.

The dictum: “Guru Sarva Dharmatma” -Guru permeates in all Dharma (Spiritual Law) brings about in short, the Guru concept in the Indian spiritual tradition.

Source: www.santhigiri.com
Visit www.eTirth.com for Gurus information.