Don't get excited I am not writing about the Mani Ratnam film. Its about a real Guru. I am reading this book titled "Divine Discourses". It is a collection of discourses give by H.H Abhinava Vidhyatheertha Swamigal of Sringeri, as interpretted by a disciple. Most of the book is about the importance of a Guru in our lives.
I have friends who have their family Guru, and have often wondered why my family does not have one. More often it appears as tough, if we want something, a Guru is our direct contact with God. We are all believers in God, but no Guru to direct us. How will we reach God? But is it really true that we dont have any Guru?
Well, when I come to think of it, our first Guru is invariently our mother. She is the one who teaches us most of our formative lessons. She teaches us to walk, talk, read, write and pray, to name a few. So, our first Guru in our path to reach closer to God, is our mother.
Then as life goes on we learn a few things about God from our father and teachers. After a few years when we venture out on our own, its something inside us that directs us. But at this stage we are more concerned about wordly things. Still no physical Guru in sight. Personally, I am at this stage.
I don't know if I will find a Guru. Can I not reach God without a Guru? I don't know, but right now there is God who is guiding me on the right path. Its the same God that guided Arjuna on the right path. So for now why do I need a physical Guru, when I have the greatest Guru guiding me, the one Guru trascending time and space????
5 comments:
My dear Indhu,
You have posed a qood and important question. In fact, it appears that you are asking me a question...why did not you have a Guru ? I thought of this question many times.. in fact many in our family accuse me of not visiting the Sringeri Acharya, as he is widely considered as the spiritual Guru of our family. I have not purposefully kept myself away from him; it has happened that way and I did not want to impose anything on me or my family. I believe GOD will guide us... once we surrender to HIM without any hesitation. If HE has willed that we do not need to go to a Guru, HE knows that the best. Who are we to question that? If HE wills a Guru will appear in our life. But I am happy the way I am - HE has guided me so far and I am sure HE will guide me for ever. Do I need a Guru ? I am not sure. HE will decide.
By the way, my assessment so far is that no human being is above the normal human weaknesses. Some are smart; some are not. But seeking TRUTH from any of them is like getting gold out of copper. What you need is an inner explosion, leading to the realization of the self....and beyond.
Love
Appa
@Appa
I agree with a part of what you say, that "no human being is above normal human weakness". Because of this no one person will be able to give us the whole TRUTH. We have to pick up bits an pieces from different people and like you say, we need an inner realization - just like Gautama Buddha, he did not have a "Guru". He had to search within himself for the TRUTH! Now some might agrue with me that Gautama Buddha was an incarnation of God, but so are we - "aham brahma asmi" ! :)
baap re!!! :D
some of my gurus are appa, amma and u... :D i think they r more than enough.....
My Dear Indhu,
If you have the capacity to pick and choose the right things from many people to make you a perfect soul, then you don't need a Guru as you are already enlightened. Many of the so called Gurus do not have Gurus...e.g. Satya Sai Baba, Ravi Shankar, OSHO, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Those who did not call themselves Gurus, like Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Ramana Maharishi et al, did not have Gurus either. Imagine a mathematics Guru for Ramanujan !!! As I said earlier, it is HE who decides the way you progress towards enlightenment..Guru or no Guru.
Love
Appa
I know a few ppl who always need a Guru..they say they can talk to God..well i cannot accept this..they can be great people with immense knowledge and bhakthi..very focussed.. and are capable of helping others in times of distress..so they are seen as God..ultimately thats what is God ...a right guidance ,positive energy,giving you strength ..so again its what you think God is..i think He can be beleived in any form..weather u see Him in a Guru or feel Him yourself it doesn't matter..ultimately its the belief that keeps u going..Thats why we worship lord Krishna ,Ganesha all the rest of them in Hindu mythology..
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