1. Who is a Guru?
Guru in sanskrit means "He who removes Ignorance". This word Guru cannot be equated to Teacher in today's world. A Guru doesn't teach for the sake of
teaching as he is not bound to any timelines or deadlines. A Guru is a person whom you can establish a personal reverential relationship and elaborately ask all your doubts. A Guru will definitely clear your doubts and guide you. Only a
Self-Realized person is capable of becoming a Guru. His qualities are displaying unconditional love towards every living being. Their love towards every being is as same as the love between a mother and child. There is no partiality
shown by a Guru on his disciples and this establishes a healthy environment among the learners.
If a Guru shows partiality, he is not a Guru
2. Why do I need a Guru?
We are beginners. Spiritual Study is a scientific subject and not a history or story book. As we require qualified professors to teach any educational subject in
depth, we need Spiritual Gurus who are the only experts in understanding the scriptures.
Self-Study is one of the great blunders a learner of Hinduism does. Spiritual Book contents are one-dimensional. i.e. they just give static content. When a doubt arises in your mind, the book won't suffice. In such cases, it is definitely not advisable to proceed further without clarifying our doubts. When we continue learning further by misunderstanding the concepts, then it becomes even harder to make progress resulting in rejection of the scriptural studies undertaking. This is the reason why we need a Guru with whom we can communicate.
You go to a Guru to ask questions elaborately, not to just see him
3. How can i find the right Guru?
For beginners, it is advised to explore the lectures, books of different Gurus. Make sure you pick contents from atleast 2 different Gurus. As you listen to more
and more topics, you can start following the Guru whose contents you are able to follow easily.
It is said that we are not eligible to select our Guru, but the Guru finds the student. When our mind is open for discussions, analysis and change without being biased, stubbon and unwilling to learn more, then the Guru will find you at the right time.
A disciple doesn't find the right Guru, The right Guru finds his disciple
4. What is Guru Parampara?
The word "Parampara" means lineage. It means that a Guru who is teaching the scriptures has come from a systematically educated lineage. In a lineage system of
education, a Guru would have been a disciple of his Guru under whom he has learnt the scriptures for a sufficiently long period of time. Hence he is well aware of different kind of doubts that can crop up in a learner's mind and with
that experience, he will be able to guide us correctly based on our own personal progression.
WARNING 1 : Beware of Fake Gurus.
As there are plenty of Genuine Gurus in India, there are a few who absolutely fake their identity. Here are some tips to help you detect such fake Gurus.
- Missing Guru parampara
- Self-Styled Godman
- Highlights himself more than the Supreme God.
- Hyper-Advertising
- Promises Super Powers
- Costly Course Fees
- Lavish Expenditures
WARNING 2 : Beware of CULTs.
A CULT is a dangerous system of organized criminals. There are a lot of spiritual cults that concentrates more on advertising the popularity of their leader
instead of teaching the higher values of Spirituality. People in a CULT are devoided of proper sleep and nutrient foods. This state of unhealthy and a weak mind immediately starts to accept blindly all that is communicated to them
because the thinking capacity of an Individual reduces when the mind is not given enough rest.
A Genuine Spiritual organization gives their disciples enough rest (max 7 hours of undisturbed sleep). CULTS wake you up at irregular timings at night.