Guru purnima. Enlightenment by guru tatva-guru element illuminating our existence.

It is guru purnima today. As I completed the puja, i contemplated on the actual role of a guru in one's life.

This raised a lot of questions. Does a guru have a name, a time, a place? Answer is both yes and no, depending on how you look at it! Let's explore the various aspects of a guru (satguru), as given in different sources, compiled below in a question answer form.

What is the Meaning of the word guru?

Guru means removing the darkness. It's a combination of two letters. Gu and ru. Sanskrit, the language of the gods, with its infinite vocabulary, has the well defined rules of grammer, word formation etc. Truly amazing.

Which Chakras are activated when you say the word guru?

The very word as soon as it's said... guru, activates the heart-anahata chakra with the "g" sound, solar plexus-maniupra with the "r" sound and throat-vishuddhi chakra with the "u" sound. The Sanskrit alphabet is wonderfully organised on the chakras and it's petals. Understanding it's geometry and structure is a divine experiences in itself.

What is the difference between a teacher vs SatGuru.

A teacher imparts skills to us from time to time. We often use the word teacher and guru for react other. However, A satguru makes us realise our true self! Teachers do change, satGuru remains with us eternally. SatGuru shows the path, but not where to look! This amazing insight comes from my friend Teju.

In this Blog, when I say guru, i mean satguru, usually.

Who can be a satguru?

Someone selfless, someone who has walked the path, by grace of his guru can be a guru. A person with guru parampara or tradition, focused only of the upliftment of his disciples is a guru. Taking this step further, gurus who don't fit into this framework, may not not reliable gurus, as their self experience may not be based on a proven foundation. In the journey to self realisation, it's very easy to hallucinate... So it's best to be careful.

There are many gurus who are swayambhu gurus. No one knows where they got their spiritual knowledge from. Gajanan Maharaj, Sai Baba, Guruji from Samyama, are some of them. Again, there is no fixed rule here.

What is a Gurus sampradaya?

There are many sampradayas or sects founded by many gurus over thousands of years. Some are ritualistic, some are intellectual, yet others are based on yogic practices. If you are fortunate, you will be born in a family that follows a true guru. If you are not, you can always find one in this lifetime. Our sanatana culture relies on purushartha or effort and not on bhagya or fate.

Guru and God, who is higher?

Kabir says.

"Guru govind dou khade kake

Lagun paye. Guru balahari apne govind diyo batay."

When both guru and God stand together, and I have to bow down to one of them first, i bow down to the guru as he told me about god. He is in that way, above god! Such is the position of guru in our ancient culture.

However, as both are equal and same, manifestation of the same consciousness, i would place one hand at the feet of my guru and the other at the feet of the lord!

Faith on guru or faith on yourself?

Acharya explains in his book, vivekachudamani, that faith is not about believing someone. It is about listening, reflecting, contemplating, discussing, practising and believing when you yourself experience it. A true guru makes the disciple faithful, not to him, but to the divine self realisation, by making the experience real for the disciple.

Should a Guru perform miracles?

Many people are in awe of miracles. They were constantly seeking gurus who can perform miracles like producing items our of thin air, making things vanish etc. A guru may perform a so called miracle, only with the purpose of taking a disciple further on the path, to remove his doubts, to alter the inevitable destiny that may harm the disciple. This is in a way, like caring for a child by the loving mother. As the disciple progresses ahead, the miracles give way to inner self realisation.

Is Guru mantra the beginning?

As the guru scans the disciples energies, vibrations, state & destiny, a special mantra is given to the disciple to purify the mind. Guru knows that with sufficient repetitions, this mantra will be embedded in the breath, convert to soham and then become the eternal aum sound within, silencing the mind.

Do you find a guru, or does he find you?

Many people run after a guru, to take care of problems of day to day life, like health, money, home etc. They change gurus, when one is not able to solve their problems fast enough. However, this approach hardly leads anywhere. As one practises time tested techniques to make the mind still (similar to purification of the mind, where the desires and the emotions linked to the desires are known to originate from the roles and not the self), the guru appears in different forms and guides ahead. You are no longer dependent on one physical form of a guru.

Should guru charge for his services, sell merchandise, books etc?.

As long as the proceeds of the sales are used for a good cause, it is not an issue. I don't find any issue when I see isha shoppe at the airport. At least he is not selling anything that if harmful for health!

One of the purest models i have seen is from Ramkrishna mission. The math is for spiritual development and the mission is for running hospitals to care for the sick.

Many organisations have emulated this model in their own ways.

As guru imparts knowledge. Merchandise can be bought elsewhere, the spiritual knowledge in videos and books should be freely available. Some say, that unless one pays for it, one does not have any value. Hence it should be chargeable. This is true for most of the people, who are gauging spiritual knowledge by the same scale as material possessions.

Anyways, whatever you pay for spiritual knowledge is negligible as compared to the quantum of impact it has on the self

The debt of guru and mother can never be repaid!

In today's internet world, knowledge is free, hence instead of writing a book, i have posted everything on the website free for everyone to read.

Anything specific for a person could be chargeable. There are many models to explore. It depends on the guru and his organization, and the level of the disciple.

Is a Guru for the masses or for the classes?

A guru who guides the disciples, takes keen interest and hand holds the disciples on the path, is the true guru. The number of disciples does not matter, at the ability to handle a number is infinite with the guru.

How does one become egoless with gurus grace?

Ego or seeking a different identity is the source of desires, emotions, and the foundation of maya or illusions. Here illusion means the picture created by the mind, based on biases, interpretations etc. As the realisation comes that i am just a medium. Everything that is done, thought or had is as per a divine plan. Automatically the dance of the ego stops and gurus grace shines as the mind goes still.

Is Guru in the physical form needed?

Most people desire physical presence of guru in their life. Just as an infant needs a mother. Guru takes them into their fold and nurtures them into self development. After the guru leaves the body, the disciple feels sad, not knowing that the guru tatva, the element is eternal and will continue to be with the disciple for ever. For normal disciples, guru in it's physical form is needed. For disciples who have progressed ahead, they can connect at a different level.

How to ask questions to guru?

Some yearn for time to ask questions to a guru in physical presence. Some others just let the question float into the universe and the answers appear to them in dreams or in the form of event, person, book or just a thought.

Seeing from adwaita perspective, the person asking the question, the guru answering the question and the question-answer conversation is all one. Once you realise this, the answers flow naturally.

What is a Guru and disciple relationship?

All relationships are linked to the physical body as they are linked to a role. (Except for the relationship of guru and disciple.) Such is the power of this relationship. However,

In atmashatakam, adi shakaracharya says, "gururnaiva shishyam". By saying so, acharya means that beyond the many relationships in this world like parent and child, friends, relatives, even of a guru and disciple, the true self is always in blissful state. It is beyond even the relationship of guru and disciple. Chidananda Rupa, Shivoham shivoham.

Can a Guru appear as a book, event, person, thought?

As the guru element pervades everything and going by adwaita, the nondual nature of consciousness, the same element that is all around us, appears in many forms, a book, a friend, an event, even a thought, to guide us from time to time. Merely not being in the physical presence of guru, does not mean, that there is any separation. The guru element is within us, around us and is the self! There is no separation. Trust and know that the guru is always with us. Eternally.

Is it ok to have multiple Spiritual gurus?

It's due to avidya that one sees manifestations of the guru tattva, the pure consciousness, in different forms and sees them as different. They are like gold ornaments. Adisciple has to be very advanced to realise this.

Each guru is like being made of gold, nothing but gold! Meher Baba had 5 gurus. Sant tukaram had many too.

One has to use their own viveka (discretion) in this matter, based on what is the current level.

As the mind gets attracted to physical forms of gurus at all intellectual level or emotional level, the soul knows the path intuitively. So follow your intuition. Everyone's path is unique and different.

Where is the Guru in the five koashas or layers?

As the guru illuminates the annamaya kosha, the acceptance of having sets in. Working for result, putting the best, yet accepting the outcome.

As the prana is illuminated, the awareness of doing is set. All actions are done with hundred percent alertness.

As the manomaya kosha is illuminated, all the limitations of scarcity go away and the abundance is experienced.

With the self and blissful states co existing, the guru tatva, the pure element illuminates the formless infinite energy and manifested universe.

Thus guru enables us to illuminate All the koashas.

How to feel the eternal presence of guru within?

As the focus goes on the three internal sounds, the breathing, the heartbeat and the internal aum sound, the mind goes silent and what remains is the presence of the guru within. Thus begins the manaspuja or puja in the mind.

How to do Manaspuja of guru?

Regarded as the highest level of Puja, where the puja offerings are made by focusing on the guru in the heart chakra as pure shiv form, one can feel the shiv manaspuja come alive within, especially the 4th shloka.

Why not to idolise a guru

Instead of seeing where a guru is pointing, one looks at the finger, the gross form of the guru, and observes it's colour, shape, etc.. Which is actually of little use. The primary objective is to walk on the path shown by the guru. Br grateful to the guru, instead of just idolising a guru.

Many times, disciples build large temples for the gurus, place their idols etc. this does not seem to serve any other purpose than being an emotional support. The devi devtas, avatars, Shiva and Vishnu etc. are well defined in sanatna dharma. Creating idols of gurus is not mentioned anywhere there.

As Shankaracharya says....i am not the even the relationship between the disciple and guru...na gurur naiva shishyam, chidananda rupah shivoham shivoham.

A guru can guide, remove the obstacles in life and the path to freedom, but can't grant it. Even paramhans ramkrishna, had to follow the instructions of his guru totapuri to reach the nirvikalp samadhi...

Blessing for everyone.

May our adi guru, adinath, followed by matsyendranath, gorkhnath, gahininath, nivruttinath, dyneshwar mauli, gulabaro maharaj, babaji maharaj, bless you with abundance of being, acceptance of having and awaness of doing at all times.