Why is a Guru essential according to our scriptures?

Dear Chithra Madam,

I derived a lot of pleasure and happiness when I honoured my Guru during this Vijayadasami. When I was about to share my views about Guru in our forum, there came your post with full essence of Guru concept. Your post carries very sensitive interpretations of following a Guru. Thank you very much for this wonderful and essential post.

regards,

Vanaja

 

Dear Chitvish,

Nice post... I enjoyed it... Your example was great...

I agree with you, that we need a guru for guiding us properly in the spiritual world... Though we can give examples of people who have excelled, without... but they are very few and greats....

I agree, that when we are ready, the guru will take us into his fold... Till the right time comes, even if we stand upside down we will find our guru....

I have experienced this in my practical life....

 

Yes dear Chitra madam,

Fine display of examples and well observed lines from our ancient scripts.
Yes it is indeed a pleasure to learn so many things from different sources and share with our learned friends.
The word Upanishad comes from two words - upa and nishad.
Upa means sitting nearby and nishad means to listen and learn; literally translated,
Upanishad then refers to a dedicated shishya sitting near a guru and listening and learning from the spiritual experiences of a great master.
In this relationship, the shisya considers the guru to be God himself and has absolute faith in the teachings and guidance of the guru.
For his part, the guru dedicates himself to the guidance of the shishya.
There is no competition in this relationship - just mutual respect.
Nothing in this world is more satisfying to the guru than the accomplishments of his shishya.
Such is the greatness of this relationship.
However, for both the guru and the shishya, finding this relationship is as much about chance as it is about ones own willingness to find knowledge wherever it may reside.
Learning anything requires discipline and dedication.
A guru is an integral part of that learning.
If we are sincere and dedicated about learning - whether it is the arts or about life - we will find a guru.
Regardless of the form, if we are open to learning , there is no limit to what can be learned.
In order to reach the zenith of any human endeavor or field of knowledge, one must have a teacher, guide or a mentor.
If we want to be topnotch athlete, we would certainly need a capable coach to
train us and help us achieve our goal.
Similarly, one who chooses to tread a spiritual path seeking God realization needs a master or a guide referred to as a Guru in Hinduism.
The word 'Guru' literally means the 'weighted one'
i.e. the one who is heavily loaded with spiritual knowledge or divine wisdom.
It also means the one who leads his disciples from the darkness of ignorance
to spiritual enlightenment by imparting divine knowledge.
A guru is the one who guides his or her disciple to become a Jivamukta
i.e. a liberated soul that achieves salvation in his or her lifetime through God-realization.
In the modern world, however, the word Guru has acquired a distorted, secular meaning- an expert or a highly knowledgeable person in any field.
This important Hindu concept of Guru dates back to the ancient Vedic times when seers revealed their spiritual insights, and sages taught their wisdom to a few select disciples called Shishyas.
These teachings were usually transmitted in privacy and were esoteric, not
meant for general public.
In ancient India, the guru served another purpose.
Having attained God-realization, he would set an example for his disciples by living himself a life of simplicity, selfless-service and discipline.
He not only imparted moral values and spiritual knowledge to his disciples, he himself practiced simple living and high thinking.
A guru commanded the disciples' highest reverence by his actions.
Therefore, a disciple would never question a guru's word.
Such a Guru is known as Sadguru or a true (competent) Guru.
In fact, Hinduism ascends Sadguru to divinity.
"Guru represents all three aspects of God as creator, sustainer and regenerator. He is the supreme being to whom I bow."
With the advent of the secular education in India, gurus have been replaced by school teachers and college professors, but the traditional bond between guru and his disciple (teacher and student) survived.
In modern India, teachers are still accorded the highest respect, both by students and their parents.
Teaching has always been considered a noble profession.
Despite the changes in the educational system, modern India still has a large population of self-proclaimed gurus, but only a few are Sadgurus following the traditional system.
Many of them were highly successful professionals before renouncing the material world in order to follow the spiritual path to God-realization.
Their writings and public discourses on mass media have attracted
thousands of followers, Hindus and non-Hindus, around the world.
They motivate their followers not to join the Western rat-race of consumerism, and encourage them to keep their traditional values.
A truly ‘enlightened’ master will never tell us that he is great or that he is enlightened.
He will never tell us that he alone can realize the ultimate, that he is a perfect master or avatar, whilst we are an ordinary human being.
There will make enlightenment out to be something exclusive by showing the way.
We have to follow according to our understanding and pracitices.
Concentrate on the culture & traditions and upheld the true values.
We all have the potential to be awake, to be conscious, in the silent emptiness of our true nature.
We do our work, raise our family, whilst all the time watching what arises in consciousness.
We see the play of the world, of life, and we stand back from any emotional involvement in it.
Listening to the voice of our own true nature is what we really need to trust in to achieve that self contentend Life.
Guru's shows us the path as " Who controls the ten senses (five outer and five inner) in His Soul is the True Light."
Guru is the representative of God.Without surrendering, we cannot learn anything...

Subbu

 

Subbtr:
it is interesting to note that Guru dedicates himself or herself to guidance of shishiya.
That there is no competition here is correct. I feel that we will be able to have
such a relaionship with anyone with meaning only when there is no competition.
There should be mutual respect between two persons in order to make progress.
be it with friends, family etc.

 

Nice post, once again, Mrs. Chith.
I was searching for the meaning of 'Guru' after i heard somebody say it and then completely forgot about it.
Thanks for reminding that in this post.
The importance of Guru explained in the Vedas, shows us that how important a Guru is, in our life.


Subbu Sir, enjoyed your article too in this regard!

sriniketan

 

thanks ,Chith, for guiding us to our 'Maanasiga Guru'.

sriniketan