Guru's Guidance to a Life of Fulfilment
Times Of India

To walk the spiritual path and reach the state of God-realisation, a guide is necessary. Just as there can be no life without prana, without a guru there can be no know-ledge, no unfolding and growth of the shakti or innate power which lies dormant in every individual. A guru shows his disciple how to do sadhana and love God.

A guru should be one who has realised the mantra and who can charge it with conscious force; a master of shaktipat, possessing great spiritual power. He may be a householder or a renunciate but he must be able to transmit shakti. He has divine grace.

A true guru is one who awakens the inner Shakti Kundalini through shaktipat which is the descent of divine grace in an individual's life. Having set the divine shakti in motion in an individual's body, he bestows the joys of divine love in him. Through the compassion of such a guru, disciples can lead lives of ecstasy.

A guru understands the ways of the world and the law of destiny. He is adept in spiritual matters but he is just as adept in practical affairs. Disciples who live under the protection of such a guru pass through difficulties with ease and seekers in a Siddha ashram live fearlessly even in the most terrifying of circumstances.

Normally, it is difficult to get to know realised gurus or to understand them. If someone performs a small miracle, we accept him as a guru. If someone gives a mantra or shows a technique in tantra, we are willing to accept him as a guru.

We are quite indiscriminate in accepting people as gurus. And because we do not receive inner satisfaction from them, our faith gets destroyed and we think that guruhood itself is nothing but hypocrisy. We end up becoming hostile to a true master and do him injustice.

A true guru is not one who tries to gather as many disciples as possible and keep them in that condition even after leaving his physical form. Only he is a true guru who, having himself become a guru, takes discipleship away from his disciples and turns them into realised beings like himself.

A true guru is perfect, simple, direct and loving. He is the well- wisher of his disciples. He doesn't covet his disciples' wealth and property but takes on their sins and anxieties. He shows the spiritual path.

The guru can lead his disciples to the vision of God without severe asceticism. He brings the peace of a cave and the experience of solitude right into people's homes. He shows the spiritual path right in the midst of the world. He lets you see the Himalayas in everyday life and Mount Kailash in meditation. A true guru helps us renounce our limited individuality rather than property and wealth.

Blessing him with divine grace, the guru turns a person's ordinary life into a sacred existence. The disciple continues to follow his occupation in society and sees his life as a gift bestowed by God. The guru elevates his disciples to higher levels, shows them their own true nature, merges them with Shiva and makes them Shiva.

Guru's Guidance to a Life of Fulfilment
Times Of India