Who is a Satguru?

 

The Aura Photo of His Holiness Shivkrupanand Swami

Who is a Satguru?

Having a teacher to guide us in any field is invaluable. This is true in Spirituality as well. As Spirituality is subtle or intangible in nature, it is difficult to identify with certainty who is a spiritually evolved guide or Satguru. A Satguru is very different to a teacher or a preacher. He is a beacon of spiritual light in our world, and teaches us the universal spiritual principles that underlie all religions and cultures.

There are various aspects to the Supreme God Principle. These various aspects of God perform specific functions in the Universe. This is pretty much akin to the government of any country which has various departments to facilitate the smooth governing and functioning of the country as a whole.

Just as we have a department for education in a government, which facilitates teaching of modern sciences throughout the country, the aspect of God that looks after spiritual teaching and spiritual growth in the Universe is known as the Satguru. This is known as the unseen or unmanifest Satguru or the Teaching Principle of God. The unmanifest Satguru pervades the entire Universe and is with us at all times during our life and even after we die. The salient and highlighting feature is that the unmanifest Satguru stands by us throughout our life and slowly lifts us from our worldly life into a spiritual way of life. The Satguru guides us according to our spiritual level, i.e. our capacity to imbibe knowledge whether we know it or not, helping us develop skills such as perseverance, dedication, attention to detail, tenacity, compassion etc. through our lives. All these kinds of skills are intrinsic to being a good seeker of God and are vital in sustaining our spiritual journey. For those who are proactively seeking spiritual growth the Satguru is more active, guiding them in an unseen form according to what is needed for them. 

Out of the entire population of the world, few people take up spiritual practice that is universal and beyond the confines of formal, organised religion. Among these, a very few people through their spiritual practice (regardless of their religion of birth) attain the spiritual level required to selflessly give mass awakening. The unmanifest Satguru then works completely through some of these evolved individuals who are then known as the manifest Satguru or the Satguru in the human form. In other words, a person has to be at least a certain spiritual level to qualify as a spiritual guide or a Satguru. The Satguru in human form acts as a beacon of spiritual knowledge for humanity and is in total alignment with the Universal Mind and Intellect of God.

Just as God’s creation such as humans, animals etc. have a mind and intellect, so does God’s entire creations, the Universe has a Universal Mind and Intellect which contains absolutely genuine information of all things in the Universe. It can be thought of as God’s Mind and Intellect. As one progresses spiritually one’s subtle mind and intellect merge with the Universal Mind and Intellect and thus, that is how one is able to access information about the whole of God’s creation – that is the level of the truly realised Satguru!