Role of a Guru

 

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Role of a Guru

The person who seeks Moksha (salvation) or the one who desires the Lord’s darshan (sight) hasn’t even started his journey until his heart is overwhelmed with the hope of what he seeks. If in his heart there is intense longing for the Lord’s darshan, as a hungry man longs for food and a thirsty man longs for water, then there is no need to run around looking for a Guru.

It is not that the Guru is not there, he is. The person, whose heart has so much thirst for darshan of the Lord that he cries for not being able to behold the Lord, and offers to give up everything in order to get a glimpse of Him, for such a person a Guru will come on his own. God himself can come as a Guru. When the Lord comes, he stays near the seeker, never far off. It is the true disciples that are a scarcity.

How does one recognise one’s Guru? From his attire, rudraksh, from his long hair or by his long beard? All these are outward criteria that anyone can flaunt. It is not necessary for a Guru to have any particular paraphernalia. Remember what Swamiji has said many times – if there is longing, then a Guru is not far away. There are authentic Gurus. It is not that they do not exist but they do not advertise outwards. 

It is important to spend time in a Guru’s proximity to whatever extent possible to find out for ourselves whether he wants something from us or wants to give us something! If he is an authentic spiritual Guru, then all he will want from us is affection and one-pointedness. Nothing else. If we want to do service for him, then that is our call. A Guru will not tell us to serve him. This is the first thing. If we see someone with a fancy staged atmosphere, lights radiating from behind, long silk curtains, expensive clothes, one who dances while he talks – we look at all these attributes and, in two days, decide that he is our Guru. How is that possible?

We need to stay with the Guru and find out about his nature. If he is a true spiritual Guru, he will want nothing from us. This is the first criterion. Secondly, if there is enough thirst inside us to reach there, then a Guru will appear from somewhere. Even if a wrong Guru appears, it would be training and a learning experience.