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!
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