Spiritual practice from an authentic source – finding a Guru

Guru Tatwa (element), consciousness, life or existence is a mystery that cannot be resolved but only experienced. I am a beginner on the path. This article is an attempt to share with fellow travelers my limited understanding of what Shastras and evolved one’s have said and what little I have experienced so far in my quest in so far as it relates to finding a path (spiritual practice) and a Guru.

As for the Gurus, Guru Geeta (conversation between Shiva and Parvati) speaks of seven kinds of Gurus :

Soochak Guru – one who imparts worldly knowledge – science, economics, literature, art, medicine etc.,

Vachak Guru – one who imparts knowledge relating to Dharma and Adharma, Varna, Asharm, scriptures etc.,

Bodhak Guru – one who initiates a disciple in Mantras like Panchakshari mantra and tells him the way to self realization,

Nishiddha Guru – one who gives mantras for mohan, maran, vashikaran etc. – such Gurus need be avoided.

Vihit Guru – one who tells that the world is impermanent and is abode of sorrows and shows the path of Vairagya,

Karnakhya Guru – one who frees the disciple from worldly suffering by making him experience oneness of everything through Mahavakyas like ‘Tatwamasi’, and

Param Guru – one who roots out all doubts and destroys the illusion of birth, death and fear – one meets such a Guru as a result of Punya Karmas of many births.

Now, out of the above mentioned Gurus, which kind of a Guru one would feel connected to is a complex question. It may depend upon factors like one’s Sanchit (accumulated) Karmas, efforts made for inner exploration in one’s past lives and the lineage of Gurus, if any, one belongs to and, of course, one’s experiences in this life. Everyone being at different level of spiritual evolution, will feel connected to different kind of Gurus. The spiritual practice which will suit one would also largely depend on these factors. There is no way of knowing it on one’s own. Only a seer (Guru) can tell what is appropriate for one. But then again one is confounded by the question, how to find a Guru?

Mind of many a person finds this as an excuse for not doing anything for one’s evolution. But this question should not inhibit one from picking up a spiritual practice. On this path no one can go wrong – one needs to make a beginning - if course correction is necessary, it will come on its own – more on this issue in next article.

Before narrating how it happened to me (in the next article), I would share thoughts of a few evolved one’s on this issue.

While I and my co-brother (he has not taken to any kind of spiritual practices) were sitting with Swami Virajeshwara, I asked Swamiji, what practice he should pick up? He said – “Aise hi santon se milate rahein, jahan achcha lage wahan baith jayen (let him keep visiting saints and he may take up a practice from a saint with whom he feels connected to)." This basically means that having regard to the level of one’s spiritual evolution, if one keeps going to various Gurus, one would feel connected to and find appropriate Guru out of the seven kind of Gurus mentioned above.

Many will be impressed by the great masters in science, some by the one’s who appeal to the logical mind expounding on Shastras, some by the one’s who give some mantra for some gains in the external world etc.

As for identification of a Param Guru – who destroy all illusions and lead a disciple realize the Self – Lord Shiva tells Parvati in two verses of Guru Geeta. The verses are :

“Yashya darshan-matrena mansah syat prasannata,
swayama bhooyat dhratis-shantih sa bhavet parmo guruh.”

If just a look at the guru creates happiness in the mind and patience (dhairya or contentment) and peace come on their own, such a Guru is Param Guru.

“Yashya smarana-matrena gyanum-utpayate swayam,
sah eva sarva-sampattih tasmat-sampujyed-gurum.”

One whose remembrance by itself reveals Gyan (awareness of the self – feeling of joy), he is endowed with all the qualities (sampada). We should worship such a Guru.

Another Guru, Shri Kinkar Vishwashreyananda (earlier name – Shri Raj Supe) said that while choosing a Guru, one may look for the lineage to which a Guru belongs. If his Guru was respected for his spiritual attainments, he may be preferable to a Guru who is first timer.

Another way is what Shri B P Gaur has beautifully described in his article “Thoughts on Guru Purnima” at his blog (http://bpgaur.blogspot.com). Excerpts from the blog are reproduced below :

“Guru is the eternal principle of Grace…. Only when a person becomes ready for discipleship, the ultimate Guru appears in a human form, making it evident that it is possible to find perfection in the human body itself.

In that sense, having a Guru is not about finding the Guru through an arduous search. The Guru is never away and is working continually back stage. It is one's seekership that eventually brings forth the Guru in a physical form that one can easily relate with….

It is my fervent wish that all beings, including myself strengthen their seekership that helps them connect to the Guru.”

It is thus the seekership which is crucial.

If one is a seeker, Guru will find him. In this connection I would also relate a story from Bhagawan Buddha’s life. A Brahimin used to donate some money to Buddha’s ashram but was not inclined to receive Diksha (initiation). One day Buddha was on his way to some village, he saw that Sankalpa for becoming a Bhikshu has arisen in that Brahimin and Buddha abandoned his visit to the village he was going to. Instead, he turned to the village where the Brahimin lived and stood in front of Brahmin’s house for Bhiksha. The Brahimin was going to take his food and his back was towards the door and therefore he could not see Buddha. But he could feel his presence around him and turned back and saw Buddha standing there. He spontaneously fell at his feet and without a thought took Diksha. Even before Sankalpa of Brahimin could get converted into thoughts and words in him and even before he was aware of his own Sankalpa, the guru saw it and came to initiate him.

Another anecdote I am sharing here is the experience of Shri B P Gaur with our Guru. Once he told a Guru that because of him (Mr. Gaur), many a person have come him (the Guru). At that moment, the Guru did not say anything. He rang him up later in the night and said – “Gaur Saheb aaj aapane ek baat galat kaha di” (Gaur Saheb, today you made an incorrect statement). Gaur Saheb immediately understood it. It is the Guru who uses others to bring seekers to him. I am also a witness and party to few happenings where I thought as if I were arranging meeting of my friends with masters but it turned out to have been the work of the Gurus! There is thus no doubt that the Guru is continually working backstage and it is the He who seeks the disciples.

But for the Guru to seek, there must a disciple in the first place. A Sankalp – a seekership – has to arise in us and Guru will appear as if it were a mere coincidence. Many a person, I know, unwillingly accompanied their acquaintances or friends to some Gurus and got hooked and there are others who come back empty handed.

The persons that fall in the first category are those who have realized the first truth of Buddha and have a toehold onto the second one (please see earlier articles on the blog for these truths). These are the persons who are looking for a way out of suffering, though they may not be consciously aware of their seeking.

There are also a few who just go deep into spiritual experiences with the blessings of a Guru – direct transmission of experience (energy) by the Guru – process known as “Shaktipat”. These disciples do not appear to have suffered or done anything in this life by way of sadhana to deserve grace of the masters. But this also is not without any seekership, these persons have gained eligibility for grace consequent to their seeking and sadhana in earlier births.

The persons in the second category are those who still hope to find happiness through their pursuits in the external world. For them time has not yet come to be with a Param Guru. If these persons try some spiritual practices, they are more likely to take up some Sakaam form of a spiritual practice (yagna, pooja, mantras etc. for attainment of specific objective in worldly life – for getting a son, material prosperity etc.) or fall prey to some Nishiddha Guru. While on this issue let me hasten to add that Sakaam form of a spiritual practice may also in due course (wait may be long, running into a few lives) lead one to real seeking.

But whatever spiritual practice one happens to take up, it has to be pursued with dedication. Bhagwan Shiva in his Shutras says “Udyamo Bhairavah”, that is, through one’s Udyam, one finds that one is Shiva. Udyam means a whole hearted effort, where one puts everything into the effort, holding back nothing. Osho also used to say that there is not much of a difference between 99 degree and 100 degree Celsius of temperature but at 99 degree it is water and at 100 it is transformed into steam. Lukewarm effort will not do.

Another thing of which one has to be conscious of is that following rituals handed over from generations, visiting places of worship and pilgrimages makes one believe that one is a spiritual seeker and that one is doing all that is necessary for one’s evolution. But when we see actions of these religious people, they are found to be originating from anger, greed, jealousy and ego. Most of these people, instead of love and compassion, have lesser acceptance (tolerance) for other faiths than the non-believers and have been and continue to be the cause of mass destruction of life and property. This is ‘deception’ of which evolved one’s like Kabir, Osho and others have warned in no uncertain terms. Tapa, Japa, Pooja etc. do not really help one until one has gained a glimpse of the Self. This is made clear by Bhagawan Shiva in Guru Geeta :

“Swaroop-gyan-shoonyena kritam-apyakritam bhavet,
Tapo japadikam devi sakalam baal-jalpawat.”

Without having experienced the Self, all Japa and Tapa etc. done become as if nothing has been done. They are like meaningless utterances of a child.

That is why all the evolved Gurus (not the priests) speak against organized religions. All their effort is to wean away the seekers from the ritualistic form of religion and help them evolve.

One has to understand the distinction between religion (code of conduct with a list of Do’s and Don’ts) and spiritual seeking. The religion serves the needs of the society meant for governing conduct of non-seekers inasmuch as it tries to maintain some sort of order in the society whereas the spiritual seeking is for realization of the Self – state of complete freedom or oneness.

Of course when one has even a faint glimpse of Self, the rituals and visiting places of worship and pilgrimages serve one well in one’s spiritual pursuits. For insights into this aspect of quest one may refer a book with the title “Hidden Mysteries” by Osho.

One may also refer to the above mentioned article by Shri B P Gaur on his blog where he says :

"Guru is one who has attained perfection by becoming one with the Absolute and is able to give seekers, who come in contact with him phyically or mentally, a taste of his state. Once a seeker gets this glimpse, his life changes and he is automatically propelled on the path of introspection and self-discovery. His journey has to finding perfection within himself begins."

For getting this glimpse one has to necessarily take to a spiritual practice from an authentic source, take to reading material on spiritual matters and try to be in touch with saints and sadhakas. As a first step, one may take to practices being propagated by Gurus for the masses like Sadguru Jaggi Vasudeva (Isha Yoga Centre, Coimbtore), Osho (Pune Ashram), Goenkaji (Vipasyana – Igatpuri, near Mumbai), Paramhamsa Nithyanandji (Dhyanpeetam, Bidadi near Bangalore) etc. because they have the infrastructure, atmosphere is conducive for sadhana and one is with other travelers on the path. The practice taken should be arduously followed for at least a year. Consequently, path will unfold; changes in practice will happen, if and when necessary; and Guru will find the disciple.