Gurus – Finding Your Spiritual Inspiration
The guru in Sanskrit is taken from the root ‘ gŗí ‘ (to praise, but guru means venerable), as in fact, the guru is worthy of all praise. The work of the guru is to bring his or hers student from darkness into the light of knowledge. A guru is a spiritual guide and preceptor. Here we will show you how to find yours. Basically an Indian concept (but truly universal) is one who has the capacity to pass on his realizations to those who seek him for wisdom. There may be the outer Guru or Guide who removes ignorance by the radiant light of his divine wisdom, or the inner Guru or Ātman (Self) who is the spiritual guide working through the intuitive part of man. If a true Guru, he is the Divine Teacher, and a divinely illuminated being. The Search – The Beginning There will exist in you a deep feeling that something is missing. The external stimulations of enjoyment will be deficient to make you happy. You will constantly be pre-occupied with the feeling of loss or need to “find yourself”. This is often misinterpreted in the West, and usually ends up in a circular path back to where you began. There is a spiritual maxim which says, “be ready, and the Guru will find you”. This is truer, than any seeker can realize at the beginning of his or her search. How to be ready? The feeling mentioned above is the start. Follow that feeling. Read books which satisfy somehow your yearning. Certainly the Bible is a wonderful place to start, but there are also some other books and authors that will ready your state of mind for a guru: • Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba (any of His books)
• Parmamhamsa Yogananda (‘Autobiography of a Yogi’)
• Khalil Gibran (‘The Prophet’)
• Marie Corelli (‘The Life Everlasting’)
• The Srimad Bhagavad Gita
• Swami Vivekananda (and all the works of his Guru Sri Ramakrishna)
• The works of Sri Aurobindo
• Lives of the Saints of any religion The list of inspirational books are many, but the ones above ready the mind for receiving a guru’s teaching. Not This – Not That A great spiritual quality of discrimination, is understanding the truth and this also applies to the attraction of the guru to the seeker. The guru will know if you are ‘his’, and you will know also if he is ‘yours’ but testing. You will be tested, and you must test. You must ask continually questions that apply to your ‘salvation’ (meaning in spiritual terms, liberation from the cycle of birth and death). The guru will be required to answer, and in a way that you can understand. If this understanding does not come, you are in the wrong place. Do not expect your guru to be a miracle worker (although many of them are, having the power over matter), as the road to divine realization is not a circus side-show. The miracle he will do is within you. What a Guru Can Do For You. You will see yourself strangely understanding that which you could not even conceive of earlier. You will see yourself finding happiness in realization, or inner knowledge, and not external stimulation. You will see yourself attracted to wisdom. All these are signs you have found your real guru. Where will this happen? The answer to this is from the Bible, which says, “search and your will find, knock, and the door will be opened”
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