Hari OM
Story-day is for cultural exploration, puraanas and parables and finding out about leading lights in spiritual philosophy.
Who, or what is 'Guru'?
Let it first be said that, in the shabdkosh, there are 28 definitions. One which doesn't show there, but which is taught to all at gurukula, is 'dispeller of darkness'. All teachers are this, is it not?
The straightforward explanation of the term 'guru' is exactly that; 'teacher'. In Western understanding, this is taken at face value. A teacher is a disseminator of information designed to remove the student's ignorance of a subject. If we left it at that, it would not be wrong, and it holds great worth for this alone. The term 'guru' is, however, often applied to mean somebody with an extensive understanding and expertise in a particular area and this is where the West has gone awry. What is really being referred to - and if an Indian word were to be used instead - is a 'pundit' (pandita) - clever, learned, scholar, wise, shrewd, et cetera. While there are secular uses for 'guru' in India also, it is rare for it to be out of spiritual context.
Crucially, it should be understood that a person cannot apply the label to themselves. Swami Chinmayananda never referred to himself as the guru. He only ever spoke of his own teacher and applied the honorific to Swami Tapovanam. Only the disciple can decide that a teacher is worthy enough to submit themselves fully to their service and seek their continued guidance and will, therefore, refer to that teacher as 'guru'.
All gurus are panditas, but not all panditas are gurus. In the West, it could be argued that most teachers are panditas; there is that famous saying, 'those who can, do; those who can't, teach.' The Sat-Gurus, the true teachers, set the example and live as they talk. They 'walk the walk'. In virtually all subjects it might matter little whether the teacher believes in what they are teaching. In spirituality and philosophy, however, it is essential for the serious student that their teacher is more than merely passing on information. They must see the words being lived.
That is not to say that men of Realisation cannot have what seems like contrary behaviour. One of the things to be learned is that Realisation frees a person from the norms of society. This is not a licence to commit crimes, to be socially abhorrent or to be disgustingly extrovert. What most who Realise do is retreat to the forest or the mountains and live in their bliss. A few caring Masters, though, are prepared to put their own saadhana on hold in order to share and guide others to the Light. They do so with compassion, strictness, Love, correction, empathy, detachedly… they lay the map before the student, they will demand the dedication required, they will show the Universal Heart, they will point out the errors, they will tune into the student who is prepared to tune into them and none of it has any strings, because the Realised Master knows this is all a part of himself anyway and the results matter not. To himself. To the student, the results for submission, application and dedication according to their guru matter a great deal. They have the potential to be, quite literally, transforming.
Sat-Gurus are few; the students who have the opportunity to sit before them equally few. The disciples of the true teachers will learn and can teach in their turn, and thus successive generations will benefit from that one source.
How do we find our guru? We do not. We work at what we know, we permit our Love and desire for the Knowledge to show. The guru will find us.
