Who Is My Spiritual Guru

“When am I going to meet my guru?” – This is one of the most crucial questions in the life of any seeker.

The basic answer to this question is that guru is present at all times and in all places.

He also had 24 gurus. Air, earth, sky, fire, moth, elephant, ant, fish, deer, and so on are only a few of them.

Who can be your guru?

Someone who is a guru is the precise translation of the word guru “Darkness is banished.” Ignorance is the source of this darkness.

Though any master teacher is sometimes referred to as a guru (the term “guru” is now used very loosely in English), the term “guru” traditionally refers to a religious or spiritual teacher who not only has deep knowledge that can lead to moksha (liberation or enlightenment), but also has direct experience of Divine vision or grace that has been assimilated into their way of being.

Traditional pupils lived with their guru, at least for a while, with the guru basically taking on the role of a parent, though this is significantly less frequent today than it previously was.

Though most people in the West associate gurus with Hinduism, the title is also applied to spiritual instructors in the Buddhist, Jain, and Sikh traditions.

No. Although having a guru is not required, most Hindu traditions believe that having one is extremely advantageous to one's spiritual knowledge and progress.

To put it another way, while you don't need a guru to achieve enlightenment, having one makes it easier.

This is analogous to embarking on a new voyage. It is much easier to travel with someone who has already completed the journey or at the very least is familiar with the route. Following their written directions makes the trip easy even when they are not present. You can also explore on your own and get to your destination, but it will be more difficult. Progress will most likely be slower, and the risk of going in the wrong way will be greater.

The spiritual advancement of their followers is guided by a guru (known as shishya). Instructions are personalized according to the guru's spiritual, psychological, and practical understanding into what is required for the pupil to learn and grow spiritually.

Until the latter half of the twentieth century, all, or at least the majority, of teaching was done through an oral tradition, in which information was passed directly from teacher to pupil. Students frequently lived with or near their guru, or paid frequent visits. While the oral tradition is still revered, the majority of gurus have authored substantial speeches on their teachings. Many also provide live or recorded internet lectures to students all over the world, have formal pupils on every continent, and their teachings may have a significant impact on the lives of countless spiritual searchers who will never study in depth or meet the guru in person.

No. Though this may be what comes to mind when someone thinks of the word guru, there is no religious or cultural mandate for a guru to be male. In reality, there have been numerous notable female gurus throughout history and today. In the last half-century, Sri Sarada Devi, Sister Nivedita, the Mother, Anandamayi Ma, Mata Amritanandamayi, Gurumayi, and Amma Sri Karunamayi have been among the most renowned.

Although Hinduism as a religion does not have a single leader, each teaching tradition that makes up Hinduism places a high value on teacher lineage. Guru-shishya parampara is the term for this relationship.

The majority of today's gurus were formerly shishyas of another guru in the same lineage. However, a guru may emerge who is generally recognized as an enlightened spiritual master due to their own past sadhana (discipline and study), but this is uncommon.

Only when a recognized guru gives permission for one of their shishya to carry on the tradition as a guru may that student use that title correctly. Advanced pupils of a guru may occasionally start teaching on their own without claiming to be a full-fledged guru. This is something you'll see a lot in yoga classes.

For those seeking deeper spiritual study under a guru, lineage is especially important to highlight today. Has the teacher you want to learn with been given permission to teach in some manner by their teacher? Who did they study with and learn from?

Treat your search for a guru or spiritual instructor as if you were applying to a university. Before you even approach the institution to enroll you for study, you should familiarize yourself with the university's educational philosophy, history, how its students enjoy studying there, and what its graduates have accomplished. While you may not be able to determine a possible guru's spiritual achievement as a prospective pupil (just as you may not be able to appreciate the complexity of any professor's work as a freshman), you should try to assess the guru's history and qualifications.

Yes. Someone switching guru is totally acceptable, if not commonplace, given the depth of the relationship. This could be because your spiritual needs have changed, your prior guru has passed away, or your guru has altered their teachings and practices, or recommended that you follow someone else's path.

This is not a recent phenomenon, contrary to popular belief. Some people have several gurus as their spiritual quest advances, according to spiritual literature like the Srimad Bhagavatam.

Prostration in front of someone is a gesture of deep reverence in Hindu culture. This is something you'll see followers perform in front of a guru or in temples before a murti (images of the divine, used to focus devotional attention). In both circumstances, the devotee is kneeling down to the Divine principle embodied or revealed in front of them, not because they feel they are really bowing down to God. People frequently touch the feet of their parents and other people they respect and regard as authoritative and devout.

In both cases, the attention is on the feet, as explained in the book What is Hinduism? “According to legend, his entire being was contained inside his feet. All nerve currents come to a halt here. Every organ of the body's important points are present. “When we touch the spiritual master's feet, we are touching the spiritual master.” In simpler terms, the guru's feet constitute the cornerstone of his or her physical self. Touching them demonstrates regard for the whole person.

When it comes to how pupils should treat their teacher, Hindu spiritual writings are frequently rather demanding (strict obedience, not questioning their instructions, giving over personal belongings, etc). However, just as society as a whole has shifted toward more egalitarian and less hierarchical attitudes over the last 50 years, so have student expectations of guru behavior.

Respect, deference, and dedication are still expected, but complete subjugation, as described in older literature, is no longer the norm. With this in mind, students are still expected to be loyal to their guru and have faith in his or her knowledge and practices — but not to the point of blind faith. Students are supposed to remain modest in front of their guru and to credit the guru while sharing their lessons with others.

While a guru has deep spiritual knowledge to transmit — and they continue to play an important and positive role in Hindu traditions — there is a growing realization that they are not immune to typical human reactions to everyday conditions. Gurus are unique, but they are still people. There's also more public recognition that a guru might deviate from the spiritual precepts he or she preaches and act unethically, if not abusively, toward their pupils. When such behavior occurs, it is increasingly and properly condemned.

Who is spiritual guru or guide?

Guru (IAST: guru; Pali: garu) is a Sanskrit word that means “mentor, guide, expert, or master” in a particular field of expertise. A guru is more than a teacher in pan-Indian traditions: the guru is traditionally a revered figure to the disciple (or shisya in Sanskrit, literally seeker) or student, serving as a “counselor, who helps mold values, shares experiential knowledge as much as literal knowledge, an exemplar in life, an inspirational source, and who helps in the spiritual evolution of a student.” A tantric spiritual literature is sometimes encoded in an obscure twilight language, according to Judith Simmer-Brown, so that it cannot be comprehended by anybody without the verbal explanation of a certified instructor, the guru. A guru is also one's spiritual mentor, assisting one in realizing the same potentialities that the guru has.

Who is real guru in the world?

Many people are referred to as (or refer to themselves as) “guru,” but only a few are the real, or authentic Guru, as stated in the Scriptures. A Sat-Guru is a spiritual guru who recognizes his Self as one with God. He has no ego left, no sense of “I,” no sense of “I am this person.” His consciousness is unlimited, and nirbikalpa samadhi is his inner condition.

Consider a clean window with plenty of natural light shining through it. That window is the Guru. God is the sun. God radiates with all of His power via a real Guru (Sat-Guru). Only a Sat-Guru like this can set the soul free.

We can truly bow to such a Guru and offer our complete obedience, our lives, and everything we have. Nobody else.

“Gudarkness is a syllable, and ruthe destroyer is a syllable. He is known as Guru because he is capable of destroying darkness. Only the Guru is the ultimate Absolute. The Guru is the only true path. The Guru is the sole possessor of supreme wisdom. The Guru is the only true refuge. The Guru is the ultimate limit. The Guru is the ultimate wealth. Because he is thatguru's instructor.”

Another scripture (the Kula Arnava Tantra) teaches us something important to consider: “There are many gurus on earth who deliver something other than the Self, but the Guru who exposes the Self is hard to come by in all the realms.”

There are numerous teachers (young, unripe gurus), but only one authentic Sat-Guru, who is your eternal bond to God. In India, it is commonly preached that you need a living guru who is present in your body. But where is the genuine Guru, the Sat-Guru, who is devoid of all ego? I've met a number of outstanding saints, yet even they weren't completely devoid of the ego. If we put our faith in them completely, we can have a rude awakening: we'll eventually see their ego, whether it's a craving for power, a weakness for sex, for money, or an inclination toward self-importance.

How can you find your own Sat-Guru (in or out of the body)? Pray to God and prepare yourself by your earnest sadhana and zealous pursuit of Truth. According to legend, the Guru appears when the pupil is ready. Feel in your heart who is your spiritual family, who is your relationship to God, and where you feel at home spiritually.

Try following different gurus and putting their teachings and practices into practice. Inquire of God: “Is this yours?” Your hunt is done once you've discovered your Guru. You only listen to one Guru. He's all yours. In the Guru-disciple connection, loyalty is essential.

Make the Guru your first priority at that point, over your husband (or wife), your children, your parents, your work, your aspirations, your entire life. The real Guru is God's vehicle on Earth: he is His mouth, arms, heart, and benediction. It's because he's nothing more than a pure window for God's transformative light.

How do I connect to a guru?

If you don't have a physical connection, you can find that your life decisions are solely based on your ego and desires. A guru leads you down the path to assist you overcome the ego's desire to keep you engrossed in worldly things. We wish to leave these pursuits behind so that we might recognize the Divine everywhere.

If you know who your guru is but he isn't physically present, keep talking to him in your head, meditating on his picture, and drawing his subtle energy to you. In this way, he will assist you in locating the one who will provide you with that special touch. By being in sync with him, he will also guide you. It's critical to pay attention to his subtle instruction and act on it. Always double-check that you're heading in the right direction while doing the task.

How do you become a guru?

True gurus, on the other hand, understand that a rational approach to guruhood is futile. They recognize that the only way to get masses of followers addicted to them is to tap into the most fundamental, emotional, and irrational aspects of human nature.

Fortunately, you can become a guru by following in the footsteps of those who have gone before you.

The most successful gurus have all followed the same four steps to master the attention-getting game.

How do I write a letter to a spiritual guru?

Greetings, Guru Ji. Please accept my Pranama and bestow your blessings upon me. I'm writing you this letter to seek your forgiveness for all of my mistakes that have caused you to be disrespected. I'm submitting this petition to you, asking for your blessing to cleanse me of all sins I've committed against my seniors.

What religions have gurus?

In the Hindu, Sikh, or Tibetan Buddhist traditions, a guru is a teacher or spiritual advisor. The word “profound” comes from a Sanskrit adjective that means “dense” or “heavy.” However, a popular folk etymology for the term breaks it down into its constituent syllables to suggest that the guru's unique purpose is to bring devotees or disciples from darkness (gu) to light (light) (ru).

A religious guru typically provides individual and group teaching in addition to what is available in published or otherwise publicly accessible sources of information. He or she is likely to serve devoted followers in a variety of roles that are tailored to meet individual needs and incorporate the practical, inspirational, and educational aspects of teaching. A guru's practical guidance, like that of a sports coach or other comparable adviser, is likely to extend to diet, relationships, work and rest patterns, and personal religious practice. Inspiration might be transmitted through the guru's actions or through the songs and stories he or she gives.

Many of the functions done by spiritual directors or confessors in Roman Catholic Christianity are comparable to those performed by religious gurus in Hindu, Sikh, or Buddhist faiths. Max Weber, a social theorist, defined gurus as “types of religious virtuosi.” As a result, a guru may offer followers more than one level of initiation, and the pedagogical process may be scaled to meet the various levels of initiates. In such cases, the teachings and practices appropriate for one level of disciple may be vastly different from those considered to be proper for another. As a result of arranging instruction around the various stages or gradations of initiation, the guru and his or her community will be involved in secret.

These concepts are exemplified in the Bhagavad Gt, a traditional Hindu literature that has become universally popular in the modern world. It's a typical example of a hidden discourse between a guru (Krishna) and a disciple (Arjuna), spurred in this case by a big crisis in the disciple's life. In eighteen short chapters, Krishna reveals to Arjuna the esoteric (secret or private) meanings of terminology that are widely and publicly known within Hindu tradition, neglected spiritual aspects within himself, and the unsuspected profundity of his master through speech and induced visions. The initiatory power of the discussion depicted in the Gt transforms Arjuna. Similar tales of guru-disciple interactions abound in Hindu, Sikh, and Buddhist spiritual traditions.

Over the previous century, spiritual travel between India and North America brought a variety of gurus to the New World. In terms of spiritual power, some of them claimed to be more like bishops or popes than spiritual directors or confessors. Others were enticingly charismatic, and a few were so prone to excesses in their way of life and teaching that they caused public embarrassment. Furthermore, a number of the imported gurus named Western successors. The name and the phenomenon are well on their way to becoming indigenous parts of American religion by the end of the twentieth century.

What is a spiritual teacher called?

Shaykhs or Sufi teachers, Gurus (including Hindu Gurus, Sant Mat Gurus, and Sikh Gurus), Buddhist teachers, including Tibetan Lamas (which is really just the Tibetan word for Guru), and Mahasiddhas (who may be claimed by both Buddhist and Hindu traditions) are some of the subcategories of spiritual teachers.

Many Western spiritual teachers exist, some of whom claim a spiritual ancestry from the East and others who do not.

The phrase “spiritual teacher” originates in Western tradition and refers to a broader understanding of spirituality.