There are so many who want to be spiritual but doesn’t want to have a guru. If one is religious, he can simply pray God with belief in Him. Our parents & great grand parents have been doing this for years & making their heir to follow them.
When some one changes his path & takes into spirituality, he needs a Guru. A Guru is a guide who shows you the direction of God. He comes from outside & then enters within you.
There is always a question if one should have only one guru. As for me I had come across so many gurus & they made me progress in the right path. My first Guru was Sathya Sai Baba, who kindled me to do meditation. I read many of his books which slowly inspired me into spirituality.
The first meditation I started with was Transcendental meditation somewhere in 1980.Some lady masters came to our town & initiated with a mantra & I started doing it regularly. There was a break for some years as I didn’t attend any classes for a follow up. Due to the longingness for meditation, I started again with the T.M.The only change I found within me was that I was not unnecessarily tensed & when something comes as a shock the heart beats just once & will be back to the normal.
Next came the Guru Venugopala swamy, who was introduced by my husbands elder brother. He came to our house & initiated with a kalasa in my pooja room. Then I stated doing that meditation. His book cleared the doubt about what is thought. Still I had so many things I want to make it clear.
This quest for self realization took me to Vethathiri Maharishi, founder of Simplified Kundalini Yoga. A disciple of him who had finished his masters course was taking classes in my aunt’s house….My cousin sister who attended the class called me to join. I first refused telling that I was doing a meditation & as for attending the class I told her that one cannot initiate taking the Kundalini Sakthi to Agna chakra as I had read so many books on it. She persuaded me telling that the teachings they teach are quite different from others.
Finally I made up my mind & went with her. It was in 1990.On the 1st day itself I was very much impressed & inspired to get initiated. Then I regularly attended the classes which were conducted once a week. Slowly I started progressing in my meditation due to the introspection class. This class helped me to analyze my unwanted thoughts. I did my Masters course & started taking class. I gained a lot of confidence which I lacked before. My doubts were all cleared & I had a very clear picture of who is God & how is he omnipotent, omnipresent & omniscient. This is just an understanding, not realizing. I had also certain unforgettable experience in meditation which helped me to progress.
In the mean time I had so many problems in life which I faced it rather boldly & came out of it smoothly. I had the courage as I knew God is within me guiding me & protecting me all the time. Then came the Isha Yoga classes in our town. I wanted to do Pranayama as I thought that too would push me to a higher level & I attended the pranayama class in 2001. Then in 2004 I attended the Bhava Spandana Program at Velliangiri. I experienced another dimension of myself & I finally took Sadguru Jaggi Vasudev as my Guru.
This is my history of my spiritual path with so many gurus. Though there were many they led me in the right direction. It’s like I travelled with them in a car, bus , train & some times in a jet. Without a Guru one will be like a lost child in the midst of a forest not knowing which direction to follow. So there is a need for a right Guru. All my gurus took me for a short while dropped me in a different direction for me to travel more speedily. My travel hasn’t come to an end, but I know I’m nearing my destination.
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Wonderfully written ! I really liked the way the author has put forward her journey to truth and why we need a guru ? Looking forward to more insights .. Thanks for the article
You reminded me of my BSP. No wonder we like each others posts. We travel in the same path ‘Thirst for knowledge’. I am glad that I met you. All the best for your search.
And by the way you are tagged by me for 8 marvels about you.
@ Bharathi:
I do relate to the content of the topic but the credit for the topic goes to Radha Chandran and not me. She writes on spirituality in GingerChai.
Yes having known your writings and thoughts , I too feel we travel in same path “thirst for knowledge” and imbibing it through experience and quest .. Its nice to meet you too .
ha ha ha. I am such a stupid not to read the auther’s name. I slightly had a doubt when she mentioned her husbond somewhere but I over looked it for some reason that I dont know. Any how nice to meet her too.
Hello,
Lovely article, and very practical and honest. I too agree that a Guru is very important to progress along the spiritual path. I am inspired by Osho on his discussions of the value of a Guru, taken from “The True Name – talks on the Japuji Sahib of Guru Nanak Dev”.
In it, he talks about the ego, and the difference between the followers of Guru Nanak Dev and Krishnamurti.
Krishnamurti says there is no need for a Guru at all. And this appeals to logic and reason, I mean after all, if I am born of the image of God, then I am one with God, so why do I need someone else to show me the way. Osho would say that this is correct, but only if one had the ability to annihilate their own ego by themselves.
A very funny situation arises. A crowd of egotists have collected around Kirshnamurti, people who do not bow before anyone. If these people where like Guru Nanak or Krishnamurti themselves, then this message would be effective, but for people who are unable to drop their ego, – be in spiritual ego or human ego, then this results in the ultimate irony: all around Krishnamurti need a guru. Those who surrounded Nanak were probably the people who could have done without a guru.
Life, it seems is a long lesson in humility,
Sat Nam Ji.
@cityguyyoga
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http://www.cityguyyoga.com/
@ Bharathi:
Thanks & nice knowing you through ginger chai.
“All my gurus took me for a short while dropped me in a different direction for me to travel more speedily. My travel hasn’t come to an end, but I know I’m nearing my destination.”
You mean to say that you are still searching for ‘the’ Guru?
@ Ambi:
I don’t think the author meant that she is still searching for “the” guru. The destination she meant is the “self-realization” . All the gurus she met in her journey , paved the way as a transmitter to each destination on the way to “self-realization” . She had imbibed the knowledge from each which helped her in her journey further… Gurus aid in guiding each soul in their journey towards the self realization..
I don’t think there is any “the” guru .. Each one could relate to a particular guru depending upon their spiritual wavelength .. its my opinion..
@LR:
There’s a reason I asked the question.
RC says – “My doubts were all cleared & I had a very clear picture of who is God & how is he omnipotent, omnipresent & omniscient. This is just an understanding, not realizing.”
This is completely opposite to the ‘concept’ that was discussed in the “Understanding the concept God” post. There is a change from ‘what’ to ‘who’…
Hence I was wondering if the search still continues.
@ Ambi:
“Understanding the concept of God” – The series is based on the understanding of the concept of God that Radha Chandran has gained so far in her spiritual journey aided by various Gurus. She does not claim it as “the” concept. It is just her interpretations of the concept of God and how it is understood in her spiritual quest. The Topic understanging the concept of God itself is going to be a series of posts .. so lets wait for more further analysis.
So “Understanding the concept of God” is an compilation of her views of God from what she learnt from various Gurus so far .. There is a difference in Understanding God and understanding the concept of God.
@LR:
“It is just her interpretations of the concept of God and how it is understood in her spiritual quest.”
This I understood perfectly well.
@ Ambi:
Ambi,the discussions between you & Lakshmi Rajan was interesting for me to read & now my reply.
It is not a change from ‘what’ to ‘who’.If it is the formless God it is What & if it is the form God then it is who.Whether it be form or formless once you understand the truth you can say it either way, as you know how the formless became the form.
My search is over I’m with my sadhana’s to realize it.That’s what i said as i’m nearing my destination.
hey..thanks for visiting my blog… ur template is neat and fine…great site…
@ Navdeep Singh:
Thank you sir.Yes it is ego that matters.
I liked the article very much, and how you had come to the understanding of God,spirituality
Please check out my view on Guru, as i had a blog with same topic, but entirely different definition of Guru
@ chetan:
The difference is that u r seeing guru in all the living & non living beings, but an enlightened Or a self realized Guru will make you see God in all the living & non living beings.
@Radhachandran
@ Radhachandran:
I intend only to share my thoughts about Guru, and I feel that universe is Guru, nature is Guru, all living beings are Guru and Guru is God
@ chetan:
You see Guru everywhere & do you see Him within you?That is more important.Guru Sakshat parabrahmam is absolutely true & he will guide you rightly.Thanks for your sharing Chetan.
@ Radhachandran:
I believe in you, that Guru is within me, but I have not come to its realization uptill now, i also do meditation for the same purpose
@ chetan:
To find God or Guru within you,you need a Guru (an enlightened one)outside, who will guide you in a right path.Are you doing meditation with the guidance of a Guru or doing on your own?Meditation with introspection is very important.It helps you for purification to realize the guru or God within.
@ Radhachandran:
No, i am doing on my own, i just sit silently and concentrate on my breath, i am doing it since a month
@ chetan:
Breath watching is a wonderful meditation taught by Lord Buddha, an easy method.
If you are doing this meditation from Osho’s meditation book,Follow the step one in Vibhasana Meditation, that is a very simpler form. If u r simply doing without any guidance,take a right guru.Read osho Rajneesh meditation book for guidance.
@ Radhachandran:
I ll surely read that book, Thanks
hi..
i loved your article.. i came across it when i googled for the bsp program, which i am going to attend in march. even my first guru was sathya sai baba, i loved his teachings as a child when attending bal vikas classes.. then after that i had a number of gurus mostly through books — linda goodman used to inspire me to realise my inner truth, i also loved paulo coelhos books.. i started getting interested in tarot reading, which lead me to angel reading and to doreen virtue. she made the spiritual path so simple, ask and you will receive.. but i always had a thirst for meditation, and when i did the inner engineering program by isha, i was so fascinated by sadhguru and his teachings and was attracted to the bsp program.. i feel this is the right path for me spiritually and im looking forward to starting the program
Hi Kareena,
Nice to know that you are going to attend the BSP.I attended it in 2004.It is a wonderful programme & i had unbelievable experiences in Bsp which does takes one to a higher level of Conscious.Thanks for sharing yours & all the best for the BSP.)):
First Thing I’m Ignorant and mortal- so please pardon any disrespect/blasphemy that i might make in my comment.
here are a few questions that arise when I hear people talking such stuff:
1. what is the quest that is being talked about?
2. what purpose does this quest serve?
3. what if I don’t have a guru and don’t pursue the quest?
4. last but most important question. Was Osho not some pervert preacher? I’ve heard a lot that he was one pervert who told people to leave their families, live among strangers and have a lot of sex. I mean That is so irresponsible even by my standards
Pranjal,
The question always is, from where did we come & where are we going & what is the purpose of this life?As long as such questions didn’t come to a person, he can lead an ordinary life, eat, sleep, procreate, earn money…money, fall sick & die.
The same thing happens to a spiritual person( who spends sometime for his body, mind, emotions & energy)but there is a lot of difference between the two.One doing everything unconsciously & the other doing a little more conscious according to his development in his awareness due to certain sadhanas he does.
A guru is needed for a person who wants to lead a spiritual life, as he guides us to that unknown dimension.
Yes, I too have heard wrong things about Osho.Once you read his books, you will change your views about him.His books are treasures.They are very very inspiring to spiritual people.
Finally, don’t you feel that this life without knowing the self is a futile one?