Om Sathguru Sri Seshadri Swamigal Thiruvadikkae
Guru describes a spiritual teacher or master. A Guru has the power and wisdom to dissolve spiritual ignorance in a disciple. A true Guru has attained a extreme high degree of spiritual development before acting as a Guru. A traditional Guru has achieved God-realization before starting to teach.
Exceptions are, when a Guru starts to teach while his Guru has still a physical body and spiritually supervises and guides him. In this case he often refers to his Guru when teaching to his disciples. A fully realized Guru having attained God-Union during the present incarnation has no need to refer to anyone else but God, as God is his true Guru and supervisor during his activities while teaching. He acts on behalf of God, never on behave of his personality.
Relationship Guru – disciple (Chela) (Shishya)
The relationship between a Guru and his Chela is an Divine Love-romance lasting many incarnations. A Guru incarnating is looking for his previous Chelas to guide them home to God. His Love for his Chelas is infinite and during the course of his incarnation and by the end of his incarnation he is dissolving most or all of the Karma of his advanced Chelas.
A Guru once selected, remains the Guru for a particular Chela until his Chela has reached God-Realization and God-Union himself. But even after such freedom this love-affair continuous eternally. It is a true friendship that evolved during thousands or millions of years and last forever.
Selecting a Guru from the point of view of a God-seeker is a very delicate matter. A God-seeker must be willing to fully trust and follow any advice of his Guru.
At the same time he is still required to use common sense and good judgment. He must learn to follow his guru’s advice while learning at the same time to become free of any attachment and make wise use of his intuition and mind.
The path to God may be long and “rocky” as it may appear sometimes to be hard work to dissolve all the ego of a new spiritual disciple.
It usually is much easier to gain a victory over another country than it is to be victorious over his own ego.
A Guru will know and realize all your problems and tricky behaviors you may have and help you to overcome your own ego on the most loving and most peaceful path suitable for you.
A Guru however may refuse to accept a particular God-seeker for spiritual reasons. He knows the Karma and spiritual blockages of a potential disciple and knows how serious a God-seeker is striving for his Divine home in God.
From the point of view of a spiritual disciple, the Guru of his Guru is called Paramaguru.
Definition of the work of a Guru:
A Guru teaches how to find the way home to God. Therefor he must have gone this path to truly know it before he can teach others how to achieve God-Union.
While some Gurus prefer to teach in one single spiritual tradition, a God-realized Guru actually can teach any spiritual tradition leading directly to God. He may prefer to teach individually each disciple on a path particularly suitable for an individual, taking into account all the spiritual experiences of a disciple from previous incarnations as well as taking into account the present spiritual blockages prevailing within a disciple.
A Guru in some spiritual traditions may be called master or teacher. The word Guru however is more precise as it traditionally refers to someone leading others to God and being able to act as a facilitator on this way.
He is transferring his enlightenment to his Chelas, which in turn may feel it much easier to meditate or spiritually progress in the presence of their Guru.
Having a physical Guru is a very old tradition. It certainly is of great benefit to each God-seeker to have a physical Guru, as it saves lot’s of time and efforts, if you exactly follow his advice.
In addition the Divine Love between a Guru and his Chela dissolves most of the Karma even during the learning process and makes spiritual progress much easier and faster than going your way home on your own.
However it is possible for any advanced Chela to realize the spiritual guidance of his beloved Guru. Hence the physical presence becomes obsolete.
A true Guru can guide all of his disciples without being physically present. A Guru never dies, as he becomes one with God after his incarnation, all the Divine Bliss he receives from God is forwarded to his serious disciples until they have reached freedom in God themselves.
How do you recognize your Guru ?
You may feel some emotional turmoil within or just fall in love with your Guru, as Love is the only energy he is radiating in his aura toward you at any time. You may feel the extraordinary energy-flow between you and your Guru when approaching him the first time.
A true Guru never charges any money or material fees for his services rendered to you or others, as he receives his revenues from God. Gurus usually may accept donations because this may be the only income they have on earth .
Without full oneness with God a person never qualifies for the spiritual function and work of Guru
But no matter how much you love your Guru, always keep in mind that he is acting on behalf of God, and his only “job” is to guide you to God on the smoothest and most suitable path.
Always pray to God or ask your Guru to pray on your behalf to God.
God is the only being you ever should pray to.
Om Sathguru Sri Seshadri Swamigal Thiruvadikkae. (Moola-Mantra)
Thank You
Yours Guruji
Thiruvannamalai.
5th March 2010.
