On the Auspicious Parva of Guru Poornima: Meeting a Satguru — An Act of Divine Grace
Sages do not tire of singing the importance of Satguru (an enlightened spiritual teacher). Learned persons emphasize the need of Satguru for spiritual progress. Without this, the path towards self-upliftment does not open up; sādhanā does not proceed swiftly towards siddhi. In our scriptures, mother, father and Guru have been considered equivalent to God (Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh).
Real Satguru is in fact, our own Indwelling Divinity — the individualized Self. Continuous guidance for soul upliftment is possible only when this Inner Divinity comes to the fore of our consciousness. The Guru can know only partially the inner state of the disciple and hence his guidance too will be limited to that extent. Ultimately it is the awakened Divinity within to which a sādhak can turn for unerring guidance and help. The true enlightened Guru is the one who puts the disciple in living communion with the Teacher within.
Guru Deekshā (initiation into spiritual sādhanā) is the firm resolve: "Now I will strictly follow the directions of the soul." A person who has taken such a vow cannot deviate from the noble path of righteousness even in the face of direst of consequences. Here it will be apt to share the definition and role of the Guru as elucidated by Mahayogi Sri Aurobindo in his masterly treatise — Synthesis of Yoga:
"The Supreme Guide and Teacher is the inner Guide, the Jagad-guru (World-Teacher), secret within us. It is He who destroys our darkness by the resplendent light of His knowledge; that light becomes within us the increasing glory of His own self-revelation. He discloses progressively in us His own nature of freedom, bliss, love, power, immortal being. He sets above us His divine example as our ideal and transforms the lower existence into a reflection of that which it contemplates.
Even then, human nature calls for a human intermediary so that he may feel the Divine indwelling entirely close to his own humanity and sensible in a human influence and example. For this need the Hindu discipline provides in the relation of the Guru and the disciple. Teaching, example, and influence — these are the three instruments of the Guru. But the wise Teacher will not seek to impose himself or his opinions on the passive acceptance of the receptive mind; he will throw in only what is productive and sure as a seed, which will grow under the divine fostering within. He will seek to awaken much more than to instruct.
Influence is more important than example. Influence is not the outward authority of the Teacher over his disciple, but the power of his conduct, of his presence, of the nearness of his soul to the soul of another, infusing into it, even though in silence, that which he himself is and possesses. This is the supreme sign of the Master. For the greatest Master is much less a Teacher than a Presence pouring the divine consciousness and its light, power, purity and bliss into all who are receptive around him."
Therefore, in order to progress in the spiritual Sādhanā, the assistance of an embodied Guru is very essential. It is the combination of Ram and Laxman that made possible the victory over Ravana. The victory of Mahabharat war was made possible by the pairing up of Krishna and Arjun. However diligent the student may be, he cannot acquire higher education without the assistance of a competent teacher.
Guru and the disciple together meet a similar need. Mere whispering of the mantra in the ear or telling the method of some ritual does not serve any purpose. Guru also has to instill adequate operational zeal and energy into the disciple according to his worthiness. To climb the height of mountains one has to take the help of a stick. A support of the steps is required to climb up to the roof. The need of external Guru arises to fulfill this very purpose.
The life cycle of the fetus cannot proceed without the mother keeping him in her womb, without donating her blood and flesh, and without feeding him with her milk and nourishment. The process of progress in the field of spirituality too follows the same pattern. Guru transfers his wealth of Tapa to his disciple. Later on the disciple too continues the tradition by sharing his spiritual attainments with his own deserving disciples.
A sādhak desirous of safely moving on this path has to search for an experienced and true guide. But he has to be alert and wise in this search. The world is full of cheats and buffoons masquerading as yogic adepts and gurus. Credulous and over-sentimental persons fall into the trap of such imposters and land themselves in deep disappointment and disillusion. A sincere seeker has to cultivate wise discernment to distinguish between the genuine and the counterfeit.
Description of incidents of transfer of spiritual power by the Guru to the shishya (disciple) through shaktipāt is found in many yogic texts. It has been mentioned in the book Vivekanand Sanchayan that Vivekananda vividly experienced the transference of immense spiritual energy into his being by his Divine Teacher, Paramhansa Sri Ramakrishna. Swami Yogananda has also described in his book Autobiography of a Yogi a number of such phenomena.
There is no doubt about the truth of shaktipāt in the tradition of Guru-shishya. With the help and blessings of a Satguru coupled with his own sincere sādhanā, even an ordinary looking person can reach the acme of mystic experiences. The present-day self-appointed pseudo-gurus have made shaktipāt a cheap feat of jugglery and created confusion about this occult phenomenon in rational minds. Therefore, it is essential to understand its true nature.
A person desirous of doing sādhanā has to choose a Guru. 'Gu' means darkness and 'ru' means light. The one who leads a person from darkness into light is called Guru. We have two Gurus. The real, eternal Guru is everlastingly with us as our Soul. The other one is that whom we have chosen in the form of an enlightened person. Through his teachings, example and influence he imparts inspiration to the disciple on the path of his spiritual quest.
The disciple receives the blessing and boons of the Guru according to his inner faith and worthiness. Every disciple gets in the measure of his shraddhā (Faith). This is the philosophy behind shaktipāt. This is a process, which requires time and effort and which is completed by the dedicated sādhanā of a sādhak under the guidance of a genuine Guru. It is a long-term mode of sādhanā through which the disciple develops his own dormant powers and potentialities.
"There is but One God, His name is Truth. He is the Creator, He fears none, He is without hate, He never dies, He is beyond the cycle of births and death, He is self-illuminated, He is realized by the kindness of the true Guru." — Guru Nanak
"Yathe Chhasi Tatha Kuru — Act as you choose. This is what Lord Krishna says to Arjuna at the end of His Gita Upadesam." — Gita 18-63
"Muhurtam Jwalitam Shreyonatu Dhumayitam Chiram — It is better to flame forth for one instant than to smoke away for ages."