Guru by Dr Vispi Jokhi

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Namaskar Mitra,

 

Guru - by Dr Vispi Jokhi.

http://esamskriti.com/html/inside.asp?cat=684&subcat=683&cname=guru. Excerpts

from article -

 

"This brings me the next set of question – Who is a GURU? How can I recognize

Him? Can there be a GURU in absentia or an inspirational figure from the past

maybe an avatar or an incarnation of God? Do I need one Guru or many to give me

the light of knowledge in the many endeavors I undertake in life?

 

The most complete or holistic GURU is a person who has achieved Self-realization

and is able to identify him or herself with the permanent universal

consciousness at all times. Such a person is defined by the scriptures as

Satchitananda i.e. one whose countenance exhibits the eternal radiance of a

permanent joy and bliss. Such persons are Seers and are always in a state of

equilibrium not agitated by grief or desirous of pleasures. They are always

calm and serene and unaffected by the dualities of joy and sorrow, profit and

loss or victory and defeat. Such self realized persons are very rare and only

my good deeds can lead me to a Guru of this kind and give me the vision to

recognize him.

 

To answer the last question of multiple Gurus we just need to realize that there

is a God within each of us and the light of knowledge is waiting to be uncovered

by removing the veil of ignorance. If I am willing to empty myself and remove my

selfish desires and reduce my ego to “zero” or “shunya” then all of God’s

creation living or non-living can be my GURU. Do we not see in our day to day

life numerous such examples? There are innumerable such examples and occasions

where we can learn from others and make them our Gurus. From the ants learn the

gospel of hard work, the elephants the lesson of gentleness, from children

unconditional love, from nature the ability to give selflessly treasures from

its bosom. My true and dear family and friends who bear with my ego and

arrogance and yet love me unconditionally are all my GURUS.

 

What should be the relationship between a Guru and his disciple? An automatic

feeling of deep respect for the Guru is translated into an intense desire by

the disciple to acquire knowledge from the Guru. This does not mean

unquestioning acceptance of all that the Guru says, but learning by

respectfully arguing and understanding the truth. Even Arjuna in the Gita

questioned Krishna on many occasions. A true Guru on the other hand does not

hold back His knowledge and gives to the student all he can offer. Even as the

light is shone and the darkness dispelled the effort to acquire the Knowledge

leading to Moksha or salvation has to be made by the disciple.

 

Can Moksha or salvation be achieved without a Guru? I do not know the answer to

this question. But I feel that all creatures are made in the image of God and

Man is His foremost creation. So any man can discover the God within Him and

rise to divine heights. The Lord guides Him on the path and leads him to

moksha. Man has mind which responds to the senses and an intellect which gives

him the discrimination to make a choice in his response and finally a

conscience which gives him the power to choose the right from the wrong.

 

Is a Guru-Shisya relationship one of a commercial transaction in that the

teacher gives a product in the form of knowledge, which the student consumes?

The student pays and the teacher is paid and that is the basis of the

relationship. We see this in our institutes of learning based on the Western

model. This is an inevitable consequence of the capitalist model based on

materialism.

 

In conclusion, I would like to invite all who read my humble thoughts to add to

them and to become my Guru".

 

Vispi Jokhi

jokhidv (AT) bol (DOT) net.in

 

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