Need for a Guru

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...... " Need for a Guru. The question whether Guru is needed is often

times debated by people with great warmth, some holding that there is

need and others holding that there is no need. These debates are

usually in fructuous and they excite and result in loss of peace. A

good example is Hemadpant alias Anna Saheb Dabolkar's case on his

first visit to Shirdi. He hotly contested for one hour or so and,

contended that a Guru was an unnecessary fetter and quoted the Gita,

in his support. Bala Saheb Bhate took the opposite view and

maintained that destiny was supreme and that a Guru was had by all.

The dis­cussion made Anna Dabolkar less fit to approach the great Guru

Sai Baba by reason of restlessness. But Baba by graciously revealing

his Antarjnana of all that passed during the discussion made Anna

Dabolkar feel humble and contrite, and he felt that Baba was a

wondrous Supreme Power before whom he and his weak powers should bend

and give up his " reason " and supposed independence. And thus he

became the shishya of Baba by the latter's grace and found that

destiny had fixed him up, though his reasoning might indicate

independence was his proper course. The Sastras, for example, Srimad

Bhagavata, Bhagavata Gita, Guru Gita, Katha, Mundaka, Taittiriya,

Maha Narayanopanishad say clearly that without a Guru Brahmanjnana

and Moksha cannot be attained. " .......