Guru is a person who inspires you to lead your life in a creative,
efficient and effective way so that there is development of self-awareness
– what I can do, what I can't do, how I can be, how I
can't be, what is the right thing to do, what is the wrong thing to
do, how to understand other people's attitudes and concepts and
how not to impose our own egos and ambitions. This is the basis
of the guru's teaching.
- Swami Niranjan
The term “guru” has come to the West and has been typically mangled, manipulated and misunderstood as to its meaning. We talk about “fashion gurus,” “financial gurus,” etc. It seems to mean someone with suspect authority. The Guru within the Yoga tradition is something much more profound. The Guru is someone who guides us from spiritual darkness to inner illumination. The Guru is an “expert” and a teacher to some extent but, more importantly he or she is able to transmit spiritual energy, shakti, to catalyze the process of awakening within the disciple.
Because we lack an understanding of the tradition and because many of us are gullible in this department, there have been a slew of false or errant gurus who have become popular and notorious. Of course there are many more false and errant followers who misunderstand, misrepresent and misuse the teachings and the power of the Guru. We tend to fail to get that our spiritual progress is our own responsibility. The Guru can charge our batteries, give us inspiration and guidance but the choice and the difficult inner work is up to each of us. As one Swami put it, “The Guru is not a donkey. You can’t just jump on his back for a ride.”
The true Guru is a role model. He or she models nonattachment, emotional stability, inner joy, optimism, creativity and love. He or she is also a human being. Your Guru may make mistakes, be wrong about some things, be tempted by money, sex and power. There is a story of the great Yogi Goraknath and his Guru, Matsyendranath. In this story Matsyendranth sends Goraknath to visit a distant city. When Gorknath arrives he finds his Guru living there already. Not only that but his Guru has fallen for a local lady and has abandoned his spiritual life to become a married householder with seven children. Goraknath, of course, becomes dismayed and his faith in his Guru is shaken. He returns to the ashram to report the Guru's downfall to the others only to find that Matsyendranth is already there again and deep in meditation. The other disciples report that he never left the premises while Goraknath was away.
The story has dream-like inconsistencies of course. These point to the dream-like quality of life itself within which we are trying to awaken. To a large extent the Guru, like life, is a mirror of our projections. We project our inner divinity onto the Guru and also our shadow. In this case Goraknath had a hidden arrogance regarding his own spiritual status. He had certain assumptions and judgments which prevented him from recognizing the underlying reality behind appearances. True Being is disguised within every experience and is winking at us within every form. It is our ego-identification and attachment which keeps us from seeing clearly.
My experiences with my Guru seem to have been all too brief. I spent time with him on three occasions, once in the U.S., and twice in India. However his presence in my life has been precious gift. My faith has waivered considerably and I have not been the exemplary disciple by any means. Still when I sit for meditation I feel the shakti surge within me. My body shakes and I feel bliss arising no matter what crazy stress I may be going through in my life. Even though he has left his physical form I know that he has not abandoned me. Still it is up to me to maintain my practice, cultivate inspiration and continue to follow the path of awakening.
There is a saying in the Yoga tradition, “God, Guru and Self are one.” Once we really get this there is nothing more to realize. Then again perhaps our work has just begun. The Guru will challenge your ego in a number of ways and always catch you off-guard. Once while visiting Denver where I met him for the first time, Swamiji was riding in the car with me. He began to ask me about my glasses. This is a sensitive area for me. I have worn them since age seven and am severely near-sighted. He asked if they had bi-focal lenses. I replied no, that I was near-sighted. He asked if I could see close-up with them. I replied yes. Then he asked if I could see into the distance with them. Again yes. “So they must be bi-focal lenses,” he said. I found myself becoming irritated and defensive of my position. Why?
For some reason, just after meeting me, Swamiji agreed to initiate me into Sannyasa with the spiritual title Swami Turiyananda Saraswati. He asked me if I knew what the name meant and I explained that I had read the definition of the terms involved. He said, “It is a spiritual experience, not an intellectual one. You don’t have that experience yet but one day you will. That is my promise.” To “get” that experience is to step outside of the intellect, of definitions and symbols into the direct experience of Reality. Not the superficial reality of our mental projections but the reality of Being, Consciousness and Bliss. Then you step back into the world and go to work. Om Satyam!
For information regarding Swami Satyananda Saraswati and Satyananda Yoga please visit: http://www.yogavision.net/home.htm
