Guru

Prince or commoner, rich or poor, every individual who wishes to get empowered and enlightened benefits greatly from the guidance of an able guru. Even gods have sought out gurus for themselves. Lord Krishna's guru was Sandipanirishi. When Swami Vivekananda first visited Ramakrishna Paramahansa he asked: "I have read the Bhagavad-Gita and other scriptures several times, I lecture and give discourses on the Gita and Ramayana. Do I still need a guru?" Ramakrishna didn't reply to Vivekananda's question. After a few days Ramakrishna called upon Vivekananda and handed him a parcel to be delivered at a nearby village that could be reached in a few hours by a boat. The boat and sailor would be ready the next morning. All he needed to do was to go to the village and deliver the parcel to the designated person. Vivekananda agreed and decided to start early. He found the sailor ready with his boat. Suddenly, upon sitting in the boat, Vivekananda realized that he didn't know the road to the village. He inquired of the sailor who had no clue, either. Vivekananda decided to go back to his guru to ask him the shortest way to the village. Upon this Ramakrishna said, "Narendra, this is my reply to the question you asked me when we met the first time: Today, you have the medium (the boat), you have the resource (the sailor), you have the road (the sea), you know what to do (deliver the parcel) and you also know where to go but you don't know the way. Likewise, you have read all the scriptures, and you can conduct wonderful discourses on them. However, to realize the wisdom of scriptures one needs a guru, someone who has already traversed that path so that he can guide you through the journey and encourage you to not give up." In Sanskrit, 'gu' is one who dispels and 'ru' means darkness. Every individual who wishes to rise above his existing levels needs a lighthouse, a guiding star to guide him on the journey of life, which can help by dispelling darkness at every step. Lord Swaminarayan ordained Sikshapatri, containing 212 conventions of code of conduct for every human being. One of the points reads: "Even the most learned of men will become morally declined if he is not involved in devotion to God and in good acquaintance." Many seers have made various suggestions on how to embark on the spiritual path according to their perceived wisdom. Is there a universally accepted spiritual definition? How should one lead one's life which balances both the spiritual and the material? To understand all this and choose the right path for a balanced life of duty, responsibility, love, detachment and striving for higher consciousness, you need the grace and guidance of a spiritual master. As the saying goes "When the disciple is ready the Master arrives." Like a lone ship sailing in turbulent waters hunts for a safe harbor for anchorage, similarly, one has to make constant efforts in the journey of his life to find a true guru, a harbor against all storms.