Importance of Guru in Life
By Swami Atmeshananda
‘He who can, does; he who cannot, teaches.’ said Bernard Shaw. His wise crack is but an echo of an old adage ‘example is better than precept’ – Guru tradition lays emphasis on this practicality on the part of Guru. – brahma vit tamah; the best among the knowers of Brahman’. In our tradition, one of the terms for guru is ‘Acharya’ – a-charati iti. He is an exemplar – leads a life that the disciple can emulate. He is the mould from which is fashioned the personality of the disciples – he is the model and students are copies.
Next to the great philosophies of Hinduism, the institution of Guru occupies the central place. No other religion or culture venerates the teacher as Hinduism does. All our ceremonies, study, prayer, meditation etc. begin only after paying proper respect to Guru.
Gurushakti
Shri Ramakrishna says, ‘Sat-chit-Ananda is the ONLY Guru’ So, Guru is actually the manifestation of the Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient Divine That is of the nature of Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute in ‘a form ‘! It is a power! Not a person! Guru is actually a ‘Shakti’.
One may argue that if the Gurushakti is the manifestation of the power that is everywhere, why do we need to accept a form of a person as our Guru. To answer this, we refer to a conversation between Shri Ramakrishna and Vidyasagar (a great educationist and reformer) recorded in the ‘Gospel of Shri Ramakrishna (5 August, 1882):
Sri Ramakrishna: “Just see how picturesque this universe is! How many things there are! The sun, moon, and stars; and how many varieties of living beings! – big and small, good and bad, strong and weak – some endowed with more power, some with less”.
Vidyasagar : “ Has he endowed some with more power and others with less?”
Shri Ramakrishna : “ As the All-pervading Spirit He exists in all beings, even in the ant. But the manifestations of His Power are different in different beings; otherwise, how can one person put ten to flight, while another can’t face even one? And why do all people respect you? Have you grown a pair of horns? (Laughter) You have more compassion and learning. Therefore people honour you and come to pay you their respects. Don’t you agree with me? “
Vidyasagar smiled.
Who can be a Guru?
The scriptures point out three characteristics for a Guru:
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- Srotriya, that is, he should have the knowledge of the scriptures. But actually, he should know the spiritual essence of the scriptures. Personal experience of what the scripture says is of utmost importance to become a Guru.
- Avrjina, that is, his conduct should be above reproach. He should live strictly in conformity with the scriptural ideal. There should be purity in thought, word and ded.
- Akamahata, that is, his relation with his disciple should not have any kind of selfish motive. Otherwise, the relationship between the disciple and Guru will be a ‘business’ relationship!
