WHO IS SADGURU ?

Maharaj shri says:
often it is seen that people who attend satsang are aware of the word "guru" because since time immemorial, the importance of a guru has been stated widely. However because of the radical changes in lifestyle, today the situation is quite disturbing. Almost everyone has heard about it many times, attended innumerable discourses on the subject yet very few have taken the opportunity to contemplate and internalize the meaning of the word. Reasons are many; increased workloads, more than necessary interest towards materialism or the lack of the guidance of a guru at the opportune time. Its not that the world was or is bereft of the blessings of a sadguru at any moment however it’s our own ignorant ego that doesn’t allow us to accept them.

There is no dearth of intellectuals who can explain the meaning of the word sadguru based on their understanding. Many a times, I have heard people mention; who is a guru and the answer we get is that guru meaning "gu” that is light, wisdom etc and "ru” that is the one who bestows onto us. If you go deeper into its translation then it means as someone who brings us from darkness towards light, from ignorance towards knowledge. But this is a meaning straight out of the scriptures; however have we ever honestly contemplated or searched for the true essence of its meaning? Never!! We simply gave a discourse and then started our search based on the literal meaning of the word.

And since we are talking about bringing to light from darkness, from ignorance to knowledge, then today for removing darkness, science has made it really easy for us and a light bulb could possibly be a true guru. Similarly knowledge is provided today even in villages at primary school level and whosoever wants to gain knowledge in a certain field can easily do so. However when we talk of internal transformation, divine peace, joy, intense devotion towards God and a positive persona then and only then you need a sadguru.

When we fully surrender ourselves to someone outside our being then it results in building an all encompassing devotional state of mind which spreads its divinity ornamented with positive qualities of eternal love, patience, perseverance, respectfulness and forgiveness. There is not a speck of ego that remains in such a state, only eternal love and such a being receives the privilege of being one with God through the grace of his guru. An analogy would be to compare knowledge to soap and devotion to water. If there is just water then you can still remove the bad odor from your body without soap. But without water howsoever expensive the soap might be, it is useless and cannot be used for any purpose. When the two are mixed in right proportions then the refreshing aroma of non attachment emanates effortlessly and blesses us with the experience of eternal blissfulness.

Its not that no-one has ever reached God without the help of a guru. Gautam Budha is a direct example of this fact however his destiny was full of pure and brilliant deeds in the past which resulted in his attainment of godliness through a deep state of wisdom. You will also find numerous cases of such yogis and sadhus who became disoriented because of lack of direction from a guru and ended their search with failure. Hence it is evident why the need of a guru has been stressed upon. An individual is like a piece of paper which initially gets wet under the effect of worldly desires and finally is destroyed as a slurry however if he is a disciple of a sadguru or has his blessings then the showers of grace will save him from the burning heat of desires and will always give him eternal happiness. Guru tests the faith of his disciples in numerous ways, many do pass such tests and many do fail however the reflection of a true disciple is one who keeps his ever lasting faith, trust and devotion towards his guru and follows his word believing that every act of his guru would be for the betterment of his own future. Such disciples are released from the ongoing circus of life and death and get established in a state of eternal bliss.

Many people come to me from different regions, caste, community and many of them have all the worldly pleasures at their disposal. All of them have to go through my intense examination so quite often many of my disciples and devotees complain that I have a preferential treatment for certain people and this is not fair. However when I make them go through the systematic testing cycle for a certain period many of them fall through and distance themselves from me, many get angry and annoyed. Then people start blaming me that I don’t belong to anyone. The truth is that I belong to everyone and no one person solely belongs to me. I am only interested in your upliftment and success and no one becomes big or small simply because of the process that I follow. Everyone who is with me will have to go through that process at a certain time and only those who maintain strict discipleship will be successful and move ahead, the rest will be left behind.

Wherever there is development there will be words of praise as well as condemnation meaning any disciple who has the right character, follows the right path, performs right deeds and has an evolved thinking would get a much higher dose of condemnation. This should not agitate him because this play of words of praise and condemnation is a mere element of the overall process that is employed by his guru. A disciple who doesn’t get disheartened, doesn’t fall into the clutches of negativities like inferiority complex, anger etc will one day assimilate the highest ideals taught by his sadguru to achieve eternal state of blissfulness.