ॐ

AUM

We can always find a teacher
A Guru has to find and accept us
Therefore, we can’t go for Guru shopping!

A teacher requires obedience and discipline from the pupil
A Guru requires trust and humility from the disciple

A teacher is a guide on the path
A Guru is a pointer to the ultimate goal of life

A teacher takes responsibility of our growth
A Guru makes us responsible for our growth

A teacher will punish us with a stick
A Guru will punish us with compassion

A teacher is to pupil what a father is to son
A Guru is to pupil what a mother is to her child

A teacher bestows a parent’s love on his pupil
A Guru showers thousands pairs of parents’ love on his disciple

A teacher leads us by the hand
A Guru leads us by example

A teacher gives us things we do not have and require
A Guru takes away things we have and do not require and also makes us aware of that which we have, but do not know due to our ignorance

A teacher makes us understand how to move about in the world
A Guru shows us where we stand in relation to the world

A teacher explains the world and its nature to us
A Guru explains our real Self and our nature to us

A teacher clothes us with the conditioning of education and prepares us for the outer journey
A Guru strips us of all conditionings and prepares us for the inner journey

A teacher teaches how to make a living
A Guru demonstrates how to live

A teacher shows us the way to prosperity
A Guru shows the way to serenity

A teacher sends us on the road to success
A Guru sends us on the road to freedom from all limitations

A teacher instructs us
A Guru deconstructs us by getting rid of our false notions about ourselves

A teacher sharpens our mind
A Guru opens our mind by getting rid of all our mental blocks

A teacher gives us knowledge and boosts our ego
A Guru takes away our knowledge of the not-self (anaatmaa) and punctures our ego

A teacher gives us knowledge and makes us knowledgeable
A Guru gives us wisdom and makes us wise

A teacher instructs us on how to solve problems
A Guru shows us how to dissolve problems

A teacher helps us get out of the maze
A Guru makes us aware that the maze is an illusion projected by our own minds

A teacher gives us maturity
A Guru returns us to innocence

When a teacher finishes with us, we graduate
When a Guru finishes with us, we revel in the bliss of Self

A teacher charges a predetermined fee to teach us the knowledge of this ephemeral world which binds us

A Guru doesn’t charge a predetermined fee to impart that knowledge which liberates us from all limitations, bondages, sorrows, pain and miseries as well as the repeated cycle of births and deaths permanently. This sublime knowledge that a Guru imparts is priceless and yet he doesn’t charge a predetermined fee for it. A Guru accepts whatever is given in ‘Gurudhakshinaa’, as a token of our gratitude, with devotion and love. The best Gurudakshinaa a disciple can give to his Guru is attaining the same stature as his Guru.

गुरुर्ब्रह्मा गुरुर्विष्णु गुरुर्देवो महेश्वरः

गुरु साक्षात परम् ब्रह्मः तस्मै श्री गुरवे नमः l

Salutations to that Guru, who is the creator, the sustainer and the Lord of dissolution. Guru alone is the Supreme Brahman — the Absolute Truth.

सदाशिव समारंभां शंकराचार्य मध्यमाम

अस्मदाचार्य पर्यन्तां वन्दे गुरु परम्पराम l

Salutation to the lineage of Guru-s starting with Lord Sadashiva, with Adi Shankara in the middle and continuing up to my immediate spiritual Master.

May Param Pujya Gurudev’s Grace and Blessing be always upon us. May He guide us every moment of our life.

Happy Guru Paurnimaa