What do the Vedas, the Bible, and the GGSJi teach us about Guru. Who is a Guru really?
Consciousness is rising all over the world and people are experiencing things they never experienced before.
The spiritual journey brings with it not only pleasant awakening experiences but also a lot of confusion and doubts.
One of the main confusions on the spiritual path is whether or not one should have a Guru to guide us on the path.
But before we come to any conclusions, it is imperative to first understand what various holy scriptures & saints have said about ‘Who a Guru is?’
WHO IS A GURU? ACCORDING TO SIKHISM & CHRISTIANITY
The pioneer of Sikhism, Guru Nanak Ji taught,
‘Shabde dharti, shabde aakash,
shabdo shabad bhaya parkash’
Translation~
The Shabad created the Earth, the Shabad created the Sky,
and from the Shabad, the light came which lit the whole universe.
Further, it says,
Shabad Guru, Surat Dhun Chela
Translation~
The real Guru is the Shabad (not a human being). The Surat (soul) becomes the chela (disciple) after connecting to the Dhun (the sound form of Shabad).
In Chinese, the Shabad is called ‘Tao’.
In Hinduism, it is also called ‘Dhun’ or ‘Naam’ or ‘Ram Naam’.
In Christianity, it is called ‘the Holy Spirit’ ‘the Holy Ghost’ or the ‘Word’.
In the Bible, ‘Shabad’ has been referred to as the ‘Word’.
The Bible states~ –
In the beginning was the Word (Shabad). The Word (Shabad) was with God. The Word (Shabad) was God.
-The Bible
Our holy books have been giving us the same teaching in different languages but we do not read each other’s holy scriptures and therefore, all that we have been doing is raging wars against each other over which religion is the best.
It’s very much like a child proclaiming that *Xers chocolate is the sweetest in the world without having tasted the other chocolates ever! (*hypothetical name)
The most famous actor in Bollywood, Shahrukh Khan (SRK), was recently questioned about being a Muslim but also celebrating Hindu festivals and he replied very beautifully, ‘I believe that we all are reading the same novel in different languages. It is irrelevant to fight over matters of religion’.
This wisdom came to SRK because he was born into a Muslim family and grew up acting in the theaters playing Ramlila & Mahabarat (the Hindu scriptures). He also went to a Christian school St. Columbus. This exposed him to different religions and brought a deep sense of respect for all. I can personally relate to his life because mine was very much similar in this sense. (If you’ve stayed connected with me and read about my story, you will know)
Why do we really fight over religions, has more than one cause. I will talk about it in another blog. Let’s come back to today’s topic ‘Who is a Guru’.
WHO IS A GURU, ACCORDING TO HINDUISM
Guru Ravidas, a great Saint in Hinduism taught about Shabad to his disciple, the very famous — MeeraBai, whose poems we still sing in India.
When Meera was nine years old, she visited Guru Ravidas in his temple where he was praying to the Lord. Meera had fallen in love with Sri Krishna’s idol and wanted to have the vision of Sri Krishna. When Guru Ravidas saw Meera’s unquenching thirst for the vision of the Lord, he taught her about the Shabad technique.
Later, once Meera Bai’s consciousness had expanded enough, she also wrote a lot of songs about Naam (Shabad) such as,
‘Paayo ji mai to Naam ratan dhan paayo,
– Meera Bai, an Indian Saint (female)
loote nahi koi chor naa levai’
Translation~
‘I received the treasure of Naam
that cannot be stolen by any thief.
Many people mistakenly believe that ‘Naam’ is referring to ‘Ram Naam’ but Meera who was in love with Sri Krishna was not referring to Ram or any other name. Instead, she was talking about the Naam (Shabad) that her Guru, Saint Ravidas had connected her to.
Similarly, the teachings of many other Hindu Saints are full of praises about Naam (Shabad).
Saint Kabir in his famous song ‘Sadho Re Ye Murdon Ka Gaon‘, says…
Naam Anaam Anant Rehet Hai…
Dooja Tatva Na koi
Kahe kabir, suno bhai sadho, bhatak maro mat koi
Translation~
Sadho Re…(O Wise One, this world is that of the unawakened people)…
The Naam (Shabad) – Anaam (that which cannot be named)-
Anant Rehet Hai (Stays for infinite time)
There is no other…there is no other
Says, kabir, O wise one, do not die wandering in this world (connect yourself to the Naam/ Shabad).
THE NEED FOR A PURNA GURU OR A PERFECT SPIRITUAL MASTER (THE HUMAN TEACHER)
Now that we have learned who a Guru is, we might be having the question about the need for the Human Spiritual Guru. Read my detailed blog on ‘Do we need a Spiritual Guru?’
While there are many spiritual coaches in the world that are teaching different techniques, paths & methods on one’s spiritual awakening journey,
Purna Guru or a Perfect Spiritual Teacher is someone who is connected to the Shabad or the Holy Ghost and is one with it. The Purna Guru is also authorized to connect the student to the Shabad as well as to pass on spiritual wisdom to others.
Perfect Spiritual Masters that have existed in the Past are –
Jesus Christ, Saint Kabir, Sri Krishna, Saint Ravidas, Shah Inayat, Guru Nanak, and all the ten Gurus in Sikhism.
I have seen Hindus that are following Sri Krishna (the Spiritual Master from the past) arguing that we do not need any spiritual master for our spiritual journey while at the same time, not learning from Sri Krishna’s own life. Sri Krishna himself had a Guru to guide him along the way.
Why do we not learn from the lives of those we talk about? Why do we indulge more in debating how correct we are? In truth, it is our ego mind that gets into these debates of proving our superiority.
While I have shared with you about the Shabad if you wish to learn more about how to recognize the Purna Guru or the Perfect Spiritual master, feel free to check out my complete guide here that I have prepared from my 10-year-long journey of finding the Purna Guru + it includes a lot of testimonies by different Saints & from different religious scriptures.
GOD CAN BE FOUND ONLY IN MY RELIGION
Many seekers proclaim that God can be found only in — Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism, etc. whichever religion they are following.
The truth is that Perfect Spiritual Masters have arrived in all religions.
The mention of Shabad (the path of the soul back to the Source) is also in all religions.
THE LOGICAL SEEKER
It is also very logical to understand that God cannot be just found in any one specific religion.
Can God (whom we call Father) be biased so as to be achievable only by children following God through a specific religion? If it were true, then God would have not allowed so many religions to proliferate in the world in the first place. Only ONE religion would have existed.
GOD is not biased. There is definitely a lack of understanding on our part somewhere.
We have NOT read the scriptures of other religions.
We have NOT even completely implemented the teachings of our own religion.
Just like that child who proclaims the sweetest chocolate in the world, we proclaim the supremacy of our religion without even understanding what other religions have to offer.
The need of the hour is to understand the commonalities that run across religions and to lead oneself to one’s expansion in the consciousness, thus meeting our only purpose as human beings — Evolution!