Guru

Guru brahma, guru vishnu

Guru devo maheshwara

Guru saakshaath parabrahma

Tasmay shri gurave namaha

After a couple of failed attempts to write that in Devanagari, I lost patience. I couldn't find the damn half ra. Didn't like it, but had to do it. Its not every time that an idea to blog lasts for 3 days anyway :).

Guru. We all have read enough, few fortunate ones have had the opportunity to interact with one in their lives. Please note, I'm not talking about teachers. Anyone who teaches becomes a teacher. More so in common terminology. Among few things in common between teacher and Guru is that to be both, there is no age requirement, neither there is a rule that only the relatively younger should be obliged to enjoy such a privilege.

Teachers we all have had. Throughout our schooling, throughout our lives, in our family, among friends and well wishers. For that matter, life is itself a good teacher. We make mistakes, correct them in due course and say life taught me this, life taught me that. In effect, I think its time that's making one teach oneself.

Guru is an epitome of awesomeness. A Guru is a visionary. A Guru is the one you are lucky enough to know and wish you knew how to think like that. The first few lines of this blog in Sanskrit say that a Guru is nothing short of God. In fact, it elevates the Guru to the combined effect of the trimurti Gods - creator, protector and destroyer. I think I must have recited the shloka some thousand times in my life, but haven't ever given such a thought to it. Well, better that I did it anyway. 

A Guru, in my opinion is extremely necessary for life to be moulded in a certain way. There are acclaimed people who have taught themselves and achieved immense success. While there's no denying their success or doubting their path to success, I think a Guru would give a fuller meaning to life. No matter what stage of life you are in, having a Guru is probably the best thing to happen. The sad part is, when we are young, we accept it more easily. Partly because of innocence (ignorance, if I may) and partly because at that age the brain is just accustomed to receive, process and reproduce humongous amounts of information. As we grow up, all sorts of filth fill in the mind blocking all clarity. Again, it doesn't mean that it happens with everyone. There's arrogance that comes in, there's ego, there's insecurity with growing age. All this because of the Guru. When I say its because of that entity, it is only because a Guru is the one who can torment you, harass you, laud you, motivate you, demoralise you and troubleshoot your problems. Accomplished people can do all that in one go too :). Once you are grown and about 30 or 40 years old, the sight of a much older man shouting at you is not the nicest scene you'd want yourself, or your family and kids to see you in. That said, I know of people who blindly put faith in the Guru, follow his words to whatever extent is possible, to a sad state where something called as self thinking gets obliterated. I don't believe in such kind of a worship. Few might call me mad, but I'd say no matter how good the Guru is, no matter how hard you are trying to impress him, no matter how hard you strive to get an appraisal, it is to be done with a certain degree of reverence, no doubt on that. But it has to happen with some self indulgence.

Guru is generally termed to people with high qualification and who have such kind of an ability to get you out of, well, basically shit. General work culture and our ignorance (the kind that stays with us after getting old as well) will more often than not lead us to helpless situations. Guruless people would get into depression, the others will just seek advice. Gurus are also termed to entities who practice the divinatory arts. Well, the terminology couldn't be more right. Its remarkable how a Guru can mould you and make the impossible possible in just a few sittings.

If you've not found one yet, keep looking!