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For something as simple as going from one place to another, you rely on a GPS. Then what about the journey within, which is subtle, deep and complex?
When there is a Guru in your life, learning continues—effortlessly, silently. (AI Generated)
If you want knowledge in life, if you want to grow, if you want your desires fulfilled, if you want to come unstuck from situations, events or people and if you truly cherish total freedom, then you need a Guru.
For something as simple as going from one place to another, you rely on a GPS. Then what about the journey within, which is subtle, deep and complex? There, you definitely need a guide, someone who has already walked the path, who has made the journey.
We carry within us the conscious, subconscious and unconscious layers of the mind. The more time we spend in the conscious mind, the more active learning becomes. And for learning to unfold, the presence of a Guru is essential. When there is a Guru in your life, learning continues—effortlessly, silently. And when you consciously acknowledge the presence of a Guru, your learning deepens.
Any knowledge, in any discipline, comes through someone. And whoever that “someone” is, becomes the Guru, whether they want to be addressed as one or not. Even people who show you, by their behaviour, how not to be, when you say, “I never want to become like that” they too become your Gurus.
Sometimes, you feel stuck in life, either in situations, events, or concepts. And sometimes, you don’t even realize that you’re stuck. The presence of the Guru brings awareness and movement in your life. It unknots what has entangled you. The Guru’s presence shifts something in your consciousness, and helps you flow again, toward your ultimate goal: freedom. And this does not take time, even if you feel you had been stuck for a very long time, just like it takes only a moment to light up a dark room with a candle. It doesn’t matter if the room was in the dark for even 20 years.
You may have a desire. But to have it fulfilled, you need guidance. You need someone to give you what is beyond your means, beyond your effort. That is where the Guru’s grace operates. Only that is truly worth having in life, which comes through grace. Because grace brings what effort alone cannot.
Self-effort works only in the conscious mind. In the subconscious, you cannot do it all by yourself. You need help, someone, or something higher, to reach in and transform that which lies beyond your grasp. That is why, since millennia, the tradition of Masters has existed to lead human society gently, hand in hand, toward the light it has forgotten it is.
The Guru represents rationality and wisdom. The moon, especially the full moon, represents the mind, emotions, and sensitivity. Emotions and intellect often seem to move in opposite directions. But Guru Poornima is that rare meeting point, where the rational and the emotional are honored together.
There is a place for both in life. Guru brings the fullness in emotions. The emotions get strengthened and nourished by devotion and the intellect finds depth and sharpness with wisdom. The Guru bestows the ability to be both sensitive and sensible in life. You do not get washed away in the storm of your emotions nor does your life become stiff and devoid of the sweetness of emotion, of love that encompasses everyone.
And finally, the Guru frees you. He leads you out of illusion after illusion, from layer after layer of ignorance, and establishes you in the ultimate reality of this universe.
The author is a humanitarian leader, spiritual teacher and an ambassador of peace. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.
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