The syllable ‘gu’ means shadows
The syllable ‘ru’, he who disperses them,
Because of the power to disperse darkness,
The guru is thus named
- Advayataraka Upanishad (14-18 verse)
When one is moving blindly through the valley of life, stumbling in darkness, we need the help of someone who has eyes. That person is a guru. To follow one who is enlightened by the divine knowledge is the only way to get out of the great muddle that is created in the world. By following a guru through his spirituality and wisdom, one can move towards inner truth, essential for the illumination of the soul. The guru is the guiding intelligence of life present behind the veil of disillusioned thoughts.
Making a commitment to a spiritual path is the key to reach your inner self. This awareness of one’s own truthful existence and divinity is brought by the guidance of a spiritual mentor. They assist us in recognising our own pre-existing nature and help bring out the humane qualities inherent in every individual by positively motivating us. By devoting our gratitude to their presence, we can transform ourselves and develop a perspective to see old things in new ways, a significant step in the process of our growth. All our lives what we look for is someone helping to point the way, someone extending a hand when we trip and fall, to encourage us when we feel disheartened and want to give up. We need someone who can be tough, who can dash away our illusions and show us what is false, and who can point us to our own resources and basic nature, thus opening our connection with the divine.
The aura of a guru, the atmosphere they create is like a vision cast into the bubble of negative energies we surround ourselves with, transforming its power into vitality and hope. Their nobility and practice along the same traversed path can help us quicken our progress and avoid obstacles. Even the thought of saints radiates positive vibes and helps remove delusion. A true guru only awakens in our consciousness the consciousness of God by functioning as a vehicle of grace.
The spiritual path is like climbing a mountain, we don’t really know what we will find at the summit. However, with the support and companionship of spiritual teachers, the journey to unattainable heights becomes more worthwhile and displacing the curtain of dark shadows by divinely ordained energies becomes easier. Therefore, it is for us to introspect what these messengers of God can do for us, for the sake of humanity, and for civilizations at large.