Importance of having a Guru in spiritual path?

Question

Please share personal experiences, stories or references from scriptures which highlight the importance of having a Guru.

Answer 1

The Guru is the bridge that we cross towards God. They are like a boat carrying us across the Ocean of Transmigration. There was this story that my Guru Mata Amritanandamayi illustrated the example of how the Guru helps us.

There was a squirrel by the river that wanted to get to the other side of the river, but it did not know how to swim. Then an ice cube fell from the sky. The squirrel hopped on it and was able to float across the river and then continued on.

The ice cube symbolizes the Guru, and we are the squirrel. God is the other side of the river. The Guru is a "form" of the formless aspect of God. God takes up a form to help us hold onto Him or Her while He/She carries across until we no longer need them.

I had been studying spirituality for about 17 years, and there was only so far I could go on my own. I prayed a lot for a True Master to enter my life to show me the rest of the way. Then one day, by destiny, I met my True Master Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi "Amma" two years ago. The day that I met Her, I knew She was the one I was meant to learn from.

She has shown me so much about love, devotion, faith, compassion, knowledge, widsom, selfless service and spirituality. Everything I have learnt from Her teachings has changed me for the better. I put to use examples of Her teachings and have seen tremendous growth, changes, blessings, grace and opportunities in my life all the time.

Amma has shown me that I contain within myself a river of Love that I have access to. No matter where She is on the globe giving Her children endless hugs, I always receive Her guidiance, support and love.

All I do is pray and talk to Her, and I'd get a response real quick. She has shown me that I'm never alone and never without Her Love. Also when I have problems or need help with something, I'd pray to Her about it. And She always helps me with everything I need.

A True Guru is one that is born Realized, is without ego, is a Pure Soul. They know you more than you know yourself. They are the "atman" within. There is no separation between the Guru's form that we see with our physical eyes than the one that resides within ourselves. This is what Amma has taught me. She has told me in a dream that "Amma is the atman. They are the one and same." She has shown me that I'm never without Her, that She is with me every second of the day involved in my life, that I'm a pen in Her hand.

Our ego believes that we are totally separate from God. Amma says the ego is like the tail on dog. It thinks it is totally independent from the rest of the dog's body, but if there is no dog, there is no tail. Which in essence means, if there is no God, then we infact do not exist. It is God's grace that we exist, that we breathe, that we have this body to live in. If we stop thinking that we are the ego alone, but realize that we are part of God, then we begin to merge with God.

I could go on. There is a Hindu scripture called Sri Guru Gita http://www.pranakasha.com/guru_gita/intro.shtml

The Guru is Brahma, the Guru is Vishnu,
the Guru is God, the Great Lord,
The Guru only is the supreme Brahman,
to that shree Guru salutations.

I recommend reading "An Autobiography of a Yogi" by Paramahansa Yogananda. He had a wonderful and beautiful relationship with his guru Sri Yukteshwar and wrote about his experiences. That book can explain how a guru has an impact on your spiritual journey.

Answer 2

The word guru can have a negative connotation. However teacher is a more proper term.

I was a Christian, and I was a member of many denominations before staying with one for nearly 25 years. Each church has a preacher and teachers and written materials to help the newcomer learn the doctrine.

I am now Wiccan, and I am solitary due to Wiccans being underground and untrusting of new people in my area of the Bible Belt.

I have been on my path about 7 years now and am where I was in Christianity after only one or two years. That is because I have to find out by myself the things I desire to know. It is a lot easier when you have a teacher and fellow members to ask and discuss things with.

I am just now at the point that I believe I understand if something is Wicca or not and just now beginning to feel that I truly am Wiccan. By the time I had been the last type of christian for 7 years I was already a teacher and preacher and one of the people that new and old Christians came to for advice and teaching.

So to sum it up it is easier to learn with a teacher or guru. Just like in AA if you want to really be a good stepper, then get with one of the old timers who have achieved the guru status and you will have an easier time of learning how to be a good stepper. You will learn all the buzz words and slogans, and how to use them.
BB

Answer 3

Guru is greatly misunderstood in the west. It is impossible to appreciate by looking in at the relationship.

I have worked with a master, who stated that the "guru" was the alchemy of the energy that existed between the student and the master. The focus of the student is to surpass the master, leapfrogging. The energy of the guru directs the student with crystal clear awareness, in a whirling vortex of mind stuff that is released when one commits to a path.
With diligence and time, the student expands and grows into a true spiritualist. When it is time, the master/guru sets the student on their way. Self- realization then becomes a solo journey, which the student now has the focus, will and insight to maintain independent of the master. This separation is a trial by fire, but must be walked in order to become the master.

A path can take many forms, and a master can take many forms.
To open the doors to the conditioned mind and the soul is to open lifetimes of self judgment - that which has locked us up before, and will again without an expanded tool kit. The guru provides the tool kit, and we are able to successfully re-invent ourselves, getting off the wheel.

Namaste

Answer 4

Look at Yoga sutra 1.1 It says, now, once you have made all the proper preparations, found a competent guru (can be your inner guru however extremely unlikely .0001% chance) and have done your homework, does the practice of yoga begin.

(Most people translate it as "Now, the practice of yoga begins". Why would they waste a perfectly good sutra or thread on the obvious?)

While it isn't completely necessary to have an external guru, help certainly helps. This about it in this light. Some climbs a mountain and marks down all the trails onto a map. Would you rather take the map and the advice, or do it on your own?

Answer 5

If one has right Guru, life becomes easy. For example if u fly to a destination u reach faster than if u walk to the destination. But the crux of the matter is the RIGHT GURU. if Guru is not right then u ve wasted ur precious time, money & emotions and in return u get frustration and ur faith in all gurus is shattered. U regret ur devotion to such a Guru and harm is unfathomable. Further the purpose of Guru is to elevate ur thought process to divine high. He shows u the way and u ve to do it and discuss ur spiritual problems with ur Guru and he has to solve them as a Guru. But a wrong Guru ruins ur life. If his words do not manifest in events in ur life then u r at a loss to understand life and remain bewildered. All Gurus do not answer a devotees quest. Join a Guru mission and if u r not making any progress in life then discontinue the mission and just learn to achieve inner silence thru various books on mindset, meditation and u will be much happier as u will not be expecting anything from any Guru and there will not be any hurt to ur emotions. In modern days these so called Gurus have all the follies of a normal person plus the power to misuse their sidhis to frighten followers so that they do not leave them as followers r a source of living for the Guru who also wants to live luxuriously.

Answer 6

i prefer the inner guru,one that is able to gain wisdom and knowledge from other sources (all of which may be considered guru also) my own spiritual guide is the nomadic cosmic awareness (which my understanding of has been completely explained in a previous answer) however is based on my belief that all questions have been asked and answered,and all ideas thought of,perpetually throughout time, which has no beginning and no end (forget the big bang idea, please... theres a more complicated, but easier to understand answer out there beginning with the likely hood of a multiverse ,not a universe..anyhow i ramble)and this multiverse or multiple universes (multiple in the way there are multiple galaxies),harbours and has always harboured life who's thoughts and ideas permeate the mind (like a network) of the multiverse ,so what I'm getting at is that our guru is enlightening us from without,through time and space...aloha

Answer 7

gurus are not important,and a waist money and distraction.it is fun to chant mantras with 5-10,000 people and you get real stoned doing it but it gets you no were .

i did the siddah yoga thing, with baba mutananda for 20 years or so, and i found no use in it.all gurues and guru groupies have there faults.they all think when they are chanting[stoned out of there brains on the drug shakti] that --theire way is the right way and all the world should follow there guru.

doing the guru thing ,makes you realise gurus are not important,that the path is in side you and you eventually have to walk it alone.

getting stoned on shakti was fun,but unnecessary.

Answer 8

Yes there is importance of Guru in any stream not only in Spiritual path.
I'm an artist used to paint and draw inspired by the nature and some imaginations which was lacking of life in them earlier, but after meeting my guru (with whom I first had a fight and we actually promised not to speak each other for our life) all my works have changed, he inspired me a lot in painting, spiritually.

You have it in you but Guru is needed to bring it out.

Vivekananda needed Ramakrishna Paramahamsa
to be Vivekananda

and

Ramakrishna Paramahamsa needed Vivekananda
to make Vivekananda

Answer 9

Importance of having a right Guru in Spiritual path will always lead above in this process not down.
Needs punya to get right Guru or Guru getting right disciple.
Both are always seeking for each other.

Answer 10

Guru is a personality, who is a guide, and having a guide is definitely beneficial.

Offcourse, everyone is equal to god, but nevertheless, god is not same to everyone.

guru has higher understanding of Lord, and hence helps you attain your aims faster.

Also, one more important thing is , whether you want a guru or not, irrespective of that, you will find a guru allocated by time only, and even a wood log, which made you slip and fall two times, and modified to be more careful next time, acted as guru at that time isn't it.

So , you will find one, only if time wants you to. but it is also true that you will have one or the other guru guiding you at any and every point in time. Luckier are those, who are guided by supreme time himself, and luckiest are those, who are guided always by the supreme will.

-- deito