GURU ARTICLE WRITTEN BY DR PRABHU KUMAR RAJU
GURU IS THE ONE WHO TAKES YOU


FROM THE PATH OF DARKNESS TO LIGHT ( IGNORANCE TO WISE / UNKNOWN TO KNOWN )
Every soul on this planet earth needs a guru in one way or the other. dr pkr’s definition of a guru is any living being on earth who helps you to assist you or elevate you from your unknown is considered a guru. Eg . today w
e all are using bulb and tube light for our illumination but if we think of the inventor THOMAS ALWA EDISON he will be our guru , we need to be thankful to him in every little way we can ,the same way if we look into our day to day life there are 1000’s of people who will assist us directly or indirectly to us ( food ,clothing,shelter,employer,doctors ,lawyers ,police etc etc ) in truth do we ever think of them and thank them for their services .in reality we should thank every one of them ,as shirdi sai says when you do service mankind is service to god. Saint vallalar said jeevakaruniyam is feeding the hungry people is service to god ,mother Theresa said showing love to the underprevilged is service to god
Guru is not a physical form. Guru is energy, the medium through which jnana or knowledge flows to the disciple. If you take the sishya to be an ice-cold stone and jnana to be boiling hot water, then the guru pours this hot water onto the cold stone gradually, drop-by-drop, lest the stone cracks with the heat. Guru takes full responsibility of the sishya, monitors him every second. Guru literally carries the sishya on the journey of evolution. He is not someone who does sweet talk or makes arbitrary promises to gain your support… A guru needs nothing from you; it is you who needs him. He is a mirror that will show you your true self and helps you elevate yourself, provided you want to rise.
The first sign of a guru is vairagya or detachment. As soon as you come in the proximity of your guru, you experience the same vairagya within -- an indication that you are in the right place. Rudryamala, describing the qualities of a guru, mentions that he has no drawbacks, is free of vices, with impeccable character, following dharma and spiritual practices and devoted to his guru.
A guru is still in the yamas and niyamas of Sage Patanjali. Anyone who follows the yamas of satya, asteya and aparigraha will never charge fees to teach yoga. Anyone who follows the yama of brahmacharya would exude the glow that comes with the vrat. A guru e
xudes what he talks. He possesses phenomenal energy, radiance and attraction associated with yoga. A sishya experiences this glow and attraction in the guru’s company and feels good. Just like a surya sadhak exudes the brilliance of sun, similarly a sishya radiates the glow and attraction of his guru. As you focus on the guru, gradually you start acquiring his qualities and after some time your form starts resembling that of your guru. So you need to be sure of what you follow, because you eventually become what you follow.
Rudryamala says, for anyone to be a guru, he must be of noble character, preferably born in a respectable family, of auspicious appearance, endowed with intellect, calmness of mind, and all good qualities, have a good and moral conduct, be pious and chaste and have control over the senses, be proficient in mantras and ever-engaged in japa and devoted to the worship of ishta devta. A mother is considered as the best guru for a son or daughter since there exists a pre-established connection between the two. Initiation by mother of a child is said to give eightfold results than what is ordinary.
The topic of Sanatan Kriya deals with the concept of guru and maintains that when a being finds a guru, there are certain indications for it. The first is that there occur certain changes in your body; it starts looking the way you always desired. Secondly, any imbalance or disease in the body disappears. You cease to fall ill. The third indicator is that you start experiencing energies that run Creation.
One must not rush into making a guru; you have to be absolutely sure. Because once you call somebody your guru, you must walk the path shown by him with full faith and devotion. Anything less, any doubt or change of path thereafter amounts to disrespect of the energy of guru. The journey, which begins when you meet your guru, requires continuous and dedicated practice which when followed as niyama culminates into yoga.