Who is a true guru

In the Shantiparva, chapter 108, Yudhishthra asks Bhishma, “Which among the dharmas is the superior most?” Bhishma replies that the worship of the guru and absolute devotion to him has no parallel. While the parents are instrumental in giving birth to this body, Bhishma argues, the guru through his teachings makes us divine and immortal. Advayataraka Upanishad 16 splits the term ‘guru’ into ‘gu’ and ‘ru’. The Sanskrit syllable ‘gu’ means darkness, and ‘ru’ means the power to dispel darkness. So, guru is the one who dispels the darkness of material as well as spiritual ignorance.

According to Bhaagvata 11.22.10.29, the guidance of a guru is essential because the intellect is clouded by ignorance, and covered by nescience from eternity. It cannot overcome its ignorance on its own. ‘To remove eternal ignorance, it needs knowledge from a God-realised saint, a guru who is a brhamagyani — knows the Absolute Truth.’ In the Indian tradition, a guru is more than a teacher. He is a venerable figure who shares the knowledge and potentialities acquired by him with his disciples, and who in his role as a counsellor moulds their social, moral and ethical values. He is an exemplar for his students, and an inspiration for society.

Katha Upanishad 1.2.8 regards the guru ‘as indispensable to the acquisition of knowledge’. Guru Amar Das, the third Sikh Guru, says knowledge will have no foundation without a guru, and Guru Granth Sahib in Ang 751 asserts that without seeking guidance from a guru, one cannot attain true spiritual knowledge or loving devotion to the Almighty.

Shankaracharya emphasises that ‘until you surrender to a guru, you cannot be liberated from the material energy’. He goes on to the extreme of saying: ‘He who has an acharya — a guru, alone knows.’

In the Guru-gita of Skanda Purana, Parvati asks Shiva, “In what way does an embodied soul become Brahman?” Shiva answers: “By having faith in the guru, by beckoning to his teachers, by meditating upon him, by worshipping him and surrendering oneself to him. The guru in the Guru-gita is the one who opens the ignorant man’s eyes and makes him wise. He is always immersed in the ultimate bliss, he bestows supreme happiness, he is pure wisdom personified, he is free from duality and the three gunas, and he is one and eternal. He is to be found in one’s own heart.”

A person who has become passionless (vitaraga) qualifies to be called a guru if he has attained Brahmajnana. According to Taittriya Upanishad 3, a guru is always in search of students who are keen to learn, and motivates them by ‘pointing the way’ and persuading them to ‘struggle, discover and experience the Truth that describes the origin, sustenance and dissolution of the universe’.

In his Upadesha Sahasri 1.4-1.5, Shankaracharya says the duty of a true guru is to remove ‘the causes of non-comprehension in the students’ and impresses on them the importance of following the Yamas, Niyamas, and humility in life. “A true guru,” according to Swami Vivekananda, “should understand the spirit of the scriptures, have a pure character and be free from sin, and should be selfless, without desire for money and fame.”

— The writer is former professor of philosophy, Delhi University

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