Guru-disciple-enlightenment-topic

[Anand Hudli]

   The Guru/false Guru debate has been going on. I have not kept track of
 who said what and when exactly. So I'll just jump in and throw in my
 opinion to add to the confusion.

 Sadananda rightly pointed out that it is meaningless to talk about true
 and false Gurus. But still an aspirant of Advaita needs to know when he/she
 has found the right Guru. I say the right Guru, because there are, in my
 opinion, no false Gurus and true Gurus. Even a fake Guru teaches you
 something - how to identify such Gurus and how to avoid them!

 More seriously, a Guru is someone who helps you find your own Self. For,
 Sureshvaraachaarya says in his Maanasollaasa, a brilliant commentary on
 Shankara's DakshiNaamuurti stotra.


  aatmaalaabhaatparo laabho naastiiti munayo viduH |

  There is no greater gain than the gain of the Self. The sages know this.


  So a Guru should necessarily be one who helps you gain your Self. If a
  Guru helps you know something other than the Self, then that Guru is no
 Guru in the advaitic sense of the term. By the same token, anyone who
 helps you realize your own Self is your Guru, no matter what external
 characteristics or behavior  he/she may exhibit.

 Once the Self is realized, there is no distinction among the Guru, God,
 and the Self. Sureshvara says:

   iishvaro gururaatmeti muurtibhedavibhaagine |
   vyomavatvyaaptadehaaya dakshhiNaamuurtaye namaH ||


   I bow to that Dakshinamurti who manifests Himself variously as God,
   Guru, and the Self and whose body is all pervading like space.


 Anand