[Advaita-l] Guidance of Guru.

[Bhadraiah Mallampalli]

Dear Sri Sanjay Srivastava,

>>Real test is when shishya progressively asks tougher questions.

>.. if the question was really advanced, how would the student know whether 
>the answer was >correct?

Not that I know Brahman, but you really asked an advanced question :-)

Sri Sankara states that a question is more powerful than an answer, not 
without a reason. Being able to perceive a question is a skill. The 
questioner will not be satisfied until the answer resolves the original 
doubt. A verbally satisfying answer is still susceptible to further 
questions. E.g., any disucssion re: karma theory.

>Arguably, student is not advanced to that stage where he can judge himself 
>whether the answer >was correct or not.

The student's aham may not be, but the student's prana is. So an answer that 
appeals to the prana has to be necessarily satisfying and hence correct.

>I would say, the person's reputation among his peers would be a much more 
>reliable indicator than >student's own judgment. One of the problems with 
>non-sampradAyavid teachers is that they do >not have peers and therefore it 
>is left to the subjective judgment of the shishya to decide if the >teacher 
>is brahmanishtham or not.

Isn't 'not having peers' a qualification for a knower of Brahman? :-)

Even students of many a new age teacher can figure out after some practice 
if the teacher is faking, if they really try.

Best regards
Bhadraiah