My music teacher once said, “I don’t not need a mediator or go-between coming in the way of my direct communication or contact with God.”
My first thought was, ‘Wow! He is confident that he is in direct communication with God and does not need any guidance or words of wisdom from anyone else!’ As I pondered over that statement, I realized that, for me, it was not possible to be in direct communication with Him. A sacred book or scripture to run to was also not going to work for me. I needed a living guide.
I grew up reciting shlokas and mantras, without knowing their meaning or significance. It was a ritualistic routine which gave me psychological solace. I listen to spiritual leaders and philosophers from different paths thinking it will help me become more knowledgeable, wise. But the more I scattered my energies in listening to everyone, the more confused I remained. One song of the divine and it is being explained differently by different pundits, each emphasizing and extolling their viewpoint or perspective.
One day Govinda Singh asked his teacher Guru Nanak about the importance of the Guru. "The better you become as a disciple, the better you will understand about the Guru," replied Nanak.
If the guru is not with me in person to guide me, then my understanding of my guru will be limited to the teachings I read in the scriptures, which are open to interpretation and lot of debate. So, how do I become a better disciple, and how can I know that I have become a better disciple?
In the professional world, I upgrade, recertify every year or two! If I fail, or am not conversant with the latest techniques, I am jobless and declared redundant! I wonder why it is not the same for our spiritual quests. Why do we lack the urge to recertify and upgrade from what was written 5000 years ago, seek a teacher who lives in the here and now, and can guide us?
The significance of a living guru:
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