With Cries from the Heart, the Search for a True Guru Begins
By Lars Jensen
Sant Mat Fellowship:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SantMatFellowship
{"Repeat the Name of your Beloved, day and night, again and again. With care in thought, word and deed, you will cross to the other shore." -- Sant Dadu Dayal}
[Mr. Lars Jensen is a project manager (civil eng.) in Stockholm (Sweden). He tells, "I was born in a country where no one understands spirituality. Hardly any people believes in God in Sweden. Even if this country is a desert of spirituality, I had an inner longing to finding the truth, since the early childhood. I wondered about the mystery of life and death.... " Mr. Jensen received initiation in Santmat in July, 2008. He has tried to share his experiences and understanding on True Guru with us. -- SadGuruMehi.com]
A million speak of love, yet how few know; true love is not to lose remembrance even for an instant. It can only be called love, if you yearn for the Lord in the same way as a man is yearning for air, when he is drowning and fighting for his life under the water. You can only be said to have a thirsty heart if you can drink the whole ocean and your lips will remain dry like a desert. Only such blessed soul will reach the highest goal of life.
When the soul begins to awake from its deep slumber, no worldly forces can undo with the tears and yearning of the heart. At that blessed moment the life takes a turning point and the search for the Lord starts. It is the Lord from within our own heart calling us back home. From that very moment the destination of the soul is fixed. The cry of the heart will not stop until the goal of the heart is reached and the union with the Lord is accomplished.
While explaining the meaning of a poem "Builders" in the examination hall this inner force stroke the heart of the young boy Ramanugrah Lal (later known as Sadguru Maharshi Mehi) and his viewpoint of life suddenly changed within a twinkling of an eye, as if he was hit by a lightening of intensive yearning. He left the examination hall immediately and never returned. From that moment he was ever restless wondering in search for a true Guru that could give him the inner contact with the Lord. Finally the search was completed when he met Baba Devi Sahab and through Baba Devi's influence and spiritual guidance it is told that he ultimately achieved Salvation.
So spirituality is like an infection that can be caught but not taught. Once a God-realized soul is met; spirituality is caught like an infection going from one heart to another heart. The goal of spirituality is to establish this connection with the Source at level of soul and have nothing to do with any lower level of mind, intellect or emotions. Spirituality is only to be found at the level of soul. So how can it be found if search is made at another level where it is not? So a connection at level of soul is essential in spirituality. This connection is only possible to establish by the help of one who already has this inner connection with the Source. Only when such a God-realized Soul is met, we can be colored in the color of spirituality. To find a true Guru is therefore a must.
God as ordinate this way and so it is confirmed in all our Holy Scriptures. This is the true Religion, which is the same for all human beings and that never has changed and never will change, as it is old as mankind and created by the Lord Himself. Even all our Competent Masters of the past went to a master since the Lord has ordinate this way. Jesus the Christ went to John the Baptist and Kabir went to Ramananda. They themselves were more developed than their own masters, but they went to a master as an example for us to follow. If such high personalities had to go to a master, why do we think that we could find the way back to God by ourselves? God is the unseen Power over all working. So God needs a human pole through whom He can speak, how else He can speak with us?
So to get this inner connection with the Lord a spiritual Guru or Master is necessary. But who is the Master? This subject is very misunderstood. Guru Nanak says: "God is the true Master and the soul is the true disciple".
The Master is always one. Because God is one, He is not two. It doesn't matter if He comes in different human forms like Jesus, Guru Nanak, Kabir and so on. The Master remains the same. It is the God Power in them who is the Master, not the body, and this God Power is always one and the same. So Jesus and Christ were two. Jesus was the human pole in which the Christ power, Master Power or God Power manifested itself. Everything is revealed in our Holy Scriptures, but we do not understand them properly. Christ said: "I was before Abraham." (John 8:58) But it is obvious that Jesus, the human body, was not living before Abraham. Christ said: "I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." (Matt 28:20) But Jesus, the human body, died at the cross. So who spoke these words? Of course these words were not the words of Jesus, the human body, but the words of the Christ Power or God Power. So it is the God Power in them who is the Master and not the body. And that God Power is not limit to manifest Itself only one time in the history or in only one body. So that Power has manifest itself in all God-realized soul of the world. So there may be many different lamps, but the light from them remains the same. If a friend of yours comes in different clothing, would you not recognize him?
So a God-realized soul never says he is the Master for it is the God Power who works through him who is the Master. He says he is a servant of this God Power. If he claims himself as a Master, he can never be a Master. Never so far a true God-realised soul has claims himself as a Master. The one, who really has seen that God Power controlling and working through the whole creation, can never claim himself as the doer or as the master, its impossible. And so it is confirmed in our Holy Scriptures. Jesus the Christ never said that he was the doer, but the Father in Heaven. Guru Nanak and Kabir stressed the same thing and Guru Gobind Singh even told: "Whosoever calls me God will fall into the pits of hell; I am but His lowly servant." Prophet Mohammed also claimed that God is the only doer: "There is no God except God", "I myself am only a servant and a prophet witnessing of Him." So no true Master ever proclaimed himself as a Master.
So God Power is the only one who is Competent to help us. He is the one who can drag your attention up. He can take you above the body consciousness, the five senses, the intellect and the mind, into the beyond. So God have sent you to this world, but He has also sent someone to take you back home, through whom He is saying: "Come children, come back Home." And that is through Sants.
So the way back to God starts with the yearning of the heart. That Power from within will surely draw the true seeker to the right place where the true Guru is to be found. When the candle is lighted, the moths would themselves fly to it. Where there is honey, all true bees will come up, but for those who can't smell the difference how can they come?
If someone can't smell the difference, what to do? If the yearning is not strong enough, so that God Himself drags you to the right place where the true Guru is to be found. What to do? If you try to search for the true Guru by your own effort, how to find him? By own effort it is impossible, to find him. But some guidance is helpful.
So how to find a true Guru?
It is told that the true Guru can not to be found in a million, maybe in a billion. Just think, how many other Competent Masters was contemporary with our Competent Masters of the past? As for example, how many other Competent Masters came at the time of Christ? He was the only one. There were of course many other so-called teachers, but who were they? They were the priests and scribes whom wanted to crucify Christ and they claimed themselves as the only true mouthpiece of God. So the God Commissioned person is very rare to find and mostly he comes alone. If there are more than one at the same time, they will work as one unit, since it is the same Power working. So he is the rare one, the rare personality, that is Commissioned from God, but he would never say "he is the Master" and he doesn't act or pretend to be like one either. Everything is not the same. A so-called guru is not the same thing as true Guru.
Accordingly the true Guru is very hard to find. So when we search for true Guru we must be aware, because obviously there are also 100 000 so-called masters, who are not commissioned by God and who are not doing His Work. But who are they? Man has the power to discriminate, because if he does not discriminate then he looses his life. All Competent Masters have defined very clearly that we should discriminate. What is true and what is false? All misguidance is due to our own ignorance. But the Holy Scriptures tells us that ignorance is no excuse, the followers should at least know what they are following. So some guidance is needed to avoid that the so-called gurus catch the seeker, because then the golden opportunity of this human life is lost.
So how to recognize if a guru is the true Guru?
This is a very rare subject and very seldom talked about, but without this knowledge many souls will come under the influences of a so-called guru. No blind faith is accepted by the Lord, if you have not seen for yourself, never believe in the guru. Disciples are not needed, but conscious co-workers of the divine plan. By being around a true God-realized soul your own consciousness will be developed and the inner experiences will come, if you follow his instructions with wholly and solely devotion. But if you remain ignorant being around a guru, the guru himself is ignorant, because spirituality is like an infection going from one heart to another heart and no power can undo with it. So being at the company of a true Guru you must get this injection of spirituality. How can you come in contact with sandalwood without getting the smell? If you don't get the smell it is because it is not real sandalwood. So if no positive change is made at level of soul and consciousness, this guru is probably not a true guru.
If there was no difference between a guru and an ordinary man, then what is the purpose of going to a guru? The true Guru is a God-realized soul, having an inner and direct contact with the Divine Source. Having an inner contact with the Divine Source will naturally also reflect outside on his true living and pure character. So accordingly there are some criteria that a guru must fulfill in order to be a true Guru.
A true Guru must have pure character since he has raised above all the poisons of the senses, ego and mind. Whereas the so-called guru has a worldly character even so he tries to hide it. Any sign of anger, ego, lust, greed or worldly attachment is a sign that he is not the true one.
Since a man's inner state is reflected outside, a person can be known by his living. The true Guru, whose heart is pure, can be recognized through his pure living. The so-called guru, whose hearts is not pure, can be recognized through his impure living. The so-called guru act and pose a lot, so his impure living will properly not be seen if you don't come close to him and see him acting in his daily life.
There are 100 000 ways to be misled in the world, but there is only one way back to God. So everything that takes away your attention from your goal, that is God, is a hindrance. So in the direction in which a guru draws your attention, you can see if he is genuine. If he is the true one, then he will draw your attention to God since this is the goal. If he draws your attention to other so-called things like fulfilling our wishes, getting health, getting peace of mind, healing power, miracles power, himself as a person, prophesies and so on, he can never be the right one. All these so-called things are nonsense, because what does it have to do with God, and by following it you will never know God. Where you have your attention, there you also have to go. The true guru's only goal is to take us back to God and he is living and doing for this purpose alone.
Since it is the Mission of God, it must be done in Gods name alone, and in no other name. Never a true Guru claims himself as the doer or as the Master and never he takes money for his service done in the name of God. It is a universal law of God that everything that comes from God is free.
The teaching of the true Guru is in accordance with all our Holy Scriptures and also in accordance with all Saints of the past. Whereas the teaching of the most so-called gurus are contrary to the Holy Scriptures and to each other. While still other so-called gurus repeat the teaching of the true Guru, since with some training anyone can teach it. But to give the practical demonstration, the first hand experience, is very difficult.
The true Guru must be able to give you a first hand demonstration of rising you above the body consciousness, so you can have the inner experiences of the beyond. The right inner experience that is in accordance to all our Holy Scriptures. Until you do not see with your own eyes, do not believe your guru. He must also be able to answer your questions, without you even putting them. The true Guru will know your heart even better than yourself. Only when such a Soul is met, we can be colored in the same color. Life comes from Life as Light comes from Light. It is only an awakened Soul that can rouse us from our deep slumber.
This is some of the signs of a God-realized soul. This teaching is very precious for those souls, who are lost in the search of a true Guru.
So spirituality starts within your own heart. It is like a wildfire that has caught into flames in the heart -- like the fire in the forest, nobody on earth can extinguish it, it will go on and on. This wildfire burns all the desires of the world and makes everything of this world appear dry and empty. The only thing that remains in the heart is the thirst for the water of life and the yearning for the Lord. This yearning for the Lord should be our ruling passion of life, and it should be just as strong as the hungry yearns for food and the thirsty yearn for water. Even God Himself looks for such a soul. Where there is fire, oxygen will come to help. Where there is a burning heart who yearns for the Lord, help will also come. So you only need develop such a condition, and you do not need to look for God, because God Himself will come after you. The blind one can not find the hand of the seeing one. Only the seeing one can take the hand of the blind one and lead him to the right place. So He selects us. The God Power from within will draw such a soul to the feet of a Competent Guru, just as happened to the young boy Ramanugrah Lal (Maharshi Mehi).
Pray to God that He may come to you, because this world is a jungle of so-called masters. It is almost impossible to find the true Guru by our own effort. After all you can not find Him, if He doesn't want to be found. Only He can find you. Only the seeing one can find the blind one, never it can be the opposite. So make a prayer to God that He will come to you!
But if you have a thirsty heart which holds you awake all night, then the God Power from within your own self will draw you to the right place where the true Guru is to be found. So all that is needed is a thirsty heart, because even God Himself looks for such a Soul.
So Spirituality is very simple indeed. You only take away your attention from the world and instead direct it to God. Spirituality is just as simple as that. ////////
