Sir please help me to find a guru .who can help me for meeting god .i want to know who am i and i want to feel god and i want to see god and i have a lot of questions for my guru please help me to find a guru who have already achieved brahammsamadhi . please help me
—sutikshan, india
Dear Sutikshan,
There is a saying that “When the disciple is ready, the guru appears!” How, then, can you prepare yourself so that God will send you a true (Self-realized) guru?
In the New Testament of the Christian Bible, Jesus Christ gives the famous “Sermon on the Mount.” He gives the “Beatitudes” : those blessings which accrue to those who are “worthy of the kingdom of heaven.” In this he says, “Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God.”
Purification of ego-motivated desires and increasing transcendence of ego attachments is one of the important means by which our hearts become pure. In the positive direction, this is even more true by the path of devotion. Our heart-felt and deep yearning to know God can become SO strong that God sends to us our guru to bring us enlightenment.
When? How Soon? Who? Where? These questions are tests of faith and we must show to God our willingness to do God’s will and to receive the blessings of the sat guru when God sends him.
There is a story that illustrates this: (I forget momentarily the names). A guru once told each of his close disciples when (meaning how soon) they would be enlightened (that God will come to them). Each was ecstatic with joy. But the guru’s closest disciple was told by the guru that he would become free in (let us say) 100 lifetimes! The other disciples gasped with horror. But the close disciple, too, was ecstatic, and went out into the courtyard dancing with joy. Other disciples followed him, tugging at his sleeve, saying, “Didn’t you HEAR what our guru said?” The close disciple, laughed and smiled, “YES, I heard: he promised I would be FREE!”
Then, suddenly, the guru came outside and simply touched his close disciple on the chest; the disciple went into cosmic consciousness! The guru was, in fact, only testing his disciple and, by extension, all of the disciples! That close disciple was in fact THAT close to freedom.
The disciple’s part is to work towards purifying the heart; to perform sadhana and seva; to overcome attachments; to increase in holiness. In time, and when God deems you are ready, the guru will come. Beware that, at first, you may not recognize your guru. To test you he may appear in a form that you do not, at first, recognize or even respect. Therefore, see life itself; all circumstances whether pleasant or unpleasant, and all people as your guru.
Remember, lastly, this: the real question is NOT who is my guru (or when will he come). The real question is, “Am I ready? Am I a worthy disciple?” You do your part, and God will multiply your efforts a hundredfold.
Another and additional point: study the lives of the great saints and masters. This will help your attunement to God. Find, also, disciples of great saints and masters and associate with them because those who are in tune with the guru will give to you the holy vibration through satsang and seva of God and guru. Remember too that “God is the guru.” No personality can define or limit God. A true, or sat, guru is incarnation of divinity through the form of a particular and liberated soul. Don’t get caught up in personalities.
Blessings to you on your journey to Self-realization!
Nayswami Hriman
