Traits Of A Real Guru

 

Mentors play critical role in one's life. They guide and mould the character, personality of their students. 

And yes, a guide need not be in a human form. 

Lord Dattatreya had twenty four gurus like snake, honey bee, earth, air. 

Broadly speaking, there are two kinds of mentors :

(𝙖) 𝙏𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙨 : They impart knowledge about the material world, society. They equip their pupils with necessary social etiquettes, qualifications and skills so that they can earn their living. 

(𝙗) 𝙂𝙪𝙧𝙪𝙨 : They take their students (शिष्य) out of delusions, make them see the real nature of material world. They help them in their pursuit of attaining Supreme Being so that they can remain perpetually blissful. 

I personally believe that as compared to a teacher, a guru is more venerable, has much important role to play. 

Goswami Tulsidas ji has explicitly written in Sri Ramcharitamanas : 

"गुरु बिन भव निधि तरइ न कोई." 

(Without the help of a guru, no one can free oneself from the worldly agonies) 

It is however an extremely difficult task to find a real guru (सदगुरु) in contemporary times as most of the so called "gurus" are actually frauds (गुरुघंटाल). 

They befool, loot, rape their unsuspecting followers. 

How can we weed out the fake gurus from the real ones? 

Well, I'm fortunate to have interacted with some real gurus. 

Based on my experiences, interactions, I have found that a real guru has the following distinctive qualities : 

(𝙖) 𝘼 𝙏𝙧𝙪𝙚 𝙂𝙪𝙧𝙪 𝙄𝙨 𝙁𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 : A true guru is always intrepid, under all circumstances. 

Some years ago I saw an unusual sight of a fake guru giving discourse on the indestructibility of the soul while sitting in a bullet proof glass! 

The fraud and his son are at present behind bars on murder and rape charges. 

(𝙗) 𝘽𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙚 𝙄𝙣 𝙎𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙇𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 : Real gurus have very few wants. They eat only for survival and never for taste. They have won over all the six weaknesses - hunger, thirst, pain, lust, old age and death. They are not enchanted by worldly things. 

Beware of those who have fleet of luxury cars, wear costly jewellery. They are simply mountebanks! 

(𝙘) 𝙂𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙈𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙄𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙏𝙤 𝙊𝙪𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝘼𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨 : Real gurus don't care about their outer appearances. They do not identify themselves with their bodies. They believe that they are souls encased in lifeless bodies. Their only objective is merging themselves (the individual souls) with the Super Soul. 

I seriously doubt the credibility of those "gurus" who meticulously dye their hair, wear costly costumes, do heavy makeup before giving sermons on television, social media. 

(𝙙) 𝙎𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙠 𝙇𝙚𝙨𝙨 : Real Gurus are generally uncommunicative. Instead of indulging in superfluous talks, they utilize their time in chanting the Name of Lord (जप) and introspection (मनन). 

~ 𝙎𝙖𝙣𝙟𝙖𝙮 𝙂𝙖𝙧𝙜𝙞𝙨𝙝 ~