The word ‘anatha’ in Sanskrit means one without a master. An acharya (teacher) gives ‘shiksha’, which means knowledge; a guru gives ‘deeksha’ which means heightened awareness. The guru makes the abstract more real and what you think to be solid appears to be more unreal. Sensitivity and subtlety dawn. Perception of love, not as an emotion, but as the substratum of existence becomes evident. The formless spirit shines through every form in creation and the mystery of life deepens. Then the real journey of life with the guru begins. This journey has four stages. The first stage is Saarupya (to see the formless in the form), that is seeing God in all the forms. Often, one feels more comfortable seeing God as formless rather than with a form, because with a form, one feels a distance, a duality, a fear of rejection and other limitations. In life, all our interactions are with the form, other than in deep sleep and in samadhi. And, if we do not see God in the form, then the waking part of life remains devoid of the Divine. All those who accept God to be formless use symbols and perhaps love the symbols more than God himself! If God comes and tells a Christian to leave the cross or a Muslim to drop the crescent, perhaps he may not do it! To begin with, loving the formless is possible only through forms. The second stage is Saamipya (closeness), that is feeling absolutely close to the form one has chosen and reaching out to the formless. This leads to a sense of intimacy with the whole of creation. In this stage, one overcomes the fear of rejection and other fears. But this is time and space bound. The third stage is Saanidhya, that is feeling the presence of the Divine by which you transcend the limitations of time and space. The final stage is Saayujya, where the one is firmly entrenched with the Divine. It is then that one realises that we are one with the Divine. There is a total merging with the beloved and all duality disappears. In the Upanishads five signs of a satguru are mentioned. In the presence of the satguru, knowledge flourishes, sorrow diminishes, joy wells up without any reason, abundance dawns and all talents manifest.A guru does not simply stuff the disciple with knowledge; he kindles life force in the person. In the presence of the guru, one becomes more alive. The pinnacle of intellect is awakened intelligence. The guru invokes not only intelligence but also the intellect. Knowledge may not invoke intelligence, but in intelligence, knowledge is inherent.As no ‘sanchita karma’ is left in an embodied guru, self shines through. But all the qualities that we appreciate in a guru are also in our very nature. Being with the guru is like being with one’s higher self. Guru, God and one’s own self are synonymous. Often one recognises wisdom but sees a gap between wisdom and one’s own life. The purpose of becoming a disciple is to bridge that gap. Being with a guru means spontaneous integration of life and wisdom. Respecting the guru simply means honouring our innermost nature.
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