Guru occupies the most important place in the evolution of the spiritual aspirant. Without him it is impossible to progress. Guru is the embodiment of the Trinity, Brahma, Vishnu and Maheswara. It is not necessary to worship the deities if one is an ardent devotee of the chosen Guru! It is the Guru who dispels the darkness of ignorance from his disciple and leads him to the path of salvation or mukti! The Guru should be a self realized individual for without that how can he guide his chela to the difficult path of Jnana and mukti?The significance of the Guru is very well described in the following sloka: “ Dhyana moolam guror murthihi puja mulam guroh padam mantra moolam guror vakyam moksha moolam guroh krupa”--The form of the Guru should be meditated upon; his feet have to be worshipped; his words should be considered as mantra; his grace is the bestower of moksha or mukti! A true guru is not a Srikama, one who desires money! Days are gone when we had such distinguished Gurus like Vashista, Vamadeva and various others! Many self styled gurus have surfaced in modern days and it is very difficult to choose between them!
“ Guru charanambuja nirbhara bhaktha” says Sankara. In the last part of Bhajagovindam, Sankara indicates the means by which the disciple can have the vision of the Lord embedded in one’s own heart! The first condition is the disciple’s unstinted devotion and faith in the lotus feet of the Guru! Even for a fraction of a second he should not waver from his bhakti and sraddha or faith! Sankara and Ramanuja themselves were disciples of that type and because of that virtue eclipsed their Gurus! We hear of disciples like Bhrigu, son of Varuna and Satyakama of Jabala in the Upanishads who were totally devoted to their preceptors and attained self realization!
“Samsara dachiradbhava muktaha” is the second condition for the vision of the Divine seated on the pedestal of one’s heart! He should be non attached to the entanglements of family life. He should see that those family bonds do not come in the way of his goal viz self realization.This is a herculean task because of the illusion of the material world and its charms and pleasures on him. How to overcome this bear grip of Maya? Sankara suggests the answer. It is by the control of the mind and and senses! Is it so easy as the statement made by Sankara? Our sense are our best friends and at the same time our worst enemies! It depends on how we manage them.They are like the horses in a gallop. Left uncontrolled they dash you to the ground! You should never feed the senses as they are insatiable. ‘Buddhi' or mind or the intellect is the controller of the senses.
Our body or sareera is considered as the ratha or Chariot. Atma is the charioteer, the one coming in a procession. Buddhi or intellect is the sarathi, the driver of the chariot. Manas or the heart is the controlling factor. How does the chariot progress? It s drawn by the horses which represent the senses. It is the duty of the intellect to command the Manas to control the senses lest they may dash you to the ground in an accident! The Upanishad beautifully explains the danger that is always present in proximity! We have instances galore in our Puranas and scriptures of how great kings and emperors despite their pomp and pageantry and scholarship were slaves of their senses and lost themselves irretrievably! Ravana, king of Lanka is a classical example! Even sages were not exempted! Sage Viswamitra became an easy target for the bewitching beauty of the heavenly damsel Menaka! If it is such a difficult task for great sages like Viswamitra, what about the ordinary mortals like us??
So, it is of paramount importance for man to seek the best Guru to guide him in the path of salvation! He has to release himself from the inescapable clutches of Samsara or family bonds. He has to maintain imperturbable faith in his mentor. The most important and difficult thing is to control the senses that pose a challenge for him at every stage of life! It is through the coordination of all these efforts that man can realize himself or gain the vision of the Divinity that is silently seated in our heart! It can never be a cakewalk for ordinary man! The aspirant has to perform Sadhana for the realization!
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