Gajaraj Swamigal: Who is fit to be a Guru? What is the
purpose of your teachings? Is initiation necessary?
Sage Agastya: Father, I have a lot of work.
There are diverse types of Gurus. You may have heard the
names of Gurus who are mentioned in the puranas. The names of Gurus like
Brihaspati, Shankaracharya, Parasuraman, Drona are remembered even today.
They are all recognized as Parama Gurus. Very great Gurus.
They were Gurus not only for humans, but for Gods, Kings and demons as well.
They are known as fountains of wisdom. Just like water that
spouts out from the depths of the earth, knowledge comes out easily from such Gurus.
All types of knowledge are hidden in their words. There is nothing that they do
not know.
They are all fountains of wisdom. Just like the water that spouts out from the depths of the earth,
knowledge generously emitted from such Gurus. All types of knowledge were
hidden in their words. They were all great Gnanis. There is no knowledge that
that was not known to them.
It is not possible
to see any Guru of today who has knowledge of everything. Each Guru brings only
one type of wisdom or knowledge.
That is why, of the
thousands that surround such a Guru, only a few gain the fruit of knowledge
that he imparts. While the knowledge given by the Guru is freely available to
everyone, only a few are able to understand that fountain of knowledge. In this aspect, it is the disciple to whom we must
give importance, rather than the Guru.
Your small wish in
your heart, to understand the knowledge of some Gurus of this period, is hidden
within your question.
Only a few Gurus of
the current times have gained a good name, like Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Paramahansa
Yogananda, Swami Vivekananda, Swami Rajneesh, Daya Mata,
All of these had taken up the work from deep within, of
taking the people of the world towards a higher life. They shared their
teachings in crowds. Even though crores of disciples heard what they said,
only a few gaining the fruit of that knowledge; gaining wisdom; changing their
lives, are doing good work.
Where there are large crowds, where there are people singing
the praises of Gurus in the streets, wherever there is only praise for the Guru
on a stage, there you see only praise being exchanged, but very few who seek
and gain knowledge.
Now, your question. Who is the chosen among Gurus?
It is the Gurus that I have mentioned above. The true
measure of the ability of a Guru, lies in how many disciples have changed their
lives after listening to their discourses. Hence, it is not important how many
disciples a Guru has.
What is important is how many people are able to understand
the knowledge he is giving. And then understanding the purpose of their birth,
understanding the duties they must do for others, and learning the method of
how to reach the Supreme God, lead their lives accordingly. That is the only
thing that is important.
