Importance of Guru in Life

Meaning of Guru

The term Guru is composed of two words: Gu signifies darkness, and Ru is what restrains it. The guru, by virtue of his knowledge and powers, is capable of removing all disorder (vikaras) from his Disciple (Sishya); thus, he is called a guru.
Ga signifies the giver of fulfillment, Ra signifies the remover of sins, and U signifies Vishnu; one who has all three within himself is a guru.
Ga also means the wealth of knowledge, Ra is the illuminator, and U is the one who has attained Shivadvaita bhava; thus, the guru is the one who has all three. Since he brings understanding to those unaware of their own nature and bestows the secret knowledge of tantras, he is called a guru. Guru is the source of all knowledge and the ultimate refuge of the disciples.

Other Facts

From the perspective of Vyakaran, the term guru denotes something of heavy importance; if seen in light of the explanation given already, the position of the guru is indeed of much importance.

The term guru in its simple and basic context denotes a teacher and a guide who simply teaches and guides. A guru is different from an acharya; an acharya gives vidhanas based on rules and regulations, while a guru also does the same, he is only a guru and not an acharya, and doesn’t restrict the d isciples within the framework of extreme rules. All he does is give them knowledge and remove their ignorance, thus acting more like a guide than a judge.

Types of Guru

Shastras are different types of gurus:

• Suchaka Guru is the teacher of Vyakaran and Laukik Acharan.
• A vachaka guru is one who instructs on the duties of varnashrama, dharma adharma, etc.
• The guru who gives diksha of panchakshari etc mantras is called Bodhaka.
• The guru who shows the path to Vairagya is the Vihita guru.
• Guru who teaches mahavakyas is called karana guru.
• One who helps in manifestation and bestows knowledge of philosophy is called darshak guru.
• A guru who only inspires the disciple is called prerak guru.
• The guru who clears all doubts of disciples is called Parama Guru.
• The gurus who exclusively teach Abhichara kriyas such as Marana and Ucchatana etc are called Nisiddha gurus.

Apart from this, there’s a difference between a diksha guru who bestows proper diksha and whose sampraday is adopted by the disciple and a Siksha guru, who can be any adept guru who teaches the person without actually giving diksha.
One of the biggest issues with respect to the topic is how can one find a guru who is actually a guru and not someone who will loot them. There are several symptoms given in shastras with respect to this.

Symptoms of True Guru

There are several guidelines given for the identification of a true guru in Shastras. The guru should be necessarily from a properly established tradition, a knowledgeable individual with complete control over his senses,  a clear mind, adept in his field, and an expert of all shastras that come under his tradition.

• There are certain additional symptoms to identify the best of gurus, as the aforementioned symptoms are exhibited by a multitude of gurus.
• The best of gurus is one who can bestow his knowledge and powers on disciples in a moment without even any rituals. His discourse instantly makes faith arise in his disciples.
• Many gurus have many mantras, but the guru is rare whose mere instructions give rise to knowledge in the disciple.
• There are many well-versed in shastras, but rare is the guru who can bestow understanding of shastras to his disciples.
• Many gurus can teach everything else, but rare is the one who can bestow a true understanding of one’s own nature, the comprehension of aatma and paramatma.
• Many gurus exist who know many mantras, but rare is the one who’s mere mantra upadesh of a single mantra fills his disciples with contentment.
• Gurus know so many mantras, but rare is the one who has grasp over the mantras of tantras.
• Many gurus exist who rob their disciples, but rare is the one who removes their afflictions and doesn’t covet the wealth of his disciples.

Other symptoms

Diksha and Shiksha should be taken only from a Siddha guru; one who is himself not Siddha in the mantras he bestows can never bestow Siddhis to others. Only he is a true guru who is aware of his own powers and the powers of his disciples. He is the true guru who is capable of bestowing moksha even to the worst of sinners.

A guru who himself doesn’t have proper comprehension of shastras can’t bestow comprehension on others; one who is greedy covets the wealth and even sometimes the wife of his disciple. Such a greedy person, despite siddhis, only brings shame to the disciple; thus, such individuals must be avoided. Approach only a true guru, not cheaters.

Choosing the right guru can greatly help in sadhanas, and there are many ways to find one. The easiest is knowing one’s Istha and inclinations based on which one can go to an appropriate sect and have a proper guru. 

Yet another important element is the navamsha chart, based on which one can determine their spiritual life and progress and get several information from it that can help in determining the sect that will be better for them.

If one wants to find a guru while these two methods will work, however, one can also do panchopachara pujan of shivalingam daily and pray to him so that he guides you to a worthy guru.