The ‘Guru’ within

Instead of expanding our spiritual horizon, we expend our life pursuing the temporal goals. The real purpose of life is lost somewhere in this pursuit. But all of us naturally have an inherent spiritual inclination which stays dormant as we seek worldly success in life. There are no precisely defined goals but we are often driven by an epiphanic sense of accomplishment without realising the insignificance of our actions. 

As soon as some material success is achieved, the spiritual inclination starts emerging as a desire to pursue the real goal of life - the ultimate peace or God attainment. We commence exploring the possibility of finding someone who could guide us. This is mainly due to a deep rooted belief that a Guru is a must to get initiated on the spiritual path. So, the search is on for the right Guru. And finally, in desperation, we end up clutching on to a denomination head of some spiritual corporate being propagated by the followers …just like the distribution network of any other business. 

We are in the herd being steered by the lead sheep, ritually lapping up what is offered as the ‘real path’ or the spiritual journey by these covertly commercialized organizations. Reassured through constant moralization by the head, we stay addicted in a state of euphoria to reach the ever-elusive goal of Self-realization. 

The lack of discernment between true & untrue always deludes us and we remain glued in awe to the denomination. Struggling with the delusion, completely oblivious of the Self, forgetting to turn inwards to explore the true, infinite, eternal knowledge, we retain this perception of duality, searching for God - the ultimate reality, somewhere outside with the help of an outsider - the Guru.

Do we really need a Guru? 

The answer to this question is simple. We only need to turn inwards and recognize the teacher through self-enquiry, discrimination and dispassion. The Guru is within.