The Ways of Guru and Grace

The Master – a short poem

Some say there is no Master in human form.

To me, if there is a Master in human form, the significance is

That when you think of them, your whole being harmonises to the highest

to something so bright and pure and powerful.

Something hears the gentle echoes of that deep sensitivity to life

flowing from the First

Speaking and moving with etiquettes beyond the human ways

That whether the form comes with all the worldly addings or with none of them

The essence shines the most

The term ‘guru’ is, I feel, one of the most misunderstood in spirituality. A guru is not a person but a Presence. Really, a guru is the momentum of Universal Intelligence or Grace that guides this universe. A representation may appear to us in human form to remind us of this and we should no doubt show reverence to this form and accept the offerings from this form fully in our heart if we feel a resonance.

The guru’s work is to connect you with your own Light and discover and live from your own essence. How this is done cannot really be explained. The ways of Grace are mysterious. Who can plan when a single sentence heard from a God-realised being ignites something profound inside the heart or takes us into a depth we didn’t know existed? I’ve had so many instances when hearing a very simple sentence spoken by a guru (maybe nothing even profound, but just the ‘way’ something was said) touched something so deep that it was like an ancient memory was awakened. It is like hearing a touching song and not knowing what Power it is that makes us feel such a surge of emotion arising.

How to be with a guru?

One of the greatest misunderstandings in seekers is thinking that having met a realized person, the job is done and one can lazily surrender to the form, show devotion in all the human ways and all will magically be taken care of. Being with a guru is not an outer arrangement but an inner connection. To your own Self. Anyone who enhances that is your guru.

And yet, I have to say that at times it appears that it is through the guru’s reflection in phenomenality that most of ‘the work’ is done. Their wisdom and love informs our being and changes our phenomenal expression – cutting off what does not flow in harmony and gathering up what remains, into the Universal Flow. Again, how this happens is mysterious and I believe that’s where the talk about trust comes in. But trust is incidental. Something far greater is working that doesn’t need human trust. It is only in hindsight one can say that there was such a choicelessness, that everything resonated so deeply about the guru that it appeared from the outside like there was tremendous trust involved in the process. I say this because if a seeker hears that trust is important, they may begin to blindly follow a teacher who may not be right for them.

So really it is about being ‘a light unto yourself’ as Buddha said. Trusting your own guidance and inner voice and following within. A true guru will be happy for this because he wants nothing from you, not your loyalty, devotion or even love. Because really for a guru, there are no disciples. All is Him.

Guru Purnima Blessings.

Swami Rama:

“The energy and action of removing darkness are guru. Guru is not a person, it is a force driven by grace.

To put this another way, there is an intelligent momentum that pervades the universe that is moving all human beings toward the perfection we call God. Guru is that intelligence.

Everyone’s receptivity to that intelligence varies. It depends on preparation. In other words, guru is always there, but the student may not be ready to receive what the guru has to offer. When the student is prepared, the guru always arrives to help the student do what is necessary to progress in removing the veil of ignorance.

Guru is not a person, but guru can be represented in a person. One who has developed his or her own spiritual awareness to a very high level can guide others, and is considered to be a guru. Only one who is finely attuned to the inner guide can inspire the awakening of the inner guide in another. Guru is not a physical being. If a guru begins thinking this power is her or his power, then they are no longer a guide. The guru is a tradition, a stream of knowledge.