Guru and the Godmen

We all must have celebrated Sri Krishna Janmashtami nicely, the life & teachings of Bhagwan Krishnaare all amazing. The teachings of Bhagwad Gita is very dynamic, inspiring, magnanimous, it is universal too, and no wonder it is accalaimed by various scholars not only in India but all over the world. It reveals the right art of living a holistic & dynamic life which finally culminates in not only inspiring & loving actions outside, but also the awakening within. One of the things which we need to learn from Bhagwan Sri Krishna is about the nature & the role of a spiritual teacher – the Guru.

It is noteworthy that Lord Krishna inspite of being a close & respectable friend of Arjuna, never ever declared himself as ‘the one, non-dual, infinite Brahman’ himself. All what Arjuna and even his opponents knew was that he was a very intelligent, non-partisan and very reliable & good human being. We all know how both Arjuna & Duryodhana went to him to ask for help before the beginning of the great war, and he did help both. The fact & knowledge of one being Brahman oneself, is a knowldge which is not something to be declared & advertised to others, but is only for one’s personal foundation & values. It amounts to living an awakened life, knowing about the whats & whys of oneself and the whole life in general. He knew it all, very clearly. This is evident from the teachings of Bhagwad Gita. Yet he always kept this knowledge to his heart, and it was to be used for oneself alone. No going around declaring that ‘I am Brahman’, as though others are not; and even if the implication was that I know Brahman, and the majority dont, yet by self-acclaim, no objective could have been fulfilled, except ofcourse his ego-fulfillment. The very fact that he was never interested in baseless ego-fulfillment was the real litmus test of the fact that he reveled in a state which had transcended ego. Self-declaration of oneself being a Brahma-Gyani is more of an ego-trip, and thus it reveals that the Truth is just the opposite. A Jivanmukta is not one who goes around being a special person, but becomes so one with all that why everyone gets a feel of love & warmth, but no one is made to look small. Ego is limited me, and its fulfillment depends on perceiving others to be small. I am big because others are small. Such bigness is never Brahma-Gyana in any way. It is more indicative of   cravings of a strong & bloated ego. When on one hand we see such a character & principle of Bhagwan Krishna, and on the other hand the declaration of various self-styled God-men that ‘I am a Brahma-Gyani’, ‘My date of Brahma-Gyana was so & so’ etc. then we cant help but see the profound difference between such people and our revered Lord Krishna. With due respects to all such so called saints, all what we can say is that obviously all such people represent some ‘different’ tradition & philosophy. A well-known so called Sant is nowadays in news for molesting a minor girl, who was incidently studying in one of his schools only, and thus became like his own child too. He is running from pillar to post and will shortly be arrested for such a crime, and this alone was the person who was going around saying that ‘I am a Brahma-Gyani’ etc. No wonder all what he has is a big ego, with all its associated cravings & limitations. What to talk of Brahma-Gyana, he doesnt even seem to have the fragrance of righteousness expected in a dharmic person. At least such dharmic people are God-fearing, but such God-men seem to have no limits to their arrogance & whims. While real men of knowledge are contended in oneself by oneself, on the other hand this particular God-man was on a spree of getting more & more wealth & land wherever he could. Such people misuse religion to further their egoistic aspirations & craving, and are more of demons who are danger to the very tradition of true religious values. A Teacher need of to be like Lord Krishna – simple, loving, contended, intelligent, and truly working & dreaming for the well-being of all. Even after giving him all the knowledge, he had the magnanimity to say that, ‘Now, do as you wish’. Afterall the objective of a teacher is to make the student all the more free, and not take his freedom away, just for thoughtless following of some precepts – which is never gyana, but only blind karma.

J.Krishnamurti the great world-famous teacher of non-duality, was very much against all such god-men. When he saw ego-games of such Godmen, he decided that he will never ever place himself as a teacher – of such a kind. Annie Besant wanted JK to be a world teacher, but he very humbly & clearly refused to be a game to such plans & thinking. There is a very basic error in donning such a role. When we present ourselves as a Godman, then we simultaneously make others look upto us for blessings & all favours. Deliberate creating of such a psyche in others amounts to stunt their intellectual growth, and assure blind-following. This is a road to downfall rather than growth or maturity. Guru should be someone who basically loves & respects others, and just guide them to know the Truth, rather than make them puppets in our hands. Playing such a role is easy, but is extremely disasterous. If Guru’s start thinking & deciding for their desciples, then obviously such a guru aims for blind-following rather than letting others grow to his own stature. Truth alone wins. Satyameva Jayate, Naanrutam – and never the untruth.