Faith Fear Guru and God

Why is there a fear to unbound ourselves and break away from things that conduce to ruin and sorrow? Even when it hurts and are condemned by the wise yet we force ourselves to live bounded. It is not that we are devoid of choices but we are afraid to challenge the blind faith.

Some religious institutions and Gurus demand blind faith from their adherents. A faith which is devoid of knowledge and which defies all logic. A faith which is not a choice and that which does not agree with common sense. Should our beliefs be built on those which cannot be reasoned? That brings us to the question why we don’t reason them? Is it the fear or greed that stops us from the reasoning process?

Object of Faith is important

In the name of faith, we kill people, abuse animals and nature alike. We are the same set of people who spend lakhs of rupees to adorn the God we believe in but are not ready to give a penny more to the needy. Despite proclaiming that service to Humanity is Service to God yet we never get to demonstrate this belief.

Perhaps we strongly believe that Gods respond to the barter system. That we can offer something to God, and he would respond in helping us to make our lives better here. God isn’t really waiting for us to finance his work 😛. He doesn’t lack anything! Instead of building a relationship with him, we think we can entice him with our offers. Really, which God has asked us to do so? Yeah, you are right, it is not God but the wrong mediators who connect us to God are responsible for growing this blind faith.

The questions now facing us: Should we seek out a Guru? If YES, then who should choose our Spiritual Guru?

We have a right to seek guidance. But honestly, do we even get to choose a teacher before surrendering our mind? If we see the multitude, we clearly understand someone chooses them for us. That can be our friends, relatives, neighbours or our family. Despite the fact that we all are different, we still do the same mistake of letting others choose the Guru for us. When the experience does not turn right, it can lead to spiritual struggle and even loss of faith.

Then, what are the qualities of a spiritual master?

Guru Gita describes real Guru to be a true saint whose only intention is the spiritual welfare of his disciple. The guru is someone who brings his disciples from darkness to light. He never proclaims himself to be God but teaches his disciples to be humble and to pray for the welfare of all. A Sadhguru never gives his opinion to understand the divine but he takes a bona fide spiritual text and transmits them exactly as they were spoken.

“What is the role of a Sadhguru in One’s spiritual search?” you may ask.

Sadhguru and a True-Disciple always work together. There is no denying the fact that a right Teacher can guide us, but we ourselves are responsible for our purification. The teacher cannot wash away the impurities of others. As the saying goes, you can lead the horse to the water, but you cannot make it drink.  A Guru can try to explain how contented he felt when he quenched his thirst and how the water alone has helped him achieve it. However much he describes the experience through words it will always fall short of the reality. But he can instruct us in making us understand the importance of water and drinking water will only suffice the thirst. Similarly, a Sadhguru can impart us with the knowledge of the Brahman but we ourselves have to experience that oneness with the Brahman.

We can take refuge in the teacher but we need not sacrifice our freedom of thought. We can with the help of a Sadhguru make a journey towards the unconditioned mind. That alone will allow us to experience the uninterrupted flow of bliss and would conduce to the well-being and happiness.