Since the inception of this website, we have received many messages on the contact form asking how to meet one of the masters that we have made pages about.
At no point have any of these messages included any information about the impact that that master’s teaching have already had on that person. Today, the attitude of searching for a guru seems to be, for many, to shop around until we find someone who is willing to give us something amazing—a miracle, a mantra, a promise of salvation, or a promise of a new job or a marriage—for nothing.
First of all, before we start looking for a flesh-and-blood guru, we should understand what the guru principle actually is. It is the principle of learning and transforming through life.
The guru principle is that which spontaneously creates natural teachings through obstacles in life. The guru principle is also the intelligence within us that is able to respond to that obstacle, learn from the situation, and thus catalyse transformation and evolution.
The embodied guru is simply the external manifestation of this principle. The guru provides teachings and guidance to help us learn from life, to help us learn from ourselves. If we haven’t developed the ability to at least learn a little bit from life, from our own experiences, then an embodied guru is not going to be much use to us.
The reason that there is a spiritual marketplace populated by thousands of people who call themselves gurus and masters is because—well, there is a market for them. There is a market for fake promises, for pointless miracles, for the applications of rituals that invoke the presence of entities that are usually malevolent and parasitic.
In order to meet a genuine guru, we must first be a genuine student. When we have developed the attitude of a genuine student, we will naturally begin to seek out teachings that help us reach the state that we aspire to. This is where the journey begins for a real seeker. Such a seeker has already begun learning through life via the guru principle naturally functioning within them, and now they are seeking a being who has already completed the journey to help them evolve further.
This is how we find a genuine guru. We must first start searching for genuine teachings, for a genuine transmission, for a genuine presence of truth. What we find on this search depends on how genuine and pure our search is. If we are actually searching for power, we may discover a pseudo-master who attracts followers by repeating empty, platitudinous statements and displaying cheap miracles. What will we get? At worst, more illusions; at best, some negative experiences that help us to see ourselves and our own motives clearer. We will not receive any wisdom from such beings that we can apply to our life.
The transmission of real wisdom is reserved for those who really want it. Water exists for thirsty people. On our path, when that thirst for wisdom is powerful and genuine, a master must appear to quench it.
The place to find a guru is inside our own longing. Our compass is our own sense of discrimination.
If you are searching for a guru, first search for some teachings that resonate deeply with you. If you find some teachings that help you transform even before you know the person who has uttered these teachings, then you may well have found your guru.
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Original article by Jack Barratt
Thumbnail image courtesy of @juliaweihe on Unsplash.
