About Gurus

God, I want to talk to you about these gurus!

Sure! Tell me what is it that you wanted to talk about them?

Why do we need to have these gurus? What I mean is can’t we learn stuff on our own instead of going to someone?

You need gurus because you cannot learn everything on your own. Let us see it this way- can you home educate your child? He definitely needs a tutor and he needs to pass a public examination.

Surely he needs a tutor but what is this about public examination?

Wherever he goes, will the employer not ask about the certification or public recognition of their achievements?

Yes, of course! Everyone wants to know where you have studied and what courses you have done.

Likewise, the authentic guru knows and teaches a lots of things practically which the books are not able to teach.

Which means they should be good teachers. But I don’t like it when they become money minded.

What do you mean money minded? Just like you are paying fees in school or college, you should pay fees to them. Do you think this highest divine knowledge comes gratis?

No! What I mean they should not be running after money all the time.

Which school or college survives without money? Tell me one such institution!

No one actually can survive without any money.

Then what makes you think that they should give their knowledge free? Maybe they have an ashram or are conducting a retreat, doesn’t it cost?

But these gurus don’t need to ask for so much.

Ha,ha! Look at those gurus who conduct classes. How are the teachers or the place where they conduct classes get paid?

But the teachers there say that they are doing it for their guru. Do you mean to say the money goes for other stuff and never to the gurus?

The gurus don’t get paid but the people who live with him or her and conduct classes or run the institution get paid and run their families or ashrams.

Now I understand. Running the ashram is a very stupendous task. Once I asked one guru and he told me that they spend more money on tea and coffee than any other thing.

Correct. A few hundred people come to see the guru and everyone has to be fed or given some beverage. Even if thousand people come the cost of serving them tea alone would come to ten thousand.

That’s terrible. But I still believe there are the fake ones who make money and build huge castles called ashrams. Look at the marble temples or gold plated statues there.

Yes. You have been given a good mind which can tell you by assessing which of them is a sham. Decide for yourself.

How can I know which one is a fake?

Is he asking for money all the time? Is he never giving you knowledge? Is he asking you every time to do some Pooja or offerings to some places? Is he telling you that there are fruits after doing certain rituals? Is that guru selling you some amulets, mantras, secret formulas, chakras, yantras, magic potions, etc.?

I get it. God, there are so many of these all around. Then there surely must be some who are the best. Can you guide me who can be such kind?

The good ones are more interested in your spiritual progress. They will teach you through holy book and hold your hands in trouble. They will want to give you personal training. They will not be interested in publicity or false praises. They will have self revealing knowledge and not borrowed from some others.

I understand that there will be very few of those kinds in this world then.

Yes. They are very few in numbers. They are my own extensions and when I have to do certain things in this world, I use their services to reach out to people.

How about some who have patented and rebranded your Vedic teachings and yogic techniques as their own? They claim ownership by intellectual property methods.

Ah, those people can claim whatever they want to. They do it to make money. When someone infringes on their so-called patented techniques, they can sue those folks and claim compensation.

Which means they are out to make money like material minded people and are not gurus. They are businessmen.

You are smart and can understand that. Some people follow such gurus and want to dip their snouts in the crooks till.

I learnt a few things. I better not get myself a spiritual patented hound. I shall follow your original holy books and wait for a true guru to come. Lastly, I won’t forget his guru dakshina and I won’t succumb to extortion.

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