The Heroes in an Anti-God World

The Heroes in an Anti-God World

There are quite a few charismatic "Guru"s who "educate" people that there is no Supreme Person God. This is ridiculous. It's obvious that God is not a matter of direct perception for almost all in this world. So what additional "education" is there in the "information" that there is no God?

Real positive information is about the Supreme Person God and real education is about the process for perceiving Him - indirectly at first, and directly and eternally eventually.

It needs a certain amount, not just some amount, of humility and lack of self-centeredness to appreciate that there is a Supreme Person God. As soon as one accepts God, the whole focus shifts squarely on Him - His likes and dislikes, His orders, His pastimes, His beauty, His words, and so on. This is impossible for egoists to take; they suffocate if they themselves - their desires, their philosophy, their likes and dislikes, and so on - are not the focus of their consciousness. They are full of themselves; even their kind acts are expressions of their self-righteousness, not a duty towards God.

Such godless people love to hear other godless people speak about sophisticated philosophical ideological social economic and so on ways of godlessness in attractive language. Such Gurus are popular precisely because they don't talk of God or they talk against God.

But what is the use of it all? Discourses are not needed to convince us that there is no God; this conviction is more or less the de facto in this world. Such discourses only act to kill whatever little interest remains in our heart for God. Is that a sign of positive education and progress in knowledge?

The world will never be rid of atheists. And yet there are those few who embrace the deep philosophical, practical, uplifting, enlightening, and liberating wisdom about God. They lead their lives according to scientific logical spiritual practices. We must congratulate and salute those who dedicate their lives to God despite living in a hostile anti-God world.

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The Not-Quite-Guru -- Who doesn't point to Krishna

The Vedic scriptures enjoin that one who has firm faith in both Krishna and Guru (spiritual master), to him all the meaning and purpose of the scriptures become clear. Obviously the Guru here refers to one who talks only about Krishna and how to take shelter of Krishna. 

Unfortunately in India people accept so many men as Guru. But many of these Gurus accept all the adulation for themselves without at all directing their followers to Krishna. In other words they want to take the place of Krishna. This is cheating, because without taking exclusive shelter of Krishna, one cannot attain the goal of human life - stopping the cycle of birth and death and going back to the Kingdom of Krishna. A Guru is good only to the extent he emphasizes in his words and actions taking to pure uninterrupted unmotivated devotional service to Krishna.

In one sense this is unfortunate because it causes many people to fall into the trap of choosing a kindhearted man who does not talk about Krishna as their Guru. From another angle, this phenomenon also helps one clearly identify those who might be spiritual externally, but are actually still materialistic in their outlook to life and in their goals in life. One can identify the nature of a person from whom or what he admires. If one is not training oneself towards exclusive devotion to Krishna, he has not yet internalized the essence of the Vedic scriptures.

Accepting A Guru – The Choice Is Yours

The scriptures tell us that accepting a spiritual master (Guru) is must for perfection in spiritual realization. But still, accepting a guru is a matter of choice in multiple ways.

One, everyone has a choice to decide whether they want spiritual realization or not. Basic information about the goals of various spiritual paths is needed for one to get curious, and then attracted, to these paths. A charismatic spiritual personality might also bias one to the path that that person has accepted.

Two, even on the same path, different groups of spiritualists, generally called sampradayas, exist. One chooses the sampradaya that one feels more connected to or one finds most relevant due to the way they present the practicalities of the path. And of course one sampradaya might be more vibrant than another in a particular geographical location. The choice can depend on many such factors.

Three, even within the same sampradaya, different people get attracted to different Gurus. This is natural and in fact beautiful. The same essential message is presented with a unique flavor by two perfect followers of the same sampradaya. This variety in the presentation and practice of the same authentic spiritual teachings is the very life of dynamic, joyful, ever fresh, and increasingly profound spirituality.

In this arena of choice, sometimes a person may find himself shackled by decisions others have made for him. For example, a family Guru. Social pressure can force one to accept the same Guru that his parents have accepted. Or the person underwent a 'Guru accepting ceremony' when he was not old enough to take such decisions. This is not necessarily wrong; a person might develop a natural attraction for this Guru due to his association over the years. If that Guru is following a high spiritual path, birth in such a family is glorious. But sometimes, a person might encounter spiritual principles significantly higher than that followed by the family Guru. Or the current Guru might be more official than transformational. Now what?

It's about choice - being allowed to choose and having the courage to do so. One's spiritual journey is one's own. Others  will guide, instruct, suggest, and help, or even threaten; but they have no right to force. Force kills spiritual life. Spirituality practiced against ones will is a farce; it's material, motivated by fear.

Sometimes such decisions can be tough to make. This hesitation is a good sign; that one is not taking the decision lightly. Quite often, the choice between the two paths or two sampradayas is easy; the level of realizations offered are evidently different. And often, there is not much opposition from family or society for such decisions. But in some cases, the choice is not so easy; either the two sampradayas don’t differ much, or there is opposition. At these times, best is to give the decision some more time and deliberation, and discuss the matter more with spiritually advanced souls who are not motivated by material considerations.

Accepting a particular path and dedicating one's life to a particular Guru is a serious decision. The better your choice, the more serious it becomes; in other words, the more spiritually advanced the Guru is, the more important it is to take that relationship seriously. Carelessness in this regard can hamper spiritual progress, because taking a Guru lightly is taking spiritual life cheaply. Thus, after accepting a Guru after intense and prolonged deliberation, one must cultivate this relationship very carefully. Neglecting this relationship now is not an expression of choice, but of spiritual lethargy and disrespect towards an advanced soul. Such an attitude is one's greatest misfortune and the biggest obstacle on the path towards spiritual success.

The choice is yours.

Spiritual Fundamentals

Spiritual Knowledge has to be obtained from a bonafide spiritual master or Guru. A bonafide Guru is one who has his own Guru, and so on. The original Guru is God who is perfect in all respects.

The Bhagavad Gita is a standard text for spiritual knowledge and we must be careful not to bypass it's essential message when talking about spirituality. Bhagavad Gita's essential message is to become a pure devotee of Krishna and get out of the cycle of birth and death that characterizes the material world.

To equate the individual soul with God is a mistake most atheistic spiritualists make. This is an obvious mistake, but due to the power of illusion, the deluded soul is convinced that he can become the supreme or that his powers are unlimited, independent. To take shelter of pure devotees of God is the only way to get out of this dangerous illusion.

Every Teacher is Not a Guru

Teachers help one learn or hone a skill. Of course, as one becomes more proficient, other variants of teachers like mentors, coaches, and counselors become more relevant. Teachers are often indispensable if one wishes to perfect a skill in the least possible time with the most efficient use of time and energy.

A spiritual master - Guru - helps one make spiritual advancement and is absolutely indispensable if one wants to attain spiritial perfection - pure love for the Supreme Lord.

In modern times any expert or popular teacher is refered to as a Guru. This equation leads to the undesirable watering down of the position of the spiritual master or Guru. Dedication to a teacher is not absolutely indispensable for mastering a skill. No doubt teachers are invaluable, but there are many notable skillsmen who are self-taught to a large extent. These include singers, actors, dancers, writers, sportsmen, and so on. But a Guru - spiritual master - is indispensible; because he doesn't teach skills, he changes hearts.

A Guru guides his disciple in developing the disciple's relationship with the Supreme Lord. This relationship deepens as the disciple's heart becomes cleansed of selfish desires for godless enjoyment. And the heart is cleansed by submissive service to and sincere inquiry from the Guru. In fact, one's relationship with the Guru naturally extends into one's relationship with the Supreme Lord. The Guru is a very intimate dear devotee of the Lord and the Lord accepts one's relationship with Him to the degree one develops his relationship with the Guru.

A teacher, no matter how kind, learned, or austere, is not a Guru if he is not intentionally taking his disciple closer to the Supreme Lord by his teachings. But every genuine Guru is the best teacher because his very existence is to guide his disciples to an eternal ever joyful relationship of love with Sri Krishna!