I decided to do it, make a topic for this alone. Why? Well why not. 
Especially for Westerners it can be a controversial topic, much has been written and taught aboout it. It means many things for many people, I find it fascinating to hear what some have to say, especially those who engaged/engage in it but also those who are repulsed/have aversions toward it or anyone really who is even just curious. There is certainly a huge amount of writing on it. I start below with a quote from Babuji (Sri Ram Chandra of Sahajanapur). I consider him to be one of my Gurus even though he died before I found his teachings and met his main disciple, current Master of Sahaj Marg (Simple Path) Parthasarathi Rajagapolachari (Chariji), who is also one of my Gurus.
"Love is really a wonderful thing. On developing real love the considerations of high and low, great and small, would all vanish, and all would appear equal. Lord Buddha's condition also was one of peculiar kindness and love. He considered reformation as his duty, and spent his life for the benefit of the people."
Taken from "Complete Works of Ram Chandra, vol. 3 Autobioraphy of Ram Chandra" p.292.
I feel it is appropos that he speaks on Buddha. Buddha was and is a great Guru and another Guru of mine too, perhaps the greatest, certainly one of the best known. There is also an element or wing of Mahayana Buddhism which is Guru yoga. Even in Hinayana path, who claim to follow Buddhas exact teaching/practices, or as close as you can get to what He did, if that is true, well Buddha Shakyamuni had disciples, he was a Guru through whom people got enlightened or close to enlightened. He guided them.
There can be many pitfalls to this type of practice to be sure, I have seen it happen yet IMO and experience it can be very helpful.
I like to hike, when hiking sometimes one has to consider very carefully where to place ones' foot or else slip and fall, perhaps crashing thousands of feet to one's death or severe injury. Guru yoga can be like that. I like the image of the path of spirituality being that of climbing a mountain. The higher one goes the more help one needs. When people climb Everest they hire Sherpas to help. In the end though the climber of course must move their own legs, must walk the walk. When I was in Peru a guide and his son took me down the river in his boat, without them I would not have made it, without the truck driver who took me over the mountains to the jungle town where I met the river guide I would not have got there. Same thing when I treked through the mountains, a guide took me, loaded up my bags on his donkeys back. I still had to walk though. The Guru can't do it all for a person but they certainly can help a great deal.
We hire experts for all sorts of things, we trust our teachers, we also question them, why not a Spiritual teacher/guide then? Many feel we have to go it alone in matters of the heart and spirituality. Why is that? We can be so smug and independant sometimes. Or I can. Yet I know a Guru or Gurus have helped me and will continue to.
Gu = Dark
Ru= Light
Guru, something or someone that takes us from dark to light. That is one definiton by my friend Simran Singh, a Kundalini yoga teacher and a follower of Yogi Bajan.
Yogi Bajan, another Guru, though I would not say he was my Guru personally, none the less he did at times take me from dark to light with his kind words and encouragement...many have helped me travel to light, even though they were not all Gurus so to speak. How could that be? Primordial formless Guru works in many ways, through many beings, in many forms, many ways.
I invite all...
Especially for Westerners it can be a controversial topic, much has been written and taught aboout it. It means many things for many people, I find it fascinating to hear what some have to say, especially those who engaged/engage in it but also those who are repulsed/have aversions toward it or anyone really who is even just curious. There is certainly a huge amount of writing on it. I start below with a quote from Babuji (Sri Ram Chandra of Sahajanapur). I consider him to be one of my Gurus even though he died before I found his teachings and met his main disciple, current Master of Sahaj Marg (Simple Path) Parthasarathi Rajagapolachari (Chariji), who is also one of my Gurus."Love is really a wonderful thing. On developing real love the considerations of high and low, great and small, would all vanish, and all would appear equal. Lord Buddha's condition also was one of peculiar kindness and love. He considered reformation as his duty, and spent his life for the benefit of the people."
Taken from "Complete Works of Ram Chandra, vol. 3 Autobioraphy of Ram Chandra" p.292.
I feel it is appropos that he speaks on Buddha. Buddha was and is a great Guru and another Guru of mine too, perhaps the greatest, certainly one of the best known. There is also an element or wing of Mahayana Buddhism which is Guru yoga. Even in Hinayana path, who claim to follow Buddhas exact teaching/practices, or as close as you can get to what He did, if that is true, well Buddha Shakyamuni had disciples, he was a Guru through whom people got enlightened or close to enlightened. He guided them.
There can be many pitfalls to this type of practice to be sure, I have seen it happen yet IMO and experience it can be very helpful.
I like to hike, when hiking sometimes one has to consider very carefully where to place ones' foot or else slip and fall, perhaps crashing thousands of feet to one's death or severe injury. Guru yoga can be like that. I like the image of the path of spirituality being that of climbing a mountain. The higher one goes the more help one needs. When people climb Everest they hire Sherpas to help. In the end though the climber of course must move their own legs, must walk the walk. When I was in Peru a guide and his son took me down the river in his boat, without them I would not have made it, without the truck driver who took me over the mountains to the jungle town where I met the river guide I would not have got there. Same thing when I treked through the mountains, a guide took me, loaded up my bags on his donkeys back. I still had to walk though. The Guru can't do it all for a person but they certainly can help a great deal.
We hire experts for all sorts of things, we trust our teachers, we also question them, why not a Spiritual teacher/guide then? Many feel we have to go it alone in matters of the heart and spirituality. Why is that? We can be so smug and independant sometimes. Or I can.
Yet I know a Guru or Gurus have helped me and will continue to.Gu = Dark
Ru= Light
Guru, something or someone that takes us from dark to light. That is one definiton by my friend Simran Singh, a Kundalini yoga teacher and a follower of Yogi Bajan.
Yogi Bajan, another Guru, though I would not say he was my Guru personally, none the less he did at times take me from dark to light with his kind words and encouragement...many have helped me travel to light, even though they were not all Gurus so to speak. How could that be? Primordial formless Guru works in many ways, through many beings, in many forms, many ways.
I invite all...
Turned out that fellow was a former disciple of his own Master and that was about all he could do, he possesed no wisdom at all.
