Will Guru's Grace open the door?

Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj:

But should we not find out first whether there is at all a closed door barring your entry? Unless these basic questions are first answered to your own satisfaction, how can we proceed? Therefore I repeat: After so many years of study, have you been able to find out your true identity, this 'you' who is seeking Guru's grace in order to attain enlightenment? The trouble is that you look upon yourself as an individual entity with a physical form, and you also look upon the Guru as another individual entity with another form, albeit with something in his head or heart or somewhere which makes him an 'enlightened' person but nevertheless a 'person' all the same. This is the real mistake. The Guru, however, has realized that he is the Ultimate Reality; he sees every being as he sees himself, i.e., not as a person, not as a mere 'form' or 'thing'.


The other mistake is that the seeker, the disciple - as an entity - expects to learn and understand 'something'. But how can a mere conceptual object understand anything? What actually happens is that the understanding as such makes the seeker disappear. The individuality of the seeker disappears, but in the process, the Guru's grace, which is always present like the shining sun, becomes one with consciousness. And then he will realize the Guru is none other than the consciousness within, and it is consciousness which, pleased with the faith and love of the disciple, will act as Sadguru and unfold all the knowledge that is necessary. However, there cannot be any progress if you continue to regard yourself as an entity and expect the Guru, as another entity, to give you some homework to do and, when that is duly completed, to award you a sort of certificate or something on a platter as 'liberation'. This whole concept is misconceived. You must realize the true significance of the Guru and his Grace before the ever-present Guru's grace can smoothly and naturally flow towards you.