Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
Q:The Indian tradition tells us that the Guru is indispensable. What is he indispensable for? A mother is indispensable for giving the child a body. But the soul she does not give. Her role is limited. How is it with the Guru? Is his role also limited, and if so, to what? Or is he indispensable generally, even absolutely?
M: The innermost light, shining peacefully and timelessly in the heart, is the real Guru. All others merely show the way.
Q: I am not concerned with the inner Guru. only with the one that shows the way. There are people who believe that without a Guru Yoga is inaccessible. They are ever in search of the right Guru, changing one for another. Of what value are such Gurus?
M: They are temporary, time-bound Gurus. You find them in every walk of life. You need them for acquiring any knowledge or skill.
Q: A mother is only for a lifetime, she begins at birth and ends at death. She is not forever.
M: Similarly, the time-bound Guru is not forever. He fulfills his purpose and yields his place to the next. It is quite natural and there is no blame attached to it.
Q: For every kind of knowledge, or skill, do I need a separate Guru?
M: There can be no rule in these matters, except one 'the outer is transient, the innermost - permanent and changeless', though ever new in appearance and action.
Q: What is the relation between the inner and the outer Gurus?
M: The outer represent the inner, the inner accepts the outer - for a time.
Q: Whose is the effort?
M: The disciple's of course. The outer Guru gives the instructions, the inner sends the strength; alert application is the disciple's. Without will, intelligence and energy on the part of the disciple the outer Guru is helpless. The inner Guru bids his chance. Obtuseness and wrong pursuits bring about a crisis and the disciple wakes up to his own plight. Wise is he who does not wait for a shock, which can be quite ride.
Q: Is it a threat?
M: Not a threat, a warning. The inner Guru is not committed to non-violence. He can be quite violent at times, to the point of destroying the obtuse or perverted personality. Suffering and death, as life and happiness, are his tools of work. It is only in duality that non-violence becomes the unifying law.
Q:The Indian tradition tells us that the Guru is indispensable. What is he indispensable for? A mother is indispensable for giving the child a body. But the soul she does not give. Her role is limited. How is it with the Guru? Is his role also limited, and if so, to what? Or is he indispensable generally, even absolutely?
M: The innermost light, shining peacefully and timelessly in the heart, is the real Guru. All others merely show the way.
Q: I am not concerned with the inner Guru. only with the one that shows the way. There are people who believe that without a Guru Yoga is inaccessible. They are ever in search of the right Guru, changing one for another. Of what value are such Gurus?
M: They are temporary, time-bound Gurus. You find them in every walk of life. You need them for acquiring any knowledge or skill.
Q: A mother is only for a lifetime, she begins at birth and ends at death. She is not forever.
M: Similarly, the time-bound Guru is not forever. He fulfills his purpose and yields his place to the next. It is quite natural and there is no blame attached to it.
Q: For every kind of knowledge, or skill, do I need a separate Guru?
M: There can be no rule in these matters, except one 'the outer is transient, the innermost - permanent and changeless', though ever new in appearance and action.
Q: What is the relation between the inner and the outer Gurus?
M: The outer represent the inner, the inner accepts the outer - for a time.
Q: Whose is the effort?
M: The disciple's of course. The outer Guru gives the instructions, the inner sends the strength; alert application is the disciple's. Without will, intelligence and energy on the part of the disciple the outer Guru is helpless. The inner Guru bids his chance. Obtuseness and wrong pursuits bring about a crisis and the disciple wakes up to his own plight. Wise is he who does not wait for a shock, which can be quite ride.
Q: Is it a threat?
M: Not a threat, a warning. The inner Guru is not committed to non-violence. He can be quite violent at times, to the point of destroying the obtuse or perverted personality. Suffering and death, as life and happiness, are his tools of work. It is only in duality that non-violence becomes the unifying law.
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