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Seek Knowledge, Don't Seek A Guru

Guru Brahma Gurur Vishnu Guru Devo Maheshwaraha Guru Saakshat ParaBrahma Tasmai Sree Gurave Namaha.



This Sanskrit hymn is an ode to all the Gurus or teachers and in an inherent part of the Hindu religion and teaching. This shlok/hymn means, “Guru is verily the representative of BrahmaVishnu, and Shiva. He is even the Supreme Bhramana, the power above the holy trinity. Hence we bow our heads to the Guru.”


In Sanatan Dharma, Guru/Teacher is equated with Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, the supreme Gods of Hindus. The place of the Guru in our lives is up there, right at the top. It is because a true Guru can create knowledge, provide the student with the capability to sustain knowledge, and has the power to destroy the ignorance within the student. In the next line, the Guru has been given a status above the holy trinity because a guru can take the student towards a path of knowledge and can instill confidence in him to keep walking on that path. And under the guidance of a true Guru, and by walking that path of knowledge the student can set himself free of this mortal world and become immortal, as his mind and soul become one.

However, the question that comes to mind is that where should one go to find such Guru who has the answers to all the questions and who is so perfect that he can be equated with the Gods or can be even put above them? The answer is very simple yet complicated, right in front o our eyes but hidden. And that is because one does not need to travel the world to seek such Guru instead we can find a part of that Guru everywhere around us.


Confused? Let me elaborate. If we spend our entire life looking for one perfect Guru who has all the answers, we would end up wasting our life and will gain nothing. This world created by God is full of seekers who are seeking answers to endless questions but end up getting no answers because they keep looking for one person with all the answers. All the answers to all the questions lie only with God, and he is not easy to locate.


Therefore, God has created an alternate solution to this problem. He created every human being with partial knowledge and enough intelligence to help us find the missing pieces of the puzzle. But how do we complete ourselves? How to attain the knowledge that is not given to us?


It’s simple; through the exchange of ideas with other human beings. Instead of focusing all the energies on finding one all-knowing Guru, one can attain deep knowledge about the working of the universe, about self-exploration, and about being a better person through different Gurus who have a better awareness about certain aspects of life; or who have walked through the paths, we have just stepped on. Hence, we should keep our eyes open and should always be on the lookout for such Gurus who can take us to our ultimate goal.


The mantras of a successful, peaceful, and happy life are known to everyone; however, not everyone can apply them to their respective lifestyles. It is that one special person, who just repeats that mantra for us to explain to us in such a way that it immediately strikes us like a bolt of lightning and turns our lives upside down. These are the Gurus that we need to seek.


In my life, I have been able to locate 4 such Gurus. And from each one of them, I have learned one important lesson in life. And I am still in the process of incorporating these lessons into my lifestyle, but yes, my journey has begun. And I want to share the 4 lessons that I have learned so far:


1.   Live in the present


Everyone knows this phrase but how many of us follow it. Our mind is always occupied with either the deeds that are done in the past and their repercussions, or the events that may unfold in the future, and preparing for them. But we are rarely in the present moment. Even I knew about this phrase but was never able to follow it. But one day I heard it from my first Guru and it pierced my mind like an arrow. I realized that whatever has been done in the past cannot be undone hence no point pondering over it. Learn your lesson from the events of the past and move on. 


And the Future, it is a bigger mistake to think about it and to keep preparing for it, because I am not sure if I will be alive in the next moment, and I am trying to prepare for decades. It is not to say that we should stop working for the future. But giving it too much of thought would be foolish.


What’s there right now is the only truth, live the present moment, don’t wait to show your love, or to spend time with your family. Do everything that you want to do, today. Live, smile, laugh, sing, dance, and enjoy life so that when the time comes there is no regret with this life.


2.   I Have a Choice


My second Guru gave me a very important lesson of life which if incorporated can be the difference between happiness and suffering/pain in life. What is the difference between an animal and a Human Being? The answer is the Ability to Choose. We, humans, are given a gift by God that we always have the choices available and we can choose. There is always a choice between Good and Bad, Retribution and Forgiveness, Depression and Fighting Back, and many others. Unlike a Lion who has no choice but to kill for food or a Dog who has no choice but to obey his master or even a tree who has no choice but to keeps standing at one place forever; we have the power to choose our path. We can choose how to build our character, our persona, our lifestyle, and even what kind of person we would like to be. This is a boon given by God that is only given to the Human Beings in this world and we should take full advantage of it by choosing to be a happy person.


3.   Everything is Fine


The third mantra given to me by another Guru of mine eradicates all tensions and restlessness from life. I was told that whenever the tides of time are flowing against you, and when things aren’t going your way, instead of assuring your self by saying “Everything will be fine,” you should say “Everything is Fine.” Nature only understands the present, it acts in the moment and for the moment and our thoughts good or bad are received by nature and it responds. If I am saying everything will be fine, it means that I am waiting for a certain time for everything to be alright. However, by believing in the phrase Everything Is Fine, I am sending the signal to the nature that the present is good and it responds to this call in the present. Whatever, I am stating here is about the state of mind, because it is the mind that creates the difference between good and bad. So if the mind is told that whatever is happening right now or whatever circumstances exist right now are fine, it accepts that and starts working positively to set things right.


4.   I Am The Master Of My Emotions


Of all the teachings that I have received from my Gurus, this is by far most difficult to implement. It is because we human beings are raised in such a way that we get accustomed to relating all our emotions to either the happening of certain events or actions of other people or the presence or absence of certain things. We are always on the lookout for excuses for any negative emotion that we display. However, when this Guru of mine was asked why has he never been seen angry or disturbed? His answer was, “Because I have not allowed anyone or anything to be the master of my emotions. There are my emotions and I am the master of them and I choose to keep them positive.”


This statement changed my perspective on all my emotions. We are always faulting other people or situations for our anger, sadness, restlessness, or any type of negative emotions. Instead, we should focus on reaching a level where someone’s actions or some unfavorable situations should not affect us, our emotions should be under our control. It is a very tough process because even though I understood this, there are times when I still get angry and then realize later that I should not have allowed that person to change affect my emotions. It is a work in progress, but I hope I can achieve this one day. 



So, these were the four life-changing teachings that I received from four different Gurus. And I can therefore say that there are Gurus all around us with abundant knowledge about different aspects of life. We should try to identify them and should not hesitate to go up to them and get all the answers we can because there is no Age, Caste, Gender, Race bar on being a Guru. A guru is above everything, even the Holy Trinity.


Aum Guruve Namah!

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