Why do we need a Guru? Explanation by Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj

After detaching the mind from the world, and before surrendering to God, there is need of a divine entity, without whom one cannot attain the Supreme goal.  That entity is a God-realized Saint or Guru.  It is the Guru, who decides which path is best for each devotee to surrender to God.  Again, it is he who dispels all doubts faced by the aspirant on the path.  Mere detachment is not enough to attain God.

The Bhagavad Gita states:
                                 tadviddhi praṇipātena paripraśhnena sevayā upadekṣhyanti te jñānaṁ 
                                                                   jñāninastattvadarśhinaḥ
Shree Krishna says to Arjun, "Learn the Truth by approaching a spiritual master.  Inquire from him with reverence and render service unto him.  Such an enlightened Saint can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the Truth.”

The Ramayan also says:
                                        guru binu bhava tarai na koī”; “guru binu hoī ki jñāna”
“Without the guidance of a Guru, one cannot cross over the ocean of material existence.”  Again it says, “Without the guidance of a Guru, one cannot attain the knowledge of God.”  Thus, the unanimous view of all scriptures is that we must surrender to a Guru in order to know the unknown entity called God.

Watch this video lecture by Shree Maharajji on the topic, "Who is a Guru" with 

English Subtitles:

JAGADGURU BY SPIRITUAL MERIT, NOT BY RIGHT OF INHERITANCE TO A MONASTIC SEAT

Jagadguru Sri Kripaluji Maharaj is the sole fifth Jagadguru of this age. He is a Jagadguru not by any right of inheritance to a monastic seat but by the virtue of his transcendental, spiritual merit and profound and prodigious authority over Holy Scriptures like the Vedas, the Upanishadas, the Puranas, the Gita, the Ramayan and the Ram Charit Manas. In this introductory brief, he would henceforth be referred to as ‘Shri Maharajji’, an epithet by which he is lovingly and popularly known.

An historical event happened in Kashi, in January 1957 when Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj gave his amazing series of lectures at the invitation of Kashi Vidvat Parishad, an apex body of the learned scholars of bhartiya scriptures in Kashi (Varanasi).

Shri Maharajji spoke for seven days in scholarly sanskrit, revealing the secrets of our scriptures and reconciling the discrepancies that appear in darshan shastras and the writings of our jagadgurus. He gave references from hundreds of bhartiya scriptures that amazed and enthralled the entire audience. Apart from the general audience, over 500 erudite sanskrit scholars from Varanasi and other parts of india were present.

With profound admiration, the pandits of Kashi vidvat parishad proclaimed him as the supreme jagadguru of this age. Among the various accolades that they showered upon him was "Bhakti Yoga Rasavatara", or the incarnation of divine love. Jagaguru Shri Kripalu Ji maharaj is thus the Fifth original Jagadguru in the past 5,000 years.

KHUSHWANT SINGH’S ANALYSIS

Khushwant Singh Tells

I am nastic but deeply intrested in all religions. Like other people I have been trying to find answers to three questions

1. Where have we come from?

2.How should we conduct ourselves in the life given to us ?

3. Where do we go when we die?

In the quest for answers to these questions I read sacred texts, listen to talks given by holy men and scholars of religion. The only one who impressed me above others is Kripaluji Maharaj.

I am most impressed by what Kripalu Ji Maharaj has to say. His scholarship is profound ,His memory chapter and verse He quotes from the world scriptures is phenomenal, He is lucid His logic irrefutable and his manner of putting across his ideas most convincing He is in short my idea of Jagadguru in a true sense of word. I listen to Him in spellbound attention and share the joy of singing and dancing at the end of His lectures. Kripaluji Maharaj brings happiness in peoples lives.

THERE IS NEITHER HAPPINESS NOR SORROW IN THE WORLD

Jag mah such dukh dukh dou nahi, As ur dhari le gyan |

Sukh mane dukh milat hai, Sukh na Jagat mah maan ||   Bhakti Shatak

There is neither happiness nor sorrow in the world, this knowledge shoul be firm in the mind. When we believe that there is happiness in the world, when it is snatched away from us, we experience sorrow.

The world is made up of Maya. Still there are 3 entities in it - 1. Brahm (God) 2. Jeev (Soul) and 3. Maya

The soul as well as Maya are powers of God. Maya is jad (lifeless) whereas the soul has is chetan (has life). The material mayic lifeless world is present in front of us, everyone also knows the soul. Only God is omnipresent but cannot be seen with the material eyes. The material world is meant for the utilization of the soul. So, the Vedas state that -

Bhokta Bhogya Preritaram cha Matwa proktam Brahmamenatatah || (Sveta. Up. 1-11)

You will say that is the material world is mean for the utilization of the souls then why are we told to practice detachment from the world? And why don't we experience complete happiness in the world? This material world is meant for the utilization of the world not over-involvement.

The bodies of the souls are material and the world is also material. So, for the material world is meant for the utilization to keep the bodies alive. But, the soul is divine. So,

Chinmatram Shri Hareransham Sukshmamsharamvyayam |

Krushnadhinmiti Prahujirvam Gyangunashrayam || (Veda)

Bhagwat states that -

Atma Nityovyayam Shudh Ekam Shetrajjam Aashrayamah |

Avikriyam Svadruga Hetuvyarpakosagyanavrutah || (Bhag. 7-7-11)

When the soul is an eternal divine entity, then its subject may also be divine. The material world cannot possibly be the subject of the divine soul. Naturally, every part naturally loves its whole. So, the soul is also naturally desiring the eternal divine unlimited happiness of God who is present everywhere in the world which is the subject of the soul.

The false sense of happiness that we experience in the world, is the result of the imagination of our mind. If we did not believe that there is happiness in the world then our sorrows would automatically be finished.

Everyone does not get the same amount of happiness from same thing in the world. When a person constantly forms a belief that there is happiness in an object or a person, he gets attached to it. Then, he desires that object or person. Then, in the fulfillment of that desire, he receives temporary happiness. This is the same reason why a beggar who is a mother receives happiness from her son even though he maybe squint and  ugly. A drunkard receives happiness from alcohol. A Pandit may not be able to stand the sight of alcohol and receive unhappiness from it. If there was happiness in alcohol then even the Pandit would have recieved the same amount of happiness from it.

Even the imagined happiness in the world is not equal for everyone. A thirsty person receives a lot of happiness from water and a lustful man recieves happiness from a lustful woman. This happiness also decreases with the passage of every moment. When a mother who has lost her infant since many days first finds him and embraces him for the first time after she finds him, she experiences tremendous happiness, then again in the second and thrird embrance the happiness decreases and then she may even feel detached from it.

PRE-REQUISITES OF A SPIRITUAL MASTER

The scriptures mention two pre-requisites for a Spiritual Master: He should possess complete knowledge of the scriptures, and he should be perfectly situated in God-consciousness. This means that he should be perfectly proficient in theory as well as in practice. One who is merely a scholar of the scriptures, but has not attained God-realization, cannot be considered a genuine Guru. However, between these two pre-requisites, the practical aspect is more important. If one is not well versed in the scriptures, but is established in God-consciousness, then he may still be considered a genuine Guru, for on knowing God everything automatically becomes known.