When one surrenders to a Guru

"Gurur Brahma Gurur Vishnu Gurur Devo Maheshwarah Guru Saakshaat Parabrahma Tasmai Shri Guruveh Namaha Tasmai Shri Guruveh Namaha".

Meaning: The guru is the creator, the guru is the preserver, and the guru is the destroyer. The guru is absolute. I bow before you. Famous Saying of Shirdi Sai Baba- However, oppressed and troubled one may be, as soon as he steps in the Masjid, he is on the pathway to happiness. The Fakir here is very kind and He will cure the disease and protect all with love and kindness.

The purpose or object of Divine Incarnation is to protect the good and destroy the wicked. But, the mission of the saints is quite different. To them, the good and the wicked are the same. First, they draw the evil-doers and set them on the right path. They are the Agasti1 to destroy the Bhava-Sagar (the ocean of worldly existence) or the sun to destroy the darkness of ignorance. The God dwells in the saints. In fact, they are not different from Him.

All other Gods are illusory, Guru is the only God. If we believe in Sadguru’s holy feet, He can change our fortune for the better. If we serve him sincerely, we get rid of our worldly afflictions. We need not study any philosophy, like the Nyaya1 and the Mimamsa. As we trust the helmsman in crossing rivers and seas, so, we have to trust our Sadguru in getting over the ocean of worldly existence. The Sadguru looks to the intense feeling and devotion of his devotees, endows them with knowledge and eternal bliss.

When one surrenders to Guru, One just surrenders. Surrender is never about the other - that might be Guru Tattva or God, it is always about Self. In surrender, the separation vanishes, now that surrender can come via a Picture, a book, a statue, a person, a lover, nature or anything else. As soon as one dissolves, the other also vanishes, only surrender remains. However, I do have to add that in presence of a Fully Awakened Being, surrender is much easier as the presence is intense in which thoughts vanish. The walls of chitta (mind) dissolve. But again, this is possible only when one is ready to learn and surrender, when there is heartfelt Gratitude and Love for the Guru. And to answer your question, when you are surrendering - it doesn't matter who you are surrendering to, all that matters is are you able to authentically surrender.

Presently in this world people surrender before their own preferences only. This makes them slave & increase crime and sin only. But here understand one thing, guru never ask your surrender, guru shows the way, “how to surrender before God" . Here we surrender to Guru Tattva which is divinity (Godly) in itself. Guru as a person is a human like any other but is a channel of guru tattva. If we worship the picture of a Guru, the grace comes from the Guru Tattva but not the guru personally. He may not even know. In some cases where the Gurus are highly evolved they are aware.

At times Guru can manifest in dreams or physically or in different forms, again it is the Guru Tattva. The degree of power and the following depends on how highly the Guru is evolved (and is a channel) and also that a person has been chosen as Guru by Guru Tattva with specific purpose. A real Guru is most humble and refers himself as channel but never as the ultimate. For example, Pujya Shri Shirdi Sai always utters … Allah Malik, that is the Allah is the ultimate. He is the perfect channel of divinity and hence can manifest (give Darshan) in any of divine forms, like Lord Rama, Krishna, Anjaneya, Guru Dattatreya etc.

Being Guru is not so easy, they often encounter negative energies while protecting their followers and in many cases the Gurus lose their position or become infamous. People often talk bad about fake gurus, but the real fact in most of cases is the attack of Kali (negative energies) and also the Karma they take over from the followers while protecting them. Lakhs of devotees or followers are not just fools. A very powerful Swami ji of Kanchi Kamakoti too was vulnerable to such attacks, but he was a purest being. Therefore never lose tongue on Gurus, you never know the truth.

One such example is Acharya Rajneesh (Osho) who was a very great Guru. The ignorance in the people could not just digest him, because they did not try to learn the truth. I myself had ill opinion, and as I started reading his books and listening to Audio clipping, my total perception had changed. Sorry I take the opportunity to vent out my feelings on those who talk inferior about Gurus. We only have to decide what we are surrendering to. When we surrender to a Guru, it is his/her qualities that attract us, which may be referred to as guru tattva.

A guru is someone who is messenger of God. The one who uplifts. Sometimes we reach a stage when we feel that we have become saturated. That’s the time to change the Guru. Are we able to do that? or Have we fallen into love for Guru and not Guru Tattva? Are we entering ‘Vyatka-puja’ segment? Such questions should be asked to own self at regular time intervals and decide the way to climb up the steps of spirituality. A stage may come when one has direct connection with God. Jay Shri Gurudev