Do You Need a Guru?

The panel discussion on Tuesday night was pretty lively. The panelists were Barbara Benagh, Judith Lasater, David Swenson, and Aadil Palkhivala. Three westerners and Aadil from India. The views on this pretty much followed that split as well, though they did agree on one thing - that the "Age of the (true) Guru" is ending. But before I get to that...

While the question was about whether we need a Guru, a lot of the discussion was about the definition of a Guru. Aadil started out by describing two types of gurus. One makes you a servant to their authority and slave to their method. The other helps you explore your own inside knowledge and actualize your self. He did not think everybody needs a guru, but that there are some "lazy" people who will not do this seeking on their own and will need some encouragement...perhaps from guru type 1. He did talk of his two gurus - one (he calls this one his guruji) which helps with day-to-day questions (in his case this is BKS Iyengar). His other guru (his gurudev) helps with the bigger questions. His gurudev gives him the tools to make decisions but does not provide the answers.

Judith spoke of "upagurus" - which are the gurus near us, which we find in daily life. She says that many of her upagurus have the same last name as she does! Having just read her book, Living Your Yoga, this was not surprising. In it she often speaks of the lessons she learns from her children.

David started out by pointing out that the western view of the word guru is different than what the word has meant historically. An "old world" guru, usually came from a lineage of gurus, became a renunciate, and spent many years learning the divine truths. In today's world, a guru has come to mean simply a teacher - and sometimes one without the right intentions. David described his experience of giving himself over to a guru, giving up his western name, shaving his head, and living the life dictated by his guru for five years. He finally woke up one day and realized that the life he was being told to live did not mesh with his ideas. I later learned that he had joined the Hare Krishnas during that period.

David concluded by warning us that if we are seeking a guru and find someone who claims to be a guru, we should be very afraid of this person. The real gurus have no interest in being gurus, he pointed out, so it will be impossible to find them....

In the end, the group agreed that times are changing and the true gurus of old are becoming extinct. So what are we to do? We can find a teacher (acharya) we trust and hope that they guide us to find the guru within that holds the answers to the questions that we are asking.