Importance of a Guru in a Seeker’s life

Tadviddhi pranipaatena pariprashnena sevayaa;
Upadekshyanti te jnaanam jnaaninas tattwadarshinah.

Meaning  : Know that by  humble prostration, by question and by service, the wise who have realised the Truth will instruct thee in (that) knowledge.

–      ShrimadBhagvadGita (4:34)

Implied Meaning:  To seek Dnyan (knowledge), one has to approach a Tattvadarshi Brahmvetaa (the divine ones who have envisioned the Tattva); but here God Krushna is revealing how one should seek the Dnyan from them.  After visiting a saint or a Guru, one must humbly prostrate before them in a proper manner.  By offering Pranaam (respectful greeting), a Bhav (spiritual emotion) of complete surrender  is created and by doing Seva unto them, their grace is received.  One must approach the saints with an innocent  attitude and with a curious disposition and simplicity, one must ask the questions, it is only then that they reveal the Dnyan of Sookshma Paramtattv (subtle principle of the Supreme). Before imparting Atmdnyan (knowledge of self), Brahmadnyanis ( the self realised souls ) put the eligibility of the curious one to test. Among all the  Yogmarg, Atmsakshaatkaar (self-realisation) can be achieved much faster through the grace of an Atmadnyani (a self-realised one).  In this Shloka, the importance of a Guru in a seeker’s life has been narrated, in todays’ time I have observed  when a few curious ones ask some questions from the saints, they do not do so with a view to learn, but to either test the saints, or to teach them.  Nothing can be gained out of putting the saints to test, or through demonstration of ego, albeit they (saints) remove us from their patronage.  Saints are in unison with God, thus when we contribute our mite to their Sagun (manifest) form, or to their Ashram (hermitage), or to their mission, they start considering us their own and this alone ensures the flow of their grace.  The world of spirituality is completely different from the  intellectual science prevalent today and is such a vast subtle world, thus through intellect, neither can we delve deep into spirituality, nor can we attain the highest form of liberation.  On the contrary, a Tattvadarshi Brahmdnyani acts like the light amidst darkess and help us come face-to-face with the absolute truth.  Tanuja Thakur