In India, a physical mentor is extremely important for any seeking aspirant looking for enlightenment. In fact, nearly every Indian knows and respects the eternal search that every practising Hindu family follows right from birth to death for every individual in their clan and sometimes even all their extended families. The times are such that this search for a ‘guru’ is a permanent quest for anyone seeking to taste the nectar of spiritual bliss. Historically, all of India’s famous spiritual seekers followed a personal mentor for at least 10 years or so roughly. Bhairavi had Bhairav, Vivekananda had Ramkrishna Paramhans, Tejomayanandji had Swami Chinmayananda, who himself learned all the Vedas from none other than the spiritual giant of Kalyug, namely Tapovan Swamiji- the Advaita saint of Uttar Kashi. Many spiritual giants from India had their own family members as their guiding lights in all of Hindu history.
Swami Ramana Maharshi was the only saint who taught himself entirely. The rest of us always rely on our gurus and confide all our secrets in them personally. A guru knows the entire working ways of his pupils and many of them have more than one disciple too officially. A guru integrates the psychology and the intellectualism of his devotee- he advises him depending on the disciple’s internal makeup and also his spiritual readiness to be tested and left alone entirely, sometimes rather ominously.
Most younger disciples and seekers tell their gurus everything about not only their quests but also all their mental agitations and feelings together with their relationships. Sometimes, but a bit too rarely, the Guru might ask his disciple to wed or marry someone whom the guru chooses for him most fittingly. Most real gurus leave their disciples alone after instructing them roughly in all possible subjects like economics, psychology, psychiatry, history, geography, music, art, and even some specialist subjects like the Sciences and Mathematics extremely efficiently. Gurus like Dronacharya and Kautilya were really sought after and patronized by nearly all the younger geniuses of their generations extremely fervently. To get a guru is a true blessing from God but to receive a realized guru is considered revolutionary.
Even in the modern times of the day, a teacher or an instructor has a special role to play in the material successes of his students and disciples most unconditionally. We all love and remember our school, college and university teachers sometimes even more than family. A good teacher not only imparts his subject with his own special expertise, but he also instills confidence in his students that follow him ardently. They become champions in life- the stuff that legends are made of primarily. Never underestimate the role of a good teacher in your life-sometimes he might be the only one teaching and promoting you even to go against the grain and emerge triumphant singularly.
