THE BUSINESS OF GURUDOM.

Guru, acharya, teacher, master, professor, the pir-e-murshid, mua’llim. Different words, same ideology. The semantics hardly matter. Every civilization has recognized and bowed before the salience of this institution. The idea of guru cannot be defined, for the world of definitions seems too small. In India, guru is Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, the very manifestation of divinity and the Supreme Truth, Para Brahma. In popular perception, however, the guru often tends to be an awesome and severe figure, now asking for Eklavya’s thumb, another moment denying Karna the right to learn. On the contrary, Krishna is the supreme embodiment of the guru, patiently removing Arjuna’s doubts and gently leading him to enlightenment-nirvana.

The west has borrowed the concept of guru and distorted it beyond recognition. The confusion about guru, yogi, mahatma and sanyasi has gone a long way in penetrating myths that would require a superhuman effort to rectify. Worse still, a guru has become a generic name for all categories of religious teachers. The western world has a rather interesting word on the whole business of gurudom: for them guru is someone who uses modern psycho-therapeutic techniques…who has a lot of group encounters…uses hydrotherapy…some primal scream and does strange things. The original idea is far removed from what is being perceived and conceived right now.

A true guru draws out and sets free the characteristic qualities of the taught. Consequently, a guru need not be a religious leader alone – though a quest for truth and search for ultimate reality permeates all aspects of Indian life. The West, instead, has transformed the role of the guru into one of an agony aunt or uncle, trickster and magician all rolled into one. The Indian ideal is opposed to the modern practice of making everything easy for the pupil. Manu clearly set out the role of a guru: “As a man who digs with a spade obtains water, even so an obedient pupil obtains the knowledge which lies in his teacher.”

A true guru does not intimidate. He encourages. He does not tell the student how to live his life. He merely sets out an ideal. He does not bind his pupil in a miasma of theory and ritual. Instead, he leads by suggestion and example. He does not blind by the brilliance of his own personality, but opens the eye of the pupil to truth, beauty, love and wisdom. The guru is full of gravitas. He is not frivolous. The Sanskrit word guru literally means ‘heavy’. He knows himself and at all times tries to be himself. He breaks rules and conventions, but does so gently. He is persuasive, but not aggressive. He makes an impact on those who seek a meaning for existence. In his own ways he helps us to recognise that life is a precious opportunity. He fears no one and is feared by none.