When there is no other Guru but our own Soul than there is no need for the physical Guru.+

Swami Vivekananda said: - “You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul.”

When there is no other teacher but our own Soul then there is no need for the physical guru.

Religious or yogic gurus propagate that: once a seeker identifies a Guru, he must totally surrender to the Guru and then from there onwards, the spiritual journey is fully Guru's responsibility, not his... Hence, the importance of choosing the right Guru is necessary, but in pursuit of truth, the guru is not necessary because the truth is not theoretical.  Truth has to be ascertained by the seeker on his own through a well-directed inquiry, analysis, and reasoning based on the true self, which will lead the seeker to his destination.    

People who worship the guru as God in human form and there is a danger that they might establish a regular religious sect in his name.  This is an unhappy development of the religious movement. 

As one goes deeper self-search one finds the fact that - Celibacy and living in a monastery was always strange to Vedic religion. In fact, almost all the great sages of Puranas and Vedas were householders. Observing celibacy and the monastery system in Vedic religion is the influence of Buddhism and Jainism. 

Hinduism is a mixture of Vedic, Jain and Buddhist and many other ideologies.  The pure essence of Sanatan Dharma is lost by adopting the ideology of many other ideologies.  

Orthodoxy recommends celibacy to sanyasis  Many saints followed this trend. People think that to be a Hindu sage has to observe celibacy but this concept was not there in Vedic religion.  Thus, the Hindu religion has become a hotchpotch of many ideologies.  

People believe that if a Swamiji, indulges in sex activity he is doing a sin. And they also believe that a Swamiji and gurus should never marry and observe celibacy. If they fail to do so they are not fit to continue as Sanyasis.

Sex is a human instinct like hunger. Swamiji is forced to observe celibacy, which is against human nature. Only a few will succeed in this venture and others carry on secretly indulge in their sexual venture until it comes to the limelight.   

Many Swamijis in the past got married after resigning from swamis’ order. Many times this became a public debate, but these people were soon forgotten. There are many Self-declared Swamijis with religious robes and indulge in the accumulation of wealth and indulging in sex and all sorts of immoral and criminal activities happenings in their Ashrams and retreats.

Many Swamijis indulge in sex with their disciples. Once this is brought to the knowledge of people, people start reacting negatively.  Public memory is very short. People talk about all scandals for some time and later they forget about it. 

There is a need to do deeper research on Vedic religion and bifurcate the present Hindu religion, which is mixed-up with Buddhism, Jainism and also the idea adopted from other ideologies to know the pure essence of Vedas. 

It is also necessary to verify the validity of dual and non-dual ideologies, which are based on Vedas to know they are mere add-ons. The original Sanatan Dharma was without all these ideologies.    

Swamis or gurus who claim themselves to be God and people worship and glorify them as God in human form.  They are trying to establish a regular religious sect of their own by taking advantage of the mass mindset, which accepts to believe anyone who is propagating about their religion and god as avatars.  This is an unhappy development of the Hindutva. 

There can be no correct exposition in the Upanishads unless the guru has had experience of the truth. Otherwise, it is merely adding words to words.  The sage will not do immoral things that are impossible. 

It is difficult for people to understand such texts as, “God, Guru and the 'Self' are one." No one raises voice against the practice of deifying the Guru they think it is against their religion and tradition.

 If god, guru, and the 'Self' are one -- it means the Self is Atman and Atman is god and guru, not the body.  Thus, one who thinks himself as a guru is considered the Self as body and allows people to worship his body as God, thus, he is not God because he is not aware of the fact that, the self is the formless  Atman or consciousness.

There are few people who are able to think beyond physicality voice against the practice of deifying the Guru.

The traditional Hindu attitude towards the Guru is glorifying him as God. It is necessary to verify the facts on this subject at some length. This does not refer to anyone in particular.  The present verification of facts in general and irrespective of any particular person and their beliefs.

Hindu religious literature is full of such aphorisms as:~

There is no higher deity than the Guru'

The Guru is the ultimate Truth and Deity

God and Avatars (incarnations) are secondary to the Guru in importance

There is no higher refuge, no higher target, no higher destination than the Guru

The Guru is God Himself

God and the Guru are one 

He who makes a distinction between the Guru and God is ignorant and stupid and scores of similar others.  Some celebrated philosopher-saints like Jnandev, Eknath and so many others all over India have offered their first salutations to the Guru in their various books.

A good deal of chaos prevails in Hinduism. It has an ever-increasing number of Avatar as and Gurus installed as God Himself, with the support and sanction of scriptures and teachings of saints and sages in the past.  The crooks take advantage of the innocence of the masses and pretend to be god or godmen.

Denunciation of the practice of glorifying the Guru as God is an impossibility because people are sentimentally and emotionally involved with their inherited religious belief.

Brahmacharya, monastic celibacy, is the complete abstinence from sex, which is only incumbent upon monastics. Householders practice monogamy as a way to uphold Brahmacharya in spirit.

"Non-possession", is the renunciation of property and wealth, before initiation into sanyasa, without entertaining thoughts of the things renounced. This is done so one understands how to detach oneself from things and possessions, including home and family so one may reach Moksha.

 For householders, non-possession is owning without attachment, because the notion of possession is illusory. The reality of life is that change is constant; thus, objects owned by someone today will be the property of someone else in future days. The householder is encouraged to discharge his or her duties to related people and objects as a trustee, without excessive attachment.

Since the guru is bound to follow some ethics and code of conduct prescribed in scriptures; the immoral acts of gurus are harmful, as they might cause doubt and confusion in the minds of many people, who strive with simple faith and earnestness to practice the discipline for enlightenment and Self-development. 

Thus, gurus have to be accountable for all his acts and actions because they are bound by religion and their religious code of conducts. 

Isa Upanishad says: By worshipping gods and goddesses you will go after death to the world of gods and goddesses. But will that help you? The time you spend there is wasted because if you were not there you could have spent that time moving forward towards Self-knowledge, which is your goal. In the world of gods and goddesses, you cannot do that, and thus you go deeper and deeper into the darkness.

Thus the Upanishad indicates that true goal is to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

Ramana Maharishi said: The sadguru is within.

Questioner: I am always at your feet. Will Bhagavan give us some upadesa (teaching) to follow? Otherwise, how can I get help living 600 miles away?

 Ramana Maharshi: The Sadguru (the true guru) is within.


Questioner: Sadguru is necessary to guide me to understand it.

 Ramana Maharshi: The sadguru is within.


Questioner: I want a visible Guru.

 Ramana Maharshi: That visible Guru says that he is within.

If one is seeking truth then one has to think deeply.

Sage Raman Maharishi said the guru is within. So he referred to the Self or Atman as a guru, not the physical apparatus.  This seeker has to focus his attention on the self or Atman, which is in the form of consciousness.    

Thus,  glorifying gurus’ form is erroneous, because the body and the universe are a myth from the ultimate standpoint. Thus, indulging in glorifying and worshiping of myth becomes the greatest obstacle in the pursuit of truth.  

Thus, the seeker has to identify the true self as a guru and proceed in his spiritual endeavor.   

The inner grace of the inner guru (Soul, the Self) will guide them until his ignorance disappears and he realizes his body and the universe is merely an illusion created out of consciousness, which is the true Self.    :~Santthosh Kumaar