On the Guru

"If you dig a deep well on top of a mountain, you may not find any water; but dig a small hole on a riverbank and you will soon find water. In the proximity of a guru your spiritual practices will quickly bear fruit."

"A child wants to see the sunrise, but sleeping comfortably in his bed, he can't make himself get up in the morning. The mother will have to help him get up. A spiritual life without a guru is like the life of a child without a mother."

"If we keep the company of people with bad qualities, they will have a bad influence on us. If we have friends with good qualities, our nature will change to the good by mixing with them. By staying with a guru one becomes a field where good qualities are cultivated."

"When we transplant a sapling from one place to another, we carry some soil from the first place so that it becomes easier for the sapling to acclimatise to the new conditions. On the spiritual path the guru's presence is like that soil."

"There is a treasure chest of diamonds within you, but you are searching for diamonds outside. The key to that chest is also with you, but it has become rusty. You have to polish it if it is to open the chest. We approach a guru for this purpose."

Surrender to the Guru

"Now you are a slave to your senses. Surrender to the guru and the senses will become your slave."

"When a child is holding his mother's hand, he can do whatever he wants. He won't fall even if he takes both feet off the ground. Likewise the disciple should always hold onto the guru."

"If an operation is required one has to see a surgeon. Likewise, to rid our minds of all the dirt and to progress towards the ultimate goal, we have to take refuge in a guru."

"When we make a canoe, we heat the wood to make it bend. Only then can we shape the canoe. Likewise we change for the better when we 'bend' out of awe and devotion for the guru."

Guru's Power

"Just as the tortoise makes the egg hatch by the power of its thoughts, the satguru's thoughts awaken the spiritual power in the disciple."

"Those who pretend to be gurus are like boats made of sponge; the boat will sink and all the passengers will go down with it. But a satguru is like a huge ship in which any amount of people can reach the shore."

"If you touch a wire carrying electric current, the electricity will enter into you. If you take refuge in a guru his power will flow into you."

Guru's Guidance

"You can't learn how to repair a machine by just reading a book. You have to go to a repair shop and be trained by someone who knows the job. Similarly, you need a guru to guide you and help you overcome the obstacles on your spiritual path."

"The label on a medicine bottle contains only general instructions. We need a doctor's prescription to take the medicine properly, otherwise the medicine may do more harm than good. Similarly, learning about spirituality from attending satsang and reading books is not enough. You need to follow a gurus instructions and guidance."

"If we travel with a companion who lives at our destination, the journey will be smooth. If we travel alone, even if we have a map, we can lose the way. The role of the guru in our spiritual life is similar to the companion."

"We can't get light by hanging a picture of a lamp on the wall. If we need to see something, we have to turn the real light on. Learning from books and even giving speeches is not enough. To experience the Truth one has to do sadhana under the guidance of a guru, and discover the real 'I' within."

"Suppose we are going to travel to a strange place. Somebody must be there who knows the path to protect us. Similarly, a Guru who is a knower of the Self must be approached. Only one who has known the path can show the way."

Guru's Disciplining

"Heating a piece of iron in the furnace, the blacksmith beats on it repeatedly - not out of cruelty, but only to give it the desired shape. Someone may cut up a paper into many pieces, only to make a beautiful flower out of it. Similarly the guru reprimands and disciplines only to reveal to the disciple the nature of his own self."

"A mother may slap her child to stop it from putting its hand in the fire. A guru may be stern for the good of the disciple. A sculptor chips away the rock with his chisel to bring out a beautiful form of sculpture. A doctor squeezes an infected abscess to take the pus out and help it heal."

"When the cow chews on the young coconut saplings it's no use telling it gently: "Don't eat it, my dear." Only if you shout at the cow: "Shoo! Go away!" Will it stop eating and go away."

"The poison of a snake can kill you; and yet the antidote is made from that same poison. A real guru will put all kinds of obstacles in the path of the disciple, for only in that way can the disciple develop the strength to transcend all obstacles."

Obedience

"When we board a plane, they ask us to fasten our seat belts for our own safety. In the same way the guru asks the disciple to obey certain rules and to practice restraint, to elevate him."

Qualified Disciples

"It is not enough to have a guru with the highest credentials; the disciple also has to be qualified."