The concepts of Dharma and Dharmic way of life have been continuing from time immemorial in the Land of Bharat. There have been four conspicuous dharmic systems: Hindu or Sanatana, Jain, Buddhist and Sikh dharmic ways of life along with numerous tribal dharmic systems existing side by side with four mainstream ways of life in Bharat. All these along with other characteristics have constituted uniquely what we may call ‘Bharat Dharma’ or ‘Bharatiyatva’ or Indianness. ‘Guru' has been an important constituent part of this Bharatiya or Indian way of life. The position and roles played by a guru have been really unique in that he or she has been associated with dharmic populace both in temporal life and other-worldly and spiritual life.
Now the questions: who is a Guru? Whether can only one person be a Guru? Whether Guru means only to the Diksha Guru (Spiritual Initiator)? So, there are many questions about guru and we have to find so many answers.
Guru
Guru is a Sanskrit word; composed of the root word gu means darkness, ignorance and ru meaning dispeller. So Guru is the one who “dispels the darkness of ignorance”. In this guru tradition, there have been three conspicuous traditions of Gurukula, Guru-shishya parampara and Sampradaya continuing simultaneously from time immemorial in Bharat. All these institutionalised structures have been associated with the education system to impart both material academic and vocational, and religious and spiritual knowledge to the students. So, guru is not only a counsellor, a coach or a mentor, but guru is more than all of them cumulatively. As dharma is not like religion or religious faith or religious faith system, but dharma is more than those; guru has multi-dimensionality in meaning, significance and reality in Indian dharmic way of life. Guru is also called Acharya (a teacher, a preceptor, learned person). So, the relationship between guru and shishya (disciple) has been very nuanced, mysterious and multi-dimensional. That is why this Guru system has been so controversial in the eyes of modern secular-liberal European viewpoint.
Now, the questions are: what is Guru Purnima? Why has it been celebrated in India? As per the Hindu calendar Panchanga (five attributes of the day - Tithi, Nakshatra, Yoga, Karana and Var), the full moon day (Purnima) in the Shukla paksha (Bright lunar fortnight) of Ashadha (June-July) month has been celebrated as Guru Purnima. Shishyas offer pooja (worship) or pay respect to their Guru (spiritual guide). It has been said in the Puranas that the author of the Fifth Veda ‘Mahabharata’ Maharshi Veda Vyasa or Krishna Dvaipayana was born on that auspicious day. It has also been accepted that Vyasa was the chronicler and compiler of Vedas, Upanishads, and all Puranas. For that matter this full moon day has been observed as Vyasa Purnima. That is why Vyas Deva is considered as Bharat Guru.
In dharmic way of life of Vedic India there developed a Tapovan-centric Ashramic education system under the aegis of a guru and this guru lineage developed into an institution itself. In this manner so many Gurukulas have been established and the disciples have used the ‘title' of their gurus following the guru-shisya lineages. In this way so many Sampradayas developed in India. And, this system of education has been established in all types of fields of general education, music, arts, tools, weaponry, martial arts etc.
Guru Tattva
What is a Tattva? What does it mean? What is Guru Tattva? Sanskrit root-word Tat meaning ‘That’ combining with Tva meaning -ness has constituted the word Tattva. So Tattva is ‘Thatness’ meaning ‘That which exists', ‘Principle’, ‘Reality’, ‘Truth’, ‘Essence’ etc. That is why Tattva does not mean only ‘Theory’ as conceived in English. Tattva thus indicates a dimension of reality. Again, Tattva signifies Deity in few dharmic faith systems. Besides, Tattva also mean a kind of principle in philosophical explanations of different dharmic systems.
Then, Guru Tattva means tattva of guru, right explanation of meaning of guru, inner meaning of guru, essence of guru who is the bringer of awareness or higher knowledge etc. Now, the question is: what is inner meaning of guru? Guru has been viewed and explained differently in different Shastras and dharmic religious systems. Guru has been considered sometimes as the guide in spiritual life, sometimes as the most dependable person in temporal life, and sometimes as the Para Brahmn or Paramatman or Bhagavan/Bhagavati himself/herself. Guru himself has been the Saviour, assuming all the responsibility of deeds or actions of his disciples. That is why a Bengali word Bakalma has been in use for this phenomenon. With this came Dikshakarana- Initiation process and Gurukarana- Initiation of a disciple. Thus a guru system has developed gradually in India where a guru initiates a disciple by giving Guru Mantra to the ear of disciple. The disciples consider a guru as a self-realised person – Atma-jnani, Brahmn-jnani. Guru provides this higher knowledge or jnan to his disciples for their right journey through spiritual life in that a disciple gets liberation or Mukti by practising the Bija-mantra (Root incantation). This initiation process has been in operation in almost all religious faith systems. Here the most important criteria have been the unblemished faith in guru.
Here comes an important question: whether a person can have more than one guru? In Hindu traditions (in Srimad-Bhagavatam), it has been acknowledged that a person like an Avadhuta (a great saint without material care) can have ‘Twenty-four’ Gurus - Panchabhoothas (Five Elements)- Kshiti/Prthivi (Mother Earth), Aapa/Jal (Water), Tej/Agni (Fire), Maruta/Vaayu (Air) and Aakash/Byom (Sky), Chandra (Moon), Surya (Sun), Kapat-Kapati (Pigeon), Ajgar (Python), Samudra (Ocean), Patanga (Moth, Grasshopper), Madhukar (Honey-Gatherer), Karini (Female Elephant), Vramor (Honeybee), Harina (Deer), Matsya (Fish), Pingala (A Dancing Girl), Kurari (Kurari Bird, Hawk), Balaka (Boy child), Kumari (Unmarried girl), Sabar (Arrow-maker, a blacksmith), Sapa (Snake), Makorsa/Makari (Spider) and Kachpoka (Caterpillar, Wasp). So, a guru can be anyone, be it a human being, a sub-human/animal being or even an inanimate being. From anyone we can learn and realise the mystery of life, be it temporal, non-temporal or spiritual life. From the womb of mother we start to learn. Actually it has been said that these gurus have been nothing but the 24 tattvas of Prakrithi.
So this guru-system and guru-culture has been going on from the Jaan-guru of different tribals to Tantric-guru to Kula-guru, Diksha-guru, Siksha-guru etc. to 'Management Guru' of modern corporate life. Sometimes guru has been termed as Kula-purohit (Family priest) or Acharya.
In this context, there arises a pertinent question: whether did the atheists venerate gurus in dharmik life of Bharat? The answer is that all, both theists and atheists, did follow this system. Many of Sanatana Vedic Hindu philosophical traditions were atheistic in nature and other non-Hindu dharmik traditions like Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism and others did follow guru system in India. So, guru has become a part and parcel of social life of all - tribals, local communities and general populace.
Guruism
Vada or ‘-ism’ means an ideology, a special kind of thinking or way of interpreting reality which has been mainly one dimensional. This ‘-ism’ inspires one or a group to stick to that type of system of thought and practice a way of life relating to that -ism, thus having a specific ‘worldview’. By Guruism we also refer to that kind of worldview which makes a person or a group of persons ‘unquestioning and unblemished’ followers of a guru.
There arise so many questions: Why does a guru mean only a ‘spiritual guru’? What are the signs and characteristics of a ‘self-realised’ or ‘Brahmn-jnani’ guru? How far a guru has been Tattva-darsi (one who has realised the Absolute Truth or Brahmn)? How can one judge a guru? Is not ‘Mukti’ (liberation) possible without Gurukarana (Initiation)?
Here come different viewpoints. As all beings have been in existence due to a Creator (if it has been assumed), whatever be His/Her characteristics, all creations have their ‘birth-rights’ to be connected and related with the Creator. That very relation has been ‘divine’ in nature and no one can mediate between them. Then, is a mediator-guru essential in this divine relationship between a person and the Creator? What is the basis of the Shastras developed on guru system? How far these Shastras be based on the principles of Dharma? There are so many questions and we need to be clear on the issues.
In the dharmic way of life all things and all beings have been Pabitra (Sacred). No thing, no being and of course, no human being is Apabitra (Profane) or Paapi (Sinner). Human being is ‘Amritasya Putra’ (Childrens of immortality). If everything and every being have been created by the Creator who is ‘Amrita-swarupa’ (Immortal Being), ‘Ananda-swarupa’ (Blissful Being) and ‘Chaitannya-swarupa’ (Conscious Being), then the creations can not be ‘sinners by birth’. Nobody is ‘sinful’ whether s/he acknowledges God or not. In this context, how can a guru dispel ‘papa’ (sins) of a disciple? Guru may be a guide for spiritual life of a disciple, but a disciple has to tread the spiritual path on his/her own, just like an infant first crawls on her own and then stand up on her feets and walks in this world. Whatever be the ‘faith’ system, it is unreasonable, inhumane and adharmic to instil a sense of sinness/guilt or 'papa' in the mind of a person. Here comes the context of ‘Parama-guru’ who has been the Supreme guru of all gurus.
Parama-guru
We all start to learn from our mothers’ wombs. After birth, our ‘mothers’ have been the ‘first’ teachers. So, a mother is our first guru- Matri-guru. Next come our fathers and other gurus – Pitru-guru, Siksha-guru, Diksha-guru and other gurus. And, who is the Parama-guru? Parama-guru is the Guru of gurus, He/She Himself/Herself/Self-neutral, by whatever ‘name’ or whatever ‘form/formless’ we call or perceive Him/Her. That All-Being has been neutral of name or nameless, form or formless, or Veda-aveda-nirapeksha (Difference-indifference neutral). That is another story.
Here come few pertinent questions. Do we need a spiritual teacher or guru for our journey to liberation just like we need different temporal teachers or guides or mentors to learn and acquire knowledge on different disciplines? Do we need Diksha or initiation? Or, aren’t we initiated by birth?
To me, the answer to these questions has been both ‘Yes’ and ‘No’. Can we explain how and why one may have realised what we call Atma-anubhuti (Self-perception) or Atma-jnan (Self-Realisation)? We can not. Because, it is unexplainable. It is so ‘personal’ and ‘perceptual’ that others can not fathom in it. This ‘experience’ and ‘jnan’ may happen by following the ‘guided path’ of a guru or by one’s own efforts. Otherwise, the Mahima (magnificence) of the Supreme/All-Being gets ‘conditional’. But, All-Being can not be conditional and always ever ‘Revealing’; otherwise, this universe would have stopped and standstill. The power to sense and perceive this ‘ever revelation’ has been so ‘natural and self-evidential’ to human beings as per dharmic philosophy as well as modern science.
Again, the ‘Bija-mantra’ or root-mantra has always been the same: ‘Om Tat Sat’! This mantra is universal and we can have it from any one or from anywhere. Because, All-Being is ever non-conditional. But, ‘Shraddhaavaan labhate jnanam’- one who respect and venerate teachers learn and acquire knowledge and jnanam. And, this respect is a must not only to a guru but also to himself, that is, Self-respect- Atma-shraddhaa. Faith, respect and proper behaviour- all three have been the basis of all relationship, be it between a guru and a shishya, or any other relationships in society.
So, we must pay our respect, show our gratitude and venerate all Gurus- mother, father, teachers and others.
Om Shanti Shanti Shantih!
@ Sujit Roy
20.08.2019
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