Maharishi Mahesh Yogi: Inspired Deepak Chopra, The Beatles and much, much more.

Jesus: Voted the Ultimate Guru year after year.

Buddha: Runner up.

“The true guru is the teaching.
The true teacher is the guru within,
the sat-guru.”

 :: July/August 2003 Volume 2/Number 4

Moving Toward The Light

By Ryan Allen

The word guru can be broken into two parts: gu, meaning darkness, and ru, meaning light. Hence, by definition a guru is that which brings light to darkness. In a society that hosts more gurus per capita than anywhere else in the world, one woman searches for the true meaning of what proves to be a very colorful concept.

 

“A guru is someone who you trust emphatically and can show you the way.”
“The way to where?”
“Wherever it is you want to go.”
“Do you have a guru?”
“I’ve had several — a healer who worked on my chakras, a Peruvian shaman, and now I have my fitness guru who I see three times a week.”
“Does that count?”
“It does to me.”

 

Although I’m inclined to argue with my friend that this isn’t up to par with the serious, spiritual connotation that I attribute to the concept of a guru, I stay silent. Yet over the next few days this conversation repeatedly comes to mind. I am perplexed as to why my friend can claim three gurus while I have none. I’m hounded by two questions: What exactly is a guru? And, Do I need one?

A quick Google search directs me to an employment guru, a law guru and a computer guru. Next, I specify “spiritual guru” and the first link takes me to an article titled, “Ethel Merman as Spiritual Guru?” Now, I’m even more confused. I seek council. My mother suggests I query financial guru Suze Orman. No, I’m looking for someone spiritually inclined yet respected and highly sought after. Someone along the lines of…say…Deepak Chopra.

The following weekend I find myself perusing the grounds of The Los Angeles Times Book Festival on the UCLA campus. I feel the tingle of fate upon learning that Dr. Chopra is scheduled to speak about his latest book, Golf for Enlightenment. Coincidence? I think not. And I know that Dr. Chopra, a firm believer that there are no ‘accidents,’ would agree. Using the guise of a journalist rather than a
guru-seeker, I submit a written request for an interview to discuss the concept of guru. A mere half-hour later I sit down next to him on a couch in the Green Room of Royce Hall.

Dr. Chopra defines gurus as those who teach pupils how to live conscious lives. The guru/disciple relationship remains a presence in the spiritual life of India today, and there are places such as gurukuls and ashrams where those who are spiritually predisposed can study. Dr. Chopra spent more than 10 years with his guru, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and says that it was a huge commitment of time and energy, of surrender.

“Wow…that’s intense,” I remark.

“Now, in the West,” he says with a sly grin, “I personally think the context for guru doesn’t exist. It’s not part of the tradition. In this culture people are more likely to want to be independent, to rely on themselves, to read books, to explore things, to dabble, to change. They aren’t ready for the long-term commitment that’s required.”

Fully aware that I for one have spent much of my life hoisting a flag of independence, committed to dabbling and surrendering only to change, I nod my head in agreement.
I inquire about the hundreds of thousands who consider him to be their guru, a number of which are waiting in the auditorium next door. He shakes his head in rebuttal, “A true guru has to commit him- or herself totally to the evolution of the student. There is no personal agenda. I’m writing books and traveling. I have a family and run my Center. These are things I’d have to relinquish in order to totally commit myself to the evolution of my students. I might do it, but not right now.”

Althogh this commitment aspect has caused some hesitation on my part, just because Dr. Chopra is not ready to be my guru doesn’t mean that I’m not ready to find one.

----------------------------------------------------

According to the yoga rumor mill, Patricia Hansen, former president and founding board member of Unity in Yoga International, is reputed to have several gurus. I contact Hansen, hoping she will offer advice to a fellow Westerner.

The word guru has two meanings for Hansen. First, the word can be broken into gu (meaning darkness) and ru (indicating dispeller). Hence, a guru is “one who removes darkness.” The other definition is “heavy.” Hansen suggest that many things can lead us out of darkness. For example, a ‘heavy’ experience, such as cancer. “Heavy in that it shifts consciousness.”

Although they have many similarities, Hansen differentiates between a hatha yoga student and a disciple (or chela, the Hindu word for ‘student’) by explaining that for the yoga student, yoga is the guru. A disciple, however, has a pure motive of being on a spiritual journey and has met someone who speaks to their heart. But in both scenarios the ultimate goal is to help the individual connect with the peace within them.

Even though Hansen has several, including two yoga gurus and an Ayurveda guru, she says, “The true guru is the teaching. The true teacher is the guru within, the sat-guru.” Thus, the role of the teacher is to guide the student to the sat-guru that resides in their heart. For this to work, however, “We must become an empty vessel.”

She also tells me that historically, in India, prospective disciples would sit outside the ashram, waiting for the guru to invite them in. The guru would only do so, however, after sensing that the disciples were ready to learn — they needed to have a purity of heart and intention so that the guru could determine when they were ready for certain teachings and practices.

----------------------------------------------------

As if the vessel also known as my brain isn’t already brimming with new information, Hansen recommends that I check out Georg Feuerstein, Ph.D.’s The Yoga Tradition. I pick up a copy (just barely, it must weigh close to 20 pounds — weigh it!) and thumb through the index. Dr. Feuerstein defines the word guru as a “spiritual teacher,” and dates the teacher/disciple system back to the early Vedic period, 4500-2500 B.C.E. Like Dr. Chopra, Dr. Feuerstein describes an intense, complex process of initiation, surrender and commitment, and “…contrary to the ‘pop’ Yoga espoused by a large number of Westerners, authentic Yoga is never a do-it-yourself enterprise.”

There’s more, over 600 pages more. Since I’m already behind schedule on finding my guru, I decide to do what any resourceful person might. I turn to a walking-talking equivalent to shed light on the topic.

Dr. David Frawley is an esteemed scholar of Ayurveda and Vedic Science. His knowledge of yoga traditions is abundant, as is his generosity to share it. To him, the word guru basically means the teacher (“The mother is often considered the first guru of a child.”), but it also takes on a special meaning as spiritual master. “In America we don’t discriminate between the two meanings.”

“The deeper you go the more the issue of a spiritual master comes up,” says Dr. Frawley. He has a number of gurus: an Ayurveda guru, a Vedic Astrology guru, as well as several spiritual gurus, presently Sivananda Murty, a revered yogi and Advaitic sage. In India, there are dozens of traditions and lineages. The traditions are guidelines, and the lineage is a flow of information that is linked to authentic teachings.

“Keep in mind that what’s available in America and India is quite different.” He suggests looking for a high level of disciples and the highest level of self-realization on behalf of the guru. They should be respected as a spiritual master and as part of a lineage connecting the student to a greater teaching and tradition.
Dr. Frawley warns against those who are self-proclaimed, “Often, great gurus are hidden people.” From this, I deduce that the strongest search engine does not translate into the purest intention and perhaps Ethel Merman is not really a spiritual guru.

----------------------------------------------------

I decide to put my newly-acquired guru criteria to the test with a visit to a likely suspect who is hiding in the house literally caddy-corner from mine — a man by the name of Guru Singh.

Guru Singh is a Kundalini yoga teacher as well as a ‘spiritual advisor’ and of the Sikh tradition. I have several friends who routinely seek his council and best of all, the iconic appearance of his long, untamed beard and customary all-white clothing is in line with what one would expect of a proper guru. Now, as tradition would have it I should plant myself on his lawn and wait for an invitation. I rule this out on account of the summer heat and street cleaning, instead opting to set up an appointment.

After a brief wait on a shaded backyard patio, I meet with him. What unfolds is a heart-to-heart conversation that has me thinking and hoping my quest might be coming to a close. But the light switches off when he tells me that there are no living gurus within the Sikh faith. Although his relationship with his guru (Yogi Bhajan) has been going on for 35 years, “What I’m surrendered to is not the person. What I’m surrendered to are the teachings.”

I mention a most obvious discrepancy with this notion of ‘no living gurus’ — the fact that his name carries the title. He informs me that this is a name given to him by Yogi Bhajan. When I suggest that certainly there is some sort of ‘heavy’ significance to this, he responds, “How many men from Mexico are named Jesus?”

As I stroll home with thoughts of Jesus sunning on a beach in Mexico, it occurs to me that perhaps I’m a non-guru type of person. I’m well aware that nine years as a non-Catholic attending private Catholic schools and nightly prayers begging for forgiveness, mercy or (preferably) redemption rendered me leery of organized religion. Maybe this is explanation enough of why the topic of guru proves to be a slippery subject for me.

I deem it necessary to meditate for clarity, to begin shaping myself into an empty vessel. As I settle into lotus position and close my eyes, I reflect upon my findings: Anything or anyone can take on the role of being my guru. What’s seemingly more important is whether or not I’m ready to learn from it, whatever it might be. In this society of spiritual window shopping, which does not come with the traditional guru/chela relationship installed, it’s up to me to make the effort and determine when I’m ready to hang up my shopping bag and quite simply, commit.

Then again, maybe not.

The ringing of my phone causes ripples in my reflection pool. I let the machine pick up. It’s a local guru’s publicist. She’s wondering if I’d like to speak with him.

In addition to those mentioned in this article, the writer wishes to express gratitude to Fred Miller, Mas Vidal, Mark Griffin, Nirmala Heriza and Gurmukh for their assistance.

Ryan Allen is a Los Angeles-based writer / editor.

 

Ramana Maharshi: Reported to have spontaneously slipped into samadhi at age 19, where he stayed for 20 years.

Sri Swami Satchidananda: Studied under Ramana Maharshi, amongst others, and founded Integral Yoga.

Swami Rama: From an unbroken chain of a 5,000-year-old tradition of Himalayan sages.

“Often, great gurus are hidden people.”