The full moon of this month is known in India as Guru Purnima - a festival in honour of the preceptor, master or guru. Fake gurus abound but the mark of a Sat guru or true master is that he or she gives the quality of Self-mastery to students.
In the West it is often said that one doesn't need a teacher to attain Self-mastery. This is because the ego has no conception of a Self beyond its limited scope. However, Western musicians and sportsmen, if they are serious and honest, readily acknowledge, that a teacher or coach is vital to achieving mastery of their respective fields.
"I have not said that a Guru is not necessary. But a Guru need not always be in human form. First a person thinks that he is an inferior and that there is a superior, all-knowing, all powerful God who controls his own and the world's destiny, and worships him or does Bhakti. When he reaches a certain stage and becomes fit for enlightenment, the same God whom he was worshipping comes as Guru and leads him on. That Guru comes only to tell him that ‘God is within yourself. Dive within and realize.’ God, Guru and the Self are the same."
- Sri Ramana Maharshi
In the West it is often said that one doesn't need a teacher to attain Self-mastery. This is because the ego has no conception of a Self beyond its limited scope. However, Western musicians and sportsmen, if they are serious and honest, readily acknowledge, that a teacher or coach is vital to achieving mastery of their respective fields.
"I have not said that a Guru is not necessary. But a Guru need not always be in human form. First a person thinks that he is an inferior and that there is a superior, all-knowing, all powerful God who controls his own and the world's destiny, and worships him or does Bhakti. When he reaches a certain stage and becomes fit for enlightenment, the same God whom he was worshipping comes as Guru and leads him on. That Guru comes only to tell him that ‘God is within yourself. Dive within and realize.’ God, Guru and the Self are the same."
- Sri Ramana Maharshi
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