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## The Difference Between a Good Guru and a Bad Guru
**From the second light of Yoga Shastra, verses 6 to 9:**
How can a philosophy that advocates for the destruction of the womb and the consumption of flesh at birth be considered compassionate? How can a philosophy that considers the laws of nature meaningless and the soul (purusha) as devoid of qualities and inactive be considered wise? How can Kapil, who is mentally deranged by such a philosophy, be considered a god? How can the leaders of the gods, Skanda, Kartikeya, Vayu, and others, who are the source of all vices, be considered (supreme) gods?
Cows are animals, they often eat excrement, they frequently engage in sexual intercourse with their own offspring, and they kill living beings with their horns when the opportunity arises. How can they be considered worthy of worship? "They give milk," you say. If that is the reason for worshipping them, then why not worship buffaloes, which also give milk? There is no special difference between a cow and a buffalo. If you consider the cow to be the abode of every pilgrimage, sage, and god, then why do you milk them? Why do you kill them and sell them? And if you consider the pestle, mortar, stove, doorframe, peepal, neem, banyan, ak, and water, etc., as gods, then who has renounced them? If these things are considered divine, then their use should be abandoned altogether, and they should only be worshipped. For this reason, we have said in the Vitaragastotra: "We, who are satisfied with the gods who are manifested in the form of the belly and the genitals, are devotees of the gods. Those who have such a deluded mind, like you (Vitarag), speak ill of those who are devoid of divinity. This is truly a matter of sorrow." (Vitarag Stotra 6/8)
Now we will describe the characteristics of a good guru. 64. Those who are steadfast in the five great vows, who are patient in the face of adversity and hardship, who live on alms alone, who are steadfast in Samayika, and who teach pure Dharma are considered gurus. 8.
Meaning: Those who uphold the five great vows of non-violence, etc., who remain steadfast in their vows even in times of adversity or hardship, without succumbing to fear, are worthy of being gurus. Having established the fundamental qualities of a guru, we now describe the secondary qualities: "They live on alms alone," meaning that such gurus obtain only water and essential religious necessities from the giver householders in the form of alms. They do not possess wealth, grain, gold, silver, villages, or cities, etc., as possessions (attachment). Now we describe the qualities that are the cause of the guru possessing both fundamental and secondary qualities: "They are steadfast in Samayika." They remain stable in the practice of Samayika. Only by being established in Samayika can they be capable of upholding a character that is free from the duality of fundamental and secondary qualities. This is a common characteristic of all monks. Now we describe the extraordinary characteristic of a guru: "They teach Dharma." True gurus teach pure Dharma, which is in the form of the Dharma-sutra-charitra, free from the defilement of attachment, or the Dharma that is free from the duality of the relationship between the virtuous and the listener. For this reason, we have stated in the Abhidhanachintamani lexicon: "A guru is one who teaches Dharma." A guru who imparts the true (wonderful) meaning of the scriptures is called a guru. 8.
Now we will describe the characteristics of a bad guru. 65. Those who desire everything, who eat everything, who possess possessions, who are not celibate, and who teach falsehood are not gurus. 9.
Meaning: Those who desire everything, such as women, wealth, grain, gold, land, houses, and four-legged animals, in return for teaching, etc., who collect all kinds of things, necessary and unnecessary, and claim them as their own, who are omnivorous, eating anything they can find, such as meat, alcohol, intoxicants, rotten food, and endless food, who possess possessions such as land, property, women, and children, and who are not celibate due to these possessions, are not gurus. 1. How can a Jain monk who claims ownership of villages, devotees, and pilgrimages be considered a Jain monk?