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When we look at the characteristics of a true Guru as specified in stanza 10, it would be obvious that it is hard to have access to such a Guru. If one therefore gets such access, he should consider it supremely beneficial. In spiritual pursuit there is no other means that could be as helpful as a live Guru. The benefits that can be derived from such a Guru are not comparable to those derived from any other source. The worldly soul has been wandering mainly on account of unavailability of a true Guru. If one had gained the access to such a Guru, his wandering would have come to the end. The worldly soul has stayed ignorant of the path of liberation since the infinity. That ignorance cannot be removed by one's own efforts. Shrimad has therefore said (Vachanamrut # 198): "The worldly soul can in no way get to the truth on his own accord. Only on getting access to a live Guide one can get to the truth; he can make it out. He gets on the path of truth and his attention stays towards it. Whatever is done without the direction from an enlightened person leads to the bondage." Much emphasis has thus been laid on importance of enlightened Guru in spiritual pursuit, because the problems that one cannot solve by reading scriptures, etc. can be easily resolved by such a Guru. In this connection Shrimad has said (Vachanamrut # 200), "The instructions given in the scriptures are indiscernible and are meant for making the soul worthy. For liberation one needs to resort to the evident directions of the enlightened personages." Moreover, the worldly soul has been living oblivious of his faults. Those faults cannot be removed unless they are brought to the notice. True Guru can see such faults and bring them to the attention of the aspirant. He can also bring to the notice the pitfalls lying on the way so that the aspirant can remain cautious during his spiritual pursuit. Getting access to a true Guru thus needs to be considered as unique. As such, if one comes in contact with such a Guru, he should consider himself fortunate and should surrender to him with all his energy. He needs to stay in total obedience to him. Physical, vocal, and mental are the faculties with which one makes any type of endeavor. The true endeavor consists of exercising all those faculties in staying obedient to the Guru. The ignorance of the worldly soul can be equated to darkness. That cannot be removed without getting a lamp in the form of enlightened Guide. In this connection Shrimad has said (Vachanamrut # 211), "If darkness is divided into various grades, none of them can resemble the light." Similarly none of the concepts of the worldly soul, who has been groping in dark, can be true or close to truth. One cannot thus get on the path of liberation by his own efforts. It is necessary to get the guidance from a self-realized Guru. That can happen only by surrendering to such a Guru and by carrying out all his commands, explicit as well as implicit.
Ek Hoy Tran Kälamän, Paramärathano Panth; Prere Te Paramärthane, Te Vyavahär Samant.
There is only one path of supreme bliss for all the time; the practice that leads to that bliss is worth adopting. (36)
Explanation & Discussion:
