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actively practicing what he/she teaches. Sant Tulsidas warns against those gurus who only serve their own selfish purposes:
The teacher who takes the wealth of a student and not the suffering of the student will go to a deep hell.
The praise of the teacher is based on the fact that one can not attain knowledge without the grace of the teacher. We now present some references from the scriptures and from the writings of various saints who have elaborated on the importance and qualifications of a true spiritual teacher:
Gosvami Tulsidas Ji says:
Without the grace of a true Guru one cannot attain knowledge, and without knowledge it is not possible to practice detachment. All the Vedas proclaim that we cannot attain true contentment without deep devotion to God.
He further says,
No one can go beyond this ocean of the world without the help of Guru.
Sant Kabir Sahab considers the help of sadguru as an essential requisite for the spiritual journey:
Without the Guru people are lost. They wander here and there in the world and cannot find the path.
*** Without the help of the Guru you cannot attain knowledge in this human birth, which will be wasted.
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