________________
Saint Sundar Das sees guru as the purifier of worldly entanglements:
By the grace of the Guru our intelligence is refined and purified, and by the grace of the Guru the sorrows of this world are removed.
***
By the creation of God the soul descends sinto the web of this world); however, by the teachings of the Guru the same soul is liberated from the net of illusion and death (Yama).
Lord Mahavira, the great tirthankara of Jainism says:
Service to the true Guru and serving the experienced elders, and avoidance of association with ignorant people, is the path to the Spiritual Bliss.
When we look at the life of the Buddha we see that he was devoted to finding the maker of this house (body). To that end he studied at the feet of many great sages and scholars. The Buddha stated clearly our duty is to our teacher who gives us Knowledge.
The Buddha states:
The person from whom you learn the path [as taught by the Buddha) must be served (and worshipped) in the same way that a Brahmin worships the sacrificial fire.
Now we will consider some references from various texts within the Hindu tradition. It is stated in the Maha Upanishad:
It is difficult to abandon the sensory pleasures; it is difficult to see the true reality, and it is even more difficult to attain the state of equanimity [and tranquility) without the grace of a true preceptor.
327
