Rajgeeta English Translation and Comentry on Atmasiddhi Shastra

Author(s): Shrimad Rajchandra, Manu Doshi
Publisher: Shrimad Rajchandra Mission

Page 47

Introduction
two stanzas. But the question is, 'How to come across the Guru, who satisfies the criteria specified in stanza 10?' There was shortage of true Gurus even in good times. It is therefore no wonder that they would be very rare in the present declining period. If some of them exist, they are likely to stay away from the society. It would therefore be improbable to come across a true Guru. Under these circumstances 'Who to rely upon' would be a problem for spiritual aspirants.
This stanza points out the way for the aspirants in absence of a true Guru. That is meant only for the deserving aspirants. It states that the aspirants, who have gained adequate spiritual background, can depend on the right books when a true Guru is not available. The spiritual books, which deal with the existence of soul, its everlastingness, its acquiring of Karma, bearing the consequences and liberation, can be helpful to the deserving aspirants.
It should be noted that such books cannot take the place of an enlightened Guru. A spiritual aspirant can, however, continue his progress by resorting to such books in absence of a true Guru. Then he will stay vigilant and be more qualified to receive the directions from a live Guru; and that can lead to self-realization.
A word of caution is needed here. There are a number of books that purport to deal with the soul and spiritual aspects. Many of them are not written with right perspective and therefore cannot be relied upon. Only those, which have been written by the reliable persons, can be depended upon. The persons, who can thus be relied upon, are called Äpta. That term denotes the persons who have no interest other than well being of our soul. Such
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