I totally agree with the above statement.Quote:
The Guru need not be a human being necessarily. All Universe can be the Guru like it was to Dattatreya.
I'm no philosopher, nor am I a wannabe spiritual guru... but I can say, from my own life experiences... there's a very common mistake that a lot of people make... they think that the material pleasures in this world can give happiness... they are sadly mistaken... material pleasures can only give temporary or transient pleasure... and what is the definition of happiness? Is it a state of excitement, exuberance or exhilaration? Is it the kind of feeling you get when you're watching a match on TV, and the team that you support wins the match? Is it the kind of feeling you get when you've just bought yourself a new mobile phone or a motorcycle? Is it the kind of feeling you get when you've bought a new house? Well, how long would such a feeling last?
And another, equally - if not more important - question - what is sadness? Why do we feel sad? What does the feeling achieve? Of course, emotions provide us the motivation to act sometimes - we try to follow those things that make us happy, and we try to avoid those things that make us sad... but is it correct to think that there is an easy way to find eternal/permanent/lasting happiness in this world? The nature of this world is such that nothing is permanent - and that is common sense, I didn't need any religious scriptures to tell me that - and so, as we live in such a world, where even life itself is not permanent, we cannot find lasting "happiness" in this world.
Peace of mind, now that is a different thing. It is the absence of such things as desire, fear, worries, anxiety, anger, hatred, etc. If we can see clearly the pointlessness and absurdity of such mental attitudes, then we will find true peace of mind. E.g. even now, in the twenty-first century, gold is valued quite highly in India. I've never understood why. What is gold useful for? Petrol is vastly more useful that gold - petrol can be used as an energy source. Even coal and wind are enormously more useful, yet they are not so expensive. But gold has a certain sentimental value in India, and hence it is so expensive. But to me, it seems really absurd. Likewise, with all things in life, we attach to them more value than they really merit, because we fail to accept the simple fact that this life itself is only transient, so to chase after anything with any great fervour or zeal is utterly pointless; we can only find true peace of mind by freeing ourselves from desire. We can find a certain kind of non-attached pleasure by appreciating the beauty in the world around us, as long we don't aim to possess what we see - beauty that has existed before us and will continue to exist after us. But we cannot possess it. We can try to understand the splendour of the world and indeed, the universe, by studying science - when I read about things such as astronomy, I am simply astounded: there is a mind-boggling complexity behind everything, and yet there is a certain simplicity in it which scientists (physicists, mathematicians, etc.) are looking for, and they have had a degree of success - but most importantly, to me, such scientific knowledge is far more amazing than any religious scripture which may superficially sound supremely mystical and profound, and yet on close examination, is often found to be undecipherably vague.
It seems to me that whereas in the "West" (the scientifically and technologically developed countries of the world, including Western Europe, North America and parts of Asia-Pacific), when people have emotional/mental health problems, they turn to their therapists, whereas in India, people turn to their gurus!!! I would say again, what I said before, I don't think it's a good idea to idolise anyone. If I was suffering from anxiety or depression, I would perhaps turn to a trained, qualified psychiatrist/psychotherapist for help. Of course, just because someone is formally trained and certified doesn't guarantee that they are trustworthy. But I am more likely to trust a psychiatrist who is respected by his fellow professionals, since such an individual, in my view at least, has better credentials than a so-called spiritual guru. I would never want to be dependent on a psychiatrist in any way. If he/she was able to help me, I would certainly be deeply grateful, and I would hold him/her in high regard. But I don't think I would idolise a psychiatrist or a therapist the way some people idolise their "gurus". I wouldn't worship my psychiatrist, or carry a picture of him/her wherever I go - in my wallet, in my car, in my house, in my pooja room (well, actually, being an atheist, I probably wouldn't even have a pooja room).
I have some relatives who are followers of a certain famous "guru" in India. This particular guru appears to encourage his followers to worship his "slippers" and they wash his silver slippers (modelled on the slippers that Lord Ram is said to have worn) with milk, and they drink that milk. I personally think this is totally objectionable - a sad example of the kind of idolisation that I utterly detest.
So that's why I'm against spiritual gurus. In my view, the only way is don't trust any of them. If you're going to put your trust into anything, put it into science - at least science is open and constantly tested.
