Learning under a Guru

In ancient times learning anything valuable was done by going to a Guru. It was the standard practice. It was such a a standard practice that the word Upanishad means sitting near a Guru and the highest spiritual knowledge is contained in the Upanishads.

Yogic practices were handed down to generations though a master- disciple tradition. This tradition was so prevalent that people did not care to record yogic practices. It was only in the fourteenth century that the first manual of yoga called Hatha Yoga Pradeepika was written.

Even now people who are serious seekers go to a Guru. However, the word guru has attracted a lot of negative attention in the media. People are sceptical about going to a Guru. Especially in the field of spirituality. And there is good reason for it.

Some yoga and spiritual gurus have been found to be engaged in various types of scandalous and criminal activities. Unfortunately, these few frauds attract more media attention than the millions of genuine gurus who do their teachings honestly and follow all ethical norms. When it comes to occupying media space, those millions of hones gurus are out paced by the few dishonest and frauds who masquerade as gurus. Moreover, human mind has this vulnerability to quickly generalise.

Fact is that there are bad apples in every field. There are doctors who are corrupt. That does not prevent us from going to a hospital. There are teachers who are unethical corrupt, and lecherous. That does not prevent us form going to educational institutes or sending our children to a school. Same goes for music maestros. Still, those who are seriously interested to pursue classical music go to a music maestro.

Those who are seriously interested in yoga should have the same approach. Because the media highlights a few fraud Gurus, do not think that all gurus are bad and your are better on your own. Of course take all the precautions in finding a proper guru.

It is seen that people who are genuinely interested in spiritual growth rarely fall for a false guru. Even if they go to such a Guru, after a few days they find out that this person is a fraud and does not have the depth to lead others spiritually.

Earlier there were very strict standards for becoming a guru. In Jnana marga only those, who had written at least one commentary on Bhagvad Gita or any of the Upanishads using Sanskrit language were considered a Guru. These days those, who can hardly understand one sentence of Sanskrit, give hours of lectures on Vedanta. Now a days anyone can become a self styled guru. All it needs is use of certain new fancy words and lots of marketing gimmicks. What helps these shallow self styled spiritual leaders is that the new generation of Hindus are mostly devoid of any spiritual education because of the way they have been brought up. So the erudition of these self styled gurus go un-audited for a long time.

The word teacher and guru also are used interchangeably. This is wrong. A yoga teacher can teach you yoga postures in technical correct ways. But, he cannot take you near the state of Samadhi. This can be done only by a genuine guru who has himself experienced Samadhi and has the compassion to help others.

As a mark of gratitude, Saint Kabir has dedicated hundreds of verses in praise of the Guru. In one of the verses he says:

कहाँ से आया, कहाँ जाओगे, खबर करो अपने तन की।
कोई सदगुरु मिले तो भेद बतावें, खुल जावे अंतर खिड़की॥

Enquire into where have you come from (to this life)
Where will you go (after death) 
and know about your self

When you meet the Sadguru
He will tell you the secret
and open the window to yourself.  

Lord Krishna advises in Bhagvad Gita:

तद्विद्धि प्रणिपातेन परिप्रश्न‍ेन सेवया ।
उपदेक्ष्यन्ति ते ज्ञानं ज्ञानिनस्तत्त्वदर्शिनः ॥ 

By going to the knowledgeable and the knowers of the essence 
by serving them and asking them with humility 
you get the knowledge imparted by them. 

In any age it is not easy to find the real guru who will be helpful to you. However, if your intention is honest and you are hundred percent ready to take the plunge, you will definitely find your Sadguru. As they say, when the disciple is ready the master appears.

This post is a part of Blogchatter A2Z Challenge 2026

This year my theme is – Yoga A2Z