guru

THE GURU IS THE GOAL

June 1937

Visitor: I have been following a certain school of thought, which completely dispenses with gurus. But after many years of deep thinking, I have now come to the conclusion that a guide is absolutely essential on the difficult path which leads to spiritual liberation. I take Bhagavan to have reached the Highest, and so I beg of him to enlighten me.

Bhagavan: All scriptures recommend spiritual teachers. The guru is none other than the goal men seek, the Self. As the seeker’s mind is bent outward, the Self takes a human shape as a guru to help driving it inward. Thayumanavar says that God, Self, or Guru appears as a man to dispel the ignorance of man, just as a deer is used as a decoy to capture a wild deer. He has to appear in a body in order to dispel the “I-am-the-body” notion of the seeker.

- Guru Ramana