By Sanjib Mukherjee,
Swami Vivekananda used to preach you must never believe in anything until you have first hand experience of the truth for yourself, yet he also spoke about the necessity for having a spiritual teacher to guide you through your own unique journey in life . Please share your views on where you have learnt the most…through the wisdom of a spiritual master, or through your own personal life experiences?
Glad this self-questioning/exploration has been initiated…much needed for all, I believe!!
A Master’s words are the beacons on our path… and the Knowledge he imparts to us is the confirmation of what we have learnt–it gives us those precious “Aha!” moments where things dawn on us and register! But…merely reading up His word or listening is not enough…one has to experience it, live it, and learn from it for one to have conviction in the Knowledge….then you can really walk the talk!
Dear Sanjib,
My Life has taught me a lot and made me strong but only after meeting Guruji, He has shown me the right path and direction and my spiritual journey begun , to look within and find what you seek within yourself and I believe you need a Spiritual Leader to guide you through….
Love
Kalyani
listening to my Guru ji,he gives inspiration …..Ram Ram
Listening to the guru..and then relating his talks with my own personal experience…it helps me know and understand,where i went wrong and where i went right ,in my life’s journey…!!!
When you ask for a Guru,the guru appears…
the guru is one who takes you from darkness to light.The guru will be a person, books or good /bad experiences in life.
The most imporatant thing is the grace of God you recieve through any of these gurus’ and their help in difficult times…
hi Sanjib..wishing you a morning full of gratitude..!!!!
what a beautiful coincidence after so many days i tried to do Sudershan kriya and rememberd GURUJi so much…and then a thought of YOUrs reminded me of you..and then i was singling GURU MAT PITA GURU DEVTA SONG.. as i loved that one and i saw this question now as if all nature inspiring me… See More to feel gratitude and thanks to GURU…
Living your life with no strings attached can give spiritual growth to some.. however living your life according to your Guru’s sayings and keeping faith in your Guru is the surest way to grown in spirituality
First of all GURU is not a person he is the presence, your own higher SELF.
Listening to the Guru simply means, being aware & listening to your higher self for growth of your small mind… Experiences in life cannot be stopped until you are in this body but learning from it is Your Choice
Then let it be a Guru or an experience when you start listening & learning..only then spiritual or any kind of growth is possible!
Listening to Guruji gives exponential spritual growth n our own life experiences provides a unique experiences to us only!
both have equal importance! some times d toughest situations in lyf can b understood by gur’s words or smetyms d silliest of things can b thru own experiences…n vice versa..so it depends also how we perceive things is at equal importance..
One needs knowledge to understand from experience. Guru gives that knowledge and makes it easier to understand what you learnt from your experience.
Guru can decipher your experience better than your own ignorant mind. Question is we get experiences daily, do we learn continuously from every experience?? I doubt it.
We conclude our experience as per our own convenience (Positive or negative) whatever suits us…Guru is non-judgmental, he shows you the truth. What do you think??
Guru is needed for spiritual growth. If Shri Ram had Guru Vashisht, Shri Krishna had Sandeepni rishi, Swami Vivekananda had Swami Ram Krishna Paramhans, we definitely need a Guru.
You will be able to understand and appreciate and learn from your own experience when only a Guru has kindled that thing in you to experience your own experience……………………..
Yeah, Our Experiences can help us in our “Spiritual Growth”… But only if we are Listing our “Guru” with Heart…
When one has first hand experience of the Truth then only it is truth other wise its just a concept…When we live our own Truth we remain connected to our heart space..
We grow our souls through life experiences. The soul grows through adversity & the pure gold emerges after the process of crushing & refining have taken place. We also grow by listening to gurus, reading etc etc its an on-going process God bless belinda
Spirituality is a motivator to live life. The focus which identifies meaning.
So the bottom line is, anything that motivates more; Gnana(knowledge), Karma (action), Kriya (energy), and Bhakthi (devotion). These are 4 major parts of yoga.
life experiences can be totally drastically stupidly different from spiritual experiences… if you want spiritual ones then you need a Guru who can make it happen… if you want to build on your own illusions… a stage may come when even the Guru may not be willing to guide you…
Once,my Guru did a ten minute pravachan on accepting people for what they are,and adjusting your own character and response to fit in with people around me.I started a new job two weeks later,and after listening to His pravachan,and practising it every day.My three month probationary period was over,and I was immediately promoted TWO levels higher than some people who had worked in the company for four yrs…!! AMAZING guidance at the right time….This experience was a direct result of my Gurus timely advice…and my willingness and ability to put his words into practice.As a result, I have progressed in my career with amazing progress,and am able to advise my teenage daughter in the same manner.Jai Pramukh Swamiji ki….
It Guru who gives you the knowledge and plenty of opportunities to experience> Finally you learn through the opportunities.
When you plant a sapling you save the plant from getting damaged by keeping a circular border made of metal. After the sapling grows into a tree, the metallic protection around it is removed. Similarly, a Guru protects us from experience until we are ready/ matured. He will guide us, protect us and safeguard us from the direct expereince. Once we are ready, he will slowly withdraw and permit us/ give us opportunity to exprience. Slowly we will find that there is no difference between ourselves and our Guru, we are two bodies but one soul. There is no speaking, no listening…only a common experience. When the disciple is hurt the teacher cries and vise-versa.
My own life experiences have always been my guide to spiritual growth
Hoping to find a living, breathing Guru…I am open, I am ready. Books and experience and friends and family and nature have helped me. Ready for the next step….
I would like to have my own guru, my own teacher. It is more challenging when you are alone, but easier with someone who can lead you.