Do you need a guru?

[firstandlast]

Originally Posted by shivatar

I agree. but if you mean a person must practice under many gurus then I disagree.

I think a person ought to settle down with one belief system, much like marriage, and only leave once they believe that the system has nothing left to give them in terms of personal growth or wisdom.

I've sampled many religions now and many gurus and with each one I had more to go. If I go back to each one of them now, I could find enough growth and material to last me a lifetime.

the point is many paths lead to one destination.

yes many paths are necessary. But in terms of effiency, its most efficient for one person to seek many paths and when they find the one that they naturally excel at they ought to settle down and begin devout practice.

without devotion certain milemarkers of spirituality cannot be surpassed.... so in some respects the guru is absolutely essential. But only under the circumstance that one is trying to reach the highest levels of spirituality and personal development. If someones goal is to improve only slightly, no guru is necessary. If someone wants an entire spiritual transformation, the guru is necessary for all but the spiritual geniuses.

Yes, devotion becomes all important; but that doesn't necessarily limit the options in many ways--

Before, these types of religions had to be separate.. we were individualizing; and that certain aspects could not agree with others; there is depth to this-- But the nature of that is changing, and so are appearances as well as forms-- Not to say the traditional methods are not important, they are vital-- but myths are living and they do move along--

That being said, devotion cannot be avoided when we truly get down to its importance-- But that being said, idk what would call to a person-- Mine spontaneously arose, I did not need any particular system and I don't think I am much alone in this--

[firstandlast]

Plus, if someone is truly to be liberated in their lifetime; there is nothing here to be said that would stop it.. it isn't that persons effort alone, it requires the effort of everything; we are all working towards this already--

[shivatar]

Devotion ought to limit the options... a person ought to stick with one tradition at a time. I believe that is the only way a person can make progress.

I just don't see the logic, rationality, or effectivness in the "take what I want from every religion, tradition, and spiritual belief system and avoid having a teacher" system.

plus it's scattered-ness and lack of a leader or centralized structure makes it very hard to follow.

[firstandlast]

I didn't say it had to be like that.

[dattaseva]

Originally Posted by whatsername

I feel like I'm lacking direction. I know people have said to 'just be', be what exactly? (I'm joking)

I have learned (only recently) to accept and appreciate whatever feeling comes my way (whether that be positive or negative), and to sit with it. This in itself is a biggy for me as I was not one to 'feel' because that nonsense was for sissy's < which is utter nonsense. Now that I have opened my heart chakra (or so I believe) I can now 'feel' and not block, defend, deny, or repress, I am no longer scared of feeling feelings.

I'm not sure if all of my chakras are open or how to go about doing that. I didn't intentionally try and open my heart chakra, for some unknown reason it did its own thing. And now that it has opened (or so I believe as I have no other explanations for this) I'm curious to know how to progress.

As the title says... do you need a guru in order to progress spiritually? Or do I just be?

If I told you that the chakras are purely metaphysical concepts, I doubt you'd believe me. However, keeping that aside, I'll try to explain the necessity of a real Guru. Below, I've kinda stitched up various excerpts from a certain Swami whom I regard very highly. Hope they help!

'In order to attain the right knowledge of God, one must approach a real Guru or spiritual teacher.

Without a Guru, you will be wasting lot of energy and time without reaching the goal. In its attempt to find the village, the blind bull spends all its energy throughout the night without any use. Had it been in the hands of a guide, it could have reached the village in ten minutes by spending very little energy in walking the right path.

The one who gives you the true Knowledge that creates Bliss in your heart is the real Sadguru.

A mother provides food that nourishes the body of her child, which however perishes after death. But a teacher (Guru) nourishes the soul with knowledge, which is permanent over all births. Such knowledge accompanies the soul forever. The love and compassion of a real Guru shown towards His student is a million times more than that of a mother. The love of a Sadguru is simply beyond description.

The real Guru cuts all those worldly bonds that trouble the soul. If you are in the association of a Sadguru, you will be spiritually strengthened by His gospel.'

If you're interested, you can read more of the Swami's teachings at universal-spirituality.org

[shivatar]

Originally Posted by dattaseva

If I told you that the chakras are purely metaphysical concepts, I doubt you'd believe me. However, keeping that aside, I'll try to explain the necessity of a real Guru. Below, I've kinda stitched up various excerpts from a certain Swami whom I regard very highly. Hope they help!

'In order to attain the right knowledge of God, one must approach a real Guru or spiritual teacher.

Without a Guru, you will be wasting lot of energy and time without reaching the goal. In its attempt to find the village, the blind bull spends all its energy throughout the night without any use. Had it been in the hands of a guide, it could have reached the village in ten minutes by spending very little energy in walking the right path.

The one who gives you the true Knowledge that creates Bliss in your heart is the real Sadguru.

A mother provides food that nourishes the body of her child, which however perishes after death. But a teacher (Guru) nourishes the soul with knowledge, which is permanent over all births. Such knowledge accompanies the soul forever. The love and compassion of a real Guru shown towards His student is a million times more than that of a mother. The love of a Sadguru is simply beyond description.

The real Guru cuts all those worldly bonds that trouble the soul. If you are in the association of a Sadguru, you will be spiritually strengthened by His gospel.'

If you're interested, you can read more of the Swami's teachings at universal-spirituality.org

The real Guru cuts all those worldly bonds that trouble the soul. If you are in the association of a Sadguru, you will be spiritually strengthened by His gospel.'

interesting note. many disciplines of spirituality do not require cutting all wordly bonds. Including Hindu sect Tantra