A person has asked: How do you know when you have encountered a "good" guru?  Good question. Thanks.

Even though there are so many false Gurus, it is from the false ones that we come to know of a true one! There are both the true and the false in all fields, so it is not very surprising that there are also false gurus in the spiritual field.

If you are sincere, have a very good heart and right understanding, your own inner Light will guide you to a true Guru. Just as there can never be a copy unless there is an original somewhere, there is surely a true Guru somewhere.

Remember, a true Guru is not a physical body; it is supreme Power, which is omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient. Yes, a true Guru is like radar that can detect a sincere disciple from any distance. So never worry about finding a true Guru. Just make yourself a better and better disciple, a worthy disciple, and a true Guru will surely find you. Until a true Guru appears (it is said: Guru appears when a disciple is ready), it is good to turn inward and concentrate on your inner Guru who lives at the spot between your two eyebrows all the time. Pray…get in tune with your own inner Spirit. You will get messages from within. The inner Guru will help you find an outer Guru who is genuine. In fact, it is the inner Guru that is found in the outer Guru.

Commenting on a true Guru, Building a Noble World, p. 83 states: “An individual may be a true Guru, but he or she is not your Guru until you have received his or her shakti, which is a Sanskrit term meaning energy or power. The literal meaning of the word “Guru” is the dispeller of psychic darkness. Just as the darkness is dispelled when you bring light into a dark room, so also the Guru dispels the darkness that has been obstructing the passage to the highest consciousness within a human being. Another meaning of the word “Guru” is mother. Like a mother, a true Guru gives birth; this birth takes place when an individual soul is united with the universal Spirit. With that union, a great experience happens, which may take you far away to a point where time stands still. In that union, you transcend both your physical body and mind, and experience absolute reality. That experience is transcendental. We know that hallucination does exist, but the transcendental reality also exists.”