Lineage of gurus (guru parampara)
The first question to ask is: Who is your guru? A guru must belong to an authentic lineage of gurus (guru parampara), which originated from Shiva. In Secret of the Siddhas, Baba Muktananda, the famous disciple of Nityananda of Ganeshpuri, traced his lineage to Shiva, the original guru: "From Shiva came Vasugupta, Somananda, Utpalacharya, Lakshmanagupta, Ramakantha, Abhinavagupta, Kshemaraja, Yogaraja, Kallata, Pradyumna Bhatta, Prajnarjuna, Mahadev Bhatta, Srikantha Bhatta, Bhaskara, and other Siddhas." Baba continued: "Ishwara Iyer was a great yogi who had practiced austerities. He was an enlightened Siddha Guru....The one who loved him above all was Nityananda." Thus, other Siddhas include Ishwara Iyer and his disciple, Nityananda of Ganeshpuri.
There are two terms: Sadguru and guru. The inner Guru is called Sadguru or Guru (notice the upper case "G") whereas the outer guru is simply called guru (notice the lower case "g").
The outer guru is necessary for initiation. It is said, "shaktipat ev diksha" meaning shaktipat alone is initiation. Without a divine initiation (shaktipat, spiritual birth, or rebirth) from a guru, no Samadhi (enlightenment) is ever possible. One who can give shaktipat initiation is called a guru. "Saktipatasca vedhakaksamasca guruh," meaning the guru is one who can transmit his shakti into the disciple. Shaktipat gurus are rare.
An individual may be a 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.
Shiva Sutra Vimarshini states: "Guru paramesvari anugrahika shakti," which means that Guru (Sadguru or inner Guru) is the grace-bestowing Power (shakti) of God. Thus, Sadguru (inner Guru) is the Power that flows through a particular individual called guru. In other words, Sadguru is never an individual. Just as milk can be transferred from one vessel to another, so also the grace-bestowing Power is transferred in a guru-disciple succession (guru parampara). This Power is transmitted through shaktipat by look, touch, sound, or thought of an outer guru.
One meaning of the word "guru" is mother. Just as there can be no child without a mother, there can be no disciple without a guru. Like a mother, a guru gives birth; this birth takes place when an individual soul is united with the universal Spirit. With that union, a great experience happens. In that union, you transcend both your physical body and mind, and experience absolute reality. That experience is transcendental. We know that hallucination exists, but transcendental reality also exists.
Sri Guru Gita, a sacred hymn in the Skanda Purana, fully describes what a Guru is, and its recitation invokes a divine state within.
"The guru radiates power, peace, joy and bliss to the disciple in response to his thoughts. He is bathed in the powerful current of magnetism. The stream of spiritual electricity flows steadily from the preceptor to his disciple, just as oil flows from one vessel to another. The disciple can imbibe or draw from his guru in proportion to his degree of faith. Whenever the disciple sincerely meditates upon his guru, the guru also actually feels that a current of prayer or sublime thoughts proceeds from his disciple and touches his heart. He who has the inner astral sight can clearly visualize a thin line of bright light between the disciple and the guru, which is caused by the movement of the vibrations of sattvic thoughts, in the ocean of Chitta." —From Concentration and Meditation by Swami Sivananda, pp. 67–68.
There are two terms: Sadguru and guru. The inner Guru is called Sadguru or Guru (notice the upper case "G") whereas the outer guru is simply called guru (notice the lower case "g").
The outer guru is necessary for initiation. It is said, "shaktipat ev diksha" meaning shaktipat alone is initiation. Without a divine initiation (shaktipat, spiritual birth, or rebirth) from a guru, no Samadhi (enlightenment) is ever possible. One who can give shaktipat initiation is called a guru. "Saktipatasca vedhakaksamasca guruh," meaning the guru is one who can transmit his shakti into the disciple. Shaktipat gurus are rare.
An individual may be a 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.
Shiva Sutra Vimarshini states: "Guru paramesvari anugrahika shakti," which means that Guru (Sadguru or inner Guru) is the grace-bestowing Power (shakti) of God. Thus, Sadguru (inner Guru) is the Power that flows through a particular individual called guru. In other words, Sadguru is never an individual. Just as milk can be transferred from one vessel to another, so also the grace-bestowing Power is transferred in a guru-disciple succession (guru parampara). This Power is transmitted through shaktipat by look, touch, sound, or thought of an outer guru.
One meaning of the word "guru" is mother. Just as there can be no child without a mother, there can be no disciple without a guru. Like a mother, a guru gives birth; this birth takes place when an individual soul is united with the universal Spirit. With that union, a great experience happens. In that union, you transcend both your physical body and mind, and experience absolute reality. That experience is transcendental. We know that hallucination exists, but transcendental reality also exists.
Sri Guru Gita, a sacred hymn in the Skanda Purana, fully describes what a Guru is, and its recitation invokes a divine state within.
"The guru radiates power, peace, joy and bliss to the disciple in response to his thoughts. He is bathed in the powerful current of magnetism. The stream of spiritual electricity flows steadily from the preceptor to his disciple, just as oil flows from one vessel to another. The disciple can imbibe or draw from his guru in proportion to his degree of faith. Whenever the disciple sincerely meditates upon his guru, the guru also actually feels that a current of prayer or sublime thoughts proceeds from his disciple and touches his heart. He who has the inner astral sight can clearly visualize a thin line of bright light between the disciple and the guru, which is caused by the movement of the vibrations of sattvic thoughts, in the ocean of Chitta." —From Concentration and Meditation by Swami Sivananda, pp. 67–68.
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