| The importance of finding a guru who can
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| | agamic streams), that a guru is one's
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| impart transcendental knowledge (vidya)
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| | spiritual guide on earth. In some more
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| is one of the tenets of Hinduism. One of
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| | mystical traditions, it is believed that
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| the main Hindu texts, the Bhagavad Gita,
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| | the guru could awaken dormant spiritual
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| is a dialogue between God in the form of
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| | knowledge within the pupil. The act of
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| Krishna and Arjuna a nobleman. Not only
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| | doing this is known as shaktipat.
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| does their dialogue outline many of the
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| | In Hinduism, the guru is considered a
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| ideals of Hinduism, but the discussion
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| | respected person with saintly qualities
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| and relationship between the two
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| | who enlightens the mind of his or her
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| considered to be an expression of the
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| | disciple, an educator from whom one
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| ideal Guru/disciple relationship. In the
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| | receives the initiatory mantra, and one
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| Gita itself, Krishna speaks of the
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| | who instructs in rituals and religious
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| importance of finding a guru to Arjuna:
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| | ceremonies. The Vishnu Smriti and Manu
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| Acquire the transcendental knowledge from
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| | Smriti regard the teacher, along with the
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| a Self-realized master by humble
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| | mother and the father, as the most
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| reverence, by sincere inquiry, and by
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| | venerable gurus (teachers) of an
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| service. The wise ones who have realized
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| | individual.
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| the Truth will impart the Knowledge to
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| | Some influential gurus in the Hindu
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| you. (Bhagavad Gita, c4 s34)
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| | tradition (there have been many) include
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| In the sense mentioned above, guru is
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| | Adi Shankaracharya, Shri Chaitanya
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| used more or less interchangeably with
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| | Mahaprabhu, and Shri Ramakrishna. Other
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| "satguru" (literally: true teacher) and
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| | gurus whose legacy of continuing the
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| satpurusha. Compare also Swami. The
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| | Hindu yogic tradition grew in the 20th
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| disciple of a guru is called a chela.
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| | century were men like Shri Ram Chandra,
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| Often, a guru lives in an ashram or in a
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| | Shri Aurobindo Ghosh, Shri Ramana
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| gurukula (the guru's household) together
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| | Maharshi, Sri Chandrashekarendra
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| with his disciples. The lineage of a
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| | Saraswati (The Sage of Kanchi), Swami
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| guru, spread by worthy disciples who
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| | Sivananda, Swami Chinmayananda and A. C.
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| carry on that guru's particular message,
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| | Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. See also
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| is known as the guru parampara or
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| | the list of Hindu gurus.
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| disciplic succession.
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| | In Indian culture, someone not having a
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| In the traditional sense, the word guru
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| | guru or a teacher (acharya) was once
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| describes a relationship rather than an
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| | looked down upon as being an orphan, and
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| absolute and is used as a form of address
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| | as under a sign of misfortune. The word
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| only by a disciple addressing his master.
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| | anatha in Sanskrit means "the one without
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| Some Hindu denominations like BAPS
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| | a teacher". An acharya is the giver of
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| Swaminarayan Sanstha hold that a personal
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| | gyan (knowledge) in the form of shiksha
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| relationship with a living guru, revered
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| | (instruction). A guru also gives diksha
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| as the embodiment of God, is essential in
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| | initiation which is the spiritual
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| seeking moksha. The guru is the one who
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| | awakening of the disciple by the grace of
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| guides his or her disciple to become
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| | the guru. Diksha is also considered to be
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| jivanmukta, the liberated soul able to
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| | the procedure of bestowing the divine
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| achieve salvation in his or her lifetime
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| | powers of a guru upon the disciple,
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| through God-realization.
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| | through which the disciple progresses
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| The role of the guru continues in the
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| | continuously along the path to divinity.
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| original sense of the word in such Hindu
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| | The origin of concept of "guru" can be
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| traditions as the Vedanta, yoga, tantra
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| | traced as far back as the early
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| and bhakti schools. Indeed, it is now a
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| | Upanishads, where the conception of the
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| standard part of Hinduism (as defined by
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| | Divine Teacher on earth first manifested
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| the six Vedic streams and the tantric
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| | from its early Brahmin associations.
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