By Swami Vivekananda
Every soul is destined to be perfect, and every being, in the end, will attain to that state. Whatever we are now is the result of whatever we have been or thought in the past, and whatever we shall be in the future will be the result of what we do or think now. But this does not preclude our receiving help from outside. The possibilities of the soul are always quickened by some help from the outside. In studying books, sometimes we are deluded into thinking that we are being spiritually helped. But if we analyse ourselves we shall find that only our intellect has been helped and not the spirit.
This is the reason why almost every one of us can speak most wonderfully on spiritual subjects, but when the time of action comes, we find ourselves woefully deficient. It is because books cannot give us that impulse from the outside. To quicken the spirit, that impulse must come from another soul.
That soul from which the impulse comes is called the guru, the teacher, and the soul to which the impulse is conveyed is called the disciple, the student. In order to convey this impulse in the first place the soul from which it comes must possess the power of transmitting it, as it where, to another. And in the second place, the object to which it is transmitted must be fit to receive it. The seed must be a living seed, the field must be ready ploughed, and when both these conditions are fulfilled, a wonderful growth of religion takes place. the speaker of religion must be wonderful, so must the hearer be, then alone will splendid spiritual growth come, and not otherwise. These are real teachers, and these are real students.
How are we to know a teacher? In the first place, the sun requires no torch to make it visible. We do light a candle to the sun. When the sun rises we instinctively become aware of its rising, and when a teacher of men comes to help us, the soul will instinctively know that it has found the truth. Truth stands on its own evidence. It does require any other testimony to attest it. It penetrates into the inmost recesses of our nature, and the whole universe stands up and says, “This is Truth.”
These are the very great teachers, but we can get help from the lesser ones also. And as we ourselves are not sufficiently intuitive to be certain of our judgment of the man from whom we receive, there ought to be certain tests. There are certain conditions necessary in the taught and also in the teacher. In the teacher, we must know that he knows the secrets of the scriptures. The whole world reads scriptures – Bible, Koran, Vedas and others – but they are only words, external arrangement, syntax and the dry bones of religion. Those who deal too much in words and let the mind run always in the force of words lose the spirit. So the teacher must be able to know the spirit of the scriptures.
The second condition necessary is that he must be sinless. If a man wants to teach anything of dynamics or chemistry or any other physical science, he may have a gigantic intellectual strength without the least development of his soul. But in the spiritual sciences it is impossible from first to last that there can be any spiritual light in that soul which is impure. What can such a soul teach? “Blessed be the pure in heart, for they shall see God”. In that one sentence is the gist of all religions.
The third condition is motive. We should see that he does not teach with any ulterior motive – for name or fame or anything else – but simply for love, pure love for you. When spiritual forces are transmitted to the taught, they can only be conveyed through the medium of love. There is no other medium can convey them. Therefore all must be done through love.
One who has known God can alone be a teacher. When you see in the teacher that these conditions are fulfilled, you are safe. If they are not fulfilled, it is unwise to accept that person as a guru. You may go and knock your head against the four corners of the world, but spirituality will not come until you find a teacher. Find the teacher, serve him as a child, open your heart to his influence, see in him God manifested.”
JAI GURUDEV!
