According to the scriptures of India the Guru principle originated ever since creation began. The lineage of Gurus originates from Lord Shiva, the primordial Guru.

The word Guru is composed of two syllables: Gu means darkness and ru means light. Therefore a Guru is one who dispels the ignorance of a disciple and bestows them with true wisdom.

The Guru Gita, which is a conversation between Lord Shiva and his consort Parvati sings the glory of the Guru. In this beautiful scripture Lord Shiva explains who a true Guru is, what their qualities are and how one should interact and behave in front of a master.

The sages of India always emphasize a self-realized master is absolutely necessary if one wants to learn about their inner Self. Meerabai, Kabir and many other saints acknowledge that it is due to their Guru’s grace they achieved such great heights in the spiritual world.

A master has attained the supreme knowledge and has the power to awaken it in others. They dispel all the ignorance of the mind and show us our true nature. In fact the master is not an individual at all! As Gurumaa has said a countless number of times they are the supreme knowledge or Gods-grace bestowing power!

A true master is always testing their disciples, eradicating their bad qualities and ensuring that good ones arise. Until a disciple does not completely surrender and follow the teachings of the master they cannot receive their entire blessings.

This is the reason why it is said that it is very difficult to live the Guru. But if one is able to live with such a great being they will surely reach great spiritual heights!

Renunciation or vairagya is an absolute necessity for spiritual progress in a seeker’s quest for the Absolute Truth. It is impossible for an aspirant to progress on the spiritual path without developing this quality. Vairagya ignites the yearning for obtaining liberation in a seeker and allows the extroverted mind to go within.

Vairagya in the spiritual world is a mental state associated with developing a total dispassion or detachment towards materialistic/sensual enjoyments. It arises when the seeker realizes that everything in this life is impermanent, illusionary and bound to cause misery.

Real renunciation occurs when one gives up the sense of “I” or egoism and realizes their true identity. The veil of duality is lifted and one recognizes that the supreme bliss we are searching for is right within us!

Throughout this world we see people running after money and luxuries. Even after they obtain them they are still unhappy! Then, what is real wealth?

As Gurumaa says real wealth in our lives is the spiritual practices we perform and the knowledge we obtain in the company of self-realized masters.

In the company of great masters we realize that the happiness we are searching for through worldly pleasures is temporary! Permanent joy and peace can only be obtained if we surrender and meditate upon the Lord who lives in our very own hearts!

Jagadguru Sri Adi Shankaracharya is one of the greatest philosophers of India who emerged at a time when India was undergoing a period of immense spiritual, intellectual and social chaos.

During this period Adi Shankaracharya traveled throughout India to elucidate the true knowledge of the Vedas. In his short thirty-two year life-span he united the teachings of Advaita Vedanta, and preserved the teachings of Vedic dharma.

Advaita (non-dualism) Vedanta is a school of Vedanta which believes that only Brahman is real, and this entire world is created by maya, the illusionary power of Brahman. The individual soul and Brahman are not different from one another and when one obtains realization of this supreme knowledge, they are liberated.

Adi Sankaracharya has composed many works such as commentaries, books dealing with the fundamental concepts of Vedanta, along with hymns and meditation verses. One such work is the Atma shatakam, which is also known as Nirvana shatakam.

This great hymn composed of six stanzas summarizes the teachings of Advaita Vedanta and explains what our true nature really is. Sri Adi Shankaracharya says we not the body, mind, intellect, senses nor anything that attaches us to this world.

What are we? We are the formless, absolute, auspicious all-pervading consciousness that exists throughout this entire world!

Many of those seeking fame and prosperity today have donned the saffron robe and are playing with the sentiments of innocent people. It is when a seeker in search of the true spiritual quest is unable to get the answers that he/she is looking for, that they begin to question themselves if they are following the right path or not?

For long now people have complicated their lives by giving in to greed, desires and anger. Not stopping to check what was going on inside, only trying to gain material wealth and looking for happiness outside. This caused a great emptiness deep within and then to try and fill that because all the acquired material wealth could still not give happiness, thus began the pursuit of true happiness.

The need of the hour then was that of an enlightened Buddha to show people that true happiness is lying within and the time had come to stop and check.

But the chaos prevalent in the society gave an opportunity to a few to take advantage of the gullible minds of people suffering from pain, but not willing to slow down their pace and look within. It is such people who added to the chaos by making false promises of providing moksha and happiness and opening doors of heaven for those who surrendered to them.

One such confused person came to Anandmurti Gurumaa seeking clarification to his mental trauma. In this video you can hear Gurumaa’s view’s on the issue.

It is only the realized soul which knows whether or not it has shed the baggage of all the worldly attachments and is truly free. There are no parameters of enlightenment and no official degree awarded by God to prove that a person has attained enlightenment. As it is rightly said that ‘Sadhu’ is not one who wears the saffron robe but it is a state of being. It has nothing to do with outside symbols or gestures.

As the scriptures say ‘swah samvedna’, only u know your true state of being, you know where you are. Krishna was an enlightened soul but spent his time running after the ‘gopi’s’. Rama was enlightened but he played his part beautifully, loving Sita and keeping her statue in place of her while she was in banishment. Guru Nanak was enlightened but he married. Buddha was enlightened but he left his wife.

Lord Mahavira – an enlightened one, practiced non-violence but Guru Gobind Singh on the other hand fought wars, prepared an army and stood up against injustice. He too was enlightened. Each one of these people was different from one another in worldly ways. No comparisons can be made, but on the inside they were all enlightened. They did not try and prove their state of being to others.

It is for each one to realize their own state and stop worrying about others and stop looking to find faults. Look within and all else will fall in place. Stop looking outside and take that journey inward.

Every thought is consumption of energy and due to the continuous bombardment of thoughts in the mind; most people have forgotten what it is like being in a relaxed state of mind.

Purity and calmness which were the inherent nature of the real ‘You’, then seem to be a state that can only be achieved through meditation.

Because of the clutter in the mind that we have accumulated by seeking happiness outside (when it was within all this while), one gets perturbed and anxious when one begins to experience the power of energy that lays imbedded deep within each one of us.

Only an enlightened master can help a seeker then understand what goes on in the mind and body. In this video the enlightened master Anandmurti Gurumaa compassionately explains and removes all fears from the mind of a seeker.

Gurumaa explains that when a seeker is able to enter deep into the meditative state a lot of energy is generated and when all this pent up energy is released one may feel vibrations in the body or feel the heat, it is natural. These are the fruits of meditation.

One needs to only keep in mind not to get attached to those experiences, because it may not be the same all the time. So just enjoy it for as long as it lasts and live in the bliss of calmness that follows.

What ever happens, happens due to the will of God. This is a popular myth. This theory has been spread by people who do not want to take responsibility of their own actions.

By saying so we create an image of an entity in physical form who is sitting up there keeping an account of what everyone is doing and making them pay for it. In other words, we look up at God as a saddist who brings misery into people’s lives.

God is nothing but the super conscious energy present in nature in every form. He is not bound by any Karma.

Man performs karma, based on his thought process and is accountable for the result of each action. God has no role to play in that.

The mind and body are a gift of God. How we use it is depends on our ’sanskaras’. All actions are a result of a thought generated in the mind. The result of our actions is purely our responsibility.

It is our own conscious that keeps an account of all actions and even classifies each action as good or bad. God does not give any one sorrow or happiness. It is just a result of our own actions.

This makes it important for one to be aware of the quality of one’s own thoughts, for those thoughts transform into actions and we make our own destiny, reaping fruits of our own doings.

To experience happiness at all times one needs to start living in a responsible manner being aware and conscious all the time.

Gurumaa says that Non-duality is oneness with God; while on the other hand inactivity, fruitless activity or activity which does not uplift you in any way is degrading for a human, especially for a Sadhak (spiritual seeker). So, if you are a sadhak, you need to abstain from fruitless activity and live a God-fearing life and a life full of awareness.

Non-duality is something man aspires for and if he makes the Herculean effort, he experiences oneness with God, which is the supreme act. But fruitless activity dogs us and we have to bear the aftermath of it in the form of misery and suffering. Thus Gurumaa advices us to be responsible for our own acts and be prepared to accept their outcome.

So, whenever we do anything, we must ensure that it is the right act and we do not become the doer. We must leave the doership in God’s hands and absolve ourselves of the responsibility.

You may want to know that once you have attained the knowledge and wisdom, will your past karmas still pursue you?

Gurumaa’s talks on the Bhagwad Geeta explain the different types of karmas as well as the difference between dvaita and advaita, i.e. duality and non-duality. Click here to know more about Gurumaa’s discourses on the Bhagvad Geeta.

At the same time, we must remember that it is not the self but the body which reaps the fruit of the acts done by us. So, the body will suffer or enjoy as per our past or present acts.

We cannot think that if we have enjoyed non-duality or oneness with God, all our past karmas or acts will be forgotten and forgiven and even those which we are committing today, whether good or bad, do not matter. Every action will have a result, good or bad, depending on the action.

So, why not live aware fully and think twice before committing any act, to know what the result of the act will be? Then act accordingly and you will have the satisfaction that you have not acted rashly or on the spur of the moment.

Leave the outcome to God after taking a conscious decision and performing a conscious act. This will enable us to live a joyful life, knowing that we are progressing on the right path. Along with this, keep doing your sadhana.

One never gets out of this habit of making comparisons. Man is so used to looking at everything that is outside that one forgets, that each one of us is a unique creation of God.

This habit of comparing everything that one has with what others have, arises out of the desire to always be the best.

We then tend to compare even our spiritual growth or the journey itself with that of others. This sows the seeds of expectation even in our spiritual pursuits. That too becomes goal oriented and laden with expectation.

Seeking irrelevant information and asking others about their experiences then grows little shoots of doubt in a seeker’s mind. Due to which one forgets the whole purpose of ’sadhana’ which is strengthening one’s own relationship with the super consciousness.

A similar feeling led a seeker to ask the enlightened master Anandmurti Gurumaa about why only a few ‘Sadhak’ succeed in their ’sadhana’?

To her question, Gurumaa offers a simple explanation, saying that it is a result of their sincerity.

Most people are very dearly attached to their worldly possessions and relationships. Their heart is full of desires of all materialistic things and worldly pleasures. The mind is seeking eternal happiness from all things in this visible world.

In this external pursuit, they forget that the visible world is just an illusion and nothing here is permanent. Why then foolishly seek everlasting happiness in this ever changing world? Mindlessly then one keeps chasing earthly possessions, seeking solace in worldly pleasure.

It is such people for whom, not this world but God is an illusion and they keep attending ’satsang’ (spiritual discourses) & meeting gurus out of fear of losing what they have and in hope of being able to retain all their possessions including this body.

With such a state of mind if one prays or out of curiosity if one does sadhana it is then just the passing up of time. ‘Sadahna’ (spiritual seeking) which is done with the motive of achieving something worldly is actually dishonest and does not reap any fruit.

God is not far from us, he never was. Reaching out to the final awakening is not difficult. But what about the urge, the desire and passion to do so? Honesty and sincerity are the tools that lead a seeker to higher levels of consciousness and make him a true ’sadhak’.

The others are just curious on-lookers.

It’s time now to look within and find out if you are a seeker or just curious?

When a human being rises even a bit above from the mundane things of life many questions starts popping up in his or her mind. Where have I come from? What is the purpose of my life? Who is God? Why and how this universe came into being? What is death? What happens after death?

The list of questions is endless. In this age of technology the ready made answers are also easily available at the push of a button. We may gather heaps of information but does it help us in our spiritual evolution?

We may even memorize all this information but do we gain the knowledge, the knowledge that would end our quest?

No, perhaps not. The more we know the more we become aware that we do not know anything.

The scriptures like Shrimad Bhagvad Gita hold all the wisdom and all the answers to the questions a thinking mind can come up with. But merely reading of the 18 chapters of Bhagvad Gita or by memorizing it or its lyrical and musical recitation can not quench the quest of a seeker.

Only a Guru, a true Master has the alchemy to turn this information into knowledge!

Tukaram Maharaj compiled many devotional poems, which are known as abhangs in Marathi. The compositions written by him were simple, yet had profound teachings within them.

In Part one of the satsang that took place on December 10th 2010, Anandmurti Gurumaa sings one of the compositions written by Tukaram Maharaj. In this beautiful poem, he says our body is the temple of God, and the atma or soul is the Lord himself.

Tukaram Maharaj illustrates how close God is to us by using simple analogies. He points out that the sugar in sugarcane and butter within milk both remain unseen until they are extracted.

Similarly, the Lord dwells within us and is the essence of our existence. The great saint continues to say that we are foolish to travel great distances, and assume that God is far away, when the great Lord exists inside of us!

Such a great mystery can only be revealed by those who have experienced this highest state of bliss. Therefore as the great poet-saint Tukaram Maharaj says, we should learn to explore our inner world and find the divinity that is present inside our own body!