On October 5, 2024, Mr. Narendra Murty, Research Associate, BhāratShakti was invited to deliver an online talk as part of the weekly YES Talks. YES – Yoga, Education and Spirituality – is an initiative started by Dr. Ramesh Bijlani of Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Delhi Branch, based on the idea – “Yoga is education. Education is incomplete without spirituality. Spirituality in practice is yoga.” The particular session was anchored by Ms. Arunima Pathak from Team YES.
Mr. Narendra Murty spoke on the topic – Guru or No Guru? He began his presentation saying that many spiritual seekers are confused by the question. Especially because in the history of the world there have been great Masters who had gurus. Vivekananda, Sankaracharya, Kabir and Yogananda fall in this category. At the other end there also have been Masters who apparently did not have a Guru in the sense we understand the term – like Jesus, Buddha, Ramana Maharshi and Sri Aurobindo. So Guru or No Guru – that was the essential question.
Thereafter, Mr. Murty described the function of a Guru – what he does and why the Guru-Shishya parampara was held in such a high esteem in this land of Bharat. He cited Sri Aurobindo’s words: Nobody can give you any spiritual realisation which does not come from something in one’s own true Self; it is always the Divine who reveals himself and the Divine is within you.
He further elaborated that Shraddha was the essential requirement on the part of the disciple without which there could be no knowledge – even scientific knowledge. To illustrate this point, the stories of Eklavya and Dronacharya from the Mahabharata, and Satyakama from the Chandogya Upanishad were cited. The final conclusion that was drawn was if the disciple has Shraddha and a burning passion for knowledge and truth then the Divine would ensure that guidance is bestowed on such a disciple. That being a true disciple is more important than the question Guru or No Guru.
Some interesting interaction followed after the presentation by Mr. Murty.
Watch the Recording
