Why would you want clarity in thinking? this will only make you suffer more. A guru cannot teach you freedom, it can only evoke the awareness that is lurking within you. Which is free from negative and positive, clear and troubled. Changing an unclear thought for a clear one, does not make any existential difference. Only that presence which is ever present and beyond thinking entirely (not necessarily without, but still beyond) will set you free.
Yes you are right in your own way. But if you have clarity in your mind, you won’t keep on going thinking about what wrong you have done or are you doing the right thing, etc. That will make your life playful and thats what is needed in life. All the events in life do not hold much importance if seen from a broader perspective. So, living in the present moment and enjoying it is more important than being confused.
I see, yes true. You use “Clarity of mind” this time around, which probably to you meant the same, but it means something else for me as “Getting clear in thinking”.
Clarity of mind, to me, means that the mind itself is clear and free. Clear thinking to me means cultivating your mind in such a way that it thinks clearly about stuff. Intelligently, or logically perhaps.
But I see now that you meant clarity of mind and the total lack of confusion.
Love,
B.
[I]"No man is so foolish but he may sometimes give another good counsel, and no man so wise that he may not easily err if he takes no other counsel than his own. He that is taught only by himself has a fool for a master.[/I] "[B]Hunter S. Thompson[/B]
[I]US journalist (1939 - 2005)[/I]
Bentinho, sometimes words play with us too 
I got your point too…
Love,
Kapil
I view a guru as a spiritual mentor. Since I have had many wonderful mentors for various aspects of my life, I view having a spiritual mentor and/or guide to walk along side you on your path to be a valuable gift.
I believe gurus present themselves to us in different forms through out our life times, and that there is not one right or wrong way to practice. As long as your practice and relationship with a guru comes from a place of compassion and love and it just “feels” right to you - then it can’t be wrong.
I wish I’d found this forum years ago. I love the conversation happening here.
My thoughts on gurus…
I used to worry that because I did not have a guru, I couldn’t learn and evolve. Then I started looking for teachers, and I developed a tendency to idealize people who seemed to know more than I did about anything. This did not gain me a guru. Instead, it put me through needless pain at the hands of people who didn’t have my best interests at heart.
Then I stopped looking for teachers, and I have tried to cultivate an openness to learning. I ask questions. I often wish I had someone near by who could answer them for me or point me toward the answer, but I haven’t found that person yet. But I maintain my desire to learn what I can from everyone I meet.
Whether a person really needs a single teacher to call his/her guru, well I can’t answer that exactly. It’s possible that I’ll meet just such a person eventually. But I think what one really requires is an openness to learning, an intelligent curiosity, a willingness to admit what we don’t know. To a person who asks whether a guru is necessary, I would say that if a guru has not entered your life yet, it shouldn’t stop you from learning and progressing.
i think one need a guru…
No ever “needs a guru”. The archetype of the disciple & master represent the conscious & unconscious mind respectively. The conscious mind makes mistakes & the unconscious is always perfect. If you can truly listen to your innate instincts you’ll be healthy, happy & successful in all you do.
That misses the point of our spiritual evolution. I know, eastern wisdom does not have this concept, at least it is not attributed to it, anyway: bringing the unconscious more to the light of consciousness is exactly the aim of our evolution.
Yes, you correctly state the much higher wisdom manifested in the actions of our unconscious, than what is seen in our imperfect conscious ego. But it is a mistake to settle with it’s current imperfection, and give it up, because exactly our ego is what makes us human, and different from animals. I am not judging here, neither us, nor the animals, I simply state a fact. Sadly, exactly our ego and resulting selfishness is the root of all our problems.
I value your input, just felt the need of presenting it from another angle.
If a person is a reincarnation with prior knowledge, it is possible that they would not feel the need for a living human Guru. If this were the case, the person would know to take the first boat?
There is an inner Guru who can be seen and activated. He will grow larger when the ego is kept at bay. Everyone has an inner Guru and with the right practice, you have access to him, to see him.
Unfortunately, as the ego is such a complicated complaint, most people lose actual sight of their inner guru and he retreats back to his dormant position, waiting for you to get it right.
kind regards kareng
Very well said…
Looking back at my own very solo, silent pursuit. (Silent until now…started talking about it only recently) i can honestly say that where i have strayed off the path has been entirely down to wrong thinking. The rules are laid out to cultivate the right sort of mind to experience what a master has experienced.
I do think there are things you need to take great care about, alot depends on your strength of mind to resist and recognize temptation.
It could be argued that a person might get ahead more quickly with a Guru.
Our innner Guru can be seen and heard. Seeing is a good thing because then you are sure of his existence, some people find it hard to hear the inner voice, It requires the Ajjna Chakra but he should be looked for…his size increases or decreases according to how right you are thinking. And when you are completely wrong, he goes to his meditative, seemingly dormant position…
Kindest Regards Kareng
I meet and have gurus every day. The other evening I was drawing pictures with my 6 year old son and he said “Dad, you don’t have to make it exact”. Very intuitive and wise. I listened and my pictures improved.
I’ve even been a guru to others, in as much as I could.
Yes FlexPenguin it is true…
I appreciate and respect all your comments on the need for a living Guru.
I have to put forward the point again that there is an accessible inner Guru.
I have listed how you do it under a thread regarding the third eye, ajna chakra.
The possibility of a reincarnation with previous knowledge is also a case for not needing a physical Guru.
Developing a bright mind and finding the inner Guru and keeping him with you is all possible without a physical Guru. It requires an innocent mind that has no desires for self, laughter, no negativity in your life that you participate in.have Fun Fun Fun, laugh Laugh Laugh and then look for him.
Kind Regards Kareng
I enjoy ur posts a hell lot. They r sweetly enlightening like never b4. Does your inner mean in other word your Higher self?
Thank you …A good question Karlie, I have wondered about this point myself…? I think I have read about this somewhere …that the inner Guru is your Higher self…I don’t know the answer.
It is very odd if he is your higher self because when you meet him, he is a real man. I am a woman, why did I meet a man?
I remember asking myself a question when I saw him, was he a relative? I did not get the answer that he was. I knew he was good, but it didn’t come to my intuitive mind, who he was? and usually, when you are in a third eye state, you know the correct answers when you ask them. Perhaps I should have asked another question in my mind like are you my higher self? But I didn’t.
I didn’t get any indication of who he was but he was immensely good and his presence made my life feel warm and perfect. I experienced perfect contentment for a while. It was the most perfect part of my life.
I hope to seek him out again. But not until I have conquered some flaws I have.
Kind Regards to you Kareng
Hi Kareng.
I appreciate your response.Whatever it is, the higher self or inner guru-male or female. I think whats more paramount to apprecaite is its function and role in our lifes and making it excellently beautiful. Kareng you r like God sent cos i have been looking for someone with your kind of spiritual experience, ore importantly one who shares freely and gladly. I would appreciate and love to laern much more from you regarding spirituality(opening the seat of soul,using it to access inner wisdom etc. Its such an exciting experience, just for me to hear it let alone experience it. I am still a babe, not anything like you who is a master.
Another thing, would you like to give me alil hint regarding what these flaws could be if it aint that personal so we could where to avoid pit holes that would have impeded our spiritual growth.
Thanks a hell lot always.
Thank you Karlie for your interest. Kalie, I don’t mind sharing anything that might help in someones progress, spiritually. Of course, I only know from my experience and I am sure there is alot I don’t know about but I am happy to share whatever I know with anyone.
I noticed Karlie that you are from Nigeria. I thought I would tell you something I heard
about a man from a part of Africa and the inner Guru.
An African Senior Registrar Doctor, was working in a large American Hospital. He was working long long hours and used meditation in his teas breaks to restore his strength during these long hours of work.
One evening during his meditation, he met his inner Guru who materialized to full size, in front of him. (he was not an expert in meditation and was infact, a beginner) He thought he had a major mental breakdown at first and then realized the Guru was communicating intuitively with him, and didn’t go away. The Guru beckoned him to follow him out of the room. The Guru led him to the hospital ward that the Doctor was in charge of. The ward was where accident and emergency patients who are admitted, stay.
As he entered the ward, a woman who was very ill and close to death, had just died.
The Doctor watched her spirit body leave her body on the bed, sit up, and get off the bed, She then looked at him and the Guru and walked through the wall. All the time the Guru was stood there.
The Doctor left his job and spent time researching into why, how, etc etc. He traveled to the east and also and looked at his fathers culture and discovered the Guru is a part of the Ashanti beliefs, and of course, the inner Guru appears to you in the form of the spiritual lineage you come from. Of course this changed his life.
He said the Guru was an Ajante in his pronunciation, I have assumed Ashanti and Ajante are the same? He pronounced it with a J .?? Perhaps I am wrong in this, can you confirm this is right?
One thing I noticed from his story and mine is that he was bodily, extremely tired. I had my experience when I was bodily, exhausted, from digging over my garden. It could be why Buddhists and others pay much attention to relaxing the body and not being distracted by its functions etc. I read a few years ago a book about Buddhism that had a whole chapter devoted to the ITCH. You know, when you are meditating and you get a bodily itch.
Now, I have noticed that I am not easily distracted by my body when I meditate, this must help in achieving a deep meditation. Also if you are easily distracted by bodily irritations, then tire your body out.
I think the way he connects with you is when your mind is happy and empty in meditation and when your body is disconnected as much as possible. Then, when he has materialized, you must follow his lead and maintain a bright happy disposition.
My flaws…i HOPE…to give my inner Guru the attention and devotion that I didn’t give him last time. I was too busy, last time. Perhaps with ego orientated issues. So, I am choosing a time when I will have that time to offer him.
I have refrained from sexual activity and thought for the past 11 years, but I have only mastered this in the past 3 years. This was one of my tasks.
I need to refrain from eating meat at any time, this I am still working on…
These were/are my flaws. I am sure I have more, I’m open to finding out.
I feel the formula is simple to meet the inner Guru but more complex to keep him in his active state. I am mastering my flaws to keep him with me.
You put that you are a babe in these matters…I think this is very advantageous in meeting your inner guru. The less you put into your meditation, the better. The more innocent you are, the better. The more simplistic your approach, the better.
Make your body tired unless you are good at ignoring your body.
Choose a happy night, just before the sun sets…Just focus on looking for the little light, in the darkness in the area between the eyebrows, down to the tip of your nose. That is all.
In everyday living, put yourself in second place to everyone else.
Find positivity in all that you do, walk with little in your head but a smile. Remove as many mind irritations about life as you can. Develop your bright happy mind. A bright happy mind deals with everything correctly.
Here is another little story.
A documentary was made about a tribe in Africa. One of the practices of these people was to beat their wives. The documentary was focusing on the young women who were to be married and how some of them were fearing their potential beatings.
The chiefs wife was questioned about her feelings on being beaten. Laughing and smiling, she said that she had never been beaten because of her smile and happiness. She had been given a name that meant the smiling woman.
Of course, the practice of beating women is wrong. But I thought the statement made by the Chiefs wife, was a huge statement in that she knew that her husband could not beat a happy smiling woman. This was a very important statement. The impact that a happy mind has on people is huge. The effect it has on you, is huge and this is what my practice is on an everyday basis plus I use my light emittance from my eyes when I am not facially smiling,or smiling (the two) this has the same effect if not more so.
I don’t do anything else other than these few things.
Kind Regards Karlie… Kareng
Wow!
Really great words. 11years is a while Kareng. U must have some secret spiritual exercise u implement to have acheived this feat. We know its difficult.There is what is called Tantric sex- kind of using your sexual urges in a more productive way… For me i guess i have a long way to this kind of attainment and i guess it comes with some form of spiriual training of some sort. I still desire to be happliy married and have my own kids and a happy fmaily in the nearest future. Maybe after i have reached these goals… my focus could be reviewed and i believe am already making it easier fro myself by taking my spiritual exercises seriously. For now @ 28, am rerely not a sexually active kind of guy and have never been but these days it gets more difficult to control my urges.
About the inner guru or the higher self as some refer to it. The concept is very exciting to me, my other spiritual friend tells me of someone who askes him “WHO IS THIS FELLOW THATS ALWAYS FOLLOWING YOU EACH TIME I SEE YOU” Such things are fascinating to me and i sometimes wonder if they really happen.Some talk of the “double” concept.For me, am farmiliar with the concept of the higher self( God soul) and its function in guiding, protecting our lives. I guess the nudges,promptings,deep inner knowing,omniscience etc comes from our higher self or inner guru-as you know it.
Am very happy with your illustrations and explainations especially the one in cultivating a constant relationship with your higher self. I am farmiliar with them but you have put it in a way that’s given me a better understanding. I have learned one or two more ideas that i would incorporate in my practises-esp that of meditation. Kareng Thanks, there r alot more i stand to learn from you, cos sometimes we may have heard certain things over and still cant see the sense in it or get it to work for us untill somone else comes from know where and just puts it in a form that we would get it to easily work for us.This spiritual life is so enlightening and exciting. Living it makes your life generally so beautiful and exciting and that of others. Here is my email, should you desire to reach me personally. I’d also like yours if you dont mind.tHANKS. karlerfolg@yahoo.com