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Yogananda-The Second Coming of Christ
What is a guru ?
The surest way to find God is to learn about Him from one who knows Him. To follow a master whose path has led him to God realization is to reach assuredly the same Goal…
Of the total requirement to achieve salvation, it is said that 25 % is the disciple’s spiritual effort, 25 % is the blessing of guru, and the remaining 50 % is the grace of God. The aspirant should not be tempted into complacency, however, waiting to be moved by the spirit of the blessings and grace, for it is the catalyst of the devotee’s effort that makes the formula work…
A guru is not an ordinary teacher. One may have many teachers, but only one guru, who is the agent of salvation APPOINTED BY GOD in response to a
devotee’s demands for release from the bondage of matter…
to be cont’d
[quote=oak333;19372]Back to classics
Yogananda-The Second Coming of Christ
What is a guru ?
A guru is not an ordinary teacher. One may have many teachers, but only one guru, who is the agent of salvation APPOINTED BY GOD in response to a
devotee’s demands for release from the bondage of matter…
to be cont’d[/quote]
Neither can one be a guru by self-choice. He must be ordained to serve and save others by a real guru, or else he must hear in reality the voice of God asking him to redeem others…
Self-appointed gurus are much misguided by listening to the voice of their imaginative ego in their subconscious minds. Those who falsely anoint themselves as gurus, or exult in the veneration of followers who are encouraged to look at them as such, are not empowered by God nor by their own spiritual attainment to grant salvation to anyone. It is admirable to lecture and teach good principles, but without possessing the qualifications of a real guru a teacher cannot redeem souls, nor should he presume to accept others as disciples until he himself has progressed far in his own Self-realization.
to be cont’d
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Yogananda-The Second Coming of Christ
It would be folly to presume that anyone, even a Jesus, can take away an individual’s sin unless the sinner cooperates to remove that karmic consequence. A master can take upon himself some of the burden of a disciple if that devotee makes a worthwhile spiritual effort to improve himself. But most of all, a master serves in the highest way by example and teachings that inspire the errant children of God to free themselves from their bad habits and spiritual negligence…
The word “initiation” (in Sanskrit diksha), as used in India, means the same as implied in the term “baptism” adopted by the West.
Initiation by the guru is the interior consecration of the disciple into the Spiritual path that leads from the domain of matter-consciousness into the kingdom of Spirit.
The true initiation is baptism by the Spirit: coming in contact with a saintly person who can by a glance or a touch send the vibrating light of Spirit over the devotee to change and uplift the consciousness.
to be cont’d
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Yogananda-The Second Coming of Christ
The relationship of guru and disciple is not for one incarnation only. A guru, being the agent of salvation appointed by God, must take the disciple through successive incarnations, until complete liberation of the disciple is reached…
It is by the grace of the guru that heavenly consciousness unfolds to the initiated disciple, revealing the light of the omniscient spiritual eye, symbolized by the dove-through this medium one ascends from the body to Spirit…
The various processes of baptism and their corresponding effects or spiritual states should be explained.
The ritual of baptism by immersion in water originated in India, which laid stress on purification of the body precedent to the purification of the mind. Students who sought instruction in the spiritual life from a holy man had first to purify their bodies by bathing, which in itself was the beginning of cleansing the mind, by showing proper respect to the teacher, and by interiorizing the thoughts in expectation of the blessings and the value of the lessons to be received. “Cleanliness is next to godlines” is a worthwhile first lesson.Immersion in water opens the pores of the skin, letting out disturbing body poisons and calming and soothing the circulatory system. Water cools the nerve ending and sends reports of calm sensations throughout the vital centers of the body, balancing evenly all the vital energies.
to be cont’d
This is taken from the thread “Initiation by a guru”, post by yajvan.
I just quote.
Who gives you a mantra is of great importance
Diksha guru
The Diksha guru is one God Realized being.
Ritvic guru
This guru is subordinate to the Diksha guru. The person can initiate on behalf of the Diksha guru.
Siksha guru
Siksha or “instruction” guru teaches various categories of knowledge.
When you say “I need a guru” it is probably better to specify which
kind of guru you really need.
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Yogananda-The Second Coming of Christ
Life came initially from energy, then from nebulae, then from water. All seeds of life are irrevocably connected with water. Physical life cannot exist without it…
While baptism by water as a sacred rite has its valid points, including the temporary cleansing of the mind, the ceremony, to be of lasting value, must be followed up with continous lessons in spiritual living and God-contact. Otherwise, the mind begins to revert to its old habits; their evils wear away the salutary effects of the baptismal ritual…
It is the mental attitude of faith and devotion in which one receives a ceremonial baptism-whether by immersion or sprinkling water on the head-that determines the blessings received; and it is the continuity of right thought and action that assures the lasting benefit…
One can be “baptized” unknowingly by one’s associates. The would be “initiate” should therefore be discriminatively aware of the waters into which consciousness is immersed.
to be cont’d