(Anmol: A fantastic guest article below explaining clearly the dynamics between a Guru and a disciple.  Profound insight from a deeply spiritual and wise blogger and teacher Lucky Balaraman.  Find out more about his teachings and free programs here: http://calmandcool.com/4-part-course.

If you would like to be a guest author on Master of Meditation and Yoga, please email me at anmol@anmolmehta.com).

On Becoming Guru-Independent

By Lucky Balaraman

If you have placed yourself under a spiritual teacher’s (aka a guru’s) wing for spiritual enlightenment and make steady progress, dependence on the guru will cease at a certain stage. This article illustrates this phenomenon with an analogy.

You go to a guru to find inner peace. Your motivation for going to a guru is usually mental unrest or powerful curiosity; the guru helps you experience the basic you, the source of unshakable peace already in your being (two of the several other names of the basic you are “Consciousness” and “Awareness)”.

The guru uses various methods to teach you over time, during which period you are typically dependent on him for immediate solutions to your ongoing mental turbulence. You consult him frequently, often perhaps on an emergency basis.

Your guru tirelessly answers your questions and encourages you. You listen to him carefully, ponder over what he has said, practice what he has prescribed and gradually realize what he has tried hard to point out to you. Finally comes the point where you have enough wisdom to continue evolving on your own.  You have reached lift-off velocity.

Your guru is happy when this happens, because his spiritual child has grown into a fine adult.

There is a well-known analogy to this, one that conveys deep understanding of the concept.

In the analogy, you are out on a dark night wondering where the moon is. A friend (your guru) who has come along says, “Wait, I can help you. I’ll show you where the moon is. Do you see the silhouette of that tree over there?”

You say, “Yes.”

Your friend adds, “See the first branch on the left? It’s about 15 feet up from the ground.”

“Uh-huh,” you say, “I see it.”

Then the friend says, “Do you see that fork in the branch, about five feet along it?”

You say, “Yes, I see the fork… “

The friend then says, “Now look between the arms of the fork. Do you see the moon there?”

You look between the branches, find the moon and say, “Wow, yes, I see it, thank you!”

After this you do not need your friend’s help to find the moon… you know how to locate it yourself.

In the same way, your guru shows you the way to the basic you through his teaching. Once you have learned how to sufficiently identify with the basic you, you can dive deeper into it without depending on your guru because he has made you mentally robust. He has also trained you to be adept in relevant tools such as meditation and detachment.  Diving deeper becomes an effortless, fond pursuit.

May the day you see the moon in the fork of the tree come soon!

About the author:

Lucky Balaraman has learned about being one with the Universe from a living sage over several years.  He passes on his learning to you in his free course at http://calmandcool.com/4-part-course. He hopes you will try it out.