Guru

Published on 22nd May, 2021, in Mumbai Mirror. Buddhism speaks of the discourses given by the Buddha to thousands of monks, nuns and lay people at Jetavana. Jainism speaks of samavasaran, when the Tirthankara reveals Jain wisdom to all creatures, earthly and heavenly, who sit around him in a circle. Jewish folk speak of Moses speaking from atop Mount Sinai. Christians speak of Jesus delivering the sermon on the mount. Muslims speak of Muhammad giving his final farewell sermon after his first Haj pilgrimage after the conquest of Mecca. But Hindus? Do Hindu gurus give sermons? Yes, in the 21st Century. Following the Buddhist and ..

Published on 10th January, 2021, in Mid-day. The idea of guru being greater than mother, father, even God, is an idea that emerges from medieval times and is articulated in the “Guru Gita”, a conversation between Shiva and Shakti from the Skanda Purana. This chant is very popular today but was not popular in Vedic times, when the guru was essentially acharya (teacher) who was paid fees (dakshina) for his services. The idea of the charismatic guru, chased by fans and followers, starts with Buddha whose students submitted (sharanam) to him and followed him, until the day he died. This idea recurs in Vajrayana Buddhism ..

Published on 1st March, 2020, in Mumbai Mirror For many people, ‘guru’ is no different from a church elder, or even a prophet. Just as a prophet has direct access to God and communicates God’s will to people, many people believe that their guru has direct access to the divine and presents the wisdom of God to them. If the guru becomes a prophet, then his ashram becomes the church and the satsang that he presides over becomes the congregation, where the knowledge of the God is transmitted to people. The holy book then becomes the guru’s most favoured book, either the Isha Upanishad or ..

Published on 15th December, 2019, in The Economic Times Nowadays, India is full of gurus. Most are self-appointed, but their followers insist their guru has magical powers, that he was initiated and anointed by secret mystical forces. There was a time when a holy man got his legitimacy from his lineage... Is there a key performance indicator that points to a Buddha? How does one know if someone is awakened or not? Is there a global registration body, one that objectively declares if someone is a realised or enlightened? Is there a test to confirm if someone is truly omniscient or has experienced nothingness or ..

Published on 13th May, 2018, in Mid-day. In the beginning, people said homosexuality is unnatural. Then scientists showed them that hundreds of species of animals do indulge in homosexuality. So people started saying homosexuality may be natural, but it is best restricted to animals. Amongst humans, it is a social disease. This unscientific understanding is popularised by many religious leaders, who are clueless about science, though they insist that the Vedas/Quran/Agama/Tripitaka/Talmud are essentially scientific. These religious leaders fall into two categories. The first category is the 'liberal' guru who says sex is great for spirituality, provided it is heterosexual. The second category is the 'conservative' ..

Published on 11th September, 2017, in Outlook. It is human to try and understand nature and use that knowledge to improve the quality of life. The forager did it. The hunter did it. The fisherman, the herdsman and the farmer did it. But where does nature end? Does it exist bey­ond sight and sound? Beyond senses? Who can access this world beyond name and form? In tribal society, there was the shaman. In Chinese society, the shaman became king, for he had the ‘Mandate of Heaven’ to rule. In Greek soci­ety, kings claimed that their father, or mother, was a divine being. It made them ..