Guru-Shishya relationship

Wealth, possessions and material objects are confined to the physical realm and can only bring happiness to the body. However, just as the body is mortal, so, too, are material things; whatever the body experiences through material objects perishes along with the body. But even after the body ceases to exist, mind remains. Therefore, whatever is attained on the plane of the mind continues. If it is filled with ignorance, tamas (inertia) or sensual desires, these tendencies persist across lifetimes.

Look within your mind and reflect: is your mind immersed in ignorance or awareness? Examine whether your mind is entangled in sensual desires, cravings for indulgence, greed for wealth, or attached to objects and family. If so, know that these tendencies will accompany you into the next birth. It is only with the arrival of a realised guru in one's life that chains of falsehood and ignorance are broken.

The arrival of a guru is not merely about seeing, hearing or meeting them occasionally. Meeting a guru truly occurs when the guru's wisdom becomes your own, when the guru's detachment becomes your detachment. If their wisdom only reaches your ears, and your feelings for the guru fluctuate - sometimes strong, sometimes weak - then the connection remains incomplete.


Just as traits of parents manifest in their children, guru and disciple share a bond of sound and resonance. This is not a bond of lineage or heredity, but rather a relationship of naad - the sacred sound.