The sadguru is within.

Sri Ramana Maharishi said: The sadguru is within.

Questioner: I am always at your feet. Will Bhagavan give us some upadesa (teaching) to follow? Otherwise how can I get help living 600 miles away?

Sri Ramana Maharshi: The sadguru (the true guru) is within.


Questioner: Sadguru is necessary to guide me to understand it.

Sri Ramana Maharshi: The sadguru is within.


Questioner: I want a visible Guru.

Sri Ramana Maharshi: That visible Guru says that he is within.

If one is seeking truth then one has to indulge in deeper self-search.

Sri, Ramana Maharishi said the guru is within. so   he referred to the self or Atman as guru  not the  physical apparatus.  This seeker has to focus his attention on the self or Atman, which is in the form of consciousness.    Thus glorifying gurus’ form is erroneous, because the body and the universe are myth on the ultimate standpoint. Thus indulging glorifying and worshiping of myth becomes greatest obstacle in pursuit of truth.  Thus seeker has to identify the true self as guru and proceed in his spiritual endeavor.   The inner grace of the inner guru [self] will guide until his ignorance disappears and he realizes his body and the universe are mere mirage created out of the consciousness, which is the true self.    

Religious or yogic gurus propagate that: once a seeker identifies a Guru, he must totally surrender to the Guru and then from there onwards, the spiritual journey is fully the Guru's responsibility, not his... Hence the importance to choosing the right Guru is necessary, but in pursuit of truth the guru is not necessary, because the truth is not theoretical.  Truth has to be ascertained by the seeker on his own through a well-directed inquiry, analysis and reasoning based on the true self, which will lead the seeker to his destination.  

People who worship the guru as God in human form and there is a danger that they might establish a regular religious sect in his name.  This is an unhappy development of the religious movement.

It is better to take guidance from a Gnani and try to attain the same realization which he had, rather than spend their energies in deifying him. Let us remember that to deify a Gnani is to defy wisdom”

Hindu religious literature is full of such aphorisms as ' there is no higher deity than the Guru; the Guru is the ultimate Truth and Deity. God and  Avatars (incarnations) are secondary to the Guru in importance ;there is no higher refuge, no higher target, no higher destination than the Guru ; the Guru is God Himself ; God and the Guru are one ; he who makes a  distinction between the Guru and God is ignorant and stupid ; and scores of  similar others. They abound both in Sanskrit and in modern Indian languages.

People born in the different sect and they remain as its follower. Most of the sect are founded by some gurus, thus Indian belief system is a Guru Cult, i.e. believes in the worship of the Guru as the Supreme Deity.

 When a seeker could not get full enlightenment from his inherited belief system, then only he searches elsewhere. And tries to get enlightened himself further to clear the cobwebs of his understanding and seeks guidance to his progress.

The path of religion, path of yoga and the path of wisdom were intended for different classes of people. The wisdom is for the advanced seekers of truth. It deals with the nature of the ultimate Truth and Reality. It is meant for superior aspirants who have inner urge to know the truth and it is not for those who are immersed in earthly desires.

 Katha Upanishad:-

  This Atman cannot be attained by the study of the Vedas, or by intelligence, or by much hearing of sacred books. It is attained by him alone whom It chooses. To such a one Atman reveals Its own form.(Katha Upanishad Ch-II -23-P-20)

Mundaka Upanishad  :-

This Atman cannot be attained through study of the Vedas, nor through intelligence, nor through much learning. He who chooses Atman—by him alone is Ataman attained. It is Atman that reveals to the seeker Its true nature.( 3 –page-70  Mundaka Upanishad  Upanishads by Nikilanada)

When the Upanishads says:  the human goal is to acquire Self-Knowledge and they indicate the personal gods, scriptures, worship and rituals are not the means to Self –Knowledge, then why anyone should indulge in it. The religion, concept of individualized god and scriptures are greatest obstacle to realize non-dual truth or self-realization, because they are based on false self.  Therefore, one has to search the ultimate truth without losing himself in the labyrinths of philosophy, he should indulge in deeper, inquiry, analysis and reasoning and assimilate and realize it.  

Seekers goal is towards Self-knowledge and noting other then it. Therefore, guru is needed in religious and yogic paths which are meant for the people who are not searching for truth but they are searching for worldly comforts and temporary peace in this physical existence.  They fear of losing their physical identity and all that is connected to the physical identity. When one realizes the physical identity (ego) is false self and the true identity is the soul, which is in the form consciousness, then he realizes that the fear factor is limited to the false self within the false experience. When the self is not physical all the burden and bondage of the duality is mere mirage created out of consciousness.

 Therefore, Self-Knowledge is necessary to know the fact that, the universe, which appears is in the form of mind and disappears as nothingness (formless) is   mere mirage created out of nothingness, which is consciousness.  Thus the consciousness is the source and witness of the universe or mind, which comes and goes.  Thus it is necessary to know the formless witness of the three states in order to know the fact that, the true self is apart and  free from the mirage ,which is in the form of birth, life, death and the universe.  Therefore, it is necessary for the seeker to make sure how the three states are mirage.

The body and the world are reality within the waking experience but the waking experience is mere illusion, same way as the dream body and the dream world were reality within the dream. The dream becomes unreal when the waking takes place; similarly the waking experience becomes unreal when the non-dual wisdom dawns. 

The one who thinks himself as guru and the one who thinks himself as chela [disciple] will not be able get Self-Knowledge because both of them accepted themselves as body. And all their understanding, practices, knowledge are based on the false self.  Therefore, the Guru –Shisya concept is a great obstacle in pursuit of truth.  That is why Sri, Ramana Maharishi never accepted himself as a guru or accepted any one as his disciple, because he was fully immersed in his true self, which is formless consciousness. There was no division in his consciousness even though he was in the midst of division or duality.    

Thus by surrendering to any guru or god men is not the means to Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.  The self is the true guru. Seeker has to surrender to the self by realizing the fact that, the self is not physical but self is formless soul or spirit or consciousness. By realizing the self is not physical, he will be able to drop all the accumulated knowledge and inherited conditioning in the midst of duality and he finds freedom from experiencing the duality (waking) as reality.