Banani Ray - Awakening Inner Guru

I nner Guru is an eternal power, a principle that resides within your very being. We were connected to this infinite power from our very birth. When we grew up, we lost the connection, somehow, as we were cocooned in our forgetfulness, in our habitual pattern of obsessive thoughts, false beliefs and strong veil of individuality. Awakening the inner Guru could mean awakening the infinite potential of all good and all auspiciousness within us.

We can be awakened to it now, by being conscious of it and by being more receptive and open to it. This power within us is that part of us, which allows us to experience emotional mastery, keeps us calm, gives us the right guidance, and makes us happy and confident. It makes us able to attract to ourselves all good things of life.

This era has seen massive expansion of consciousness. We are living at an age when not only old and devoted spiritual practitioners, but even young and dynamic people from almost every walk of life are searching for the meaning and secret of Life. More and more people are attracted to yoga and spirituality.

Yet, most people do not know what they are looking for, in their search. Why it is that so many seekers involved in the spiritual quest usually accomplish very little, not to speak of reaching the zenith of spiritual realization, even after years of sincere effort? The reason is obvious. If you do not know what you are searching in the name of spirituality, it will remain beyond your reach. If you search for anything outside your being, it will go on eluding you.

Do you know what it is really that you are searching for, in the name of spirituality? Is it the vision of an entity called God or Brahman? Is it a state of experience called, Nirvana or Samadhi? Or else, is it some supernatural powers? It absolutely depends upon you, what you really want. However, knowing where you want to go helps you reach the destination in a definite way. In reality, though, all searches are unconscious searches for bliss and peace, which is our real inner essence. This essence is our inner Guru, our being of limitless bliss.

Many questions arise, which almost every intelligent seeker has to confront on the path, at a certain point of time. What is the purpose of this existence? What do the words such as God, Self or Brahman, Buddha nature or Christ consciousness mean? Do all of them point to the same reality? Most importantly, does such a reality exist at all? The ancient scriptures and prophets tell us that it exists. Is it true or, is it some fabricated imagination of some fertile brains? If it really exists, why peace and fulfilment seems to remain just beyond the reach of majority of the seekers in spite of their frantic search? Is loyalty to a human Guru must for the spiritual evolution of a seeker? The answers available in the traditional books of spirituality do not seem to satisfy always. One has to look within.

An inquisitive mind is a sure sign of intelligence, nevertheless. While you need to have a humble and receptive mind to benefit from the prudence of our predecessors, you should regard with caution anything that asks you of blind obedience and following. You need to follow the path with the spirit of a scientist, with a mind unclouded with prejudices, neither accepting nor rejecting, but trying everything to see it for yourself. Belief and surrender to anything outside of your inner being brings slavery and bondage. Surrender to your inner power liberates you.

As you embark on the journey on this path, you will find that there is no well-defined route. It is a journey more like the flight of the swans that leave no trace behind when they fly. Still, there are pointers and landmarks, which, if known in the beginning, could be of immense help. In this book, we tried to give a systematic and thorough understanding of the path. We have discussed methods and techniques that will help you to awaken the inner light, the real guru existing within you. Unless the inner Guru is awakened, all searches outside would be futile, leaving you almost the same as when you started the search.

The term Guru has several connotations. It is widely used nowadays. Any teacher, in any field of expertise is called a Guru, for example, an information technology Guru, a management Guru or a music Guru. This type of usage of the word is okay, considering the indispensable necessity of having reverence and gratitude towards anybody from whom you learn something of worth.

However, in the ancient times, the word Guru referred only to the perfected master or the spiritual preceptor who guided the seeker to the ultimate truth of existence. Time has changed and, with it, changed the connotation of the word. In the modern era, it is not only difficult to find an able personal guidance in the field of spirituality to guide the seeker to the ultimate Truth; it is also difficult for the individual seeker to abandon all the responsibilities of family and society to sit at the feet of a Guru in the pursuit of Truth.

The term guru used in this book has quite a different meaning from its usual ancient as well as modern connotation. The inner Guru is a power, a principle that resides within you. This is a principle that resides in your very being, waiting to find expression to make your life a continuous song of fulfilment. It exists within you, beneath your thoughts, like a clear stream hidden under the sands, stones and pebbles. It is a repository of infinite strength, wisdom, abundance and auspiciousness. It is neither male, nor female. It is never a human being; yet, it is very much human as our most intimate and loveable friend that is ever eager to guide us to the life of glory and fulfilment, here and hereafter. It is the very essence of our inner being.

Most people are asleep to this fact. Most people remains closed off from this intimate source of auspiciousness existing at the core of their being. Unless you awaken to this power, it will be dormant, remaining only as a remote possibility, never actualising in your life as the glory and fulfilment you are destined to, the very moment you were born.

We are here on the earth for living a life of wisdom, love, joy and celebration. However, very few of us really believe and acknowledge the fact that life should never be a boring drudgery to carry on. Unfortunately, boredom, drudgery and un-fulfilment have become accepted norms of life, while, the reality should be just the contrary. God has manifested as human being with unlimited potential and unbounded freedom of choice. Whatever situations we are in, is a result of conscious or unconscious choices made by us.