Originally Posted by
devotee
Namaste Kshama,
You must know if the person you are taking as Guru is genuine or fake. There is a story about a saint, perhaps Daadu, if I correctly remember the name.
Once a rich man, (let's assume his name as "Seeker") went to see Daadu to have him as his Guru. On the way to Daadu's home, Seeker found one man working in the fields. Seeker was carrying some gifts which he brought for Daadu to offer him & it was midday summer time. So, Seeker was tired & thought to take the help of that man. He approached that man & asked him to carry that load to Daadu's home & promised him to pay for that help. That man agreed immediately. He took that burden & carried it to Daadu's home. However, the house looked empty. Daadu was not there. Seeker asked that man, ". Here lives a great saint, Daadu ji. I came to ask him to accept me as his disciple. Do you know where he might have gone ?". The man smiled lovingly & said, "I am Daadu" ! Seeker was shocked ! He feel upon Daadu's feet & started weeping & saying : "Guruji, forgive me for my sins .... I asked you to carry my burden .... I am the most wretched man on this earth ... please forgive me though I don't deserve to be forgiven ... ". Daadu lifted from below, embraced him & said these comforting words : "My son, when you go market for buying a pitcher (made of mud), don't you hit it with your fingers to test if it is ok ? Here, you have come to take a Guru which is going to be the most important thing in your life ... so, what is wrong in testing the Guru ? By helping you carry that load, I showed you that I can carry all your burdens. I would have failed if I didn't."
My Guru ji says that you must be careful in choosing the right Guru. Guru must be Self-realised. He must be ordained by God for being a Guru. He also says that we attract people, Guru, friends, wife, son/daughter, employer depending upon our spiritual vibrations. So, imho, it is better to do some homework first on the Spiritiual journey & then only after a certain stage go for looking for a Guru. But that is my opinion only. There are many times when you have encounter with a real Guru just by His grace ! If that is the case, why wait ??
OM
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