Beware of false Gurus!

● "Fie on such gurus and disciples !" ●

Question:

गुरुर्ब्रह्मा गुरुर्विष्णुर्गुरुर्देवो महेश्वरः।

गुरुरेव परं ब्रह्म तस्मै श्रीगुरवे नमः॥

- ‘The Guru is Brahmaa, the Guru is Vishnu, the Guru is the Almighty Lord, the Guru is even Brahma (Great Lord); therefore, we bow unto the Guru.’ - Is this kind of Guru-worship right? Is it right to drink the water in which his feet have been washed, to obey him in all things, to look upon him as Vaaman (an incarnation of the Deity) if he be covetous, as Narasingh (half man and half lion - incarnation of God) if he be wrathful, as Rama, if he be attached to worldly things, as Krishna, if he be sensual, never to lose faith in him commit whatever sin he may, to believe that every step one takes in going to see his guru or a sant (so-called holy person) is as meritorious as the performance of an Ashwamedha Yajna? Answer: No, it is not right. Brahmaa, Vishnu, Maheshewara and Para-brahma are all names of God, the guru can never equal Him. This book (from which the verse quoted above has been culled), called Guru-gitaa which teaches the great sanctity of the guru, is the work of some pope. It inculcates extremely popish practices.

The true gurus are one's father, mother, tutor, and atithis (altruistic teachers). To serve them and acquire knowledge and culture from them is the duty of the children and pupils, but if a guru be covetous, worldly, sensual or possesses a nasty temper these men (i.e. the so-called gurus or holy men) should be left alone (but it is the duty of the king) to correct these men first by gently admonition, if still intractable to inflict bodily punishments or ever to put them to death. There is nothing wrong in punishing them. Such men do not become gurus by virtue of possessing learning and other good qualities. They are false gurus who tie strings of beads round the necks of their (chelaas) dupes, make marks on their foreheads called tilakas, and teach mantras (mystic words), etc., quite oppose to the teachings of the Vedas. They are not gurus but shepherds, because just as shepherds keep goats and sheep for the purpose of obtaining milk, etc., likewise these so-called gurus have male and female disciples (chelaas and chelis) in order to strip them of their money with which they enjoy themselves.

It is said of them by some one:

गुरु लोभी चेला लालची, दोनों खेलें दाव।

भवसागर में डूबते, बैठ पत्थर की नाव॥

- 'The greedy guru and the avaricious disciple play tricks with each other. They are drowned in the sea of misery (like those who try to cross the sea in a boat made of stone).'

The Guru thinks that his male and female disciples are sure to give him something, whilst the latter think that even if the guru is of not other use he is good enough for swearing (falsely) by or for obtaining absolution from sins. They are both selfish and embodiments of hypocrisy. They get drowned in the ocean of misery in this world like those who try to cross the sea in a boat made of stone. Fie on such gurus and disciples. Let no one associate with such persons, but whoever does so, will sink to the greatest depths of misery. The imposture of these shepherd gurus is just like that of the Pauranic priests. They are extremely selfish people. Those who have the good of the public at heart may have themselves to suffer, but never do they cease doing what is good for the world. Both the guru-maahaatamya (doctrine of the sanctity of the person of the guru) and the Guru-gitaa are the inventions of these immoral, wicked gurus. [Light of Truth: by Maharshi Dayananda Saraswati]