The Guru Hook-Up

Advanced gurus transmit enlightening energy of their tradition. They don't generate it- they serve as conduits for the living knowledge to flow. This is the famous of shaktipat, the " decent of spiritual power". You work very, very hard making very sincere effort to attain higher states of divine awareness. When you can't go any further by yourself, the guru does the hook-up, plugging you into the cosmic circuit box and - zap!- you spontaneously rocket into a higher orbit of being.

Swami Rama Bharati told me about his experience. He was so discouraged with his lack of progress in meditation after years of sincere effort that he actually felt suicidal. His guru, the great master Bengali Baba, called him to his side, touched his forehead and for the next nine hours, Swami Rama sat motionless in the highest state of bliss he had ever experienced.

My own experience with Hindu gurus have often been intensely frustrating. This is because I come from the Western academic tradition where teachers exist to give information. You ask a straight question, you get a straight answer. I'll tell you right now that if you want to get a straight answer out of a Hindu guru, you're better off going to dental school and learning to pull teeth.

In the Hindu tradition, gurus don't see their role as imparters of information. Their goal is not to help you become a brilliant authority or a Ph.D. their goal is to make you a sage. To awaken your intuitive powers so that you can find the answers in the inner world yourself. In Hinduism, it's said that a guru's greatest achievement is to propel a disciple to even greater levels of spirituality than the guru's own.