Guru Shishya Parampara

The Ancient Guru-Shishya Parampara

The shaastras speak volumes about the greatness and importance of the Guru. Earlier yugs saw the transference of gyan only through one way - from the Guru to the Shishya, for if Gyan could be imbibed by just reading books or listening to discourses, the Guru would not have been given the supreme place in all the yogic and tantrik practices. These sciences and their principles are so deep and profound that they have managed to remain unaltered and unscathed till date. Where there is no proof of the authenticity of the ancient texts available, the experiences of saints and rishis of yesteryears can be experienced today also, and the energies and Gyan revealed to them is revealed today also, to sadhaks who have realised who and what a Guru is and take the word of their Guru as mantra and follow it with dedication, as strict discipline, or niyama. Their journey, which begins when they meet their Guru, requires continuous and dedicated practice and followed as niyama, they culminate into yog.

An endangered tradition brought back to life at Dhyan Foundation

At Dhyan Foundation, we preserve and nurture the ancient Guru Shishya Parampara, where gyan is channelised from the Guru to the Shishya as per the capacity of the Shishya, keeping the relationship strictly sanitized of commerce (maya).

Role of Guru

In yog sadhna the Guru is considered Supreme; his glory is anant (unending), Akhand (expansive). Guru is the ultimate, for it is said that no shaastra, no tapasaya, no mantra, no form or appearance, no God or japa is superior to the Guru. By doing the sadhna of the Guru alone can one become Siddha in all the other modes of sadhna. As the path of yog is one of experience and not of the intellect, it requires a force - a guiding light to take you through those experiences.

For a sadhak, the Guru is the basis and ultimate goal of his sadhna, for it is said that one is a disciple only so long as one is a sadhak, that is to say, Shakti is not fully communicated to the disciple's body from the Guru. Till then there subsists the relationship of Guru and Shishya. When a disciple is given Shakti path or diksha, siddhi is attained and on the attainment of siddhi this dualism (the Guru-shishya relationship) is surpassed, and they are one. The root of the Devta in the mantra, the root of the mantra is initiation, and the root of initiation is in the Guru. Just as it is impossible to attain liberation beyond the reach of attributes without worship of the devta with attributes, so it is impossible to attain monistic knowledge without the worship of the Guru. In Bhagavan, Mahesvara has Himself said, "... how can that subtle aspect of Shiva, which is one, omnipresent, attributeless, indifferent, un-decaying, unattached like space, un-beginning, and unending be an object of worship to the dualistic mind? Hence it is that the Supreme Guru has entered into the body of the human Guru... if a sadhak duly worships Him with devotion, He grants that sadhak both enjoyment and liberation..."

For a sadhak there is no force higher than the Guru - such is the place given to the Guru that no shaastra speaks of anything which is superior to devotion of the Guru. Such is the importance of the Guru that in Rudrayamala it is said, "By devotion to Guru a jiva will attain the state of Indra, Lord of Celestials, but by devotion to Me (ishta devta) alone he will become swine." In fact that which constitutes the state of a Guru is undivided, perfect Brahma; though appearing in a body, it is all-pervading and cannot be limited to any point. One who misconceives the Guru as a mere human being is not even fit to be a sadhak as the basis of sadhna, the root of dhyan is the Guru, the root of puja is the lotus feet of the Guru, the root of mantra is the word of the Guru, and the Grace of Guru is the root of siddhi. There is no religious merit acquired by charity or devotion or by visiting places of pilgrimage greater than the worship of the Guru's feet, for if someone has done that, he has worshipped the three worlds. All places of pilgrimage which exist in the whole universe reside in the soles of the Guru's feet.