[Advaita-l] Swami Nithyananda

[V Subrahmanian]

One crisp answer to this question is provided by Shankaracharya:

को गुरुः ?  [Who is a Guru?]

अधिगततत्त्वः, शिष्यहिताय उद्यतः सततम् [He who has Realized the Truth and
always strives for the supreme welfare of the disciple.] (The opening
question-answer in His प्रश्नोत्तररत्नमालिका 'A jewelled necklace of
questions and answers')

This definition is so crisp and deep in meaning that none can improve upon
it.

Mahasannidhanam, HH Sri Vidyatirtha SwamigaL of Sringeri Peetham has
rendered a benedictory talk, अनुग्रहभाषणम्, on the theme of the Ideal Guru.
He takes up a verse composed by Sri Vedanta DeshikaH and expounds on it word
by word for a full hour.  The verse and the meaning, in brief, is:

सिद्धं सत्संप्रदाये स्थिरधियमनघं श्रोत्रियं ब्रह्मनिष्ठं
सत्त्वस्थं सत्यवाचं समयनियतया साधुवृत्त्या समेतम् ।
दम्भासूयादिमुक्तं जितविषयगणं दीर्घबन्धुं दयालुं
स्खालित्ये शासितारं स्वपरहितपरं देशिकं भूष्णुमीप्सेत् ॥ (न्यासविंशतिः १)

It is such an elaborate and involved description of an ideal guru that the
Jagadguru delves into its meaning giving examples for each of the traits.
Below are enumerated the various traits that Sri Vedanta Deshikar has stated
there:

1. सिद्धं सत्संप्रदाये - He is established in a lofty sampradAya.
2. स्थिरधियं - He is endowed with a firm mind.
3. अनघं - He is sinless; the tendency to sin are absent in him.
4. श्रोत्रियं ब्रह्मनिष्ठं - He is well versed in the ShAstram and is
established in Brahman, owing to his realization of the Supreme.
5. सत्त्वस्थं - His sattva guNa is very strongly developed.
6.  सत्यवाचं - He is committed to speaking the truth.
7. समयनियतया साधुवृत्त्या समेतम्  - His conduct is dictated by the demands
of the occasion and the confines of the scripture-prescribed rules and
regulations.
8. दम्भासूयादिमुक्तं - He is free from the common defects of ostentatious
display, envy, etc.
9.  जितविषयगणं - He is a master of his senses; not a slave of the
sense-organs/objects.
10.  दीर्घबन्धुं - He is an all-time friend/relative/support/solace (to
those who relate to him)
11.   दयालुं - He is compassionate
12.  स्खालित्ये शासितारं  - When there is a slip, he is quick to correct it.
Here the 'slip' is with reference to the disciple; going by the qualities
described above, a slip in his case is ruled out.
13. स्वपरहितपरं - He is always intent upon the supreme welfare of himself as
well as the others (disciples, etc.)

देशिकं भूष्णुमीप्सेत् - One  aught to (I) reverentially worship such an
exalted Guru.
There appears to be a पाठभेदः or an error while rendering the Speech in
print:
For the last word भूष्णुमीप्सेत् there is another rendering:
भूष्णुरीप्सेत्.  It looks like, going by the 'I ....worship' meaning, it has
to be ...ईप्से.  If it is 'One aught to...', then the existing reading seems
alright.  Suggestions/corrections are welcome.

One can see the verse to be a 'total' definition of an Ideal Guru.  All the
various qualities that some members suggested with regard to a 'good' Guru
are eminently incorporated in this Master Definition.  One can also
appreciate that Shankaracharya's crisp definition stands expatiated in this
verse with great sincerety and imagination.  Our humble Pranams to the Great
Acharyas.

[At the end of the discourse, the Acharya asks a question: This verse is
that of Sri Vedanta Deshika.  Is he not a VishiShTAdvaitin?  And He replies:
For Me whatever is in accordance with the Shruti is agreeable/acceptable.]

This speech is transcribed in the Tamil book: Mukti Neri முத்தி நெறி
publshed by Sri Vidyatirtha Foundation, Chennai. Rs.30, containing 16 of His
speeches with copious quotations and appropriate references in Sanskrit and
Tamil.

श्रीसद्गुरुचरणारविन्दार्पणमस्तु


On Sun, Mar 21, 2010 at 8:25 PM, Anbu sivam2 <anbesivam2 at gmail.com> wrote:

> "A person who acquires Yoga siddhis is not necessarily a good guru."
>
> Who is a good Guru?  I would like to know how you certify a Guru as Good,
> bad and neutral - both Yogic and otherwise.
>
> Regards,
> Anbu
>
> On Fri, Mar 19, 2010 at 12:33 PM, Vidyasankar Sundaresan <
> svidyasankar at hotmail.com> wrote:
>   > Hi,
> > >
> > > This is was a nice and neutral article....
> > >
> > > Though one thing that has always perplexed me...
> > >
> > > Why do all these gurus, who have achieved all these siddhis fall into
> > > this trap....
> > >
> > > One of the biggest thing that a yogi is said to accomplish is strong
> > > intuition, and a developed third eye, which means he can kindof look
> > > into the future.... that is one of the biggest power all spiritual
> > > gurus claim..
> > >
> > > If that is so, why do they fall into such trap...
> > >
> > > I am very curious to discuss this... any comments are most welcome.
> > >
> > > Thanks
> > > Hitanshu
> > >
> >
> >
> > Without commenting on the particular instance of the scandals currently
> > associated with this Swami Nityananda, let me just make a few general
> > comments.
> >
> >
> >
> > 1. A person who acquires Yoga siddhis is not necessarily a good guru.
> > 2. A person who acquires some Yoga siddhis is not necessarily a master
> >   of all Yoga siddhis.
> > 3. Even a person who has mastered all the powerful Yoga siddhis is not a
> >   role model if he has not given up attachment to sense objects.
> > 4. The powers that gurus claim and the powers that they actually have
> >   can be very different things! It is up to those who are looking for
> > gurus,
> >   to check for the gap between what is claimed and what is actually
> there.
> > 4. A person who wears saffron robes, but does not have a time-tested and
> >   authentic guru-paramparA behind him/her, has to be treated with
> caution.
> > 5. My own thumb-rule: if some person amasses a lot of material wealth and
> >   fame within a few years of arriving in public as a guru, or if some
> guru
> > has
> >   a penchant for being in the news all the time, it is suspicious, to say
> > the
> >   least. Guru-dom is not a tradeable commodity to be marketed and
> > publicized
> >   via media outlets.
> >
> >
> >
> > I am engaging in this thread not because this topic of is worthy of
> > discussion
> > here, but only because this list has a lot of sincere seekers after
> truth,
> > who
> > may have similar questions in their minds.
> >
> >
> >
> > Regards,
> >
> > Vidyasankar
> >
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