Judge ananth venkadesh 01.01.2022 A Guru- Is form relevant? The word guru connotes teacher in Sanskrit. In ancient Indian traditions, it has contextual meanings with an import beyond what a teacher means in English. A popular etymological theory considers the term guru to stand for darkness (gu) and the

01.01.2022 A Guru- Is form relevant?
The word guru connotes teacher in Sanskrit. In ancient Indian traditions, it has contextual meanings with an import beyond what a teacher means in English. A popular etymological theory considers the term guru to stand for darkness (gu) and the light that dispels it (ru). In other words, a guru is seen as the one who dispels the darkness of ignorance.
The most fundamental or primal ignorance is when one is not able to recognise the true nature of one’s life existence. One basic trait that is considered as quintessential to even pursue this path is love. Saint Thirumoolar through his famous aphorism says “Anbe Sivam” (love is divine). Lord Jesus’s love commandment runs thus “Thou shalt love the lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”; “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy self.” The Quran says, “Love is not something God does, love is something God is.” Love is universal and this trait paves way for every other virtue. Mahakavi Barathiar clinches it when he says, ““c’;fSf;Fj; bjhHpy; ,’;nf md;g[ bra;jy; fz;Oh;“.
I realized very late in life that I was lacking this quality. As a result, even reading piles of books on spirituality and hearing a spate of discourses never filled up that void. I continued to remain plastic, trusting my maker to lead me to a guru.
My hope was not in vain, as into my accustomed life, transcended a ShihTzu in February 2021, the result of unceasing entreaties from my son for a pet. Instinctively, I named him “Vela”, an unusual name for a pedigree ShihTzu, without realizing that Vela was “sent” to my house to bring a light that I had long longed for.
At no stage of my life, have I cared for a pet or even attempted to pet a pooch. Unconsciously, my conscious was already adapted to Vela who seamlessly became part of the family and suddenly we felt a positive aura in the house and in ourselves. An inexplicable joy filled our hearts and our lives began revolving around him. Pet parents would only truly understand this, I suppose.
It took me some time to notice that Vela could read me through my eyes. I realized that allowing Vela to read me filled me with a happiness that permeated my very soul. These moments were divine, I have no other suitable description. I felt a glowing light all around me and there was only love and joy. Any darkness, bitterness or misgivings suddenly vanished. We come into this world with lots of love and happiness, and over the years, what we acquire is grudges, bitterness and qualms building up as sludge to shadow the soul, losing the inherent traits we were born with. Religion and god are in place to guide us and retain the essence of life. Distracted by the peripherals of religion and this term “god”, we require a guru to lead us to light, dispelling the darkness shadowing our souls.
Not in the wildest of imaginations, have I even anticipated that my guru will land in the form of an adorable ShihTzu puppy. I have read about Dattatreya, who, while happily wandering in a forest, was asked by king Yadu about the secret of happiness. Dattatreya gives a list of twenty four gurus from whom he learnt wisdom. His gurus ranged from the earth, water, sky to a fish, spider and a beetle. He explains the lesson he learnt from each of his gurus. Nature became Dattatreya’s guru and made him realize the essence of life. I never took it seriously until Vela came into my life.
You cannot find a guru. A guru finds you. If you sincerely yearn for one, he chooses you when the right time comes. The Guru is more eager to meet the disciple than the disciple is to meet their guru. A guru does not convey in any language other than the omnipresent language of love. In fact, the guru is unconditional love and nothing else. The unconditional love I experience in the gaze of Vela clears the muck and sludge that throws a dark shadow on my soul. I have started looking at the work and people around me with love and it has changed my perspective. For instance, my attempt to understand the LGBTQIA+ issue is a result of this changed perspective and without any hesitation, I must confess that Vela has indeed shown a light on my appreciation of all that is life.
Why should I even write about this? It is to reveal and revel on the strange ways that divinity works. Newton must have seen falling of things all his life, but he woke up from his reverie by a falling apple. In my case, it was Vela and in your case it may even be a crow that regularly comes and sits near the window and gazes into your eyes. I bow down to the divine grace for having shown me a guru in the form of Vela. “Hail Vela!”.
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