Do u need a GURU; Ego and Self-respect... Same?

Recently I received two questions vide a personal e-mail. The ensuing discussion, I felt, would be of interest to blog readers....
The sender had asked......
"Some of my questions are
How important is a guru in a seeker"s life
and
what is the difference between ego and self respect."

My Reply :
Thank u for your mail and your kind query. The question is very thought provoking and the intensity of the question can be only felt by a person who is very keen about spiritual growth, though apparently the question looks very 'general'.
The importance of a Guru can be explained by means of an example....
A blind person can go about taking his own time by 'hit and trial' method, driven by chance of luck, to hit the right path, and reach the goal.... Whereas if a person with sight (vision ... in spirituality) decides to hold the hands of the blind and gently leads the way, the path needs the least effort, time and element of uncertainity.... but ironically, in spirituality, it is the Guru who seeks the disciple, unlike the students 'applying' for 'admissions' to educational institutions, tution centres etc... this is so because the very nature of the spiritual path demands such relationship ! And shall I add... the example is only indicative and not literal, since, for instance, in spiritual path, the Guru 'enables' the 'blind(ed)' to start 'seeing' by himself, and in turn has the 'choice' to help out others (if they are willing) !
The next part of the question, difference between self respect and ego..... Self respect seeks to acknowledge the status at which we are instead of being unduly submissive...which, when mixed up with ego, tends to be unnecessarily 'assertive' to 'demand' recognition and results in 'inflating' the ego ultimately ending up in a chain process of seemingly irreversible 'karmic' bondage of ego !
Ego, has to be understood contextually, since the application of the word with multi faceted meanings is more of contextual relevance than isolated meaning.. especially, when discussing with reference to spirituality. For example, in spiritual path we say, the very bond of body and the being is due to a little bit of ego, which is essential for sustaining the 'togetherness'... which perhaps explains why some 'attained' souls just 'leave' the body and 'vanish !!' after they 'attain'. This subject instantly takes us very deep into a very interesing area of spirituality and only a direct interaction can do justice to a sincerely interested person.
The importance of self-respect can be better understood by trying to look at the situation in the absence of it... A person who lacks adequate self-respect is vulnerable to un-necessary misery inflicted upon him by people who are fond of exploiting such situation... Otherwise, self respect, in spiritual path merely means to acknowledge one's milestones to enable to progress further meaningfully instead of repeating the processess unecessarily due to(or because of) 'over-humility' !
I hope I have done justice to the question to extent that an e-mail mode allows or affords, though I find that the questioners generally feel clarified more only during 'face-to-face' interaction, like the one we had during our recent meet at the residence of Ms.Saraswathy, during first week of this month.
You are most welcome to continue... I hope 'reply' mode of this email reaches you...
Thanks & Regards,
P.S.Narayanan

Critical questions in spirituality

A beautiful gift was given to me in the form of a book titled "Dialogues with The Guru".
It deals with basic questions of spirituality presented by a great intellectual and lucid irrefutable answers given by a great master. Truly, the book is worth its weight in GOLD ! References are made to some religious quotes are for easy understanding. Otherwise the discussions do not warrant any "ism" or belief to understand.... On the contrary an open mind without any belief of any sort would help better to grasp the subtle truth conveyed through these dialogues
I welcome any discussion on the contents of this book from blogger community...

How to Fit in 'spiritual quest' within our routine.....

Though caught in a routine life out of responsibilities of all kinds, and a genuine concern for shouldering those responsibilities, it is gratifying to note there are people who are very much interested in finding a 'tool' that will help them to remain 'hooked' on to their spiritual interests ! It is the very quality of this search that hastens the pace of their search! It is quite reasonable that those who depend on performance of routine responsible jobs expect that the people on spiritual quest are not 'forsaking' their priorities, and that the seekers try to accomodate the concern of those who depend on them is all the more reasonable.

Worry about "Worrying" !!!!!

There was a query "why do I worry about something, especially when others who ought to or also should have worried do not seem to be inclined even to consider worrying about it 'at present'?......". Well, at the outset, I am inclined to view this person with a quality which has a positive potential rather than the so called 'negative' pessimism ! Perhaps right now all he has to do is to view at why he should not 'worry' right now 'about worrying' ! In fact, it is not the "worrying factor" at all that is the cause of his 'worry'. He is 'concerned' about something which others fail to even 'look' at due to lack of farsightedness. He becomes an object or target of 'criticism' for his 'worrying' only because he has 'aired' his concern at a wrong- place, time, or with people. Wrong thing at the right time, right thing at the wrong time/place/people ..... are very commonly used phrases to explain why things are not understood properly !
I am aware, I am evoking more questions rather than answering the basic one in the title.
I humbly bow to the great master Socrates, for having given this methodology for my kind of 'breed' of people, who are at once 'at home' with this tool!
Well folks, "shoot" your reactions.
With "worrying" regards,
P.S.NARAYANAN

Is spirituality "leisure dependent" ?

"I have no leisure" , is what the mind says (one of the reasons), whenever confronted with even a weak urge from within to take a look inwards to find out what is happening to our life !
So please see if it is so that spirituality is 'leisure-oriented' ?
I shall be glad to look at it 'together' with you when I hear your views, comments, or even innocent but experientially true queries.
You may also visit at - http://psnarayanan.rediffiland.com
Regards,
P.S.Narayanan

Is this "body" of yours really yours?
Our 'R.V.' has given his views...........
We invite your views on his .........
R.V. SAYS........(QUOTE)
As everybody should know, this body of ours is not our body. It has been given to us by our parents. We have not done anything to get this body. I sometimes wonder why people spend so much time discussing about how good looking I am, how fair I am, how handsome or beautiful I am. When the body itself is not yours how can you say that I am beautiful. One can at the most say,"This body given to me is beautiful". I also wonder why people when looking for bride or a bridgegroom always pass a comment " The bride is beautiful. The Boy is handsome. If they are not then they say the girl/boy is earning a six figure salray per month. Will a beautiful wife with Six figure salary or a handsome boy with six figure salaray be guaranteed happiness or can they gurantee happiness to others. Looks and money people think will guarantee happiness. One need not do a great deal of analysis to find out that this can never be. Just look at our film stars , the most beautiful and the most monied people . They make their life and others life miserable by beautiful looks and money.Even ordinary people with good looks and a little money have managed to make themselves and others miserable. In almost all the failed marriages, the thing that stands out is the fact that the relationship has failed mainly beccause the husband or the Wife wants to change the other. Many of the marriages/relationship can be easily saved with a little bit of acceptance and respect for each other. Love and hate are the two sides of the same coin. It does not take much time to turn the so called love into hate.
UNQUOTE.......

SpiritualSeekers

SpiritualSeekers

Welcome to a Spiritual Discussion

I had Started a discussion with this:
What ever happens around us, are they influenced by(OR due to) our THOUGHTS ! And a good friend gave his 'comments' thus to kickstart the discussion. I give my further comments at the end of this quote.........
Quote
"Whatever happens to us is on account of the thought currents constantlyflowing through our minds. One is not in a position to anticipate whatthoughts come . One becomes aware of the thoughts only after theymanifest. However by spiritual practices like meditation, pranayama,asanas, watching the breath etc one can reduce the No of thoughts thatcome. I have experienced a situation where the breathing almost comesto stand still. I have felt a temendous relaxation of the brain duringsuch time akin to a state of bliss. I have also felt that the more youfeel that you are not the doer (Aham Karaka-I am the doer) the moreyouare able to accept anything and less you get irritated about thingshappening in this world. As Jaggi always says "you cannot change theworld". If you want to do some thing worthwile "change yourself". Themisery in this world could be because, today there are more peoplewanting to change others than themselves.Could you throw more insights in this.
Regards
R.Vaidyanathan".........Unquote

Yes, what you say is correct. I wish to supplement...... When youexperientially realise, that your thought materialises into a happeningthe next possibility is to create a thought which if materialised, iswhat is needed in the situation (here I am tempted to quote the famous"Khudi ko kar buland itna ki har tahreer se pahle khuda khud bandey sepooche, bataa tere raza kya hai !)...... the CONVERSE theorem is, due to a very deep level of "acceptance", you blend with 'nature' orprakrti to such an extent that it uses your capability of 'thoughtpower' to induce such a thought that is needed in the situation !!!When one reaches that state thro' constantly practised self-awareness,then one has only to be receptive, to experience bliss, joy or whateverit is! Please do continue your comments on this.
P.S.Narayanan