This is our special Guru Purnima talk, this time on the subject: How To Choose A Guru

Of course we’ll discuss just what the Guru Tattva (Guru Principle) is and why it is absolutely necessary in spiritual life but more importantly we’ll focus on the question of how to find a guru and evaluate them to protect yourself from charlatans and cults etc.!

At the end of the talk, we’ll discuss a very powerful practice you can do right now even if you don’t have a living teacher as of yet!

On behalf of the auspicious occasions of Veda Vyāsa (Guru) Pūrnimā and alas Shrāvan Mas (the sacred month of Shiva which began the day we gave this lecture (July 22nd and goes till August 19th), let us all remember always that God alone is the Guru. As it says in the Guru Gītā:

ब्रह्मानन्दं परमसुखदं केवलं ज्ञानमूर्तिं
द्वन्द्वातीतं गगनसदृशं तत्वमस्यादिलक्ष्यम्
एकं नित्यं विमलमचलं सर्वधीसाक्षिभूतं
भावातीतं त्रिगुणरहितं सद्गुरुं तं नमामि

“Brahmānandam Paramasukhadam kevalam jñāna murtim…bhāvatītam trigunarahitam sad gurum tam namami”:

That true guru is the bliss of Brahman, the transcendent joy of non-dual knowledge, that reality beyond all name and form, beyond the touch of the three gunas. To That we bow!

ईश्वरो गुरुरात्मेति मूर्तिभेदविभागिने ।
व्योमवद् व्याप्तदेहाय दक्षिणामूर्तये नमः ॥७॥

I salute that Dakshinamurthy Shiva, the sky of Consciousness which appears in the form of teacher, student and transmission!

May He bless us all with knowledge and devotion!

We honor all teachers of all traditions who through their perfect discipleship have each of them embodied what it means to be spiritual in this world. I bow to the servants heart in all teachers who are each of them God’s grace personified!

Let us never forget the teaching from the Kaula Sutra:

avicchinam ovalli-kramāyāta-marīci-saṅkramaṇam evaiko guruḥ  (1)
tad-upalabdham eva tattvam eko devaḥ  (2)
tasyaikā sahajāhambhāva-bhūmiś cicchaktiḥ  (3)

There is only one Guru: the unbroken ray of transmission that flows through the lineage.
There is only one God: the Reality to which one awakens (as a result of that transmission)
There is only one Power: the Power of Consciousness which is the ground of the spontaneous and natural “I-sense”

You can watch all our previous lectures on the Guru here:
https://www.patreon.com/collection/666741

Lectures happen live on zoom every Monday at 7pm PST and Friday 10am PST and Friday at 6pm PST.  There's Q&A right after the lectures. 
It is free and open to the public. All are welcome!
Use this link and I will see you there:
https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815
Our hatha yoga class is Monday 5pm PST with Amrita and Wednesdays at 11am PST and again at Friday 5pm PST with me via this same link also.

For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:
https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnish

To get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM

Support the show

Lectures happen live every Monday at 7pm PST and Friday 10am PST and again Friday at 6pm PST.
Use this link and I will see you there:
https://www.zoom.us/j/7028380815

For more videos, guided meditations and instruction and for access to our lecture library, visit me at:
https://www.patreon.com/yogawithnish

To get in on the discussion and access various spiritual materials, join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/U8zKP8yMrM