I've been more scarred by my childhood than I realized.
My parents went to India to see their guru. They didn't seem to realize that I wasn't there for the same reason. I was in India just to be in India. I feel that I carry my spirituality with me and I don't need to be in a particular place for it and I don't need my relationship with God mediated through a third party. My parents seemed upset and disappointed that I wasn't thrilled at the idea of going to see the guru three times a day while we were in Sringeri.
I didn't feel comfortable prostrating to him, I don't know him and he doesn't know me. I find that there is a lot of mistrust in my gut.
This is a natural stage to go through. Particularly because I put a lot of trust and faith in certain figures of authority when I was growing up and I was crushed to find them mere human beings. I feel betrayed in some ways and it has left me very skeptical of gurus and having a lot more faith in myself than in anyone else.
I'm sure this guru is legit. He is part of an incredible lineage. He has good credentials. He came recommended by someone who did his taxes! He comes recommended not only from my parents, but also a good friend of ours who tends to be skeptical and pragmatic like me. He says he has seen the grace of the guru work in his life.
But even if he is a great guru, I am not at all ready to let someone into my heart in that way.
I also don't know about being connected to a guru who lives so far away and who doesn't speak the same language as me. Apparently I just need his grace and his energy, but I would like to be connected to a guru I could communicate with, who I felt understood me and what I'm going through.
They say, when you are ready a guru will appear.
I am not ready yet. There is a guru available and a lot of good reason to go with it, but I can't do it yet. I need my time and my space to feel comfortable again with trust.
Tomorrow I'll have a bit more to say about some of the interesting experiences with the guru himself.
I have been thinking about this myself, with my own path and experience with Hinduism, wondering if perhaps a guru would make things easier or more understandable, but I think I've arrived at the same place you have. I think that when I'm ready, there will be someone there, but in my opinion a guru is a lot like a spiritual mentor. The best mentors are people who you feel very comfortable with, and that takes time.
ReplyDeleteI think your heart is in the right place.
Exactly. I think a guru will be a great thing at some point in my life, but I am simply not at that place yet.
ReplyDeleteUntil then keep carrying the Kingdom of Heaven around along with you, as Paramahansa Yogananda was fond of saying.
ReplyDelete