Let there be no mistake, we need a Guru to advance on the spiritual path. My purpose as a Yogacharya is to guide you and shine the light on the path. The Guru is the path and you are the light! I, as your teacher, will lead you to the Guru who is none other than yourself...the inner Guru!
Definition of a Guru and an Acharya:
A real Guru is an enlightened spiritual master who has attained God realization. Often qualified with the term Satguru to indicate the attainment of oneness with the supreme reality this rare master is a must for spiritual progress and the attainment of enlightenment. The Satguru is one with universal God Consciousness which is one and the same with your true identity. It is in this regard that the Satguru opens the door from within you and allows you to be free. God, Guru, & the true Self are one and the same and it is this understanding that allows us to surrender. Understandibly the path requires a tremendous amount of emotional maturity to surrender and allow God to guide us and to manifest within us. The Guru will have to be allowed to destroy our illusions, attachments, and our ego.
The term Acharya is defined in several ways. Some will state difinitively that an Acharya is a spiritual master, and while this is true in the best examples and in the highest expressions unfortunately, this is rarely the case nowadays. Our paramparai (Lineage) defines a Yogacharya as one who is deemed fit to lead by good Yogic example. Personally I prefer this definition as it keeps us all on our feet:). Occasionally an Acharya is termed a preceptor being one who oversees the teachings and has the responsibility of protecting the teachings & overall integrity of the Paramparai. An Acharya espouses and expounds the teachings and embodies them as a living example. While the Acharya intiates,the Guru serves as the true activating force for realization of the truth for the student. It is stated in the ancient scriptures that a spiritual aspirant on the Yogic path requires an Acharya for practicing thier sadhana. The techniques & methods, the teaching content and the verification processes are all taught by the Acharya according to the individual needs and abilities of the aspirants. Ideally an Acharya will be able to testify to the truth of the teachings through shining thier own light derived from personal experience.
It is of fundemental importance that you understand that our Paramparai is not in the bussiness of creating followers rather, we create Gurus! By producing many famous and illustrious saints & Gurus over several thousand years we have time and time again proven through our system an infalible path to spiritual mastery and Moksha! You can know that by walking in the same footsteps and practicing the very same techniques you too are on the path to enlightenment and reaching your own divine potential.
As an Acharya I will accept as my sadhana the role to guide you to your own inner Guru. Should you accept me as your teacher (and accepting me is the choice you make after you have sufficiently tested me and found me to be competant and worthy of your complete trust and surrender), I will then begin our journey by testing you, purifying you, as well as strengthening and loving you! The relationship between us is unique for you will find it one of the most demanding and loving of relationships possible; in its highest expression it is divine.
With respect, & love I welcome you to our Paramparai!
Yogacharya Gowrishankarananda Giri
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