Datta maata 12: Who is a disciple? How does he identify his Spiritual Guru?

Who is a disciple? Let us discuss it. The words ‘Guru and ‘Shishya’ (disciple) are mutually related. Guru and disciple always go hand in hand. Only when we understand who a Guru is, we can know the definition of disciple and vice-versa. A disciple who is in the spiritual pursuit will have a wanting for a Guru. How can we identify that one has got enlightenment?

With such a doubt in mind, you are in search of a Guru. When you get an opportunity of seeing holy men, at some point in time, you will experience peace and joy very unexpectedly. The power of such divine presence is so much that you will forget all your problems effortlessly. You will get a strong feeling that all your troubles will be solved. Moreover, you will develop a feeling that ‘He is mine’, very naturally. When you get a strong opinion that you will be happy in his divine presence and that your problems will vanish, then you can accept him as your Guru.

In this way, in fact, Sadguru is coming to you. But, even though he is around you, he will not manifest in front of you till you get the eligibility. He will not accept you too. The craving for having a Guru is itself the eligibility. When you long for him, he will manifest to you in the form of peace of mind. For Guru to get that compassion, you must meet the eligibility criterion.

The path of worship, Nāma sankērthana (chanting the divine glories), dāsya bhakti (serving with devotion), listening the divine stories, serving the good devotees of Lord – all of these are the ways to increase your eligibility indirectly. By enhancing such qualities, you will meet the criteria to become a disciple. Once the eligibility is obtained, the disciple must continue his spiritual practice and he must understand that everything is only the grace of his Guru. With the grace of Datta Sadguru, may you all understand these aspects and may you become good devotees of Guru and obtain his blessings.

You must not worry that our Guru has not accepted you as his disciple. Guru will never think that he has to accept everyone as his disciples. He only manifests himself when the disciple gets the eligibility. In fact, when you get the eligibility you cannot talk anything verbally because your heart is filled with happiness for your Guru. There is an inherent relation between the Guru and disciple. The inner meaning of Guru and shisya is understood by both of them. Neither the Guru nor the disciple has any necessity to announce about their identity. Hence, the relationship of Guru and shishya is a heart to heart divine relation.