It might be easier than you think to find your Guru...
“If you know how to listen, everyone is a guru.”
~ Ram Das, from Be Here Now
The title “Guru” is ubiquitious these days. There are marketing gurus, cooking gurus and guru mechanics. But look closely and you will find real gurus, much too humble to accept this title, such as the taxi driver who drives very slow but because he does, he avoided a head-on collision, the child who screams for something he wants and reminds you to have patience, or the cashier who gave you too much change back and made you a more honest person that day.
Guru can be described as one who brings light where there was darkness. In Sanskrit Gu- means darkness and -Ru means to take away. So calling someone a "Guru" is a nice way to think of that person as someone who offers enlightened ideas and shows perspectives that help you live more fully. This guru may light your way for only a short while and move on.
Finding a teacher/guru
Finding a guru can be as easy as finding a teacher (of any discipline - yoga, art, karate, your boss, or mentor) that you resonate with, who is not only skilled but also humble. If, time after time, you have come to the conclusion that your teacher is imparting truths that make sense to you, there is an established relationship of trust. You may relate to them as your guru. Can this guru help you answer the questions you have or even better, spark your own creative juices and help you understand the practice or an idea much more completely? That’s a good guru.
For those people who don’t feel they have found their teacher, it is encouraging to know that the guru doesn’t have to be one person, but can be many sources. And when you can see the beauty and teachings everywhere (as in the screaming child, the cashier or taxi driver), then the essence of the teacher is honored.
The Best Guru
The one you are with is often your best guru. Few relationships are as intense as partnerships and if you are open to it you are offered daily lessons in growth and enlightenment. Honoring your partner as your teacher and guru gives the proper perspective to the relationship and creates all kinds of possibilities for new understandings and insights into how your mind works or doesn’t work, as is often my case.
Relationships are the highest spiritual practice. The way we conduct ourselves in relationship to all others, including the earth and nature, is a constant practice. The partner you choose is often your most intimate teacher. So the guru may be next to you right now. Listen and look for the guru in everything and everyone and you may just be surprised.
