Who Are You?

“The Guru is the Teacher who removes the fundamental ignorance, which hides the knowledge of this truth from us.” – Bhagwan Baba.

A young man in quest for knowledge came to know of a learned guru. He went up to the cottage of the guru and knocked the door. A stern voice asked, “Who is it?” The young man made an about-turn and came back. The next day he thought of going back to the guru’s cottage. As before, he knocked at the door. A voice asked, “Who are you? Where have you come from?”

The boy came back without uttering a word. The following morning, found him knocking the door again. A voice queried, “Who are you? Where have you come from? What do you want?” Sadly the boy retraced his steps and returned.

On the fourth day, this dejected young fellow made his way up the steps of the cottage to find the door open. Without knocking, he went inside. He found a peaceful looking man, sitting cross legged on the floor. He was meditating.

Quietly the boy sat down, a few steps away from him. Sometime later, the guru slowly opened his eyes and his gaze fell on the youngster. He smiled and said, “So you are the one who has been coming here for the last three days. Why didn’t you come in?”

The youngster said simply, “You asked me, who I am, where I came from and what I wanted. These are the questions I am trying to find the answers to. I came to you to ask you these questions. I did not have the answers to them, so I went back. Today I found the door open, so I took the liberty of walking in. Can you help me to find the answer to these questions?”

The guru got up and embraced the boy. He said, “Just as a seeker is in search of a guru, a guru is also in search of the genuine seeker. I am so happy to have you here. It would be a pleasure to teach you!”

Swami says, “The letter ‘Gu’ in the word Guru signifies Gunatheetha – the one who has transcended the three qualities of Ignorance (Thamasik), Passion (Rajasik) and Virtuousness (Sathvik) and the letter ‘Ru’ signifies the one who is Roopa Varjitha (Beyond the Form). The Guru destroys illusion and sheds light; His Presence is ever cool and comforting. He comes to remind people that they have forgotten that they have lost the most precious part within themselves and yet are unaware of it! He is the Physician for curing the illness which brings about the repetitive suffering from birth to death. He is adept at the treatment needed for the cure. If you have not yet got such a Guru, Pray to the Lord Himself to show the way and He will most certainly come to your rescue!”