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03/21/2011

Guruji

  • Ah, Guruji!

There is a friend of mine who always amazes me: when he has to make an important decision, he will go and ask Guruji. I respect it of course but I have to confess it’s completely beyond me!6a00d83451e1dc69e201053722d94b970b-800wi2.jpg

Probably because of my very Sartrian education… According to Sartre, man has to face all the consequences of God non-existence without any help or guidance. Invent your path etc. etc. So for me, going to someone to ask which kind of diet I should follow is just impossible…

I did some research on Gurus since it seems so present in India.

(read more below)


Just do a little zapping and you will easily find a channel with an orange dressed guy sitting in the lotus position and giving advices. Apparently, so much so that eight out of ten Indians would be followers of one Guru or another kind of spiritual guide.

 It is important to know that “Hinduism does not have a formal priesthood. The Sadhus are traditionally those who have renounced material pleasures of life. They along with the semi-formal Brahmin clergymen are looked upon as what can come closest to a priesthood.

In Hinduism a Guru is supposed to play the role of a tutor and mentor. But the term Guru has also had the connotations of a spiritual guide. It has not been uncommon for a person with a spiritual bent of mind to go in search of a Guru. Throughout Indian history, spiritual leaders and social reforms be looked upon as Gurus.

So I figured that Gurus more or less play the role that Christian priests used to play/play. And just like priests, some of them do bad bad things and get involved in sex scandals, money scandals etc. (it is generally expected from Gurus to embrace celibacy, have no interest in money and have the ability to sit in meditation for hours). See more on these scandals here: http://www.strippingthegurus.com/ 

Though many Indians have faith in Gurus, they are aware that the majority of gurus are false. Just as false are many life coaches are!! Going from India to America, I realised that it is said that about 2 thirds of Americans have seen a psychologist at least once! However here is a very interesting thing: how to treat stress by Americans? Eat (28%), smoke (14%), shop (15%), watch TV (36%) and finally see a therapist (7%). And nowadays, life coachers mushroom there like anything. And what do they do??

  •  They help you discover what's really most important to you in your life.
  •  Then they help you design a plan to achieve those things. 
  • They work with you to eliminate any obstacles or blocks that stand in your way. 
  • They partner with you all the way to success.

Just like Indian Gurus!!

And the loop is closed!!

A funny guru ad on TV in India (http://www.bestads.tv/show.php?id=3980):

In this advertisement a couple, supplicating a levitating Grand Master dressed in Buddhist robes, asks to know the “ways of meditation.” What does the master do? He offers them a Red Bull, of course. The implied message here? Meditation now comes in a can! 

Guru,red bull ad,india

NB: The word "Guru" is a Sanskrit word meaning teacher, honoured person, religious person or saint. Sikhism though has a very specific definition of the word Guru. It means the descent of divine guidance to mankind provided through ten Enlightened Masters. This honour of being called a Sikh Guru applies only to the ten Gurus who founded the religion starting with Guru Nanak in 1469 and ending with Guru Gobind Singh in 1708.

Sources:

 

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