How Do You Find a Genuine Guru?

By George A. Boyd ©2016

Many seekers ask, “Can you recommend a Guru?”

One of my friends says, “No I can’t recommend a Guru. Many of them are fake…” Yes, there are fakes and pretenders, but there also are genuine Gurus.

So how do you find a genuine Guru? There are really two parts of this question. One is, “What is a Guru, anyway?” And the second part is “What is it that you are looking for?”

What is a Guru?

To answer the question — What is a Guru? — You need to think about the meaning of the word Guru. One of my spiritual teachers gave this explanation: “The word Guru means one who brings the Light into the darkness.”

So where does that Light come from? It comes from God. Just like there are different divisions in school that you have to complete to move onto the next stage of your education, there are different divisions in spirituality—and there is an anointed, empowered teacher that operates at each level. The form of God that dwells at each of these levels empowers them to minister and guide others. [To understand these references described below, it will help if you read the two articles, “The Great Continuum of Consciousness,” which locates these levels on the Continuum; and “Understanding Nodal Points and Nuclei of Identity,” which explains what are nuclei of identity and how they are different than what we call the ensouling entity.] Here’s the breakdown:

  • In the Transplanetary Realm, the Adept and Adept Master has Mastery over the entire Planetary and Subtle Realm. These teachers have the ability to awaken and transform the Soul Spark (Jivan Atma) and the Planetary Soul (Atma).
  • At the highest level of the Transplanetary Realm, whose scope of Mastery spans the entire Transplanetary Realm, the Transplanetary Adept unfolds the Monad (Paramatma) to the Pleiadean Vortex, where it becomes liberated.
  • In the First Cosmic Initiation, the Yogi Preceptor, who holds sway over the First Cosmic Initiation, transforms the Cosmic Consciousness nucleus of identity.
  • In the Second Cosmic Initiation, the Light Master, whose mantle of Mastery extends through the Second Cosmic Initiation and the 4th Path of the Nada, unfolds the Cosmic Soul Awareness nucleus of identity and the spirit upon the 4th segment of the Nada.
  • In the Cosmic Hierarchy dwells the Cosmic Master, whose aegis is over the entire Cosmic Realm, translates the Astral Soul and its vehicles of consciousness.
  • In the Supracosmic Sphere, the Supracosmic Master exhibits Mastery over one Supracosmic Path, reaching from its roots in the Cosmic to the 7th Supracosmic Chakra on that Supracosmic Path. The methods this Master imparts will activate the Supracosmic Seed Atom on that Path—and sometimes, this will unfold the Supracosmic Soul, if it dwells on this Path.
  • In the Transcendental Sphere, the Sat Guru Bhagwan demonstrates Mastery over one Transcendental Path (T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, T7). He or she liberates the spirit and the ensouling entity upon that Transcendental Path.
  • Also in the Transcendental Sphere, the Multiplane Master or Adi Sat Guru’s Mastery comprises all eight Transcendental Paths (The Bridge Path plus T1 to T7), every Path in the Supracosmic, the Entire Cosmic, Transplanetary, Planetary, and Subtle Realms. He or she can liberate all 13 ensouling entities and the spirit in all 12 segments of the Nadamic Path, starting where the individual is in their spiritual journey, which we call the Cutting Edge of Spirituality. [The Master teachers of Mudrashram® are Multiplane Masters.]

So the form of God that dwells at each of these levels empowers those intrepid individuals who have completed the requirements to function as an instrument of the Light—which may include the ability to [depending upon the tradition]:

  1. Initiate – unfold the ensouling entity, nucleus of identity, the spirit, and associated vehicles of consciousness upon their Path
  2. Guide – lead the spirit and/or the attentional principle on the inner Planes
  3. Convey Path Knowledge – teach about what is in the content of the inner vehicles and the Planes that make up their Path
  4. Facilitate Discernment – bring the attention of the aspirant into union with the spiritual essence(s) that form the core identity of their Path
  5. Inculcate Virtue and Compassion – give ethical teachings to inspire the aspirant to lead a moral and compassionate life, and to reform character
  6. Train – teach the aspirant how to meditate and pray and commune with the spiritual teacher and the Divine on the inner Planes, and show them how to carry out inner ministry
  7. Awaken Awareness, Enlighten and Empower – activate the Kundalini Shakti and raise it to the spiritual essence that is cultivated in their Path, and unite attention with that essence

So these anointed and empowered beings—who are the genuine “Gurus” at each level—are ready to serve whoever comes to them. But they don’t teach the same thing.

Like in school: if you go to a chemistry teacher, he or she will teach you chemistry; or if you go to an economics teacher, he or she will teach you economics. Each of these different orders of “Gurus” is going to teach you something else.

What is it you are looking for?

This brings us to the second question, “What is it you are looking for?”

  • If you want to learn to go to heaven after you die and live a good, moral life while you’re alive, a Christian pastor, a Catholic priest, a Jewish rabbi, a Muslim imam, or a Hindu Brahmin priest will be what you need.
  • If you want to learn how to gain psychic powers and commune with departed spirits, angels, “Ascended Masters,” and extraterrestrials, a Psychic Guide will serve you well.
  • If you want to learn about the arcane teachings of a Mystery School, you need to find a Hierophant of that Mystery School.
  • If you want to tune up your Solar Angel and ascend to higher vibrational levels, you could seek an Ascended Master to show you how.
  • If you want to just complete the Planetary Initiations and become an Adept, you could locate an Adept or Adept Master [e.g., an Adept Master is one whose Monad had ascended into the Planetary Hierarchy; an Adept is one who has united the Soul with the Monad and has become fully realized at that level—at the ground state of the Monad.]
  • If you yearn to realize the Supreme Self (Brahman) and ascend as cosmic consciousness into the Presence of the Lord of the Yogis (also called The Supreme, Yogeshwar, or Ishwara), you need to get hold of a Yogi Preceptor.
  • If you want to ascend as the spirit and unfold your Cosmic Soul Awareness through the 22 worlds of the Divine, acquire a Light Master.
  • If you want to unfold your Astral Soul through all five Initiations of the Cosmic Sphere, search for a Cosmic Master.
  • If you wish to realize one of the forms of the Divine that dwell on the Paths of the Supracosmic Sphere, you need to hunt for a Supracosmic Master who specializes in getting you to that form of the Divine [e.g., there are 64 active Paths up here, so you have quite a variety of conceptions of the Divine from which to choose].
  • If you wish to realize the Light of God from which your spirit was born on a Transcendental Path, look for a Sat Guru who has returned to the Source of the spirit on that Transcendental Path.
  • If you want to complete your spiritual work on all of these levels, then seek out an Adi Sat Guru.

What Guru you’re going to seek depends on what you want. If you want to go back to Sach Khand (the highest Plane) on the Second Transcendental Path, you’re not going to find that if you go to a Kundalini Order Yogi Preceptor. You have to look in the right place.

Criteria for selecting a Guru

So the first thing to ask yourself is, “What am I looking for in a teacher? Where do I want to go? This is going to determine what tradition you investigate.

The next thing you want to determine, “Is the tradition empowered? Is the Light of God working there? If they are just offering ancient rituals, sacred ceremonies, long pilgrimages, and sonorous prayers, having you read scriptures and holy books, and maybe having you sing some nice songs—but the ethers are as dead as a used up coal mine—you might want to go somewhere else.

Next, you need to check in with your conscience to discover, “What are your criteria for a spiritual Master?”

  • Does he or she have to be alive?
  • Does he or she have to have a sinless and spotless character? Or can he or she still have some quirks?
  • Does he or she have to talk about God that looks like [fill in the form of God you want]?
  • Does he or she have to give discourse on specific spiritual Planes [fill in the cosmology you want]?
  • Does he or she need to have reached a particular stage of spirituality [fill in what that looks like]?
  • Does he or she need to manifest a guide form to accompany you through the inner Planes?
  • Does he or she have to remain merged with a state of ecstatic consciousness 24/7, or can the teacher also be a human being?
  • Does he or she have to manifest miraculous powers [e.g., flying instead of driving]?

But it also might be that you don’t know what you want or what to look for. That’s OK. Just start with where you are… in your confusion… with all of the yearning inside… with an open mind and heart… and listen. Notice what resonates… what lights you up inside… what makes you say, “YES!!!!!!!” in the very core of your being. And go there.

Maybe you’ll find some fakes, some frauds, some people who are just out to make money on spirituality… get involved with some cults… in the process. In spite of this, resolve you are going to find that Path that is right for you… no matter how long it takes.

Because that’s what it means to be a seeker or aspirant. It’s not easy. There are genuine Masters. And yes, dear aspirant, there are fakes.

But because there are fakes, frauds, charlatans, and cults, it doesn’t mean you should slam the door on the Light… on your Soul and spirit… and just wait out in the darkness for death to come.

It means you will not let go of the hem of the garment until the Master reveals Him or Her radiant being to you, and you know you have found what you have been looking for.

And if you’ve made some detours… taken some side roads… wasted some time… it will be worth it when you have found the True One you’ve been looking for—and you see, and hear, and taste, and smell, and touch, and know that you have found the Living Light… you will know it was well worth the ordeal you have undergone.