The Seven Spiritual Activities of the Guru

A spiritual Master or Guru is not just a conveyer of wisdom stories and sage advice, but is capable of seven spiritual actions that transmit the energy of the Living Divine Spirit to others. These seven actions are listed below:

1. Darshan – In this state of consciousness, the Guru reveals the Presence of the Divine to others, and that he or she is established in the Divine Vortex to which disciples aspire.
2. Teaching – In the teacher mode, the Guru gives wisdom teachings for the Soul, and activates the Illumined Mind of disciples.
3. Facilitating Discernment – This posture of the Guru reveals the nature of the Soul beyond the dimensions of the mind, and confers Enlightenment and Gnosis.
4. Acting as a Preceptor – Here the Guru reveals the nature of the Soul’s truth (Dharma), the Divine Law, and the Way. Jesus enunciated that he adopted this role, revealing that he embodied the Truth, the Life, and the Way. The Preceptor will also guide disciples to work with issues in the unconscious mind that hold them back from making spiritual progress.
5. Guiding – In this role, the Guru shows the spirit and/or the attentional principle of disciples the content of their inner vehicles of consciousness, the inner Planes of Light, and the nature of their Soul.
6. Awakening devotion – In this activity, the Guru creates yearning to meditate and make spiritual progress, to do service, and to love God. This can be conveyed through telling stories of the lives of saints, and speaking directly to the spiritual heart of the disciples, which awakens their love and yearning to make spiritual progress and attain the presence of the Divine.
7. Bestowing Attunements and Transformation – This work of the Guru sends the Light to unfold the disciples’ potentials of the Soul, to awaken their vehicles of consciousness and spiritual essences, or awaken the energy of their awareness (Kundalini). In this activity, the Guru channels the Grace and Power of the Divine.

The Divine empowers a genuine Guru, which places him or her on a platform above the priest, who does sacred ceremonies or ritual invocation; or the cleric, who interprets the meaning of scriptures. The Guru is a Grace-Bestowing instrument that brings the Love, Wisdom, and Grace of the Divine to those who open themselves to receive this blessing.

Aspirants will benefit from identifying which of these activities their prospective spiritual teacher expresses. They need to be certain their spiritual teacher is truly established in the Divine Presence and empowered, and not merely surmising he or she is enlightened. The Presence of the Light and these seven activities is a key indicator that he or she is a real Guru, and not just a pretender.