Ancient and Traditional Sources
The recommendation says that the first and the foremost qualification of the True Master (Satguru) is that he must have known the True Lord (God) himself.
In one of Kabir's songs the satguru is described as the real sadhu:
He is the real Sadhu, who can reveal the form of the Formless to the vision of these eyes;
Who teaches the simple way of attaining Him, that is other than rites or ceremonies;
Who does not make you close the doors, and hold the breath, and renounce the world;
Who makes you perceive the Supreme Spirit wherever the mind attaches itself;
Who teaches you to be still in the midst of all your activities.
Ever immersed in bliss, having no fear in his mind, he keeps the spirit of union in the midst of all enjoyments.
The infinite dwelling of the Infinite Being is everywhere: in earth, water, sky, and air;
Firm as the thunderbolt, the seat of the seeker is established above the void.
He who is within is without: I see Him and none else.
Vasistha, Rama's guru, was the satguru in the Treta yuga. Swami Shankar Purushottam Tirtha quotes the Yoga Vasistha:
A real preceptor is one who can produce blissful sensation in the body of the disciple by their sight, touch, or instructions.
According to Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, a Hindu satguru is always a sannyasin, an unmarried renunciate, but not all writers include this stricture. Tukaram, a Hindu satguru, is known to have had a family, and Moinuddin Chishti also had children. Satguru Kabir had a son, Kamal, who was very devout.
In Sant Mat and Advait Mat, the living Satguru is considered the path to God-realization.
Meher Baba equated worship of the Satguru with worship of God: "Consciously or unconsciously, directly or indirectly, each and every creature, each and every human being — in one form or the other — strives to assert individuality. But when eventually man consciously experiences that he is Infinite, Eternal and Indivisible, then he is fully conscious of his individuality as God, and as such experiences Infinite Knowledge, Infinite Power and Infinite Bliss. Thus Man becomes God, and is recognized as a Perfect Master, Sadguru, or Kutub. To worship this Man is to worship God."
Meher Baba regarded the satguru as equivalent to the sufic spiritual rank of Kutub or Qutb.
Saibaba of Shirdi is an example of Nitya anadi satguru. Meher Baba himself a devotee of Shirdi Sainath, regarded him as parvadgir – a perfect Master of times.
Read more about this topic: Satguru
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