In any endeavour, a teacher, a master or a mentor is essential. Those who have practical knowledge of a subject, who have have experimented scientifically (through actually doing the practices and seeing how it works), gained mastery over their area or subject and then are available to share that, are indeed a blessing. If you want to learn to repair a car, you could read a book; but in order to become a great mechanic, you need a master mechanic to teach you over time. Similarly on the spiritual path, a master who has travelled the journey, understands the inner world, can teach and guide. Of course the journey is yours, but a Master brings it alive, challenges you and shows you the guidepost. In our Indian tradition we have called it GURU – a movement from darkness, to light.
That has been my experience of having a spiritual master. An outer master, who could actually connect one with ones deep Inner Self, or ones own Inner Master; a divine blessing in indeed. In this video I sing a few verses from the lovely GURU GITA. The Guru Gita (Song of the Guru) is a Hindu scripture that is said to have been authored by the sage, Vyasa. The text is believed to be part of the larger Skanda Purana. There are several versions of the Guru Gita, varying from around 100 to over 400 verses.
Dennis Taraporewala 