Frankly speaking, a guru is very important, not only in yoga but in every science. Of course, a few outstanding people are born in the world who do not need a guru, but most people need a guru. When you follow the path of awakening spiritual experiences, you need someone to help you and guide you.
The relationship between guru and disciple is a very intimate one. It is not based on the body and society and it should not be a physical and social relationship. The relationship between guru and disciple is out and out spiritual. Even as you are related to many people in the world, through worldly relationships, physical relationships, blood relationships and social relationships, you have a spirit, you have the self. It is on that plane that you have to relate yourself with someone, and that relationship you can develop with your guru.
A guru is not a priest, not a religious preacher, not a scholar, nor a moral preceptor, he is just a helper in your spiritual quest. He should know the techniques. Even if he is not intellectual, even if he is not literate, that does not matter. My first encounter was with an illiterate lady. Finally, I came to search for my guru, whom I found after two years.
Now there is a difference between my experience with her and my experience with my guru. She helped me to awaken my psychic or spiritual nature, but it was not possible for her to guide me after a certain point. Therefore, I had to go in search of a guru who would be able to help me transcend the barriers. This is the tradition in India. When we go in search of a guru, we do not go in search of a religion. Whether the guru is a Hindu, a Muslim or a Christian, we do not mind because we believe the experience can be had from anyone. Whether you are a good person or not, whether you drink or eat meat, whether you are a Hindu, Muslim or Christian, it does not matter. If you are a master of the technique, you are my guru.
Hindus believe in one thing and I think you will agree. If you go to the toilet and your diamond ring falls into the toilet, what will you do? Will you flush it out? The precious diamond is lying in a very dirty place but a wise man will not leave it there. In the same way, whatever the spiritual experience is, you should have from anybody without distinction of religion or nationality. That is precisely the reason why all religions are flourishing in India. Everybody has got a wide market because there is always someone who goes to them.
There was a Muslim fakir who used to live about one hundred and fifty miles from the place where I have my ashram. One of the orthodox Brahmins from my town went to him because his son was suffering from cancer. He had heard of his great fame so he went there and saw some things with which he did not agree. He had been educated in England for five years, and in the West there are definitions, compartments of ‘This is good and therefore it is unequivocally good; this is bad and it is only bad and not good.’ So he came back.
I asked him, ‘What happened?’ He said, ‘I don’t like him.’ I asked why. He replied, ‘He is a very fat man.’ I said, ‘What has fat got to do with it? You have gone to him to get help for your son and you are saying he is fat. You are discrediting a fat man.’ He said, ‘No, it is not only that he is fat. Any lady who comes, he hugs her.’ In India that is not the tradition. You cannot even hug your grown up daughters. You can only hug your wife in private. The third thing he said, ‘He drinks and he makes everybody take it.’
I told him that when you want milk, you must go to a cow. Do not say she is black or brown or multi-coloured, or that she is Indian, Jersey, Australian or Danish. Only be sure that the milk is white! The poor western-educated lawyer was completely dumbfounded when I spoke to him like this. Then I put the same question to him that I put to you now, ‘What would you do with a diamond ring if it has fallen into the toilet?’ He said, ‘I would pick it up.’ I said, ‘Please go back again and if he gives you a little sip of champagne, have it. If by drinking one spoon or half a glass full of champagne, your son becomes free from cancer, well and good.’
The people who are outstanding spiritually have curious behaviour. In India they are absolutely strange people. They just put on a string and piece of bandage cloth, like most of your girls do here and they go walking in the street. Everyone respects them. Whatever they say must happen because they are endowed with the truth of speech. They do not speak but if they do say something, it must come to pass because when you practise higher techniques, then you are in connection with higher energy.
It is very important for everyone to have a guru. Through this, you do not change your religion but you change the quality of your experience – and this is most important. I am a Hindu, you are a Christian, but our quality of experience is very low. This is something which is very peculiar to India; Indians are always in search of people who have what we call some extra spiritual experience. This does not happen in the West.
Once in India about thirty years ago, a very funny man was found in a dirty place. He was very dirty looking and the place where he was sitting was unhealthy. He used to call everybody and say, ‘Hey, bring me ganja to smoke!’ He used to smoke a chillum the whole day; ganja means hashish. The people all around began to think, ‘Who is this man? Is he a madman or is he something special?’ After observing him they found that he had some sort of connection with the psychic realm of the universe, and then people began to flock to him – but until his death he never left that dirty place. He lived there, never changing his way of life.
If such a person happened to be here in the West, he would be put into a mental hospital. In the West, you put yogis into mental hospitals and therefore you do not have any gurus at all. It is not that there are no outstanding people in the West. There are very good yogis, but before they can become gurus, they are sent to the hospital. In India, we make a very subtle distinction between a madman and a yogi. A madman is a madman; he knows nothing; he has no connection with the inner life, but the other type of madman has a connection with spiritual life.
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, the guru of Swami Vivekananda, was like this. He was a priest in a temple and instead of worshipping the deity, he used to worship himself. Such is the tradition of the madman. These madmen have also been born in the West from time to time, but they were either executed, put behind bars or into mental hospitals. Those who survived left for India. You are also welcome.
10 May 1984, Toulon, France