Don’t ask for a real Guru; be a real disciple

The following is an excerpt from a samvaad (dialogue) session with Acharya Prashant.

Acharya Prashant (AP): So, you have asked about the qualities of a real Guru. The question must be turned inwards. One can never really know the qualities of a Guru, for there are no fixed qualities. Far more important is to ask the qualities of a real disciple.

If one is a real disciple; one meets only the real Guru. If the disciple hood is pure within then one does not stay for long with a false Guru.

So, what then is real disciple hood?

Paying complete attention, and in that complete attention, there is neither acceptance nor rejection. You are just with what the Guru in form of a person is saying. You are just with that, without passing a judgment on it, without rejecting it, without even taking it as the Truth. When in spite of your so-called indifference towards acceptance and rejection, the words of that person still penetrate your heart, then you know he is the right one.

So, it is a tricky business trying to figure out the qualities of a Guru; because, the Guru can show himself or herself in a thousand ways, at different points, in different situations. Sometimes, talking a lot about peace; sometimes talking a lot about conflict as well; sometimes even prodding you to go…