Indian culture has always held the guru in high esteem. Having a master was not just considered a matter of pride, but it was mandatory to have a guru. Not having a master was looked down upon as being an orphan, being poor and a sign of misfortune.

The word 'Anatha' in Sanskrit means one without a master. An Acharya (teacher) gives 'Shiksha', which means knowledge; a guru gives 'Deeksha' which means heightened awareness. The guru makes the abstract more real and what you think to be solid appears to be more unreal.  Perception of love, not as an emotion, but as the substratum of existence becomes evident.  Then the real journey of life with the guru begins. This journey has four stages.

The first stage is ‘Saarupya’ (to see the formless in the form), that is seeing God in all the forms. Often, one feels more comfortable seeing God as formless rather than with a form, because with a form, one feels a distance, a duality, a fear of rejection and other limitations.  All those who accept God to be formless use symbols and perhaps love the symbols more than God himself! If God comes and tells a Christian to leave the cross or a Muslim to drop the crescent, perhaps he may not do it! To begin with, loving the formless is possible only through forms.

The second stage is ‘Saamipya’ (closeness), that is feeling absolutely close to the form one has chosen and reaching out to the formless. This leads to a sense of intimacy with the whole of creation. In this stage, one overcomes the fear of rejection and other fears. The third stage is ‘Saanidhya’, that is feeling the presence of the Divine by which you transcend the limitations of time and space.

The final stage is ‘Saayujya’, where the one is firmly entrenched with the Divine. It is then that one realises that we are one with the divine. There is a total merging with the beloved and all duality disappears.

In the Upanishads five signs of a satguru are mentioned. In the presence of the satguru, knowledge flourishes, sorrow diminishes, joy wells up without any reason, abundance dawns and all talents manifest.

A guru does not simply stuff the disciple with knowledge; he kindles life force in the person. The guru invokes not only intelligence but also the intellect. Knowledge may not invoke intelligence, but in intelligence, knowledge is inherent.

 But all the qualities that we appreciate in a guru are also in our very nature. Being with the guru is like being with one's higher self. Respecting the guru simply means honouring our innermost nature.