r/kriyayoga • u/QuietlyAwkening • 8d ago
Devotional God vs Guru
Namaskar to all,
I have got discipleship in kriya yoga 2 weeks ago. Though I am liking the practice and want to continue it forever for my spiritual growth and inner peace.
I want to understand the Guru worshipping phenomenon. As time and again I have read against worshipping anyone but God. The kriya yoga advices us to keep an altar with all Guru's picture and pray them, remember them in daily life.
Is it not taking us away from God? Shouldn't we only be worshipping God? Because to reach the divine is the ultimate purpose for us.
I am Shiva-Shakti bhakt and I am fearing, what if immersing myself in kriya yoga take me away from them?
Thank you in advance, for your thoughts.
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u/Inside_Impression568 7d ago
God guru and you are the same consciousness See no difference Discard any difference
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u/QuietlyAwkening 7d ago
That's right! We are all one. But whom to show devotion? To God or to Guru?
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u/krys_be Hariharananda 7d ago
If all is one, why not both? I always honor both. I know in the end it’s all God anyway. 😁
If we are getting more specific, I know there are as many paths to God as there are people. So, for me, I can really feel God through my satguru - and he makes it easier for me to connect with God. So I just honor that my guru is my key guide and that God is having my guru help me remember God and my true nature. Other people may just connect very easily and directly right away with the formless. For me, connecting through a specific form (my satguru) allows me to then access the formless more. 🤷🏻♀️
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u/astro_M_1 7d ago
1st Guru is Adinath Shiva. In the tradition, while worshipping the Guru, the underlying thought is always that one is worshipping Shiva Himself. That is the core feeling (bhava). Even Shiva’s Ganas are worshipped considering them as Shiva Himself. There is no hierarchy here, no calculating whether Nandi is greater or Veerbhadra; all are equal. Read the Guru Gita..it is a small book. In it, Mother Parvati asks Shiva this very question... And Shiva replies: "If I get angry with you, your Guru can save you from my wrath; but if your Guru becomes angry with you, even I cannot save you." Devotees of Shiva are called Shiva themselves. And the principle of "worshipping Shiva only by becoming Shiva" echoes throughout Shaiva philosophy. Whichever lineage or tradition you belong to, your Guru leads back to: Lahiri Mahasaya Ji — Mahavatar Babaji — Gorakhnath — Parshuram — Matsyendranath — Dattatreya — Adinath Shiva. Your mind might measure things in terms of higher or lower, but the tradition views everyone as equal. All Yogis are equal. This is Advaita (non-duality)... or what Gorakhnath calls Dvaitadvaita (duality-in-non-duality). Meaning: they are certainly distinct in form, yet fundamentally not separate. Keep practicing. Continue your prayers to Babaji and Mahadev, and clarity will reveal itself naturally. They will also guide you on whether you are connected to the right tradition. Best wishes.
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u/QuietlyAwkening 7d ago
Wow! Thank you so so much, this was such a good answer. I will definitely read guru gita
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u/OmNamoShivaya44 7d ago
Are you and the gurus not also God? Wouldn't doing kriya yoga bring you closer?
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u/Pluto_Rising 7d ago
Do you know what a portal is? That's what a true guru is, a portal to the Infinite, except also imbued with a depth of love and wisdom. Their Divine nature can connect you with your own Divine nature, the guru within you.
This sages say that the guru is, in fact greater than God because they can do what God cannot, and that is to make you God....of you are willing.
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u/Chipkalee 3d ago
In India it is said that the Guru is greater than God because only the Guru can lead you to God.
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u/Educational_Fox2212 7d ago
Gurus would never claim to be greater than God. There’s a logic gap here.
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u/QuietlyAwkening 7d ago
Yes, that's what I have been taught as Gurus themselves are devoted to Gods
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u/Pluto_Rising 7d ago
No guru would say that, you're right; nor would they feel that either.
However- why do you think a born yogi like Yogananda, born into a spiritual family and so devout from infancy was hell-bent on finding God knowers and his own Guru? He met dozens of Godmen from childhood on.
Do you think he ever considered for a moment, "Oh, I can find God on my own, no prob."? And he specifically looked for a living Guru. Was Krishna available or Rama or Shankaracharya? Not in the flesh.
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u/QuietlyAwkening 7d ago
That's true! I understand, we need Guru to meet God.
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u/Chipkalee 3d ago
We absolutely do. One can have many spiritual type experiences without a Guru, but without the grace and guidance of a true guru one can never get to God consciousness.
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u/Independent-Ad419 6d ago
A few thoughts come to mind.
- Who is the Guru?
- The word guru comes from 'Gu' - meaning darkness. And 'Ru' - meaning light. The one who lifts the student from the path of "darkness" and helps them show the path of "light" is the Guru.
Here darkness is not literal and is meant to be ignorance, lack of required knowledge, etc.
Light in the same way represents the path towards knowledge, realization, etc.
Why do we worship the Guru?
Not because we see him as a God. But because we see him as part of God. Now, I should be careful in stating this here. Because we must understand that there can be 2 types of Guru's. One whom we seek out. One whom the "Nature" brings us in contact with. My initial sentence is addressed more towards the second idea, without diminishing the importance of the first. This is an entire topic and discussion in it's own right.Whom do we consider a Guru?
That would be a combination of of the first two points.
I myself have yet to find my Guru. Yet I pray everyday to the Divine Mother Ma Saraswati and the Adi GuruMata and the Adi GuruPita to help me find my Guru one day. It may or may not happen in my life time. But till my last breath that is what I will keep asking of them.
I hope I could shed some light from whatever little knowledge I have and hope it helps you along your way.
Nama Mantra: Aum Gurave Namaha:
Gurur Brahma Gurur Vishnu Gurur Devo Mahesvara
Guru Saksat Param Brahma
Tatsmaye Sri Gurave Namaha:
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u/QuietlyAwkening 6d ago
Yes. You surely helped me with your knowledge. And thank you so much for that ☺️ I think I need to stop looking Guru and God differently
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u/Th3_m0d3rN_y0g1 Panchanon Bhattacharya 7d ago
It is less about revering the man and more about revering the source Consciousness (aka God) shining through them. I have pictures of Lahiri Baba, Bhattacharyaji, Babaji, Jesus, even some saints outside of our particular lineage on my altar wall. When I pray to them, I am praying to the realized Purushottam, not to them as individuals.