What Does it Mean to Be a Sage or Guru
Trish: I hope you are keeping well. I would like to ask the following. Why do we use the terms Saint, Sage, Guru, etc, to describe certain Realised Beings such as Jesus, Buddha, Lao Tzu, etc, and not for others, i.e., modern-day non-duality teachers? Does sainthood come with a certain quality, and if so, what are the criteria? Would it be simply a case that we are all wave expressions of the same ocean, but some waves are of the “tidal” variety when it comes to their impact on the world?
Sundari: This is a non-dual reality, so we are all the one ocean, despite some waves seeming bigger than others. Nonetheless, it is true that a few beings have a greater impact on the total in their contribution to the whole, positive and negative. In Vedanta, people who have a huge impact in unfolding the teachings and upholding the precepts of Vedanta are called Mahatmas, great souls. But that is said with the knowledge that all beings are great because all beings are the Self. It is just that some have the svadharma and the karma given to them by Isvara to make a bigger contribution to the total. In Vedanta, nobody claims anything because it is known that everything comes from Isvara. As qualified teachers of Vedanta, we are simply mouthpieces for the tradition of Vedanta, the sampradaya, which is timeless and has no beginning or end because it originates in the one eternal Self.
The terms saint, sage, and Guru all have different meanings to different people. Saint in religious terminology is conferred to beings perceived as superior to ordinary humans because of certain good deeds they performed or special qualities and abilities they obtained through spiritual practice. In other words, there is a ‘special’ doer. In Vedantic terms, we see the term very differently. The word ‘saint’ means someone who is sane, i.e., someone who has realized and actualized the Self and negated the doer. This does not make them superior or special, it just makes them free of limitation. Vedanta is very clear that moksa is not about obtaining a perfect ‘state’ or perfecting the jiva because you are already the Self, and all states are objects known to you. You are already perfect, even as the flawed jiva, which is also the Self, but either under the spell of ignorance or free of it.
A sage is someone considered a wise person, and that term has a pretty broad use across the spectrum in secular or spiritual parlance. But what is a sage? One can be a wise person and be totally ignorant of your true nature as the Self, as so many of the wisest people in history were. Some of the most brilliant minds on this earth from time immemorial to this day have no clue about their true nature, so can they be called truly wise? It is true you can be a good person upholding dharma and contributing good values to society, being a force for good. But does that truly make you wise? Just take a cursory look into philosophy, for instance—so many great ideas, and brilliant people. But while it is inspiring, to what end? Without Self-knowledge, inspiring talk, and good actions, no matter how brilliant is powerless to remove ignorance of your true nature and end existential suffering permanently.
So again, in Vedanta, a wise person is a person who has Self-knowledge, which means they know they are the Self, thus they understand who and what the jiva is and who and what Isvara is, in relation to their true nature as the Self. A person who has realized the Self is not omniscient because only Isvara is, but they understand how everything operates in the Field, meaning the play of the gunas. Service to Isvara is automatic even though a Self-realized person knows they are beyond Isvara. So, they have true wisdom because there is no more karma and no more mysteries for them. They automatically respond appropriately, meaning dharmically, to what the field (Isvara) presents to them.
Guru literally means one who dispels the darkness and in doing so, reveals that the Self is the only guru, because this is a non-dual reality. A genuine guru will not allow you to become dependent on them or put them on a pedestal because their job is to unfold the nondual teachings of Vedanta, which state that there is only one Self and we are all it. Any guru who sees themselves as better or superior to others and requires your allegiance is not a true guru. They are stuck in duality. Many of the so-called gurus and new-age teachers, even Neo-Advaita teachers, fall into this cohort. Their type is legion in the religious, New Age, Yoga, Buddhist, neo-Advaita spiritual game. Discrimination is the name of the game. That is why we have no followers. We do not allow it, though we encourage discipleship because the inquirer is a disciple of the sampradaya, not us. We are there in service to unfold the teachings and guide the inquirer as a friend.
Trish: Also is there a danger of pedestalizing a saint or guru to too great a height where it may even be counter-productive and serve to create a limited belief amongst seekers that the goal is too great/unattainable, which in turn may hinder one from recognizing their very own buddha nature/god essence?
Sundari: Yes, see above. A genuine Vedanta teacher teaches everyone as the Self, not as a person, an ego. Vedanta is a tradition of teaching in friendship, of ‘non-otherness’. There is nothing special about anyone because everyone is the Self, even those who are ignorant of this fact. How can it be any other way as reality is nondual? Once the teachings have been properly unfolded an inquirer is no longer a seeker and becomes their own guru. There is nothing special about being the Self seeing as reality is nondual and that is all there is.
However, in the world of religion, yoga, and spiritual materialism, there is a very distinct hierarchy because the basic idea is that a saint/sage/guru is a special status attained only by the spiritual elite, which is total nonsense. Your only hope is to follow prescribed dictates and do all the actions required in a quest to perfect the jiva. This only works to trap you even more in limitation because it entrenches the idea of doership, of perfecting the person and attaining a ‘special’ state. Furthermore, no action a limited entity takes can achieve limitlessness and permanent satisfaction. Only Self-knowledge can do that, and for that, you must be qualified, be totally committed to self-inquiry, and properly taught by a qualified teacher of Vedanta. I.e., a true guru.
Hari Om
Sundari
