Likewise, The Master once accepts the seeker as disciple; it will be lifelong responsibility of him to take care of his apprentice and vice versa. Neither master, none their disciple could able to leave this formed bondage otherwise it will be considered as a great sin and brings equally great havoc and wrath of Gods upon both of them. None could betray each other once the bond is formed and therefore, the bond usually compares with the relation of Mother- Child and Husband- Wife, where both are expected to be transparent and honest to each other. The master promised to take care of the disciple regardless the spiritual, psychological and the mundane karmic baggage he carried.

The word GuRu itself is so powerful, it contains two independent letters- Gu- means the ignorance, the darkness and Ru means the light and illumination. So, the one who beholds the torch of illumination and leverage the disciple from the pit of darkness is Guru. It’s not mere a word but a promise which sealed two souls in the cosmic waves for eternity, that’s why in ancient time the master became too succinct and careful before select his disciples and even the disciple has to give ardent physical and mental examinations to prove themselves worthy of their master’s teachings and preaching. Unless today, where the disciples are chosen based on their financial capacities, social and political background and other perks and benefits the pupil could give to master, in ancient times the master was remained so much specific in their selection that even they have rejected the king’s heirs and accepted the poorest or orphan one who couldn’t offered them anything other than their own soul and true dedication.

Indian philosophy reached such ultimatum height where it puts clear demarcation line between multiple levels of Guru and indicating the barometer of progress based on chosen master. The highest respect offered to the ‘Samarth Guru- Illustrated One’ and ‘The SadGuru-The Blessed One’. Someone can put them in hierarchical order like a master, a grand master and The Divine Master. There are many kind of masters registered in Indian tradition like –

Kul Guru- (कुलगुरु) Master of Clan who always guide, protect and take care of the particular clan, sect or tribe.

Vidya Guru- (विद्या गुरु) The Master of Education who educates the person and provide literacy, vision, logic and understanding to decipher the good from bad.

Parampara Guru- (परंपरा गुरु) He is the Master who comes from lineage where elders or ancestors of family decided to follow a tradition, principles or rituals of particular one master who might have helped them amidst chaos and they bound to serve him for generations.

Samarth Guru- (समर्थ गुरु) is ‘The Grand Master’ who already gave up all mundane pleasures in search of Truth and extend his potential beyond time and space. Such master has already attained the Nirvana and therefore it costs the disciple a fortune, if he or she able to strike their luck and able to pull attention of such great master toward them. Being disciple of such grand master itself proves the capacity and potential of the devotee which is very rare.

SadGuru- (सद्गुरु) as the title itself indicates the Master is Divine. He is Timeless, shapeless, formless, beyond any limitation and manifested from pure wisdom only. He is the divinity embodied and spirituality contained within himself. His own being has already merged and personified with The Brahman- The Supreme Reality. His grace can change the entire karmic cycle of anyone, his one glance is able to burn even the mountain of sins the person has committed in his entire life cycle. Nothing beyond his limit, nothing he cannot bestow upon his devotees once he pleased. His lotus feet are able to drag the disciple from any sort of darkness, illusion and misery. There is nothing in entire world that is not within his reach.

Meeting the Samarth Guru and the SadGuru certainly is not easy because they cannot be pleased anything less than true devotion, dedication and pure servitude. The disciple when chooses to annihilate his own ego, identity and bondages, he may able to get a mere glimpse of grace of SadGuru. The finest example of it could be of owl which even lived for 100 years but never able to catch a ray of sun, same implies on those ignorant souls who turned their back from ocean of mercy and knowledge.

So now the question is – how to identify and get correct guru who unload our karmic baggage and lead us toward the light, knowledge and our True Self? There is one phrase that I like the most. “When the disciple is ready, the master appears. When the disciple is truly ready, the master disappears.” This indicates that every moment of the life is worth counting on the boons and blessings we have gathered that could take us to the new height and promote us to claim the compassion of SadGuru. The process is certainly not easy and it may take repeated death and birth cycle, but the effort itself is worth because journey is beautiful and on the way meeting the master, there are many achievements scattered around like jewels in desert, awaited for devotee. It is up to the devotee then to choose wisely, leave everything behind to embrace the divinity or succumb to the achievements and fulfillments and lead the life full of endless mundane pleasures. SadGuru- the Divine Master can grant both- The Bhoga- the pleasures of life and Moksha- the liberation from eternal cycle of life and death. Choice indeed will be of devotee to make and pursue what he deems fit.

On very rare occasion, like some exceptions, it also happened that devotee is fully submerged in his own world, but his destiny at some point of time unleash and unfold the mystery which invites the SadGuru to take initiative and push the disciple in such circumstances where he would finally realize his own destined path and later accepts the grace of Guru. Such devotees are rarest rare for whom the Great Divine Master initiated the process of acceptance and succession.

For us, the simple beings who seek refuge in warmth illumination of guru from multiple problems of life, have to keep in mind that may our journey has started from point of following any knowledgeable person as our master, but at last we are destined to merge ourselves in infinite love of SadGuru. So it doesn’t matter where you have started and whom you surrendered to, just keep it in mind that journey is long and not easy at all. On every step you will get a choice to either return to your own world or to proceed ahead with thought in mind that countless dangers, risks and examinations are lurking around to test your passion, devotion and dedication. If you want a relatively safe journey of life and want to live hassle free, many divine remedies are already prescribed by divine masters, but if you think to unleash your true self and want to finish your endless pain and troubles in one birth only, from this moment only start praying ardently for grace of The Great Divine Master.