Guruism Introduction
General
Characteristics of Modern Guru Movement
Gurus
have been with us for a long time
Today
they have become popular
Verities
of people bow before them
Guruism
is now a worldwide force
Guruism
is a struggle for cultural independence in India and
It is a
struggle for counter culture in the west.
India -
Cultural independence: guruism may be revival
of Indian culture
West-
there was catholic theology, the protestant reformation and humanist
enlightenment.
In this
context the west was searching for something new.
That
was the time guruism came.
Meaning
of Guru:
Gur –
u i.e. he tortures, kills or eats up the
ignorance of his disciples, elevates or makes efforts to elevate his character
and ultimately leads him to the path of salvation.
The
word Guru is not in the Vedas because mainly sacrifices
In the
Upanishad the idea of guru developed. Here it means the one who gives religious
instruction.
In
puranas and Tantra guru is the inventor of a sect or creed . thus became
important.
There
was Kabir, Gurunananak, nine gurus and Adi granth takes the place of guru.
Many
considers guru as god i.e. god-man
Five
sociological factors that produced guruism in India:
The
nature of Aryan education: Brahmachariya, total, slavish acceptance of what was
taught.
Esoteric
character of Indian religions: Upanishad – secret knowledge,
Class
system (Brahmin dominance): Brahmanism was replaced by guruism. Four
castes became two: initiated and the
non-initiated
Authoritarian
structure of Indian family
Repressive
Puritanism of Indian society: strict segregation of sexes. Here gurus had sex
with devotees.
Important
factors in the west:
Since
Swami Vivekananda there was respectability to Hinduism
There
was an intellectual vacuum after rejecting isms and Christianity.
Erosion
of religious authority: failure of Christianity to the demand of the time
(intellectual)
Enlightenment, science, naturalistic
humanism or secularism.
Reaction
to hollow materialism
Frustration
with futile reactionism: need to escape from the world
Disillusionment
with barren rationalism
Rationalism could not answer all
questions in life.
The
intellectual impulses behind Guruism:
Epistemology is science of knowledge
Indian gurus spoke of silence
The
Indian gurus have filled the vacuum created by the epistemological crisis of
the west.
From
physics to monism, idealism,
irrationalism (truth is irrational or super rational).
From
Biology to Mysticism –consciousness
From
psychology to Vedanta- Guru has become an eastern substitute for a
Psychoanalyst
From
para-psychology to gurus i.e. powers of extra sensory perception and action to
Siddhis
From
ecology to pantheism
Differences
between old and new gurus:
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