A true guru is someone whose power of words is such that whatever he says automatically produces results within the listener! And yet these so-called gurus of today in spite of their anger, pride, attachment and greed still preach to us. What they preach is already in the books, so what is the difference between them and the books?

How can you have faith in a preacher whose conduct is contrary to his preaching? It is for his own enjoyment that he indulges in flowery speech. A guru can only instill faith in someone if his own speech is pure and there is power behind his words; he has no desire for fame, pride, disciples, sex or wealth and he preaches solely about liberation. Only such a person can awaken in others a sense of detachment from worldly things. Such a being is the personification of faith himself.

A wealthy businessman once told me that he had tremendous faith in ‘Baapji’ (term used to address a guru). I told him that it was no wonder that he had so much faith, because the guru welcomed him with excessive respect in front of others. The guru knows in his mind that this wealthy businessman may be of use to him some day. Despite being aware of the businessman’s involvement in the black market he feels that a day will come when he may need a favor from him. And in his mind he thinks ‘Why should I concern myself with that when he is the one who will have to pay the price.’ While the businessman on the other hand, thinks that since Baapjiis giving him a lot of respect he must not be doing anything wrong. If only Baapjiwere to say ‘Hey, you cannot come here if you are going to do this kind of a business’, but Baapjidoes not say such a thing does he? Both the guru and the disciple are in a mutually selfish relationship. This whole world is intoxicated with a love that has selfish motives. How long can such faith last? Only as long as the guru does not say anything negative. No matter how much a guru swears or insults you, if you do not lose any respect for him, then that is a true guru. They are always looking after your own good. Those without any attachment, anger, pride or greed, and those who have the “master key” for solutions to any situation or problem, are the real gurus. Gurus should be those who can help you swim the ocean of the world.

Now there is a lot of difference between a guru and a Sadguru. Shrimad Rajchandra said that if you want liberation, “Do not look for anything else, just find only one Sadguru and move on, having surrendered your every desire at his lotus feet, then if you do not find liberation, come and get it from me”.

There is no liberation without the Sadguru. But the problem is, whom do you call a Sadguru? If we were to analyze the scriptural language, then Sat means the Soul and the Sadguru is the one who has acquired the pure soul himself!
So the Sadguru is called Atmagnani (the knower of the Soul). It is he who has the experience of the Soul. These Sadgurus constantly ‘remain’ in their Soul. In this day and age there will not be any Sadguru. Sometimes they are present. People have mistaken gurus for Sadgurus, and that is the cause of all this confusion, is it not? Otherwise why would one have any worries after having met a Sadguru? In India, every religion calls its own gurus, a Sadguru. But that meaning is in the worldly language. Today there are no true gurus, so how can there be any Sadgurus? And when there was a Sadguru, like Shrimad Rajchandra, people failed to recognize him. If one finds a guru, he will get on the right track and if he finds a Sadguru, he will be fully blessed. Sadgurus carry the authority of God. Those who are liberated are called Sadguru. Those who have the Science of Separation, the separation of the real (I or the Soul) and the relative (the matter, the body complex) are called Sadguru. Sadgurus should be Gnani's(the liberated, Self Realized).

Gnani's are those who have nothing more left to know, and where there is a Gnani, there is no exchange of money (transactions of money). On the contrary, the Gnani'shave come to help you get rid of your miseries. Surrender your miseries to the Gnani Purush. He that has no need for anything in this world is the world’s disciple. He is the world’s most lowly person. Gnani'sare the lowliest from a worldly perspective but from a spiritual perspective, the most superior. Gnani'sare those with pure conduct and pure speech. One acquires inner peace by merely seeing them or meeting them. Compassion flows from their eyes. Absolute vitraagta (no attachment to any worldly thing) manifests within them. If one were to meet such an Absolute Scientist who is a living embodiment of faith, his liberation would be close at hand. Liberation is at the lotus feet of the Gnani Purush.