A guru

A Our peace of mind is disturbed by three main factors.They are

1)Disease

2)Our associates

3)Wealth

Diseases:- If we want to have progress, in spiritual life we must have a healthy body.The ultimate aim of human birth is to realize God.To have a disease free life one must follow good food habits.Eating at proper time and a proper food is necessary, which give proper energy  and thought. Food that is with vegetables and with necessary amount of oil will tame our mind and we will not  do arrogant actions.The mind will be calm.It reduces the chance of becoming obese.Obesity brings hypertension,diabetes and many more diseases.The mind in the diseased body is always restless with anxiety and tension.Concentration increases in a healthy mind and the attention will easily be  focused towards God. Siddars are the great exponents of various medicines. Extracts from various herbs cured many serious diseases.The ancient books such as Thirumandiram, and Thiruvasagam Speak about various medicines and how to keep the body fit. Pantajali,s yogasastra is a boon to the humanity.The yoga practice makes the body flexible.Through yoga the parts of the body can be cleaned individually. Sai baba at shirdi is the standing example for this.A proper guru will teach  how to keep not only our mind but also  body healthy.This body is the medium through which we can get spiritual power.Hence nurturing this body becomes important.

Our associates:-Our associates may be our friends ,relatives or may be even our neighbors. We can not deny the fact that the man is a social animal and he has to live in this society, but sometimes  we are tortured mentally or physically because of their selfish motives. The harsh words injures our mind.Quarrels arise over the partition of wealth and it sometimes end in clashes.Here also Guru comes to our help and guide us what to do.The persons who have the grace of Guru will get good associations.Parents role is also important in guiding the selection of good friends.When they come to know that the friends with whom their wards have connection are not desirable persons they have the duty to correct them and warn them the consequences they have to face if they join with those friends.

Money:-Money is necessary for everyone to lead a peaceful life,but earning money alone should not be the only aim in life.Greediness to earn money leads one to follow unethical means.The more one earns ,the more he becomes worried.  A greedy man  never satisfied with what he gets,he wants to earn more and more and there is no limit for his desire.The mind becomes restless and he gets hypertension  and diabetes.A guru teaches that desire is the root cause for all sufferings.A man must know that what all he gets in this world is not his own , it is belonging to God, he is only appointed as a guardian.What you earn today, goes to somebody else tomorrow.That is why Thiruvalluvar said that the wealth is like a rotating wheel of a cart,which will not stand in one place.After keeping the amount required for your sustenance, the rest must be distributed to the needy persons.Many crimes occur to get the hoarded wealth.It is because of money and property many relations are getting soared.

The above said things makes one's life miserable,hence to lead a peaceful , happy life, we must search  a genuine guru.As i said earlier parents are the first guru in a child's life.They teach them what is good and what is bad.They are the role models to follow.The character of a child is sculptured by the parent's advice and conduct.Apart from the school teachers, anyone who teaches any special skill are also takes the place of a Guru.

How to get a guru?:-First of all we must make ourselves fit to receive a guru by making our thoughts pure.We must crave to get a guru.We must long intensively to get a guru.For some the Guru comes in search of disciple and some go in search of guru.It is not necessary that a person must get only one guru ,he may have more than one guru .people.protectors,guardians,exorcists,messengers,healers,reformers,and upholders of Dharma.They are from both genders and all classes of society.Some are highly educated and some are even illiterates, but they all posses the knowledge of the Self.They provide their followers with knowledge as well as guidance and inspiration for liberation. had more than one guru and he got training in different spiritual practice. while Manickavasagar went to purchase horses,he saw lord shiva teaching under a kurunda tree and he was obsessed by his very appearance and became his ardent devotee and started to build a temple for him with the money, which was given to purchase the horses.Where as Swami Vivekananda wanted to get the answer for his question whether any one has seen God.Then answer came emphatically from Ramakrishna. 

Who is Gnana Guru?:- A Gnana Guru is a person who shows the way for your salvation.He is like a tortoise who always have an eye on his disciple whether he is near by or in far away place.A tortoise hatches it's eggs staying at the bank by it's constant look.A disciple can be initiated by his Guru either by his gracious look or by his body contact or by his words.By silent look, Bhagavan Ramanar gave answers for many of his disciple's questions.The mere touch of SriRamakrishna lifted Swami vivekananda to a unexpressible state of mind.Like wise the great and holy books like Thirukural,Thiruvasagam,and Thirumandiram changed the life of many people.protectors,guardians,exorcists,messengers,healers,reformers,and upholders of Dharma.They are from both genders and all classes of society.Some are highly educated and some are even illiterates, but they all posses the knowledge of the Self.They provide their followers with knowledge as well as guidance and inspiration for liberation.

The significance of a Guru:- They are the guardians of Dharma and have the knowledge of God.They can be called as the representative of God .Usually they are the great devotees and personifies the best of human character and conduct. Guru is always very kind and selfless.He is in particular the protector of the society.Although he is kind he never hesitate to punish those who need to be corrected.Gurus ' role in this world are  many.They act as spiritual advisers, counselors , teachers, astrologers,therapists,and leaders ,

Books do not substitute a Guru.He is an adept who imparts skillful knowledge which comes from his own experience or whole lineage of his prior masters.