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The Guru Archives

The Guru
Rachael

The Guru’s Love

Ram Dass gathers with Sharon Salzberg and Krishna Das to talk about the love of the Guru. Krishna Das and Ram Dass share their experiences with Neem Karoli Baba and

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two hands creating a heart
Artículos en Español
Rachael

Un amor puro y perfecto

Durante el verano de 1973 me estaba quedando en la granja de mi padre en New Hampshire, y fue allí donde llego el telegrama en Septiembre. Mi padre y mi

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The Guru
Rachael

The Nature of a Teacher

“When you forget all your dualistic ideas, everything becomes your teacher, and everything can be the object of worship.” – Shunryu Suzuki If several teachers are available in your area,

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what is a guru
The Guru
Rachael

What is a Guru?

Ram Dass explains the ‘still, small voice’ of Spirit within, that pulls us toward God. He helps us understand what a guru is, and that a guru’s love is unconditional.

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The Guru
Rachael

Silent Awareness

Ram Dass was the guest speaker at a joyful Sunday morning service held at the First Church of Religious Science. He talked about aging, suffering, and silence, and about the

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The Guru
Rachael

The Purpose of a Lineage

My own lineage is reflected in the name Ram Dass, which means “servant of God.” It’s a path of devotion to God/Guru, and the expression of that devotion is through

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The Guru
Rachael

God = Guru = Self

Ramana Maharshi said that God, guru, and the Self are the same. The guru, the true guide, awakens our own deeper being, or ātman, which is God itself. Ramana Maharshi realized

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Jao
The Guru
Rachael

Jao!

The variations in Maharaji’s use of the word “jao” were infinite – from a bellow (sometimes preceded by “Ap [you]!”) for the recalcitrant to a tender, “Jao, Ma…” as he

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The Guru
Rachael

Hazrat Inayat Khan

Hazrat Inayat Khan (1882-1927) was a Sufi teacher and brilliant musician from India who started “The Sufi Order in the West” (now called the Sufi Order International) in the early

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Sri Ram Thakur

“Patience is a priceless possession. Exert yourself always to nourish it.” – Sri Ram Thakur India has been blessed with the incarnations of many powerful and mystic saints and religious

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The Guru
Rachael

Polishing Away the Anger

Once I found myself becoming very angry while at Maharaji’s temple. Most of the anger was directed against my fellow Western devotees. Although there were perhaps some justifiable reasons for

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The Guru
Rachael

The Need for a Guru

Regarding the question of whether you need a guru: there are stages in your development where you need a guru. However, you’ve got to understand what a guru is. A

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The Guru
Rachael

The Touch of Grace

One day in 1968 Maharaji sent word that a group of nine of us would go for a ride in the Land Rover. After one stop at an apple orchard,

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The Guru
Rachael

Darshan: A Meeting of the Spirit

Not everyone who met Maharajji was “opened” or “awakened” at the initial visit. Many came, enjoyed a pleasant visit, and left apparently unaffected. They seemed to have “no business” with

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All You Need Is…

If I am in my soul, when I look at others, I see their souls. I still see the individual differences – men and women, rich and poor, attractive and

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Death & Dying
Rachael

The Great Escape

What was to be Maharajji’s final day at Kainchi was spent in darshan, kirtan, and prayers. Both Indian and Western devotees were gathered. Maharajji was asking after everyone at the temple

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Who Are You Going to Fool?

The minute you know that there is somebody who knows it all, you are free. Because all your secrets become absurd, because somebody knows everything about you and they say,

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Love & Compassion
Rachael

Words from Realized Beings

Hanging out with realized beings or saints, with their words and pictures, is a way to inspire and find guidance for your own path. A realized being is like a pure mirror

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Functions of a Teacher

As far as teachers are concerned, a teacher is found wherever you are when you’re ready for that teacher. If you’re aware enough to ask the question, “How am I

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The Guru
Rachael

Remembering the Illusion

One day when we Westerners had been sent to the rear of the temple grounds, as was usual during the day, I decided (for sentimental reasons) to go upstairs in

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Consciousness & Psychedelics
Rachael

The Surrender to Consciousness

What I experienced at that time of meeting Maharaji, in fact, within those first few minutes of meeting him was the experience of surrender which was no surrender.  In other

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Consciousness & Psychedelics
Rachael

The First Encounter

Now the reason that my life may be useful, although from most other standpoints it seems, even to me, quite trivial, is that I have led three lives. I have

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pink daisies
Love & Compassion
Rachael

I Am Loving Awareness

My Guru, Neem Karoli Baba (Maharaji) has affected me by loving me, and therefore I love you. So this is a meditation. You attend with your mind to a point

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maharaji on love
The Guru
Rachael

Maharaji on Love

The following is an excerpt from a Ram Dass lecture from Listening Heart, Relationships, & Appreciating the Beloved from the Summer of 1989. It is his response to a question from an

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The Guru
Rachael

Babaji’s Grace

One morning, Babaji began talking about pujas and prayers and going on pilgrimages. “Prayer and worship should be done by everyone, every day, as the highest obligatory duty to God; visiting

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