July/August 2012 [Vol 23. No. 4] - Chinmaya Mission San Jose

12page
What Does the Guru Do?
by Parveen bahl
(from Tapovan Prasad, July 2005)
The Shastra openly and boldly declares, “You are that you seek”. Also it
says, “The knower of Brahman is Brahman!” This being the case is it not
most logical to question the need for a Guru? In effect, I have ‘to do’
nothing to achieve or gain what I already have or am. Can anything be
added to ‘me’? Fullness or perfection being my very nature, what is it
that anyone can give me?
It is true that the Guru cannot give you what you already have. In my
hand I hold a string of rare and valuable pink pearls. For anyone to give
me the same string of pink pearls, which I hold in my hand is logically
not possible. Though no one can give me the same string of pearls, the
jeweller can evaluate them and convey to me their true worth. Knowing
the great value of what I have, instantly turns my mind to that which
I may have thought of as worthless. The higher the value the jeweller
attributes to the pearls, the greater will be my attraction to it and the
more concentrated my attention. My mind is mesmerised by the value
and beauty in my possession.