There is a real need for a Guru if we are undertaking a spiritual journey. But before embarking on a spiritual path, we must honestly determine whether we are ready and whether our need for a guru is genuine, as opposed to just an emotional outburst. Ask yourselves this question: “Am I committed, or am I just involved?” We do not need a guru if we do not want God. The complications in life are so great that the poor mind is unable to handle them. When we are moving blindly through the valley of life, stumbling in darkness, we need the help of someone who has eyes, who has been on the path, who has followed it to the end, and who can tell us the right way to go. Guru is not the body; Guru is light; and Guru is wisdom. Light and wisdom are essential in human life. By divine right, the title of guru is conferred only upon those exalted souls who, through their own Self-realization and oneness with God, are qualified to lead others from the darkness of ignorance to the everlasting light of truth. He is a humble prophet or messenger, invested with the duty of showing the true spiritual way to ordinary people. God sends the seeker indirect guidance at first, through books and lesser teachers. When the desire for Him is very strong, He sends the help of a Self-realized guru. There are many who are trying to lead others but who have no right to do so. No one can take you to God unless he himself has found God. The blind can't lead the blind. There is also a difference between a Guru and a spiritual teacher. A teacher is one who has some experience, who can guide you to a certain point, and who is perhaps capable of transmitting some spiritual power, but he would not be a guru. That does not mean that spiritual teachers are bad, but they must recognize their limitations. They must see that they do not have all the answers. There is a need to exercise some prudence to distinguish a true guru from a sea of self-styled leaders. The fake gurus are all over the place, and they can hide themselves very well. It is thus difficult to differentiate between a fly-by-night Baba and a truly evolved Guru. Each one of us is susceptible to exhibiting docile “cult-follower” behavior in the right/wrong circumstances. People believe that “it can never happen to them” because they want to believe they are stronger and better than the millions who have fallen victim to alleged cult mind control. Mind control is alive and well and in many varied forms across many countries. A so-called cult will generally target the most educated, active, and capable people it can find. Such beliefs as “others could be made to do that but not me” and “others could be swayed by speeches but not me” are dangerous. The ease with which this happens is important for both scientific understanding and real-world problems ranging from friends and family in cults to extremist movements. The research by Stanford University, reproduced here, very well proves the same. But there is a great deal we can do to stay safe, sane, and whole and to help the people we care about. Spiritual search is indeed the inborn divine right of every human being. Knowledge and education are the birthrights of every human being. Do whatever we want; spirituality is our inner force, which has a constant pull. This pull becomes very strong at times. So strong that man has no choice. But he will have to make the right decision. Finally, it is God alone who is the true Guru, acting through the agency of souls that are awake in Him and who appear as spiritual advisors, sometimes spiritual masters, for our spiritual ascension—call it spiritual help—once we are ready. This book can be referred to as a spiritual journey book, advising on how do you go on a spiritual journey and safeguarding against cults and extreme beliefs. God help you.

David Mitchell is one of the most critically acclaimed authors in contemporary global writing. Novels such as Ghostwritten, Cloud Atlas and The Bone Clocks demonstrate the author's dazzling literary technique in an oeuvre that crosses genres, genders and borders, moving effortlessly through time and space. David Mitchell: Contemporary Critical Perspectives brings together leading scholars of contemporary fiction to guide readers through the full range of the author's writings, including discussions of all of his novels to-date plus his shorter fictions, essays and libretti. As well as offering extended coverage of Mitchell's most popular work, Cloud Atlas, the authors explore Mitchell's genre-hopping techniques, world-making aesthetics, and engagements with key contemporary issues such as globalization, empire, the environment, disability, trauma and technology. In addition, this book includes an expansive interview with David Mitchell as well as a guide to further reading to help students and readers alike explore the works of this tremendously inventive writer.

Guru: Yes. My definition of enlightenment is what colour is for the blind man. We can describe colour to him and he will understand and know it intellectually, as a mental concept. But what it really is as an experiential experience, he will only know after eyesight has been given to him. Or, say we have a glass of water in front of us. The water exists as it is; waterness is its nature. Speaking of it, is water in terms of the mind. Such water is a concept. The word water is not water. No matter how detailed we describe it-even if it is described by 100 Einsteins-such a description will never be what water really is. We have the triad: the subject (the seer), the object (water) and the process of perceiving water. We can know water only when we drink it, shower with it, etc. That knowing then is a direct existential experience. That knowing is drinking is quenching thirst, therefore, is blissful. The three-fold aspects knowing, drinking and being blissful are one in the event called drinking. It is an impersonal event that occurs as part of the functioning of Totality. It is not an act of an individual "me" embodied in a body-mind organism with the sense of personal volitiona and doership. While drinking, the triad drinker, water, and the process of drinking is dissolved. Drinking occurs as one impersonal event, comprising the drinker, the water and the process of drinking. In this case drinking is the impersonal "What-is." The actual drinking of water is not a concept. At the moment of drinking there is no individual, separate "me"-entity, a drinker drinking water. The "me" comes in afterwards as a further, additional "me"-thought as in "’I’-drank water. ‘I’ experienced drinking water." The fact is, while drinking water happened there was no "me." A body-mind organism was drinking water as part of the functioning of Totality. When we inquire closely, we find that such a "me"-entity does not exist, except as a thought, as a notion, as a concept.

A journey through consciousness and enlightenment. Leaving home, deep practices at yoga ashrams and learning vedanta. From there, moving to work with a zen master and understand cultivation. The guru shows the door, the student has to walk in. A good student builds a great teacher. Enlightenment is passed from a guru to disciple.

Have you ever wondered about how best to live your life? Religions claim to have answers, but they are couched in faith and constrained by rituals that make each religion different from the next. The inevitable result has been conflict and war. Enlightened Living is neither religious nor spiritual, offering instead a rational and practical path that is available to everyone. Enlightenment isn't found by austerity or following rituals but by the sustained practice of observing attachments and letting them go.

A book which explores the Western and Eastern Philosophy and blends the same into the fundamental philosophies of Jainism. Content is provided in Both English and Gujarati to facilitate understanding for the reader. A book based on 30 years of personal experience, a must read for people into philosophy and Jainism and those who want to explore into a new era!

Many of us have become allergic to the fast-food beliefs served up by our social conditioning and religious conventions. We have set out to find our own answers within. The search can be daunting for hungry non-followers. We can easily feel lost as we face the unknown. Awakening the Guru in You presents the Co-evolution process: a modern-day approach to personal growth and spirituality based on the way consciousness naturally evolves in your ordinary life. It will turn you 90 degrees on your chair from listening to the dogmatic leader to relating with one another, accelerating the spiritual path so it becomes truly alive and engaging. Discover how spiritual seekers partnering together can: let go of confusion and doubt access deep insight and resolve persistent problems open up to the divine nature in self, life and others experience ultimate Truth in a fraction of the time compared to traditional methods. Be forewarned that some sacred beliefs may get shattered as you encounter some hilarious ah-ha moments scattered throughout this remarkable book. Russell Scott has walked a path deep, painful, funny and above all fruitful. His awakenings and insights pour forth from these pages. The whole simple approach of Co-evolution and the dozens of practical exercises in this book will set your inner process on fire, empower you and help you build an amazing life for yourself. Lawrence Noyes author, trainer and spiritual teacher If you want to know something, ask an expert. Russells message is different: if we want to know ourselves, we dont need to ask someone else, we need to ask ourselves. Awakening the Guru in You presents a wonderfully simple and profound, method of self-inquiry that is unequalled in other spiritual technologies. Apply it and it will revolutionize your life. Sandra Fiegehen Ph.D., C Psych