Inter- Faiths Dialogue

Classics > Spiritual Guides

47 quote(s) | Page 1 / 2

T he disciple that takes abode in the Master's home to receive guidance
Should with his heart the Master's guidance accept. He should nowise show
off his ego; He should ever in his heart meditate on the Name Divine. The
disciple that has abandoned himself to the Master-- All his objectives
shall be fulfilled. One that serves and seeks no recompense, Finds union
with the Lord.

quote 4365 | The Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji
Gauri Sukhmani 18, M.5, p. 285

A s in the sky flies the white-clothed crane,
Keeping its mind behind,
In its heart continually remembering its young ones;
So the true Guru keeps the disciple absorbed in the love of God,
And also keeps him in his heart.

quote 4362 | The Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji
Adi Granth, Gauri, M.4

T o many it is not given to hear of the Self. Many, though they hear of
it, do not understand it. Wonderful is he who speaks of it. Intelligent
is he who learns of it. Blessed is he who, taught by a good teacher, is
able to understand it.

The truth of the Self cannot be fully understood when taught by an
ignorant man, for opinions regarding it, not founded in knowledge, vary
one from another. Subtler than the subtlest is this Self, and beyond all
logic. Taught by a teacher who knows the Self and Brahman as one, a man
leaves vain theory behind and attains to truth.

The awakening which you have known does not come through the intellect,
but rather, in fullest measure, from the lips of the wise....

Words cannot reveal him. Mind cannot reach him. Eyes do not see him.
How then can he be comprehended, save when taught by those seers who
indeed have known him?

quote 4361 | The Upanishads

S hould one see a wise man, who, like a revealer of treasure, points out
faults and reproves; let one associate with such a wise person; it will be
better, not worse, for him who associates with such a one.

Let him advise, instruct, and dissuade one from evil; truly pleasing is he
to the good, displeasing is he to the bad.

quote 4360 | Buddha Sakyamuni
Dhammapada 76-77

A pproach someone who has realized the purpose of life and question him
with reverence and devotion; he will instruct you in this wisdom. Once
you attain it, you will never be deluded. You will see all creatures in
the Self, and all in Me.

quote 4359 | The Bhagavat Gita
Bhagavad Gita 4.34-35

J ust as cold disappears by sitting near the fire,
So are sins destroyed in the congregation of saints.

quote 4358 | The Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji
Ramkali Ashtpadi, M.5, p. 914

L et thy house be a place of meeting for the wise, and dust thyself with
the dust of their feet, and drink their words with thirst.

quote 4357 | The Talmud
Mishnah, Abot 1.4

O ne not knowing a land asks of one who knows it,
he goes forward instructed by the knowing one.
Such, indeed, is the blessing of instruction,
one finds a path that leads him straight onward.

quote 4356 | The Rig Veda
Rig Veda 10.32.7

I n whatsoever place the prudent man shall make his home,
Let him support the virtuous ones who live the holy life.

To all the devas dwelling there let him make offerings.
Thus honored, they will honor him; revered, they'll him revere.

As a mother gives compassion to the child she has borne,
Whom the devas compassion give ever see good luck.

quote 4258 | Buddha Sakyamuni
Digha Nikaya ii.88

T hose who have said, "Our Lord is God," then have gone straight, upon them the angels descend, saying, "Fear not, neither sorrow; rejoice in Paradise that you were promised. We are your friends in the present life and in the world to come; therein you shall have all that your souls desire..."

quote 4257 | The Quran
Qur'an 41.30-31

I f a man perform a religious precept, one angel is assigned to him; if he perform two precepts, two angels are assigned to him; if he perform all the precepts, many angels are assigned to him; as it is said, "For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all thy ways" (Psalm 91.11). Who are these angels? They are his guardians from the harmful spirits; as it is said, "A thousand shall fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand" (Psalm 91.7).

quote 4256 | The Misdrashs

A ll worldly pursuits have but one unavoidable and inevitable end, which is sorrow; acquisitions end in dispersion; buildings in destruction; meetings in separation; births in death. Knowing this, one should, from the very first, renounce acquisitions and storing-up, and building, and meeting; and, faithful to the commands of an eminent Guru, set about realizing the Truth. That alone is the best of religious observances.

quote 3745 | Milarepa
Evans-Wentz, 1971; pp. 259, 261, 262, 270, 271

A ccustomed long to meditating on my Guru as enhaloed over my head,
I have forgotten all those who rule by power and prestige.

quote 3739 | Milarepa
Evans-Wentz, 1971;pp 245-247

F rom his transcendent station, the Lord in the form of the Guru frees one from all bondage. (1)
... The Guru is the means [to enlightenment]. (2)
... Initiation [by the Guru] is the first ladder to the terrace of Liberation. (3)
... The touch of the hand of the Guru destroys the impurities of the world and converts the base metal [of the disciple] into gold. (4)

quote 3686 | Tantric scriptures
(1) Kularnava Tantra, 12.25 ; (2) Vasugupta, Shiva Sutras, 2.6 ; (3) Parainananda Tantra ; (4) Jnanarnava Tantra, 24.41

Q uestioner: When you were young you wrote a book in which you said: "These are not my words, they are the words of my Master." How is it that you now insist upon our thinking for ourselves? And who was your Master? K. Answers: …Does it matter very much who a Master or a guru is? What matters is life -- not your guru, not a Master, a leader or a teacher who interprets life for you. It is you who have to understand life; it is you who are suffering in misery; it is you who want to know the meaning of death, of birth, of meditation, of sorrow, and nobody can tell you… What is important is to be a light unto yourself, to be your own Master and disciple, to be both the teacher and the pupil.

quote 3488 | Jiddu Krishnamurti
Think on these Things

I t is very important to consult people of experience; for otherwise you will imagine that you are doing yourselves great harm by pursuing your necessary occupations. But, provided we do not abandon our prayer, the Lord will turn everything we do to our profit, even though we may find no one to teach us.

quote 3476 | Saint Teresa of Avila
Interior Castle. Trans. E. Allison Peers. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc., 1990, pp. 52-53, Second Mansions, Chapter 1, Paragraph 11)

I n truth those who have the skill properly to direct and heal rational souls are rare, and especially at the present time. Many, perhaps, have made a pretense of fasting and vigil and a form of godliness… As for learning many things by heart and teaching them in words, this is easy for most men, but as for eliminating the passions and acquiring the capital virtues so that they cannot be lost, very few are found [who do this]. Now we call "capital virtues" humility, which eliminates the passions and obtains heavenly and angelic impassibility, and love, which never ceases or fails (cf. 1 Cor. 13:8) but continually presses on to that which lies ahead (cf. Phil. 3:13-14) as it adds desire to desire and love to love. It supplies perfect discernment, and by itself is a good guide to those who follow after it and infallibly carries us across the spiritual sea… Do not follow the wolf instead of the shepherd (cf. Mt. 7:15), nor enter into a flock that is diseased (cf. Ezek. 34:4).

quote 3424 | Saint Symeon the New Theologian
The Discourses, p. 236-237, Trans. C.J. de Catanzaro. Ramsey, N.J.: Paulist Press, 1980.

D o not be alone by yourself, lest you be seen carried off by the world who destroys souls, or succumb to one disease after the other and so die spiritually, or, as you succumb, you attain to that woe (cf. Eccles. 4:10). He who gives himself in the hand of a good teacher will have no such worries, but will live without anxiety and be saved in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory forever. Amen.

quote 3423 | Saint Symeon the New Theologian
The Discourses, p. 237, Trans. C.J. de Catanzaro. Ramsey, N.J.: Paulist Press, 1980.

G od is fire and He is so called by all the inspired Scripture (cf. Heb. 12:29). The soul of each of us is a lamp. Now a lamp is wholly in darkness, even though it be filled with oil or tow or other combustible matter, until it receives fire and is kindled… The man whose soul's lamp is still in darkness, that is, untorched by the divine fire, stands the more in need of a guide with a shining torch who will discern his actions.

quote 3422 | Saint Symeon the New Theologian
The Discourses, p. 339, Trans. C.J. de Catanzaro. Ramsey, N.J.: Paulist Press, 1980.

N or should you circulate in search of famous monks, nor inquire into their lives. Rather, if by God's grace you have chanced on a spiritual father, tell only him about yourself. If not, but as seeing Christ, look always at Him and in all things keep Him alone as the One Who sees your sorrow and affliction.

quote 3421 | Saint Symeon the New Theologian
On the Mystical Life : The Ethical Discourses. Trans. Alexander Golitzin. Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1996, (Vol. 2), p.95

C onstantly call on God, that He may show you a man who is able to direct you well, one whom you ought to obey as though he were God Himself, whose instruction you must carry out without hesitation… It is better for you to be called a disciple of a disciple rather than to live by your own devices and gather the worthless fruits of your own will… So, brother, do as we have said, and go to the man whom God shows you, either mystically in person, or externally through His servant.

quote 3420 | Saint Symeon the New Theologian
The Discourses, p. 232, Trans. C.J. de Catanzaro. Ramsey, N.J.: Paulist Press, 1980.

T he Lord fills His teachers with grace according to the quality and longing of those who listen.

quote 3402 | The Philokalia
St. John Cassian in On the Holy Fathers of Sketis: ("Philokalia (Vol. 1)", p. 98)

W hen Christ Himself spoke to Paul and called him, He could have opened his eyes at once and made known to him the way of perfection; instead He sent him to Ananias and told him to learn from him the way of truth, saying: Arise and go into the city, and there you will be told what you must do (Acts 9:6). In this manner He teaches us to be guided by those who are advanced on the way, so that the vision rightly given to Paul should not be wrongly interpreted; otherwise it might lead later generations presumptuously to suppose that each individual must be initiated into the truth directly by God, as Paul was, and not by the fathers…

quote 3401 | The Philokalia
St. John Cassian in On the Holy Fathers of Sketis: ("Philokalia (Vol. 1)", p. 107)

A teacher ought to be a stranger to the desire for domination, vain-glory, and pride; one should not be able to fool him by flattery, nor blind him by gifts, nor conquer him by the stomach, nor dominate him by anger; but he should be patient, gentle and humble as far as possible; he must be tested and without partisanship, full of concern, and a lover of souls.

quote 3350 | Desert Fathers
Amma Theodora: The sayings of the Desert Fathers : the alphabetical collection. Trans. Benedicta Ward, SLG. Kalamazoo, Michigan: Cistercian Publications Inc., 1984, 1975, pp. 83-84, Amma Theodora 5

G od does not speak to everyone, just as the kings of this world do not speak to every weaver. They appoint ministers and representatives so that through them people may find the way to them. In the same way God has singled out certain servants so that everyone who seeks Him may find Him within them. All the prophets have come for this reason. Only they are the Way.

quote 3324 | Jalâl ud Dîn Rumi
The Sufi Path of Love: The Spiritual Teachings of Rumi, p. 122, Trans. William C. Chittick. Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York Press, 1983

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