Identify the saints and expose the pretenders
Question
In your publications you have been consistently using the words God-Realized saint, genuine saint, authentic saint, bona fide saint. What do these words really mean? How can one know who is a genuine saint and who is not?
Answer
All the scriptures unanimously assert that one cannot realize God without the grace of a genuine saint. Our holy scriptures provide the definition of a genuine saint, as
तद्विज्ञानार्थं स गुरुमेवाभिगच्छेत् समित्पाणिः क्षोत्रियं ब्रह्मनिष्ठम्॥
मुंडको १.२.१२
tadvij~naanaartha.m sa gurumevaabhigacchet samitpaa.ni.h k.sotriya.m brahmani.s.tham||
mu.m.dako 1.2.12
"To know Him, go to the one who is endowed with
- perfect knowledge of the scriptures (क्षोत्रियं) and
- has seen God (ब्रह्मनिष्ठम्)".
Means scriptures advise to seek Guru who has both of those qualities. Yet, of the two attributes latter quality - the one who has seen God, is more important. So, your Guru-Spiritual Master must be a God-realized soul. This attribute is more important because once a jeev attains God, essence of knowledge described in the scriptures automatically becomes known.
गुरु बिन भवनिधि तरई कि कोई ।
जो बिरंचि शंकर सम होई ॥ रामचरित मानस
guru bina bhavanidhi taraii ki koii |
jo bira.mci "sa.mkara sama hoii || raamacarita maanasa
Sainthood is not a college or university degree that is conferred upon someone, examining which one can establish the identity of a true saint.
In Kaliyug so many imposters pretend to be saints that it becomes not just difficult, rather impossible to identify a genuine saint. A saint can only be known by a saint of the same level, because like God, true identity of a saint cannot be grasped by the material senses, mind and intellect.
Nevertheless, a saint has to be recognized through perceptual, inferential and scriptural evidence; otherwise no one would have ever attained God since the beginningless time.
So, let us solve this mystery with logic and scriptural evidences based on the philosophy propounded by Jagadguruttam Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj.
To answer this immensely important question Shri Maharaj Ji draws attention to 3 criteria.
First, pay attention towards those characteristics which confuse people into believing that the person, exhibiting them, is a true saint. These characteristics don't confirm true sainthood. So a spiritual seeker must further examine before choosing the person as Guru.
Inconclusive ways to identify a saint
Seeing the following 3 characteristics in a person an aspirant cannot be certain if he is a saint or not. So these are dubious or inconclusive signs
1. Saintly attire: Just because someone dresses up in a saintly attire one should not believe that he is a saint. He could be a saint or an imposter. So, be cautious.
2. Large following: A huge number of disciples is also not a sure sign of a true saint. Many people possess the skill of enchanting people by their fine arts or other specialties. Just by the virtue of being surrounded by a large number of disciple does not qualify one to be a true saint. So be cautious.
3. Built Ashrams: One who has built many gorgeous ashrams too may or may not be a real saint. So be cautious.
In the next article Recognizing a pseudo-saint the characteristics to unmistakably spot an imposter will be discussed.