Why Seek a Saint When You Can Pray to God?

Lots of difficulties and questions arise in the mind of an aspirant, which hamper the progress. To progress resolving all these is indispensable. If we yield directly to God, who will solve them? God is divine, we cannot see Him directly with our material eyes. If you say, “I ask Him mentally, He will provide me the answers in my mind”, it is not wise, because material thoughts appear in our mind. When our mind asks a question, the same mind answers. And would never answer against its own notion. Then how would we get the correct answer? Suppose, sometimes God also gives answer, how would we know the source of answer is God or our own material mind?

Hence, He sends His devotees who tailor their teachings to our level of comprehension and then awaken and enlighten us to lead us forward. Without the absolute understanding, the scriptures seem to have a lot of contradictory statements, which further entangle us and confuse our mind. So, we positively need an all-knowing master.

​Tulasidas Ji says -

"No one, even those with the intellect like creator Lord Brahma and Lord Shankar, can traverse the ocean of Maya without the grace of a Spiritual Master.”

So, guidance of a genuine saint is positively obligatory for God – realization. 

How does Guru help us in spiritual growth?

There are lots of things to know to tread on the path of God realization. God is divine, we cannot see Him directly with our material eyes. Hence, He sends His saints to to lead us to God. They awaken and enlighten us with their teachings which match our level of comprehension. The scriptures have many seemingly contradictory statements.  Self study of scriptures further entangles us instead of clarifying the doubts. So, we positively need an all knowing master. 

Surrendering to a God-realized Guru (ब्रह्मनिष्ठ) is imperative to place the first step on the path of God-realization for the following reasons
​1. A God-realized saint is omniscient. Hence, He knows all about the spiritual practices the disciple has performed in previous lives as well as his present level of devotion. Guru provides customized guidance.

2. It is the prime duty of a Guru to save His disciple from upcoming adverse situations. So, the Guru engages him in spiritual activities to escape from that.

3. Guru fights with the bad sanskaras (impressions from past lives in the sub-conscious mind) of His disciple to reduce their adverse impact that would interfere with his spiritual progress.

4. Sometimes Guru lets the disciple undergo an unavoidable calamity in a dream.5. Sometimes Guru secretly takes the physical afflictions of the disciple on Himself. Or reduces the pain of those afflictions. 6. Sitting in the heart of the surrendered devotee, He notices all his mental activity and helps him in meditation.

7. It is only by the grace of Guru that an aspirant ascends to higher levels of devotion. Every time when a disciple progresses to the next level of devotion, Guru starts guiding the disciple accordingly just as school books change in each successive grade.

8. Sometimes Guru points out the reasons for the disciples’ slow progress, like an affectionate mother. At other time He might scold like a father and yet another time might even punish the disciple like a teacher. True Guru toils fervently because He wants His disciple to soon reach his ultimate goal of life.

9. When the disciple surrenders himself 100%, then by the grace of Guru the divine power of Yogmaya turns his material mind into divine. As soon as the aspirant attains divine power, he attains divine vision of God, divine knowledge, divine abode and all divine powers simultaneously.
​​

​It is well explained in the following lines of Kripalu Trayodashi verses 11-13 – ​इमि मन शुद्ध हो तो गोविंद राधे । मन को स्वरूप शक्ति दिव्य बना दे ।
"imi mana śuddha ho to goviṃda rādhe । mana ko svarūpa śakti divya banā de ।“Thus, the mind will become untarnished. Then the most personal power of Shri Krishna, which is ‘Swaroop Shakti’, will infuse divine power to the mind.” तब दिव्य मन में दें , गोविंद राधे । गुरु ह्लादिनी सार प्रेम बता दे ।
taba divya mana meṃ deṃ , goviṃda rādhe । guru hlādinī sāra prema batā de ।

“Thereafter Guru would infuse divine love, the essence of Hladini Shakti, in the mind of the devotee.” तब जीव पा ले निज​, गोविंद राधे । नित्य दासत्त्व अधिकार बता दे ।
taba jīva pā le nija​, goviṃda rādhe । nitya dāsattva adhikāra batā de ।“Consequently, the individual being attains his innate right of being an eternal servant of Shri Krishna.” 

There are millions of secret roles of a Guru, which cannot be described here with limited words. That’s why all the scriptures challenge unanimously, no one can realize God without the grace of a Guru.

So, complete surrender of mind with the help of an authentic spiritual master is inevitable to realize God. Since it is the only way to attain unlimited divine bliss. 

The soul is a non-doer. Yet it is conscious and the proprietor of the body. The body and all of its parts are material and the eternal servants of the soul. As the soul is an eternal part of God (Happiness), it aspires exclusively to attain happiness only.

​Our entire personality is compared to a chariot. The Vedas assert –

आत्मानँरथिनं विद्धि शरीरं रथमेव तु । बुद्धिं तु सारथिं विद्धि मनः प्रग्रहमेव च​॥
इन्द्रियाणि हयानागुर्विषयां स्तेषु गोचरान्। आत्मेन्द्रियमनोयुक्तं भोक्तेत्याहुर्मनीषिणः ॥
कठो १.३.३-४aatmaanaँrathina.m viddhi "sariira.m rathameva tu | buddhi.m tu saarathi.m viddhi mana.h pragrahameva ca​||
indriyaa.ni hayaanaagurvi.sayaa.m ste.su gocaraan| aatmendriyamanoyukta.m bhoktetyaahurmanii.si.na.h ||
​ka.tho 1.3.3-4“Body can be compared to a chariot for which the intellect is charioteer and the mind is the bridle for the senses, which are like horses that pull the chariot forward. Soul is the owner of this chariot and is also the passenger."

​Again, the Vedas advise:इन्द्रियेभ्यः परा ह्यर्था अर्थेभ्यश्च परं मनः, मनसस्तु परा बुद्धिर्बुद्धेरात्मा महान्। परः । 
महतः परमव्यत्तमव्यक्तात् पुरुषः परः, पुरुषान्न परं किञ्चित् सा काष्ठा सा परा गतिः ॥
केठो.indriyebhya.h paraa hyarthaa arthebhya"sca para.m mana.h, manasastu paraa buddhirbuddheraatmaa mahaan| para.h |
mahata.h paramavyattamavyaktaat puru.sa.h para.h, puru.saanna para.m ki~ncit saa kaa.s.thaa saa paraa gati.h ||
keṭho.This hymn describes, “the senses, mind, intellect, soul and Supreme God are above and beyond the preceding one”.

The Brahma - Supreme God is veritable divine bliss. We are the eternal part of this bliss. Hence attainment of bliss is the exclusive desire of the soul. Intellect is tasked with taking the owner (soul) to the realm of bliss. Being a faithful servant, the intellect, being incognizant of divine bliss, instructs the mind and mind disseminates this message to the senses. The reach of senses is confined only to the material world, so they keep providing one material object after another to the soul. Material matters do not please the divine soul. That’s why this search is continual since eternity and it would be until the true divine happiness is achieved.

​This dire state of individual beings is perennial because we have decided to not listen to the genuine saints, who have attained bliss. Due to ignorance, we are following the other ignorant beings and unceasingly searching for happiness in the world, where there has never been a trace of happiness. Hence the only remedy of this predicament is to find a God-realized saint and surrender our minds unto his lotus feet.