Two Different Spiritual Paths and Gurus – Can It Work?

As I write this post, I have been staying in Tiruvannamalai for over 2 and half months. And in these days many people have expressed that they don’t understand which path I am following now. I do the kriya practices of Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev of Isha Foundation. And now I am spending time at Ramanasramam and talking about Ramana’s teachings. Does it mean I have ‘changed’ Gurus? Is there any conflict because of this?

Firstly let’s clarify two things,

Bow Down To Everything

As per our Bharatiya sanskriti (Indian traditions), we bow down to everything. A stone, worm, insect, human et al. We see God in everything, we can take everything as our Guru. We can take a tree as a Guru and bow down. And it would be fine. With the necessary inner intensity the Guru would anyway happen. Either on the outside as an actual person, or through inner clarity. The Guru’s presence is anyway not bound by distance or place.

This is about inculcating a certain surrender bhaavna. Where we just let go of things and bow down. We act as per the deeper truths of life – same creator created everything, hence we bow down to everything – and not on basis of the superficial realities like the food chain where human can be considered the most capable predator.

So as a sadhaka one can just bow down.

And anyway, at Isha Foundation there was not only Sadhguru, there is also Dhyanalinga, who is a Guru of the highest order. Now there is the Linga Bhairavi and Yogeshwar Linga. Haha. At Ramana’s place there is Arunachalam who is also my Mother Guru.

At the same time,

Nischal tatva, Jeevan Mukti

We also want a steadfast focus on our spiritual path. Unwavering and steady. (Earlier I wrote a long blog post on how cosmopolitan societies affect this Steadiness in our spiritual path).

Having multiple spiritual paths and Gurus can be problematic for spiritual seekers because our minds can trick us into following tenets of each path as it suits us. Plus, what if the paths contradict each other even on small matters, imagine the confusion then in our mind. “Who is right?” and all that drama.

So, having clarified these two aspects, what is my situation….

Karma: My Story

As it would be for any sadhaka the inner journey is convoluted for us all. Karma.

I found Sadhguru JV and stick to his practices. But the logistical situation at the Isha ashram is tricky. The ashram is in the forest, which means I can only stay inside the ashram, and thus, as per their organizational rules. And that’s tricky. I had fights with the admin and was without an ashram support for many years. At the time when my ties with the ashram broke, there was the matter of the Isha Yoga practices which I was still doing.

Should I continue them?

There was deep conflict of heart & mind. As it happened, I poured all of it into my Isha Yoga practices and stuck to those practices like my life saving raft. And so, the conflict with the admin became an impetus to strengthen my practices significantly. And soon I realised that since I had continued and moved ahead with Isha Yoga practices, I would eventually have to clear up the situation with the admin. Except that I had a lot of mind blocks with regards having anything to do with the Isha admin.

I soon realised that I was in a stalemate situation. I figured there needed to be another path which had to come my way. I can then rely on them for the ashram support I need. But which path? There are so many paths out there, I had no interest in going and figuring out which paths were genuine and which were not.

So I muddled about it for a while. Then a spark of clarity happened in my mind. I realised that Sadhguru anyway has referred to many other enlightened beings of old, so I could try any of their ashrams. And that’s how I thought of Ramana Maharishi. Sadhguru had often spoke of Ramana Maharishi as a completely enlightened being. So I checked out the Ramanashram website and ordered his book.

On reading this book, I was floored. It was sooo good. 🙂

And this is how my Ramana saga started. I landed up at Ramanasramam a few years later. And the moment I stepped into Ramanashram – for the first time in so many years, I thought of visiting Isha Yoga Center again.

Since I came to Ramana through Sadhguru, I think it is not surprising, in hindsight, that it is leading me back to Isha.

Even though I felt like visiting Isha, I kept avoiding it until my second Ramanasramam visit. After that I knew it was time. And then finally in Feb 2018 around Mahashivaratri, a visit to Isha Yoga Center happened. And I found that most of my mental blocks about the place were gone. Without Ramana & Arunachalam’s grace it wouldn’t have happened.

So have I changed Gurus?

No. There is no such thing. Because this whole thing has happened through a deeper sense than just “thinking” …. the two places/paths/gurus are falling into a harmonious sync. The strengths and weaknesses, as per me, of each organization and logistical situation, compliment each other most of the times. And it is working very well.

Note the clear distinction of the organization & logistical situation as a separate aspect that needs to be figured. So, when I am talking about the “spiritual path”, I am not commenting on the authenticity or capability of the Guru.

Sadhguru and Ramana Maharishi are both great people. They are not contradictory. Their ways of explaining something may differ and that’s ok.

Guru Hopping This Is Not

The reason I went into the Story above, was to highlight clearly that this wasn’t a consequence of “guru hopping”. I went to Ramana only due to an intense inner situation and after I was clear that Sadhguru said he was enlightened. And so everything for me is still aligned because it was always so in my heart.

I don’t do “guru hopping”. With all the various ‘Gurus’ in the market and yoga becoming a trend, people are often jumping from one to another like it is some kind of sport or shopping behaviour. It must be understood that such a thing is not possible because for a person in this kind of flippant mind-set, there can never be a Guru. They would never actually experience the Guru. They may have spiritual experiences – that’s Ok and not a big deal. But for an actual Guru to happen – one would have to be in an intense inner situation. In that case you won’t be hopping around flippantly.

The future

The future also with these two places, will be figured out in my heart. I am a mature sadhaka who will know what’s right for me. I don’t get convoluted in thoughts (like many of the people asking me these questions 😉 ).

Maturity on the Path

Being a mature sadhaka, a lot of these thoughts don’t arise for me. For me it’s about having a deeper awareness and experience of life. And that’s all it is. If I go to multiple gurus, ashrams, spiritual paths… As long as I maintain my awareness and inner experience in a certain way, all situations are extremely helpful and supportive for me.

Earlier, I read a book by two Buddhist monks, Highway Dharma letters, and it was such a good book. So insightful and helpful to me. Does that mean I have a clash of whether I am now “following Buddhism”?

No.

Because I have turned inwards, which means solutions come easy, problems and inner conflicts are rare. If I find two authentic Gurus in my life – I am stoked and over-joyed. The minds which are busy cooking misery – only they would start a conflict because they met 2 great beings instead of 1. Do you understand?

At the end of day, all true spiritual paths express the same inner experience. And show different methods to get there. The different methods also all fall under broadly same tenets, because, the human interiority they are addressing, is the same.

So, now in most spiritual paths, I can quickly grasp what the idea and intent is. And it is enough for me to be able to use the support offered without conflict.

Anyway, whichever place I am, the single minded focus has developed enough that I can remain focussed on what matters to me and I don’t get entangled in superficial messes.

And it is only because this focus has developed, it is why I can write these blogs giving ‘gyaan’. Otherwise, even these kind of writings can become a pretty bondage.

So, that’s the answer.

If you as a seeker are confused or struggling with different spiritual paths / gurus:

The important thing is to develop the necessary clarity and focus inwards. And not get carried away by external factors. But to do this you need to commit to a particular path and reach a certain intensity. So if you are struggling I would say commit to one path – whichever your situation allows. Or just remain aware of the inner struggle and when some inner clarity happens, act as per that.

But if there isn’t any struggle inside, and naturally different paths happen in harmony, then they happen. That’s all.