July 30

The Real Me Is the Spirit

Question: Swamiji, I have loved you for a long time. How much longer will it be till I get closer to you and to enlightenment?

Sri Gurudev: Oh, my sweetheart. If you have really loved the real Swamiji you are already closer to him. He is closer than your own heart. That is the real Swamiji you should love. Don’t think that Swamiji is this physical person sitting here. No. The spirit in you is the real Swamiji. I’m only a mirror to reflect that in you. If you learn to see that Swamiji, that Guru in you, then you are never apart from that. And you are already enlightened. As long as you think that the Guru or the Swamiji is somewhere sitting outside in a physical form, then this kind of separation and distance is there, and that will not bring enlightenment.

You should see the light of wisdom that is in every heart. It’s not the monopoly of a few people. Ultimately, you have to turn within. You say, “I have loved you for a long time.” Why? Is it because I have a long beard? Is it because I sit and talk nicely, sometimes make you laugh? Is it because people call me the Founder/Director of a big institute or this or that? No. That’s not the real me. That’s all temporary. It won’t stay long. But the real me is the spirit. Or, if you like, certain qualities that you might admire in me. That is the Guru. lf you admire those qualities in me, develop those qualities in you, then you will really feel close to the Swamiji in you.