Kabir’s love for his master is beyond any words. Yet he could be ruthless when he speaks truth – it is going to be as sharp as razor’s edge.
Kabir said, ‘Guru is a must’ but which Guru;
what are the attributes of Guru?

Who is a Guru, what is Guru’s strength, what is Guru’s power? Is it because he is sitting on a bigger chair – Can anyone who sits on that chair becomes a Guru? If that is so then I will get up and leave this seat and sit somewhere else. I can leave this couch and sit comfortably anywhere in the hall. Any one from the audience can sit here – will this seat make you a Guru? It is not even the color of robe or style of clothes, which makes Guru – a Guru. Is the one who wears ochre colored robe a Guru? If so, tomorrow I will wear pink, day after that I will wear purple or something flashy to dazzle you. Guru’s attributes are not in the clothes. Guru’s wisdom is the secret of being a Guru. Now I am wearing a long tilak on my forehead, tomorrow I will not wear it, would it change my status of being a Guru? Who is Guru – one who speaks Sanskrit language, which you will not understand? Guru is not even the one who can lecture you or narrate you stories.
Guru is Guru because of the wisdom, experience, and state of consciousness. So if you have to follow Guru then follow Guru’s sadhana. Do it as Guru did sadhana with dedication, sincerity, and intensity. Be dependent on your experience and not on the words spoken by the master. Master’s words can be a map, but you have to travel with the aid of map. Don’t sit with the map – walk with the map.
Guru is your friend, guide and motivator; don’t turn Guru into a crutch. Guru is the powerhouse. Who is a Guru? The one who has the wisdom, vision, experience and the power of discrimination. Guru is the one who has awakened, who has evolved. Once upon a time even Guru was as foolish as you are now and did same mistakes. Anyone who is wise today was a fool once upon a time, and then the fool grew up and became wise.
Who is a Guru? The one who has learned from his or her mistakes – who has the life experience and learned from it and matured.

Who is a fool? The one who will never learn – neither from his mistakes nor by listening to the discourses or by reading great books. A fool will always be a fool. If you import a donkey to U.S.A, he will still remain a donkey. India very recently has sent a satellite named ‘Chandrayaan’ in space; say if you send a donkey in the rocket, will he become a man? It will still remain a donkey. This is the bitter truth: a fool will remain a fool – well most of the time.
The Guru is not ashamed of his past foolishness. Guru knows that the entire journey has made him mature. When Guru sees his disciples, he sees his own reflection in them. Guru can also see the future of present fools, and knows that one day the fools will become a gyani – wise. In Sanyas tradition, Anand is added to the name of a sanyaasi, like Akhanadanand, Satyanand, Anubhutanand, so even a ‘moorh’ (fool) in Hindi language is called Murkhaanand. Respect is must and it should be given to all, whatever the status might be. To call fool, a fool is disgrace. One day in the life of a fool, a Satguru comes and slowly transformation happens. Negativities like greed, selfishness, anger and lust persist in him but with Guru’s guidance and with the fire of sadhana slowly one after another all negativities are removed.
So there is a hope for every fool; one day he too can become wise. But first a fool has to know that he is a fool – this is the first step in the direction of becoming wise. Once this first step is taken then the journey of fool begins. So your real search can begin only when you know that your present condition is not good – you realize that you have to do something about it. Most of the people are living as if they have no senses or intellect. They are happy in their self-inflicted miseries; they don’t know that life can be lived in a much better way. I do not want your life to be filled with sorrow, pain, and misery.

Who is a Guru?
The one who has the wisdom, vision, experience and

the power of discrimination
It is part of Guru’s responsibility to help the disciple to become emotionally and spiritually strong but Guru alone cannot do this. Kabir has sung glory of master in lofty words. But at times people misunderstand it. Now and then, there are going to be ups & down – turmoil in life. Unintentionally, people depend on the Guru as a person and not on the teachings.
Kabir’s verses explain how to behave with a Guru. Kabir gave a beautiful name to Guru, it is ‘Sahib’ – meaning my Lord.  Guru is seen as a form of God. Many Sufi masters have said that we have not seen God with our eyes but after seeing Guru we know God does exist, otherwise how can a mortal being be such luminous, pious and compassionate.
What does Guru give? Maybe in the beginning it will be just a mantra. Mantra is not just plain set of words. They are sound waves, which have very specific effect on human brain. Every sound has an effect on body and our ancient masters used mantras to create much needed changes in seeker’s brain. Brain is the place where the most important glands are working, namely – pituitary and pineal gland, which are further related with hypothalamus. Mantra is a sound wave which has a great effect on these organs. For spiritual practice one needs concentration, equanimity, focus, de-fogged mind and with mantra recitation practitioner creates such waves which are slowly going to bring these desired elements in mind.
Initially, the Guru gives the mantra and one should practice the mantra sincerely. Mantra works like a bridge in between Guru and disciple. It connects both – the Guru and the disciple. When Guru gives the mantra to disciple, it is not only mantra which is given but also powerful energy gets transported. Chanting mantra regularly can give lot of strength to your body, and it unclutters the mind so that intellect can be made pristine and clear.
Shishya, the disciple, benefits from love and compassion of Guru. We need Guru hence we seek Guru, not vice versa. Our scriptures have been written by those individuals who themselves had gained everything from their respective Gurus, thus it goes without saying that to excel in this life one definitely needs guidance from the master.
Seek master with understanding, love and surrender. But do not ever think that once you have found Guru it is solely the duty of Guru to give you Samadhi – the total absorption state; disciple has to work hard with the Guru to match his steps – step by step.
Seek Guru’s guidance but don’t be dependent on the Guru, as it can be a dangerous affair – as any such bondage is a hurdle in this path. By being dependent, you turn your Guru into another angle of emotional dependency. If you follow the guidance of the Guru meticulously then Guru’s blessings will shower on you – that too without asking. And if you become dependent on your Guru then you have turned your Guru into a crutch. The seed of emotional dependency is rooted deep in the human nature – first it is on mother, father, and then it is wife and children. You depend on your money, prestige, and this tendency keeps on growing. When everything else has failed you, then it is your Guru on whom you begin to depend on. Guru can be a guide but Guru cannot walk the path for you.  Solely depending on the Guru and not practicing what Guru has taught, won’t work at all.  Just listening to the discourses and not implementing the words won’t serve you. In the end it is you who can redeem you – not the Guru.