26 The Guru and the Disciple
knowledge( updesh); such a person can be regarded as a guru. Had I met Krupadudev, even for just five minutes, I would have made him my guru; that is what I had understood. I have not made anyone my guru. I have done darshan( seen with reverence) of many other saints, but I will not make anyone my guru until my heart accepts him. There is no doubt that the saints I had met were true saints, but acceptance by the heart is also needed.
Respect for the Gurus of the past life
I do not have a guru in this lifetime, but that does not mean I never had a guru before.
Questioner: So did you have a guru in your previous life?
Dadashri: Without a guru, man cannot progress. For that matter, no guru has progressed without a guru. What I am saying is that not a single person has been without a guru.
Questioner: Who was your guru in your previous life?
Dadashri: Whoever he was, he must have been good. How can I know more about him now?
not?
Questioner: Even Shrimad Rajchandra had a guru, did he
Dadashri: He did not meet a guru in his lifetime. He had said that if he had met a satguru, he would have followed him everywhere! His Gnan, however, was real. In his ultimate state, the Gnan that manifested within him was Atma Gnan.
Questioner: Even the Gnan that manifested in you, did so without a guru did it not?
Dadashri: I had brought such a karmic account from the past. In the past I met gurus, I met Gnanis and from them I have brought forth the merit karmas( punya). My progress must have halted due to some mistake on my part. I did not have a guru in this lifetime, but I must have had one in the previous life. In my