Guru and Spirituality

In "As you like it", Shakespeare beautifully portrays the seven ages of man. I am specifically concerned about the fifth, sixth and the last stages of the Seven Ages of the Shakespearean man.

And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lined,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part.

The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slipper'd pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side,
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble,
Pipes And whistles in his sound.


A man at the fifth stage suddenly retires and shifts into a pensive mood when he is done with the cream of his material life. He thinks, "Well, its time to think about old age and death. I need to be peaceful. Let me take to Spirituality".

Spirituality is often thought of as a mythical, yet final destination of refuge when the chores of life are over. This is an unhealthy and unscientific thought and has no value. The concept of spiriutality advocated by the Vaidika or the Vedãntic Religion - the Sanãthana Dharma, is very simple and straightforward. It is all about living a happy life - physically, mentally and beyond. Gurunãtha asks in this regard, "Don't you take food whenever you need it? Do you only start taking food only when you are 60 years old? Religion is very similar to food." He means that one should assimilate the right principles of the dharma, in right quantities, from a healthy Master, so that it doesn't yield any ill-effects and helps you remain healthy and seek the ultimate goal. This should start at a young age itself.

In one of His pravachanams at Sri Rãmar Koil in Coimbatore, He quotes a nice illustration: Once a Jnãni goes to a city. A huge gathering of folklore await to have his darshan. On seeing him, they prostrate unto him and seek his blessings. The Jnãni, when looking at each of them, predicts their age. He looks at a 30 year old person and says "12 years", he looks at a 55 year old woman and says "5 years". He was indeed, predicting the spiritual age of the individual rather than the bodily age."
Gurunãtha goes to say that, you are spiritually born only when seek and get a Uttama Guru. One's physical existance is but worthless, unless and until he seeks a Guru.

Swãmi Vivekãnanda thus defines a Uttama Guru:
"Impulses are required so that the higher powers and possibilities of the soul are quickened, spiritual life is awakened, growth is animated, and man becomes holy and perfect in the end. The person from whose soul such impulses comes is called the "Guru" - the teacher. To convey such an impulse to any soul, the soul from which it proceeds must possess the power of transmitting it."