[Jay Bhardwaj]

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The root of Sanatan culture is in its transmission of knowledge from one person to another. Knowledge is like flowing water that can quelch someone’s thirst for knowledge. Like water cannot go from downhill to uphill, ,also knowledge cannot go from downhill to uphill. We need someone more experienced and more spiritually inclined person than ourselves to get transcendental knowledge.

Guru-Shishya parampara is a tradition to spread bonafide knowledge which is coming from the supreme Lord Narayana. Each and every Guru Shishya parampara starts from Narayana, because he is the source of eternal knowledge. Lord Narayana created a cosmic lotus from his navel and from that navel the first creature came out who was Brahma. Then Lord Narayan gave him the task of creating Jivas and Mrityu Loka (Earth). He also gave him eternal knowledge and made him perfect in each type of art that exists and gave him the supreme knowledge.

Not just to Brahma Lord Narayana transferred the knowledge to Goddess Lakshmi, Chatush Kumars (First four sons of Lord Brahma) and Lord Shiva.

Then this supreme knowledge transferred to Narada and Narada gave it to Veda Vyasa.

-Importance of Guru-Shishya Parampara
In today’s world, there are too many vicious Gurus that give you knowledge that is not spiritual but made by their own mind. These gurus don’t read scriptures and if they read them they just created a translated version of that to support their mentality. These Gurus don’t even repeat the words of the Lord.

Some of these Gurus misinterpret scriptures and tell people that worshiping a Guru is the way to be liberated. So, they tell them to forget the god and worship them. They don’t tell their followers about the mercy and the glories of the lord but cover them with their own false teachings. These Guru claim themselves as god and do activities like them.

So, here we need a bonafide guru that can tell us about the god and can incline us towards him. A Guru who reads the scriptures carefully and won’t misinterpret them.A Guru that can smolder the fire inside us to get the love of god. A Guru that uses the teachings of his guru in the lecture, the guru which was lectured by his guru and so on until the Lord Narayana. And only a Guru which is coming from a bonafide disciplic succession can give us this kind of pleasure on spiritual activities.

In the yuga of Satya where everyone was the follower of the right spiritual path, there was no need of disciplic succession because everyone was aware of the truth. But in the Yuga of Kali there is so much confusion about who is the bonafide guru or not. Lord provides us the Vaishnava sects that can tell us about the right path of spirituality.

1. Sri Vaishnav Sampradaya
A vaishnava sect founded by Sripada Ramanujacharya (1077-1137 CE). Ramanujacharya is believed as the incarnation of Lakshmana or Ananta Shesha, who came in the Yuga of Kali to spread the knowledge in the disciplic succession of the knowledge given to goddess lakshmi.

The Sri Vaishnava sect is based on the philosophy of Vishishtadvaita, which arose as the contradiction to the philosophy of Advaita that was given by Adishankaracharya.

2. Vallabh Sampradaya
At the end of 15th century a devotee of Lord Krishna established this disciplic succession name as Vallabh Sampradaya. He was a prolific writer and scholar who produced a vast body of literature on the philosophy and practices of the sect.

After studying all the Vaishnava and Non-Vaishnava philosophies he gave the philosophy of Shuddhadvaita (Pure Non Duality) He said that all three causes of nature are the one with the Brahman, he recognised Krishna as the supreme and worshiped him.

3. Madhva Sampradaya
A powerful Acharya came as the incarnation of Vayu deva and according to some other traditions it is believed as he was the incarnation of Lord Hanuman or Bhima from Mahabharata. He started the school of Dvaita philosophy, the dualistic nature of reality, differentiating between the eternal and unchanging Brahman (ultimate reality) and the transient and ever-changing jivas (individual souls). He argued that liberation can be attained through bhakti (devotion) to Vishnu

4. Nimbark Sampradaya
He is one of the great personalities who spread the knowledge of Sanatan Dharma. Just to feed a jain saint he kept the sun risen in the evening through the neem tree. The reason why he is named as the Nimabarkacharya.

He founded the Dvaita-Advaita school of philosophy and worshiped Radhe-Shyam the eternal consort. He believed that this world is different and non different from the eternal truth. He also gave a mantra “Shree Radhe-Shyam Jayate”

-Guru-Shishya Parampara’s effect on society
As you saw in the description of all four Sampradayas, each of them is started by a powerful acharya, a bonafide god conscious acharya. These Acharyas laid the foundation stone of Guru-Shishya parampara and transferred the knowledge through their disciples.

Not only the scriptural knowledge, the philosophies of these acharyas helped people in understanding god, soul and the universe.

The guru, the teacher, is seen as a spiritual guide, a mentor who imparts wisdom and knowledge to the shishya, the disciple. The guru is believed to be a representative of the divine, a conduit for spiritual knowledge.

The shishya, the disciple, is a seeker of knowledge, a student who humbly submits to the guidance of the guru. The shishya is expected to be respectful, obedient, and dedicated to the guru’s teachings.

The guru-shishya relationship is based on a deep bond of trust and mutual respect. The guru provides the disciple with spiritual guidance, while the disciple serves the guru with devotion and reverence.

The guru-shishya parampara is a powerful tool for spiritual growth and knowledge transmission. It has been instrumental in preserving and transmitting Hindu traditions for centuries.

Here are some of the key benefits of the guru-shishya parampara:

Spiritual guidance: The guru provides the disciple with spiritual guidance, helping them navigate the path of spiritual growth.
Knowledge transmission: The guru imparts knowledge and wisdom to the disciple, ensuring the preservation and transmission of Hindu traditions.
Character development: The guru-shishya relationship helps the disciple develop their character, instilling in them values such as humility, respect, and discipline.
Personal transformation: The guru-shishya relationship can lead to profound personal transformation, helping the disciple achieve spiritual enlightenment.
We can say that Guru-Shishya parampara is the tradition that kept Sanatan Dharma alive throughout the years even after the years of invasions. By the disciplic succession we are also coming out from the cycle of karma, but when we come under the shed of the mercy of guru we just transfer our karma to him and hence we get liberated.

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