By A foreigner asked a saint, “Could you describe the uniqueness of India as briefly as possible?” The saint responded by saying “The Guru-disciple lineage”. Seekers who have practiced Spirituality through various paths for several years and not progressed beyond a particular spiritual level yearn to attain the Guru’s grace. On the other hand seekers who have made spiritual progress by the grace of the Guru get spiritual experiences to prove the absolute supremacy of this path.
1. Meaning
The word krupā has been derived from the root krup which means to be compassionate. Krupā means compassion, anugraha (initiation) or a prasād (blessing). Thus Gurukrupāyoga is the path in which by means of the Guru’s grace (gurukrupā) the embodied soul is united with Shiv (God Principle).
2. Importance of the Path of Guru’s Grace
In this path a seeker learns how to acquire the Guru’s grace at the earliest, bypassing all other paths instead of wasting several years following various paths of spiritual practice. Consequently it is only natural that one makes rapid spiritual progress by following this path. With spiritual practice through any path other than the Path of Guru’s Grace one makes progress on an average at the rate of 0.25% per year. If one undertakes spiritual practice as advised by the Guru then one can make spiritual progress of up to 2-3% annually. If a disciple is able to acquire the grace of a Guru, then spiritual progress of even up to 5 to 8% per year may be possible. Actually the Paths of Action, Knowledge and Devotion are significant only till one is blessed by a Guru (guruprāpti). Thereafter since the disciple undertakes only the spiritual practice advised by the Guru only the Path of Guru’s Grace (Gurukrupāyoga) remains.
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