There are so many souls, which has been immersed deep into the forest of Samsara and lost all knowledge of even the cardinal directions and got confused. Salutation to the Guru is a must that shows the path to get out of this. The Guru alone can help one to enter the spiritual field. On one occasion this point was raised by Baba. Baba was referring to the fact that he himself was a Guru who could guide those who came to Shirdi or to his feet to make spiritual progress. About the necessity for a Guru, Baba mentions the discussion between himself and three other fellow disciples.

Baba himself described how he met his Guru. Once myself and three others were studying our pothi, parayana puran, and other works and discussed how we were to get realization.

One said we should depend on ourselves and not on a Guru. For Gita says, Raise your self by the Self (uddharet-Atmana).

The first sadhaka here is like the Devil quoting scripture. In quoting Gita, he wrests a verse out of its context and misapplies it. The Gita emphasizes the need for a Guru to get realization, and these are ignored and the wrested verse is treated as cancelling the other express reference to the need for a Guru. The Sadhaka ignores the all-important fact that the Gita upadesa is given to Arjuna only after he got disgusted with his life situation and he made Prapatti and Saranagati.

The second and third sadhakas quote the need of qualifications or requisites for Brahmajnana as per Vivekachudamani. But this is mere reproduction by bookworms.

How to get self-control and release from doubts?

How to feel the animal nature and overcome them?

How to overcome our desires?

There lies the hurdle. Books do not solve. Surrender to a loving Guru and love towards that Guru alone can solve these problems.

Baba the fourth sadhaka was practical and noted that Surrender and Love to Guru were the only solutions.

Second one said, ‘the main thing is to make the mind self-controlled, free from thoughts and doubts. It is we who are in every thing everywhere.’

Third one said, ‘the form that is in phenomena is ever changing. The formless is unchanging. So we must always be making Vichara that is distinguishing between Nitya, unchanging and Anithya changing.’

Then Baba said, ‘I dislike bookish knowledge. Let us do our prescribed duty, and surrender our body, speech and life to a Guru, who is all pervading. Faith in him is the thing needed.’