Protection from false gurus

Sahaja Yogi: How do we protect ourselves from the clutches of the false gurus?

H.H.Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi: Why did you have to go to a false guru? (Shri Mataji laughs) You tell me first, why did you go to a false guru? What attracted you to go to the false guru? How did you go there? You must ask yourself this first. Then you will realise that you ignored the evils of that false guru. That is what you didn’t protect yourself from. Now, in the past I have already given lectures on false gurus where I have clearly talked about their evildoings and how they take one for a ride. It is their business to entrap you all. There are different types of business which they adopt. Out of that, gurus also have a business to entrap you and you are trapped. From this, one must realise which trap we have fallen into. We have filled our brains with the badhas (negativities) of the false gurus. Now if you can tell me any of those badhas, then I can tell you…..

SahajaYogis: inaudible, two or three voices speaking together.

Shri Mataji: Now if you know one or two of these badhas, you let me know. The false gurus’ badhas. Now what do these badhas actually do? First they focus their attention on your pocket. (laughter)Isn’t it? As they start doing this, then you must understand that their intentions are different. But it is all on the gross level. On the subtler level, in fact, there are many who wouldn’t want to entrap you, but they would try to project their own importance. And for this reason they become gurus. It is like this, that one projects his importance. So you must watch all this and be critical about it. Then it will forsake you. But most of the people absorb their badhas, their ego, their anger, their physical health and many more aspects that you absorb from the guru. Like these gurus, when they fall sick, their shadow starts reflecting within you.

For this reason, you must analyse yourself and look at yourself, that, what have I received from this guru? This is very important. Then when there is a cleansing of yourself, you will see that it benefits you to a great extent. Why did you go to a guru when you were seeking for your own spiritual ascent? You went to a guru to know him but you were in turn entrapped. This guru is such a guru,and you yourself should know how to protect yourself from him. You should stay away from them. I had been to many such gurus just to see them and what they do, and how they tempt and attract people. And with what they entrap people.

So the first thing I saw was that these people find your own weaknesses, that what weakness you have. If this doesn’t work then they put badhas into you. The badhas are of various types. Out of these badhas you must first learn to detect what type of badhas he has put into you that you are unable to get rid of. The greatest badha that they put into you is FEAR. It keeps on frightening you, that ‘if you leave me, such and such thing will happen to you.’ This type of fear creeps within you. It doesn’t have much strength in it. But it keeps on frightening you. When this fear comes,you must say to it, ‘yes, I know it’. With this fear the human beings keep on going round and round the guru. For that Shri Krishna is there, who drives out this fear from everyone.

(Q+A after Shri Krishna Puja 2003, Pratisthan, Pune, India)