7 February 2012 - QA 3

Dear Gurudev, is having a Guru mandatory to experience the state of enlightenment?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Is it necessary for you to ask this question and for me to answer? You have asked the question, now if I answer, then we are caught! Got it?
If you ask a question and you think I know the answer, then I am already a Guru and you are already a student.

Some people say, 'I am not a Guru', and some others say, 'I am not a student'. This is like saying, 'I am not a doctor but I will anyway give you some medicine.' Or someone saying, 'I am not a patient, but I want some medicine.' Both these statements have no meaning.

See, some guidance is needed. Guru is not a person, it is wisdom, it is a light, it is an energy, it is love; all of it combined. Something as abstract as spirituality needs a little guidance.
When your mind is very still, you can get all the guidance. But when the mind is not still, it is good to take guidance from one whose mind is absolutely still.