In the life of a human being, the entering of a Sadguru is a matter of supreme luck! It is the fruit of the innumerable meritorious deeds (punya) of many births.
All those who believe in the existence of the mystical energy and knowledge that is far beyond the grasp of humans always search for it. They try to tap into this supernatural power through various paths such as japa, tapa, bhakti, jnana etc.
For the above-mentioned reasons, and also with the desire to attain the vision of the Supreme, many traditions have emerged over a period of time. We hear of shaivaites (followers of Shiva), Vaishnavites (followers of Vishnu), Śhākteyas (worshippers of Mother Goddess) and so on. Hundreds of traditions exist as of now.
History is filled with stories of in-fighting between the members of the various traditions. It appears as if they preach different philosophies. The traditions followed by each of them appear to be vastly different so much so that no similarities are to be found.
Yet in them all, is there at least a single person who begins his daily prayer, daily mantra or ritual without offering the first salutation to the Guru? In fact, it can be confidently declared that there is no such person! There is no such tradition!
Today we are in that weak state wherein we are unable to understand that every tradition is in reality, the worship of Guru. Irrespective of whether they are followers of Shiva, Vishnu, Devi, Yoga or Yaga, it is nothing but worship of Guru. This is the because the Supreme Lord himself manifests as the spiritual Guru.
They could chant Sadāśiva samārambhām or Narayana samārambhāṃ- through these words they are actually worship the Guru. ‘Guru roopa’ statement refers to the Supreme Lord. Chanting of Vedas cannot begin unless the mantra ‘Sri Gurubhyo namah’ is chanted. Thus it can be emphatically stated that all traditions are in reality worship of the Guru.
