You are your own guru for me that is true to the philosophy of yoga. – from Dutch Yoga Magazine.
The guru is within. People that pose as gurus are phonies. No person is a guru and all people are gurus. So no one can be a guru over another.
Phony gurus are dying and yoga is coming back to people. If you choose to give your power to a guru you are playing into the blind submission that brings you further away from the experience of yoga and closer toward the experience of something strange and out of alignment with the self.
When the emperor has no clothes it’s wise to point that out.
Hahaha I expected a blog from you about being your own guru or something. So it was a little weird to read those Dutch words. It confused me lol!
Nice interview
Hey Tara,
I have been watching your videos and following a lot of your articles and completely agree with most things, but this post is one I disagree with. I think a lot of gurus are phony, yes, but in the Eastern tradition (I’m living in Nepal and see firsthand how much gurus are revered in daily life) great Yogis like BKS Iyengar (Iyengar Yoga) and Sri Krishna Pattabhi Jois (Ashtanga Yoga) all studied under one guru. The two aforementioned, pioneer Yogis both studied under the same Guru: Sri Tirumalai Krishnamachary. I think it’s safe to say, again, that yes, there are many fake gurus out there but it’s our job to be accountable and decide whom we want to follow and use our judgement to decipher who is phony and who is not.
How else could two such vastly different practices, Iyengar with all it’s props and adjustments, Ashtanga with just the mat and virtually no modifications, have been born out of the same teachings?
Following a guru does not make one a blind-faith practitioner; there is certainly a level of surrender that must take place in order for Yogi-bears to progress and let go of fear.
Seane Corn, another Yoga Instructor I’m a fan of always says, know your instructor, know their intentions. Just food for thought, but I do think it’s a wise decision to constantly be in search of a guru outside of ourselves… often times it’s easier to see the greater picture from objective lenses, it’s hard to do so when we are living in our own skin.
Much Love & Happy Down Dogs,
Roshani
Tara how does one find this inner guru without guidance of a guru? And wouldn’t “guru” be a term for someone who is giving all attention and faith in the gurus practice hoping to follow and be taught correctly? Why are you not speaking wisdom and showing people the spiritual aspects of it? Where is the Chakra system, kundalini and energy ext. I think you only focus on the physical aspects and that’s it. You never actually learned from a guru. That’s why your practice is lacking. But what would the people expect when you have Ford backing you and you are a model? I feel you need guidance and a guru.
Shon, how does the guru find the guru and who is the original guru? The guru will always be within, any good guru will tell you that, and many have told me that
If you seek the guru externally you will only find external sources. If the guru is external where did it originate? Makes sense it would be within, just as an element always existing and ever present.
Well yes of course It’s within. Its found through external guidance into the internal realm. If the teacher is true and has reached that state of being, as now a “Guru” of course they can guide you through your journey to the internal, quote “finding your self.” Its more of a state of mind achieved by Yogis through not just the physical aspects but the spiritual. I am sorry, I didn’t mean my approach to be like that :/. I don’t want to believe the intention of your practice is to just look good and be healthy but rather give people an opportunity to really look past the physical so everyone can find and obtain this “enlightenment” so people can really get in tune with the nature of themselves instead of living in a conditioned world where every source of happiness is external. Life is never the same when you have found it. That was the idea of all the old teachings from Masters, Gurus, Ascended masters and religious characters. I feel you have that power to educate the people on these ideas as a yogini. Its more than just yoga, There is an entire mystical side that’s not so mystical when you begin to understand the nature of the universe and energy that could literally change everything, but the people who have the money don’t want that, its not profitable.
Thank you for your yoga and time, I feel terrible for my last post, it just shows how much I let get to me about my own expectations when none should ever be present :/
all good teachers that i’ve ever had and that i know of instruct to go inside. all the bad ones instruct to attach yourself to them. have you seen kumare? i got to host a Q&A with Vikram the filmmaker last night. great doc for anyone interested in the idea of guru. http://kumaremovie.com/