Number and Change of Gurus
How different kinds of teachers and stages of spiritual guidance may be understood.
Sai BabaSpiritual studyVolume 1
The chapter
The number of Gurus depends on what is being learned. A student may need several teachers for different subjects, and the spiritual seeker may learn from many sources. The chapter compares such a seeker to a bee moving from flower to flower for honey. But this does not mean that the Paramaguru—the teacher who leads the disciple to liberation—should be abandoned whenever another teacher appears.
Many sources, one spiritual centre
The Avadhuta’s twenty-four Gurus are used to show that the world itself can teach: earth, air, water, fire, sun, moon, animals, a child, a maiden, a snake, a spider and even the body can reveal lessons through their behaviour. These are teachers in a broad sense. The actual Guru-disciple relationship is different because a true Guru consciously accepts responsibility for guiding the seeker.
The chapter gives examples of devotees who received help from Sai Baba but continued to regard another person as their formal Guru. Das Ganu, for instance, received remarkable assistance from Baba but was initiated by Islampurkar. Other saints, including Akkalkote Maharaj and Madhavanath Maharaj, sent devotees toward Baba when the time was right. These movements were not spiritual rivalry; they were part of a larger continuity.
When a change is necessary
A change of Guru is justified when the existing teacher is a Nishiddha Guru who encourages lower aims, worldly domination or the pursuit of harmful powers. Such guidance makes the disciple more tamasic and more attached. When the seeker recognises the mistake and develops detachment, a higher Guru may appear and lead the person toward God-realisation.
Without such a serious reason, Baba discouraged people from abandoning their Gurus. P. R. Avaste’s experience shows the difficulty. After initiation from a woman Guru in Poona, he felt that visiting Baba would be an act of Gurudroha and became disturbed by fear and delusion. Baba did not exploit the confusion. Through later visits and grace, Avaste was able to approach Baba without feeling that he had betrayed his earlier connection.
Sai Baba as the all-inclusive Guru
Baba could reveal himself in the form loved by the devotee: as Rama to a Rama bhakta, as Dattatreya to a Datta devotee or in the form of another revered teacher. In this way, approaching Baba did not require the seeker to discard every earlier relationship. Baba’s universality allowed him to gather different forms of devotion into a single movement toward the Divine.
What this account invites us to reflect on
The chapter distinguishes spiritual growth from the restless collection of teachers. Learn wherever learning is sincere, change when a teacher leads away from truth, but remain loyal when the relationship is sound. The goal is not the novelty of guidance; it is steady movement toward God-realisation.
Editorial note: This page is a concise paraphrase for web presentation and does not reproduce the complete chapter. Please consult the original PDF for the full account and wording.