{"id":1044,"date":"2026-09-20T13:51:35","date_gmt":"2026-09-20T12:51:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/?page_id=1044"},"modified":"2026-09-20T15:50:19","modified_gmt":"2026-09-20T14:50:19","slug":"life-of-sai-baba-volume-1-chapter-12-number-and-change-of-gurus","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/life-of-sai-baba-volume-1-chapter-12-number-and-change-of-gurus\/","title":{"rendered":"Life of Sai Baba \u2014 Volume 1, Chapter 12: Number and Change of Gurus"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.ap-story-page{--ap-ink:#17324d;--ap-muted:#49657e;--ap-teal:#08736e;--ap-line:#dde7ea;--ap-soft:#eef8f6;color:var(--ap-ink);font-family:Inter,system-ui,sans-serif;line-height:1.7}.ap-story-wrap{max-width:1060px;margin:0 auto;padding:8px 0 54px}.ap-story-kicker{color:var(--ap-teal);font-size:.78rem;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:.14em;text-transform:uppercase}.ap-story-dek{max-width:780px;color:var(--ap-muted);font-size:1.2rem;margin:.45rem 0 1rem}.ap-story-subtitle{font-size:1.05rem;color:var(--ap-muted);margin:0 0 18px}.ap-story-grid{display:grid;grid-template-columns:minmax(0,1fr) 300px;gap:34px;margin-top:28px}.ap-story-main,.ap-story-card{background:#fff;border:1px solid var(--ap-line);border-radius:12px}.ap-story-main{padding:clamp(22px,4vw,46px);box-shadow:0 12px 28px rgba(16,52,80,.05)}.ap-story-main h2{font-size:1.8rem;margin-top:0}.ap-story-main h3{font-size:1.25rem;margin-top:2rem}.ap-story-main p{margin:0 0 1rem}.ap-story-main p:first-of-type:first-letter{float:left;font-size:4rem;line-height:.8;padding:.1rem .5rem 0 0;color:var(--ap-teal)}.ap-story-aside{display:grid;gap:16px}.ap-story-card{padding:20px}.ap-story-card h2{font-size:.8rem;letter-spacing:.12em;text-transform:uppercase;color:var(--ap-teal);margin:0 0 .7rem}.ap-story-card p{margin:.45rem 0}.ap-story-card a{color:var(--ap-teal);font-weight:700}.ap-story-source{background:#fbfcfc}.ap-story-teaching{background:var(--ap-soft);border-left:4px solid var(--ap-teal)}.ap-story-tag{display:inline-block;border-radius:999px;padding:4px 10px;margin:4px 4px 0 0;background:#e8f4f2;color:var(--ap-teal);font-size:.82rem}.ap-story-note{border-top:1px solid var(--ap-line);margin-top:24px;padding-top:16px;color:var(--ap-muted);font-size:.86rem}.ap-story-nav{display:flex;justify-content:space-between;gap:12px;margin-top:24px;padding-top:18px;border-top:1px solid var(--ap-line)}@media(max-width:760px){.ap-story-grid{grid-template-columns:1fr}.ap-story-nav{display:grid}}<\/style>\n<section class=\"ap-story-page\">\n<div class=\"ap-story-wrap\">\n<div class=\"ap-story-kicker\">Chapter 12 \u00b7 Life of Sai Baba<\/div>\n<p class=\"ap-story-dek\">Number and Change of Gurus<\/p>\n<p class=\"ap-story-subtitle\">How different kinds of teachers and stages of spiritual guidance may be understood.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"ap-story-tag\">Sai Baba<\/span><span class=\"ap-story-tag\">Spiritual study<\/span><span class=\"ap-story-tag\">Volume 1<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"ap-story-grid\">\n<article class=\"ap-story-main\">\n<h2>The chapter<\/h2>\n<p>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\u2014the teacher who leads the disciple to liberation\u2014should be abandoned whenever another teacher appears.<\/p>\n<h3>Many sources, one spiritual centre<\/h3>\n<p>The Avadhuta\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<h3>When a change is necessary<\/h3>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Without such a serious reason, Baba discouraged people from abandoning their Gurus. P. R. Avaste\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<h3>Sai Baba as the all-inclusive Guru<\/h3>\n<p>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\u2019s universality allowed him to gather different forms of devotion into a single movement toward the Divine.<\/p>\n<h3>What this account invites us to reflect on<\/h3>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ap-story-note\"><strong>Editorial note:<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ap-story-nav\"><a href=\"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/life-of-sai-baba-volume-1-chapter-11-qualifications-of-sishyas\/\">\u2190 Previous chapter<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/life-of-sai-baba-volume-1-chapter-13-guru-sishya-mutual-relations-and-conduct-rules\/\">Next chapter \u2192<\/a><\/div>\n<\/article>\n<aside class=\"ap-story-aside\">\n<section class=\"ap-story-card ap-story-source\">\n<h2>Referenced source<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Life of Sai Baba<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>By <em>Sh. B. V. Narasimha Swami<\/em><br \/>Volume 1, Chapter 12: <em>Number and Change of Gurus<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/life-of-sai-baba-volume-1-12-number-and-change-of-gurus.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">View original chapter PDF \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/life-of-sai-baba-by-sh-b-v-narasimha-swami\/\">View the complete book \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"ap-story-card\">\n<h2>People and places<\/h2>\n<p><strong>People:<\/strong> Sai Baba \u00b7 Devotees<\/p>\n<p><strong>Places:<\/strong> Shirdi<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"ap-story-card ap-story-teaching\">\n<h2>Related teaching<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Faith, patience and devotion<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This chapter may be read alongside Sai Baba\u2019s teachings on faith, patience, equality, love and compassion.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/teachings-and-parables-of-sai-baba\/\">Explore teachings and parables \u2192<\/a><\/section>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chapter 12 \u00b7 Life of Sai Baba Number and Change of Gurus How different kinds of teachers and stages of spiritual guidance [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1044","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1044"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1044\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1178,"href":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1044\/revisions\/1178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}