Certain sadhakas come to the Guru with their preconceived ideas. They want to take the path of spirituality, but are not willing to follow the Guru’s instructions. Only a disciple who surrenders the ego at the feet of the Guru, can hope to make progress on the path of spirituality. In the absence of self-discipline and surrender ‘bhava’, such disciples start evaluating the Guru and criticising his or her actions, mentally. A disciple who does not allow to be moulded by the Guru is in danger of treading the wrong path. In the initial stages, the disciple may appear to be following the Guru’s teachings. At times, he or she may also rise to a position of power in the Guru’s Ashram. However, due to inconsistent spiritual discipline, the disciple may be inefficient in clearing the impurities within oneself.  Spiritual discipline is set by the Guru to help the disciple to cleanse all impurities within.

The relationship between the Guru and disciple is extremely sacred and it is important for the disciple to understand this fact. It hardly matters how long the disciple has lived with the Guru, what matters is whether the disciple has practised the spiritual discipline set by the Guru. What is necessary is – to be steady in one’s sadhana, and sadhana requires constant practice with patience and perseverance. Only then will the sacred relationship be established in all purity.