Guru is a Guru forever. It is a pre-requisite that before accepting your Guru you must test him, for at least a year. The test must be a continuous one, through the day and night. If after the test you are satisfied, only then must you accept your Guru. Swami Vivekananda had tested his Guru Ramakrishna Paramahansa for over a year, with all kinds of tests. When he had become completely satisfied, he had accepted him as his Guru and had surrendered unto him completely. Swami Vivekananda firmly believed that whatever he did, whatever he spoke, whatever he ate, whatever he learnt, etc. were all through the grace of his Guru. Thus, he slowly entered into the inner kingdom of his Guru, and became a part thereof. Finally, he became a Guru himself. This is the importance of Guru

Swami Vivekananda is an excellent example of a true spiritual practitioner, a seeker who accepted his Guru in entirety. Once accepted, the Guru becomes your Guru, unceasingly through all your lifetimes, life after life. Your Guru can never be wrong, no matter what his actions be. Never judge your Guru through worldly eyes, for he is always above mistakes. Once a Guru has been accepted, he or she becomes the Master and the disciple lives only to serve the Guru. No matter what the situation, a disciple who has accepted a Guru, must not listen to anything that diminishes the credibility of his Guru. The Guru shall always remain a gracious guide, identical to God Himself. Faith in the Guru always protects the disciple. If the seeker observes something wrong in his Guru, he should understand that there is a purpose behind the observed action.

Lord Shri Krishna is called Jagat-Guru and his acts of killing Puthana and Kamsa have been accepted by all. So also, His advice to Arjuna to kill Karna! Such contrary actions on the part of the Lord are due to reasons beyond human understanding. Your Guru may carry out certain actions which are beyond your understanding. Disciples do not have the intellectual capacity to judge actions of their Gurus. The great archer Eklavya had sacrificed his thumb in order to honor the words of his Guru, Acharya Drona though the Acharya had refused to teach him. Making a mud idol of the Acharya, he had practiced before the idol, and had finally emerged as one of the greatest archers on earth. Eklavya firmly believed that it was only through his Guru’s blessings that he had achieved the feat for he had surrendered himself completely to his Guru. He is revered as a perfect disciple, as one who had lived in total surrender to his Guru.

Our scriptures state that when God fails to help a seeker, the Guru comes to his rescue. However, when the Guru fails to help a seeker then even God cannot come to his help. The Guru alone can lead the seeker. According to our Sanatan Dharma, our Guru is our Guru always, unceasingly, through all our lifetimes.