When one starts out inquiring into one's own nature, he or she is still trapped in the false belief that he or she is an entity separate and independent of the world of objects around them. The seeker then comes across a Guru or Teacher who being Enlightened, gives the seeker Knowledge of the Truth. The Guru points one to one's own True Nature and encourages one to inquire within. However, instead of Listening to the words of the Guru, the seeker often starts looking up to the Guru as an individual who has pointed out the Truth. Because of the false assumption that the Guru is indeed the body-mind entity (individual) who is speaking the words, the words of the Guru fail to hit the intended target, which is the ego or the false self of the seeker. The seeker thus fails to grasp the real meaning of the pointers. The greater problem however is that the seeker starts to make judgements on the behavior, character, actions and personality of the Guru and begins to wonder as to how this can be reconciled with what is being heard coming from the mouth of the Guru. The Guru when seen as an individual seems like any ordinary person, full of the contradictions that make up an individual. Your impression of what a Guru should look and behave like may not necessarily correlate to what is presented to you by the Guru. The profound words coming from the mouth of the Guru seem to be contradictory to the general impression one may get on seeing the Guru as an individual. It is one of the main reasons why the pointers from the Guru are not fully absorbed.
When one takes oneself to be an individual, it is but natural to look at all others as individuals, separate from your own self. But, when one Realizes that one is not an individual, then there is no distinction between oneself and the others. When listening to the words of the Guru, do not believe that you are listening to an individual. On the contrary, realize that it is consciousness speaking to consciousness. To state it better, speaking and listening are happening in consciousness. There is in reality, no entity involved in this process. When one lets the Message from the Guru penetrate deep into the very consciousness that one is, then there is profound and definite shift in the consciousness which leads to Self Realization.
The Guru is in fact nameless and formless. No identity can be given to the Guru. The Guru is none other than your own Self. The Guru is not separate from you. The one who thinks is separate is the ghost that you call "me". On inquiry you will realize that there is no entity here that you can call "me" or "mine". So, give up trying to analyze the personality that is trying to teach you the Truth. Instead, sit quietly and LISTEN to the words of the Guru. For the words of the Guru themselves will lead you to the Truth of who you really, really are.
