2 6 S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 3 - 2 Fa l l 2 0 1 7 The word guru means "remover of ignorance", and thus it is to the guru that a disciple turns to remember who they are beyond all names, titles, achievements, and status. Helping us to see clearer by removing the darkness of our ignorance, the guru reveals our True Nature – a soul created in the very image of God. All faith traditions, including Roman Catholicism, have some form of the guru-disciple relationship, where it is acknowledged that turning to someone with ample spiritual experience is necessary if one is to advance in the spiritual life. Being a disciple in some ways is like being an apprentice – a violinist, a surgeon, a plumber – working with a master to learn a craft. The guru teaches the craft and art of self-transformation. Although in Catholic circles we tend not to use the language of "guru-disciple", or even "self-transformation" such a relationship has a long history in the Christian experience. Early Christian hermits, known as the "Desert Fathers" (and "Mothers") who inhabited the deserts of Egypt, Syria, and Palestine, beginning in the third century, served as spiritual fathers and mothers to those who journeyed to their desert dwellings seeking spiritual guidance. "Abba" (Father) or "Amma" (Mother), "Give me a word", these pilgrims would plead, and the desert gurus would offer a word or phrase for them to ponder over a period of time. Along with a "word", the Abbas and Ammas sought to promote the transformation of their disciples by teaching them the spiritual discipline and practices that would remove the darkness of their ignorance, and thus advance the realization of their True Self. These early hermits and ascetics served as role models for Saint Benedict of Nursia, who in the sixth century, wrote in his Rule for monks, that an abbott was to be considered as holding the place of Christ in the monastery by his fellow monks. Benedictine monks, still to this day, place their spiritual life in the hands of the abbot. It is the abbot who guides them in their spiritual journey, discerning how best to remove the ignorance that keeps the monk from Self-realization. In other words, the abbot, like the desert fathers and mothers of his wisdom lineage, serves as guru. Over time, surrendering to the feet of my guru has become an important spiritual practice of mine. In fact, guru-bhakti – devotion and submission to the guru – has brought me closer to Lord Jesus, my satguru, or principal guru, the guru of all gurus. In this act of surrender, I receive a glimpse of what a radical change of heart feels like. My heart softens at my guru’s feet, it opens and expands and becomes more spacious. To surrender like this, to nudge the ego into bowing to something greater than itself, helps me understand viscerally, the "purity of heart" that Jesus spoke of in his Sermon on the Mount. At the guru’s feet I turn towards God. Surrendering at the guru’s feet also helps me to intuitively understand the idea of "magis", the Latin for "more", that is weaved throughout the spirituality of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. To live with a spirit of magis, is to live with zeal, with a burning desire to "know, love, and serve God more", always thirsting for a deeper intimacy. Both metanoia and magis are moments pregnant with promise and possibility, moments that call for us to discern new ways to be courageously and
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