2:6 Inna allatheena kafaroo sawaonAAalayhim aanthartahum am lam tunthirhum layu/minoon
Indeed, those who disbelieve – it is all the same for them whether you warn them or do not warn them – they will not believe.
How many ended up being not your guru? What worries do I have for loved ones who do not wish to play by Allah’s rules? They don’t even bother to read the Quran. Don’t they want to know what Allah is saying…I mean, this is GOD talking. Like, wow. Doesn’t that blow everyone’s mind? Yet you turn to humans. Why?
“Oh but I went to a Jay Shetty seminar and he was amazing. It changed my life”, I hear them say. Or, “Tony Robbins taught me how to reconstruct my mind”, or, “Joe Dispenza’s breathing technique is what I needed”.
One of my favorites, “Deepak Chopra validates Islam in his work. He has studied the most ancient beliefs. So I get all that from him”. Firstly, on the Deepak Chopra comment, all traditions and theologies have largely been lost. No matter what you think he has mastered, it is flawed, you can be sure of that.
These ideologies have been reconstructed or rewritten by human minds – a dangerous thing to put your faith in. Except Islam. The Quran has not been tampered with, ever. Allah promises that He will preserve it for us. And that’s why it’s a gift, if we only understood.
Making them NOT your guru.
Wherever these men, that people make their gurus, are getting their practices from, I can guarantee that all the people I know who are “followers” of theirs, are not any wiser, happier, or more successful as a result. Eventually everyone will realise, this is not your guru.
I have seen lack of peace, lack of control, depression, and dangerous behaviour / practices as a result of what these “public gurus” have passed on to them.
As for Deepak “validating” Islam. No, he is validating himself by using Islam. He needs Islam, Islam does not need him. He is a smart marketer, he knows his audience potential is far greater when he brings in benign comments about other religions that will make him look like he is “one of them”.
Islam doesn’t need validation. Islam is validation. Once you have embraced this message, you are validated. It’s the only place to be that whole in life. All other theologies will fail you.
Just want the truth
My husband comes from a Christian family. All he wanted was the truth. And he didn’t necessarily get it in his family, where religion or God was never really a thing. He went on a quest far and wide. When in Syria, working for the French Embassy, he met with Christians who were deeply embedded in the Bible and Christian theology.
He would meet them often, in order to embrace something meaningful. Along the way, he met a deep, wise soul. A Muslim man, who would change my husband’s life forever. This man, taught my husband such powerful Islamic principles within a short period of time. My husband was never the same again.
He wanted more and kept coming back, for 26 years and counting. Immediately after meeting this teacher, my husband knew he had reached the truth. Mind blown, heart finally at peace, and body completely connected to the soul, the truth, my husband knew he was in a state of harmony.
He knew that Islam was the truth. He embraced his new life as a Muslim and to this day tells me how grateful he is for being “saved”. We both read and study the Quran every morning before we start our day. We know no other way to have a great day, the Quran is the only way to begin your morning. Incredibly powerful, try it.
In other words, we know the importance of making people not your guru!
Man can never lead you
Why do we run to everything manmade before we run to Allah? Is it because you can hear, touch, feel, and believe them more easily? Do you not see what a test that is? I can tell you of many people who spent lots of money on Tony Robbins and the likes. And they still tell me how they haven’t moved an inch forward in their lives.
Tony is not your guru, he is his own guru. His work feeds him and his family very well. I can also tell you of many people who have felt disappointment after disappointment for Jay shetty. I myself went to a Joe Dispenza retreat and can’t say that one element of what he said made anything move in my life.
Despite the fact that I thought I could apply his teachings to validate my Islamic practices further – no, again, Islam doesn’t need anyone’s validation. Not mine, not Deepak’s, not yours.
Truth doesn’t need validation.
That’s like saying, “I am going to validate the truth”. If it’s already true, it doesn’t require your validation. And that’s exactly the point. Why do all these self help gurus require endorsements, testimonials, feedback, and such? Only to be not your guru?
Because they are in a race to prove to you “they are your guru”. “Pick me” is what they are trying to say. As I said, the only one that is getting “successful and happy” from their work, is them. They needed you just as much as you thought you needed them. Except you delivered, they didn’t.
Wake up! Stop spending thousands on people like this! Don’t you get it? They are only human, they cannot and should not guide you. You have the most invaluable self help mechanism that people would pay millions for, if they truly understood its value.
It’s the Quran. And all the practices and wisdom imparted inside is DIRECTLY from Allah. Wow. Doesn’t that blow your mind? It’s an incredible gift, no?
Forget what they taught you.
So forget the breathing exercises, the brain altering methods, the self help nonsense. That’s why they are not your guru, it doesn’t work. You are given daily practices in the Quran that are far superior to that. And they do work. Why would you blow the chance to get gold?
I guess this verse says it all, no matter what anyone says, if you’re not going to believe, you’re going to remain spinning in your misery. And the more miserable you are, the more vulnerable and easy prey you are for your so called gurus.
The litmus test
No man, can be God. It’s a simple litmus test. If it is man, it is not God. And no man, can promise to lead you to God. You can see men who practise the signs of God as examples, but they are not the Quran. There was only one man, the Prophet Mohammed (pbuh), that was called the walking Quran.
No other man was given this title. So beware and stay away from gurus of all kinds. Even those that come along in the realm of Islam. So if you are thinking of your Sheikh, he too is a fallable man, we can be sure that we all are fallable. If it’s a man, be sure it’s not your guru.
I know many shayukh. Some are good teachers, and that is how we view them. They are not your guru. They cannot “forgive” our sins, they cannot tell us what to do, they cannot absolve us with their words. So don’t treat them like a priest. There is no such position in Islam.
We do not have priests for a reason. Because we can go direct to God. We do not need a middle man. To make Islam like Christianity would be a mistake, that is not Islam. A sheikh, at best, is a teacher only if he has real knowledge to pass on to you.
Whether he acquired the knowledge through the tradition of transmission, or if he went to an institute to get it, you have a right to see his ijazah (proof of transmission) or credentials. Don’t take anyone as your blind teacher. It’s too risky and can impact your state of belief.
Islam is pure. It gives you a direct line to God.
Everyone is your teacher, but not your guru. Remember that. But you must go to the teacher who tells you to get your knowledge and wisdom from the Quran. This teacher can likely show you a few things and guide you to this superior knowledge, but the direct learning is up to you. Don’t you want to learn all the valuable tips from the Quran on how to live your ultimate life?
Then there are those who teach you what not to do. Though they too are not your guru, they’re the ones that say and do crazy things in their lives, that’s how you know what to avoid in yours. And if anyone, no matter how much you admire them, if they are treated like royalty by people where people deem them flawless, and if they contradict anything in the Quran, then they are dangerous.
They are not your guru, do not follow them, no matter how great a leader you think they are. Traps are everywhere. It’s up to you to stay clear of them.
Look for traps.
We are told that the dajjal will be the most impressive person. Yet all he will want for you, is to lead you to destruction. Yet people will say he is charming, he is a guru, he is a true leader, maybe even a sheikh. The things he will make you believe is scary.
He will show you that he is capable of super powers. And people will get impressed with what they see. Yet his entire ideology will be flawed, it will be obvious to those interested in the truth, and not the pomp and galore that he will demonstrate. The signs will be there for those that know better.
Those that learned everyday what the Quran tells them, have a shot. So, why not turn to the Quran each morning, and learn what truth is being said? It might save you from life’s terrible traps.
Imagine the privilege of being able to recite the absolute truth on a daily basis. We are not capable of saying this level of truth on our own. There’s only one way we can do it. Hold tight to the Quran and never let it go. And know, they all are not your guru, so please protect yourself.
