Часть 4. Гуру в традициях бхакти и в адвайте. Санты Махараштры. Гуру и джняна-марга Шанкары

In this series, I move from the Vedic period and the Upanishads to a new chapter in the history of the guru institution—the traditions of bhakti and Advaita Vedanta. In bhakti, the guru gradually ceases to be merely a teacher of sacred knowledge. He becomes a medium of mercy, an object of devotion, and sometimes an incarnation of a deity for his community. It's important to understand the connection between the concept of the guru and the Bhagavad Gita, the Bhagavata Purana, the idea of ​​guru bhakti, service to the guru's feet, nama sankirtana, the Chaitanya tradition, and the development of the concepts of rasa and bhava. I will separately explain the difference between saguna bhakti and nirguna bhakti, lest we reduce all bhakti to the simple worship of a "personal god." In Northern India, among the Sants, Kabir, Nanak, and other traditions, the guru is often associated not with external worship, but with inner words, direct experience, and the search for the highest formless reality. In Shankara's Advaita, the guru has a different meaning. In the ultimate truth of Advaita, there is no duality between teacher and student, but on the path to liberating knowledge, the guru remains essential. He transmits the Vedanta tradition, eliminates the student's ignorance, and leads them to recognize the identity of atman and Brahman. The main topic of this issue: how, in different Indian traditions, the guru can be a mentor, a mediator, a saving figure, an inner voice, a bearer of tradition—and why this is always a question of power, trust, knowledge, and personal experience. ................................ 🛑 MY TELEGRAM ABOUT INDIA: https://t.me/karlindia 🛕 MY WEBSITE ABOUT INDIA: https://bergstreisser.com 👤 MY FACEBOOK:   / bergstreisser   📕 BUY MY BOOK "On Some Dogmas of the Chaitanya Cult in Light of Madhva's Teachings": https://bergstreisser.com/ru/shop/