Question:
Please explain the difference between Guru and God?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: In India God was not a concept that was somewhere else above in the sky or in the seventh heaven. Here God permeates the whole of creation. God is present in every atom of the Universe. That is why we have the concept of "Nataraja". The dance and the dancer are not separate. You cannot have a dance without a dancer. Similarly there can be no creation without God. God is the basis of all creations. The three qualifications of God are , God is Sath (Truth), God is Chit (conscious) and God is Ananada (bliss). This is the most scientific definition of God. He is present in every atom everywhere. God is nothing but love. Where do you see love in life first? In the mother that is why we say "Mathrudevobhava" (Mother is your God) and mother is the first Guru, second comes the father, third the teacher and fourth the guest who comes to your house. The guest is god. Even today in Karnataka, they address the guest as god. They call them " Devarae" and they treat the guests with honor and respect. Guru is the manifestation of love. Guru is absolute love. He does not want anything other than happiness for everybody in the world. Love is God. We are all made up of a substance called love. Don't think God is somewhere else. That is why here we say, see god in the rivers, mountains, Sun, Moon, stones, trees, animals and in people around us. God is in everything and seeing God within you is meditation and seeing God in the person next to you is service. We need both.
