Before beginning any Sadhana, adopting a Guru will only make the practice more conducive. However, in the absence of a Guru, you can still perform Sadhana of the God or Goddess name and certain Stotras. Since you are reading this book, you will also learn what can be done in the absence of a Guru and how you can symbolically accept someone as a Guru to complete your practices i.e. sadhanas on your own. This book explains it all.

Some sadhanas are extremely powerful and have an esoteric spiritual process, through which the practitioner gets an opportunity to receive the grace of God or Goddess and to witness the divine form. In this path, the importance of a Guru is highly specific and indispensable.

The Guru acts as a guide and motivator on the path of Sadhana. They provide the practitioner with knowledge of the subtleties and rules of Sadhana, helping them avoid mistakes. During Sadhana, the practitioner may experience various divine and transcendental phenomena. If a potent mantra is chosen, these experiences may sometimes seem complex and frightening. In such times, the protection and guidance of a Guru not only rescues the practitioner from fear but also inspires them to move forward in the right direction.

Do not worry; let us give you our example. In the beginning, we too did not have a Guru. We started practicing the Mahamrityunjaya Mantra, and after a few days, along with chanting, we began to feel various strange sensations in the body. These were not bad experiences, but they were new, and new things can sometimes cause anxiety. However, since we had accepted Lord Shiva as our Guru, we increased our chanting of “oṃ gurave namaḥ” while meditating on Him, and soon, we received our answers through a medium.

Another important role of the Guru is to keep the practitioner’s mind pure and stable. During Sadhana, the practitioner may face mental, physical, and spiritual challenges. The Guru, through their experience and wisdom, gives the practitioner the strength and courage to overcome these challenges.

Additionally, the Guru initiates us into the mantras of the Sadhana, making the practice effective. Without the Guru’s initiation and permission, achieving success in mantra Sadhana can be difficult. The Guru’s blessings become the medium through which the practitioner gains entry into the divine realm of the God or Goddess and receives their grace.

Therefore, in many Sadhanas, the importance of a Guru is paramount for bringing the practice to completion and success. The Guru is like a bridge between the practitioner and the divine, leading the practitioner from ignorance to knowledge, from fear to courage, and from mortality to immortality. Now, let us discuss what can be done in the absence of a Guru.