How I found my GURU..!!

It's 2018 . This is a nostalgia trip and I'm going to take you back to September 2011.

I was in Kolkata where my second sister was going to deliver her first baby. I had packed my bags well for a nice 11 day company-approved vacation to a city where I had traveled previously only for corporate events and pharma conferences. On my first personal trip, I intended to experience everything that Kolkatta had to offer, if you know what I mean...

Tragedy Struck..!! Both my suitcases were found left abandoned at Mumbai Airport..!!

So quintessentially, when I reached Kolkata Airport, I just had my shoulder bag with knick-knacks and about 4000 INR in my wallet. After about two hours of hustling around Kolkata airport, I was informed by officials that my check-in bags never reached Kolkatta and were actually found abandoned at Mumbai Airport and taken into custody by the Mumbai Bomb Squad or something. I got in touch with my dad and he sorted it out here in Mumbai. Meanwhile Sid (my brother-in-law) was waiting at the airport for almost 3 hours for me to come out. We met and I shared the entire ordeal to which he just replied, "Samit, there is a bigger learning in this...".

He offered to immediately go to the nearest mall and buy whatever clothes, accessories or essentials I needed for the trip. He advised me to calm down and take it easy. Life hit's you in the head with a brick, It hurts, It might bleed, but don't faint, don't loose focus and don't close your eyes...

"Or you can make it into an adventure trip and see how you can survive in a new city for 11 days without your usual comfort with limited resources and yet be with your sister in one of the happiest moments and a significant milestone in her life...", he added. 

I loved the sound of it. I checked into a local guesthouse and my real journey began.

The next 11 days changed everything for me to an extent where I can personally compare my 2011 Kolkata trip to the trip which Steve Jobs took to India in 1974 and met with Neem Karoli Baba. Sid & me used to have such long meaningful conversations on so many topics ranging from spirituality, international commerce, finance, business sense, entrepreneurship, health, personal wealth, self-improvement and the list was non-ending. I had questions, burning questions. To which he had the most logical answers.

There was this one discussion in which I was introduced to the Shu-Ha-Ri concept which I am going to share with you today. This concept has impacted my life in many ways and has eventually enabled me to guide & mentor the newer generation to not make the same mistakes which I did.

Shu-Ha-Ri | A Japanese philosophy followed for centuries where each word Shu, Ha & Ri have a significant meaning to live a more fulfilling and successful life.

We are all humans. We all have our limitations and our flaws. No matter how much experience we gather or money we gain, we all need some advice here and there as we trod along this path of life. For most of us, when we hit a road-block in life we get stuck, get anxious, get confused, ask everyone around us for advice, gather a ton of suggestions, get more confused, get depressed, get lost and switch off. We are all just normal humans after all and we all need a Guru. There are no two ways about it. Even the greatest of Indian Mystics and scholars had their own Guru’s and that comes to the first Japanese word SHU...

"Shu" simply means “Find A Guru”. Don’t let anyone else find a Guru for you, it won’t work. It never works. You are responsible for your life and your actions. You need to find your own Guru. Someone whom you can relate to, someone who you can communicate with and firmly believe in.

Then comes the next part, Ha. "Ha" simply means “Follow The Guru”. You found the Guru, you chose the Guru for your own reasons and through your own evaluation processes. The Guru did not approach you and force you to become a follower. So just follow the Guru. The Guru might sometimes push you over a cliff, or give you an answer whose question you never asked or might not be available or simply might not be interested in your problem for now. But the Guru knows. The Guru always knows the right way to take things ahead, ensuring that you will eventually reach your destination. Trust the Guru, Follow the Guru.

Then is the last part Ri. This is the most difficult to achieve. The biggest challenge is always at the end. "Ri" means “Become The Guru”. The Guru guided you throughout your journey and made sure that you reached your destination. Along the way your faced many obstacles, many challenges but the Guru was with you, mentoring you and guiding you to your goal. Now, it's you turn to pay back by becoming the Guru and helping others reach their destinations. Helping others to achieve their life goals.

One may not have a single Guru for everything. I personally believe that there are five fundamental pillars of Life - Educational, Family, Financial, Social & Spiritual and I also believe that one can have a separate Guru for each of these pillars. At the end of the day, It is your life and you should do what works for you. Whatever floats your boat.

It was about 3:30AM, I had to leave for airport in the next hour to catch my flight back to Mumbai. My sister had delivered a very healthy baby boy and they both were fast asleep in the most luxurious and expensive hospital room I have ever seen in my life on the 7th floor of Apollo Gleneagles Hospital...

Sid & me were chatting in the general waiting area on the ground floor. I had gathered so much information in the last 11 days, I just couldn't process it. I wanted a closure. I wanted to thank him for everything he had done for me.

"Will you be my Guru..?", i asked him. "There is a chai-wala outside who gives chai all night in kulhads, let's have a cup of hot tea before you leave for the airport", he replied.

" I will tell you about a Japanese concept called Shu-Ha-Ri and you will answer your own question. And Samit, that was your last question..." he concluded and we walked outside...

You can connect the dots only looking backwards. It's 2018 now. I work in a global media company called Guru Media & Entertainment with offices in Dubai, Mumbai, Bengaluru & Hyderabad and head one vertical called Life Guru which delivers strategy-led healthcare communication.

I firmly feel that it was destiny in which, through one of my best friends, Abhishek Jha, I got in touch with Mr. Satish Raju, who gave me the opportunity to be a part of his vision of "Guru in every city...". I am lucky enough to gather a decent following on Linkedin. However, I get a greater level of contentment in following My Guru's and moving ahead with them. Have you found your Guru yet..??

Disclaimer: A simple google search on Shuhari gives about 11 Million results in 0.44 seconds. Each different from each other. That's how we all are. Unique. The above is my understanding, interpretation & experience. Do share your experience in the comments below...