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Pujyapad Puri Shankaracharyaji (referred to as Maharajaji) shares how it has become a common practice to consider someone who has passed away as one’s guru.
Many people consider Sri Ramakrishna Parmahamsa as their guru today. While, for Swami Vivekananda he was a living guru and could guide him, anyone today considering him as his Guru will not be able to even have darshan, leave alone receive any guidance.
Then, there are others who say that they have made Bhagavan their guru – in the form of Sri Krishna, Hanuman, etc.
When we choose a Guru in the above mentioned way (someone who has passed away or an avatara of Bhagavan Himself), then our guru is just as unattainable as the Supreme Truth or the Ishvara we seek.
How will we have darshana of our guru and seek guidance if he is unreachable?
Would this not make it even more difficult for us to move towards our goal?
Try studying under the tutelage of your primary to MSc teachers. Include those teachers who have died. Even if the books are given to you and your past gurus were smart, being dead, they cannot teach you anymore.
People often consider themselves to be capable students but think that there is no one capable enough to guide them as their guru.
Is this not an attitude born out of pride?
A guru is someone who can educate you, who you can meet and learn from.
Maharajaj gives the example of the great ruler – Rājā Bharata, after whom our nation is named ‘Bharata’, referring to the 5th and 11th canto of the Bhagavatam, as below –
After ruling for many years, Raja Bharata renounced his throne and family and went for penance. During his time in the forest, he brought up a baby deer who he had rescued. In the process he got deeply attached to it. If he had a guru to guide him, he would have been told that after having left his own children and grandchildren, if he gets involved in raising a baby deer and develops attachment – this could be the cause of his downfall. Ultimately this deep attachment of his led to his next birth being that of a deer.
This explains why we need a living and accessible guru.