See anyone could start and practice meditation or pranayama after gaining little bit knowledge about it, it's not necessary to go for some guru, but in case suppose if at the last if you did't succeeded you will think that may be you have made some mistakes , at that time you would like to find someone who's kundalini is already awakened and who can be your guru, who can teach you the correct technique that suits you best. if such kind of guru is available to you then the path can become much much more shorter & easier and you will be able to reach to your destination in a very short period of time ... It's like you can chose go from destination A to destination B either by walk or by Taxi/Bus , both options are open and will work for you , it's upto you how much time and efforts you want to save Initially in case if you are not able to find someone who is Yogiraj or Saint (Guru), no problem start practicing yoga, meditation, pranayam, also try to gain more and more knowledge about these concepts and whenever in future you find someone (Guru) become his/her disciple and then follow his instructions. . It's like traveling initially by quick walk and then hiring some Taxi . Now Let's Also Understand The Role of a Guru The Guru Gita (verse 17) aptly describes the guru as “dispeller of darkness” (from gu, “darkness” and ru, “that which dispels”). A true, God-illumined guru is one who, in his attainment of self-mastery, has realized his identity with the omnipresent Spirit. Such a one is uniquely qualified to lead the seeker on his or her inward journey toward perfection. “The blind cannot lead the blind,” said Ram Krishna Paramahansa (the guru of Swami Vivekananda.). “Only a master i.e one who knows God, One who has realized him as his own self, can rightly teach others about Him. To regain one’s divinity one must have such a master or guru. He (disciple) who faithfully follows a true guru becomes like him. The guru helps\guides or instructs to elevate the disciple to his own level of realization.” The guru-disciple relationship is the highest expression of friendship, for it is based on unconditional divine love and wisdom. It is the loftiest and most sacred of all relationships that ultimately leads to Braman. When you are moving blindly through the valley of life, stumbling in darkness, you need the help of someone who has eyes. You need a guru. To follow one who is enlightened is the only way out of the great muddle that has been created in the world. I never found true happiness and freedom until I met my Guru, he who was spiritually interested in me and who had the wisdom to guide me. Within your heart cry constantly for God. When you have convinced the Lord of your desire for Him, He will send someone (your guru) to teach you how to know Him. Only he who knows God can show others how to know Him. When you find such a one, you will realize that God doesn’t teach through mystery, but through illumined souls. God is invisible, but He becomes visible through the intelligence and spiritual perception of one who is in constant communion with Him. There may be many teachers in one’s life, but there is only one guru. In the guru-disciple relationship a divine law is fulfilled, Delusion is destroyed by good company, by the company of saints, and by devotion to the messengers of God. Even the thought of saints will help you to remove delusion. It is not personal association so much as attunement of thought with the messenger of God that destroys delusion. The true guru has no desire to place himself in the hearts of others, but rather to awaken in their consciousness the consciousness of God. The Guru Says to His Disciple::“I will be your friend from now through eternity, no matter whether you are on the lowest mental plane or on the highest plane of wisdom. I will be your friend even if you should err, for then you will need my friendship more than at any other time. Ordinary love is selfish, darkly rooted in desires and satisfactions. Divine love is without condition, without boundary, without change. The flux of the human heart is gone forever at the transfixing touch of pure love.” and then Disciple Replies:: “If ever you find me falling from a state of God-realization, please promise to put my head on your lap and help to bring me back to the Cosmic Beloved we both worship.” It is only after this spiritual pact between Guru & Disciple, the disciple realizes the significance of a guru in the path of self-realization. Now, Is Kundlini Yoga Dangerous..? Ah yes, Kundalini Yoga is certainly a powerful science and if not approached with intelligence and respect, it can produce some challenges and difficulties for the practitioners. I am not saying this to discourage you from taking up it’s practice but to help & guide you so that you undertake Kundalini Yoga practice safely and thus, enjoy the enormous benefits that this form of yoga bestows. Kundalini Yoga is favored over other forms of yoga, because of the rapid gains that can be made by those who practice it sincerely. What this means in practical terms, is that Kundalini Yoga can more quickly purify your energetic channels, charge and balance your chakras (energy centers) and awaken in you greater and greater flow on kundalini shakti (energy), than other forms of yoga. Thus, it is the fast track to spiritual growth and enlightenment. This is great, but herein also lies the danger, danger of premature awakening of kundalini or excessive flow of shakti (energy), before the body is ready to handle it, is the danger with improper Kundalini Yoga practice, or with kundalini shakti in general. The reasons for kundalini awakening are vast and varied, and sometimes have nothing to do with yoga practice at all. You will understand the difficulties that sometimes arise with such kundalini awakening by reading below experience of someone:- "I am a student of the "Yoga Class". I just finished taking a series of exercise specifically for the spine. As I left the class I felt energized as I usually feel after each class, but this time it was a little different, I was feeling extra aware of my surrounding. Like a light turned on. My back was so straight. It lasted all day. If I could go to class every morning I would go. It makes my day start right in every way. And there are times when I am not feeling like going to class and I push myself to go and do not regret it. Thank you for being my teacher. Aida D. " like this you may experience you body making yogik postures automatically without your consent. or sometimes everything visible to you may become invisible and you may only see bright light everywhere and you find yourself in the middle of that light. this problem is not serious if you know how to tackle it, this may happen for few minutes to few days till the kundlini starts moving upwards and penetrate the first chakra. The yogis who don't know what to do at this point when kundalini got awakened their kundalini may get turn off again after sometime. that's why it is good if you have someone who has complete knowledge of this yoga, someone who could guide you. even many times people did't even realize that their kundalini has got awakened. mostly at the time when this kundalini awakes the yogi feels some kind of electric shock from inside, some also get unconscious for 2-5 minutes. At that time yogi should not be scared and he should convey this to his Guru and continue doing this yoga till the kundalini reaches and penetrates 7th chakra (i.e Sehastrasar chakra in head near pitutary). There are many methods through which one can awake his/her cosmic power, the most practiced methods are Meditation, Pranayama, Mantra Chanting and Tratak (i.e concentrating on some external object with open eyes). Thanks for reading!! Plz don't forget to share !! . . by Sandeep Bhan
No you can do meditation by yourself without a guru by a little knowledge and starts practising it for a few days and than gradually increase the time of it day by day and if you are not getting results or inner satisfaction and stability than you can go for a guru.