We come across the word ‘disciple’ in various spiritual texts. A disciple is one who, with the sole intention of spiritual growth, practises Spirituality as advised by the ultimate authority in Spirituality, namely a Guru.
An ideal disciple surrenders everything, that is, his body, wealth and life itself unto the Guru’s cause and attaining God. Even at the initial stage, a disciple is a spiritually advanced aspirant. He devotes over half of his time, wealth and everything to spiritual practice as recommended by the Guru.
The following diagram shows on a scale of 1% to 100% the relative spiritual capacity or practice one is capable of at each stage of spiritual development.
On this scale, one would have to be at least 55-60% spiritual level to be considered a disciple and be blessed by a Guru.
To understand discipleship, it is helpful to understand the meaning of the Guru. Also do read our article on some stories of the Guru-disciple relationship.
How to become a disciple
We need to do a considerable amount of spiritual practice on a daily basis under the guidance of a spiritual authority in order to become a disciple. When we develop spiritually to the level of a disciple, the Guru comes into our lives to take us further.
Some characteristics of a disciple are as follows:
- Readiness to sacrifice everything to God,
- Humility,
- Complete surrender to God,
- Considerably reduced ego and
- Complete obedience to the Guru.
Our sincere prayer is that this article inspires and motivates many readers to become disciples.