I would like to add a couple of things to Krishna's very good explanation. Firstly regarding who is a guru is without sisya, it should be known that many genuine advanced sadhakas and great gurus do try not to be found. But if one is truly genuine and willing to sacrifice any part of themself, they will be helped, no matter the instance. This is very hard for the modern mind to comprehend, but it is in the nature of this reality for whatever reasons, even I do not understand why. But the point is that yes for one who is truly genuine they will not be turned away. The next thing I would like to add is who is a guru. There are different levels to enlightenment and in some context anyone who is able to teach and transmit energy may be regarded as a guru, but it is known that there are several levels to enlightenment, realization, and capability. Traditionally we may view this as, one who has attained moksha but is still living, may be a guru. It can also be said that paramaguru in any lineage is the most important. And next is the one who has received the energy of the guru with the responsibility of leading others who are to become initiated in the lineage. It is very possible for an advanced sadhaka to become a guru to only a few others, but it is always warned that if this gets out of hand or the sadhaka becomes too well known, their water will evaporate like a vase left open to the sun. They will lose what they have accumulated and beyond losing siddhis if revealed ect. the fall can even kill the one in question. But in a stable lineage, the sadhaka will lead you to the guru. Or the guru will seek you out in some way. The first step for anyone who is struggling in this is to get out of your ways and leave behind your modern ideologies. Be willing to go to any length. Travel to the Himalayas, travel to varanasi, do something and anything to put yourself out there and be willing to go to any length. The reason I say this is not because you have to be in a geographical place for realization or finding of a guru to happen. The reason is because in taking genuine great actions, you will be causing an echo to resonate within the reality and these echos will cause many more things to happen far into the future. If you can not go to these places, then even physically wandering with yearning and searching for something in any way, will cause things to happen. Wander in natural places, wander the sandhya between night and day, in rain and fog, in the dead of night. Your perceptions of life and limitations will begin to evaporate. Lose yourself and your view of the world. Impossible Coincidences will start to happen, and within this frequency you Will meet those who you seek to meet. Life is not by chance and all things are attracted or repelled with one another. This is not the simple ideology of attraction or magnetism, It is in fact an extreme reality. The way you become will determine if you will or will not come across what you seek so badly.

If the grace of the guru uplifts the śiṣya (disciple) by the absorption of their bad karma, then surely a debt of love, respect and adherence to the teachings is created and the śiṣya is bound to fulfill the same. In reality, it is very rare to find such a true guru - śiṣya bond where both long for each other. It should be noted that a triad is implicit. A guru is a nobody when there is no śiṣya and their relationship is merely to ascend towards the Divine who completes the triad. The most important point to note is the Divine and not the guru or the śiṣya but the triad is incomplete without the three. It is the will of the Divine to express Itself as Itself, guru and the śiṣya. In other words, they are all one and the same, but appear different from a triadic perspective. The qualities expected of a guru is explained in another article on this site and one may lookup the same. Practically speaking, such gurus are very rare to find and so we need to make an adjustment somewhere to see if most of the expected qualities are present before becoming śiṣyas. Likewise, the gurus will also look for genuine śiṣyas and will tend to turn away non-serious seekers. Commitment towards sādhana, is the dakṣiṇa a guru should expect from a śiṣya. This rarely happens due to commercialization of the process and the presence of incompetent and non-committal gurus, as well as non-serious and greedy śiṣyas. We live in a highly demanding world and material dominance is significant. We must note that fruition of mantras does not happen merely after receiving a mantra from a guru but may materialize with sincere efforts of the śiṣya. The interaction between the guru and śiṣya cannot be a one time affair, as the responsibility and commitment is expected from the guru to explain all aspects of the deity sādhana to the best of their ability. Likewise, the śiṣya is also expected to commit to learning the same and committed to follow the associated rituals. Meditation and studying scriptures such as Advaita are a better way towards self-realization. Mantra sādhana is geared more towards bhoga (material fulfillment) followed by ātma jṅāna (self-realization) leading towards mokṣa (liberation) and as such, is very slow but most practical. One must note that millions of mantras have been documented and many were followed throughout the ages and continue to be invoked to this day. There are many instances of siddha gurus fulfilling the wishes of their śiṣyas through mere blessings. There are many testimonials of such gurus from respected individuals throughout the history. 

Yes Mahasvin, this is very true. There may be a bending of rules however in the introduction due to deception in the modern world, and the lack of ability to discern reality. But one becomes entirely indebted to their guru and will easily live and die for their own guru with no second thought. It is difficult to understand for those who are unfamiliar.

Thing is guru does not have to prove anything to aspirant. But as a shishya I have to prove daily my own worthiness. For someone this may look awkward, because modern mentality is all about some "rights", like everyone was born with a pre-defined set of Western liberal privileges and voting rights. But traditional ethics is all about "rin" — debts that cannot be ever paid in full. And one of these debts is to the guru.

definitely Krishna, thank you for sharing, facilitating and moderating this space.

That's a very good answer Dear Prince! In my personal opinion, it takes a lot of time and effort to see success in mantra sādhana. But if one is persistent and patient, chances are, in a few years of regular practice, they will see some success. As regards to siddha gurus, in today's world they are an extreme rarity. In my opinion, I feel gurus like Tivra, Tripuraghna, Jothi etc. fall in that category as their words and explanations of mantras are certainly profound. It is not possible to acquire this knowledge without actually experiencing certain high spiritual levels. Whether their words yield tangible results or not, is something that only those who are experienced the same, can attest to.

Dearest Kuru Sandhyasa, I totally understand the anguish a seeker would experience when their queries are not fully answered. In my opinion, we already have a wealth of information in the tantras that should be more than sufficient for our regular needs and as you have correctly pointed out, the esoteric information is hidden and must be learnt from the initiating gurus. What we find in the books, websites and publications may require clarification to help the seekers. I am very thankful and appreciative of the contributions made by revered Tivra, Tripuraghna, Jothi, Dylan etc. who have enriched our practice with the wealth of information that they have already shared so far. Let us not get stuck on the scriptural references etc and waste our time, effort and energy. If it appeals to us and if we are permitted by our guru tradition to accept the advice, then the same can be incorporated into our practice. One must definitely make all efforts to enrich their knowledge through the study of the tantras and above all, practice whatever is divulged to them, very seriously. I am totally in synch with you that anyone interested in serious tantra must consider getting an initiation and proceed with the suggested krama per their guru tradition. Please continue to participate and advice seekers on the merits of mantra practice and other aspects of spirituality as and when possible. I am certain this will be of great benefit to all!

Dear B Sharma, I understand the frustration and disappointment you are going through right now - it is a common feeling arising for normal people like us who attempt to seek help to experience the divine, but are often told, “wait, a highly qualified guru will come, and he will teach xx for you”. Sadly from my limited experiences, I can tell you that such sayings are mostly just to temporarily satiate your frustration, so that you do not lose faith in these systems. Let’s take our scriptures for example. Some scriptures already present 10 billion (highly exaggerating) restrictions to our proposed ‘spiritual path’ in order to progress. I am not saying that restrictions are bad, but the same scriptures (for example, claim only people from certain birth or nature can do xx practices, others should do yy practices - due to hierarchical differences; while other scriptures allow all to engage in practices provided, they do ‘x’ restrictions). The point is, first of all, we don’t have time for all of these, and we already live in a world that we cannot afford to spend time away from. In truth, it is your divine right to get all good knowledge, good wealth and happiness, without any restrictions, but all i can guess is, in the past, some relatively intelligent souls have restricted this information for their own benefit - under the guise of fear as such - “you are unfit to practise these; and if you do, you will harm yourself!”. We are all fearful of such experiences that we have no choice but to follow those restrictions. I am sorry, and I truly am, but know that the Divine is already in you. Why would it harm you ? If anything, if you feel you are ‘unfit’ for such ‘dangerous’ knowledge, then ask the Divine for the strength and capacity to conduct it safely - with true and unshakeable faith that is. I believe by doing so, you can circumvent the restrictions the external world puts on you. scriptures , and traditional gurus are definitely needed, but they can only do so much, and especially in today’s uncertain world. I only want everyone to be happy, peaceful and their days filled with love and life. Here is a short prayer that you can try, “Lord of all Universes, Lord of all worlds, Lord of all environments, Lord of all creatures and things, by my divine right, please show me the way to good knowledge, good characters and good actions. And if I'm not ready for these treasures, then please prepare me gently and nicely with absolutely no struggles, in order for me to know all these things. May I use your gifts for the wellbeing of myself, others, other creatures, worlds and the universes. May I always be protected by your Anugraha-Sakti (Grace).” You can do this prayer with utmost sincerity and faith is to your own favorite deity, because all deities are just the forms of the One. thank you and take care.

I would like to apologize for my rough and bold comments. We have had a troublesome few days due to disagreements in opinions, and I fear my comments and views have only further polarized view in the comments section. Anyways, the truth of the matter is, of course we can have differing opinions and viewpoints, I totally support that. But we shouldn't regulate the viewpoint and worldview of others, thinking that our own worldview and reference point as the absolute truth. and I only felt to speak up against it, as to defend the freedom of the speech of others. Anyways, i would stop defending myself further, as this may lead to further polarization. I wish all of you happiness and peace, and hope that Manblunder always remains a free space to express diverse spiritually relevant opinions and knowledge on spirituality, no matter how radical they are. Thank you and take care.

The million-dollar question is where the heck the authentic lineage of "Siddha Gurus" for initiation into Shri Vidya resides in the contemporary world—or must one conclude that such highly realized beings exist purely as ideal figures, having retired entirely into the hallowed memory of our traditional literature? Should anyone choose to respond, please immediately cut the traditional maxim that 'the guru appears when the disciple is ready.' I'm absolutely burnt out hearing that. Respect my boundary on the cliché. I need real tips, not spiritual cap. Thank you!