Upon reaching the third degree of initiation, the Brahmins were divided into tens, and a superior Guru, or professor of the occult sciences, was placed over each decade. He was revered by his disciples as a god.
The following is a portrait of this personage, as drawn in the Védanta-sara:
"The true Guru is a man who is familiar with the practice of every virtue; who, with the sword of wisdom, has lopped off all the branches and cut through all the roots of the tree of evil, and, with the light of reason, has dispelled the thick darkness by which he is enveloped; who, though seated upon a mountain of passions, meets all their assaults with a heart as firm as diamond; who conducts himself with dignity and independence; who has the bowels of a father for all his disciples; who makes no distinction between his friends and his enemies, whom he treats with equal kindness and consideration; who looks upon gold and jewels with as much indifference as if they were bits of iron and potsherds, without caring more for one than for the other; and who tries with the greatest care to remove the dense darkness of ignorance, in which the rest of mankind is plunged."
If we had not positively stated in a former part of this work (which is simply designed to give the reader some idea of the doctrines and practices of the believers in the Pitris of India) that we should refrain from the expression of any personal opinion, we might well ask ourselves
whether modern Hierophants, with all their intolerance and all their pride in the morality they preach, have anything to present which will compare with the precepts here given in this, which is one of the oldest passages in the Brahminical books. Modern Gurus know full well the value of gold and precious stones, and as for the ignorance of the masses, we know what means they take to remove it.
With the aid of the Agrouchada-Parikchai, we will now take a complete survey of the higher course of philosophy pursued by the sacred decade under the direction of its Guru.