Acharya Prashant explains that people do not ask questions to get answers, but to find relief. He states that a Guru's job is to provide this relief, not just to answer questions. A Guru does not get caught up in the words of the question because he knows who the questioner is. He does not just see what you are saying. Using the analogy of a mother and a small child, he explains that a child can say anything, but the mother knows what the child truly needs. If the child is babbling, the mother knows it's not about the babbling itself but that the child has wet himself and needs to be changed. The mother would not think that since the question was babble, the answer should also be babble. The Guru's job is not to answer questions but to elevate the disciple's consciousness. The disciple has questions, and the Guru's responsibility is to elevate the disciple's consciousness. The disciple wants an answer on the same level as the question. In reality, every question has already determined the level of its answer. Therefore, in the question-and-answer format, the answer does not have much freedom; it is bound by the question. A true guide or Guru does not accept his answer being a slave to the question. His concern is with the questioner, not the question. He is a liberator, not an answer-giver. A regular teacher, or a knowledge provider, will satisfy your curiosity and thirst for information. This is what an answer-giver does. Giving an answer means the question gets fed and becomes stronger. The question, which is a product of restlessness, is validated by a good answer, which in turn proves that the restlessness is good. The Guru's job is to make the questioner forget the question, to make the questions seem meaningless. The Guru's job is to create situations, through his presence or experiments, where the questions become irrelevant. He cites the example of Nachiketa and Yamacharya from the Kathopanishad. Nachiketa asked for Self-knowledge (Atma-vidya). Yamacharya tested him by offering worldly pleasures, like a long life, sons, grandsons, wealth, and kingdom. He says that one who is ready to leave these things is worthy of the Self, and one who is attached to them is worthy of Yamraj (the god of death). The Guru's job is to give the right answers to the wrong questions. In other words, to say what was not even asked. The accusation a Guru always has to bear is that he doesn't answer what is asked, but says something else. But what you ask is of little value. What you ask will not benefit you, but will only inflate your ego. The Guru's responsibility is to give the answer that is not expected by the questioner. If you talk about the sky, I will talk about the earth. If you shout for liberation, I will talk about bondage.
