Because the Guru identifies with our pitiful condition, because he himself has already undergone, he has already been through the same sufferings and tortures and traumas as we have prior to attaining God realization, the Guru identifies with us. He has been through all the sufferings and the wretchedness and the pains. So the Guru guides us. He is our hope.
Once there was a Guru who was teaching a prince all the disciplines of learning. So the Guru told the prince to come back the following day when he would be taught his final lesson and thereafter it would be declared that he had successfully completed his education. So the king was delighted.
He let his subjects know that there was only one lesson remaining for his son to study and before he could be considered a master of all branches of knowledge. So the following day when the prince reported to the Guru, the Guru closed the door behind him and started hitting him with a cane. The prince was screaming in pain but the Guru did not stop. He continued to batter him until the prince went to the king and told him that the Guru had gone mad and that he was mercilessly hitting the prince and that the poor prince was crying aloud. The Guru did not stop until the prince fell silent. It is surprising.
Why would he beat him so mercilessly? Why would he beat him so mercilessly? As though he was his enemy, particularly as for all those days he taught the prince as if he would his own son. So it is unclear what came over the Guru to do such a thing. So this angered the king and the king thought, “Yes, the Guru must have gone mad because only a person who is under the influence of insanity can commit such an act!” Such a person can even kill his own father. If one is not in control of their senses then they can do anything, they can go to any lengths. Finally the prince regained consciousness but his body was lacerated and the king ordered the Guru to be summoned before his court.
But the king wanted to treat the Guru with due respect and therefore he was not handcuffed. So when the Guru appeared before the king, the king told him that he would be tried for beating the prince and that the ministers of the court would hear his case. And then the Guru was asked why he beat the prince and he was reminded that nobody was above or beyond the law of the land.
So the Guru replied and said, “The prince will become the king in the future and among other duties, he will have to decide the quantum of punishment for anyone committing a sin or a crime. And if he does not have personal experience, if he doesn't understand the severity of the punishment, he will not be able to dispense justice accordingly.” (Guru knows what lesson needs to be taught)
