Known for his humility, Sri Amma Bhagavan responds to this question from a seeker and makes the distinction between his personal self and the light being Amma Bhagavan referred to here as the Great Compassionate Light. Words in italics added for clarity.
Sri Bhagavan:
If you ask me if I am a guru, I can directly say that I am NOT a guru. I don't do anything like a guru, I'm not a guru, so what am I? I'm your friend.I'm your friend. That is all. I talk to you. I discuss with you. I care about you.
I have dialogues with you. You ask me questions and I answer. You learn with me. And I also learn from you. It's not that I stopped learning. I'm still learning. Here, many people from many countries come to meet me. I ask them several questions and learn from them.
I don't expect any loyalty, surrender, ethical or moral code. You can follow your own codes.
You are free to follow anything. You have complete freedom. I don't expect you to accept my perception or opinion. If you have ethical codes, you can follow your own codes. You can follow them and face the consequences, whatever they are. Friendship means freedom. You have complete freedom.
This is a great friendship. I try to help you with some suggestions. You can accept the suggestions or leave them. These are suggestions. But people are free to have their own thinking. My interest is in helping you discover yourself.
People have been trying to discover themselves for a long time. I help you to become aware of the unconscious, to strive to know yourself. I'm here to help you find yourself. I direct you to personal experiences and insights. That's what I try to do. I also direct your prayers and bless you. I am just forwarding your request to Great Compassionate Light Amma Bhagavan. I'm not saying that I know everything and that you all follow me.
When you ask for miracles, I can go deep into myself and make a request to Great Compassionate Light Amma Bhagavan. I cannot be classified as a Guru. I give insights.
I'm more of a friend, just a friend. I can sit on a couch for convenience and some people can sit. I also insist that people sit comfortably in chairs opposite me. It's all for convenience.
I'm just having a friendly chat with you all. Dasas argue and maintain dialogues with me. Devotees also ask me questions. Devotees do not argue. I answer their questions and learn from them when they talk to me in personal darshans.
But Great Compassionate Light Amma Bhagavan are Gurus. They have the power to shape and guide you. Great Compassionate Light Amma Bhagavan are Arda-Nareeshwar, the masculine and feminine aspects of the creator, creation.
But they are also friendly gurus. They also help you discover yourself. But they also give so much more. I tell you to get in touch with yourself and stay with whatever it is, fear, insecurity, envy. I tell you to accept envy. If you do, you find yourself. But this is not easy for you. It's easy to teach him to see, but it's hard to actually see. Even if you see it, it's very shallow. You cannot do this deeply. You can only do this on a shallow level.
But Great Compassionate Light Amma Bhagavan can make you deeply do, see and explore. They can transform the unconscious into the conscious. They can change your kundalini. They have the powers to make you do this. All I do is forward your request to Great Compassionate Light Amma Bhagavan.
Great Compassionate Light Amma Bhagavan are friendly Gurus and a phenomenon. Great Compassionate Light Ganesha is a phenomenon. That's why he drank milk all over the world. He is a phenomenon. That's why he managed to do it all at once a few years ago.
Likewise, you have the Great Compassionate Light Balaji, Great Compassionate Light Ayyappa. These are all Great Compassionate Light phenomena. All are alike because they have love, compassion, and serve their devotees as well as humanity as a whole.
Great Compassionate Light Ganesha takes care of his devotees and humanity. Great Compassionate Light Christ also takes care of his devotees as well as humanity. Great Compassionate Light Amma Bhagavan also takes care of his devotees and humanity. They are similar but also different.
Great Compassionate Light Christ is a very serious Being, with love and compassion. Great Compassionate Light Amma Bhagavan are peculiarly very funny. Even Purushottam [Supreme Being or Space Being] Amma Bhagavan is very cheerful. The special characteristics of Great Compassionate Light Amma Bhagavan are friendship and humor. Great Compassionate Light Ganesha has some characteristics. Great Compassionate Light Balaji has some characteristics. So, Great Compassionate Light Amma Bhagavan also has some characteristics.
Great Compassionate Light Amma Bhagavan may last for many, many years to come.
It took 850 years of “tapas” to assume this format. 850 years of preparation are behind it. So it will last another 1,000 years.
Purushottam Amma Bhagavan with Dasas, Dharmasansthapaks [originators of this spiritually aligned way of being in the world] and devotees worked hard to establish the Golden Age.
Great Compassionate Light Amma Bhagavan are fully focused on establishing the Golden Age. They are totally focused on their devotees to give them Mukthi. Along with Mukthi, they are also helping them in various ways.
Great Compassionate Light Amma Bhagavan will be here for 1000 years, walking and talking to Man. We are working with Great Compassionate Light Amma Bhagavan to establish the Golden Age.
There is a lot to this question. In short, I am a Friend. But Great Compassionate Light Amma Bhagavan are Gurus.