Yogi Bhajan described two styles of spiritual teachers, the Saturn teacher and the Jupiter teacher. Both look to the soul of the student, but each uses a different mode to evoke results.

Saturn Teacher: The planet Saturn is the only planet with rings. The rings provide limitation and constriction. The Saturn teacher is all about discipline. He specializes in always doing the unexpected and he "carries a stick" so he can suddenly "whack" any student who gets out of line. His role is to give the discipline and the limits. It is through limitation that we gather our strength and become potent and powerful.

Jupiter Teacher: The planet Jupiter is large, expansive, and full of wisdom and blessings. The Jupiter teacher acknowledges every student's radiance and always blesses and expands everyone. The Jupiter teacher is a fountain of happiness, enthusiasm, love, and joy.

The Spiritual Teacher - Excerpts from a lecture by Yogi Bhajan on September 18, 1971

Samskaras are the account of karmas you have earned in the previous life. The physical body was granted to you according to those samskaras. Then you make the karma in this life; samskaras and karma get together and that guides your destiny.

If there are very heavy samskaras and the karmas do not overshadow them, (samskaras can be either positive or negative, both ways), then a blessed being is given the opportunity to learn from a teacher who is a first rate teacher on the spiritual path.

There are three types of teachers in the Universe. A first rate teacher is a teacher who is very hard, very intolerant of the mistakes of the students, and he gives a crushing blow on every step. A second rate teacher is one who just reminds a person of his mistakes, and a third rate teacher is one who just pleases him. The harder the teacher is, the better one can learn; the softer the teacher is, the less one can learn.

All the time you are in a fight between the ego and the soul...Read more