A man is dying of thirst in the desert.
A man turns up with water and saves his life.
What saves him?
The water? No.
The man who provides the water? Yes.
The man is greater than the water.
Because even though 70% of the planet is water, even though 70% of your body is water, you can't get to it.
In the dying man's case, the man is more important, more powerful, more life saving, more necessary because he reveals water at that time of need.
Likewise God is everywhere but what use is god to you if you can't conect with god.
So the guru shows you god and he is more important, more powerful, more life saving, more necessary than god to you at that tiime of need.
Obviously if there was no such thing as water than the man couldn't save your life and if there was no such thing as god then a guru couldn't show you.
But like all parables, it shouldn't be taken too literally.
Arti?
It's an allegory!
Unless you really believe that the creator, preserver, destroyer bow their head to anyone.
You know who I mean.
Brahma, the creator, the one with 4 heads and 4 arms, his wife, Sarasvati is the goddess of wisdom.
Vishnu, the preserver, often shown as one of his 9 incarnations ("avatars"), as fish, tortoise, a boar etc.
And good old Shiva, the destroyer, he's the one with five wives and a son who has the head of an elephant.
Anyone who said they didn't understand that Arti was allegorical and not to be taken literally is a fool or a liar and probably both.
And last but not least, I also know the past, present and future of everyone I see.
They weren't, they are, they won't be.

The more I read EPO and the Forum the more I am reminded of a group of people who criticise their parents because all they claim their parents talked about was Father Christmas and Three Bears and Cinderella and they have been confused for the rest of their lives.
Never sure whether their soup is too hot, too cold or just right and wasting their lives trying to buy some glass slippers.

POV