GURUDEV - H. H. Sri Swami Sivananda ji Maharaj

'A Guru can be pleased with his disciple only if the latter carries out his spiritual instructions implicitly. Carefully follow, therefore, the instructions of the Guru. Then only will you deserve his blessings, and then alone will his blessings can do everything'

-Swami Sivananda

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GURU - The Gift From The East

By Prof. V. D. Randev

East is proud of giving four Gs to the world - Guru, Gita, Ganga and Gayatri. These are unique spiritual entities which have no equivalent in the world over. Word 'Guru' cannot be translated exactly in any other language. It is not synonymous to teacher, master, percepter, murshid or guide. Guru is Guru only. He is not only God incarnate, rather more than that, as even the incarnates like Lord Rama and Lord Krishna had their Gurus. Lord Rama's Guru was Vasishtha and Lord Krishna's Guru was Rishi Sandeepani. In the past, Svetaketu learnt the nature of truth from Uddalaka, Maitreyi from Yajnavalkya, Janak from Ashtavakra and Nachiketas from Yama.

Man has the weakness for the attractions of the world. Day and night he works and sweats with an aim to sweeten his life with the worldly objects. He is so mad in this rat race that he even forgets his food and rest. The result is that he turns into a psychologically, socially and physically broken and split personality and hence becomes a slave of Kama, Krodha, Moha and Ahankara. The shackles of these are very strong and only Guru has the capacity to cut them. Our mind has become black with the soot of Moha and Maya. Guru tells the reality of the illusion of Maya and Kaya. He says, "Understand the transitory nature of the world. Every thing will fade here except Him". We always remember the world and forget the Lord. Guru says, "Reverse the gear. Your attachment with this world is due to your ignorance. You cannot distinguish between the I and the not-I. You consider the earthen pot as deeya (lamp) as yourself whereas the light (jyoti) is your real self. Due to ignorance you have forgotten your real self and have accepted the sheath as your real self".

In Shastras, Guru has been adored as Brahma, Vishnu and Siva, who perform their respective duties individually, where as a Guru is the composite of the three and does all their duties. Guru gives us a new life and a new light.

The relationship of Guru and shishya is a unique one. It is not like that of a father and a child, because beneath the love of the father, there is always some hidden agenda; whereas in the relationship of Guru and shishya, there is not even an iota of selfishness. Every father has some expectations from the child, like to be cared in the old age. On the other hand, the Guru takes care of the shishya without any such expectation. He is always busy pouring his blessings on the shishya. The one whose head is not fortunate to have the blessings of the Guru is not worthy to be called a man. So if you want to have peace of mind and contentment, catch hold of the feet of a Godman.

The starting point of sadhana is the blessings of a Guru. Guru tells us the art of pondering over our lives. He always reflects and helps us like Lord Vishnu. He is there to relieve us from the agony of the fire of the world. His task is to free our lives from Rajas and Tamas. The true Guru is he, who liberates the shishyas from fear, pain, suffering and the agony of birth and death. Guru is a spiritual boon in man's life. Lord Rama had the divine blessings to be at the feet of Guru Vasishtha who taught him the secrets of Vedanta at a very early age. After this, Rama was blessed with the company of Rishi Vishwamitra. His exile may be a matter of debate, his stay in the forest for fourteen years and the war with Ravana may be a controversial issue but one thing is very clear that in this long period of exile Rama had the opportunity to have blessings of saints like - Bhardwaja, Valmiki, Atreya, Anusuya, Shabri, Sutikshana and others who chiseled his life and made him Lord Rama. Guru tells us the secrets of 'How to live and how to die?’. Scriptures have compared this world with wild fire in the forest where man is caught up in its flames. Guru comes here to help him and show him the path of salvation. Our mind has three ailments - Mal, Vikshepa and Avarana. Mal and Vikshepa will go by the efforts of the sadhak but Avarna will go only by the blessings of the Guru. A pure mind is possible only through satsang of the holy men and the blessings of the Guru.

Ahankara is the greatest hurdle in our Sadhana. It is this small 'i' which hides, ignores and forgets the bigger and the real 'I'. Normally the bigger one hides the smaller one but here the situation is quite opposite. The self is veiled by the not-self and this results in ego. What to talk of the ordinary persons, this ego has many a times astrayed the Holiest of the Holy. Gurudev Swami Sivananda ji Maharaj has stated "There are persons whom money could not attract, there are persons whom even women could not attract, but there are rarest of the rare who are not injured by the arrow of the ego". There is a very interesting story in this context. Once Satan thought that he had been doing his work for so many 'Kalpas', and as there is a limit to everything, he should also retire, get pension and have rest. Thinking on these lines he went to God and said, "Sir, I have been doing all this nasty work for the last so many 'Kalpas'. No gentleman likes me. First they use me and then they hate me. So I have decided to retire as I have crossed the superannuation age long ago. Now relieve me". God was surprised to hear this notice from Satan. He said, "Dear Satan, you are a very good, honest and dedicated worker. Nine tenth of humanity is under your sway. Your simple wink rules the world and moreover, there is no one to replace you. I do not have any substitute for you, so please carry on". But Satan said, “My decision is final. I want to have rest and do Sadhana as I have become very old now. As far as my substitute is concerned, you need not worry as man in the world has started performing my duties with utmost efficiency, dedication, and diligence. My services are not required as man has surpassed me. Now he is preparing spurious drugs in quantities many a times more than the genuine ones. What to talk of adulterated milk, he is preparing milk from urea. He even gets Mahavir Chakras by showing artificial army encounters at the border. So you should not only be satisfied with his work but be proud of him. Invite him soon to your Vaikuntha Lok to honour him". Saying these words, Satan threw his bag of working instruments and ran away. When God opened that bag, there were instruments like hate, lust, greed, back-biting, dishonesty, raga, dvesha, moha and ahankara - which was the most used instrument. Ego is that strong temptation which enslaves the kings, the crowns, the clowns, the young, the old, the rich, the poor, the ugly and the charming; even certain saints are not free from this malady.

Namdev was a great saint of Maharashtra. It is said that due to his sadhana and devotion, Vitthal (God) used to talk to him quite often. But this grace of the lord sprouted the seeds of ego in Namdev. He started thinking that he was the greatest Bhakta. This sprouting of ego in the devotee is least liked by the Lord. He wants to erase this evil trait from the mind of the devotee at the earliest as was in the case of Narada.

One day a group of saints along with Namdev started their journey towards Kashi (Benaras). As they were passing through the village of Mukta Bai - a saint of a high order and contemporary of Namdev, all went to see her. Mukta Bai said to this group of saints, "Only saffron clothes do not make a saint, Saint-hood is very far off". These words pricked the ego of Namdev, who retorted, "This is an insult to us all. Perhaps you are not aware that we are the saints of a very high order. Even Vitthal comes and talks to me. Moreover, if you have any meter of saint testing, you may apply that". Mukta Bai replied, "I donot have the time to involve myself in such petty matters, but there is Gora potter in the village who will test the efficacy of your saint-hood". To this Namdev replied sarcastically, “Then call that great siddha of your village". Mukta Bai smiled and sent for Gora and as Gora reached there, Mukta Bai instructed him, “Test the efficacy of each of these saints by striking their foreheads with a piece of earthen pitcher". Gora called each one for the test and after striking their foreheads with the piece of pitcher, he each time declared, "Very nice, fully burnt, good luck." When Namdev's turn came, he went to Gora with great pride and indignation for Mukta Bai and Gora potter. As Gora struck his forehead with the piece of earthen pitcher, he shouted, “Not burnt, not burnt. The ego is still there. Do not stand in the row of these saints. Go to your Guru and know the art of erasing ego". Namdev realized his blunder and went running to his Guru Visoba Khechar, who erased his sprouted Ego. Ego will go when I goes. Like Lord Siva, Guru brings the doom's day before the devotee to make him understand the worthlessness of his person, possessions and purse.

Many a times the beginners are very eager to have a Guru of the first order in the same way as they go to a mall for purchasing. They travel to the holy places far and wide with a testing eye to find a Guru. This is the greatest folly on their part. Do not go to any holyman with the attitude of testing. Go to him with full bhava and a spirit of Seva. Whenever the proper time comes, Guru appears automatically. He may come in person or even in the form of a dream or a scripture. Consider God as your first Guru. Whenever you feel peace, solace, contentment, ecstasy while sitting with some holyman, feel that here is your Guru. Do not bother about the scholarly attainment of the Guru. Totapuri, the Guru of RamKrishna Paramhansa was an illiterate man. Guru has to be a Dhyani rather than being only a Gyani.

We are so much engrossed in the world that many people search a holyman not for the blessings for a pure, clean and peaceful life but to have worldly objects to make their lives more easy and joyful. This is the greatest mistake. You have dialled a wrong number! Guru is there not to provide worldly wealth but the divine wealth. He is not there to pacify your physical needs but helps you to purify your deeds. He is not an agent to fill your coffers but he fills your heart and mind with the divine name. Guru is he who helps you clean your heart and mind by telling you the worthlessness of worldly objects. There is a story of a greedy man who goes to a holyman to know a particular number for punting (satta) and offers to the holyman 10% of the amount which he would get. The holyman laughed and said, "Dear child! Though I am a Sadhu but I am not a fool. Why should not I have a direct deal and get 100% of the game rather than make you an agent and lose 90% in the deal?" So do not go to Guru for worldly yearnings. No Guru will normally give the blessings of the belongings. He is there to help you to know your 'being'. The possessions of the world are decided by your purushartha and prarabdha. The role of Guru is not to enhance your bank balance but to make you happy, peaceful and contented.

Many aspirants want that a Guru should give a very long, enchanting lecture of the Sophian style. Do not go to him for mere knowledge or intellectual gymnastics. Be at his feet, enjoy the shade of his serene presence. Guru may give his sermon by keeping mum. Drink it through your mind and heart.

Sometimes it is noticed that once a devotee finds a Guru, he thinks that his task (devotee's) is over. Now it is the Guru who will carry the burden of his life, just like we find a porter to carry our luggage at the Railway station. This is the greatest blunder on the part of the aspirant. Guru guides us, inspires us, helps us but the real journey has to be taken by the sadhak himself. One has to go through the furnace of vairagya and abhyasa by himself. Christ has said, “Each one has to carry his own cross". Grace of Guru does not mean that you have to sit idle. Guru is like a pole star, but it is you who have to march onwards. Guru is like a model but it is you who have to mould your life as per that model. Guru and shastras can only show you the path and remove your doubts but it is you who have to purify your life and tread the path shown by the Guru. Do not expect miracles from him. Do not put him at par with Gogia Pasha (the world-renowned magician). No doubt he can do miracles but do not hanker after them.

Guru is not pleased by the offerings you make at his feet. He is not very happy with your fat donations. To make him really happy follow the dos and don'ts preached by him. Do not try to fatten or flatter the Guru, but follow his instructions seriously. A father loves that son the most who follows what the father says.

There is a very deep concept of Guru parampara which means that there is lineage of Gurus. Here the spiritual knowledge is passed from a Guru to a shishya and after the Samadhi (death of the physical body) of the Guru that shishya becomes the Guru and passes the same knowledge to his shishya. So this flow and continuity of the stream of scriptural knowledge continues as in the case of Gaudapadacharya - Govindacharya - Sankaracharya - Suresvaracharya - Matsyendranath - Gorakhnath - Nivrittinath - Jnanadeva and so on. There are hunderds of such cases. Shakti-Sanchar is also a very important aspect of Guru parampara. It means that the Guru transmits his spiritual power into his chosen shishya. This is just like the baton in the relay race, but is a very potential phenomenon.

Today, we have split personalities; our houses are very solid, made of steel and cement but our homes are broken. No doubt our clothes and surroundings are clean but our hearts are worse than the gutters. Our lips smile but our hearts weep. Here Guru arrives to integrate our personality. He tells us that the remedy of all these ailments is not materialism but purification, meditation and the Divine Grace. Guru brings in our life the 'No conflict stage'. He tells us to practice the art of 'I go' and be at peace. He tells us, "If you want to be happy, feel the presence of God and His grace". In life, problems come not to tumble us but to humble us. An atheist will say, 'God is nowhere', but a devotee will read the same plate as 'God is now here' - only changing the placement of 'w' brings this change. Trust in God and never be dis-satisfied with your lot because God has a lot for you. Have faith in His divine plan and be convinced that you are the right person at the right place, learning the right lessons from the book of life at the right time and when you have learnt the lessons, the conditions will change automatically and you will find your self in the new situations.

The quiz of life will not be solved by borrowed knowledge, the panacea is in the acquired knowledge from one's website of experience.

We are at the daggers drawn as far as our thoughts, words and deeds are concerned. They are crossing each other and the result is a shattered and tattered personality. We are always in clash with others because we are continuously waging a war within. That's why Rabia once said to her devotees, "First go and make peace within you. Extinguish the fire which is in you, if it is not controlled it will be burn the whole world".

Guru tells his shishya the concept of 'awareness'. We repeatedly commit the same mistakes because we do not dwell in the realm of awareness. We are always intoxicated with the narcotics of attachment and expectation. The result is sorrow and melancholy. Guru says, "Be aware because your 'awareness' will define your 'whereness'. Be careful because careless is he who cares less and careful is he who uses his awareness fully. Remember, if the mould is defective every product produced by that ought to be defective. So the heart is to be cleaned and the mind is to be corrected. For this, Buddha gave the concept of 'Go Inside'. We are always outside and are thus, lost. Awareness will tell us how to differentiate between the husk and the grains. The cause of this slumber has been very beautifully depicted in the iconography on the Buddha wheel which the Tibetans ply most of the time. It donates cyclic existence on twelve dependents such as ignorance, compounded karmas and senses, contact, craving, grasping, existence, birth and death, feelings and sphere. But all these are in the jaws of death. We are neither aware of our true self nor of the theory of cause and effect. The Guru with his guidance and grace removes this blindness.

In religion we usually get ready made answers. It offers parrot like assertions. Guru says, "Your answers should come from the depth of your own experience. Do not have crammed answers, but find them out yourself". Man is in the habit of playing tricks, but mind it when you go near a Guru, go like a child, because no trick will work in front of a Guru as his only mission is to free you from ignorance. When we go to Guru we should have intense thirst and its intensity should be so high that the devotee becomes the embodiment of thirst itself. Then the divine quench is not far off. The modern man has not only lost the confidence in others but in himself also. Guru says, "Have confidence in yourself". Satguru gives us our lost confidence as the 'Paradise Regained' of Milton. To have self-confidence, use the mind in the world and the heart in religion. But we do the opposite.

Mirror tells us our reality. It also tells us our pitfalls. That is why many people suggest that its name should be - 'My Error'. To see in the mirror, there are two basic requisites - (1) Mirror should be clean (2) There should be an eye to see in it. King Dashratha saw the mirror and decided to make Rama the crown Prince. Ravana had tewenty eyes but could not see in the mirror. Janak found Sita while ploughing and made her his daughter and Ravana abducted Sita and wanted to make her his wife. Guru shows the mirror to the disciple and tells him, "Do not steal anything of the Lord, because you are not simply an individual but an indivisible entity of the Lord". According to Rabindra Nath Tagore, "The wealth I have is a loan from the Lord. I am His trustee". Guru says, "Feel the presence of the lord everywhere. The wall between you and the Lord is your imagined self. Remove this artificial imaginary partition."

Man has two main aspects in his personality - (1) The body aspect and (2) the soul aspect. In the past he was soul conscious and considered the body only a sheath, which may suffer to protect the soul. He considered the body nothing more than a transitory camp or a living corpse. King Harish Chandra sacrificed his kingdom, wife, son and all the royal comforts for the sake of the soul. But the modern man is always body conscious and is sacrificing his soul for petty pleasures of life. Bhikha, a great saint says, "What is the body - a mere moving corpse whereas soul is the divine-self. Do not sacrifice it at the altar of transitory pleasures".

There is a very interesting story of a Sufi saint who was once abducted by some dacoits. The saint was quite young and handsome. The dacoits thought, "If he is sold in the slave market, he will fetch a big amount." So they started their journey to the slave market. On the way they met a slave trader who saw this young and handsome Sufi saint being taken as a slave. The merchant asked the dacoits the price of the slave, but the Sufi saint told the dacoits, "You do not know my proper price because you deal in stolen goods only and are not aware of the real worth of the things. I know my real price and whenever a proper customer will give the exact price, I will tell you." The dacoits were very pleased to see the honesty of the abducted youth. So the Sufi saint said to the rich man, "How much will you give for my head?" The rich man was also hearing the conversation between the dacoits and the slave and had all praise for the intelligence of the slave. He said, "I will pay 5000 dinars for your head." Dacoits looked towards the slave who said 'No' to the rich man and proceeded ahead. On the way, they saw a chariot coming from the opposite side. The dacoits thought him to be a rich man who might give a heavy amount for the slave. The chariot halted near them and the charioteer asked the dacoits, “Is this slave saleable?" The dacoits replied in affirmative but said, "There is only one condition. Our slave will finalize the transaction, because he knows his exact price". The charioteer, who was very much surprised, asked the slave, "Will you come with me? I will offer 10,000 dinars for your head and you will enjoy at my place, as I am the Wazir (Minister) of the Sultan." But to the surprise of the Wazir, the slave said,"No. You may be a Wazir but you do not know the exact price of my head". Dacoits did not like the behaviour of the slave, because for them ten thousand dinars was quite a big amount. When they were talking, another chariot was seen coming to that side. All the dacoits said to the slave, "Please settle the bargain with this man if possible as we have to go home". The chariot halted near them. The insider of the chariot saw the healthy slave and asked his price. The dacoits repeated the previous condition. The insider comes out after hearing the conditions narrated by the dacoits and said, "I am the king of the empire. Throughout my life I have sold and purchased slaves, but it is the first time that I am seeing a slave deciding his own price". The young saint said, "O King! Better leave this subject. In this world, always dacoits had been traders and their slaves (agents) fix the prices. You tell your offer". The King said, "50,000 Dinars". The slave said, "No. You also don't know my exact price. I will go only with the man who knows my exact price." The King went away disappointed but the dacoits were very angry with slave. In the meantime they reached the market gate. There was a grass cutter standing to sell the bundle of grass. He saw a stout slave coming with his masters. As the party approached, the grass-cutter shouted, "Is this slave saleable?" Dacoits said, "Yes, but where is the customer?" The grass-cutter replied, "Here I am". The dacoits laughed scornfully and said, "Do you know the worth of the head of this slave?" The grass-cutter retorted," Slaves are slaves. I know the worth of his head. I can offer this bundle of grass for the slave". As the abducted saint heard the offer of the grass vendor, he said, "Here is the man who knows the exact worth of this head. I am ready to go with him". Keep the head on the feet of the Guru. If done so, then it is possible that the worthless iron may become gold. Guru says repeatedly, "The Kingdom of God is very near, but the condition is that your mental slate has to be clean". God meets the innocents. There is a difference between an innocent and a nonsense. Guru lights the lamp of our life. He prepares his shishya for a higher level of life. It is not a relationship of our present life. Guru and shishya's relation is from time immemorial, as Bhikha had his Guru Gulal automatically. Alakh has the root of Alikh (unwritten). You can not see the Guru because your eyes are socketed by the rocks of name and fame. You do not want a realized one as your Guru, your fancy is for a popular Icon. Guru says, "Words will not quench you thirst, word 'chappar' will not give you shelter. Ideas are not life. You have to live in reality. Do not search light. Only eradicate the darkness. Light is always there, it is because of the lids on our eyes that we see darkness everywhere. Remove these lids of Lobh and Moha, be light and enjoy light". The truth is not searched. It is always there. On the other hand it is falsehood which is coined and created. Happiness is associated with that which is permanent. The transitory is always painful. You have lived in falsehood for so many years, what is the result? Did you get happiness or peace? If not, change the angle of your life, you will become an angel.

There are two categories of Gurus - one is the Shiksha Guru and the other is Diksha Guru. The former makes you proficient in secular matters and teaches you the art of making a successful living whereas the latter lets you know the secrets of making the life sublime. One tells you how to earn the daily bread, whereas the other tells you how to burn the desires. There can be many Shiksha Gurus but there will be only one Diksha Guru. Diksha Guru gives initiation to the shishya, which is a very auspicious and important event in the life of the shishya. Many people call it a new life or the second life of the initiated one. Now his whole life starts revolving around the action plan prepared by the Guru. It is a new start. The Guru may not give a new mantra to the shishya but by initiating the shishya he tells him to initiate a new journey for the real goal of life. Without Guru, many a times, the shishya falls prey to many confusions and delusions. Guru tells him,” God is not only near but he is here".

Faith in the Guru is very important. If you do not have faith and confidence in Guru, all initiation is useless. You should have undaunted faith in Guru and stick to one and only one Guru. In the company of the Sadguru, a new Sun of hope will rise in your life which will open your closed eyes. Guru fructifies the three basic mantras of Upanishads.

Man is always in the midst of falsehood. From the womb till the tomb, he sees falsehood, hears falsehood, aspires falsehood, and even contemplates falsehood. That is why falsehood becomes the style of his life. He comes across the truth so infrequently and falsehood so frequently that he considers the truth as false and falsehood as the truth. Guru tells him that falsehood is transitory. It is the truth that is real. Guru takes out the shishya from the dungeon of darkness to the paradise of divine light. He tells him the secrets of life and death, and convinces him, "You are not the body but the pure Atman. Body is a sheath only that takes birth, grows, decays and dies. You are Sat-Chit-Ananda, which is beyond the reach of death. Your abode is that where death is given the death knell". Thus, Guru reconditions the nature of the shishya. He awakens the life of spirit in him.

Guru does not only gives advice to the shishya but encourages him to live a truthful life. He does not tell him to live on doles but earn his livelihood by becoming a dedicated spirit while doing the work at hand.

Guru bestows upon us the power to understand the Truth. You are the treasure whose key has been lost. You are the seed who could not get proper land to sprout. You are the emperor who considers himself a pauper. Guru gives you the vision to know you real self.

We should have the eyes to see the Guru. Ramakrishna Paramhansa came here, Ram Teerath came here, Sivananda came here, but how many recognized them? We have forgotten the grace of God, that is why there is no grace in life. Guru is a bridge between man and God. He is a being who has raised himself from this to That. Guru is the ocean of Bliss Divine.

Do not limit Guru to his body only. He is with you all the time. Even when he leaves the physical body, he is with you as the all-pervading spirit. Feel his divine presence everywhere. Guru is always engaged in taking his shishya from pain to pleasure and from klesha to Kailasha (abode of peace). Tulsidas in the beginning of Ram-charitmanas (B.K. - S3) personifies Guru as Lord Siva.

Purmina (full moon) of the month Ashadha (july) is celebrated as GuruPuja/Vyasapuja day. That is why this day is also called as Gurupurnima day. On this day, every shishya worships his guru and makes certain resolves to make his life pure and God-oriented. Let us all pray to our Guru in the form of Siva of Ananda kutir to illuminate our lives with spiritual thoughts and pure deeds. Hari Om!

Guru integrates our personality. Guru brings in our life the 'No conflict stage'. He tells us to practice the art of 'I go' and be at peace. He tells us, "If you want to be happy, feel the presence of God and His grace". In life, problems come not to tumble us but to humble us. An atheist will say, 'God is nowhere', but a devotee will read the same plate as 'God is now here'. Have faith in His divine plan.