Guru-Purnima was observed on the 21st July 2005. Disciples arrived from all over to pay reverence to Gurudev. Photographs show Gurudev and Guruma being honoured on arrival, after which Gurudev lit the lamp. Bhajans were chanted to sing the glory of Gurudev and thereafter the disciples were blessed with divine words.
Gurudev's message for the disciple' s on the occasion of Guru-Purnima 2005
It is so nice of you all to have taken the time out to come here. I do not know how much help you get from me. Why I say this is because today everything is based on what you receive. You can dedicate and devote time depending upon what one gets. Even Guruthwa and sisyhathwa has become a sort of business – vyaapaara. This is not correct though. There should be Godliness in the mind. This is important and not the business. Material can be gained by transactions. By giving something you can get something but with Guru and Ishwara you do not have to give anything. He does not need anything from you. Whether you have the attitude of giving or not you are the gainer.
We always talk about gain and loss because we are used to materialism. Our yardstick for measurement is the materialistic pleasures. In the spiritual life there is nothing called gain or loss. In the spiritual path there are no terms like benefit or loss because you are transformed into your own reality. What is the gain in it? Nothing, because that is the reality which exists within you; it is merely revealed. There is no gain. To attain that reality all you have to do is leave the unwanted attachments and ego – the six negativities – kaama, krodha, lobha, moha, mada and maatsarya. These have to be surrendered at the feet of the lord with a samarpana bhaava. The quality of surrender (samarpana bhaava) and you together transforms into your self. There is no gain to you, there is no gain to the Guru; there is no loss to you, there is no loss to the Guru. You attain transformation. The Ishwarathwa in you is reminded, recomposed, transformed and brought into practice.
Guru and sishya samparka is one of the noblest relationships. There is no nobler relationship provided the Guru maintains the Guruthwa and the sisya maintains the sishyathwa in the real form. It should not be a pretension. Nobody will accept or reject you merely by projecting your self as a Guru or a sishya. There has to be reality, truth inside. Guru represents the truth and should be so. The Guru should contain and maintain the Godliness, the dharma of the God. This is the reason why it has been aptly said:
Gurur Brahma Gurur Vishnu Guru Devo Maheshwara
Guru saakshaat Parabrahma tasmay Sri Gurave namaha!
Na mama is namaha. I am nothing; I have nothing and I do not belong to me. When you say na mama only then you are eligible to do namaskara. Namaha namaskrithi. When the namana is accepted it becomes namaskara otherwise it remains as namana. It is always chanted as namo namaha. We do not know whether is has been accepted or not. All the mantras only contain namaha. We offer our self and pray that he is the lord of everything. There is nothing other than HIM.
For a disciple Guru is the Brahma. He has created the sishyathwa in you. You became a disciple only because the Guru created you. Your birth as a disciple has taken place because of him. He has done the sristhi of you as a sishya. Otherwise you were somebody - you were a father, you were a mother, sister, brother but you became a sishya only when he created you. While doing the srishti he has not merely created a disciple. During the creation the Guru gave you the knowledge of bhakthi, jnana and shraddha. These were given as tools or upaadhi in order to survive. For human beings to survive in this world you need money, food and so many other things. To attain these you do not create money; you earn money. You do not create any material; it happens. It all exists; it is simply that the transactions take place in different forms and shapes. Bhakthi does not exist in the atmosphere. Material exists in the atmosphere; with science, with physics one can create matter and give it to you. With money you can buy a big gift for someone, even buy an elephant. Can anyone give even a little bhakthi to someone? Bhakthi cannot be given and this is the difference between the materialistic and the spiritualistic path.
A Guru creates bhakthi in you, shraddha in you through jnana. It all happens gradually; it is not gifted; it is not bought. It is created. You can approach the Guru with all your money and matter and ask for an ounce of bhakthi in return. The Guru may try his best but will not be able to give. It is not something that is available off the shelf. Even an iota of bhakthi cannot be injected into a person for nothing. The Guru creates bhakthi, shraddha and jnana in you; he creates a disciple and leaves. This is the job of Brahma - hence Guru Brahma!
After sristhi comes stithi. The creation has to be developed. Brahma gives jnana, bhakthi and shraddha – thereafter it is the same Guru that develops them in you. The Guru then becomes Vishnu and teaches you to protect whatever has been given to you. It is not merely protection; he also teaches you how to grow it. In our day-to-day life we grow many things. We grow old and so do many things along with us and get destroyed. In the materialistic world the growth leads to destruction. You invest new bombs everyday; you build a new plane ten times faster than the previous one. What is the result? One crash and nothing remains! Every materialistic development ends in destruction but in spiritualism the Guru develops you not to get destroyed. This development continues till number of janmas. The bhakthi and shraddha remains with you throughout in order to nurture you, nurse you for your progress and take you towards moksha. All this is only for your progress and not for destruction; it is meant to help you merge with the lord – hence Guru Vishnu!
This is the difference between the bhautika (materialistic) and the adhyatmika (spiritualistic) studies, prevalence, observance and in following the two paths. After stithi comes samhaara. Without samhaara nothing is possible. In order to develop something new, something old has to be destroyed. In order to have sharana (take refuge) we have to surrender at the feet of the lord and the Guru. Sharanartha can only be at the charana (feet). A sharanarthi (one who seeks refuge) has to surrender at the feet of the Guru. He cannot sit on the shoulders. When we have nothing then we seek protection from someone else. When we are in darkness, when we are devoid of jnana or light, when we are full of avidya, ajnana, when we seek liberation from ignorance, we approach the Guru. God will not accept you. Ishwara accepts only the pure person, the purity. In order to attain the Ishwarathwa inside us we should have no negativity within. Godliness can be attained only when you have no impurities in you. That pure self has to be created. Impurities are created by thoughts and deeds during the course of the numerous births. These have to be washed off and only a pure soul is accepted by the lord. Otherwise you have to take a number of births to purify your self. In order to make a metal pure it has to be processed several times only after which it becomes ready to be used. An impure metal does not have the required strength. It should be absolutely pure without any foreign material in it. Even a tiny foreign material renders it weak and can even break it. Similarly, if we go to the lord with even the slightest weak point, it breaks the moment the lord taps it with the hammer. He immediately rejects it. The material has to be re-furnaced. It has to be put to boil once again. With the Guru you do not have to bother. He beckons you so that he can boil you again. He says he has different varieties of furnaces to cater to different characters. This is the difference between a Guru and God. This is the reason why God has kept someone in between before you reach him, someone who has been granted the authority to render care and inspect the material before you can be accepted by the lord.
Samhaara is important and hence God has left the authority for all these to the Guru. Samhaara of your negativities is necessary. You have to purify your thoughts, you have to dispel the impurities from within, do samhaara of all the unwanted. Without this samhaara a new bhaktha cannot be created. Abhakthi, avishwasa, aruchi, avichara have all to be removed from within in order to evoke a sincere bhaktha. The srishti (creation) of a bhaktha has to be done as per the lord’s requirements of purity. The samhaara of the negativities has to be done in order to create a sincere disciple – Guru does the samhaara – hence Guru Devo Maheshwara.
The Guru does the sristhi (creates), the stithi (developments) and also the samhaara. He takes a lot of trouble to purify you. Such is the real Guru. Guru is not meant to give you some matter. He helps you to go through this process and that is why he is known as the Guru.
We always identify two categories of people. We always maintain that we are normal people with families and have responsibilities to shoulder. How, then, can one listen to the preaching of sristhi, stithi and samhaara, Guru-sishya samparka, moksha (liberation)? There is no time for all this. Such are the normal thoughts in people. The point to be noted here is that it is only when we are in grahastha (family life) that we require moksha. A Rishi has attained moksha. Who needs moksha then? It is only the people living in the materialistic world. The moksha word itself is meant for you. Where is moksha required from? From this world, from your house? No! it is karma mukthi that we require. There should be no more karmas left to be executed by me.
There are two ways again. Karma mukthi can be attained by executing and exhausting the karmas without trying to enjoy the results. You should not expect any results at all. While experiencing it enjoy it but afterwards do not look back for the results. During one of our regular sessions I was just discussing on this. You ate food yesterday and enjoyed a particular taste. When the same food is cooked with the same ingredients by the same person it tastes different. You immediately start thinking how to get the same taste as yesterday. We are attached to the result of the karma that has been executed. When you look for the result of the karma the results of the execution of the karma is not experienced. The taste could not be experienced and enjoyed because you are attached to the taste yesterday. Today it may be tastier than the previous day but you could not feel it because you are attached to that taste. Your thoughts are engaged in that taste. We all want results. When you are attached with results you cannot enjoy what is happening. When you execute the karmas you can enjoy it, no problem. When you worship or meditate you have a particular experience and so you would like to repeat it. When you repeat, please remember you can gain that experience by expertise, no doubt about it. Suppose I close my eyes daily to meditate and see a particular object I can struggle and bring that object in front of my eyes with practice. This is possible but what happens after this? There is no progress in your life. You stand where you are today, that’s all. In order to progress you have to let it go, experience something new so that you can be promoted. A grahastha is the one who requires moksha. Mukthi and moksha is not meant for the swamijis and the great maharishis. It is only for those who are still in the state of execution of karmas. So we have to spend sometime in order to attain self-realization.
You are your own Guru. At one point of time you become your own Guru. Even today you are your own Guru. Your mind asked you to come here and that is the reason you are here. Who then is the Guru? You alone. You have instructed you to come here so you are here. Whatever you say you will listen only to that. You are your own Guru but unfortunately your Guru misguides at times. Sometimes it gives you right instructions and sometimes wrong. There is a difference between the external Guru and the Guru within you. It changes its course of action because the Guru within you is instable. That Guru within has to be stabled; he has to be taught, he has to be trained. This is the reason you require an external Guru till such time your stability and realization takes place. After self-realization takes place you merge with the lord, you become the God. You need not go to the ashrams or the Himalayas provided you are able to realize your self. Anywhere is Himalaya for you. When you are sitting here the Bhagwad paada, the Bhagwad shruthi, the Bhagwad karuna, the Bhagwad aakara, the Bhagwad ashirwada, can be felt. If you can feel these it does not make any difference where you are. If you can see the Ishwarathwa within you even when you are sitting in the middle of the road would it really matter where you are sitting? When you are with the Ishwarathwa you do not have to do anything else. This practice is necessary for each and everyone. I do not deny that we do require material to execute karmas. You need money for food, clothes. We all need it and must have it but the importance to meet these should be only to the extent of the necessities. We should spend only 25% of our energy and time to meet these necessities and the rest 75% should be to promote your self, to reach the Ishwara.
People have often been heard saying that they have no time for all this. We have time for all else but no time for God and Guru. You have no time to gain the jnana. In order to gain bhakthi and be happy you have no time. You have enough time to experience the sensual objects and the sensual pleasures. Please remember that we have to spend some time for God and Godliness and only then can we attain it. Puja is a ritual and you reach a point where you no more have to do puja. When we offer some flowers at the feet of the lord, keep some bhog (which you your self eat) and light a lamp we derive ego satisfaction – I AM A GREAT BHAKTHA. It may be noted that nobody can claim to be a bhaktha. A bhaktha has to be certified and accepted by the lord and the Guru. When you study at the university you claim to be a scholar of that university. This is not correct. The signature of the person in authority is required to certify that you are a scholar. In the spiritual path there is no such paper and signature required. It is all based on sathya (truth), bhakthi (devotion) and vishwasa (faith). It is on a one-to-one basis and not meant to be shown to others. Once I realize that I am a bhaktha I will not declare it. In the materialistic world you would like to impress upon others the degrees and certificates that you have obtained whereas in the adhyathma you would like to keep it as gupta (secret) where you never want to disclose what you are and what you have within. You would never disclose because there is no benefit to be derived out of it whereas in the materialistic world you obtain a job or money or promotion on the basis of that paper or certificate. This paper is meant for business whereas in the spiritual world the benefit is automatically yours. You do not have to ask for it; you get it. You reveal your self. It is not necessary to be expressed.
Hence it is as a grahastha that we require all these activities. You must remember that money comes today and vanishes tomorrow. This does not imply that we should not earn but we must always have it in the back of the mind that we are earning only to spend. Anything earned in the materialistic world is to spend; anything earned in the spiritual world is to preserve. It is never spent. Does bhakthi reduce once expressed? It only increases whereas money spent is gone. These are the differences between the spiritual and the materialistic paths. Everybody has to be in the spiritual path to be able to develop your own spirits. This requires Guruthwa and kataksha. Samathwa bhavana, vairagya is required. One should never make others feel inferior and try to impress that you are superior by virtue of having attained some knowledge or reading some books. The day I think that I am Guru that day starts my downfall.
A Guru is meant to do sewa. He takes care of you despite his discomforts; he never discusses his tribulations with anyone. Such is a real Guru who takes pains to bring relief to the sishya. He is meant for this sewa and there is no escape. A Guru is a jnani and in order to transmit jnana he imparts the knowledge. In order to impart the knowledge he is not bothered whether his body gives with him or not. He knows the body is temporary and not capable of giving with him. Can this body ever give the bhakthi and jnana? He knows the body will perish one day so he utilizes only his jnana and bhakthi. The Guru moves ahead with the transmission with or without the support of the physical body. The Guru is meant for imparting of knowledge. Nobody commits a sin intentionally. It is all due to ignorance – ajnana and avidya. This is transformed to jnana and vidya only by the Guru. He gives only jnana because it is only through jnana that you can create bhakthi and shraddha within you. Through this bhakthi and shraddha you can promote your self and reach the self, reach the Ishwarathwa within you. Everyone is Ishwara; everyone has a pure soul. This beautiful soul is unfortunately hidden behind the impurities of ajnana through which all the negativities pervade you. This only pushes you further into darkness. You start thinking that darkness is the light. When you are constantly in the dark you think that is the world just as the frog in the well thinks that is the sea. We do not know the meaning of light till we see the light. Guru shows you a streak of light through some pinhole so that you can identify the difference between light and dark. As soon as you see that streak of light you realize you have been in the dark all through. You then start traveling towards that light, to the source of that light. When you start your journey you break open that pinhole and find the place is full of a powerful light.
Do not try to escape under the excuse of fulfilling the responsibilities of a grahastha. First of all are you the one who is meeting all the responsibilities? If you have looked after your child as you always claim to do, how did he get spoilt? How did he fall ill? How did he go away from you? You claim to be the owner. This is merely an ego but this does not mean you should not look after your child. Take care of the child as your kartavya. You are supposed to execute your kartavya. You have to feed him, bathe him, educate him and then leave him. No more attachments after that. Then it is his life and each person is an individual. No more bandhana after this. Children weep over the death of the parents for a few days after which the parents photograph is awarded an expensive frame and adorned with a garland of plastic flowers (no botheration to change it frequently). That is the end of attachments. We are all individuals and we have to fulfill our own karmas. We get support and we have to support to a great extent.
People claim to be doing social service. They take great pride in feeding the needy one meal one day. Yes you will get accounted and rewarded for that. When you go to ‘heaven’ as we call it in the everyday language, you too will be equally compensated and given all meals. After that you return to earth once again to exhaust the remaining karmas. To go to heaven is a 5 star experience but it is not the end. To reach the end you have to exhaust the karmas.
Srishti is Ishwara; prakrithi has given the sristhi. To the extent possible you behave as you are. Promote your self first; extend help to others as far as possible. People involved in charitable organizations think they have done it all by giving charity. They feel they need no other passport to reach God. This is a myth; unless your inner self is purified you cannot reach there. That purity comes only through jnana or knowledge, then shraddha and bhakthi or dedication and devotion. After the devotion, when the self is no more there, when you are totally in meditation and thinking only of Ishwara, you do not feel you exist. It is not even known. That is the time when you are with the lord, with the Supreme, with the highest form, where you do not know that you exist. This is absolutely necessary.
By saying this I do not mean that you should not help the needy or feed a hungry one. You must, in fact, should help every one possible. Please remember we have been born to fulfill our karmas and all these actions are our own karmas. Do not be boasting that you are a social worker and helped so many from agonies, as it is your part of karma to help others, the society. You have been taking so much from the society and are still taking every moment, you probably cannot ever compensate. How many have you saved by your actions? Had you not done that action what would have happened? Have you thought of it? Nothing will happen and moreover some one else will help them. These are all programmed and you are only a medium to do that. It is not done by your intelligence or capacity. Normally one says that I do what ever is possible by me!! That shows you are doing it for the satisfaction of your Ego and not to fulfill the requirement of society. One who does the karma, service to humanity etc. without expecting any results or enjoying the compassionate service is considered as punya. Punya helps in eliminating the ego and surrender to Guru and God. Chapter 12 of Bhgawad Gita, Bhakti Yoga, clearly says that one who meditates on Lord steadfastly, one who renounces everything and surrenders the results of his karmas only can attain Him. Look at those noble souls who have spent their major part of life meditating in seclusion and attained Moksha.
Ramana Maharshi said you are here because of your existence. You experience this world because of your body and mind. You commit mistakes and sins because you have a body and mind. You experience something wonderful in this world also again because of your body and mind. But in order to have a permanent solution for your unhappiness, burdens, fictitious thoughts and ahankara you need to reach that Supreme where you cease to exist. Understand the existence not your existence. Existence means something which is there. How can I say I exist? The existence is including you. When you identify your self as separate from the existence then you are the body and the mind. The existence cannot be segregated; it is a complete mass. When you identify that you exist then you the body and mind exist, which is separate, and you have a different experience than the existence.
Lord Krishna said in Bhagwad Gita, ‘sarwa dharmaan parithyajya maamekam sharanam vraja; aham thatwa sarvapapebhyo mokshaishyami ma sushaha’. Bhagwan said release all the dharmas. What is dharma? Dharma is your nature; it is the characteristics of a particular material. Fire without heat will not be identified as fire. Similarly, you without prana or athma cannot be identified as you. What is your reality? What is your nature? What is your dharma? It is to protect the self, the inner self. It is not to protect the sharira and mana, which are fictitious and temporary. We have often heard our elders say that we should be dharmik. Bathing and praying daily does not make us dharmik. To be dharmik is to protect the inner self of you, promote the inner self of you. To do that Bhagwan says sarwa papa vimukthi – only one who has no ahankara (ego) can surrender. We should have the humility and vinamratha.
Why are we smaller than the Guru or God? It is merely because of the avidya and the ajnana in us. One who has jnana and vidya more than us definitely has to be respected. The Maharishis and the Mahamunis have to be respected because of the jnana and bhakthi. One with lot of materialistic wealth will be respected today. The day he loses wealth the respect also goes along with the wealth. A jnani is always respected not only during his lifetime but also after his death. History speaks of such jnanis. Yogananda Paramahamsa passed away long ago; Sri Ramana Maharishi took samadhi long back. Even today we cite such examples and follow in their footsteps. We do not follow the footsteps of Onasis who has also passed away, do we? He was well known those days because of his wealth but it is all over today. Ramana Maharshi did not even have clothes to call his own. We remember him as God today. A jnani is always respected; a jnani has to be respected. As I said earlier it is only through jnana that we gain the bhakthi and shraddha. Through this bhakthi we can attain the Supreme of our own self. It is not difficult at all. Enlightenment comes in a fraction of a second. It only requires us to change the status of thinking. We are so entangled with maya and material we are used to having this sort of experience in us. In order to wash off these experiences, in order to have the right experiences, we have to first unwind and then introduce the other one. To walk in the spiritual path is only to unwind what we have done or learnt the unwanted. We have accumulated a lot of rubbish and then trying to find mukthi and moksha. How is it possible?
You are staying in materialism and trying to win over the God by purchasing him, win over the Guru by purchasing him. You wish to buy jnana, but these are not possible. The value to purchase the God and Guru is athma thatwa, athma jnana. Surrender your self, sell your self. You cannot buy anything but you can sell.
So Bhagwan said aham thatwa sarwapaapebhyo - all the sins that you have committed – sin means the wrong path. Killing or stealing alone does not constitute a sin. A wrong thought itself is a sin. When we pray to the lord and surrender ourselves to the Guru our thoughts may be engaged elsewhere. Externally we smile and appear to be present in front of the God but in reality we are somewhere else. This has no acceptance and is called paapa. You have deviated from the path and it is a greater crime than killing another person. It is a pretense of paying respect while your mind is wandering around the world. First and foremost you have insulted your self for doing something what you are not thinking. Secondly, it is an insult to the God or Guru whom you pretend to be paying respect to – it is an insult to the lord. You have also insulted the humanity who watches while you perform the puja. You have deceived them through your external expressions of respect and reverence. With such act of yours how do you expect to get mukthi? Only when you have absolute bhakthi, when you surrender your self at the feet of the lord, when you surrender your thoughts to him, when you surrender your ahankara, ajnana and avidya, let him take over. When you fall totally ill and are unable to move, you are hospitalized, you have to depend on the doctor. You have no choice so it is better to surrender. Similarly, when we have problems in this world, and we see no way to come out of it, when there is no expertise to come out of it alone, is it not better to surrender your self to the lord? Plead to the lord to take care of you, to promote you from that point. Pray to be released from that dirt, from the dukha, kashta, kaama, krodha and moha.
We are full of greed and always want to know what we would get in return. Even to do puja we expect blessings. Before the exams students worship for a longer period and for a job interview we would sacrifice 30 minutes of sleep to pray to the lord. We even promise the lord wealth and gold if he can grant us the business deal. So we just expect some gain at each point. This is not possible with a Guru. In the Guru sishya samparka there is no business involved. It is simply imparting and receiving of knowledge that takes place. As a grahastha, household, we have a lot of responsibilities, but please do not think that it is you who does everything. Everything happens; just be with that. In order to make it happen in the right way just be a support to that. This requires some experience. When we are confronted for committing mistakes we shirk the responsibility saying that it was not intentional; it has happened. If that can ‘happen’ this also will happen similarly.
Through jnana bhakthi can be evoked. Without jnana the right bhakthi cannot be evoked. The realization has to come that nothing is more important than the right jnana. Alternatively one has to be totally ignorant like Kaalidasa and Tenaliraman. They had not seen or experienced anything since childhood. They were immersed in bhakthi and hence they attained the jnana. They did not try to find out which was right. Since we have received some education we want to have results of materialism in spiritualism. Without experience spiritualism cannot be attained. As I always quote that people stand on this side of the fence but want to have the experience on the other side of the fence without actually going there. “Let me experience the climate on the other side and if I find it comfortable I will come” is the thought. How is that possible? Who wants you? You have to cross the fence, go there, experience and if you do not like it you can always come back. “I do not want to take a chance” you say. People want to see miracles that are possible in spiritualism and then they would decide to walk on that path. You have no way but to cross the fence. You have to do it one day and the earlier the better. Once you have crossed over you find it is wonderful and you automatically travel through that. We are unable to do all this as we do not have the jnana. I do not know what happens once I reach there. It is important to know this. We must have the capacity to know this. We need jnana, bhakthi and shraddha to know all this. What happens on the other side of the fence should be known to you. Once you have studied and learnt everything just break the fence and cross over, that’s all. You do not have to come back again. This is possible only through the practices of the scriptures, through listening to the Gurus, through ashirwada, through kataksha. Only when you get it you realize its importance. After that you do not want to come back. Only the ignorant slide back. Normally sliding back does not take place because one proceeds only after knowing what is awaiting them on the other side. Again I stress that it is only a grahastha who requires all this.
People live under the illusion that teachings, scriptures, Vedas and Upanishads are necessary only after retirement. When you have finished all else then you are free to go to the Guru and not before that. All these are only shirking responsibilities when we say this is not meant for us. IT IS MEANT ONLY FOR US! It is necessary and important for us. Without mukthi from karmas and from this sharira, mukthi from the present fictitious life we can attain nothing. We are living in pretense day in and day out. We expose a different nature each time. We express ourselves as different people at different places on different occasions. Even while sleeping we dream and as if that is not enough we narrate the dream after adding spices to it. You never speak the truth even about what you have dreamt. This is the way we live. This is the way we are attracted to life because of the materialistic benefits. We all do everything only for some benefit or the other.
We go to the sea with a small glass to bring water in. Take a big drum so that you can bring plenty of water. When you go to the lord, when you go to the Guru, when you go to the Ishwara receive as much as possible. Have a big paatra (container) with you. If you go with a small container you receive only that much. You should become the container, the capable paatra to receive blessings in abundance. Fill your mind with bhakthi, think only of the lord at all times. We cannot see God in a form or shape. See the Ishwarathwa in the Guru and not his physical form. Meditate on the Guruthwa in the Guru and through that try to reach the lord. There are no thousands of paths to reach the lord. There is just one path and that is the path of purity, bhakthi through jnana. We all know that to step into the temple we must have a wash first. Similarly, when you go to Ishwara you have to wash your mind properly. A special detergent is available only with the Guru and is not sold in the market. It is not available for a price. That can be attained only through faithfulness and bhakthi. It is sold only through bhakthi and shraddha. You can carry on with your worldly duties but the major part of your time and effort should be spent on the development of the inner self.
To go to the spiritual class or for meditation we would discuss the pros and cons with several people. We want opinion from those who have no clue what meditation is all about. We even follow and take decisions based on their suggestions. We ask only the ignorant. When we want to steal or tell a lie then we do not ask anyone whether it is right to do so. We immediately create it and sell it and we also enjoy it. To walk in the spiritual path we need affirmation and support of many but for all else we take independent decisions. If we cannot evoke the God within you, you cannot find the God in the temple or the idol.
I happened to meet an Irish lady who is attached to a missionary. When we asked her how she came into this fold she replied that one of her friends had recently joined the meditation class. When she returned from there her face was shining and this is what prompted her to join. Such is the concept of joining the meditation class. We do not know why we do certain things. People want to meditate so that they can reach the God directly. Unless your inner self is purified and you have a determination to become purified, the meditation is of no use. If you lack these then sitting in a meditative posture only further pushes you downwards as you get more of peaceful time to think rubbish when you sit peacefully alone and think with your eyes closed. You are supposed to meditate on purity in order to attain that; you should have the determination; you should have the surrender quality; you should have a Guru. In today’s condition you need a person in order to guide you so some aakara, shape, has to be there. You need that akrithi so that your mind can concentrate on that. Ultimately that figure vanishes.
In Vivekachoodamani Bhagawan Adi Shankara says that when the disciple’s education is complete, he finds that he has become the Guru as he has merged with the Guru. Once the disciple merges with the Guru the withdrawal takes place. This practice has to be done by us. You may enjoy sensual pleasures for some time but come out of it gradually otherwise like a whirlpool you keep rotating in it till you find it difficult to escape. If you are happy with the materialistic way of life that you are leading please carry on. These advices are meant for those who are sitting on the fence and are comparing which is a better way of life. I am not an authority on these advises but whatever I have understood I wished to share with you. Please pardon me if there are mistakes. I am ignorant and shall learn. As far as I know this is the truth and this is the fact. Tomorrow some other truth may be revealed during meditation or prayers but what I know till today I have shared with you.
Do not look for pleasures; look for happiness. Happiness is permanent; pleasures come with pain. Pains remain with you; the pleasures vanish. I pray to the lord to give you strength to walk into the spiritual path; I pray to your Gurus to let his karuna, blessings and kataksha be on you. Strive for it because that is the only earning that you carry with you through a number of janmas (births). All other earnings are spent here except these are accounted with interest.
Ishwaro Raksha!
Sharana is only at the charana. When we seek sharana we cannot expect to sit on the shoulders. Sharana is to seek protection. One who seeks protection would not want to sit on the head. Sharana and the charana go together. It does not mean that you are supposed to be at the feet. Charana just signifies the lowest level hence sharanam at the lowest level. When we ask someone for something we must be at the lowest level. If you go above his level he cannot give you anything. If you feel you are a big man fine, sit at the head but you will receive only if the Guru’s hands are above his head. The position has to be different. Sharanam is meant for protection and protection can be given only when you are under his coverage and control. When you are humble you would be at the feet and that is when you get the sharanam. When we seek something from the God or the Guru we have to be at a lower level.
We seek jnana from a jnani or a nobleman because we do not know how to live. We do not know how to get mukthi from the karmas. Each one us is seeking mukthi from the troubles. There are numerous problems in each one’s life. I have no time to listen to Vedanta when I am surrounded by so much of problems – this is commonly the pretext under which people keep away from the truth. Vedanta is to save you from the troubles. You go to trouble to be saved from troubles – this is not possible. You must go to the Vedanta, to the shakthi, to the jnani, to the Bhagwan or the Rishi who can save you from the troubles.
Troubles, sorrows, sadness are all because of ignorance. When this ignorance is removed from us, when jnana is provided to us we find a way out from the troubles. A Guru not only identifies your troubles. If you have fallen in a pit you need not know what sort of a pit it is or know about its depth and the filth it contains. It is a waste of time and energy. It is important to save the person at that point instead of going into these trivialities. Even later one need not look back at the pit to see where you had been walking. The Guru saves you from the problems. What can you achieve by knowing the description of the pit you had been in? Instead, seek sharana from the problems; get relief from the problems.
When you go for sharanartha total surrender is necessary. Surrender is submission. This can come only with devotion. When you have that ananya bhakthi you attain this. De-vote all else for devotion to one. Devote everything to others to devote in one. When your mind is in the status of devotion, when you become a devotee, when you have attained ekagrachitta and ananya bhakthi, the sharana is complete. This is not easily obtained because we want sharana, we want to be saved but our mind is preoccupied with something else even at the time of seeking shelter. The mind is not in ananya chintha or ananya bhakthi. In ananya bhakthi the thoughts are focused on one. It is not the bhajan or the prayer or the position of standing that matters; it is the status of the mind that matters. You are a bhaktha of whatever your mind is occupied with.
Ramana Maharshi said you prove your existence because your physical body can be seen by you. He said your mind and body’s existence is a proof that you exist. That existence should be connected only to the existence, not to expectance. Expectance comes from the mind whereas existence is inherent and is there. When you connect your mind and body to the existence, Ramana Maharshi says ananya bhakthi automatically comes. You do not have to learn ananya bhakthi. That devotion alone can save us from all the problems. You do not have to identify the problems. Each day brings with it a new problem. If you indulge in identification of problems you will have (baira bhava) enmity to each and everyone. When you have no (samathwa bhavana) equanimity inside how can you have ananya bhakthi? Anya (something else) is always occupying me so how can I become ananya?
Problems are for the physical body and mind. This has to be there as you have chosen your birth. You have chosen to be in this body so you have to undergo this. While you are undergoing this, Bhagwan shows you a path. Be courageous and courteous, have submission and walk on that path so that you can eliminate all the sins. Bhagwan says whether the bhaktha is ‘good’ or ‘bad’ as expressed in common language, when he comes to my sharana his moksha is nischhaya (definite). Guru does not discriminate. Each one is an athma. The Guru does not identify people by face or by actions. He looks only at the athma because he is concerned only with athma nivrithi and athmoddhara. When such an athma is immersed in ananya bhakthi it becomes easy for the Guru to carry that athma. If
you have weight it becomes difficult for him to carry you. A pure athma weighs very little and easy for him to carry. The sharira and mana contain impurities. Suppose there is a lot of dirt here. Would anyone try to put their hand to clean it? NO! They will bring a broom or vacuum cleaner in order to clean it. If it is clean they can easily pick it up. If your mind is pavitra (pure) Bhagwan can easily pick you up. He will be reluctant if you are impure. The mind should always be in that purity. Under the pretense of bhakthi one may remain with the Guru for number of years and still not receive his blessings, but one who has immense bhakthi but only little association with him may easily get it. It is the intensity that matters. A bhaktha has to be immersed in bhakthi so that he can see nothing other than the Guru rupam in the self.
Shambho Mahaadeva.