Enlightened Masters say that the Guru is One who is awake among those asleep to their self, the One with sight amidst the blind. The Guru is One who has realised His true nature. Dissolving individuality, where only divinity has remained is the Guru. The pure self appears very distant from the deluded state you are in and it will be so because it is realised when the consciousness is awakened.
God, the supreme self, seems far away from you because since time immemorial it is unknown and unfamiliar; but it is not far. The seeming distance is because of your delusion. For God, you are not far! At sunrise, the rays spread all over you, yet if you remain in deep sleep, the sun seems far from you. You experience overwhelming darkness. You do not even know if the sun is there or it isn’t.
In such moments when the Divine seems far away, the Sadguru becomes the link because He seems like you. He is somewhat like you – a human with a body made of bones, flesh and marrow. And unlike you – He has known what is unknown to you. He is the gateway to your possibilities.
Taking Shelter of the Guru
Guru is the doorway, not a wall. He makes the sky visible through Himself. Through
Him, you have to reach the formless within. When the ignorant one holds on to the door, that is, gets stuck in attachment for Him, the Sadguru alerts him. Guru will first snatch away your world and then take away the external Guru as well so that you enter the inner sky and meet the pure self. He makes you free from yourself, and Himself too!
Bowing at the lotus feet of the Guru means surrendering the ego. The day you learn the art of bending your ego, know that you have learnt everything. Understand the art of dissolving in Him. Through the Guru you can know this, you will learn how to love, you will have the key to purification.
Though this task of familiarising yourself with the pure self is possible without a Guru, but it is a fact that up until now this has not transpired on your own. The reason is that your habits are such because of which you need a push.
The Push
A chick hatches from the egg. Because it loves the safe and warm world of the nest it is afraid of the vast, cold and unsafe sky. Looking at its mother flying in the sky, it is initially appreciative, but does not want to try it. It does not have faith in its capacity to fly. It does not consider itself powerful enough to soar to heights. But seeing the mother fly again and again, the baby wants to fly. The mother encourages it, “Come. You too can fly the way I do.” With faith in her, the baby starts to experiment. When the mother bird pushes it out of the nest, at first there is panic. It flies a little around the nest and returns. Gradually, it gains confidence, knowing it can fly with its wings. Fear of the sky disappears. Love for flying grows. Familiarity with the sky increases. Now, it aspires to become master of the sky. Experiments continue. First around the nest, then further away– the circle gets bigger. Finally, it masters the sky!
The Guru pushes you out of your nest. Nothing more than that. You could have done this yourself, but could not do it till date. If you could, why did you not do it earlier? There are wings, there is capability, there is the sky. But courage, faith, resolve are lacking. That is why a Guru is needed. He instils in you the desire, resolve, courage and belief. Guru gives the first push.
Guru Frees you from Dependence
When asked, who did this feat of identifying the pure self, the Guru would say I have done nothing; you allowed it to happen. If you believe that the Guru did, then a new bondage of dependence will begin. Then, you will wait for Him to do something. So the wise say, do not fall into such a trap of delusion. Guru is only a catalyst. Socrates has said that the Guru’s work is like that of a midwife. Her job is only to facilitate the childbirth.
Guru does nothing in the disciple. The phenomenon occurs because you allow it to happen. No one else can do anything within you. You let the transformation occur in the presence of the Guru. Gradually, this becomes possible even without His external presence. Then, it can happen in challenging situations as well. You become a master!
True devotion unto the Guru is when you can maintain that state even without the physical presence of your Guru. Do not depend on your attachment for Him, depend on His commands. Taking help of a walking stick when the legs are weak is different, but to increase the strength of your legs with aid from that stick is devotion. Only when this happens, consider yourself to have taken refuge in the Guru.
Real Benefit
Do not forget that whatever happens to you is because of you alone. That alone is the right knowledge. The presence of the Guru is a powerful instrumental cause to help you become inward. You should benefit from His presence, but be cautious that it does not become a disease, a habit or a cause of dependence. Your spiritual journey starts with the satsang of a Guru. Then, whatever occurs becomes satsang, wherever you go there is satsang – such a state should be attained, and only then it can be said that he is awakened.
The need for the external presence of the Guru should reduce, while the connection with the pure self should continue. The command of the Guru is also such. If you are in a preliminary state you need a close association with the Guru, need the help of spiritual practices etc. But as you progress you will need very little external support. You will soon begin experiencing peace and silence naturally, and the state of witnessing will emerge. This flow will become effortless and continuous.
To become inward and fully aware of your inner spiritual wealth, take the help of the Guru's presence. But remember that Guru as a person is the other. So, as a person He will remain outside. No matter how efficient a doctor is and how strong your belief is in him, you cannot drink him or become one with him. However, you can take the medicine prescribed by him and get cured. In the same way, even though the Guru is benevolent and your faith in Him is unswerving yet you cannot imbibe Him as a person. But if you imbibe His commands, He can remain in you continuously. His principal commandment is – turn within.
Inwardness can be cultivated easily in the presence of the Guru. Overcome your age-old habit of remaining outward with the guidance of the Guru. In the aura of a Sadguru, master the art of inwardness and realise your pure self.
Authored by: Pujya Gurudevshri Rakeshji
God, the supreme self, seems far away from you because since time immemorial it is unknown and unfamiliar; but it is not far. The seeming distance is because of your delusion. For God, you are not far! At sunrise, the rays spread all over you, yet if you remain in deep sleep, the sun seems far from you. You experience overwhelming darkness. You do not even know if the sun is there or it isn’t.
In such moments when the Divine seems far away, the Sadguru becomes the link because He seems like you. He is somewhat like you – a human with a body made of bones, flesh and marrow. And unlike you – He has known what is unknown to you. He is the gateway to your possibilities.
Taking Shelter of the Guru
Guru is the doorway, not a wall. He makes the sky visible through Himself. Through
Him, you have to reach the formless within. When the ignorant one holds on to the door, that is, gets stuck in attachment for Him, the Sadguru alerts him. Guru will first snatch away your world and then take away the external Guru as well so that you enter the inner sky and meet the pure self. He makes you free from yourself, and Himself too!
Bowing at the lotus feet of the Guru means surrendering the ego. The day you learn the art of bending your ego, know that you have learnt everything. Understand the art of dissolving in Him. Through the Guru you can know this, you will learn how to love, you will have the key to purification.
Though this task of familiarising yourself with the pure self is possible without a Guru, but it is a fact that up until now this has not transpired on your own. The reason is that your habits are such because of which you need a push.
The Push
A chick hatches from the egg. Because it loves the safe and warm world of the nest it is afraid of the vast, cold and unsafe sky. Looking at its mother flying in the sky, it is initially appreciative, but does not want to try it. It does not have faith in its capacity to fly. It does not consider itself powerful enough to soar to heights. But seeing the mother fly again and again, the baby wants to fly. The mother encourages it, “Come. You too can fly the way I do.” With faith in her, the baby starts to experiment. When the mother bird pushes it out of the nest, at first there is panic. It flies a little around the nest and returns. Gradually, it gains confidence, knowing it can fly with its wings. Fear of the sky disappears. Love for flying grows. Familiarity with the sky increases. Now, it aspires to become master of the sky. Experiments continue. First around the nest, then further away– the circle gets bigger. Finally, it masters the sky!
The Guru pushes you out of your nest. Nothing more than that. You could have done this yourself, but could not do it till date. If you could, why did you not do it earlier? There are wings, there is capability, there is the sky. But courage, faith, resolve are lacking. That is why a Guru is needed. He instils in you the desire, resolve, courage and belief. Guru gives the first push.
Guru Frees you from Dependence
When asked, who did this feat of identifying the pure self, the Guru would say I have done nothing; you allowed it to happen. If you believe that the Guru did, then a new bondage of dependence will begin. Then, you will wait for Him to do something. So the wise say, do not fall into such a trap of delusion. Guru is only a catalyst. Socrates has said that the Guru’s work is like that of a midwife. Her job is only to facilitate the childbirth.
Guru does nothing in the disciple. The phenomenon occurs because you allow it to happen. No one else can do anything within you. You let the transformation occur in the presence of the Guru. Gradually, this becomes possible even without His external presence. Then, it can happen in challenging situations as well. You become a master!
True devotion unto the Guru is when you can maintain that state even without the physical presence of your Guru. Do not depend on your attachment for Him, depend on His commands. Taking help of a walking stick when the legs are weak is different, but to increase the strength of your legs with aid from that stick is devotion. Only when this happens, consider yourself to have taken refuge in the Guru.
Real Benefit
Do not forget that whatever happens to you is because of you alone. That alone is the right knowledge. The presence of the Guru is a powerful instrumental cause to help you become inward. You should benefit from His presence, but be cautious that it does not become a disease, a habit or a cause of dependence. Your spiritual journey starts with the satsang of a Guru. Then, whatever occurs becomes satsang, wherever you go there is satsang – such a state should be attained, and only then it can be said that he is awakened.
The need for the external presence of the Guru should reduce, while the connection with the pure self should continue. The command of the Guru is also such. If you are in a preliminary state you need a close association with the Guru, need the help of spiritual practices etc. But as you progress you will need very little external support. You will soon begin experiencing peace and silence naturally, and the state of witnessing will emerge. This flow will become effortless and continuous.
To become inward and fully aware of your inner spiritual wealth, take the help of the Guru's presence. But remember that Guru as a person is the other. So, as a person He will remain outside. No matter how efficient a doctor is and how strong your belief is in him, you cannot drink him or become one with him. However, you can take the medicine prescribed by him and get cured. In the same way, even though the Guru is benevolent and your faith in Him is unswerving yet you cannot imbibe Him as a person. But if you imbibe His commands, He can remain in you continuously. His principal commandment is – turn within.
Inwardness can be cultivated easily in the presence of the Guru. Overcome your age-old habit of remaining outward with the guidance of the Guru. In the aura of a Sadguru, master the art of inwardness and realise your pure self.
Authored by: Pujya Gurudevshri Rakeshji
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