Sandeha Nivarini - Post 4

CHOOSING THE RIGHT GURU 

Devotee: But nowadays, some great big people are granting a mantra (upadesa) to all who ask; aren’t they true teachers (sadgurus), Swami?

Swami: I won’t say they are or they are not. I declare only this: It is not the sign of a true teacher to grant a mantra to each and every person who comes with praise, without considering the past and the future, without discovering the qualifications of the pupil and testing whether the pupil is truly deserving it or not.

Devotee: Then Swami, I have committed a blunder! When one great person arrived at our village, and when all were receiving a mantra from him, I also went and prostrated before him and asked him for it. He granted me a good mantra. I repeated it for some time, but soon, I learned that the great person was a cheat. Since that day, I lost faith in the name he gave me; I gave up the mantra. Was this wrong? Or am I right?

Swami: Do you doubt the right and wrong of this? It is very wrong. Just as the guru, as I told you now, examines the qualifications of the disciple, the disciple also has to critically examine the credentials of the guru before receiving a mantra. Your first mistake was that you didn’t pay attention to this but hastily accepted the mantra. Well, even if the guru gave it without the necessary qualification, why did you break your vow and stop repeating the name? That is the second mistake: casting the fault of another on the sacred name of God.

Before receiving a mantra, you should have taken the time to learn of the guru‘s genuineness and develop faith in them. Then, when the desire to accept the person as guru emerged, you should have received the mantra. But once you accept it, you must repeat it, whatever the difficulty; you shouldn’t give it up. Otherwise, you commit the wrong of accepting without deliberation and rejecting without deliberation. That wrong will be on your head. You should not accept a Name when you are still afflicted by doubt or a Name that you do not prefer. Having accepted it, you should not give it up.

Devotee: What happens when it is given up?

Swami: Well, my boy. Disloyalty to the guru and discarding the name of God — on account of these, your one-pointed endeavor and concentration will wither away. As the saying goes, “The diseased seedling can never grow into a tree.”

Devotee: But if the guru grants the mantra even though we lack the merit?

Swami: Such a guru is no guru. The result of the guru’s wrong act won’t fall on you. The evil of that wrong will devolve only on the guru.

Dear All,

Swami has addressed the following points in today's post.

• A Guru should not be giving mantra to each and every one who throngs to  his feet. Guru is the one who should know the qualifications and the level of his disciple and guide the disciple accordingly.
• One must be very careful in choosing a right Guru. One must not be carried away by emotions and week mind while choosing and accepting some one as Guru.
• Even if one has accepted some mantra (Lord's name) from a guru and later on, find that the guru is not genuine, even then, one must not give up the mantra (of Lord's name) given by that Guru. Swami beautifully says, such giving up the mantra is The casting the fault of another on the sacred name of God.

We will deal with this choosing the right guru, hallmarks of a right guru etc. in the next post.

Love.