Chapter
I. Gurus and Mantras
Devotee: Swami, can we ask you freely
about any topic concerning the spiritual path that we don’t know?
Swami: Certainly. Why this doubt? What
is the objection? What am I here for? Isn’t it for explaining to you things you don’t know? You can ask me without
any fear or hesitation. I’m always ready to answer. However, I want earnest
inquiry with a desire to know.
Devotee: But some elders
say it is wrong to vex the guru with questions. Are they right, Swami?
Swami: That is not correct. Whom else
can the disciple approach? Since the guru is
everything to the disciple, it is best to consult the guru in all matters and then act.
Devotee: Some say that we
should reverentially carry out whatever the elders ask us to do, without
raising objections. Is that your command also?
Swami: Until you develop full faith in
them and know that their words are valid, it will be difficult for you to carry
out their orders reverentially. So, until then, it won’t be wrong to ask them
the significance and validity of their orders, so that you may be convinced.
Devotee: Can disciples
realise the goal if they act according to the promise made to the guru and honour the guru as before,
regardless of what the guru may turn out to be?
Swami: Certainly! What doubt is there?
Don’t you know the story of Ekalavya? Though Dronacharya did not accept him as
his disciple, he installed an image and took it as Dronacharya himself;
revering as such, he learned archery and achieved mastery of all arts. Finally,
when the guru, blinded by injustice, asked for
his right thumb as his fees, he offered it gladly. Did Ekalavya take to heart
the injury done by the guru?
Devotee: Of what avail was
that offer? His education was all a waste, that was all. What was the net
result of his achievement?
Swami: Though Ekalavya lost all chance of using his skill, the character that he earned by that training was never lost. Isn’t the fame he acquired by his sacrifice enough compensation?
Author's note
अज्ञानतिमिरान्धस्य ज्ञानाञ्जनशालाकया
चक्षुरुन्मीलितं येन तस्मै श्रीगुरवे नमः
Ajnana-Timirandhasya Jnananjana-Salakaya;
Chakshurunmilitam Yena Tasmai Sri Gurave Namah.
Prostrations to that Guru who, by the collyrium-rod of Knowledge, opens the eyes of those who are rendered blind by the darkness of ignorance (Guru Gita).
The Guru is God Himself manifesting in a personal form to guide the aspirant. Grace of God takes the form of Guru. To see the Guru is to see God. The Guru is united with God. He inspires devotion in others. His presence purifies all.
The Guru is verily a link between the individual and the Immortal. He is a being who has raised himself from this into That, and thus has a free and unhampered access to both the realms. He stands, as it were, upon the threshold of immortality; and bending down, he raises the struggling individuals with his one hand, and with the other lifts them up into the empyrean of everlasting joy and infinite Truth-Consciousness.
Continued.......
Love.
