Vivekachudamani - Post 34

  Verse 28   

 

मन्दमध्यमरूपापि वैराग्येण शमादिना ।
प्रसादेन गुरोः सेयं प्रवृद्धा सूयते फलम् ॥ २८ ॥

 

mandamadhyamarūpāpi vairāgyeṇa śamādinā |
prasādena guroḥ seyaṃ pravṛddhā sūyate phalam || 28 ||

 

(Half-hearted and mediocre aspirations in a seeker may also come to bear fruit, being increased by the grace of the Guru and by means of renunciation, calmness and so on.) 

 

The burning desire for redemption from one's known weaknesses and limitations can be increased and kept at its highest tempo when, through slow but steady pursuits of the six qualities enumerated above and through detachment, one develops them. 

 

By developing a capacity to discriminate between the Real and the unreal, when one has gained an easy control over oneself in renouncing that which is unreal, when one has psychologically cultivated by steady and conscious effort the qualities of self-control, tranquility of mind, inward peace, endurance, faith and mental poise, then one's aspirations gain an edge and an irresistible effectiveness. 

 

These four great qualities have among themselves such a relationship, that having developed one, the others too come to flourish in the personality. So even if one has only half-hearted or mediocre aspirations, one need not despair. If one sincerely cultivates any one of these qualities, one will definitely feel a greater longing for the Highest. 

 

A true Teacher of inner vision and perfect life cannot, by any logic, come to dispense a greater share of his grace on people of his choice nor can he withhold his grace from some others. In fact, the distribution of grace is not controlled by the Guru but depends upon the capacity of the recipient. 

 

The perfected man, living absorbed in the Self, equally disseminates joyous perfection, cheer and bliss to all, at all times. It depends upon the equipment that approach him to take a greater or a lesser share of it. 

 

The ocean does not put a ban upon the quantity of water that you can carry from it, the limitations are the limitations of your own pot. The sun does not ration its light from house to house or from room to room, but it is the walls that deny the entry of sunlight into a room. The river flows, everything depends upon the canals that you can cut to take its water to your land. 

 

Similarly, the Guru living in perfection, gives out knowledge in the language of his own intimate experience and it is up to the individual seekers to get for themselves as much benefit as they can. 

 

This shows that when a seeker has developed in himself viveka, vairagya and shadsampatti, his mumukshutva increases automatically and he who has these four qualities can come in contact with the Guru more profitably. The greater the degree to which they manifest in an individual, the more will he be in tune with the Master and he will be able to understand the significance of the Teacher's words completely and exhaustively.

 

yasya deve para bhaktir  yatha deve tatha gurau 

tasyaite kathita hyarthaḥ  prakasante mahatmanah

 

Two things will make vedanta clear to the student; what are those two things; deve parabhkathi; intense devotion towards the Lord and tatha gurau, so much intense devotion to the guru, as much as he has for the Lord; to such an extent, he does not differentiate guru and God. 

 

Guru is a sincere well-wisher that the sishya should gain this knowledge; motive less wish; without any self-interest; not that I am going to get any benefit; motiveless wish will function because it comes from a purer heart. And when a purer heart such a wish comes, that wish is not fulfilled by the teacher, but that wish is fulfilled by the Lord through the teacher.

 

Love.