Gurucharanm Saranam
The
Difference between Guru and Deities
(Guruvani - The Sacred Words Spoken by Navajyoti Sri Karunakara Guru)
What
is the range of the term ‘Guru?’ From someone who does a job to a person
engaged in the virtuous work of (imparting) self-realization comes under the
definition of Guru. Leaving the field of occupation, when one reaches the
spheres of pranamayam (energy
sheath), jnanamayam or vijnanamayam (knowledge and wisdom
sheaths), mere bookish knowledge becomes inadequate as instructions are to be
sought here.
The lack of punyam (virtue) in the soul
gets expressed as various diseases in the body. This has to be cured by
employing different methods. Textual knowledge does not help in this. Where
textual knowledge does not help, that path of dharma, which enables one to seek merit (punyam) through action
(karma), helps. Such dharma has influence on the soul as
well.
The dynamic of action being such,
action without dharma hinders the
soul and the body in course of time. A person follows his basic instincts and
propensities (vasanas) accrued from past births.
Some may do more good deeds and some
tend to do bad deeds more. Sometimes, the individual is not in a position to
distinguish between good and bad. Therefore when he does a bad deed, taking it
to be a good one, his entire activity turns bad.
Unless one confesses to Guru about
one’s negative karma, no solutions
can be found and one comes to a dead end. In an excess of devotion (bhakti)
some resort to strange deeds and invite people’s displeasure. Yet others
imagine themselves to be persons of still higher attainment and would act and
even move like a yogi or mystic.
In course of time, the activity of
such persons loses clarity. It becomes incomprehensible (even) to themselves.
They will not be able to assess for themselves whether the path of initiation (upadesa
margam) or the path of concentrating on a favourite deity (ishta devata
sampradayam) is suitable for them. Beings in the subtle plane start
manifesting before a person who follows either of these paths for some time.
Such
manifestations would be according to the evolution of the soul of the devotee.
If there is a manifestation, the devotee will be full of zeal in his pursuit.
His devotion (bhakti) would also increase. He would start getting
visions in the waking state of consciousness (jagrat), dream state (swapnam),
profound sleep (sushupti), the higher fourth state (turiyam) and
a still higher state (turiyatitam).
The inner visions start with the
elementals, go on to lower beings such as matan, maruta and mantramoorti,
and to apparitions of mystics such as yogi, jnani, karmi
and so on. Demonic beings capable of creating powerful movements in the five
elements are among them.
These are the ‘lords’ in some
households and ‘gods’ in some others. The devotee who has visions of them might
even get the feeling that these ‘lords’ and ‘gods’
are pleased in his presence. He would then feel proud that he has attained
certain heights. He might get visionary experience in dream as well as in the
waking state. He would become respected in the locality. In terms of the soul’s
growth, some of these persons get stuck at this stage.
If there is no Guru to guide, at this
stage a situation may arise which invites the displeasure of family and
neighbourhood. They could say bad things about him and he may even be
physically beaten up. Since the devotee has extrasensory experiences, he would
still cling on to his object of worship. He would carry on as if his experience
is spiritual. He would indeed have many matters to present as authentic! As
indicated above, there would also be deeds to his credit that ought to make
those around him believe (in him).
Those who follow the path of
worshipping a favourite deity like matan, maruta or
mantramoorti would sprinkle holy ashes, engage in tantric rites and initiation rituals, in order to earn people’s
respect. These are minor tricks inspired by the deity itself. The devotee and
those who believe in him get caught and even incarnations could be wasted this
way. This could have happened in past births also (to the devotee).
The practitioners of such devotion might
take to wandering, and their end might come on the roadside somewhere. Yet
others would practice yoga, initiation through mantras and worship of
favourite deities and just pass away (without much progress).
Some work towards altered states of
consciousness like pratyaharam and dharana related to the samadhi
state. Striving thus, they earn certain spiritual experiences as well as
perceptions of life. As they are meticulous about their personal cleanliness
and bodily purity, they will be held in high esteem at home and outside.
As they go forward, the lack of merit
(punya) in the soul as well as the needs of the body will block their
progress. Here things get mixed up. Correction and direction can be received at
this stage only from a Guru; Guru becomes inevitable here. That is the depth of
the riddle that is Guru.
When visions, as indicated above, are
received, and 7444 of them realized, an aspirant attains one ‘stage’. If an
individual with a healthy body and punya in the soul strives
relentlessly and consistently, it would take 18 ½ years to complete this one stage.
Even such completion would take an
aspirant (if he is a beginner in spiritual life) only to ‘Vetalanagaram’
– the realm of powerful but dark (tamasic)
beings. If a mistake is made at this level, one would stagnate at the same
level through many births and deaths without progress. The line from the Gurugita,
“aneka janma samprapta karma bandha vidahine” (the one who burns up the
bonds of action of several births), could be reflecting this cycle of birth
and death.
An aspirant could fall into such error
whichever path he takes – be it jnana,
karma or bhakti. Some who have come up in the jnana path also
have written about this.
Sri Narayana Guru’s Daivachintanam
refers to the same experience. It is from his spiritual knowledge that he draws
and speaks. To get out of the negative, one must pursue the positive, he says.
But he does not make it clear as to how to go about it.
It is one among millions and millions
of tyagis (seekers who lead a life of self-sacrifice) who becomes
capable of getting such a perspective. Many souls incarnate and depart in a
variety of ways. In all this there would be truth also. The truth, in words of dharma, is in the correction by
discriminating between right and wrong.
A person who completes 70748 visions
of this kind will evolve to a high plane (daivasannidhanam) moving
closer to the Supreme. Until and unless the human race realizes the value of
this great and inexplicable astral process, no one can even guess what the plight would be. Even the rationalists turn out to be
exponents of futile efforts in this field.
More dangerous than these aspirants
and rationalists who create perverse karmic
streams are those poets and thinkers who present a world vision based on
intellect, without an inkling of the gross-subtle-cause-effect(sthoolam-sooksmam-karanam-karyam) relationships. The above mentioned rationalism (yuktivada) and
liberationism (muktivada) have led to the philosophy of people like
Charvaka. These people have a handicap. They don’t have the maturity of
awareness that can lead them to their own liberation. But we keep in mind that
they have the skill to open up the storehouse of knowledge of the entire world.
The effort in this area is of two
types of devotion -- without using intelligence (mooda bhakti) and
devotion born of knowledge (jnana bhakti). Of these, the second group
pursues the path of jnana bhakti and will not have any touch with real
spiritual experience.
The subjects that their intellects
absorb and the writings of those who are in tune with them are of intense value
to themselves; everything else would be senseless to them. But legs tire
equally for the person who is chased, and the person who chases. Both will fall
pathetically in the end. Rationalism and liberationism have only this much of
essence.
But the real liberationist is not in
these lists. The author of Gita has qualified him with great words: the
one who combines intelligence with spiritual power –
“budhya yukto yoga balena chaeva.”
Some of the scholars who enthrall
people with their textual knowledge are projected as jnanis by some
(other kind of) rationalists. There are also persons who are stuck in
unthinking devotion (mooda bhakti) till the end. These are the type of
people who were described earlier as scapegoats of the sorrow that is Vetalanagaram.
People of textual knowledge, no matter how great they are, are slaves to this
realm of the spiritual world.
The aspects of gross-subtle-cause-effect
(sthoolam-sooksmam-karanam-karyam) are related to the soul’s karma and dharma. The Guru who lends gross-subtle-cause-effect to the soul’s karma and dharma should be a bold doer with direct spiritual knowledge and
should respect and consider the five elements (panchabhoota), five
senses (panchendriya), five sheaths around the soul (kosas), the
individual soul (jivatma), the Absolute (Paramatma) and dharma.
Without Guru, the aspirant may reach
the aberrant state of the liberationist/rationalist whose action does not bear
any fruit.
Thiruvalluvar does not seem to have
discussed dharma, artha, kama and moksha but he has made
references based on them. It is not possible for an ordinary person to function
without these.
As far as liberationism and
rationalism are concerned, they do not rise up to any conceptual height. It
does not help to forget the fact that at this point every one falls. Reason and
liberation are two ideas which deserve special and serious consideration. Such
consideration is a way to freedom.
The dharma of Guru is eternal and inscrutable. Guru is the giver of
vision (knowledge) pertaining to the level of the atom, the indivisible
totality (akhandata) and the object of one’s worship.
He possesses the clarity of knowing the
past, present and future. He can impart that proof to others as well; he causes
recurrence of their life situations, to reach a corrective solution.
The difference between Guru and deity
is immense. A life without realizing this is fruitless. The deities worshipped – devas and devis - are nothing at all
in comparison with the visionary disciple of such a Guru.
