A View of Santhigiri Ashram

A View of Santhigiri Ashram
Lotus Parnasala and Sahakarana Mandiram , Santhigiri Ashram, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
Showing posts with label Importance of Guru. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Importance of Guru. Show all posts

Saturday, December 24, 2011

How Can We Deny the Truths of Nature!


Gurucharanam Saranam

            
 How Can We Deny the Truths of Nature!

(Guruvani- The Sacred Words of Navajyoti Sri Karunakara Guru)
         
We have behind us the experience of many Ages of worship, knowledge and teachings. This process has been going on thus over the long passage of time. At one point it is written (in the scriptures) that somebody lived for 10,000 years, doing penance. Can it happen in a human life? What is meant by this is the ‘karmagati’ (the karmic propensity) of the soul earned through several lives of penance. Now, someone has left this world earning the quality of evil in the soul. Thus, how many billions do you think exist till date in the unfathomable account of the Hindus, who speak of 330 million deities?  Like this, how many myriads of epochs and their karmas have we passed to reach here? 
A Yuga or Chaturyuga speaks of a big time calculation. Seventy one such chaturyugas constitute a Manvantara.  After the passage of six such manvantaras, this is the 7th manvantara. The karmic residue of those bygone manvantaras, resulting from what was learnt and heard, and from the actions performed knowingly or unknowingly, is absorbed into this Nature. Do you belive it? It is true. Nature has photographed this discussion of ours seated here today. Is it so or not? How should you view this? You should not say that it is not there. It is there. A non-existent thing has no name. Something is being discovered by somebody all the time. What is discovered is given a name and such identification has been going on. In that case we have behind us the karma denoted by the name we lived with, grew and decayed. Do you believe it to be so?
There are our ancestors who evolved a worship system based on a name and made us worship that identity. The question is whether you have to be aware of the fact that these ancestors and what they worshiped are behind us. It is a fact that these ancestors would have carried into their birth the propensities from previous lives which had gone into their blood and marrow through their thoughts, potential and actions. A part of that ancestral karma gets transmitted to our souls as well. I ask whether you have any doubt about this. Then how do we get rid of it? There are many things that your parents, ancestors or elders have learnt, professed or taught you logically. But this is nothing. There is the karma (of worship) of those who invoked and made us invoke (a deity) knowingly or unknowingly. Where could it go?
The rationalist has gone one way and the liberationist the other way.  Let them go. There are many of us between them. What is the way out for those? There is this area where you, others and I have worked. I am asking whether we have the right to say that this area does not exist. Doesn’t this natural reality of the particles of karma that went before us and will lead to other karmas after us exist? This is my question. It is indeed there in Nature. If it is so, should we not think like that? It is to transfer my experience to you. These are not empty words. It can be seen. That is what is called experience. 
I am giving the example of your own children as proof of this experience. I have not brought them from my house. Aren’t they staying here now? This is a confirmation after you have received the experience (spiritual vision) that what I say is based on what is revealed. The reason behind a disease is seen, and what is seen is communicated. In other words, our ancestors and we ourselves pursued different ways of worship and did good and bad. Our body is the natural result of the experiences and actions of these souls. How can one nullify this? Our first question is whether it is understood or not?
 Disciple: Yes, it is true.
Guru: Then how should we know that? I am explaining this in a way that you may understand. This is to give you my experience. For example, take Narayana Guru, Sri Sankara, Chatambi Swami, all of whom took birth in Kerala. There are some people who have faith in them, with or without awareness. The faith and the karma that attracted that faith and the teaching behind that faith also exist. Is it not? Shouldn’t we know this, or not? Thus, for observing such a truth in the world, we need someone to give this knowledge to us. What kind of a person should that be? 
Disciple: It should be a Guru. 
Guru: Yes, it should be Guru. It is Guru behind all this creation. All this is Guru indeed. Guru is there in everything.
Disciple: Yes, the Guru of spiritual realization.
Guru: When you say spiritual knowledge, mostly it is, as l mentioned earlier, a spirituality practised by tradition. The person who could judge on this is the one who has known all principles in detail, and realizing the harm and damage, wishes to enlighten us. Only such a person could enlighten us. Would it be alright to practice gender discrimination, keeping away women and making it a men’s privilege? That means we have not even thought about what rights women have. Somebody please tell me if you believe that all mothers - women who have lived as mother, wife, daughter or sister - have suffered. Only if you ask me could I explain and help you realize. But if you say, ‘No, I am a rationalist and nobody could enter my house’, I have nothing to say. 
This is elucidated by the Guru who gives the knowledge of the realms in this solar system as well as the complexities of all spiritual planes including those relating to the human and celestial worlds and that of the Supreme Being. Did you understand? If not, I shall tell you. That is why I am asking. You should understand this clearly. You are youngsters. What shall I do if you go somewhere and return as owners of karma causing regret - having spent your time in ignorance?
Are we not earning hapless karma that leads to self-delusion? How do we change this? If what has been so far transmitted is found in them despite our agreeing or otherwise what are they to do? You should certainly understand this. I am not referring to things which do not exist, but only about those that exist. That too only what I have seen. You need not doubt this at all. This conviction should come to you. Otherwise it would not be proper to say anything. Suppose you take it to be a tall story - my words will be lost on you entirely. Only if you believe could I tell you something about it. You have faith, I hope. To talk to you, I am putting in an effort as I am not keeping well. Why am I, in this state, talking to you about this? Grasp you must - that is why.

There is a reality in this nature that could show you the spiritual planes beginning from the plane of the evil spirits to the plane called ‘Vetala Nagaram’. This plane makes you realize the nature of ‘Vetala’. And then, there is ascension to the celestial, deva plane. From there you go to the Rishis. From there you ascend to the plane of formless form - and you are shown how it is and how it is not. What does it matter if you, somebody else or I accept or reject it? When we stand behind its existence, shouldn’t be there a medium to show you its primordial form, the reason behind its decadence, the ways in which the decadence set in, as well as the existence in time and space of that ‘karmagati’. Then do we have to believe it? We will experience the truth of it only when we act with the conviction that there is truth in what we believe.
Now, what am I telling you this for? I am telling you this for a purpose. Foreseeing the mistakes that we are likely to make unless we pursue that path of truth, we need to take the correct step. Otherwise we would pass away from this world in ignorance, transferring the mistakes to the children we see growing up in front of us. In this nature the souls of the dead start taking birth after a gap of one or two generations. Thus the deviant souls are born again. If you say it is not so, there is no use of my speaking. We take birth here and live and ultimately leave. How we were in our childhood, how we are now and how we change with the passage of time! We are the witness through these changes. Is there then an entity present through the cycles of innumerable births and deaths? If it is there, what is it? Isn’t this your question?
The consciousness by which you are able to see - in jagrat, swapna, sushupti (awake, dream and deep sleep states) - where did the knowledge come from, that makes you aware that you slept well during deep sleep and in dreams? The joy in our body and the peace in the soul that we got become the source of that knowledge. Isn’t it? Even in sleep, consciousness convinces us. What can one say if someone argues, ‘how could you say this, you who were sleeping last night?’ is this something of our making? 
This is not rationalism, but the ‘ism’ of what is. We should at least accept the ‘ism’ of what really exists. Then we might turn to the ‘ism’ of what is not. Am I right or wrong? Therefore let us understand what is real. Later you can try to learn what is unreal. We can learn about what does not exist. We should learn all aspects from that source of knowledge that shows all that exists. Through whom shall we learn this? 
I do not say that all of you know about it. But all people can hear about it. Some people realize it in their soul. It is there and it is true. Beyond this also there is something else. I could tell you only if you believe in this manner. I need to go into this further only if you believe in whatever has been said so far. We have in us the knowledge and ignorance inherited through the actions and inactions of our ancestors. Isn’t it? We are attempting to realize the truth and falsehood with these inherent limitations.
What does the Vedantin say? This does not exist, this is passing; everything is therefore subject to destruction, and all this is illusion - maya - caused by God. Could he chop his body and discard it? If the body does not exist, why does he carry this stinking body, bathing, clothing and covering? Even so, he goes about saying that he has nothing to do. Isn’t it? May I ask you where this pundit and this illiterate, who dissect words and interpret, uttering ‘soham’, would reach?
What is the use of my speaking something if you do not realize this?  You at least think that is a man you have faith in. you can give him whatever name you wish to. We should get the virtue of this soul - the fulfilment of experience expressed through the medium of his body and soul. No matter whatever way it is - through learning or otherwise, knowingly or unknowingly - he has attained this. I do not say that I could show this to all of you. The reason is the ancestral karmic background about which I mentioned. We are the continuation of that karma accumulated through many births and deaths. We should exercise our will and get what virtue we need to earn in the soul and should remove its haplessness.