Gurucharanam Saranam
Japastapo Vritam
Teertham Yajno Daanam Tathaiva Cha
Guru-tatwam-avijnaaya Sarvam Vyartham
Bhavet Priye!
O Dear One! Japa (the recitation of mantra)
Tapa (spiritual austerities) Vritam (Vows), Teertham (Visiting of Holy Places)
and also the path of Jnaana (Knowledge) and Daana (Charities) come to naught if
one does not know the truth of Guru.
Explanation:
Has anyone
seen the formless God? No, it is not possible
to comprehend the Incomprehensible. God
can be known only through an image or an idea. Thus all religions have originated
inspired by some ideologies, gurus or prophets and all of them have left behind
a world of images surrounding God. Although
they provide the followers varying degrees of spiritual experience all of us still
feel some emptiness, the feeling that there is yet something beyond to be
realized. We have not reached that shore beyond - of light, love, knowledge and
bliss. Today the spiritual fraternity is groping in the dark unable to
experience that Light and Truth.
Consciousness
is a multi-layered multi-dimensional experiential journey towards the Absolute
Truth – the Brahman. The self can evolve to become higher spiritual entities such as devi-devas,
angels, rishis and other cosmic entities with varying degrees of expanded
consciousness. But that is not the final destination. There is a
painful gravitational struggle when the soul tries to traverse these realms of
consciousness leading us to subtler and subtler transcendental experience. A
struggle of grave nature awaits a truth bearer while passing through the nine realms
of spiritual evolution before reaching the tenth stage, the ultimate abode of Truth
which we call God. Such a truth bearer
becomes the image of God or God itself. The other day, a good soul sent me a
copy of Kabir Vani.
I realize
that Mahatma Kabir is also a great soul like the Sikh Gurus who realized the
greatness of Guru and the virtue of following the footsteps of a Guru. Sant Kabir says in one his Sakhis:
“Guru Govind
Dou Ek Hai, Duuja Sab Aakar…” (Guru and God is the same, difference is only in the
name).
The seekers
of truth get stuck at various borderlines of spirituality unable to raise
themselves beyond the gross and subtle spiritual planes belonging to various
spiritual entities, gurus and prophets.
The
experience of late Swami Jagatpriya Jnana Tapaswi of Santhigiri Ashram is an
example (taken from the book ‘The Guru of All’ published by Santhigiri Ashram):
The Swami
was a devotee of Sri Krishna and was able to see Krishna in vision through his
spiritual austerities. Since he was facing some obstacles he began to search for
a Guru and finally reached the Ashram of Navajyoti Sri Karunakara Guru. During
the audience with the Guru he said that he was able to see Sri Krishna in
vision and that Sri Krishna was his Guru. Then the Guru said to him: “Dear
Fellow! Sri Krishna will not be Guru to you. It is difficult for ordinary
people to get Sri Krishna as Guru. For that, you have to rouse Samadhi. Therefore, you should find a Guru from
somewhere. If you do not do this, you
would face a problem after a year. You should remember me before commencing
your meditation and at its conclusion’.
Swami Jagat
Priya thought when Sri Krishna himself is with him, what was the need for
following the Guru. Nevertheless, he
gave special attention to the Guru’s word that he should remember the Guru
prior to and after the prayers. From then, he began to see the appearance of several
deities and understood their limited spiritual status. Sri Krishna was seen as the highest. One day
he woke up at 3 AM and began to meditate on the Guru of Santhigiri. He saw that the self-effulgent light of Guru
was an ocean of light filling the whole creation. He felt that even Sri Krishna had not got this
much radiance. He was unable to withstand the impact of this vision; such was
the brilliance of that Radiance. The Swami was unable to quieten his mind after
this vision. Soon he developed chest pain too. He remembered the words of Sri
Karunakara Guru about the need for a Guru. So he prayed to Sri Krishna that he
should have a Guru. After praying continuously for a few days, Sri Krishna revealed
in vision; ‘What was going on there is what I desired’. The Swami understood that it was about
Santhigiri Ashram and Sri Karunakara Guru.
Thus with
Sri Krishna’s full consent he came to see the Guru again. By this time, he was
suffering from unbearable chest pain and extreme mental torment. He was in the
verge of lunacy. On seeing him in this
condition, the Guru said, ‘It is alright that Sri Krishna came and told you.
Let it be. However, now I will tell you what you need’. Guru touched his chest gently and said, ‘Don’t
take the pain seriously’. With that, the
pain which he was unable to bear until then, disappeared completely. From then
he came under the protection and guidance of the Guru.
Blind attachment
to one’s religious rituals will not help. We need the supreme grace of Guru to
overcome such spiritual hurdles. The supreme Guru is one who has transcended
all spiritual stages and realized God reaching the tenth stage. Only such a Guru can lift us up from our spiritual
crisis and conditionings. Navajyoti Sri Karunakara Guru adds another dimension
to the definition of a Guru when He said:
‘It is true
that what really exists is the formless Truth, beyond all conceptions, like the
limitless sky… If there is a formless nature to Truth, in what all states they
exist? This should be shown by guru. There are many who have experienced the
Truth. But Guru is not who has experienced it but who imparts it to others.’
So the
experiential part is important. Many are the ideologies and practices which we blindly
follow while disputing and disliking the others. Then surely we are in a domain
of ignorance, that is the meaning of Lord Siva’s words. Navajyoti Sri
Karunakara Guru repeats what Lord Siva said above.
There is
some truth in every path, but that is not enough for this new age – the Kali
Yuga. We should evolve spiritually which is possible only by getting rid of
soul’s karmic and spiritual impurities through the grace of Guru. The Guru
meant here is not a Guru in the nursery of spirituality, but a Guru who takes
us across the borderless spiritual experience.
No comments:
Post a Comment