Sri Guru Gita- A Conversation between Siva and Parvati on Guru Tatva -4

Suuta Said:
Kailaasa-shikhare Ramye Bhakti-saadhana Hetave
Pranamya Paarvatii Bhaktyaa Sankaram Paripruchhati

(At the beautiful mount of Kailas, Paarvati, bowing in devotion submits a question to Sankara (Siva), for the sake of nurturing devotion).

Now a misguided campaign is going on in Kerala against the entry of women in Sabarimala temple. It is a rare occasion in history when both men and women join a self-defeating campaign blinded by superstitions and the crafty policies of a priest-class, which had for long denied women the rights for spiritual performances including the right to cover their nakedness. One gets both pained and surprised by seeing this foolery. Sri Guru Gita shows how the gods and sages of India helped women in their spiritual growth and gave them freedom to ask questions. In fact, no spiritual performance is complete without the participation of women because man and woman are the inseparable creation of God.

For a woman, the husband is her guide, her Guru and therefore a divine being. The husband is even equated to God in Sanatana Dharma. This is the ideal situation according to the wise rishis, but we know it is quite difficult if not impossible to find such a noble soul as husband in this age. A husband should be a spiritually elevated soul with the knowledge of dharma, karma and transcendental knowledge.
In the ancient Rishi tradition, a child is sent to an ashram to get trained and educated in dharma (spiritual knowledge), artha (wealth), kama (desire fulfillment) and moksha (liberation) under an enlightened guru.

The ashram education package includes practical knowledge related to God realization as well as exposure to the riddles of Creation, Life and Death. Only the right spiritual knowledge leads the soul to lasting freedom and joy. It is an exercise to find the meaning of life itself. Dharma-Artha-Kama-Moksha scheme works out our cravings in life while fulfilling the duties as householders towards the family, society and the world at large. In this process, one is supposed to develop the soul with virtues like truthfulness, purity, compassion, love, self-sacrifice, etc. which leads to personal fulfillment and moksha. But sadly, the western education has wiped out this Indian system of gurukul education, which has made Indians (Hindus) spiritual illiterates and a culturally devastated lot.

The Ashram-centric life or Guru-Sishya relationship is to learn about life. Only in the presence of the sun, darkness gets dispelled. Similarly, the divine presence of Guru in life illumines our minds and cleanses the impurities or karmic entanglements. After the education in dharma and other worldly subjects living in the Ashram of Guru, the student is directed to lead the life of a householder. Only such a man becomes qualified to become a successful householder, an ideal husband, who can help his wife grow spiritually as equal partners in the path of the Divine.

The conjugal bliss and prosperity fundamentally rest on this spiritual harmony between a husband and wife. When there is no such spiritual harmony, very unpleasant experiences await such couples. A girl or boy, therefore, should marry only under the spiritual guidance of an all-knowing Guru. There is a lot to be said about marriage and how to beget a fortunate child without any type of physical and mental debilities. This subject also comes under the spiritual guidance of a realized Guru. Navajyoti Sri Karunakara Guru has given utmost importance to the institution of marriage and family by bringing to fore this long lost Rishi tradition in the Ashram. The help and guidance mothers get from the Ashram prior to and during pregnancy and after childbirth is beyond words.

A husband has the sacred responsibility of elevating his wife too to the pedestal of his attainments- both spiritual and temporal. How glad we would be to come across such blessed couples in our times! Here we find the epitome of that principle in Siva and Parvati. The example of Siva and Parvati has always been extolled in the sacred literature. Kalidasa described the union of Siva and Parvati as inseparable as the 'word' is with its 'meaning'. Parvati herself is well known for her practices of spiritual austerities. She worships Siva as the greatest ascetic and the knower of dharma. In her devotion to Siva, she finds latent in him the sacred Guru-hood, which inspired her to ask questions about the mystery behind the Guru-Sishya relationship.

Spirituall Aspects behind Marriage and Childbirth

The painful conflicts in the families, the breakdown of marriages, incidents of physical as well as mental deformities and the delinquent behaviour of children are caused by the thoughtless marriages performed by ignorant parents, who have neither understood the path of spiritual guidance from a wise seer nor its positive effects in life. Sensual gratification rather than spiritual fulfillment is guiding the man-woman relationship. The increasing trend of abortions, the culture of contractual marriages and divorces reflect this moral degradation.

Humankind has reached this ruinous state because our society has long ago deviated from the guidance of omniscient sages who can reveal the true secrets of life. Man has become more religious than spiritual. He has been unable to grasp the depth of important life-cycle ceremonies like marriage, birth and death, the spiritual aspect of man-woman relationship etc. These life-cycle ceremonies and relationships are divine in nature because they are related to one’s spiritual evolution and that of the family stock or gotra. The breakdown of the institution of family seen in the advanced Western countries is owing to this spiritual ignorance about the depth of family life. 

Navajyothisree Karunakara Guru said that if a woman could be led to spiritual enlightenment that family would become blessed and through such uplifted families, the society and the nation would evolve to a healthy future. A woman through her virtuousness can guide her family to a positive direction. However, she needs spiritual guidance for the nourishment of her family. We can receive spiritual guidance only from an elevated seer. Not knowing the true character of an elevated seer, a few women fall in the trap of fake swamis, fakirs, padiris, tantriks and jyotishis and are cheated, which brings a bad name to the brotherhood of elevated spiritual masters, authentic ashrams and spiritual institutions.

We should not confuse the tantriks, jyotishis, evangelists, priests and the like with the true guru concept. Because of such bogus and questionable spiritual practices and beliefs and because of their own ignorance about true spirituality, both the learned and the uneducated generally view ashrams and gurus with suspicion. It would be beneficial to go through the Sree Gurugita published by Santhigiri Ashram, which mentions about the different types of gurus and the characteristics of a true Guru. 

We must realize that without a true preceptor, we cannot improve spiritually and materially. Some rich communities in India such as Marwaris, Sindhis, Punjabis and Gujaratis became prosperous because they lived respecting and serving their gurus and accepting their guidance. Recently somebody reported that Kerala spends approx. Rs.10, 000 billion per annum on rituals in temples, which is a sign that people are getting more and more ritualistic than spiritual. Different from this crowd of favour seekers at the doors of temples and darghas, for the people in the sagely path, spirituality is a meritorious way of life that would transform them for the better both spiritually and materially.

A successful and enduring marriage is fundamental to the health of a family, which is possible only when the couples are united spiritually. Therefore, a Guru gives the nod for marriage only after looking into the spiritual, cultural and ancestral background of couples. A mismatch in any of these aspects would adversely affect their family life including the life of their children. However, this need not be on the basis of one’s birth, caste, community and religion. It is purely a spiritual alignment of couples under the All-knowing Guru. With this type of marriage a pristine gotra or Guru Parampara is born.

Guru cleanses the harmful astral and ancestral aspects of the marriageable couple for the birth of a pure lineage free from cultural and genetic drawbacks. After marriage, Guru gives the couple necessary guidance on how to live as husband and wife. He advises about the prayers, sankalpam and other sacred deeds including the auspicious time for the birth of a virtuous child. The followers of Guru perform certain rituals and prayers, especially during the seventh month, which helps the developing baby in the womb. Thus, the life of the couple becomes spiritually oriented. 

Bringing up a child too is as important as the regimen and rituals required for the birth of a fortunate child, free of genetic and cultural drawbacks. The habits of a child are moulded during its early years and adolescence. Good and bad children are born from a mother. The mother should pray and do sankalpam for getting rid of the bad traits in children. The mother should try to change the bad characteristics through loving and painful prayer. Like food, which is important for the body, prayer is as much important for the soul. 

The women in the path of Guru are weaned away from decadent and meritless religious beliefs and rituals and atheistic beliefs of some people who neglect spiritual aspects altogether. They are guided to a healthy spiritual vision based on eternal values and verities based on the sage tradition of India. In the final count, we can say that a true social transformation can take place only through spiritually sensitized women and families in the society. 

Spiritual masters and prophets were innumerable in human history, but their followers seem to have given only a cursory importance to the astral aspects behind marriage and childbirth including the spiritual mentoring of women. The guidance initiated by Navajyothisree Karunakara Guru is a correction in this regard.

Mukundan PR