Ramkrishna
had gone in search of Vivekananda to his house. Samrath Ramdas had discovered
Shivaji. Chandragupta was caught hold of by Chanakya. Gokhale won over Gandhi.
This equally well applied in my case.. Gurudev appeared before me in my house
in his astral body when I was fifteen year old, activated and empowered my
faith and yoked all the energies of my being in a specific direction.
While
countless persons wandering in search of a sadguru return empty-handed after
being deceived by quacks, what was particularly special about me for which a
divine being had to appear before me uninvited, and spontaneously showered his
grace on me? The only rational answer is that I had earned merit for this
benediction by Satvika austerities over many earlier lifetimes. This does not
happen randomly./ It requires devout austerities and overcoming of evil
tendencies over a long period of self-effort.
A
combination o fdetermination, patience and devotion creates the firm background
fo rspiritual aeakening. Earning such merit is true deiscipleship, after which
it takes no time to attain fulfillment. It is the attainment of merit which
takes time. No time is taken in finding the Guru. Eklavya's Dronacharya,
prepared out of caly, proved more effecitve than the real one. When Ramchandra
refuded to initiate Kabir, as he was an untouchable, he discovered a device. He
lay down in the dark on the stairs of Kashighat. When Ramananada passed through
the stairs before dawn to take his bath, his feet suddenly fell on the chest of
Kabir. Ranananda was startled. HE
UTTERED "RAN And drew back Kabir took this utterance to be his initiation:
Ram as his mantra and Ramananda as his Guru. This is the magic of true faith.
When an idol of stone can become God, why cannot an appropriate person be made
Guru on the strength of faith and devotion? This does not require whispering
something in th ear or performing any rituals.
Guru is
needed for spiritual awakening because he discharges the dual responsibility of
father and teacher. A child is brought up and educated through the cooperation
of both the father, who spends a part of his earnings on his maintenance and
education, and the teacher who imparts knowledge to him. Father can fulfill the
physical needs whereas guidance for spiritual growth is given by te Guru from
his accumulated store of divine energy. The disciple can do nothing on his own
strength. That is the truth behind the saying, there is no knowledge without
Guru'.
No comments:
Post a Comment