A spiritual life without a Guru is like the life of a child without a mother. He takes a number of initiatives to develop and nurture the intrinsic capabilities of his disciples to make them self-reliant on their various needs. He sets high targets for them to help them achieve maximum progress and keeps a silent, vigilant watch on their progress. His dominion is limitless. It is up to us to utilize this opportunity as long his spirit lives in the mortal shell.
A Guru doesn’t always need words to convey his message. Like the sun, whose mere presence causes so many things to happen on this earth. His mere presence causes all living beings to act according to his or her own destiny and personal inclinations. His very presence gives wings to the aspirations of his disciples. You can learn a lot and get inspired just by observing him. His all-embracing love that envelopes us, inspires us to be kind and compassionate to fellow human beings. His equipoise inspires us to keep steady despite highs and lows, to stay calm and think clearly in emergency situations. His contagious smile inspires us to keep smiling in the face of adversity. The way he goes about his day to day affairs makes us wonder, “how he could possibly handle such a staggering task with such ease and grace,” inspiring us to be ever active like a bombinating bee.
When one is not blessed with a Guru’s physical presence and guidance, even a mental acceptance of him, can work wonders. This is evident in the story of Eklavya, a character from the epic- The Mahabharatha, his famous tryst with Dronacharya. Eklavya was the son of a poor tribal hunter. He wanted to learn archery from Guru Dronacharya. In those days, as a rule, a teacher to the Royal family was not allowed to teach the state art to anybody else. Eklavya deeply desired to study under Dronacharya. But Dronacharya, bound by state law, could not accept him as his student. Eklavya, in his heart had already accepted Dronacharya as his Guru.
He made a statue of Guru Dronacharya. Day after day, he took his bow and arrow, worshipped the statue of Drona and started sincere practice. In time faith, courage and perseverance transformed Eklavya, the mere tribal hunter into Eklavya, the mighty archer. He became an archer of extraordinary exceptional prowess; superior even to Arjuna.
What is the importance of sanidhya of Guru in our lives? When Lord himself takes birth on this earth- when he comes down as an avatareven he needs a Guru. Lord Krishna and Lord Rama gave due credit to their Gurus’. Garg Muni or Sage Gangacharya played the role of Guru for Krishna in his childhood and later Sage Sandipni became his Guru. Lord Rama accepted Rishi Vasishta as his Guru. Later on, he took various weapons from Sage Vishwamitra. Then don’t we – ordinary men and women- need a Guru in our lives to walk through the maze of human life safely, wisely and earnestly? Just as any newborn child requires a mother, the need for a Guru is indispensable. Once Lord Krishna sternly told Namadev, a great devotee of Krishna, that one who has not had a Guru, is immature and cannot get the ultimate Bliss or God realisation even though he may be intimately moving with the Lord in the latter’s embodied form. One has to go through the proper channel.
The greatest of saints like Mahaprabhu Chaitanya, Rama Krishna Paramhansa, Adi Shankara, Kabir, Ramanujacharya, Swami Sivanada, Paramhansa Yogananda did have individual Gurus. Doubt is a big dampener for the disciples progress. Only when your faith has solidified beyond the shadow of a doubt and the ego has been eliminated does the Guru’s grace shower on you. You are like a colourful kite and Guru is the bearer of the string. The string is the faith. He can maneuver you to great heights. He knows when to pull, when to loosen, when to give jerks so that you feel the breeze and soar higher and higher, until you float like a big bird in the sky. He also knows when to wind you in on the slack and keep you safe and protected from the gusty winds and storms. But when your faith is shaken, you break the support of the string. Then what can the Guru possibly do? He is helpless. Your faith makes your connection with the Guru strong and stable. Faith knits you in the fabric of the Guru. We need to recognise that it is under Guru’s will that our life is being led and whatever happens is for our good. Don’t get caught up in the why and wherefores of what happened. We always want Guru to do things that we think are good for us. When what we want doesn’t happen we become disappointed and find it difficult to fathom why it happened. But the Guru knows what is best for us. He knows very well how to unlock the powers within you. His utterances are too cryptic to be understood. Just follow his words and he will help you to scale gracefully and evolve over time.
The Guru is a treasure chest full of diamonds. The quadruple password combination to that chest is faith, humility, dedication and surrender. Living in the proximity of the Guru is not a life of ease. Like a boat moving through the ocean, encounters waves, one faces many upheavals. His abode is comprised of all kinds of people. There are good, sensitive people who respect, encourage and co-operate their fellow disciples. And also there are those who are insensitive, who are desperately trying to stay in the spotlight, people who are sizzled with sarcasm and ruthless in their mockery.We have to be carefull in such situations. When life places a wall in our path we have two choices… we can beat our head against it, or we can figure out a way to get around it.
We should continously strive to evolve at every step. You cannot blame the Guru for your downfall. You cannot say,”I became a thug because a thug was one of the disciples of my Guru”. Because in the eyes of the Guru, a thug-disciple and the saint-disciple are same, they are alike to him. He makes no distinction between them. He has an unfeigned affection for both of them. When we have bitter experiences with people whom we dislike, we feel devastated and in such moments of sorrow, one wonders,”Why Guru keeps such people in his vicinity?”You may have an aversion to the thug. But the Guru, the living embodiement of truth, dharma, love and compassion, has taken the onus of upliftment and liberation of both the thug and the saint. He cannot let any of them to get lost in the ebullient tides of the ocean of the samasara (phenomenal world).
The Guru realizes the raw potential of his disciples, nurtures the found qualities into the disciples identity, and acts like an ocean, an endless reservoir that absorbs, or fulfills for any imbalance, whatsoever, that may arise in his disciples. He wants to make each one of his disciple fertile fields in which good qualities are cultivated.
So, now when we have the good fortune of the proximity of the Guru, what do we do now? Our Revered Gurudev Dr. Narayan Dutt Shrimali Ji undertook a colossal task of bringing the pracheen science of Tantra, Mantra, Yantra closer to the home of the common man. His effort was clearly path breaking for the sheer size, coverage and benefits recieved per family, as is evident today. It is time for us to make his message resound in full glory and reach every man, youth and woman.
In the abode of the Guru, by your conduct, strive to bloom like the beautiful alpine flowers that grace the pristine himalayan valleys. Your very sight must lit up his face with a dazzling smile. And after all, that is all we can afford to give the Guru – a smile on his serene face. What else?
It is mandatory to obtain Guru Diksha from Revered Gurudev before performing any Sadhana or taking any other Diksha. Please contact Kailash Siddhashram, Jodhpur through Email , Whatsapp, Phone or Submit Request to obtain consecrated-energized and mantra-sanctified Sadhana material and further guidance,