We generally notice that most people get stuck in the love of objects, the love of money or wealth is a deception. True love eliminates the ego, however, the more objects we collect in life, the more our ego enhances. When two people truly love each other, then they slowly turn alike. Their habits, manners, behavior, and in fact their form resembles. People who love objects, become like those objects. He cannot love other people, because he fears sharing his objects with whoever he relates to. A person can seek money or other things from another, after making a relation. However, the first person hates him due to his own love for money or objects, and others abhor any sharing. The love between people is of a much higher level compared to love for objects, because this love is with a similar conscious soul. Anyone who loves another person truly can easily share his possessions with others because he doesn’t love things. Anyone who has developed a love for other humans realizes that the objects are mere lifeless things, and the love with humans is real life.
Objects or wealth are perishable, and one needs to earn them repeatedly. However, the more we love someone, the more love we receive back. The energy of this entire world is driven by these bondages of love and captivations between various relationships of human life.
A person starts loving inanimate things only when he is unable to obtain love from other humans, or is unsuccessful in seeking love from others. When a person starts receiving love from other humans, he stops loving the objects. He foregoes the objects, upon receiving love from other humans. He surrenders his favorite objects to his lover. However, a strong feeling of ego exists in the love of all humans, as both of them instinctively want to preserve themselves, and let the other sacrifice or surrender. Both try to preserve themselves, and wish for their lover, their Deity, their disciple, or their Guru to self-sacrifice, to surrender their entire self for them. Such love becomes troublesome. The person will always remain stressed, and this ruckus will for his own lover, because, both of them are continuously endeavoring to get the other to surrender for them, and do not want to offer themselves at all. Nobody wants to sacrifice themselves, and love is always incomplete without total surrender. Ultimate realization requires total surrender.
If you have ever loved, then you would have noted that love offers a pair. One who loves knows that love provides happiness, as well as, sorrow. This initiates the path of devotion to the Almighty. Someone may love his son enormously, but that same son discards him upon attaining adulthood, yielding sorrow. A husband may love his wife tremendously, but he attains sorrow when she turns unfaithful.
This sadness in love prompts the person to discard his love towards objects or his lover. He continues to seek someone worthy of his true love. At this stage, he needs the guidance of a Guru, who can guide him on the proper path towards Almighty, and offer him his companionship to discard the wrong path. However, even Guru seeks his total surrender to start with. The Saint Kabira States-
Kabira Yah Ghar Prem Ka, Khala Ka Gar Naahin |
Sheesh Utaare Bhui Dhare, Vo Payase Ghar Maahin ||
Guru tries to explain to the disciple that the sorrow which you are receiving, is due to your own ego. This discord, this quarrel was not due to love. This was all due to ego because everyone’s ego drives them to prove themselves in any argument. You wanted to prove yourself to be correct. Your wife wanted to show herself to be correct, and you wanted yourself. Thus both of your egos came between your relationship. Both wanted the other to surrender, to kneel, but nobody bows down due to ego and arrogance.
Generally, a teacher is also termed a Guru. However, there is a difference between a teacher and a Guru. The teacher teaches you and fills your mind with knowledge from books and texts. He transfers his knowledge to you, thereby enhancing your knowledge base, making you wise. You become PERFECT, and attain the state when you also start working as a teacher, to teach others. However, you are never able to take steps towards meditation. Guru bestows – – the act of meditating. Meditating is the process of Guru. He erases you through His Shaktipaat, His divine touch. He compels you towards spirituality, to think. He creates such stirs in life so that you can become empty, to completely erase all your knowledge and wisdom. You have to be emptied, so that divine elixir can be filled in.
Even the teacher provides us knowledge, within the situation which we are in. There is no need for any prior preparation to get knowledge. However, we can enter the realm of spirituality only with physical and spiritual preparation. When we erase ourselves when meditation terminates our “I” when our ego gets totally eliminated. You fear coming towards Guru because He beckons you to cast off all your knowledge and wealth, which you are proud of. This collection of knowledge and wealth is like a pile of garbage. Guru guides you to throw it all away, and you avoid casting it out. Unless you totally empty your mind, Guru will not be able to cleanse it, will not be able to sanctify-purify it. If you shy from getting cooked in the fire, then you will remain a dirty-raw vessel, and you will not be able to assimilate the boon, the divine nectar bestowed by the Providence. You will be unable to partake in real Joy, and will not be able to attain proper discipleship.
With divine blessings,
Kailash Shrimali